Babysitting Bands

12

"You all may be seated." The judge said as he took his seat at the front. Kellin, Katelynne and I sat on the bench and Copeland was in her chair between us. I was on Kellin's side because the lawyer thought I would be good for his case. "Mrs. Lahmann, would you like to begin?" The judge offered Kate. She nodded.

"Copeland's my little girl! She has to be in my custody, I'm her mother. Kellin's always on tour with his band, there's no way he could ever take care of her without me. Copeland wouldn't live a good life with him. He's the one who wanted the divorce in the first place!" She said. Kellin scoffed at her.

"And Mr. Quinn?" The judge asked. Kellin nodded and readjusted in his seat.

"Your Honor, I am perfectly capable of taking care of Copeland, even if I am on tour. I love my daughter, and I have a girlfriend who is already like a mother to Cope. Brandy babysits her for Kate. After Kate and and I got in a fight, she wouldn't let me see Cope for a whole week." He said, glaring slightly at Kate. "Copeland needs a father." The judge nodded and sighed.

"What type of custody are you two actually fighting for?" He asked, glancing between Kellin and Kate.

"Complete!" Kate snapped. I glared at her. It was completely unfair that she was trying to take Copeland for good just because she was mad at Kellin and I. Kellin hesitated.

"I don't mind shared custody, as long as I get to see my little girl." He said. Kate looked at him. "Kate you don't understand what it's doing to me being away from her and not being able to see her. I know you're upset that Brandy and I are together, but taking my daughter away is so much worse. I'm sorry, but I don't love you anymore, you cheated on me and I can't forgive you for that." He said. His voice shook slightly and I took his hand, squeezing it. The judge paused and looked at Kate.

"So that's what this is about? You want Kellin back and you're jealous that he's dating your friend?" The judge asked. Kate looked up at him. Her mouth was slightly open and she blushed, looking flustered as she stuttered.

"Uh, what? No! I mean...well, that might be part of it but...um..." She got out. Kellin laughed.

"That's exactly what this is about! We've been friendly enough with each other until now. Kate found out the other day that Brandy and I were together and that's when she took Copeland from me!" He explained. The judge nodded.

"Is this true Katelynne?" He asked her. She hesitated and shrugged. She dropped her head and closed her eyes.

"I still want Copeland to be mine. She's starting to think Brandy is her mother because they're always together. I don't want her growing up thinking I'm the problem." She confessed. The judge looked perplexed and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. I cleared my throat.

"Um, Your Honor?" I asked to get his attention. He looked to me and nodded. "I've been babysitting Copeland for her whole life. Kate is very busy and doesn't always have time to take care of her like she should. Kellin has Copeland sometimes but I've never had to babysit her while he does. He has the time and the money to take care of her. After this, I'm sure Kate won't want me babysitting anymore, and honestly, I don't think she's capable of taking care of Cope by herself. She works full time." I paused. The judge nodded and glanced at Kate then back at me. I refrained from looking at Kate because I already knew what the expression on her face would show. Shock. Hatred. A burning desire to throw me into the fiery pits of Hell. Instead I continued. "I'm not arguing that Kate should never be allowed to be with Cope, I just think her having full custody will be too much for her to handle at this point." The judge narrowed his eyes at me slightly as he thought.

"Have you seen Katelynne overwhelmed in person?" He asked me. I nodded.

"After she took Copeland, I went to talk to her; to try to convince her that she was overreacting. When I got there, it was pretty chaotic. The fire alarm was going off, cookies were burning, and Cope was stuck under a chair while Kate was on the phone with her lawyer. I helped her get everything back in order, but Copeland shouldn't be in an environment like that on a regular basis." The judge scribbled something down on a pad of paper and nodded. Copeland, who had been patiently sitting in her chair, had abandoned her crayons and slid out of the chair.

"Mommy!" She squealed with such excitement that it made me smile. She toddled over to Kellin and I with a huge grin on her face. Kellin blushed and looked up at the judge who just waited. Copeland was supposed to stay in her seat so neither parent offered a reason for her to favor them. I scooped Cope up and put her on my lap, but heard Kate arguing with the judge about the fact that Cope called me Mommy instead of her.

"What is it Sweetie?" I asked Copeland. She smiled wide and handed me a piece of paper. It was the drawing she had been working on the whole time we were here.

"It's Mommy and Daddy and me!" She said as she pointed to the three figures on the page. "That's Daddy's big car that he lives in sometimes." She pointed to the brown rectangle with wheels which I identified as Kellin's tour bus. "He said he would take me on it when he plays music." I swallowed and looked up at Kellin who had tears in his eyes. Kate and the judge had stopped talking and were now listening to Copeland.

"And who's that?" I asked her, pointing to another person on the other side of the picture.

"Her." She said pointing to Kate. "She's at home because she has too much work and Mommy and Daddy take care of me." We were all quiet while Cope explained her picture and exchanged looks after she was finished. The judge took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before speaking.

"Well, I think I've made a reasonable decision."

A/N: Sorry this took forever guys