A Girl Called Lori

Chapter 38 - Stephen Andrews

Kara and Lena both step into the room, and they see a long table. Mark, and his lawyers are set up on one side of it, closest to the door, while Dr Stephen Andrews, and his lawyers, are set up on the other side of the table.

This is the first time, really, that Kara has actually got to see what Lori's half uncle looks like. Kara doesn't really know what she was expecting. In her mind she just sees this person as a man who is trying to take her daughter away from her, so maybe she perceived him to look somewhat evil or something, but he doesn't. Stephen Andrews just looks like a normal guy, although he is clearly young, that much Kara can tell.

"Dr Andrews, this is Lori's current foster mom, Kara Danvers, and her friend, Lena Luthor." Mark says.

Kara does notice that Mark didn't introduce Lena as her girlfriend, but her heart is beating too fast to take issue with that right now.

"A pleasure." Stephen Andrews says, as he stands up and extends his hand to Kara, for her to shake, "And please, just call me Stephen."

Kara carefully takes Stephen's hand and shakes it, being extra careful not to accidentally use too much of her strength and hurt his hand, as that certainly wouldn't be a good thing.

"Hello." Kara says, with a nod of her head, not wanting to say 'nice to meet you' or anything, because it's obviously not.

"Okay. Shall we get started?" Mark then says.

"Yes, let's." One of Stephen Andrews' lawyers says.

Everyone then takes their seats, facing one another, with Kara being in the middle of Lena and Mark.

"To start off, I just want to thank you, Kara, for looking after Lori. I'm aware that Lori would have had to go in a group home after her previous foster parents moved out of National City, if you had not stepped in. So, I thank you for that, on behalf of our family." Stephen Andrews says.

"It was the right thing to do, and I was happy to do it. Lori is a lovely girl." Kara says.

"That I'm sure of." Stephen Andrews says, with a smile, "But, like I said, you have taken good care of Lori, but now I'm available, and want to take care of her. She is my blood after all. So, I hope we can just make this a smooth transition between her living with you, to her living with me."

Both Kara and Lena internally get annoyed at Stephen Andrews speaking like that, as he sounds so sure that he's going to have Lori, it's infuriating.

"Well, I do not believe that 'transition', as you put it, will be right for Lori. Lori is my daughter, and I want her to stay with me, and that is what I believe is in her best interests." Kara says.

"What Miss Danvers is saying, is over these last few months, since she has taken Lori in as her foster daughter, the two of them have grown very close to one another. In fact, they have grown so close that Miss Danvers, as I know you are aware of, was in the process of attempting to adopt Lori, before your custody petition was filed." Mark says.

"Yes. I do know all this." Stephen Andrews says, with a polite smile on his face, "But I still believe it would be best for Lori to be with her family. I am all the family she has left, and she is all the family I have left. It is only right that we are reunited, and put back together. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Danvers?"

Kara looks at Stephen Andrews for a few moments, not saying a word, and as Kara looks at the man, she can tell that he's not going to back down. Kara can tell that he's just trying to be polite to butter her up.

"No. I do not." Kara says, "I believe.... no..... I know for a fact that the best possible place for Lori to be, is to remain with me. Lori has not had much consistency and stability in her life, even before your brother died really. But now she does have that stability. She does not deserve to be taken away, yet again, from a home which she has grown to love, just to go live with some stranger."