Saving Hearts

Chapter 27: Gisele

It was no surprise to me that the pregnancy test came back positive. A part of me knew it would. I had to do some thinking. I would eventually have to tell Wesley, but I wanted to prepare myself. It's been a week since I took the pregnancy test, and my OB appointment was two weeks away. I was going to wait until at least after that appointment to talk with Wesley.

Little did I know I would be forced to see Wesley earlier than intended. It's like the universe wanted me to face Wesley earlier than I wanted to.

I was sitting at my cubicle when a colleague, Violet, approached me. She handed me a file on a client I worked with over a year ago. It was a case I worked on before Jackson put me in the hospital. While I was on leave, Violet took that case.

"I need some help with this case."

I review the file just to familiarize myself with the case. When I had the case, I was terminating the parental rights of the father because the father had relapsed. From the file, they reunified the son, my client, with his father because he completed treatment for the third time. However, four months after that, the father died of an overdose. Ever since, Mason, the son, has been in and out of foster homes. According to the file, Mason has had a lot of behavioral problems. What I was annoyed about the most was that they reunified Mason with his father when that was not what I suggested.

I wasn't sure what Violet wanted my help with.

"What do you need from me?"

"Because of Mason's behavioral issues, the next step is an all-boys group home in another state. I think he would do much better with his family. I was hoping maybe you knew some other family members."

When I met Mason, it was just his father. His mother died years prior in a car accident. When I spoke with Mason's father, he always told me there was no other family; he was an only child, and his parents were deceased. He didn't know anything about Mason's mother's family. I flipped through the file to find Mason's birth certificate. I didn't have his birth certificate when I had the case, but I had ordered it before I went on leave. Maybe I could get the mother's name and do an obituary search and possibly find more family.

As I flipped through the file, I informed Violet, "You can do family find with DSS if you need to find..." I didn't finish my sentence because I stopped on the birth certificate, which said Mother: Tiffany Hawkes. I looked to see what Mason's full name was, and it said Mason Phoenix Battle.

Could this be Wesley's son? I could not recall what he looked like. Mason would be older; would he look like the picture on Wesley's desk?

"Is Mason Phoenix Battle the only name he has gone by?" I questioned.

Violet pulled out her tablet and looked through Mason's digital file and other court cases. "At one point, his last name was Hawkes, and I am not sure why it changed."

I was 90% sure this was Wesley's son, but Wesley would have to confirm it. I did a quick search for a divorce decree for Wesley and Tiffany. I did not see one, which meant they were still married when she died.

"Okay, this is a long shot, but I know Mason's stepfather. I am sure he would be willing to do kinship care," Violet's eyes lit up. "Since I know him personally, I can give you his information, and you can reach out," I informed her.

I did not want to talk with Wesley.

"I have court. Can you help me? We need to move on this. Can you talk with the stepfather to see if he is willing? I can contact Ms. Hoffman for a home assessment and be ready."

I did not want to have to talk to Wesley, but it looked like I had no other choice.

"Give me an hour, and I will let you know, but be ready when I call you to do a home assessment," I informed her.