Piper ~ H.S

~Thirty-Four~

A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait! I hope this chapter is worth it!

Today was the day that I was going to be in court.

That morning, I was driving Piper over to Chappell Croft, and she was bouncing up & down excitedly in her booster seat – because she already knew that Harry was looking after her today – so she was beyond ecstatic. And it really made me smile. It was so good to see how happy she was to spend time with him.

"Mummy, I wanna make Harry something pretty to show him when he picks me up!" Piper spoke up happily, "What should I make, mummy?"

"Oh, you can make him whatever you want, darling. I'm sure he'd love anything you give to him," I smiled at her from the rear-view mirror.

"I think I'll ask the teachers," she said, "I want it to be really pretty."

I broke out a soft, affectionate chuckle. "OK, munchkin. I'm sure you'll come up with something."

I parked in front of Chappell Croft and climbed out of the car before making my way over to Piper's door – helping her out of her booster seat and setting her down on the ground – telling her to wait while I took out her backpack and an extra bag full of things she'd chosen to bring with her for her afternoon with Harry.

I helped Piper sling her backpack on before I crouched down to her height and smoothed down her hair – smiling at her and gently stroking her cheek.

"OK, my darling, you be good for Harry today, alright?" I told her.

"Yes, mummy! I promise I will!" She beamed at me and nodded vigorously, "How long will Harry look after me?"

"I'm not sure, Piper. Your daddy and I have lots of things to talk about – and it might take a very long time. But I'll keep in touch with Harry, and he'll tell you when I'm on my way to pick you up. OK?"

Piper's smile grew, and she nodded again. "OK, mummy."

I smiled back at her and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before I rose to my feet, took her little hand and led her into Chappell Croft.

"Good morning, Piper!" Janice greeted her with a bright smile.

"Good morning!" She replied bouncily.

"Good morning, Janice," I smiled at her, "how are you today?"

"I'm good, Leah. How are you?" Janice asked me.

"Er..." I chuckled softly, "...I could be better."

"Oh?" Janice's eyebrows rose, "Why's that?"

"Erm..." I bit my lip and turned to Piper once more, "sweetheart, why don't you go to the bag bay and put your backpack away? You can come back after and give mummy a goodbye kiss."

"OK, mummy!" Piper smiled at me and nodded before she started heading towards the pre-school unit to put her bag away. Once she was out of earshot, I leaned in a little closer to Janice.

"I...I have a custody court case today," I told her with a soft sigh, "Piper's dad...wants proper visitation rights."

"Oh..." Janice tutted and place a comforting hand on my shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Leah. You must be under a lot of stress."

"Yeah...just a bit," I tried to joke with a soft chuckle, "but, anyway...I'm not due to be in court 'til later this afternoon – so that means I won't be here to pick Piper up at the time I usually do."

"Oh, that's not a problem, Leah. We're more than happy to take care of Piper for as long as you need," Janice told me.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. Piper will still be collected by 3:30, but just not by me."