Stay Together For The Kids - Michael Clifford Fanfiction

Lawyers.

I knock on the glass door softly, looking through to the man sitting at his desk.

Chris, my lawyer, looks up, and flashes me his teeth as he smiles. I try, and fail, to greet him back as warmly.

Chris glides over to the door, wearing what I can only assume is his one of a thousand navy suits, and opens it widely for me.

"Thank you for coming. It's a pleasure to see you." He greets me. His smile doesn't even unhitch.

I'm sure it is. Why don't you just take my credit card now?

I manage to murmur something as I wander over to the desk and sit across from him.

"Well, as you know, there's a lot we need to discuss today." He starts, clasping his hands together.

I just nod.

"So, the lady from the police station, Keisha, I believe it was, managed to give me a call."

"Oh." Is all I manage. At least I don't have to give him a lengthy explanation of everything.

"Now there's a lot of ways we could go about this." He starts.

"I just want the simplest. I just want the easiest solution for my daughter." I interject.

Chris just nods, as if he understands. But I had known Chris long enough to know empathy wasn't in his emotional range.

"Given the circumstances, an immediate decision for Ruby's custody needs to be made." He says, all very formally.

"What do you mean, immediate?" I demand.

"It means we could be looking at a court case in the next week."

I almost choke on air at his sentence. Next week?!

"You told me these things were lengthy." I respond, panic making it's way to my voice.

"They usually are. But Michael is facing a restraining order and criminal convictions, if we add the safety of Ruby to the case, it becomes an urgent matter to be seen before the courts." He says, all very matter of fact-ly.

I sit in silence, stunned. This had become all too real. It wasn't even a divorce anymore. It was a war.

"What's the next step then?" I ask, my voice strained.

"I'm going to have to make a call for an appeal." He says. It's clear he has already planned everything out, he just needs my co operation. I guess that makes things easier for me, but I still feel uneasy that my daughters fate is in the hands of someone else.

"Luckily, we have the full cooperation of the police, so the court summons will be delivered to Michael whenever we see fit." He continues. "Of course, we need to deliver them in the next 5 days."

5 days. 5 days to decide if I wanted this battle or not.

"Is there another option?" I ask, almost pleading. I don't want to do this to Michael. I don't want to put Ruby through this.

Chris looks at me sternly. "Lily, listen to me. They told me you saw Michael in the hospital. They told me you saw how beat up he was. If he is capable of taking her once, he will do it again. This is for Ruby." He says, almost reading my mind.

I don't say anything. I just remember the feeling I had had when I was sitting in the hospital waiting room. When I had seen Michael in the hospital. The sickening feeling I had forgotten because it had been replaced by relief. No, this was for Ruby.

"Ok. We'll do it your way." I say softly.

Chris nods, but he also looks smug. "I suggest an appeal for tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" I repeat, alarmed.

"It's ok, I'll be able to take care of it." He tries to reassure me. He kind of sucks at it.

"Ok." I say, defeated. I just want this to be over.

He looks pleased, beaming at me. "I'll get you to wait in the reception, I'll make a few calls to get the appeal."

He shows me to the reception, and I sit down on the elegant couch, playing with my nails. I'm reminded of Michael's voice always telling me off for picking at my nails, saying that it was bad for me. He was the thing that was bad for me.

I realise I have work tomorrow morning, and I make a mental note to ask Caroline to cover for me.

I'm awoken from my daydreaming by Chris sitting down next to me.

"We're all set for tomorrow!" He says, far too happily. This wasn't exactly something to celebrate over.

I stand up, and shake his hand. "Well, thanks." I say flatly.

"Trust me, you're making the right decision." He grins at me.

I watch him walk back to his office, and I can't help but question whether I really am.

I throw my keys to the side dish as I walk through the front door. I put my hand to my temple. Another headache. I don't think it's going away, it was just a constant pain.

"You're home late." I jump as mum greets me from the kitchen. I look at the clock. It's almost 9, and I assume Ruby is asleep. I hadn't even realised the time.

"Yeah, I had a meeting with my lawyer." I tell her.

"And?" She asks, raising her eyebrows.

"I have court tomorrow." I tell her bluntly.

"What?" She asks, sounding alarmed.

"It's a pre trial thing, I don't really understand it." I try to sound casual but I'm terrified. This was so much sooner then all of us were expecting.

Mum looks at me for a minute, and I know she can see the fear under all of it.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asks softly.

"No, you need to stay with Ruby." I say quickly.

Mum just nods, but I see her eyes cast down. She's scared too.

And then, without even saying anything, she comes over and hugs me. Really tight, like she had when Michael had taken Ruby.

"Mum, it's ok." I say, surprised.

"I know, I just want you to know that." She replies, pulling away so she can study my face. Mum looks the exact same as me, same bone structure, same nose and mouth, chin, forehead. Just different eyes. And of course, personality.

"What's gotten into you lately, you're so much more sentimental?" I ask, curious.

Mum shrugs. "I just would hate to see what happened to you happen to Ruby." She says softly.

"Mum, that's not going to happen. Michael loves Ruby far too much to eve leave." I say quickly.

Mum smiles. "I know. But maybe he loves her too much."

It sounds crazy, but I understand what she means. Michael loves Ruby, yes. But to the point that he would do reckless things for her. It makes me more confident that I'm doing the right thing, even if I wish we could sort this out without a court.

"I'm going to go bed." I tell mum softly. I do have a big morning tomorrow after all.

I crawl into bed after checking Ruby, and sigh in exhaustion as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Mum was the biggest support in my life. Without her, I wouldn't know what to do. I hope one day, I could be that mother to Ruby. Hopefully I was on the right track.

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