change of heart

18

Storme was such a well mannered boy and he and Jacob had a great night together. Jacob had Storme calling him 'Dada J' and while he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to be called all of the time, it was the best he could think of at that point. He dressed Storme in designer clothes, packed his new Louis Vuitton diaper bag, buckled the boy in the most expensive and high quality car seat he could find and he, Randy and Storme set out to the courthouse.

It was a short drive and Jacob smiled when he found a parking spot designated for parents with young children. Randy shot Jacob a look and Jacob just shrugged. He climbed out of the car, retrieved the bag and gently lifted Storme. "Dada J, needs you to be a good boy, ok Storme? Maybe we can get ice cream if you be a good boy," Jacob spoke softly and pressed a kiss to Storme's forehead.

Storme nodded and smiled. Jacob carried Storme towards the courthouse and Randy followed. They were just about to walk up the steps when a familiar voice called out, "Storme!"

"Daddy?" Storme said picking his head up to look around. Jacob groaned as he noticed Troye rushing over.

"Daddy!" Storme said excitedly and reached for Troye.

Troye immediately took Storme from Jacob, held the boy close and began to cry, "I missed you so much, little one." Jacob rolled his eyes at how worked up Troye was. Though he took pleasure in the fact that Troye looked like a mess, sure the boy tried to pull a decent look together but the crying didn't help, nor did the fact that it looked like Troye hadn't slept all night and the hicky on his neck, from when he had sex with Jacob the other night, was very visible.

Soon, Shaun and Steele joined Troye's side.

"Hi Shaun, it's nice to see you," Randy tried.

Shaun glared between Jacob and Randy, "Why are you doing this to my son?"

Jacob replied, "I'm giving my son the life he deserves, I'm sure you can understand that. Now excuse me, I need to take Storme to the daycare in the court, they are expecting him."

Without missing a beat, Jacob gently took Storme from Troye and walked away.

It was devastating for Troye, but unfortunately something he'd have to get use to because things didn't go so well as he sat in front of the judge.

"Mr. Mellet," the judge started, "you're 20-years-old, practically a baby yourself. You work as an exotic dancer, you have no eduction and no skills that point to you being able to turn yourself around anytime soon. You walked in here looking as if you've not slept all night, with whatever that is on your neck, which I'm sure is probably common in your line of 'work'," she put air quotes around the word work and Troye's lip trembled, "you live in a very unsafe area- I'm sorry, I just don't see any reason why the child would be better off with you."

"Your honor," Steele spoke up- sure he was only still studying law, but it was the best Troye could do- "Troye has raised his son on his own for the past 18 months because Mr. Bixenman didn't want the child, surely that says a lot."

The judge sighed, "I can't discredit that, but I need you to understand, I'm not judging what happened in the past. My job is to do what is best for the child, now. I'm sure Mr. Mellet is a lovely person, but it just seems wreckless when Mr. Bixenman can clearly provide much more stability."

"Which is why we are requesting emergency full time custody, beginning today," Jacob's lawyer spoke up.

Troye gasped, "No!"

The judge gave Troye a sorrowful look, "Troye, I'm a mother. I've been a mother for a long time. I'm a grandmother now too. You have to look within yourself and ask if what you are providing is best for your son. No one is saying you've done anything wrong, but don't you want your son to have the best he can have? It takes a selfless type of love to be the best parent that you can be."

Troye wiped his eyes as he began to cry.

"I know you're upset, Troye. But I'm betting you're upset for you and your loss," the judge added.

"My loss?" Troye choked out.

"Yes- I'm going to have to grant the emergency custody order in favor of Mr. Bixenman..."

Troye let out a loud sob.

"I'm sorry, Troye. But I can't rule on not wanting to hurt someone's feelings. The decision is a no-brainer. Maybe take the new free time you will have and better yourself so that maybe in a few years, when you're a bit more mature, you can work towards visitation and maybe someday partial custody," the judge frowned.

"Work towards visitation?!" Steele nearly shouted, "Your honor, you're not even allowing him visitation, now?"

The judge took a deep breath and replied, "No. It would be too confusing for the child and I have reason to believe that Mr. Mellet's overall demeanor and situation are a danger to the boy as well."

"Thank you, your honor," Jacob smiled from his side of the room.

The judge nodded, "I will have the paperwork sent to your lawyer later today, but the order is in place. Congratulations, Mr. Bixenman, court is adjourned."

Troye stood frozen as the judge left the room and then it all really hit him. He collapsed into his seat and began to sob. "I'm so sorry, Tok, I'm so sorry," Steele said through tears obviously feeling as if this was partially his fault.

Shaun crouched down and hugged Troye, "It's going to be ok, we will figure this out," Shaun said as tears ran down his face as well.

Randy looked at Jacob and frowned. Jacob shrugged and said, "Let's go Grandpa, we have to take your grandson out for ice cream." And as Jacob left the room, he didn't even look back.