As the framily walked the halls of the Court house with Shane, Carmen, and Shay, they stayed quiet yet supportive.. And even though they weren’t the most religious bunch, each of them silently prayed that this day would end well… that their new family would stay intact…

For most of them, the day before was now only a long blur, from Shays first day of school, to lunch at the planet and the festive family night they had at Bette’s…

Shane, however, couldn’t stop her mind from racing… she was trying to stay calm and positive.. but it wasn’t working, she was so tense the entire group could feel it as if there was another presence surrounding her… she took a deep breath as they walked into the court room, repeating Carmen’s reassuring words over and over in her head… then she felt Carmen’s warm hand fold around her own, instantly giving her the strength she needed and she smiled for the first time that morning…

"its going to be OK baby.." Carmen whispered in her ear…

As they took their seats, Shane suddenly noticed Gabriel was no where to be found and hoped he wouldn’t show at all… but that hope was dashed moments later… when Gabriel walked in, a smirk on his aged face… she shook her head and tried to remain calm, she knew better then anyone how not to act when it came to being in front of a judge…

"every one rise" the bailiff ordered as the judge took the stand… Shane’s eyes popped out and instantly lost her strength…

"you may be seated" the judge said then looked directly at Shane "hello again Shane" he added.. a wicked smile on his face…

Every ones eyes darted back and forth between the judge and Shane… wondering how they knew each other but by Shane’s hung head it wasn’t in a good way…

"hi Judge Jamison.." Shane said defeated…. this wasn’t going to end well…

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For the next hour the judge went over the facts one by one with both sides… with Gabriel putting on a show filled with lies… and Shane arguing the whole time that it was bullshit, till finally the Judge had enough…