Chapter 38
thirty-eight
nate
The silence in the courtroom after Sarah's breakdown was deafening. Judge Morrison looked like he'd witnessed something that would haunt his dreams, while Brad Kensington appeared to be contemplating a career change.
"Your Honor," Ms. Hayes said smoothly, as if Sarah hadn't just imploded spectacularly in front of everyone, "I believe my client would be amenable to sealing these proceedings in their entirety in exchange for Ms. Davis withdrawing her petition permanently and agreeing to no further contact with the minor child. "
I found my voice somehow. "Yes. Yes, Your Honor. I agree to those terms completely."
Sarah, still sobbing but now looking utterly defeated, managed a shaky nod. Brad whispered something urgent in her ear, and she nodded again, more emphatically.
"Very well," Judge Morrison said, his voice carrying the weight of a man who knew he'd just dodged a professional bullet. "The petition for modification of custody is hereby withdrawn. These proceedings are sealed. Court is dismissed."
The gavel came down with finality, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. It was over.
Paige was safe.
She was mine.
She was coming home.
Tasha was there before I'd even fully stood up, her arms around me, both of us crying openly now. The relief was so overwhelming it felt like drowning in reverse—like surfacing after being underwater for so long I'd forgotten what air tasted like.
"It's over," I whispered into her hair. "She's safe. We're safe."
"I know," Tasha sobbed against my chest. "I know, baby. We did it. We did it."
A polite clearing of the throat made us separate. Ms. Hayes stood nearby, her expression professional but not unkind.
"Mr. Crawford," she said, extending her hand. "I need you to understand something. Without intervention, you would have lost today. Completely. Judge Morrison was about to grant temporary primary custody to Ms. Davis based on archaic legal theory that hasn't been valid in this state for decades."
The words hit me like cold water. "I... I thought maybe if I just explained—"
"No." Her voice was firm but not harsh. "Mr. Kensington had you outgunned from the moment you walked in here.
The consultation conflicts, the PTSD ambush, the Tender Years Doctrine?
You were walking into a slaughter." She glanced at Tasha with something that might have been approval.
"You should listen to Ms. Williams' advice more often.
And you should be very grateful you have friends like Mr. McKenzie. "
I blinked, confusion cutting through the relief. "Mr. McKenzie? I don't know anyone—"
"Jack," Sophia's voice came from behind me. I turned to see her approaching, looking relieved but tired. "Jack McKenzie. My partner. He's the one who arranged for Ms. Hayes to represent you."
"But how did he… why would he—"
"Because that's what family does, Nate," Sophia said simply. "Tasha called me last night, desperate. I put Jack on the phone, and within an hour, he had his people working on this. Ms. Hayes is one of the best family law attorneys on the East Coast. Jack's family has... resources."
Ms. Hayes smiled slightly. "Mr. McKenzie was very persuasive about the urgency of the situation. And very generous about my fee."
Sophia shrugged. “Besides, he told me he ‘owed you’, Nate. Apparently, you gave him good advice once?”
I stared between them, trying to process that people I barely knew had moved heaven and earth to save my family. "I don't know how to thank you. Any of you."
"You don't need to," Sophia said. "We protect our own."
Ms. Hayes gathered her papers efficiently.
"Mr. Crawford, the sealed proceedings mean this can never come up again legally.
Ms. Davis has no recourse. But I'd strongly recommend being very careful about your social media presence and sharing any public information about your daughter going forward. "
After she left, it was just the three of us- me, Tasha, and Sophia- in the emptying courtroom. The weight of what had almost happened was starting to hit me… how close I'd come to losing everything.
"Nate," Tasha said softly, and something in her voice made me look at her more carefully. She looked nervous, excited, scared, all at once. "There's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
She took a deep breath, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her jacket. "I'm pregnant."
The words hung in the air for a moment while my brain tried to process them. Pregnant. Tasha was pregnant.
We were going to have a baby.
"You're..." I stared at her, then at her still-flat stomach, then back at her face, then did it all over twice again. "Really?"
"Really." She bit her lip. "I found out a few days ago, but with everything happening, I didn't know how to tell you. I was terrified we might lose Paige and then have to tell her she was getting a sibling she might never see—"
I didn't let her finish. The joy that exploded in my chest was so intense I thought I might burst from it. I swept her up in my arms, spinning her around right there in the courthouse, both of us laughing and crying at the same time.
"We're having a baby!" I yelled, setting her down but keeping my hands on her face. "We're having a baby, and Paige is safe, and we're a family!"
"We're a family," she agreed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Sophia cleared her throat delicately. "Should I assume this means you two have some news to share with Paige when we get home?"
"Home," I repeated, and the word had never sounded so perfect. "Yeah. Let's go home."
As we walked out of that courthouse together, I thought about how much had changed in a single morning. I'd walked in as a desperate single father about to lose everything. I was walking out as a man with a family—a real family, chosen and fought for and precious beyond measure.
Sarah could have her startup. I had my daughter, my partner, my child on the way.
And nothing would ever take them from me again.