Peace, Love and War-Chapter 4
~Sorry for the long wait for the newest chapter...I think between some family issues and the Thanksgiving holiday, my brain exploded...or at least my muse decided to take an extra long coffee break.
~Reviews feed the muse!
The next morning, Hannah and Emma showed up at the courthouse with five minutes to spare. Both Ms. Jones and Dave were relieved to see them since they weren't one hundred percent sure that Hannah couldn't have snuck them out past the police officer stationed outside of their apartment if she'd wanted to. Both of the adults tried making small talk with the girls, but Emma looked scared to be in such an official place, and Hannah looked downright pissed off, so the four of them waited for the judge in silence.
Once they were called into the judge's chambers, they all took their seats in front of his desk. Judge Taylor looked like a kindly old grandfather, but Dave could tell the man was still sharp and he had a sternness about him that lurked underneath the surface.
As she sat down, Emma looked at the judge and said shyly, "I like your dress." Both of the adults and Hannah smiled as she said this and thankfully the judge joined in as well as he looked down at his black robe and then back up at the little girl.
"I like yours too," he said as his eyes crinkled. "It's much more colorful than mine." While the little girl's dress was very pretty, everyone could see that it was worn and it looked as though it had been repaired more than a few times.
"Thank you!" Emma responded enthusiastically and she stood up and gave a little twirl. "It's my favorite and Hannah has been able to fix it for me a couple of times."
"Em, come sit back down," Hannah instructed softly and the little girl followed her order as she sat back down next to her.
"So Marcia," the judge started. "I thought this was going to be a straight forward guardianship hearing, but I understand there is some resistance towards that?"
The social worker nodded, "Yes your honor, Miss Smith wishes to petition the court for emancipation and then she further wishes to be granted temporary custody of Emma."
The judge eyed the teenager for a minute. "How old are you, Miss Smith?" He asked as a formality. He'd read the file the previous night and he knew that, on paper, David Rossi would make a fine guardian for the girls in front of him, so there was very little chance that he would not grant said guardianship, but he also knew he had to at least hear the girl out before ruling against her emancipation.
"I'm almost fifteen, sir," Hannah told him.
The judge shook his head slightly, "Do you have a job? Any means of income?"
"No sir," she said.
"What about your high school diploma? Your GED?"
"Not yet, your honor."
"How do you plan to support yourself and take care of your sister? You have no job and you'll be attending high school full time," the judge pointed out and Dave felt better knowing he was not seriously considering her request.
"I'll have my father's death benefits," she told him. "That will help me take care of Emma."
The judge shook his head, "Those benefits won't kick in until you're eighteen years old and even if you are able to gain emancipation, it will take months for the red tape to clear in order for you to get the money. How will you support the two of you until then?"
"We'll get by!" Hannah exclaimed, frustrated. "I've always taken care of Emma and I can still do it! I can use the money in dad's checking account until I get the death benefits! It's what we've been using up until now and we've gotten along just fine."
"How much is left in the account?" The judge asked.
"Enough," she said, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.
"What about you, Emma?" The judge asked, changing gears as he turned his gaze on the little girl. "How do you like living with Hannah?"
"I really like it," she said with a shy smile. "Hannie has always helped me with my stuff, even when I was a little girl, and she always makes sure I get to school on time and we always have things to do at home. She's great!"
"So where do you go when she goes shopping? Where do you stay when she's out with friends?" He would have asked about school, but it was summer vacation and he wasn't sure if the little girl would be clear in her answer.
"Oh Hannah never goes out with her friends alone! She's always with me and sometimes she takes me with her and I get to hang out with the older girls," the little girl informed him knowledgably. "And she takes me with her when she goes shopping too! A bunch of days ago, we went to Goodwill and I got a new dress and she got some new jeans." Hannah closed her eyes and shook her head slightly; the absolute LAST thing she wanted was for everyone to know how broke they were. She telepathically tried telling her little sister to shut up, but alas, it didn't work.
"Then, after that, we went to the grocery store and bought a couple of things," Emma continued, "And then after that, we went to a place where they just GAVE us a bunch of food! We didn't have to pay for it or anything! That's how we got to have spaghetti for dinner last night…well, I had it but Hannie'd had a big lunch so she didn't eat anything, but she must have had more for lunch when I wasn't looking since we both had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Hannie, can we have pb & j for lunch again today?" The little girl's train of thought had jumped the track again and it took the adults in the room a moment to catch up with her, but when they did, they were able to read between the lines of what the she'd said.
"Sure Em," the teen said quietly, knowing that any chance she'd had of emancipation had been blown out of the water by her sister's excited chattering.
"I would like to speak to Hannah alone," the judge said. Both he and the teen watched as Dave, the social worker and Emma left the office. As soon as the door closed behind them, Hannah began speaking quickly and somewhat loudly.
"Before you begin, there is nothing wrong with shopping at Goodwill, nor is there anything wrong with getting food from a food pantry; lots of people do it every day and they don't get their kids taken away because of it!" She told him. "And I know we don't live in the best place but there's a playground and a large library nearby, so Emma is able to have fun and dad drilled self-defense moves into me when I was younger, so I can take care of us!" Seeing that the judge was about to open his mouth to speak, Hannah kept going in her tirade. "I've been taking care of Emma for a long time and we've gotten by and I don't need any help! I promised my dad that if anything ever happened to him, I would continue looking out for Emma and I have been; we don't need some strange guy to swoop in here and cart us off to Washington DC!"
Seeing that Hanna had finally paused in her rant, the judge quirked an eyebrow and calmly asked, "Are you finished?"
Hannah finally realized that she'd mouthed off to a judge…the judge who was going to decide her and her sister's fate and she wisely nodded silently.
"Good," Judge Taylor continued. "Ms. Jones informed me that you don't believe your father is actually dead?"
"No sir," Hannah said with a subdued shake of her head, "My father was in Special Forces and he always told me not to believe any death notices about him unless I see his body for myself and I haven't seen it yet."
"I can understand that," the judge said, thinking back to his time in the armed service. "And I would never tell you to give up hope, but you can't just wait for him to come back to you, you have to move on with your life."
"But-" the teen tried interrupting, but the judge put up a hand and continued.
"You also have no chance at emancipation," he told her and was not surprised by the scowl that came over her face. "You're fifteen, you have no job, no high school diploma or GED and you are dangerously low on funds. Not to mention, you flat-out lied to me earlier and I don't take kindly to that."
"When did I lie?" Hannah asked indignantly as she mentally reviewed the words she had spoken.
"I asked you how much money was left in your dad's account and you said there was 'enough.' Do you really think there's enough money if you're skipping meals? If you're constantly mending your sister's clothes? If you're getting free food at local food pantries? How did you get the food from there anyway?" He asked. "Don't you need an adult with you?"
"I always told them that dad was out waiting with the car so it wouldn't get stolen," Hannah admitted.
The judge just shook his head at the lie. "I've been reviewing Mr. Rossi's file and he seems like a good man. Heaven knows he has the means to take care of you and Emma and I am going to grant him temporary custody of you and your sister. I know it will be hard to move away from here, but I really think it's the best thing for the two of you."
"Really?" The teen asked sarcastically. "The best thing for us is to move across the country with some strange man? I don't know him, Emma doesn't know him and my father barely knew him! How is that the best option?"
"Your father knew him enough to entrust him with your lives," Judge Taylor said and plowed ahead when he saw the teen open her mouth to speak. "The other option is foster care, where there is a very real chance that you and your sister would be separated. Is that something you're willing to risk? David Rossi wants you girls and he's fighting to get you; do you really want to end up in a place where the people only took you in to collect a check from the state?"
"No," Hannah said softly after thinking about it for a moment; there was no WAY she would risk separation from her sister, so she hung her head in resignation. "We'll go with Mr. Rossi."
The judge smiled softly, "Good, let's get everyone in here and make this official, okay?"
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As Hannah spoke with Judge Taylor in his office, Dave, Ms. Jones and Emma waited outside in the chairs. After a minute or so, Emma began to get restless and Dave was eternally grateful that the social worker had had the foresight to bring along a coloring book and a box of crayons for Emma.
Dave watched as the little girl sat on the floor and colored and as he did, he was struck by a feeling of panic; how in the hell was he supposed to take care of two young girls, one of whom was less than thrilled with him? What did he know about their wants? Their needs? Hell, he hadn't even thought to bring something for Emma to do in case of a delay, what was he supposed to do with her on the plane ride back to DC? And what about her sister? It was clear that the teenager did NOT like him and he had an inkling that her feelings towards him would not improve very quickly. Combine that with his general lack of knowledge about child-rearing and it made for a perfect storm of 'what the fuck was I thinking?' Just as he was working himself into a real panic, his thoughts were interrupted by the little girl sitting on the floor next to his feet.
"Mr. Rossi?" She asked as she continued to color in her book. Dave looked down at her and saw that her little tongue was sticking out of the right corner of her mouth as she concentrated on staying in the lines of the picture. Just seeing that cuteness brought him back from the ledge of full-blown terror.
"What is it, Sweetheart?" He asked in a calm voice.
"Did you know my daddy?"
He nodded, "I did; I was friends with your daddy."
"How come I never saw you?" She asked, still coloring.
"Well, we lived in different cities so it was hard for us to meet up," he told her.
She looked up from her book, "They said my daddy is dead, but Hannie doesn't believe them."
"What do you think, Emma?" He asked carefully. The social worker next to him just looked on in observation.
"I dunno; I always listen to Hannie, but maybe she's wrong this time," she said softly and went back to coloring in her book. After a minute, she looked up at him again. "Mr. Rossi, are you going to be our new daddy?"
He glanced at the social worker for advice and Ms. Jones just nodded. "I'd sure like to be your daddy, Emma, but the judge has to decide that."
"Oh," she said and Dave could tell she was about to ask another question, but at that moment the door to the judge's office opened and he called them back into it. Once everyone was seated again, he began to speak.
"After speaking with Hannah, I have denied her request for emancipation and I am prepared to grant temporary guardianship of her and Emma Smith to you, Mr. Rossi, but I have a few concerns."
"What would those be, your honor?" Dave asked as his mouth went dry. What in the hell did his file say?
"You work long hours and you are frequently out of town. Now I know that Hanna and Emma are used to that type of lifestyle, since their father frequently left them in the care of nannies, but I would hate for them to go back to that way of life if I can help it. How do you plan to handle your demanding career and the needs of two girls?"
"Your honor, I have already spoken to my boss and we have agreed that I will work at the office from 9:00am-3:00pm and then the rest of the time I will work from my home office, that way I will be available for the girls before and after school. Also, my team travels quite a bit, but he has agreed to let me work from Quantico when I can and when I'm not there, I plan on hiring a part-time nanny so the girls won't be alone. I know it's not an ideal situation and if it doesn't work out for us, I will explore my other options within the Bureau."
"All right," Judge Taylor nodded, feeling good about placing the two children in what seemed to be a very positive environment. "Do you have any objections?"
"Not an objection, per se," Dave said, "But I want it known that I am involved in a relationship with a woman. We're not married, but we're serious and due to our unpredictable and intense work hours, she frequently spends the night at my house. I'm bringing this up now because I don't want it to become a problem further down the road."
The judge looked at Ms. Jones and she shrugged; in the whole scheme of things, David Rossi's declaration was fairly small. The judge seemed to agree, because he said, "I don't foresee a problem with that, Mr. Rossi. Is there anything else?"
"No your honor."
"All right then, I hereby grant you temporary guardianship over Hanna and Emma Smith. Ms. Jones will set you up with a social worker in Washington and, after all of the necessary appointments and home visits have been completed, you can apply for full guardianship," Judge Taylor told him.
"Thank you sir," Dave said as he shook the judge's hand.
"Just take care of them, Mr. Rossi, they've been through a lot."
"I will, sir," Dave promised. The social worker led them out of the judge's chambers and into the hallway where she gave Dave her card and told him she would be in contact with him the following week with his new social worker's information. She then bid the girls farewell and left to answer an urgent phone call from her office. Once she left, Dave found Hannah and Emma staring at him, as if asking 'what now?' And Dave realized he didn't have a clue as to what to do next.
A/N 2: Have you voted in the Profiler's Choice Criminal Minds Awards? There are only a few days left! Please check out the final ballot at http : / / forum. fanfiction. net /topic /74868 /51253709 /1 / (remove the spaces) and be sure to vote by November 30, 2011.