Author's Note: Greetings on (well at least in Ohio) is a disgustingly wet, day. Thank you all for your patience with this chapter. This story has actually been finished, but I wanted to get a beta (Thank you –lady-harker-) and thus the posting time will slow down a bit as we make the effort to perfect each chapter :-) . I consider this a good thing because then I can write more and get more finished and everything. Plus more people can read and hang on tight.

Chapter Nine

Riley sat in the witness chair staring out at a decent group of people; friends of Ben, friends of his as well. He'd made a couple friends at his new school and they'd even shown up to show their support. He dropped his gaze down quickly as Andrew tried to meet his stare. Suddenly the height of the chair became interesting, the way his feet dangled just slightly above the carpeted ground. One of his dress shoes was untied, the lace tapping against the floor occasionally.

Finally after a few moments he looked up at Jacob who was trying his best to form a question so the boy could answer to the best of his ability. Jacob had never been great with children, he struggled with asking them questions but he did what he could.

"So, how did your father's appearance make you feel?" Jacob questioned.

Riley shrugged for a moment then realized that wasn't an answer. He sighed and scooted back in the chair bringing his feet even higher off the ground, his shoelace no longer tapping against the floor. "Before my father showed up, I'd grown…comfortable. I let myself believe that not everyone hated me. I got lazy. What Ben did in five months, my father undid in ten minutes…" It was the only way he knew how to describe the fear and pain he felt every time he looked at Andrew.

"So, before Andrew came, you felt like you finally found a home?"

Riley started to nod, but realized he had to speak, "I belonged somewhere."

May came and went, as did June, and soon Ben was looking at houses about thirty minutes from his mom's place. Riley had settled in quite quickly, adjusting well to his new life. He'd been forced to get used to having a proper bedtime. Sleeping in his own bed in his own room had been an adventure at first too.

"Riley, you'll be fine," Ben tucked the blankets around the boy.

"But-"

Ben sighed; for three days straight Riley had refused to sleep in his own bed, refused to sleep when he was told. Ben had to admit it was beginning to get frustrating. Even so, ever the optimist, he had brought Riley down here at nine, waited for him to get ready then he spoke with a calm tone. "Riley, there are no monsters," Of course there were; they just didn't live here and they weren't going to harm him ever again. "There's nothing there in the dark that isn't there in the light. It's going to be okay. I'm right across the hall."

Riley looked up at him with big eyes, and Ben tried desperately not to cave. The boy would sleep in his own bed, and he'd stay in there. "If you have a nightmare, you may come to my room. But I need you to try and stay in your bed, okay?"

"Okay," Riley whispered looking a little saddened.

Ben sighed, unsure if he'd ever really get this hang of fatherhood. He smiled at the kid, "If you can stay in bed tonight for the whole night-nightmares not included-then I'll make you waffles Saturday."

"Okay!"

Ben chuckled, maybe bribery wasn't the right way about this but it was at least a start, if he could get Riley used to it, then that was a step in the right direction.

Small adjustments like that and other small ones-when to knock, when to burst in, had come slowly to the two. But rapidly it became easier and easier everyday. They adjusted to living with one another. Ben became comfortable with fatherhood and Riley to having someone to who cared about him constantly.

The plan with school was he'd stay at Lincoln Elementary for the remainder of the year, and to both Emily and Ben's surprise he decided he'd like to go to the private school. In the entrance exam he'd tested at just below the seventh grade but Riley had asked to repeat the fifth grade.

"I was in and out of foster homes for that year…it distracted me, a lot of things changed…I'm smart enough to go on, but I want to be with kids my age for at least a little while."

Emily and Ben had agreed. Luckily the school Riley wanted to attend started in fifth grade and went to eighth, then he'd move up for his last three years to the high school.

June gave way to July, which meant first vacations and Riley's first birthday with his family. They celebrated in style: Ben and Riley traveled to New York where they saw the Lady Liberty, the twin towers and Ellis Island. Ben had even taken him to a Broadway play called Phantom of the Opera. It wasn't really Ben…or Riley's kind of thing but Ben had said he wanted Riley to be well rounded. They spent the majority of the plan mocking Raoul, but either way they enjoyed it and were quiet enough that no one even noticed. In addition to that vacation, when Emily had a conference in Chicago the boys went with her so they could hit the town.

Eventually July turned into August. "Riley, please just pick a folder," Ben complained, he felt like he'd been standing in the aisle for hours watching as Riley looked at four different folders for each class.

Ben had discovered there were days when he had an abundance of patience for the boy then not so much other days. He'd finally convinced Riley that picking out new school supplies was needed but that just led to Riley being as difficult as possible in choosing a folder.

"I want it to be the right one!"

"Riley-"

The boy turned to him, "This is serious; people judge you on these things!"

Ben sighed, "They're just folders."

"They hold all my school work-"

Ben reached out, grabbing the folders from the boy and tossing them all in the cart, "Okay, you can have them all-"

"But-"

"All of them. Moving on. Now you need to pick a notebook."

"Ooh I like the blue one, but there's an alien one."

Ben let out a deep sigh of utter aggravation, shaking his head. He was starting to realize parenthood was a lesson in patience. It was as if the boy had never had so many choices in all his life so now he had to consider every single one with infinite precision. Secretly it was one thing Ben hoped went away.

Riley'd grown almost four inches over the summer which of course meant buying him more clothes and though Riley was a bit bothered by this expense on his account to begin with he gradually started to enjoy it. Ben almost couldn't believe that he'd had Riley for close to six months now; it would be six months in October and the time had flown by. Emily was already discussing the holidays, the only issue that led to, was Ben eventually had to tell his father about Riley. It was the one thing left he hadn't done. Riley didn't know anything of Ben's father; not why they didn't speak or…or anything.

Ben stepped into the bathroom and looked at his foster son, shaking his head lightly. He smiled. He's growing up. Ten years old and he was twice as lanky and twice as gangly than before, though he was still smaller than the average ten year old. Wendy had advised Ben that Riley would probably always be smaller because of all the trauma at a young age; he'd probably never get over 5-9.

Riley was clearly comfortable too, his nightmares dissipated, his asthma was under control and, in short, he was a healthy ten year old boy-despite the fact that he still didn't seem to eat enough; but that was an argument Ben wasn't going to win. Riley was still growing into himself and his part in the family and Ben had received the highest praise from both Amber and Dana. Riley had shown huge improvement in attitude, grades, life goals and personality. Ben smiled; pleased to see the kid was doing well despite the odds.

"Can I help you?" Riley questioned as he struggled with his neck tie. The boy was going to fifth grade and he was in a uniform, Ben tried not to consider that weird, but he and Emily had insisted on at least one real tie.

Stepping forward, he reached up and swatted Riley's hands away from the mess he was making of the tie, "The goal is," he looped the cloth through the knot and gently pulled it tighter to his neck, "not to strangle yourself."

"So that's where I was going wrong." Riley rolled his eyes as Ben stepped back and looked down at him.

"I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Ben." Riley smiled at him. "But it's only the fifth grade."

Ben laughed and ruffled Riley's hair. "Hey!" Riley ducked away, grabbing for his hair gel. "I just got it to stick up the way I wanted."

"Well it looks like you just rolled straight out of bed."

"Oh and like your hair is so great. Do you work hard to make it look like you're balding?"

"You little…!" Ben grabbed the boy around the neck in a gentle headlock "Take it back," He chuckled as the boy faked choking noises while playfully clawing at Ben's arms.

Ben was grateful that his son had taken to playful banter. In their time together he'd discovered Riley had a great sense of humor that was terribly infectious, and over time the chance to exercise this humor had brought out a whole new side to his son…sarcasm. And annoying as it was, the truth was Ben loved it.

After a few more moments he loosened his grip and stepped back, brushing himself free of imaginary wrinkles. "I win," Ben joked grinning from ear to ear.

"You messed up my tie." Riley whined as he desperately tried to straighten it.

"You look great, kid. Ready to go?"

Riley fiddled with his hair staring intently into the mirror for a moment before straightening up and smiling. "Yeah."

Ben grabbed Riley's bag and his own on the way to the door before heading downstairs to the car. "So, you nervous?"

"No," Riley lied as he sat there fiddling with his back pack strap. He'd fixed them half a dozen times and they never seemed even. He was convinced it was a conspiracy back pack companies had so that people would buy more bags to find ones that had even straps.

Ben didn't believe the kid for a minute, but he continued all the same, "You have your note book, pencils-"

"Yes."

"Calculator, ruler, folders that you spent forty-five minutes choosing."

"Hey, those were important choices and yes! Wow you sound like a mother hen."

"Someone needs to mother you."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're an awkward man."

Ben snorted, "And you're a nerd."

"I'm a geek." Riley corrected, feeling more at ease with the banter.

"What's the difference?"

Riley sighed as if Ben should know this. "Geeks get stuff done; nerds sit around and play video games. Geez."

"You do both."

"Best of both worlds my friend, best of both."

Ben chuckled as he watched Riley's fidgeting decrease. "You're gonna be great."

"Again with the 'it's the fifth grade, Ben'. It's not like I'm going to college."

Pulling up at the school Ben gazed at the vast entrance being swarmed by the other children. "Right then we're here, now play nice-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah don't lick anyone, don't tell any super weird stories and share my crayons. I got it."

Ben chuckled. "Sorry I asked. So I'll see you at 3:30. Let me know if you decide to stay after for something, okay?" The boy's fingers had curled around his bag and Ben could see the fear welling up in his eyes as he gazed out the window. Slowly he reached across and placed his hand on Riley's shoulder. "You'll be fine."

"D'you think so?" he didn't sound convinced.

"I know so." Ben smiled. "You'll do great."

The kid still didn't look like he believed him but slowly his mouth spread into a wide smile until he looked the happiest he'd ever been.

"Thanks, Ben."

"See you later, kid." watching Riley going into school, Ben gave a brief smile and turned the car around. Ben never called him son, despite the fact that he kept thinking it, and equally, Riley never called him dad and Ben got that; after all it was a label that only held bad memories for the boy. So they kept it simple; it was for the best. Neither would use the names they thought although they both knew in their hearts that the names fitted as they never would for anyone else.

Ben was still heading to the college when his cell phone rang. It was new; he'd only bought the thing because Riley had convinced him he could boost the signal to pick up conversations in Iceland. Ben didn't know why he'd want to do that but the boy seemed so enthusiastic it was hard to say no. Besides, if there was a problem at the school he could be got hold of quickly.

"Gates."

"Ben? It's Dana" Ben's heart sank as he heard the familiar voice. She didn't sound too happy. "Listen, we need to talk. Could you meet me at Anderson's? It's a little diner-"

There was a growing unease in the pit of his stomach that whatever it was she had to say it wasn't going to be good. "I know where it is. I'll be there in ten minutes,"

The first thing he did when Dana was off the line was call the college and cancel his ten o'clock class, probably much to the relief of his students. He pulled the car into the diner's parking lot, noticing how quiet it was. He easily spotted Dana was sat in a booth close to the entrance; and she wasn't alone. Henry and Amber were there too. That couldn't be good.

"Can I get ya anythin' sugar?" The waitress asked as he rushed past.

"Just a cup of coffee…strong."

"Is there any other kind?"

As he sat down Ben looked at the faces opposite him and realized that these weren't the faces of people who were about to announce that the adoption had gone through.

"What is it?"

Amber glanced at the other two before slowly looking up at Ben. "I received word last night that Riley's father is back in town."

"Father?" Ben's anger was clear as he demanded, "Why would Riley's father be in town? As in the guy who abandoned him and killed his-"

"We can't prove that." Amber cut across him.

Ben took a deep breath to calm himself. "The one who left Riley to die?"

There was a pause before Dana said, "Yes." She couldn't look him in the eyes as she continued. "Look, Ben, the issue is that every time Andrew swings into town he wrecks anything good Riley's got in his life. Now, we're all aware of the progress you've made with Riley, and we honestly think we could avoid a majority of the issues." There was a foreboding tone to her voice as she finished.

"There's a 'but' coming next isn't there."

Henry sighed, "Riley is a foster child, and as the only remaining blood-relative, Andrew has the right to claim the child and he knows this. Chances are he'll try to take Riley away from everything he has and take him anywhere he damn well pleases."

"Riley isn't his son."

"He's barely been here two days and already I'm being bombarded by calls demanding to know where his son is."

"That's not what the law says," Henry stated.

"I don't give a shit the law says! I don't give a shit what anyone says!"

"Please don't make a scene Ben."

"I'll make a scene if I want. Riley is my son not his!" Ben growled, he didn't want to be riled, but he wouldn't have someone back who would risk injury

Amber reached across and grabbed Ben's hand in an attempt to calm him down. "We understand, Ben. Believe me; we want what's best for Riley as much as you do. And the progress we've seen in him over the last five months is nothing short of a miracle." she looked him right in the eyes but it did little to make him feel better. "But according to Virginia law, hell according to national law, Andrew has as much claim to be Riley's father as you do. More in fact, because he's the boy's blood-relative."

Ben sat back, crossing his arms. They were right but his soul was screaming in anger. He'd worked so hard to help this kid and it was going to all get ripped away so Riley could be put back with the abusive bugger who got the kid put into care in the first place.

"So why are we here; because clearly you've all given up."

"We haven't given up anything." Dana said defiantly, shoulder's stiff. "Yes, Ben; Andrew wants the boy but you genuinely have some ground on him here." She sighed for a moment, her shoulders slumped as she thought of all the history this man had. "That man has proven to be a bad father time and time again. But if Riley is willing to stand up against him, if you're willing to stand up against him, then we can process the adoption paperwork faster. We can bring the issues of the past to court, and-"

"Hang on! You want to take an emotionally damaged ten year old boy through a court system? Are you insane?"

"It sounds crazy but it's your only chance." Henry commented looking Ben in the eyes.

"Henry, you own an orphanage, alright. For a moment, try to understand children and how they function. That man is his father, Riley may be confused, mixed up and messed up, but some section of his heart still reserves the word dad for a man that will never live up to it. He still loves that man despite having every reason not to. Human instinct is to love those who should love you. I won't put him through that. Riley deserves to be loved and to believe that somewhere inside his father there is an ounce of good. I can't parade him around while people tear his father to pieces in front of the court."

"If you don't, you'll lose him," Henry stated simply, he understood where the Ben was coming from, but they had little choice, he continued, "Ben, if you file for adoption now, it will go to court. Because Andrew won't give up on this, he's done it for ten years. Every other foster parent has backed down. Want to or not, you will have to go to court and fight for this child if you want to have any chance of remaining his guardian."

Ben sighed as the waitress came over and placed a cup of coffee in front of him. "Ya'll need anything else?"

"Not unless you have a miracle." muttered Ben.

The woman looked at him and smiled sadly. "He's always listening." Without another word she walked away, leaving the four alone again.

Every fiber of him was screaming this was wrong, Ben couldn't fathom what would happen. If Ben contested and took the case to court, he'd get to keep Riley. But at what price? Riley would watch his father publically humiliated and declared a terrible father. Maybe for some that made no difference, but Ben knew Riley had love for that man somewhere inside of him. If he didn't take it to court, then he was proving he was no different than ever other person who'd cared for him. He'd continue believing no one could ever love him. Ben wasn't having that. He'd win the case, he'd keep his son.

"What do we have to do?"

Dana smiled but the worry didn't leave her face. "I'll sort the paperwork, it won't take long; you've already passed everything else. The past five months will speed the process along." She looked tentatively at Ben. "Riley will ultimately have to testify about his time with you and with his father." Ben nodded. He knew that.

"I'll talk you two through it. Riley knows how to play the game a little, but this is going to be a whole new world, and we're playing for the win." Amber offered smiling, she was pleased to see Ben was up to the challenge, she knew it would be rough, but he was a good father. The two deserved happiness.

Henry nodded. "I'll keep the media away. The quieter it can be the better. We'll have to try and make the ruling as quick and painless as possible."

Ben nodded again. "All right, I expect more information on this in the coming week. I've got a class to go to."

After work, the bottle of whiskey in Ben's cupboard called out to him, attempting to entice him into a world where drink drowns your sorrows but he had Riley to look after and Lord knows how much longer that was going to last. No, Ben knew better than to waste the time he had left with the boy. What he needed wasn't drink; it was a lawyer. A good lawyer.

He closed his eyes and did the only thing that could make the whole situation even worse. He picked up the phone and dialed a number he hadn't called in years. After a few rings it was answered with a curt, "Hello?"

"Dad," he sighed. "I need your help."