Author's note: This will be a somewhat short chapter. But the next one really will be longer, even after my juggling of the chapters from my original draft.

And on a side note, *shameless plug* I have also put up a new story today, (The Observations of The Friend). I would love for everyone to check it out. It has everything you've come to expect from me: angst, fluff and Sweets. ;)

I do not own Bones or any of its characters. Sadly.

As always, thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. And...

Fear Herself: Yeah, I hate Andrew even while I write for him. That's when I know I got him right. ;)

Cwgirlup, ladykale1985: Don't worry, more is coming soon....

Year Two—Confirmation—part 1

Back in the courtroom, everyone was still shocked at what had just occurred.

"Your Honor, I'd like to note for the record that I think this is a heartless thing to do to a child," Terry said.

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Ms. Nigel," the judge said. "Unfortunately, we can't pick and choose which laws to follow based on circumstance, no matter how hard it may seem." The judge straightened in his chair. "The court will reconvene tomorrow at 9:00 AM."

With a bang of the gavel, people began to file out of the courtroom. David helped Carolyn to slowly walk out of the room with Lauren and Terry following them. They all gathered in a small side corridor. David sat with Carolyn on a nearby bench. He continued to hold her while she cried.

"What happened in there Lauren?" Terry demanded. Lauren shook her head, her eyes becoming moist.

"Davison…He used to work for the orphanage that Lance was in," Lauren said. "Child Services found out that he was ignoring procedures and making ill-suited placements for the children. When what he was doing came out, he was promptly fired. When I found out about it, I asked the secretary at the orphanage if he had handled any of my cases' paperwork. She assured me that he didn't." Lauren shook a little with anger.

"I'm sorry that I believed her. She had never lied to me before. I should have made sure," she said.

"Unfortunately, Jensen's lawyer found out," Terry sighed.

"How could you let this happen?" David growled. Terry moved to stand in front of David.

"We are going to get him back, David," she said. "Jensen's lawyer is just doing this to break our resolve. But I know for a fact that Miss Place is planning on signing a release on her parental rights. I will call my man there and see if he can speed things along. We get those papers in our hands, and we have most of the battle done." She looked down at the Sweets, her face becoming somber.

"You should go home now," she told them. "You'll need to be there when they come to get some things for Lance, and you should try to rest for tomorrow." The Sweets stood up, Carolyn having finally begun to calm down.

"All right, we will talk to you tomorrow," David said.

The Sweets arrived home and only a couple minutes later a woman appeared asking for Lance's things.

"Is he all right? How is he? Does he need anything?"

The Sweets bombarded the woman with questions, but all they received in response was a curt "he's fine" in response. After gather some clothes and toiletries, David and Carolyn returned with a small blue suitcase. As the woman turned to leave, Carolyn grabbed her arm.

"Please, I beg you," she said. "Just tell Lance, if you see him, that we love him." The social worker finally sighed, her eyes growing sad.

"All right, I will tell him," she said.

That evening, the Sweets moved through their routine of chores and meals silently and robotically. Neither of them could find a way to break up the silence in the house. Everywhere they looked there were reminders of Lance: his jacket hanging by the door, the pictures of him sitting in the front room, the new video game system David had bought him for Christmas in the family room. Carolyn even accidentally pulled out three plates for dinner until David reminded her with a look that it was just the two of them tonight.

Later, the Sweets went to bed, but found themselves unable to sleep peacefully. Sometime in the night, David woke up to find his wife missing from their bed. A distant sound of weeping led him from his bedroom and over across the hall to find Carolyn in Lance's room. She was sitting on his bed and holding his teddy bear.

"I forgot to give that woman Mr. B," she said looking up. "How could I forget to do that? You know how much he likes to have that on his bed while he sleeps." Carolyn put her head down to cry some more. David sat down beside her on the bed.

"We're going to get him back, Carolyn," he said. "He belongs with us. He'll come home." He put his arm around her and she leaned against him.

"David…all those things that that lawyer said about Lance," she said. "He made him sound like a horrible child."

"He's just twisting things to make his client look good," he said. "They don't know Lance the way we do." Carolyn gripped the toy in her hands.

"Do you think he's scared?"

"I'm sure he is. Just like we are," David answered. "That's why we have to be strong. For his sake."

"I know," she nodded. "I…I just miss him so much. Seems strange doesn't it? I mean it hasn't even been a day, but I just feel like something bad will happen if he's not here with us."

"He hasn't spent much time away from us since he came here," David said. "And this is different, this absence. Of course you miss him."

"You know when we took Lance to get tested for school, and Dean Fry told us about him…I actually thought that maybe we weren't the right people to raise him. Because of his gifts," she said. Carolyn looked back up at David. "How could I think that? How could I think that I could ever stop being his mother?" David stroked his wife's hair.

"I know. I'll admit I was worried for a while too when they told us about him," he said. "But then I remember the first time he called me 'dad'…..I don't think I'll ever forget how happy and content I felt when I realized that Lance saw me as his true father."

"David, he told me once that when he grew up he wanted to be just like you and that he wanted you to be proud of him," Carolyn sniffed, her tears finally starting to stop.

"I'm always proud of him," David said roughly, not wanting to cry just when Carolyn was finally able to calm down.

"If we adopt him, do you know what we should do?" she said. "We should change his name. That way he could carry your name, and he would know that you are proud to have him as your son." David turned his wife to face him.

"When we adopt him Carolyn. No 'if'," he said. "Lance will be our son, and we will be his parents. I promise."

The Sweets arrived early the next morning to the courthouse where they were met by Terry and Lauren.

"How is Lance? Can we see him? We want to see him." Terry held up her hands at the Sweets to stop them.

"He's in the courthouse," she answered. "You won't be able to see him before the hearing continues; he'll be waiting in a side room until it's time for him to testify. But I did see him for a moment. He wanted me to tell you that he misses you and that he wants to come home."

"Terry, what aren't you telling us?" David said, noticing her apprehension. Terry sighed deeply and slumped her shoulders.

"There's been a problem in Florida," she said. "Apparently, Miss Place has a somewhat shady past, and she's worried that she might get prosecuted for some past petty crimes. It's making her reluctant to appear before a judge."

"What?" both of the Sweets exclaimed.

"Now don't worry. Miss Place has not run off. I'm going to fly there myself tomorrow to see if we can work something out," she said. "I've even talked to the judge, and he says that he will recognize anything signed in front of the judge we lined up in Florida. And he said that he will not make a final decision in this hearing until I return." She put a hand on Carolyn's shoulder.

"It's all going to work out. It's just going to take a little longer," she said.

"The further we go, the worse it gets," David said darkly.

"I know and I'm sorry," Terry said. "But remember that I said this would be an ugly trial."

"We appreciate what you're doing," Carolyn said. "We just want to get Lance back."

"Don't worry, it will happen," Terry assured them.

"You do like to make promises. Even if you can't keep them," a voice behind Terry blurted out. The Sweets and Terry turned to see Anders and Jensen approaching them.

"Ms. Nigel, I see you've gotten the judge to prolong the trial," Anders said. "Seems like an unkind thing to do, keeping that boy in limbo." Terry gritted her teeth.

"If you recall it was you that had Lance taken out of his home," she said. "The Sweets want to adopt him; they wouldn't have run off with him."

"The law is the law," Anders countered. "Besides you can't be too careful."

"You can tell yourself that all you want, but in the end it doesn't matter," Terry shot back. "We found Miss Place." Andrew's eyes grew angry at the mention of her name. "As soon as she signs the forms permitting the Sweets custody, you know your case doesn't stand a chance," she said.

"That whore," Andrew muttered, clenching his fist. He then turned his glare toward David and Carolyn. "What's with you two anyway? Can't have a kid of your own so you decide to buy one? You're old enough to be his grandparents."

"We are not 'buying' Lance," Carolyn said. "He wants to live with us. We love him. Something you never did."

"Sure he does," Andrew drawled. "He wants to live with people who can give him lots of stuff and send him to fancy private schools. What I want to know is what you guys get out of it?"

"A wonderful son," David said, staring him down. "One you were too angry or blind to care about."

"I saw how you were with him yesterday. All touchy-feely and hugging," Andrew sneered. "Maybe that's how you get your rocks off, huh? Or maybe you just like treating him like a little girl?"

"You're sick," Carolyn gasped at him.

David said nothing, just continued to give him a cold, hard stare. Soon Andrew flinched and looked away from him. Jensen and his lawyer shuffled off to the courtroom.

"The only decent thing that man ever did was help bring Lance into the world," David said in a low, angry voice. He then turned his intense gaze to Terry, who shuddered a bit.

"Do what you have to do," he said. "But do not let that man back into my son's life." The Sweets then walked off toward the courtroom, arm-in-arm.

"David…can be a scary person," Terry said quietly.

"Only if you hurt the people he loves," Lauren said.

"Mr. Sweets, why did you choose to adopt a child at your age?"

"We had always wanted a child," David answered, now calm. "When we found out that Carolyn couldn't have any, we were devastated. It took us a long time to get over that. But we decided that we still wanted a child, so we began to consider adoption. It took a long time; it's surprisingly difficult to adopt."

"You originally wanted an infant, didn't you?"

"Yes, but as it turns out, we are a bit too old for an infant."

"You were disappointed, weren't you?" Anders asked.

"Not…not so much disappointed as frustrated," David sighed. "It just felt like we had to start over with looking for an older child to adopt."

"What made you choose Lance Jensen? You knew he was special needs. In fact when he first met you, he was afraid of you, was he not?" Anders said.

"Lance…Lance is special. But not just special needs," David answered. "He's been through so much and yet he still has a brilliant mind and a good heart. You can see that if you just take the time to get to know him. I feel…we feel privileged, blessed, to have him in our lives."

"How old are you Mr. Sweets?"

"I just turned 53. Why? How old are you?" David smirked.

"A bit old for taking on the responsibility of a young child, isn't it?"

"I had a physical two months ago. My doctor can tell you I'm in perfect health. In fact I'd wager that I'm in better health than you," David said, indicating Anders' sizable girth.

"I'm not adopting a seven year old," Anders snapped. "You on the other hand will be in your 60s before Lance graduates from high school. What if your health fails before then? "

"As you are so fond of pointing out, I have means," David said. "My house is paid off. I've set aside a fund for Lance's education. And I have a will and trust set up to take care of my wife and son should anything happen to me."

"Which, let's face it, is entirely possible at your age," Anders said. "The same for your wife too. Who would take care of the boy then?"

"Mr. Jensen, why are you opposing this adoption?" Anders asked. Andrew leaned forward in the witness stand.

"Because Lance is my son, not theirs," he answered. "They can't just walk in and buy him."

"You are currently serving time in prison. You wouldn't be able to take care of him for a few years."

"Yeah, I know that," Andrew sighed. "But I've been seeing this shrink in prison. To help with the stress and the anger issues, you know. And I figured after I served my time, we could start over."

"One of the charges brought up against you is one of child abuse," Anders said. "Including using a whip on Lance."

"I'm not proud of that. I was drunk that night. A close friend of mine had just died and I was in a dark place. I didn't even know what I was doing. I screwed up and I'm sorry."

"You've had a rough time of it, haven't you?" Anders said. "Raising a child alone? Especially one as difficult as Lance appears to be." Andrew leaned back in his chair and huffed.

"You have no idea," he said. "That kid…he's so stubborn. When he gets his mind set on something, there's no stopping him. He was always getting into all kinds of trouble."

"All kinds of trouble? Like trouble where he could get hurt?"

"Sometimes," Andrew answered. You know how kids are. They get hurt so easily. Look I know I wasn't the perfect father, but Lance wasn't an easy kid to take care of. Especially after his mother ran out on us. I just want a second chance. He's still my son." Andrew emphasized those last two words while he glared at David.

"Indeed," Anders nodded. "It seems that many people here forget who Lance Jensen's father really is at times."