I'm not even going to lie; I have not wanted to write. I was still in holiday mode way past the cut-off time. I was drunk on family and my husband being home for an abnormal amount of time and I was just like I could write today; or I could help Jude and Riles build a fort out of pillows or snuggle on the couch with the hubby and watch movies. So I finally after getting some notifications in the past week or so decided I really needed to finish the story. So, here is the last chapter.
Meredith and Derek sat silently outside the courtroom, working in tandem to keep the children occupied and quiet in the ominous building. John Hayes sat across from them, double checking the paperwork in the folder in front of him.
It had taken patience to get to this point. They only needed to make it through this finalization hearing and they would finally be at the end of the journey. Derek had just pulled a bottle out of the bag to give to Wyatt when their case was called. He shot a nervous smile at Meredith before helping to wrangle the kids and filing into the room. John told Derek to sit in the first row of seats behind the gate before leading Meredith to a table in front of them. John had only just begun to open the case file and organize his papers when a woman took a seat at the bench. She had short hair, turned white with age, and stern looking brown eyes, but the smile lines around her mouth suggested she was not as serious as she seemed. She placed a folder on the table in front of her before her eyes moved to run over the faces before her.
"I am Judge Hammet. This is the final hearing in the adoption of the minor Ainsley Rae Shepherd by a Mrs. Meredith Grey-Shepherd?" she confirmed.
John nodded.
"Okay. Am I to understand that Mrs. Grey-Shepherd is Ainsley's step-mother?" she continued.
"Yes, your honor. The biological mother passed tragically a couple of years ago," John replied.
"This obviously seems like a pretty open-and-shut case. Everyone seems to be on board with the decision," she stated.
"Yes. The living parents of her mother have given consent and her father also," John replied.
"I don't want to drag this out any more than I have to, however in all cases it is important that I speak with the concerned parties," she said, looking intently at the family gathered in front of her.
"We understand," John assured with a nod.
"I'd like to start with Ainsley," she said motioning the small girl forward.
Derek squeezed her shoulder slightly and gave her a smile before watching as she stood and took a step forward, coming to stand next to the table.
"Ainsley, I need you to understand that in this courtroom you must tell the truth. Do you understand that?" Judge Hammet asked.
"Yes mam," she replied.
"Alright. Do you know what is happening here today?" the judge questioned.
"Yes mam. You're going to decide if my mommy can adopt me for real," Ainsley replied, confidence radiating from her.
"That's right. Do you know what adoption means?" Judge Hammet asked.
"Yup. That means that mommy gets to be my real mommy," Ainsley answered.
"That's right. You are a very smart girl," Judge Hammet noted with a smile.
"Thank you," Ainsley replied, with a shy smile.
"I have just one more question for you. Do you want Meredith to adopt you?" she asked.
"Oh yes mam. Meredith is very nice, even nicer than my other mom ever was. And I know she loves me because she tells me she does, and I love her too," Ainsley answered with a bright smile on her face.
"Thank you Ainsley," the judge said with a smile, "I have a couple of questions for the father, Derek Shepherd."
Derek stood and turned to the judge with a sheepish smile motioning to Wyatt, "do you mind if I carry him up there? He's asleep so I don't want to transfer him and wake him up."
"This is not a formal court Mr. Shepherd, it's fine," she answered.
Derek moved to stand in the spot only recently vacated my Ainsley. His hand was on Wyatt's back and he rubbed absentmindedly, listening to the gently breaths of the sleeping baby in his ear.
"Mr. Shepherd, you have given permission for your wife to adopt Ainsley?" the judge confirmed.
"Yes. Of course," Derek replied.
"You are aware that this will give her the ability to make medical and legal decisions for your daughter?" she asked.
"With all due respect your honor, she's OUR daughter. She has been for a few years now, and Meredith may not have been able to execute the decisions, but she has been making decisions for that little girl since she came to live with us," Derek answered.
"Alright. Why do you feel that Mrs. Grey-Shepherd will make a good adoptive mother to Ainsley?" she continued.
"Meredith is the most amazing woman I know. She's selfless when it comes to our children. I was not allowed to be a part of Ainsley's life when she was younger. I didn't actually find out that she existed until a few years ago, but Meredith didn't run when we suddenly had a little girl to take care of, she accepted her with open arms. My wife has never looked at Ainsley as my daughter. Like I said before, she has always been our daughter, and so this piece of paper is just a formality. Meredith is her mother," Derek answered.
Judge Hammet stared Derek for several moments, seemingly at a loss for words after his passionate speech. She nodded and Derek smiled slightly before returning to his seat.
"Well, after that speech I don't think I have any more questions. It's obvious in this case that the child is loved and well cared for and so I would like Mrs. Grey-Shepherd to stand," Judge Hammet explained.
Meredith shot a quick smile over her shoulder at Ainsley before standing.
"Meredith Grey-Shepherd. Do you pledge to honor the agreement of this court? To care for the minor Ainsley Rae Shepherd as if she were your own?" the judge started.
"Of course," Meredith replied, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"Do you promise to take care of the minor Ainsley Rae Shepherd in the event that her father becomes unable to?" she continued.
"Yes," Meredith answered.
"Do you promise that from this point forward, you will become a mother to the minor Ainsley Rae Shepherd?" she asked.
"I do," Meredith said as the tears finally began to slide down her face.
"Then it is the decision of this court to grant the motion. Congratulations Mrs. Grey-Shepherd, Ainsley is now officially your daughter," Judge Hammet finished with a smile.
Ainsley was in Meredith's arms immediately with Derek and the boys not far behind. They held each other for several moments before finally Derek broke away.
"Now that it's official, I think we need to celebrate," he said with a wide smile.
The family exited the courtroom and made their way out of the building. Relishing in their happy moment.
That is it. If you have dealt with the adoption process and are like that is not right, well I apologize, I just went with how I would want it to happen. I want to say thank you for sticking with this story. It's taken awhile for me to get through this one, but reading all of your lovely reviews has made it much easier. Going forward...I figured out what I'm doing for the sequel, but I am not ready to write it yet, so it will be awhile. I'm still open to suggestions for How Did We Get Here? so if you want to see something, let me know. Please review.
