After I effortlessly slide my car into the only available parking spot in the lot, I throw my gearshift in park and twist my keys so my car's engine switches off. But before I even make a move to get out of the car, I take a moment to calm myself down. I won't sit here and put up a front…I'll admit that I'm nervous as hell to walk in here today. In the days leading up to this, I've been talking to my lawyer at least once a day and in a sense, I do feel prepared and I am pretty confident as to what the outcome is going to be, I'm still nervous because I know that anything can happen in here today. I've been busying myself with gathering up my own arguments to present at this hearing today but I'd be a fool to believe that my mother hasn't been speaking to a lawyer of her own. Without a doubt, she's hired a lawyer too and they've been working on their own case. They've been working on their own case, been coming up with their own arguments and I can honestly say that I have no idea what they're going to throw at me while I'm in here today. I don't know if new accusations are going to be thrown my way, I don't know if they're going to try and make me seem like this horrible person and ultimately, I don't know what the judge is going to decide. I have a pretty good inkling that he or she is going to give me my daughter back once and for all but like I just said…anything in this world could happen in that courtroom today. All I know is that my lawyer and I are going to focus on the facts and work our case in the best interest of Lyla.

"Hey…" She rests her hand on the blade of my shoulder and gives it a very gentle, loving caress. "You okay?" She completely turns her body so that she's facing me and gives me her full, undivided attention like she's been doing throughout this whole entire ordeal. Off the record, I feel a sense of liberation in a way. After today, hopefully this entire nightmare will be over and we'll be able to put everything behind us. I can go back to living my life with my daughter and we can start adjusting to life as a three person family and Jo can finally stop carrying the weight of my world on her very tiny shoulders. She's been my rock throughout this whole entire ordeal and although she's been strong, tough and really sturdy for me, I can tell that it's been taking a toll on her. After today though…I can start being a better man. I can start making it up to her and this relationship can finally stop being about me. In a few hours, this will all be over. "It's gonna be alright…okay?" She taps my shoulder. "We should go in…you don't wanna be late."

She's right. Although the hearing doesn't start until 10:00, my lawyer told me to meet him here at the courthouse at 9:30 so we can discuss a couple more things before we go and sit before the judge. Once again, before I get out of the car, I have to take a moment. But this time, I take the moment to lean across the seats to kiss her. I tilt my head to the side so we don't bump noses, close my eyes and press my lips right against hers. It's small, chaste and it's not some grand gesture, put it's a gesture nonetheless and I just want her to know how much I appreciate having her here for me. Ever since he said them, my dad's words have been ringing in my head and I've been holding onto them. My issues are not Jo's issues. She's not my wife and it's not like she has a legal or moral obligation to be my support system. She's been supporting me on her own free will and that speaks to the kind of person she is, I truly believe. In realizing that she doesn't have to support me as much as she's been, I have nothing but the utmost admiration and respect for Jo and I swear to myself that someday, I will make it up to her. When we pull out of the kiss, she strokes my cheek and wipes my mouth with her thumb. "…Lipstick?" I ask. Jo never rubs my lips after a kiss so I know when she does it, I must have something on them. Smiling softly, she nods her head and takes her hand away from my face.

She looks beautiful today, if I do say so myself. My lawyer told me to tell her that it would be a good idea if she dressed nicely today too because if things go south in this courtroom for me, he's going to throw all his resources towards getting Jo custody of Lyla and it would work best if she appeared as the likable girlfriend as opposed to a bum. When we woke up this morning, I thought that Jo would've interpreted "look nice" as a pair of jeans and a nice blouse but no. She took "look nice" seriously and she looks absolutely breathtaking. I didn't see her outfit when she picked it out last night because somehow I managed to fall asleep before her; which never happens, but it did. I had a long day at work yesterday so I'm guessing that's probably why I passed out the way I did last night. Anyway, she put on a light beige pencil skirt, a lacy white tank top with a beige jacket over it. She even put on a pair of white high heels and instead of wearing her hair down like she usually does, she parted her hair to the side and tied it back in a very sleek ponytail. She put on some makeup and bright red lipstick and I always knew that my girlfriend was a knockout, but she seriously looks like she stepped out of a magazine right now. When I saw her come out of the bathroom this morning, I had to do a double take. She doesn't usually dress up like this. Jo usually has a very nonchalant, tomboyish way about her clothes and it was kind of amazing to see her break away from that and embrace the beautiful, girly side of herself. She's absolutely gorgeous.

"Well here goes nothing, right?" I mumble and she nods her head. At the same time, we both start to get out of the car. After I shut my door and lock my car up, I take the moment to look around at the parking lot. It's pretty much packed to maximum capacity. Cars are all over the place and I'm starting to wonder just how many more hearings are here today. It's kind of comforting to know that all of the hearings might not be for custody, being that this courthouse isn't just a family one. Since it's a megaplex courthouse, it can be used for family disputes, probation hearings, felonies and misdemeanors. So maybe these people aren't all here for custody hearings and maybe it won't take as long for me to be seen as I think it's going to take. Or I could be totally wrong and every last one of these people are here for custody proceedings. I notice my dad's truck and a few more down the line, I notice my mom's car too. I sigh. There was a piece of me that was hoping she just wouldn't show up. Once Jo makes her way over to my side of the car, I put my hands in the pockets of my black suit pants and start walking towards the door.

I pull open the glass doors to the courthouse and hold them open for Jo. She walks right in past me and goes straight for the secretary's desk. Before we walk into the waiting room, we have to sign in and Jo's doing that for me. "Alexander Karev…we're here for the 10:00 hearing." Jo signs both our names on the sign in sheet and since the secretary is behind one of those glass screens with the little holes as a speaker, she doesn't say anything much to us. She just pushes the button to unlock the door and we both walk through the newly unlocked door. "It says family and domestic hearings are this way." Jo motions for me to follow her and so I do. I'm a little surprised when we don't have to walk far. The family and domestic unit is literally right around the corner. "Come here, before we go in there…" She stands in front of the door to prevent me from going in and I just slouch my shoulders and stand in front of her. "Everything is going to be fine." She starts fixing my suit collar. "You're gonna go in here and you're gonna answer anything they want you to answer…listen to whatever they have to say…and when we walk outta here, we're walking outta here with Lyla." She adjusts my tie, which she had to tie for me this morning anyway. "Everything is going to be just fine." She brushes my shoulders off and fixes my coat. "Gimme a kiss now." I lean down and peck her lips again. "Alright. Come on." She taps my butt and opens the door to the domestic and family court unit.

We both walk through the door at the same time and when I look around, I don't see anybody else. I know they're all here, because their cars are all outside in the parking lot but none of them are here. My lawyer is the only person sitting in the waiting room and when Jo and I walk through the door, he stands up. "Good to see you again, Alex." He rushes over to me and shakes my hand. I give him a polite, professional smirk and shake his hand too. "And you must be the girlfriend…I've heard about you." He shakes Jo's hand too and ever the professional, Jo smiles at him. "Robert Abrams."

"Jo Wilson….nice to finally make your acquaintance." Jo takes her hand away when they're done shaking and puts it against my shoulder.

"Alright, so everyone's here and we're just waiting on the judge to give us the 'okay' to come in." He takes his pen from behind his ear and opens up the very same notepad he had with him the first time we met. "I just want to give you some last minute pointers. We opted to separate you and your mother into different waiting areas, for obvious reasons but when we get into the courtroom, she will be sitting at her own table. She will be positioned to your left and slightly behind you. Do not look back at her, just look forward. Avoid eye contact. You're might to hear lots of big words in here but I'll explain them as we go. There will be a glass of water at your disposal. Just drink it sparingly if you get thirsty…we don't want to ask for recesses because you need to use the restroom. I'm not sure if they plan on bringing your daughter in for questioning but just in case they do, just remember to keep your head. The judge might view an emotional reaction as unprofessional and unlikable. If there's anything you want me to elaborate on during the proceedings, just let me know. You just sit back and let me do the talking, until the judge addresses you himself. They're going to put you on the stand, but only to ask you a few questions. I was informed this morning that they do not intend to put your mother on the stand, which is fine…you understand that she's not obligated to take the stand since she'd be considered the prosecutor." I nod my head. He's explained this to me before. "Just answer all of the questions truthfully and to the best of your capability. If there's something you don't know how to answer, put your hand up and I'll ask for them to reword it or I'll object to it entirely." He clears his throat. "They're going to read the results of the polygraph you took yesterday. I'm not allowed to disclose the results to you before legal proceedings start but this is me not telling you that you passed, alright?" I nod my head. I knew I'd pass. I was scared half to death yesterday when they hooked me up to that damn machine but I knew I'd pass. I didn't do anything wrong so there's no way in hell I wouldn't pass. "There are four seats at your table." He continues. "The order will go me, you'll sit on my left, next to you will be one of the social workers that came out and investigated the initial complaint and next to her, Jo will sit. I don't want her to sit next to you…that might invoke emotional responses and I don't want that. As for you…" He turns to Jo next and she lifts her head to listen to him. "If everything goes the way I plan for it to, you won't have to speak at all. I will only address you as Alex's alternate and the judge will understand what I mean by that. You don't have to say a word unless I call you to the stand and I probably won't but in case I do, just tell the truth to whatever they ask you. If you get up there, they WILL ask you about a couple things on the background check they issued for you but again, you don't have to speak on that. You can opt not to speak or you can explain about the charges, your choice. But like I said, I don't anticipate that happening. You're here as his alternate. Do you understand that?" Jo nods her head. "Alright. You two wait here. I'm going to go see if they're ready for us."

After giving me and Jo both a very brief rundown of what to do and expect in there, he closes his notepad, sticks his pen back behind his ear and walks towards a set of double doors off to our left. With the one moment we have alone, I look down at Jo. She looks up at me too and I can really tell that she's trying to hold it together. I don't think she likes the idea of being questioned about her background check in court. I put my hand on her back to offer her the best support I possibly can. "It's not going to come down to that. He's just trying to prepare you in case it does, but it's not. You're not the one that should be worried." I stroke her back. "If you break down…who the hell am I going to lean on? Now's not the time for you to break down on me here, Jo." I put my lips against her forehead and see her smile from the corner of my eye. We're still working on getting her record expunged so she still has a few charges on there but like I said, we're working on it. We've been focusing on getting her settled in to my house and on this court hearing lately. She hasn't been job hunting just yet but it's only been a week since she's quit so it's not like she's been out of work for some outrageous amount of time.

"…Ooh…he's cute." She turns her head and her eyes follow someone that just walked out of the courtroom and walked straight into the bathrooms, which are right next to the doors. I follow the guy with my eyes all the way into the bathroom too. He's kind of tall, slightly muscular and he has short dirty blonde hair and if I'm not mistaken, he had blue green eyes. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a band on it. "I wonder if he works here…he's a cutie." Jo cranes her neck towards the bathroom doors and tries to look some more even though the doors are clearly shut by now. I feel my face fall. My eyebrows wrinkle, my eyes squint and my lips droop to a grimace…and not because she's calling some other guy cute but because of who she's calling cute. She looks up at me and catches my face all contorted. "What? He was a cutie…"

"…That's my brother, Jo." I mumble. Her jaw drops and at the same time, her lips look like they want to curl up into a smile. "Wanna reevaluate your choice of words?"

"Not really." She shrugs. "I guess it runs in the family. He looks like you…so you're both cute. How old is he?"

"22."

"Aw, damn…he's a baby." She seems shocked. "I'm serious. Your mom and your dad must've been studs back in the day because you Karevs…" She shakes her head. "Wow." Before the door to the bathroom opens back up for Aaron to come out so I can properly introduce him to Jo, the courtroom doors open and my lawyer sticks his head out. He nods his head "yes", which means Jo and I can come into the room now and that's when all sense of playfulness leaves both my body and Jo's body as well. Instead of joking and laughing about how cute my brother is, she grabs my hand and holds it. And together, we walk into the courtroom.

Here goes nothing…

X X X

"Good morning." As soon as the judge sits down, everyone in the court room does too. "We are here today to determine the custody of Lyla Karev, a minor child residing in the town of Millerton, a coastal suburb of Pensacola." The judge is a very small, feeble elderly woman. I don't know if the fact that she's old makes me nervous or makes me feel better. She's older, which might mean that she'll side with my mother out of understanding but again, she's older which means that she's been doing this for a while and she knows what she's doing. I was pretty confident coming in here today but now, sitting here in this chair in front of an actual judge, I realize how this could seriously go either way. My palms are sweating like crazy. "In the case of Helen Karev vs. Alexander Karev. Representing Ms. Karev?" She slides glasses up on her face just as my mom's lawyer stands up.

"Evan Harris, your honor." Since I'm not allowed to look at my mom's table, I have to settle for just listening. "Mitch Baker, social services." I focus on the judge's long black robe to maintain my composure. I can't believe this all boiled down to this. Everything my mom accused me of…her coming to my house, everything…it all comes down to this. I think she was expecting me to lay down like a dog and let her take my kid. But I'm not going to let that happen. I will fight and fight and fight for Lyla until I have no fight left in me. Jo and the female social worker that came to my house to take Lyla away are sitting on my left and the last time I snuck a glance, my dad, Michelle, Amber and Aaron were all sitting behind me. I guess they wouldn't have Lyla in a courtroom but I haven't seen her since yesterday evening and I'm starting to wonder if she's even here. If she's not with my dad and not with Michelle then where could she even be?

"And representing Mr. Karev?" The judge turns her attention to my table next.

"Robert Abrams, your honor." My lawyer stands up. "And Rhonda Mason with social services." The social worker next to me stands up too but they sit back down fairly quickly. I put my attention back on the judge's robe and just listen.

"Mr. Harris, please present your case to me." She speaks slowly, articulately and rummages through papers at the same time.

My mom's lawyer stands up and walks with large, clunky steps to the front of the courtroom. "Good morning, Judge Mason." He starts. "I'm here today, representing Ms. Helen Karev, the paternal grandmother of the minor child. My client is looking to be awarded sole custody of the child. Your honor, my client and I first began speaking about two months ago and she contacted me with concerns about the safety and well-being of her granddaughter, a then three-year old female. The child was in the custody of her biological father, Alexander Karev, the biological son of my client. Over a two month span, my client and I began working on a case strong enough to file for sole custody. My client has good reason to believe the child is in danger while in the care of her father and good proof to support the fact that she would be better off in the care of her grandmother. Without further hesitation, I'd like to bring my first witness to the stand. Mitch Baker." Underneath the table, I cross my feet and try to remain still. I'm a bit antsy. The same male social worker that came to my house and took Lyla away from me walks up and sits down in a chair that's next to the judge's pedestal. "Please state your name and occupation for the record, Mr. Baker."

"Mitchell Baker…I work with Child Protective Services." He leans forward and speaks clearly into the microphone provided.

"And you were one of the workers called in to work on Ms. Karev's case, is that right?"

"Yes sir."

"Can you tell the court exactly what transpired between you and Ms. Karev? What sort of things did she feel the need to contact you for?" The lawyer walks back to the table and picks up a yellow envelope. He walks the envelope over and hands it the judge.

"We were called in on allegations of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, malnutrition and exploitation. All of which we conducted a very thorough investigation of. My partner and I did a home visit to Mr. Karev's household, investigated and removed the child from the home." He explains.

"We provided photo proof in the folder of injuries the child sustained while in the care of Mr. Karev, your honor." The lawyer says. He walks back over to the CPS worker. "And when you went to the house to interview Mr. Karev, what did you find?"

"We found a clean home. No signs of clutter, dirt, mold. The environment seemed suitable for a child." He nods his head.

"What was the child doing at this time?"

"Eating supper and watching a movie. It was to my knowledge that she was recovering from a surgery she had the previous day, so she seemed lethargic and a bit drowsy."

"And what was the child eating?"

"Pizza and soda pop."

"No further questions, your honor." I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes. It was just PIZZA. And give me a break, you know how many kids drink soda a day?! Oh, this is off to a marvelous start.

"Mr. Abrams, please present your case." The judge is sifting through the pictures in the envelope and I know what she must be thinking. Those pictures look bad. I saw them when CPS came to my house and they look awful. Lyla's face is all bruised, she has marks on her butt…I'm a goner. I really think I lost this case. My lawyer gets up from his chair and walks toward the front of the courtroom too. He hands the judge a white folder and starts pacing. I'm really not feeling so good about this anymore.

"I'm here to represent Alexander Karev, the biological father and legal guardian of the child. My client is looking to maintain sole custody of his daughter, based off what is in her best interest. I would like to point out that all allegations against my client were unfounded once investigated by Child Protective Services. There are logical explanations behind every bump, bruise, nick and cut the child has ever received, and none of them involve my client being physically, mentally, verbally or sexually abusive toward his daughter. My client has been cleared of all allegations, proof provided in that folder right there. There is no legal reason why my client should not have custody of his child. I'd like to call my client to the stand, your honor." I take a sip of my water and slide out from my chair. Without even looking at my mother, I walk and sit in the same chair that the CPS worker was just sitting in. I wipe the palms of my hands on my pants and lean forward so I can speak into the microphone when the time comes. "State your name and relationship to the child, for the record Alex."

"Alex Karev…I'm her father." I feel like I'm about to lose it, so I look at Jo. She's looking back at me and she's holding my gaze and she makes it easier for me to relax.

"I'm just going to ask you the same set of questions CPS asked you and a little bit more." My lawyer starts pacing. I'm comfortable with this part. We rehearsed this part. "Have you ever spanked your daughter?"

"No."

"Ever hit her with excessive force?"

"No."

"Hit her at all?"

"No."

"Have you ever touched your daughter for your own sexual gratification?"

"No."

"Have you ever neglected to feed your daughter at any point in time?"

"No."

"Have you ever witnessed other men or women touch your child for sexual gratification and failed to contact authorities or bring attention to it?"

"No."

"These are all questions that my client answered on the polygraph exam he took yesterday, your honor. I would like to note that my client passed for each and every question with a plus 16 score. As you know, you need a plus six to pass and a minus six to fail. My client passed with a plus 16." I take a deep breath and subsequently, I watch Jo take a breath too. That just made me feel a little bit better. I passed the hell out of that lie detector test. "His results are in that folder as well, your honor. At this time, I have no further questions. I turn it over to Ms. Karev's council." My lawyer returns back to his seat and since he did, I start to stand up too.

"Stay there Mr. Karev, please." My mom's lawyer springs back up again and holds his hand out to me. "Permission to cross examine."

"Granted." The judge sounds a little preoccupied looking at the stuff in the folder my lawyer provided.

I sit back down in the chair and feel my palms begin to sweat once again. I wasn't prepared for cross examination. I thought only my lawyer and the judge would be questioning me. All I have to do is tell the truth though, right? That's all I have to do. The truth shall set you free…right? "How did Lyla obtain bruises to her face, head, neck and mouth?" He just jumps right into it. No preparation, no opening argument, nothing. He just jumps right in. "In as much detail as possible." He demands.

"It was…" I clear my throat. "June 12th of this year, my daughter and I were home alone. She began to jump on the couch and I told her to stop because I didn't want her to get hurt. She sat down on the couch and resumed watching television. I went in the kitchen trying to find something to make for dinner and when my back was turned, she began jumping on the couch yet again and like I suspected she would, she fell down off of it. She clipped her face on the corner of my coffee table. She hit her eye, which made her eye swell and she hit her mouth too, which caused her to bite down on her lip. I rushed into the living room, picked her up and looked at her."

"And you didn't take your daughter to the hospital, did you?" He folds his hands. "She sustained an injury like that and you didn't take her to the hospital. Why is that?"

"Because I examined her myself. I'm a pediatric surgeon at Pensacola Children's Hospital and I'm pretty good at my job. I looked at her face, examined her myself and saw no medical reason to take her to the hospital to be examined. She showed no signs of a concussion, no sighs of broken bones and no signs of serious injury. I cleared her myself, cheered her up, held her and moved the coffee table further away from the couch to ensure it would never happen again. She was being rambunctious and rebellious like most children her age. I told her not to jump on the couch and she did it anyway. Typical childish behavior. But if I had thought for one second that my child needed medical attention, I wouldn't have denied it. I checked her out and she was fine." I cross my feet again. I feel like I'm going to be here for a while.

"Tell me, how do you discipline little Lyla, Mr. Karev? What methods of discipline do you choose when she acts out in a 'typical childish' way?" He puts air quotes around "typical childish", which makes me really want to slap the shit out of him.

"I use the corner." I mumble, but remembering that I have to speak clearly and enunciate properly, I speak up. "My daughter is a dream. She hardly ever acts out, she listens, she doesn't throw tantrums, she's mild-mannered, shy, respectful and she's a very good kid. She doesn't require much discipline but she IS four years old and she DOES act out at times and when she does, I use the corner as a method of discipline. If she acts out, she goes straight to the corner for five minutes. While I don't have a problem with spanking a child, it is not my method of discipline. I don't put hands on my daughter but mostly because she doesn't need it."

"And your wife passed away last year, isn't that right?"

"Yes." I nod my head. What does Jenna have to do with what we're talking about?"

"And you've been single since then, isn't that right?"

"…For the most part yes, but—"

"Which means you haven't engaged in sexual activity in what…a year and some change." He interrupts me just as I was getting ready to tell about Jo. What does sex have to do with anything?! "Is it safe to say that a man like you…handsome man, attractive man, young…is it safe to say that a man like you has manly needs just like all men in this world?"

"…Yes." I wasn't quite sure how to answer that one. I mean, it was a yes or no question and saying no would've been a lie, but…I'm confused.

"It's possible you could've channeled those manly urges into a three year old, isn't that right? No woman in your life, no female around…" I'm physically sick at what he's trying to imply. What kind of sicko does this man think I am? I look at Jo. Her jaw is on the floor and she looks genuinely shocked. "Lack of sex has been known to drive men mad…make them do things they wouldn't normally do. Tell me Alex, is it possible that you acted out these sexual urges on your daughter? During bath times?"

"…NO!" Man, this is crazy! I would never touch a kid, let alone my own DAUGHTER. What kind of person do these people think I am? "I have NEVER once thought about my daughter in a way like that. I give my daughter baths every single day because she's FOUR, she can't wash herself and she's a child so she gets dirty. I don't ever and would never touch her or even think about her in that kind of way. I wouldn't even say that I even get…" I shake my head. "I have a girlfriend. She's been my girlfriend for a month but we've been messing with each other for three. And even before my girlfriend, I could've had women…grown women…women MY age. I don't touch my daughter. I have never and I WILL never. I work with kids every day. I love kids, I love my job…it's my job to protect kids. I take sick kids and make them better. Why would I ever harm a child?" I feel like I'm babbling and not making any sense right now but the fact that they could even imply that I would use my own child for sexual gratification is just gross, disturbing and disgusting. I would never.

"But you yourself have expressed thinking that your daughter is beautiful, is that right? And when other people express it, you don't seem to hesitate to agree. There's some degree of physical attraction there."

"I'm her father. Of course I think she's beautiful! She's my daughter!" I have to bawl my hands up into fists and look at Jo to calm down. I hold onto Jo's eyes. I have to calm down. "There's no physical or sexual attraction to my daughter. She's my daughter so of course I think she's gorgeous. And I can't take my daughter anywhere without someone telling me how cute, pretty or adorable she is. She's a beautiful child…she just gets that response from people. And I respectfully tell those people 'thank you'. I think my daughter is beautiful but she's my daughter. Name one father that's going to tell you that his daughter is ugly."

"I see, I see." He nods his head at me. "So tell me about the pizza your daughter was consuming when CPS came to your house. Pizza and Sprite, was it?"

"She had a very lengthy surgery the day before and we were all still very tired from that. I didn't feel like cooking anything major for dinner and my girlfriend didn't either so we ordered pizza. I don't usually make it a point to feed my daughter soda but it was a special occasion. She wasn't feeling well and if a little soda cheered her up, I gave it to her. It was one small cup of Sprite and it was for her dinner. She's well fed." I explain.

"You don't make it a point to feed her soda? But was there not a two month stretch in which you let your daughter dine on nothing BUT soda?"

"…She was going through a rough time. We all were." I sigh. "Her mother died…and I would try to feed her stuff from all the dishes people brought to our house. Or I would try and bake her things myself but she wouldn't eat. She started dropping off some weight because she would go days without eating. The only thing she would eat is lasagna, french fries and Mountain Dew. So in an attempt to get her to eat something, I did. I let her have soda and french fries and lasagna for a while. But once the grieving process was over, I got her back on a regular diet. She's well fed now and healthy as a horse. She's not overweight, she doesn't have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. She's fine now."

"She's healthy as a horse? Except for the life-threatening ear infection she sustained at the beginning of this month, an ear infection that wouldn't have required surgery if treated sooner…"

"Mastoiditis is not life-threatening and it was treated in a timely manner. It was treated quickly and for that reason, she's fine. It was an ear infection gone bad…it happens a lot in children her age. I had her doctor install a ventilation tube in her ear to prevent that from happening again." I'm getting killed up here. He's coming at me from all angles and I'm getting killed up here. I sound horrible. "It's very common and it won't reoccur."

"Is that your professional opinion, Mr. Karev?"

"Yes it is."

"A few more questions, Alex." He smirks at me like he knows that he's grilling me and I'm dying. Someone send me a raft or something because I'm drowning and everyone knows it. "Can you tell me about your daughter's toilet habits? Because you said in a report…and I quote…" He picks up a piece of paper and starts reading from it. "We are in the middle of toilet-training my daughter. She fell into the toilet and that is how she sustained the scratches and abrasions to hear rear end."

I roll my eyes and sigh. He's KILLING me here. "Here's the thing. My three year old was potty trained. She used the bathroom regularly, told us when she needed to go…she did everything but wipe herself. My wife and I wiped for her every time she used the bathroom but she used the toilet faithfully. And her mother died, and she wasn't toilet trained anymore. Just like that, she wasn't. She was and then she wasn't. And it happens sometimes. When children endure something traumatic that they don't know how to process, they regress. And my daughter did just that. She started sucking a pacifier again, sleeping with me again, using the bathroom on herself and talking like a baby. Her mother died and she regressed and that is a very normal defense mechanism for a child when they cannot process what happened to them…in my professional opinion. Lyla regressed when her mother died and I had to reteach her a lot of things. She is now toiled trained, she sleeps in her own bed, she doesn't take a pacifier anymore and she is slated to start preschool, not next Tuesday but the following Tuesday…on September 1st. She's thriving now. My girlfriend and I work together to ensure that she thrives."

"Your girlfriend…isn't she a felon?" I have to actively stop my jaw from dropping. I can't believe he said that. I cannot…oh, Jo. I look at her. Her face is so white. She's like…see-through. Did he really just say that? "You have a felon living in your house, isn't that right Mr. Karev?" And he's still going. "She's a felon with a drinking problem and she has charges on her from another state, including criminal homicide and manslaughter." I think Jo's going to throw up. Her face has absolutely no color in it and she's not even blinking. It's like someone just took a remote and turned her off. She's not even breathing. "Mugshot provided in the folder, your honor... Your girlfriend moved to Florida to escape charges...what kind of charges would those be?"

"Objection, your honor. That's hearsay… Ms. Wilson has never been charged with felonies, evidence can be sustained in her background check. Not that it pertains to this case, but the only thing Ms. Wilson has ever been charged with is one count of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor in the state of Massachusetts and a misdemeanor here in the state of Florida. She served NO jail time, paid NO court costs…it's no more serious than a traffic violation." My lawyer stands up. But it's too late. I think Jo's already dead. She's really not moving. You could hear a pin drop in this courtroom. "Objection…doesn't pertain to this case. This court is out for the best interest of the child, not out for my client's girlfriend who might as well forgot to pay a parking ticket. On the record, still not as it pertains to this case, Ms. Wilson is a two time Ivy League graduate. But I object, your honor. I object."

"Sustained…order in this courtroom." She cracks her gavel. I really want to get off his stand, go over here and hold Jo. She looks like she's been turned to stone. I want to hold her so bad.

"No further questions, your honor."