The Guy with the Gavel is the One in Charge, Mr. Scott
The courtroom the next morning was a zoo. Dan, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what all those people were doing there. An elderly steel-gazed woman who introduced herself as "Ruth Plumber, Nathan's CASA" had grabbed Nathan the minute they had walked in the door. Mrs. Lopez said she was there to be Nathan's voice during the proceedings, which made Dan nervous. He didn't think Nathan was necessarily going to argue Dan's case for him. "Don't worry," Mrs. Lopez assured him. "You'll be speaking to her before the hearing." And he had, although it hadn't gone well. Ms. Plumber turned out to be a retired middle school principal, and incredibly intimidating. Dan didn't handle intimidation well, and the resulting "conversation" had quickly become stiff and hostile. Nathan was still not speaking to him, his back was killing him from the lumpy futon, and there were way too many people in this courtroom. The judge seemed to think so too.
"Who the hell are all you people? This is supposed to be an emergency custody hearing, not a circus. Let's start with the boy. Nathan Carver?" The judge squinted over his reading glasses and found the youngest person in the room. "That'd be you, young man. And I see Mrs. Plumber is here as your CASA, excellent. Nice to see you Ruth. I recognize Nina Lopez from DSS, and I'm assuming you're Daniel Scott?" He said to Dan.
Dan nodded and stood. "Yes, Your honor. Nathan is my son."
"So sayeth the birth certificate, and therefore so sayeth the law Mr. Scott. I see you have Mr. D'Antonio to represent you, but I seem to have a few too many lawyers. Mr. Stamp, please explain your presence.
A thin man wearing a very expensive suit stood. "Your honor, I'm here to represent the estate of Debra Carver."
"Excellent, excellent. And you, Ms. Johnson? It seems to me that all the interested parties are now represented."
An older woman stood. "No your honor. I am representing Karen Roe Scott, who is jointly named as Nathan Carver's guardian in Debra Carver's will. Ms. Roe regrets she is unable to be here in person, your honor, but she received the news very late last night and was unable to arrange transportation and child care for her son, Nathan's brother, in time to make the trip from North Carolina."
Dan spun and stared at the woman. Karen... What the hell was she playing at? She knew this had nothing to do with her. He'd made that very clear last night.
The judge harrumphed. "Well, given this is very preliminary, I don't see a problem with her absence. I assume you can adequately represent her at this time?"
"Yes your honor. We spoke for several hours last night."
"Good, then let's get this started. This hearing is to determine an emergency custody arrangement for Nathan Scott Carver, sole child of Debra Carver, deceased as of yesterday. And Mr. arver," he said, looking up for a moment. "Allow me to say that I am deeply sorry for your loss, and I'm sure most of the rest of Las Vegas joins me in that sentiment." Nathan whispered a quick thank you and looked away, and the judge returned to business. "Petitioner is Daniel Scott. Mr. Scott please state your full name and address for the record."
After the preliminaries were out of the way, with Karen's attorney adding her name as a joint petitioner, the judge got into the major issues. "The first problem I see here is that Mr. Scott and Ms. Roe are both residents of North Carolina and this is a Nevada court. Mrs. Lopez, how are we fixing this?"
The social worker stood. "Your honor, I've already made contact with the Union County Department of Social Welfare, and they've assigned a social worker to Nathan's case. We're working on the paperwork to get the issue of permanent custody transferred to North Carolina's jurisdiction. We're only interested in custody until that can happen so Mr. Scott can legally take Nathan home with him."
"And is that the best option, Mrs. Plumber? Does Mr. Scott here have what is needed to be this boy's father?"
Dan exploded out of his chair. "I am his father, your honor. That gives- " His lawyer's hand on his arm, together with the judge's stare, made him stop and sit down again.
"Noone is questioning that you contributed the appropriate amount of genetic material, Mr. Scott. I just like to know we've explored all the options for this boy. Mrs. Plumber?"
"Your honor, I've spoken to Nathan at length, and to Mr. Scott and Mrs. Lopez. I also got a chance to speak to Ms. Johnson and Mr. Stamp briefly. While I admit to some concerns about this solution, especially given the recent dissolution of the Scott's marriage, there are no other options available beyond placement in a group home here, and given the precipitating circumstances of this hearing, I feel that would be far more damaging than Mr. Scott and Ms. Roe's care. Mr. Stamp assures me that due to family issues there is no one else in Ms. Carver's family who will take Nathan in. Most importantly, Nathan has indicated that he is willing to give it a chance, so I believe for now at least we should uphold the guardianship provisions of Debra Carver's will and grant temporary custody to Dan Scott and Karen Roe Scott."
The judge nodded. "That brings up another pickle. As Mrs. Plumber stated, the two parties named in the will are no longer married and there are no provisions covering this in the will. Mr. Stamp, care to tell me why you neglected to cover that eventuality when you drew up this will?"
The expensive suit stood. "Your honor, I would have to say, based on my conversations with Ms. Carver, that such an eventuality simply never occurred to her. She described them as very happy, and said they would make a good family for Nathan. That was why she went so far as to specifically name both of them. She said after going all his life with only a mother, she wanted to make sure that should anything happen to her he would be going to a home with two parents."
"But he's not, now, is he, and I trust you've learned your lesson for the future, Mr. Stamp." The lawyer nodded, flushing a little. "Mr. Scott, what are the custody arrangements in regard to your other son?"
"We share custody sir, alternating weeks. We live very close to each other, so it's a fluid arrangement."
Karen's lawyer spoke up. "Ms. Roe is willing and ready to extend that arrangement to Nathan, your honor."
"Don't be ridiculous, Ms. Johnson. This boy just lost his mother under sudden and extraordinary circumstances. I am not sending him straight from that into a broken home. However, Ms. Carver's will is very clear that both individuals were to share guardianship, so I think that's how I'll leave it, with sole physical custody to Daniel Scott. And might I add that I'm very glad right now I'm not a family court judge in North Carolina. I understand you're staying in Ms. Carver's house?" Dan murmured his assent. "Good. Give the boy a familiar place for now. Now, I want everyone but Nathan, Mr. Scott, Mr. D'Antonio, and Mrs. Plumber out of here. No Ms. Johnson, you may not stay. We'll stay on the record and you can read it later. Everyone, out."
Once the room was cleared, the judge turned his attention to Dan. "I'm not happy about that outburst, Mr. Scott. You already have a son, so you know it takes more to be a father than simple biology. But, you do seem willing to try. Just to be sure, I am appointing Mrs. Plumber here guardian ad litem for all matters related to this and any future custody hearings. Is that agreeable with you Mrs. Plumber?"
"Of course, your honor. This is a good boy in a bad situation. I'd be honored to continue speaking for him."
"Excellent. Now that that's settled "
"Your honor," d'Antonio interrupted. "There is one small problem with that. Mrs. Plumber is a resident of Nevada and permanent custody will be argued in North Carolina. We can hardly ask her to travel across the country as a volunteer."
"Not a problem," Mrs. Plumber smiled. "There's a reason Nina asked me to take this one on. I have a house in Gaston County and can easily stay there for the hearing.
The judge smiled. "See, I knew Nina Lopez would be thinking ahead. Thank you. If there are no other objections? Right, Ruth Plumber is guardian ad litem for Nathan Carver in all matters related to custody and guardianship, so ordered. Nathan, would you give us a moment alone please?" Nathan after a brief look at Dan stood and left. "Now, one more thing. Mr. Scott. I've had a lot of kids in this court room, and that is one of the most damaged and angry young men I've ever seen. He needs intensive counseling, and lots of it. Will you see to it he gets it?"
Dan humphed. "I was raised to solve my own problems your honor. We don't involve outsiders in our family business."
"I can make it a judicial order, if you like."
He threw his hands up. "Fine. I'll get him some therapy."
"Good," said the judge signing and closing the folder. "The sooner the better. Nina can point you to some excellent family therapists here in Las Vegas for emergency counseling and then you can find someone in Tree Hill." Or Charlotte, Dan thought to himself. No way he was going to be seen going into a therapist's office in his home town. "Bailiff, get all those lawyers back in here. We have to set a second date. At which time there will probably be even more lawyers."