Once Again, Mr. Scott, I Have the Gavel

Lucas continued his campaign of harassment the next few weeks, but since he was choosing to pursue the bastard angle, Nathan found himself oddly distanced from the whole thing. When his locker turned up decorated three days in a row, he just took down the signs and got his books for the next class. When Mr. Kelly, the English teacher, had them do this silly exercise where they had to describe someone in one word and Lucas had thrown out the inevitable response, he'd just shrugged and responded with "spoiled", which had surprised him by getting a laugh. The only problem was that Lucas had been reported for using bad language to the principal, who had called Karen. "Why didn't you tell me?" she'd yelled at Nathan the next time he was in her cafe. "I would have taken care of it!"

He'd shrugged. "I said if it was something I couldn't handle. Believe it or not, all this bastard stuff doesn't bother me. I had friends back in Vegas whose mothers were actual prostitutes, so being born out of wedlock just isn't that big a deal to me."

"It bothers me. You're not in Vegas anymore."

Ain't that the truth, he'd thought to himself. "It's really not that big a deal. Besides, it's not exactly like I can challenge him on it, can I... Dan and Mom were never married. Just leave it alone. I can handle it."

After getting in trouble with Karen, Lucas had had to lay off, which gave Nathan his opportunity to start playing offense. By now the entire school knew Peyton had dumped Lucas after Tim's party, so Nathan had been talking to her as much as possible, turning on the charm whenever Lucas was around. Peyton seemed to know what the score was and play along, and the best part was Lucas wasn't really in a position to respond, since he couldn't risk another confrontation with his mother. Whitey, of course, could see what was going on, and tried to talk to them about it, both together and separately, but Nathan just couldn't handle Whitey's "sage advice" anymore. He was starting to think Dan was right and it was long past time for Whitey to get out of coaching. He and Lucas cooperated exactly as much as they needed to win games, and not one iota more. Karen had told Dan about the incident in Kelly's classroom, but Dan's only response, to Nathan anyway, was to congratulate him on not losing his cool on a game day and "distracting his focus."

When he and Dan had first returned to North Carolina, there had been a brief court hearing to confirm the Nevada temporary ruling and Mrs. Plumber as guardian ad litem. At that hearing, the judge, a woman named Krueger, had set the first permanent custody hearing for three months later, which would give, as she put it, "time for everyone to adjust and Social Welfare to evaluate the situation. Now, time was up. It had been three months and everyone was due back in court. Mrs. Lawlor had done a few home visits and talked to him, Dan and Karen together and apart. Mrs. Plumber had been stepping up her unannounced visits and had even come to basketball practice and a few games. She and Whitey had hit it off instantly, and Nathan secretly suspected they might even have gone on a date or two. He'd nicknamed them The Crusty Cooter Couple in his head, although he'd never dare share that with either. He did value his life, after all.

The court building here was a lot nicer than the one in Nevada, he thought as they sat outside the room waiting their turn. That one had been kind of blocky, like most of Las Vegas, which saved its best architecture for the casinos. This one made him think of Gone with the Wind, with all the marble and brick. Wait, wasn't Tara wood? Had to be - the Union army had burned it. Whatever. It was him, Dan, Karen, the Mrs. Plumber and Lawlor, and Dan and Karen's lawyers. Lucas wasn't there. At the first hearing, the judge had made clear that since he wasn't a direct party to the issue being decided he wouldn't be allowed in the room, so he was back in school. No doubt plotting with Tim for whatever was next. Finally the bailiff called them in. After the formalities, the judge called on Mrs. Lawlor first, who reported that there was no question about Dan's ability to financially provide for his son. "Nathan appears well cared for, and has maintained decent grades on par with his academic performance in Nevada, your honor. This is commendable since he is now balancing schoolwork with a fairly grueling physical regimen he did not have previously." Dan grinned and patted Nathan on the shoulder. Nathan could feel the "atta boy, son" implied in the gesture.

Judge Krueger, who seemed far too young and pretty to be a judge, thanked Mrs. Lawlor for her report. "The way I see it, though, Mr. Scott's ability to support and provide for his son was never really the question, was it. Rather it's this instant family Mr. Carver has been delivered into and their baggage. I've read the materials from Nevada and there are definite areas of concern. Mrs. Plumber, would you care to comment?"

Ruth Plumber stood. "Your honor, I share your concern. Daniel Scott seems to be obsessed with basketball, and rushed Nathan onto the high school varsity team the minute he could. While Nathan seems to enjoy working out with his father and playing on the team, I'm concerned about what they will bond over when the season is over. I've never seen any indication of any other activity or interest that they share."

The judge grinned. "Welcome to the one track mind of the North Carolina male, Mrs. Plumber. Mr. Scott is by no means alone in his obsession. Ms. Roe, what say you? Is your ex-husband's obsession with basketball a problem for his relationship with Nathan?"

Karen stood, opened her mouth and then closed it. Finally she seemed to get her thoughts in order. "Your honor, it's difficult me to answer that question. It was the basketball that, more than anything, broke up our marriage. He pushed our son so hard, and yes, I believe it has created tension in his relationship with Lucas. But I can't answer for Nathan. I'm trying very hard to let Dan build this relationship with his son with as little interference as possible. I just don't feel, despite my legal standing, that it's my place to participate significantly in Nathan's care. I will say he has not, as yet, objected in any way to playing. If he had, I would certainly take his side."

"Thank you for your honesty, Ms. Roe. Now yes, Ms. Roe?" For Karen hadn't sat back down yet.

"Your honor, I think there may be a bigger problem than Dan and basketball for Nathan. He and Lucas have not as yet managed to form anything like a filial bond. In fact, I'd say the exact opposite is happening, and as much as it pains me to say this about my own son, the primary fault appears to be with Lucas. The school has reported at least one incident of harassment. He only barely survived our divorce, and for some reason he's taking out all his anger on Nathan. I'm just at a loss as to how to address this." Karen retook her seat.

The judge had raised an eyebrow, and considered Karen's statement. "Mrs. Plumber, care to comment?"

"Nathan has spoken of tension between he and Lucas almost from the beginning. The only specific incident I am aware of is conflict over who would get to be something called a shooting guard when Nathan moved from the JV to varsity squad, but that appears to have been resolved."

The judge nodded and turned to Dan. "Have you noticed this as well, Mr. Scott?"

Dan stood. "Your honor, I'm aware of the incident at school and the conflict over who would get to play shooting guard, but nothing I've seen strikes me anything more than normal healthy sibling rivalry. I went through it with my brother too. It's just boys being boys."

The judge nodded and turned to Nathan. "Well, what about it, Mr. Carver? Is Lucas harassing you beyond what would be normal for brothers?"

"I wouldn't know about that, your honor, having never had a brother before, but it hasn't been anything I haven't been able to handle, your honor." He could feel Dan stewing next to him, and knew he had to be careful. Dan had a real thing about airing family business, even in a closed courtroom.

"Would you care to be more specific, young man? I'd like to know more about what's going on here."

Nathan tried to think of an answer that wouldn't make things worse. He certainly couldn't tell her about the poster, or the locker decorations. Finally he settled on basketball. "He was mad when I made the varsity squad, your honor, and for a long time would never pass the ball to me."

"That's all? Poor sportsmanship?"

"No, your honor. When I first started school, he put out word that noone should talk to me."

The eyebrow went back up. "And people payed attention to that edict?"

Nathan shrugged. "Lucas Scott is a starting varsity basketball player. High school elite. If they say something, it goes."

"What about this incident the school reported? What happened?"

"We were doing an exercise where we had to describe someone in only one word, and the word he used to describe me was bastard. He likes to call me that whenever possible."

The judge's eyes had gone wide. "And how does that make you feel?"

He shrugged again. "What can I say? I mean, he's not wrong. Wrong side of the sheets, by- blow, illegitimate, out of wedlock, love child, bastard...they're all accurate." He paused, and then felt a minor explosion inside. "It's just, I was reading this book, see, and it said something that perfectly described Lucas. 'If I wish to do battle, the enemy cannot help but do battle with me.' Lucas says I'm trying to steal his life, and he really wants to do battle. I haven't figured out how to convince him that's not what I'm after. I mean, my mom was murdered by a bank robber. I've got enough going on trying to live my own life, you know?" The fire gone out, he sat back down.

The judge, in the meantime, had gotten a more and more serious expression on her face until the lawyers exchanged a nervous glance. Obviously something had been triggered, and they were moving into dangerous ground. "Mr. Carver, I recognize the passage you quoted. May I ask why you were reading that particular book?"

Nathan stood back up. "I found it on Dan's, I mean, Dad's bookshelf. It looked like something he liked 'cause it had all these little marks and tabs in it, so I thought if I read it, we could talk about it."

The judge whose expression had not changed, nodded grimly. "An admirable goal, Mr. Carver. I applaud the sentiment. Mr. Scott." Dan started, and stood. "I trust you also recognize the passage." Dan nodded. "And who is the author, Mr. Scott?"

"Sun Tzu, your honor." Dan's lawyer, suddenly realizing what was happening, was heard to mutter 'uh-oh'.

"Sun Tzu, Mr. Scott," the judge continued. "Now, for the benefit of those of us here today who might not be familiar with Sun Tzu, would you please tell the court the name of this book?"

Dan had finally figured out where this was going and responded in a very low voice. "The Art of War, your honor."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott," the judge said, voice made of titanium. "Could you please repeat that?"

Dan looked up and repeated himself, more audibly. Karen looked sick, while her lawyer, who had also represented her in the divorce and still had it in for Dan, was trying not to look pleased with only partial success. Mrs. Plumber just looked horrified, while Mrs. Lawlor looked exactly the same. 15 years in social work meant nothing surprised her anymore.

"The Art of War!" roared the judge, banging her fist on the desk and making her clerk jump. "Your son just quoted from a 2,000 year old manual of warfare to describe his relationship with his own brother! Does that sound healthy to you, Mr. Scott? Does that sound normal?"

Dan, knowing there was no good answer to this question, just shook his head. His lawyer appeared to be trying to disappear into his chair.

"Well, there is no way I'm going to rule on permanent custody with the situation as it is. This family has deep problems that go far beyond the ability of this court to remedy. But we are sure as hell going to try. First, Mr. Scott, I understand you voluntarily send Nathan to a therapist regularly?" Dan nodded. "As of this minute, consider those visits court-ordered, and the same goes for the rest of you. The entire Scott-Carver family is going to put in some serious couch time. Mrs. Plumber, I would like you to attend as the therapist feels appropriate as well."

"Not a problem, your honor," came the steely response.

"Right, second. Ms. Roe, it's time for you to start interfering. I read the two letters from Ms. Carver, and you and I are going to make what she wanted happen. So, slight change in the physical custody arrangement. Nathan, every other weekend, you'll be staying with your stepmother. That'll give you the opportunity to bond and form a relationship. I'll leave it up to Ms. Roe how that works with Lucas' custody, but to start, at least, I recommend they do not overlap."

Dan's lawyer had jumped up and started to protest. "Your honor, Ms. Roe has no connection with this boy and should have no input into how he is raised."

"Save it, Mr. Edwards," the judge snapped. "It is your client's poor observation skills that let the situation get this out of control. This is his mess I'm trying to clean up. The only reason I don't transfer physical custody entirely is it would probably make the tension with Lucas even worse."

The lawyer grimly took his seat again and started whispering urgently to Dan. "I want everyone back here in three months, where we will hear testimony from the therapist, Mrs. Plumber, someone from Tree Hill High, and the four people at the middle of this trainwreck. Actually, make the school rep the basketball coach. Sounds like he'll know what's going on.. If at that time I see evidence of significant progress being made, then we can start to address final custody, but not a moment before. Everyone capiche?" There were murmurs of assent. "Last thing. Mr. Carver.

Nathan jumped up again. He was starting to feel like a jack in the box. "Yes ma'am?"

"Do you remember the passage that comes right after the one you quoted?"

Nathan tried to remember. "Something about drawing a line?"

"Very good. 'If I do not wish to battle, I mark a line in the earth, and the enemy cannot do battle with me.' Do you wish to do battle with your brother?" Nathan, despite his earlier resolve to do exactly that, knew better than to answer in the affirmative. "Good. You have to take the high road here. Find somewhere to mark your line so Lucas can't pick his fights."

Nathan nodded, but he knew that was an impossibility. With Lucas objecting to basically his very existence on the planet, how on earth did he draw a line that would defend himself and include his identity as Dan Scott's son?