Chapter 27

"So Much for my Happy Ending"

"What's going on?" Lucas asked with confusion written all over his face.

"It looks like we're about to find out," Dan responded. Then he turned to Donna. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take Lucas," Donna replied.

"Take Lucas where?" Dan asked as he stepped forward.

"Lucas has been placed in the state's custody," Donna responded. "We'll be taking him to a group home until he's permanently placed somewhere."

"Lucas isn't going anywhere except home with his family," Dan drawled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott, but he no longer belongs to you. You lost custody and you'll have to petition the court if you want it back."

Dan shook his head. "My son is coming home with me."

"If you refuse to give up custody, then these two gentlemen will place you under arrest," Donna said as she pointed to the two uniformed police officers.

Lucas wasn't about to let anybody get arrested on his behalf. He stepped forward and put a hand on Dan's shoulder. "I don't want to see you get arrested because of me."

Dan turned to Donna. "May we have a minute to say goodbye?"

"Go ahead," Donna replied in a sarcastic tone.

Dan took Lucas aside and said, "I'm not going to let this be permanent. I'm going to fight them with everything I've got."

Lucas nodded his head. "I know."

Deb approached them and pulled Lucas into a hug. "You be careful Lucas, and remember that we love you."

"I will…I love you too." Then he turned to Nathan. "I need you to take care of Haley and Brooke."

"No doubt," Nathan replied. "You just hang in there."

Lucas nodded his head as he extended his fist to Nathan. Instead of bumping fists with Lucas, Nathan pulled him into a hug. "I'll miss you, little brother," Lucas whispered.

Everyone's smiles turned to frowns as they watched Lucas walk away with Donna and the two cops. Haley began to cry, and had to be comforted by Nathan, while Brooke just stood there in shock.

Lucas felt like a prisoner as he was placed in the backseat of a cop car. Donna sat next to him, but Lucas refused to look at her. Instead he kept his eyes glued to the window, and he felt tears burning his eyes as he saw his family and friends emerge from the hospital. He wanted nothing more than to go home with them.

Brooke ran up to the curb with tear filled eyes and mouthed the words "I love you" to Lucas. He managed a weak smile as he put his hand up against the window. He could almost feel Brooke's touch. The car began to pull away and Lucas could feel his heart breaking. He moved so that he was staring out the back window, and he let his tears fall.

Dan watched the car pull away and then he turned to Deb. "I'm going to meet with our lawyer; I have to get him back."

"I'm coming with you," Deb responded. Then she turned to Nathan. "Can you handle being on your own for dinner?"

Nathan nodded his head. "Don't worry about me…just bring my brother back home."

"We'll do everything we can, son," Dan responded. He wasn't just making that promise to Nathan, but to Lucas also.

Lucas followed Donna down the long hallway to where his new room was going to be. The hallway was dark and cold and Lucas hated this place already. This place wasn't for him; it was for boys who had committed a crime, and he didn't do anything like that. When they got into the room Lucas noticed that there was another bed in there. His roommate wasn't there, and he wondered why.

Donna noticed that Lucas seemed to be looking for his roommate. "He's in class right now," she said. "We offer programs for the boys here to get their GED. I assume you'll be signing up for some of those programs."

"I won't be here that long," Lucas responded coldly. "My father's coming to get me."

"What happened to the boy who wanted nothing to do with his father?"

"He got to know his father, and both father and son realized that they had been making a mistake for a very long time."

Donna wanted to believe Lucas, but she felt like he was hiding something. "When did you and Dan become so close?" she asked.

"That's none of your damn business," Lucas shot back.

Donna put a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "It became my business when you decided to take all those pills."

"You don't like me very much," Lucas stated in a calm tone.

"What do you mean, Lucas?"

"You forced me to live with my father when I didn't want to, and now that I want to stay with my father you're taking me away."

Donna looked at him with a tender look in her eyes. "I barely know you, Lucas, but I believe that you're a troubled young man who needs help. I want to help you."

"Then let me go home."

"I can't do that. Come on, the social worker wants to meet with you."

Brian Martin was just about to go home for the day when Dan and Deb Scott burst into his office. "What are you doing here?" Brian asked. "I handled everything and got rid of the divorce papers."

"We know…thank you," Dan responded. "We have a problem and we need your help."

"Have a seat," Brian said as he sat back down at his desk.

"They took Lucas away," Dan blurted out.

Brian leaned forward in his chair. "Who did?"

"The state," Deb answered nervously.

Brian nodded his head. "Because of the overdose."

"You have to help us get him back," Dan begged.

Brian looked into both Dan and Deb's eyes and could see that they were desperate. He had two young boys of his own, and he didn't know what he would do if someone tried to take them away. He picked up his phone and called his wife. "I'm going to be home later than I thought," he said when he heard her voice on the other end.

The chapter is titled after Avril Lavigne's "My Happy Ending"