Chapter Eleven- "Custody termination, usually it's the father who signs
them"
So they managed to create a plan, both of them, together. Seth had a summer break starting in May, and he was literal when calling it ' summer break'. May, that meant Summer was already six months along, and that meant three months left. Once he got to California, Elise would be on the other end. But she was already helping out, even when three thousand miles away. She'd write emails on Summers progress, including the daily vomit count. Also, sometimes around March, she mailed him a very fuzzy looking picture. It wasn't until another teacher at the school told him that he knew it was a sonogram picture. It only took a few days to detect the head, and then the rest of the baby.
That was his baby, but he wasn't sure if reality had hit yet. He hated New York, he hated everything about it. All of this was keeping him away from Summer, and the baby, the only place he wanted to be. He nearly lost it one day in front of his students when he had to read a book about where babies came from.
Now he hated the book. It made having a baby sound so happy and simple. Seth himself was ready to let loose and tell a group of six and seven year olds what it was like for him. But he didn't, he knew he couldn't. Somewhere in California, Summer was going through the experience in a version that was worse.
At least May was coming.
May in California
Elise pulled the key out of a lock and stepped into Summers apartment early that morning. She found her laying perfectly still on the living room floor, staring at the ceiling.
Elise laughed, "what are you doing?".
"Trying to see my feet, but I failed at that one".
Summer had been quiet amazed with her endowed stomach. It was a fascination for her, that and the baby kicking.
"Well I can assure you that there's no extra hair or moles growing".
Summer tried lifting her ankles, but only an inch or two until she had to drop them again, "that wasn't in the big book of messed up pregnancy hormones. Now help me up".
Elise stood over her waist, grabbing her hands, "where are you doing? Since you've got the day off".
"I'm going to see a friend".
"Oh really?" she grunted, pulling Summer into a standing position, "who?".
"Ryan, he was a...friend from high school".
Elise's mind reacted to the name, "Ryan? As in your lawyer friend Ryan?" Summer nodded, "why are you going to see him?".
Summer lightly shrugged, "just to ask him a few questions".
That didn't sound good. She'd never have a casual reason to do that. "Oh, okay" Elise had a weird feeling, "but why are you going to see a lawyer?".
"I'm not, I'm going to see a friend who happens to be a lawyer".
"Does this have to do with the baby?" when she didn't respond, Elise took a hint, "forget it. Do you need a ride?".
"No, thanks" but Summer suspected she wasn't the only one withholding something.
Even if Summer was at the airport that afternoon, she wouldn't have suspected the tall man with a baseball cap and sunglasses to be Seth Cohen. That's exactly what they wanted, for him to go unnoticed.
"Welcome to Los Angeles Mister Cohen" Elise grinned.
He removed the glasses, "thanks, but it still feels wrong, like I'm a rat or something".
"Don't worry, it wont go on for long. I know she's going to see Ryan now, but she should be home tonight".
Seth stopped in the middle of the terminal, "what does she want from Ryan?".
An entire maze of desks was beyond where Summer was standing. Unsure if Ryan still looked the same, Summer began strolling down one of the aisles, then turned down another, and another. She managed to recognize his untamed hair over a few desks away and quickly got over there.
"Summer" his eyes widened when seeing her, "wow, uh, how are you?".
After a brief hug, she sat down in the single chair across from his desk. She noticed a picture on the desktop of Lillian sitting on a park swing smiling. "Fine, what about you two?".
"Fortunately, better" he wasn't going to mention the Amber incident that was still in effect.
"Does she stay with Jimmy and Hailey while you work?" she couldn't present her issue just yet.
"No, I convinced her into school. She's with them sometimes, but they're so busy with the new baby and everything" there was a silent pause, "speaking of babies...".
Summer placed a hand over her stomach, "yeah, I never thought I'd be the one to help populate the world, but I don't think anyone did".
"Never the less, congratulations".
"Thank you".
Ryan leaned back in his chair, "so, what can I help you with?" he knew it had to be a legal matter.
She let out a dragged sigh, "when my parents got divorced and I was younger, I remember my mom signed these papers so that she had no relation or responsibility of me. Do those actually exist?".
He nodded, "custody termination, usually it's the father that signs them".
"I thought so, and that's what I want. How exactly do they work?".
Ryan leaned forward again, "is Seth the father?" he quietly asked and received a silent response, "and this is what Seth wants too?" he properly hid his reaction of those two having a baby in the first place.
"I-I haven't seen or talked to Seth since the fall, at the funeral. He did call me, but I never returned his messages".
His eyes turned a sympathetic shade of dark blue, "so he has no idea that you're...having a baby?".
She shook her head, "so, about the custody papers?".
"Yeah, there's come paperwork you need to fill out before they can be sent- hang on, I'll go get them".
While he was gone, Summer studied the picture and tried to remember what Marissa had to go through when Lillian was born. Better yet, what Ryan was going through. She knew Julie Cooper, and knew what she was capable of. Was she about to do to Seth what Marissa did to Ryan? It could still end the same way, no one knew that for sure. Would Ryan tell Seth like he had before?
Ryan returned with a tan file folder, "fill these out and I can get you the papers".
She pulled the folder off the desktop, "okay, thank you" then paused, "you're not going to tell Seth about any of this are you?".
"No, everything we discuss here is confidential by law. But, of course, even he would take a hint when reading the papers".
"Well, what if he doesn't sign them?".
He couldn't easily answer that, "I didn't sign the ones Julie Cooper sent to me, and now we're in a court house custody battle starting next week".
Summer stiffened, "oh" she was surprised by both law facts and Ryan's facts.
Ryan continued, "Seth could do the same to you the second he sees the papers. You could loose custody of the baby by the time it's a month old, maybe even before it's born. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?".
"Yeah. They'd really take a child away from it's mother?".
He nodded, "welcome to the American justice system".
So they managed to create a plan, both of them, together. Seth had a summer break starting in May, and he was literal when calling it ' summer break'. May, that meant Summer was already six months along, and that meant three months left. Once he got to California, Elise would be on the other end. But she was already helping out, even when three thousand miles away. She'd write emails on Summers progress, including the daily vomit count. Also, sometimes around March, she mailed him a very fuzzy looking picture. It wasn't until another teacher at the school told him that he knew it was a sonogram picture. It only took a few days to detect the head, and then the rest of the baby.
That was his baby, but he wasn't sure if reality had hit yet. He hated New York, he hated everything about it. All of this was keeping him away from Summer, and the baby, the only place he wanted to be. He nearly lost it one day in front of his students when he had to read a book about where babies came from.
Now he hated the book. It made having a baby sound so happy and simple. Seth himself was ready to let loose and tell a group of six and seven year olds what it was like for him. But he didn't, he knew he couldn't. Somewhere in California, Summer was going through the experience in a version that was worse.
At least May was coming.
May in California
Elise pulled the key out of a lock and stepped into Summers apartment early that morning. She found her laying perfectly still on the living room floor, staring at the ceiling.
Elise laughed, "what are you doing?".
"Trying to see my feet, but I failed at that one".
Summer had been quiet amazed with her endowed stomach. It was a fascination for her, that and the baby kicking.
"Well I can assure you that there's no extra hair or moles growing".
Summer tried lifting her ankles, but only an inch or two until she had to drop them again, "that wasn't in the big book of messed up pregnancy hormones. Now help me up".
Elise stood over her waist, grabbing her hands, "where are you doing? Since you've got the day off".
"I'm going to see a friend".
"Oh really?" she grunted, pulling Summer into a standing position, "who?".
"Ryan, he was a...friend from high school".
Elise's mind reacted to the name, "Ryan? As in your lawyer friend Ryan?" Summer nodded, "why are you going to see him?".
Summer lightly shrugged, "just to ask him a few questions".
That didn't sound good. She'd never have a casual reason to do that. "Oh, okay" Elise had a weird feeling, "but why are you going to see a lawyer?".
"I'm not, I'm going to see a friend who happens to be a lawyer".
"Does this have to do with the baby?" when she didn't respond, Elise took a hint, "forget it. Do you need a ride?".
"No, thanks" but Summer suspected she wasn't the only one withholding something.
Even if Summer was at the airport that afternoon, she wouldn't have suspected the tall man with a baseball cap and sunglasses to be Seth Cohen. That's exactly what they wanted, for him to go unnoticed.
"Welcome to Los Angeles Mister Cohen" Elise grinned.
He removed the glasses, "thanks, but it still feels wrong, like I'm a rat or something".
"Don't worry, it wont go on for long. I know she's going to see Ryan now, but she should be home tonight".
Seth stopped in the middle of the terminal, "what does she want from Ryan?".
An entire maze of desks was beyond where Summer was standing. Unsure if Ryan still looked the same, Summer began strolling down one of the aisles, then turned down another, and another. She managed to recognize his untamed hair over a few desks away and quickly got over there.
"Summer" his eyes widened when seeing her, "wow, uh, how are you?".
After a brief hug, she sat down in the single chair across from his desk. She noticed a picture on the desktop of Lillian sitting on a park swing smiling. "Fine, what about you two?".
"Fortunately, better" he wasn't going to mention the Amber incident that was still in effect.
"Does she stay with Jimmy and Hailey while you work?" she couldn't present her issue just yet.
"No, I convinced her into school. She's with them sometimes, but they're so busy with the new baby and everything" there was a silent pause, "speaking of babies...".
Summer placed a hand over her stomach, "yeah, I never thought I'd be the one to help populate the world, but I don't think anyone did".
"Never the less, congratulations".
"Thank you".
Ryan leaned back in his chair, "so, what can I help you with?" he knew it had to be a legal matter.
She let out a dragged sigh, "when my parents got divorced and I was younger, I remember my mom signed these papers so that she had no relation or responsibility of me. Do those actually exist?".
He nodded, "custody termination, usually it's the father that signs them".
"I thought so, and that's what I want. How exactly do they work?".
Ryan leaned forward again, "is Seth the father?" he quietly asked and received a silent response, "and this is what Seth wants too?" he properly hid his reaction of those two having a baby in the first place.
"I-I haven't seen or talked to Seth since the fall, at the funeral. He did call me, but I never returned his messages".
His eyes turned a sympathetic shade of dark blue, "so he has no idea that you're...having a baby?".
She shook her head, "so, about the custody papers?".
"Yeah, there's come paperwork you need to fill out before they can be sent- hang on, I'll go get them".
While he was gone, Summer studied the picture and tried to remember what Marissa had to go through when Lillian was born. Better yet, what Ryan was going through. She knew Julie Cooper, and knew what she was capable of. Was she about to do to Seth what Marissa did to Ryan? It could still end the same way, no one knew that for sure. Would Ryan tell Seth like he had before?
Ryan returned with a tan file folder, "fill these out and I can get you the papers".
She pulled the folder off the desktop, "okay, thank you" then paused, "you're not going to tell Seth about any of this are you?".
"No, everything we discuss here is confidential by law. But, of course, even he would take a hint when reading the papers".
"Well, what if he doesn't sign them?".
He couldn't easily answer that, "I didn't sign the ones Julie Cooper sent to me, and now we're in a court house custody battle starting next week".
Summer stiffened, "oh" she was surprised by both law facts and Ryan's facts.
Ryan continued, "Seth could do the same to you the second he sees the papers. You could loose custody of the baby by the time it's a month old, maybe even before it's born. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?".
"Yeah. They'd really take a child away from it's mother?".
He nodded, "welcome to the American justice system".