Lee came into the records annex a few days later. "Hey," she said, holding a cup of takeout coffee in her hands. "How's it going?" She asked Kristen who looked quite frazzled. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Kristen smiled tiredly, filing another folder of forms from the massive stack piled atop her desk. "Just … a lot on my mind lately."

"Maybe you should take a break. I noticed you haven't left since you got here, that had to be at least six hours ago." Lee said. "Do you want to go for coffee? I'm out." She said shaking her empty cup. "My treat."

Kristen paused for a moment, adjusting her glasses as she looked wearily down at the stack of folders that cops had kept haphazardly leaving here all day. They weren't making it easy to prepare the records annex for the person who'd be covering for her tomorrow … But she'd at least gotten these into some semblance of order. It could wait long enough to get coffee. She nodded. "Thanks," she said, closing a filing cabinet drawer. "You're right … I could use a break."

"Want to head over to Carl's Diner?" Lee asked. "Coffee isn't that great but it's close."

"Better idea," said Kristen, picking up her purse. "There's a little place off the corner of Kirby and Main that Edward likes. The coffee's better, and it's much quieter. You can have an actual conversation and everything."

"Sure, sounds quaint." She said, "That's not far from here, we can walk it." She said. The walk to the coffee shop was pleasant, they made idle chit chat about the weather. When they got to the shop they ordered their coffee and sat at a table near the window. "I'm surprised there's no one here." Lee said looking around.

"It's because it's so small and out of the way," Kristen said, taking a sip of her coffee. "You'd miss it if you didn't already know it was here. But they do some good business with the regulars who come through here in the morning." She glanced out the window thoughtfully. "Thank you for pulling me away from work," she said. "I'm just … kind of stressed about the court date tomorrow."

"I bet. I can only imagine how Ed's feeling right now." She said sipping her latte. "Is he ready?"

"As ready as he can be," Kristen sighed. "I think he wants for things to finally be settled, and to not have to worry anymore about losing Rubix, but … He's afraid."

"Yeah … Even with the evidence and our witness, the courts generally favour the mother over a single father." She said shaking her head.

Kristen fidgeted slightly. "Well," she said. "Edward's lawyer did have an idea … That it might go farther toward showing the judge that he could build a stable home for Rubix if I adopted him."

"If you …" Lee paused as she considered what she was saying. "You mean beside his custody? Are you …. Are you ready for that? He's not asking you to is he? That's a big decision."

"He isn't pressuring me into it," Kristen said, ignoring the question of whether she was ready for now. "He didn't even want to tell me the lawyer had suggested it … I had to pry it out of him. He … seems okay with the idea, I guess, but he's afraid of what might happen if we break up later on, and he doesn't want me to decide too quickly and regret it …" She shook her head. "But there isn't really a lot of time to decide, is there?" She looked across the table at Lee, her eyes completely overwhelmed.

"That's good but … Are you really ready for that? To be a mother? Not only a mother but a mother to someone else's child? I'm sure he won't blame you if you say no. He has a solid case …" Lee said, worried about just how quickly their relationship has gone. Then again, she wasn't in a position to talk. Her and Jim hadn't dated that long and she was already pregnant. But it was her child. She didn't know what she would do in Kristen's position.

"I know he wouldn't blame me," Kristen said. "But if I can do something to help, shouldn't I? And Rubix is a good kid; he's not any trouble." Kristen looked down into her coffee. "I … don't know if I'm ready, honestly," she admitted. "But …" She looked up at Lee. "How do you ever know when you're ready?"

"Sure he's a good kid now, but he's 3. Don't forget he's going to turn into a teenager one day … An adult …. He's going to consider you his mother. He's young enough that one day you'll be all he knows."

"Maybe it would be better that way," she said quietly. "If he doesn't remember having to be afraid of his mother, and he never has to be without one either. It's just … I know how hard it is to grow up in a difficult family situation. Wouldn't this be better for him?"

"Don't think about him for a moment …. Think about you …. Because if you're doing this for Rubix and Ed it might not work out the way you want it to. It might make it worse for Rubix … You have to make sure this is what you want, situation or not. If there wasn't a time frame … If there was no custody battle … Would you want to be Rubix's mother?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Kristen said, the realization settling over her with a certainty she hadn't recognized before. "Yes, I would."

"Why?" Lee asked, though it sounded conversational rather than actually questioning.

"I just …" She thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure why, but I've just grown attached to him so quickly. And when the three of us are all together, I can't help but like the idea of having a functional family …" She shook her head. "Do you think I'm rushing into this?"

"I think you're capable of making the decision you want to make. But I'd like to advise you to make that decision for yourself. Not for them." She said. "I'm glad though, that Ed has someone like you. The fact that you're even considering it …." Lee said letting the sentence hang knowing Kristen would know what she meant.

"Edward's one of a kind," Kristen said, shaking her head. "I'm still trying to live up to that." She still didn't fully understand why he was interested in someone as ordinary as her, though she was glad he was. "But I've made some pretty stupid decisions where men are concerned in the past, and … I really needed a second opinion on this, to confirm that I'm not completely crazy."

"Not crazy no just …." Lee sat back and sighed. "Brave I suppose." She said.

Kristen laughed quietly at that. "I don't know about that," she said. "But thank you. Really, this has helped a lot." If nothing else, she had a stronger sense of conviction now.