A.N. Well I hope every one had a good holiday. I certainly did. I've been picking at this chapter for several days now, so I'm glad its finally finished up. And I'm excited for the next chapter, my self.

Don't know if I can get it done in such short notice, so Happy New Years everyone. :D

Chapter 18

Take Out

Anita's plane landed just after two, and she came stumbling out looking more than a little frightened. She looked that way until she spotted him, that was, and then she changed her face into a mask of confidence.

"How was your flight?" he asked somehow managing to suppress an amused grin.

"It went well. A little turbulence, nothing out of the ordinary," she explained, but she looked a bit pale.

"You get used to it. Come on, let's go find somewhere to relax." Roger led the way over to the luggage and they stood side by side as they waited on her bags to come around.

"The baby - Rachel," she corrected herself, it was a little odd to use an actual name for her, "has been kicking up a storm. She never sleeps." Roger smiled.

"An active little one," he said proudly. "We're going to go crazy, aren't we?"

"Most likely," she agreed.

Luckily for him, that kind of crazy didn't sound all that bad.

o.O.o

The long, painful waits in the hotel room, arguing over the phone, were a lot easier with Anita around. She didn't do much really, she mostly just slept or read, but her very presence made his life a lot easier.

Finally, Roger had found out the reasons behind the retraining order, the mayor himself. Not that being a mayor in California held much sway here in Nevada, but he had pulled whatever strings he had.

While Roger couldn't have the charge revoked, he did manage to secure a court date, some three weeks away. He had no idea how he had been so lucky, he was quite aware of how long it could take to get something like this in front of a judge. Now if only he could be lucky enough to have it only take a few rounds.

During the three-week wait Roger and Anita spent a great deal of time doing almost nothing. Christmas was growing steadily closer, not that they would actually be home for the holiday.

To compensate, they decorated their hotel room. A tiny fake tree sat on one of the tables glittering with fiber optic lights, and a few other 'essentials' were scattered around the rest of the room. Anita warned him, eventually, that she had already done some Christmas shopping of her own, but that didn't stop them from acquiring another small mountain of gifts, all wrapped and labeled, in the far corner.

He once tried to apologize for not being able to have a proper Christmas, but she waved him off.

"We'll have Christmas the moment we get home. I doubt Jack will mind," she said as she packed away the gifts for her family so they could be mailed off.

It warmed him up a little to know that Jack was her main concern at the moment, at least until Rachel came.

o.O.o

Christmas came and went with little fanfare, and New Years too, and then it was suddenly most important date yet, their hearing on the eighth.

They sat in one large, mostly empty court room, Roger, Anita, and their lawyer sitting on one side and Tiffany and her crew on the other. The mayor seemed to be taking point on this, and he had brought four of his own lawyers in on the deal.

They all looked stern and angry, except for Tiffany who was looking a little stressed. Roger supposed that her look could work for them, but he knew she wasn't some terrified mother desperate to save her little boy. If anything, she was probably worried about the outcome being in her favor.

Every one stood when the judge strode in, her long robe flowing behind her as she marched in. She too was looking rather angry.

Judge Irons took her seat, folding her hands as she examined them all.

"Custody is not a simple matter, especially with such a young child and the outstanding circumstances being what they are." The judge opened a folder then, scanning the pages inside. "I see that, until very recently, you had no contact with the boy in question, Mr. Darling?"

Roger made to speak, but was interrupted by his attorney. "My client had no prior knowledge of the child, Your Honor. It was kept from him. Mr. Darling only became involved once he had unearthed the secret himself."

"And the reasons behind keeping the child a secret?" she asked, this time turning to Tiffany's party.

"Ms. Hope felt that her son should be kept away from his father, other members of his own family agreed. They kept silent on the matter to spare Mr. Darling from unnecessary trouble."

Judge Irons eyebrow quirked, "Who are these 'other members' that you speak of?"

The older gentleman cleared his throat. "Mr. Darling's own father, Your Honor, Roger Darling Sr. He felt that his son might not yet be ready for such a responsibility, and that the burden might be detrimental to all those involved."

"Hmm," she murmured, clearly thinking. "Your thoughts, Jay?"

"My client believes that the view of his father was driven by other things instead of fatherly love. Neither his mother or younger brother were informed of this situation, and it would seem that the other members of the Hope family were also kept in the dark. A great deal of effort was put into smuggling Ms. Hope out of the state of California."

"Well, have any of the other family come forward to witness? For either of you?" Both teams shook their heads. "Then we will discuss that matter at a later date. It says here that this matter was going to be mediated outside of the court? What caused this?"

Jay reiterated the story of the last few weeks, but the moment he wrapped up, another of the Hope's attorneys jumped to their feet. "My client declines this story. Ms. Hope was being pressured to give up her rights to her son, and the moment Mr. Darling left, she called her father to help her."

"And then had a false kidnapping report filed, Your Honor," Jay cut in quickly.

"Yes, yes," she agreed, holding up a sheet of paper, presumably the retraining order. "What was the meaning of that?"

"My client panicked. She didn't feel safe in her own home."

"And yet she never left the comfort of her apartment? Surely Ms. Hope's knowledge of the city and the surrounding area vastly surpasses Mr. Darling's?"

"Traveling with a young child is not easy, Your Honor, especially on such a short notice."

Back and forth they went, picking apart every word in the other's argument.

"All right, all right," the judge called, ending the dialogue. "I've heard enough. We shall reconvene on the 22nd. Until then, the restraining order has been severed. Mr. Darling may visit his son no more than three times a week, excluding weekends. No unattended visitations."

After that speech, Judge Irons got to her feet and disappeared through a back room, followed by her rather plump bailiff.

Jay turned around and grinned at them. "We've got them on their toes. That's good. Their story is already starting to crumble."

o.O.o

The time between court dates was the hardest, Jack knew a little about what was going on, and he asked lots of questions. Questions that had no answer and only raised more questions still.

The visitations were mostly unchanged, except that they were no longer allowed to leave the apartment with Jack, and Mildred or Tiffany had to be present at all times. At least the mayor had to be at work and couldn't supervise the visits himself.

And for months it stretched on that way, painfully unchanging.

o.O.o

Despite Jay's comforting words, they returned to court time and again with almost no progress. Two expert witnesses were called, and they ultimately ended up on opposing sides. Home visits and social workers, they had pretty much extinguished all of their options.

It didn't help matters that time wasn't on their side either. Anita was practically exploding before his eyes, and her due date was crawling ever closer. Jack's birthday, too, was upon them.

And then their saving grace came at last. Roger and Anita walked to their seats, following Jay, disheartened by the struggle. They weren't the only ones, however.

On the other side of the aisle, Mayor Hope and Tiffany were in the middle of a heated argument of their own. They could only catch snatches of the conversation, but from the looks of the lawyers and the mayor's red face, things weren't going his way.

Then Tiffany said loudly, "Daddy, I don't want to fight anymore! What do you even care?"

"Do you know what this will do to us? This will ruin our name. You are going to fight. And you are going to win," he growled back.

Tiffany's voice rose. "I don't want to win! I never wanted a baby! I want to come home and get out of this god forsaken desert!"

"Tiffany!" her father shrieked, but it was too late. The judge herself had already walked in.

"I guess that's decided then," she called as she lowered herself into her chair.

"She didn't mean it! She's just nervous!" Mayor Hope tried, but it was a wasted effort.

"Unfortunately for you, Mr. Hope, I believe she meant every word." The woman's dark eyes focused on the man for another long moment, as if she was daring him to argue. "Now then, I hereby grant full custody of the child, Jackson Scott Hope, to Mr. Roger Darling Jr. and his fiancé. Court dismissed." The judge then turned to the bailiff, "Eric, the boy…?"

Eric nodded. He disappeared through the door behind the witness stand, and then returned a moment later, Mildred and Jack in tow.

Jack looked a little frightened, he wasn't used to so many strange people, but the instant he spotted the pair of them, he beamed, dropped Mildred's hand, and ran at them.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, buddy. Did you miss us?"

"Uh-huh."

"We missed you too."

"Lots and lots," Anita added helpfully, making Jack giggle.

"Baby?" Jack asked next, pointing to Anita's rather large stomach.

"She's missed you too."

Jack nodded, contented. "Daddy? You win?"

Roger's smile turned a bit sad. "Yes, Jack. Would you like to come live with us?"

Jack nodded along, not a care in the world. Mildred, on the other hand, looked very upset. Roger hadn't realized before, but she obviously cared very deeply for his little boy.

"Come on, Jack. Why don't you say bye to Nana, okay?"

"Nana come with Jack."

"Jack, sweetie," Anita said, doing her best to get down to his level, "Nana has to stay here, with Mommy, okay?"

"My Nana!" he cried.

Roger was at a loss, and Anita didn't seem to have any more ideas either. From the other side of the room, Tiffany seemed to realize the problem and darted their way.

She made it over to them in a matter of moments. "Jack-Jack," she called, making Jack look up. His nose was dripping snot and his eyes were puffy.

"My Nana," he told her. "My Nana."

"Remember Nana Bella? And Grandma? You'll be just fine without Nana, okay? Be a big boy for Daddy, Jack-Jack. And for your new mommy."

"New mommy," he repeated. "Nina?"

"Yes. Nina is your new mommy. Be good." And with that Tiffany darted off once more. That, sadly, had probably been the longest conversation she had ever had with Jack.

The boy still pouted, but he looked to Mildred then, holding out his little arms. "Bye-bye, Nana."

Mildred scooped him up and held him close. "Bye-bye, Jack. Nana will miss you." She kissed the top of his blond head.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

It was moving, heartbreaking… Anita shuddered and squeezed his hand, tears shining in her eyes.

Mildred passed him off a few minutes later, but Jack was still clutching her shirt. Eventually they managed to pry him off, but he still cried. He cried until he finally fell asleep in the car, clutching onto Puppy, instead.

Roger stared at the road, hoping it would get better, somehow. Beside him, Anita stroked her belly, as if she was trying to comfort the baby. He silently prayed that Rachel wouldn't have such a painful beginning.