It was horrid.

Troy's nerves were completely shaken as he quivered in fear. He stood lifelessly at the table, awaiting his lawyer.

He needed one to get out of this mess.

He looked around the room at the bold and fearless but scary court room. It was ornately painted. Marble beams were neatly placed to hold the caving ceiling up as it circled into a dome. The ceiling was painted with different, beautiful colors. They warmed the room up, but didn't warm Troy. The walls were a solid white. Behind the judge hung several of his plaques and graduation certificates and above those rested a huge American flag, resembling peace and harmony among the American citizens.

His table was even pretty. It showed its wooden age with the flow of beautiful cherry-colored stripes of wood. The table was like a marble itself only carved from Earth's Carbon Dioxide breather. His papers were marked with the US Government stamps in the top right corner and his name appearing across the left corner. Many paragraphs of eyewitnesses and claims of child neglect worded themselves across these pages, something that would pull Troy deeper into the situation.

There was a very little chance Troy would win Talon back.

"All rise." The bailiff opened the door for the judge, who wore a large black robe and looked like he had seen many years, maybe even the world wars. An old geezer.

Troy rose from his seat and straightened his tie up. He checked his buttons, fly, and pants to make sure he was formal and ready to go.

"Be seated- "

The doors opened and his lawyer rushed in as people started to sit. "Sorry I'm late." He apologized and moved to Troy's table. As he opened his suitcase and pulled papers out, he muttered "Are you ready, kid?".

Troy nervously chuckled. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"This is your first court case?"

Troy nodded and gulped.

"I see." He shuffled through some papers and pulled a certain one out, handing it to Troy. "Yours to keep."

Troy gently set it aside and took in a deep gulp of air.

The judge pounded his mallet once on the small, round tablet. "Court is now in session."

"We are here today on behalf of Mr. Troy A. Bolton, who is allegedly and illegally neglecting his son, Mr. Talon B. Bolton. Today the custody of Mr. Talon B. Bolton will be decided. The charges of child neglect on Mr. Troy Bolton have been dropped due to his no contest plea." The bailiff secured the doors and crossed his arms.

"We will start out with a statement from the opposing side. Miss Wendy Reynolds, please take a seat at the stand."

Wendy quietly sat.

"Miss Reynolds, how would you describe Troy as a father when you first started to watch Talon?" The lawyer on the opposing side stood from his chair. "In detail, please."

Wendy didn't dare make eye contact with Troy. "When I first started babysitting Talon, Troy was a great father. He loved Talon more than anything. He would take him somewhere every day, whether it was the park, the dairy, the petting zoo, etc. He never physically or mentally abused Talon; he was always soft and caring towards him. Troy hated leaving Talon with me because he hated being away, but he was in college and working a full time job, so he didn't have that special time in between anymore. However, Troy was a great father and I would never say anything bad about him at that time."

"How would you describe him after he began drinking?"

"He drifted off into a world that nobody could pull him out of, not even his own son. He acted like he didn't care at all. He would let Talon sit in his crib and scream for hours until I came to get him. He always said he was too busy even after he got fired and got kicked out of college. Despite Talon's cries for Troy's attention, Troy never listened. He was too deep into the alcohol."

The lawyer nodded and paced in front of the stand. "Explain to us how Talon reacted once being taken from Troy. Examples include crying, screaming, happy, sad, etc."

Wendy's eyes started to tear up. "He was so heartbroken. I have been babysitting for years, since I was ten, and I have never seen a child so heartbroken, and I've dealt with worse cases than this. He wouldn't eat, drink, sleep, or even play. He just cried and whined all day because he wanted to see Troy."

"So despite Talon's depression, Troy did not respond to this?"

She shook her head.

"No further questions."

Troy's heart began to beat rapidly as they handed her a couple tissues.

That little bitch…

"Mr. Bolton, please step on to the stand."

Troy obeyed and quickly took a seat in the chair.

His lawyer came to question him.

"Mr. Bolton, there is something here that a lot of people do not know about your personal life. Some people may be questioning themselves about where Talon's biological mother is. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes sir, I know."

"Where is she, Mr. Bolton."

"She was murdered on the day of Talon's birth. She didn't even get to see him."

"Tell me how this has impacted your life and Talon's life."

Troy glared at him, knowing that this was one of the questions he asked his lawyer not to bring up.

"She was my everything. I met her back when I was a senior and she was a freshman in high school. We made a few mistakes and wound up with Talon, but the time in between, we grew very, very close, although many people denied it. When she died, I sat outside her hospital room and cried for two days. I took Talon home and had no choice but to raise him without a mother. It hurts me to see him grow without his mother. Every child needs a father and mother influence. I try my best to raise him the best possible way. But even Talon could not tear me away from my old habits, which is going to clubs and having parties and everything else. It's an addiction. I have not been to any parties or clubs in several days, which is an improvement from being there 18 out of the 24 hours a day. No, there is no excuse for my drinking and partying habit, but I am willing to change for Talon."

"Would you be willing to be under house arrest, random drug tests, alcohol tests, and parenting classes to get him back?"

"I would have cameras put in my house if that's enough. And yes to all those. I am willing to do anything. A guard can sit at my door if it is requested."

"No further questions."

Troy walked back to his seat and sank into it, very scared for Talon's fate.

"I now call Talon B. Bolton to the stand."

Troy's eyes got wide. His lawyer shook his head and whispered. "This is unlawful, Troy." He stood up. "I object to Talon's testimony! He is just under the age of two! You are going to make a helpless child stand up there?"

"The opposing side has requested it."

Troy looked over at Wendy, who was contently sitting in her chair.

How could she do that to innocent little Talon?

The bailiff smiled at Talon as he came through the double doors to the right of the judge. He grabbed his hand. "Is it okay if you tell us some things about your daddy?"

Talon nodded. He had already been questioned several times.

The bailiff lifted Talon into the seat and boosted it up so Talon could watch over the court room.

He spotted Troy.

"Daddy!" He yelled and jumped off the chair. He hadn't seen Troy in at leasta week and a half, since the date was suspended.

In his desperate attempt to reach Troy, he flung himself down the stairs and tried to run towards Troy. The bailiff caught him and reassured him that he was safe and that nobody would hurt him. But Talon, being the strong soul he was, screamed and kicked and punched to try to get to Troy.

Once the bailiff finally calmed him down, he was in a crying frenzy. He sobbed and whimpered about his daddy until finally the other lawyer stood up.

"I'm Brandon, Talon, nice to meet you." Brandon held his hand out to hysterical Talon.

Talon smacked his hand and started crying harder, curling himself into a ball in the chair.

"It's okay, Talon. Nobody is here to hurt you."

"Daddy!" He sobbed and pointed to Troy. "My daddy!"

Troy couldn't help but let tears fall down his cheek. He could do nothing about it. He could not comfort Talon.

"Listen Talon, does your daddy love you?" The lawyer said quietly to Talon.

Talon nodded as his cries got worse.

"Do you love your daddy?"

Another nod.

"Do you want to be with your daddy or someone else?"

Talon couldn't comprehend the question. So his crying turned hysterical.

"Objection!" Troy's lawyer stood. "This is outrageous! You cannot ask a question to a two year old about how he wants to live the rest of his life!"

"Accepted. Please, withdraw."

"Yes your honor." The other lawyer said and withdrew as told.

Talon was taken out.

"We'll take a short recess and after I will decide Mr. Talon B. Bolton's custody." His mallet hit the circle tablet three times.

…..

Troy nervously sat as the judge sat at his desk once again.

"I have came to a consensus with my colleagues. As of the custody of Mr. Talon Beau Bolton, it will be relinquished to Child Protective Services as of today's date. No further contact with Mr. Troy Bolton will be allowed." His mallet hit the tablet.

His mallet hit Troy's heart.