"Where's Tim?" Carden asks, handing her three plates to put on the table. Rae sighs and hands him back one.
"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's not coming for supper." She says quietly and Carden's face falls.
"But it's Thursday. Enchilada Thursday is like his third favorite night of the week." Carden protests.
"And he's not coming, can we drop it please?" Rae requests crankily and Carden closes his mouth and grabs two cups.
"What's wrong?" Julie asks, looping her arm with Rae's the next day on their way to class.
"Tim missed enchilada Thursday." She reveals.
"Is that code for we broke up?" Julie asks, mystified and Rae chuckles, shaking her head.
"That it's not. It's just weird of him. He's been spending more time with Billy and Jason and I think that's great and I'm so happy and it's nice to have more time for me but…" She trails off and Julie rubs her arm.
"I know." She says softly.
"Rae!" Mrs. Taylor calls, walking down the hall. "Hey Jules. Rae, can I talk to you?" She requests.
"Of course." Rae says slowly, waving goodbye to Julie and following Mrs. Taylor to her office.
"Rae, what's this?" Mrs. Taylor asks, handing her a note with something scribbled on it. Rae squints, trying to deceiver it.
"Possibly Russian, maybe Czech? No wait. Korean." She says confidently. Mrs. Taylor narrows her eyes. "I'm sorry," Rae says, laughing. "But I can't read that."
"It's a time and date from a judge." Mrs. Taylor says flatly and Rae sits up a little straighter. "Seems that you listed me as a character witness on a certain form." Rae bites her lip. "Oh, you remember that now?"
"I'm sorry." Rae says quietly. "But considering who you are and how Dillon works, I thought it was for the best. I should have asked and I am so sorry."
"Rae, that's not what I'm trying to say." Mrs. Taylor says, softening instantly and sitting next to her. "You're petitioning for custody of Carden? Sweetie, you're not even nineteen yet. Have you thought about what it's going to be like, being responsible for a child? It's not easy Rae, no matter how close you and your brother are. Have you thought this through?"
"Mrs. Taylor, no offense, I've had that form in my desk since the moment I turned eighteen." Rae says bluntly. "I've had it in my mind that I will take care of him the moment my mother died. And the only reason I've waited this long is because I finally finished clearing things up with my admissions counselor at UMD. Since I bring college credits in, I can enter as a sophomore and be eligible for off campus housing. I've got a little apartment all lined up and it's only a couple blocks from Duluth East and I've already talked to them about getting Carden enrolled so he'll be at school just as much as me and…" Suddenly Rae's eyes well up and she puts a hand over her mouth, unable to speak.
"Sweetie, what is it?" Mrs. Taylor asks in concern, hugging Rae to her chest. "Why are you crying?"
"When I talked to the lawyer about guardianship of Carden, he told me that my mother had set aside a fund for us that my father can't touch. Nearly $30,000 in it. Said she left it all in my name." She manages to get out between tears. "She was watching out for me, she always was. I am going to be ok, because my mother is still watching over me."
"Oh my, Rae." Mrs. Taylor says, kissing her head.
"And I've got a fulltime job." Rae plunges on, drying her tears. "I'll make enough to afford our apartment and school. It's gonna be a tight couple years but I'm really excited about how supportive the college has been and the amount of money I'm receiving from the government. Guess having a deadbeat, drunk dad pays off sometimes." She gives a watery chuckle.
"Rae, this is what your heart is set on?" Mrs. Taylor asks, clasping her hands and watching her.
"It is." Rae confirms, nodding. "I'm leaving Dillon. I can start my job right after graduation. All that's left is guardianship of Carden so I can sign all his papers and forms."
"Oh Rae, I am so proud of you. Scared for you, but so proud." Mrs. Taylor mummers, hugging her again.
"Does that mean you'll speak on my behalf?" Rae asks quickly and Mrs. Taylor takes a deep breath.
"Yes, sweetie. I'll be there." She agrees hesitantly.
"I can't thank you enough." Rae says, smiling and leaving.
"Hey, what were you doing talking to Mrs. Taylor?" Tim asks, falling into step with her in the hallway.
"Well hello. I don't know if I should be talking to you. Carden certainly isn't, not since you missed enchiladas." She informs him and he flinches.
"I know. I was out talking to Steeter. Baby stuff." He explains, rubbing the back of his head.
"Tim Riggins and baby stuff, two things I never thought I'd see together." She teases, smiling despite herself.
"Hey, I assembled the crib, so watch it." He warns her and she rolls her eyes. "No seriously, what did you have to talk to her about?"
"Uhh…" She hesitates then bites her lip, exhaling her breath through her nose. "The guardianship."
"Of Carden?" He asks, lowering his voice. She nods. "Well, what does she think? That it's a good idea?"
"More or less." Rae says, shrugging. "You know, she did the typical whole 'is this really what you want, it's a lot of work, blah, blah, blah' adult shtick. But she agreed to be at the hearing and on my side."
"Rae, that's great." He congratulates her, kissing her head. "Her support is really gonna help you."
"I know, I know. I can't get my hopes up though. I don't have custody, not yet. We'll find out next week." She says ruefully.
"It'll be fine." Tim says bracingly and she sighs, leaning into his side.
"I hope so."
"So why are we here today?" The judge asks, peering down over her glasses at them. Rae stands up, trying to stop shaking.
"Your honor, my name is Maisie Rae Brooks and I am applying for full custody and guardianship of my younger brother, Carden Isaac Brooks." She says and she's proud that her voice doesn't betray her nerves.
"Why?" The judge asks shortly and Rae turns around, looking at Tim and the Taylor's, all watching her expectantly.
"Because… Because I do not think my father is a fit parent." She says and the judge looks around.
"Is Mr. Brooks here?" She demands.
"No ma'am. He, uh, couldn't be reached." Rae says quietly. "We haven't seen or heard from him since he left for the oil fields after Christmas. We've received a couple checks since then but not much else."
"And you want to take guardianship of his son why?" She questions and Rae looks up, eyes flashing.
"Because he does not deserve to see the man that my little brother is becoming. He does not deserve to claim him as his child when I am the one who watches him, day in and day out. I do his laundry and help him with his homework. I'm the one who knows that he likes breakfast for dinner after a tough day and I'm the one who wraps the ankle that he rolled last week during football. I'm the one who saves nickels and dimes to help him buy new rollerblades because his shoe size has doubled since we moved here. I am already his parent. I will continue to be his parent. I want this guardianship because that means that if at any time the man who dares call himself a father shows up and tries to take him back, I can laugh in his drunk face and have the pleasure of telling him there's not a chance in hell that will ever happen." She says wrathfully.
"Well." The judge says and Rae closes her eyes. "That's quite the description Ms. Brooks. Have you decided where you're going to college?"
"Not definitively, your honor. Does that impact your decision?" She asks, steadfastly refusing to look at Mrs. Taylor.
"No, it does not, but if I give you guardianship, I want to keep an eye on him. You'll get me that information?" She asks sternly.
"Does that mean I have custody?" Rae asks, breathless.
"It means you have custody. You seem to be a great student and a fine, upstanding young lady. We could use more kids like you. You do a hell of a job with your brother, promise me that?" She demands and Rae nods, tears running unchecked down her face. "Alright good. Here's your paperwork. Get that all filled out and returned please."
"Of course your honor." She agrees then turns around and runs to hug Carden, squeezing him tightly. Tim joins them a moment later, kissing Rae's head and then Carden's.
"You haven't told Tim yet, have you?" Mrs. Taylor asks quietly as she wraps her in a hug. Rae shakes her head then moves to hug Julie.
"Rae, we gotta talk." Tim says as they exit the courthouse. Carden runs down the street and plucks a football from the back of Tim's truck. He tosses it to Tim and Tim tosses it back.
"About what?" Rae asks lightly, smiling as Carden stretches and catches the pass with ease.
"You know I love you." He says, taking a couple steps back to catch Carden's pass. "And you know I love Carden too."
"Is this a marriage proposal?" Rae demands. "Is this because we're so close to the courthouse. Oh no. Oh no Tim Riggins." She protests, hands up. "This is not how we're going to do this."
"Would you stop freaking out?" Tim says, looking at her in amusement. She shuts her mouth. "I meant I want to talk to you about this whole guardianship thing and what it means."
"Did you want me to put your name on the form too?" She asks curiously and he shakes his head.
"This means you can take him anywhere." He reminds her and she stares at him, unsure of where this is going. "You can take him back to Minnesota, back to your home."
"Tim, I'm home with you." She says automatically.
"Don't do that." He insists. "Let me finish. You don't wanna go to San Antonio. You wanna go to UMD. Carden wants to go home. Taking him two hours across Texas is not why you got custody of him. Taking him back to Minnesota, that's why you did this."
"Tim…" She says, putting her hands on his face.
"Baby. I'm not saying that I don't love you. But you know why you did this and I do too." He says and she leans her head on his chest.
"I want to watch you play football. I want to be with you." She whispers, tears darkening his shirt.
"And I want to be with you. But I love you and I love him." He gestures to Carden, who is jogging towards him. "Take him home."
"Hey Rae, why you crying?" Carden asks, concerned.
"Just happy." She says instantly, turning around. "Happy I'm stuck with you for the rest of your miserable little life squirt." She says, pulling him into a hug and looking at Tim over his shoulder.
She leans against the doorway of her room and watches as Tim strips down and gets ready for bed. She smiles slightly, as he turns around, shirtless and in his boxers. He smirks when he sees her watching.
"You like what you see?" He mummers, pulling her towards her bed.
"I always do Tim Riggins." She says, swaying with him.
"So where's my girl going?" He asks in her ear.
"What if I want to stay right here, with you?" She asks tenderly and he chuckles, shaking his head.
"You've wanted to leave since the second you got here. You actively informed everyone in this entire planet how much you hate Texas." He reminds her and she smiles slightly.
"I still hate Texas." She mutters.
"And I still can't leave it." He says and she feels her heart break a little bit more. She tugs on his hand.
"Let's go to bed and just forget about this for five minutes, ok?" She request and he makes a face.
"Five minutes? That's all you're giving me?" She squeals as he tosses her onto the bed.
AN: Well my awesome readers, a somewhat fluff chapter for you all... We're nearing the end, there's still a couple loose ends to be tied up, but I hope you stick with me for the rest of the ride. Let me know what you think!