A/N: So, just under two months, but here is Chapter 9! For those of you who follow my Tumblr, you know that school has me in its death grip and it's making writing these fics a bit more difficult. I'm still chugging away, though! This update is actually a month EARLIER than expected! All that being said, if it reads rushed, I apologize, it's just how my mind has been working lately. R&R is loved as always, and a big thank you to Syndey (Sydney3) for reading through this for me! -Tayma

Chapter 9: I'm No Superman, But I'm No Villain

"I can't believe he's using this against me!" Emma sat on the couch in her mother's living room, rubbing the place where her forehead met the bridge of her nose. It had been days since she was served with papers requiring her to go to court for a custody hearing, and she was still stressing out over it. She'd been to her parents a couple of times and only just talked to Rose about it in deeper detail, thankful Rusty finally took Willow up on her request to go to the movies. "I'm fine! My OCD has not been a problem since Willow was so much smaller! But now my 'mental stability' is being taken into account, along with the moral fiber because I've been a liar for ten years? Mom, I can't handle this."

"He's playing dirty to get what he wants, Emma." Rose looked at her daughter, sighing a little bit. "My bet is he got to talking with an attorney, they picked and chose different details that would paint you in a bad light, and then assured him that was the way to go. Will is a lot of things, but he's not malicious."

"But he is trying to force me and Willow into something she has decided she is not ready for. And who am I to force her into doing something like this when she's not ready?"

"You're her mother."

Emma stood up and glared at the older woman, furrowing her eyebrows. "You're taking his side in this? You think I should have made her go to his house, feel uncomfortable, make her anxious and for what? So he could be happy and feel like he's doing something? No!"

"I'm not taking his side, Emma Roxanne. I'm just saying you're her mother – you ask who are you to force her? You're her mother and if you choose to force her, you can. Now you know I don't exactly want that boy around here, so don't go playing the 'world is against me' card. I'm on your side, but I'm trying to get you to see he is playing dirty and the argument he will make? You're her mother, and you should have been more encouraging." Rose spoke calmly, and beckoned Emma to sit back down. "I know you're upset, but don't take this out on me."

"Sorry." Emma mumbled her apology before going to sit back down next to her mom, chewing her lip gently. "I'm just freaking out right now. None of this was supposed to happen! He was supposed to either not want anything to do with her, or he was supposed to work to be there for her. What do I get instead? A mess, and we all know how much I love messes." She added sarcastically, running a hand through her hair then resting her head on her hand, looking at Rose with a puppy dog pout. "Mommy? Can you fix this?"

Rose laughed a little bit and shook her head. "No, I can't. But I can help get this fixed." She thought for a moment before sitting back against the couch. "Maybe you need to play just as dirty, Emma…"

"Dirty?" Emma's eyebrow lifted and her head cocked. Her mother could be vicious when need be and Emma worried what the hell was going on in that beautiful head of her mother's.

"Paul is an attorney, is he not?"

It took a moment before realization set in and Emma shook her head, looking at her mother with furrowed eyebrows. "I can't do that. That's playing dirty on a whole new level, mom. I can't – that wouldn't be fair, asking Paul to go through all of that trouble against his own son." The very thought made her nervous. Even if he did agree, she worried about how that would change Will's dynamic with his father, and his dynamic with her farther on down the line.

"Do what you choose, Emma. But if I were in your position, I'd do everything I could to give myself even more of an advantage, and Paul is an excellent attorney." Rose reached over and pat Emma's knee gently, leaning to kiss her forehead before standing up and sighing. "Your father will be back with Willow soon enough. I'll get dinner ready."

-x-x-x-

Later that week, Emma lay in bed, leaning against the headboard. Her conversation with her mother days prior kept running through her mind. She should call Paul. She should ask him to represent her. If Will was willing to create a void between them like this, then why wasn't she? She didn't like to play dirty, but she would need someone to represent her, and her mother had a point. If Will wasn't using Paul, then what was the sense in letting a perfectly good attorney go to waste? Sighing and closing her eyes, she grabbed her phone, peeking through her eyelashes to dial the number. She then closed her eyes again, pressing the phone to her ear as if not seeing the room would make what she was about to request any less awful.

"Hello?"

"H-hi, Mister Schuester? This is Emma…"

"Emma! How are you doing?" His voice was cheery on the other end of the line.

"I'm, um, I'm doing alright. How about yourself?"

"Doing well, doing well. Finally got that guest room all finished today. Amanda's been on me about it for weeks." He chuckled and then sighed. "I'd say 'ah, women,' but I fear offending the lovely woman I'm speaking with."

Emma laughed a little bit. "Oh, no offense taken. As a species, we can be pretty demanding." She nodded, though he couldn't see her.

"Isn't that the truth?" He laughed.

"Um, speaking of women and being demanding by nature…" She started, her heart thumping and her hand starting to shake a little bit.

"Speaking of." Paul repeated teasingly, shaking his head a little bit. "What does my Emma have for me today?"

It never ceased to amaze Emma how he treated her so kindly, like she was his own daughter. He always did anything for her and for Willow. It made her more nervous to ask him this favor, but she had him on the phone so there was no backing out now.

Emma took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Um, I try not to ask a lot from you. From any of you, my mom and dad, you and Amanda…you're all so amazing and you've all helped me out so much over the years. You've probably done too much by some standards, accepting me back into your family like I was a teenager again and loving Willow so much when you don't have to, so you know I hate asking any of you for anything more than you already have given…" She swallowed.

"What is it, Emma?" Paul was curious after moments of silence. He loved Emma and Willow very much, and he knew Emma tended to view herself as an inconvenience after everything that happened, but in his mind she was as far from an inconvenience as you could get. He and Amanda loved them because they wanted to, not because they felt obligated; there was nothing that could be too much of her to ask.

"Will is taking me to court to get custody of Willow and I need an attorney."

The question hung in the air, neither of them speaking as it settled in what she was asking.

"Emma, I –"

Emma nodded and interrupted, her hand coming to rest over her eyes as she slid down against her pillows. "I know, I know. It's asking a lot, and maybe Will's already asked you to represent him, I don't even know. All I know is that I am freaking out. This is not how any of this was supposed to happen, he was supposed to want her or not want her. Instead he's playing these games of here and then gone and then here and then gone and now he's trying to get custody of her – and even if it's partial custody, I don't want that because it throws a wrench in her entire life. I can't have her life anymore derailed and screwed up than it already has been, and I'm just really worried and I don't know what to do and Mom said that I should see if you would be my attorney and I didn't want to, but like I said, I'm freaking out and I can't handle this, and I was stupid to ask you, and I'm s—"

"Emma! Breathe!"

She swallowed and took a few deep breaths, feeling like she was going to throw up. She sat up and put her head between her legs, taking another deep breath.

"Breathing?"

"Mhm."

"Okay. Now before you go full on panic attack, which I don't know how to help you with, let me speak." She remained silent, which Paul took as a good sign that she was settling down. "Alright. Now you're asking a lot of me, yes. Will has not asked me to represent him. It's possible that he didn't want me involved because I would have told him he's acting a bit too drastically here. Willow should stay with you, obviously, Emma. You're best for her, and her life isn't screwed up; she's a pretty happy kid if you ask me."

"So what are you saying?" Emma asked quietly, taking a deep breath.

"I'm saying…I'd do anything to keep Willow happy and you know that. So, I'll do it, but you need to talk to Will first."

"About what? He's done about all the communicating he needs at this point, don't you think?"

Paul shook his head, though she couldn't see him. "Talk to him. This is crazy and drastic, yes, but maybe it's his way of trying to get your attention. Maybe he wants this case as much as you do. Did you consider that?"

"Well…no. I just sort of freaked out and my mind went to everything bad." She sighed a little bit. "So I should talk to him?"

"I know my son. He doesn't want to fight you on anything – he never wanted to fight you on anything. This is probably the only thing he knows can get your attention. Call me after you've spoken with him and we'll proceed from there, okay?"

Emma nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

"Any time, Emma. Tell Willow hello from Grandma and Grandpa, and you get some sleep."

"Will do. Goodnight."

The line went dead and Emma clicked the phone off, turning on her side and lying on the bed curled up in a ball. She groaned as she dialed Will's number, resting the receiver against her face and praying that he would be asleep. She didn't really want to talk to him, but apparently that was the only way to get things done.

"Hello?" His voice was dull when he answered, a small sigh after he'd spoken.

"Will, it's Emma."

"Emma. How's life serving you lately?" He asked, a tone of sarcasm and slight entertainment in his voice.

"Ha. Ha. Will. You're so clever." She rolled her eyes. "We need to talk about this. I'm don't want to go to court with you over my own child."

"It's the only option that there is. She doesn't want to see me and you won't make her. It seems as if legal ruling is the only way to get your attention."

"That's not true, Will. I want her to be her own person and figure this out for herself. I'm helping her, I've tried to get her to talk whenever you call, but she won't do it. Do you really think being legally obligated to see you is going to make her want to?"

"No, but it'll forge some sort of relationship."

"A forced relationship. A distant one. You can't force this sort of thing." She paused. "If you want to go to court, we will, but I am letting you know now that I'm using your father as my attorney, and I will fight to have complete legal and sole custody of her. You are not going to walk into our lives and mess everything up by making her go back and forth between houses because you don't want to be patient."

"You're using my dad?" Will sounded surprised and somewhat disgusted by the confession. "What makes you think you can do that?"

Emma laughed a little bit. "The same thing that makes you think you can sue me for custody of a child you've known about for three months. I hate messes, but if I have to play dirty, I will. You want to use my OCD against me, and if you're going to sink that low, I'll sink as low as I need to." She took a breath, biting her lip. "I will win." She said much more confidently than she felt.

"What makes you so sure?"

"The fact that I'm her mother, I'm her primary caregiver, I've been here through everything, and your father is my attorney. Doesn't he have some crazy good success rate?"

Will hesitated a moment. "What's your point?"

"You're fighting a losing battle, Will. Why can't you just…talk about it. Don't get all of this mess started up because I don't know how I am supposed to juggle all of this. Talk. Work something out with me personally. Don't get the law involved."

"Emma, I have tried! You know what happens? Willow won't talk to me! Willow won't see me! And you're sitting there letting her make this decision! Do you realize that you are her mother?"

"Hey! Don't go playing the whole 'you're the mother' game with me, Will! I'm trying to let her guide this situation because the whole entire thing breaks my heart and I am a terrible mother no matter what I do in this situation! Either I sit by and let her continue on this way and I'm a terrible mother because I don't make her go see her father – someone she needs in her life – or I force her to go see you and I make her uncomfortable and I am a terrible mother for putting her in an awkward situation! There is no winning, so I am letting Willow be a grown up about this!"

Will sighed. "She's not a grown up, Emma! She's a stubborn ten year old kid! Why don't you do what is best for her?"

"I always do what is best for my child, Will! How dare you insinuate that I do otherwise?" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before she started yelling. He had no place suggesting that she wasn't doing what was best for her child. "Both situations are in her best interest. I'm doing the best that I can."

"And the best thing is for her to decide on her own?" He sounded doubtful.

"Yes. It is. It's better than making us go through the ordeal of a custody hearing, only for you to lose, or for her whole world to get blasted apart with new adjustments."

"What are you saying, then, Emma? What do you want?"

She sat quietly, thinking for a moment. She lay back against her pillows with a small yawn, rubbing her eyes and sighing. "I want you to drop this stupid custody thing. I want you to try to make amends with Willow less forcefully. She's your daughter, but she's not yours to have."

"Not mine to have? What does that mean?" Will sat up on the other end of the line, gripping the phone in his hand.

"It means she's my daughter. She's yours, yeah, but she's mine. You can't just walk in and sweep her away from me. It doesn't work that way."

"Then why the hell did you tell me about her?!" His voice was rising, getting angry. "If she's not mine to have, then why did you tell me about her, Emma?"

"She wanted to know you, and I wanted you to know her. I never thought you would walk into her life, then out and then back in and then out and then try to get custody of her. That was not what was supposed to happen here, Will!"

"Oh, no? What was supposed to happen then, Emma? I was supposed to be happy to know she existed, and just taken it from there? Acknowledge she's my child and then stay away. Is THAT what you wanted?"

Emma stood up and started pacing as he spoke, getting angry. Why was he being such an asshole about this? "No, Will! That's not what I wanted! You were either supposed to want her or not. You were supposed to love her or not. You weren't supposed to turn this into a huge battle, making me out to be some mentally ill psychological liar in order to force her to spend time with you! None of THAT was supposed to happen!"

There was silence on the other end of the line and Emma sat back down on the bed, running her hand over her face tiredly. Minutes of nothingness passed and she took a breath, speaking softly.

"Will, if I could turn back the hands of time, I would have called you the moment I found out I was pregnant. I see that now, that messing up your life was probably what you wanted." She swallowed. "But I can't do that. I can't go back and fix what I broke, and I am really sorry that I messed this all up, but I need you to do this favor for me. I need you to please, please, please drop this case. I will do anything; just don't try to do to me what I did to you. Fighting fire with fire never helps anything. Everyone just gets burned."

Silence.

"…Will are you there?"

Will nodded and sighed. "Yeah, Em. I'm here." He'd reclined on his bed and put the phone on speaker. The heels of his palms were buried into his eye sockets as he listened to her speaking. The worst part of all of this was that somehow he now felt like the villain and the bad guy. But he wasn't. Okay, so he was doing this for no other reason than to get Emma's attention and make her see that he really did want to be in Willow's life as her father, no matter the cost and consequences…but he wasn't a bad guy. And that's when he realized that Emma wasn't the villain or the bad guy either. She never was. She was Emma. Emma who cared so much about everyone else, he'd once witnessed her have a breakdown because she couldn't help her brother resolve a personal issue. She cared about everyone so much, she'd break her own heart and tear her world apart just so she could say that she did what was best for everyone else. That was the Emma who he was dealing with right now; that was the Emma he loved. Taking a breath, he groaned. "Okay."

"O-okay…?"

"Okay, Emma. Okay."

"That – what?"

"I'll drop it. I'll make the call in the morning, and I'll drop it."

Emma breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, letting out a small laugh. "Oh, really? I thought it would be much harder."

Will nodded. "Really. First thing in the morning, I'll call and see what I can do." A moment's hesitation. "Does Willow know?"

"That you tried to pull this? No. I'm not as evil as you probably think I am. I want her to want to know you; I'm not going to compromise that."

"Thank you." Will said with a small smile in his voice.

"No, Will. Thank you for agreeing to drop this."

"No problem."

She took a breath. "Well, look, I have to get up in the morning to take Willow and my sister to breakfast before girl's day. So I'll talk with you tomorrow evening? I'll see what I can do to get Willow to talk to you then, too?"

"Sure. Sounds good." He paused. "Oh, and Em?"

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, Will?"

"Right now, I'm telling you 'when.'" He said. "Goodnight." The phone went dead and Emma laughed a little bit, hanging the phone up.

"Okay, then…" She said, laying down and curling up underneath the covers, closing her eyes and welcoming on sleep.