Taylor's heart dropped as she saw Lena cry out and Stef almost drop the floor. Taylor couldn't hear anything, the blood rushing in her ears was too felt Stef's grip on her tighten and pull her into a hug. Taylor turned to see Mariana crying, Mike and Brandon holding Jesus back. Callie was hugging Jude tightly. "What?" Taylor blurted her voice echoing the quiet courtroom. The judge sighed but spoke again, "The court finds that the better situation for you Taylor would be to go with your parents. The maclay's have won custody of you." Taylor crumbled to the ground crying. This couldn't be true, this couldn't be happening! She wouldn't go back, she'd just leave the minute they hit her again. The judge waited for Taylor to stand up again. She was slowly walked back over to Joseph and Carol. "Welcome home baby Tay." Her father whispered.
"Look at me! Look at what he did to me! Can't you see this!" Taylor screamed point to a bruise on her face. "Look mother!" She spit. "Can't you see that this is more of a sin then me being gay!" She screamed. Her mother slapped her, "Don't ever say that again in this house." Taylor swallowed a small amount of blood, "I am gay but what the two of you are doing to me is worse than that fact could ever be!" That was the last thing that Taylor could remember before being shoved down the stairs by her mother and waking in the emergency room being told she had some sort of concussion. They allowed Taylor to go home after the explaination that she tripped down the stairs when trying to carry a box of junk. "Why? Why don't you just kill me and make it look like suicide if I am so horrible!" Her father spun around and hit her. "What? You don't like the truth?" Taylor was struck repeatedly as she screamed, crying for help.
"Shh. Taylor. Taylor it's just a nightmare." Callie was trying to sooth the screaming girl She'd never seen Taylor this scared. "Mom!" Mariana was screaming out the doorway. Taylor was thrashing around screaming and crying. "Mom!" Mariana cried even more desperate this time. Lena came running up the stairs at the cries of her daughter and Stef followed close behind. "Callie move." Stef ordered. Len grabbed her thrashing daughter and tried to hold her steady. "Taylor. Taylor shh. I'm right here. It's Lena I'm right here." Taylor's eyes slowly fluttered open and her first sight was Lena holding her, Stef on the other side and all of her siblings standing worried in the doorway. "Taylor shh. It was only a nightmare." Taylor sat up and wrapped her arms around her moms. "They didn't win? It was all a nightmare." Stef shook her head and hugged the girl back, "We won." When Stef promised Taylor they had won the afternoon's events had come back to Taylor.
"In the custody case of Taylor Belle Maclay it is the decision of this court that it is in best interest of Taylor to have full custody awarded to Ms. Lena Elizabeth Adams and Ms. Stef Marie Foster..." Taylor couldn't hear the rest of the verdict because the blood rushing in her ears was too loud. She shook her head trying to focus on the judge's words. "Taylor will have the option to change her name from Maclay if that is her wish. Mr. and Mrs. Maclay will not be allowed to approach Taylor again and lose all parental rights. Mr. and Mrs. Maclay will be brought in on another time on child abuse and neglect charges. Ms. Foster, Ms. Adams please take your daughter and the rest of your children home." The judge announced and Jesus finally cheered out and Mariana ran to hug her sister. Callie smiled and Jude cheered. Brandon just nodded. "Wait." She mumbled and only Jude had heard it and made everybody stop walking." Taylor looked up to Stef and Lena, "Did we seriously just win? Am I safe and free?" Stef laughed and nodded Lena hugged the girl. Taylors legs finally gave in and the girl just fell to the ground crying. Brandon and Jesus helped her up and carried her out to the car.
Taylor had gone to take a nap because the last day had definitely take its toll on everyone but Taylor took everything the hardest, thats when her nightmare had began. Stef had thanked Mike for driving all the kids over to hear the ruling and he went home. Lena and Stef were sitting in the kitchen Lena crying to Stef while Stef held her and gently kissed her forehead and wiped away her tears. Mariana, Jesus and Brandon were trying to think of what to to say to Taylor to "officially welcome her" now that it was definite that she would be staying. Jude was out in the backyard with Callie. "Hey Callie." He whispered. Callie sighed but answered her brother, "Yeah bub?" Jude just smiled, "I have hope. Remember when they told Taylor she couldn't stay? Well now she's going to get adopted." Callie just shrugged and turned away from her brother.
Lena calmed Taylor down and finally got her to stop shaking. "Who wants pizza?" Stef asked smiling at her other five terrified children standing in the doorway. Taylor slowly stood up to walk over to her siblings, "And ice cream?" Lena laughed and Stef shook her head, "Fine. Now all of you downstairs and figure out what kind of pizza and two flavors of ice cream. And agree on them for once."
Before they all walked downstairs Jude gave Taylor a quick hug. Stef and Lena asked her if she was all right. Taylor smiled and proudly said, "Yeah. I'm alright. Thanks mommas." Lena beamed and Stef tried to pretend that she wasn't compltely surprised and said, "Well Miss Taylor Belle, should I say that it's safe to say soon I'll be able to yell at you by saying, Taylor Belle Foster?" She had won. Taylor won.
Authors note:
Sorry this chapter is short but I felt like the last one was really long. So did I have any of you fooled that Taylor had been taken by the Maclays? Well next chapter is between Callie and Jude. Alright thanks guys I loved all the reviews last chapter and please leave a few this chapter.