A/N - Sorry for the delay in posting to those who've been waiting. Been a crazy week. I've split this next chapter into two as it was just too long (I keep adding to the story and I shouldn't!). I'll post the next part in a couple of days and get back to posting twice a week. I much prefer a schedule!

Thank you everyone for your reads, reviews and comments. It truly does mean a lot to a writer when you get feedback and support.

Thank you to my beta for the read through.

.oOo. Chapter Seventeen .oOo.

"Good afternoon, Harris-Ginsberg, Mr Harris's office, Dominque speaking, how may I help you or direct your call today?"

"Hi, can I speak to Oliver Harris please?" Chloe said, as she placed a call as soon as she'd gotten everyone settled at home after their outing to Ruby's Shake Shack and to see Aubrey. She'd found a note from David informing her that he'd gone out for afternoon and probably wouldn't be home until the morning and Chloe thought she knew where he'd be from the lack of detail. She crumpled the note tightly in her hand before dropping it into the trash and ushering the girls into the playroom, texting Stacie at the same time to see if she was free for a couple of hours to come and play with the girls while she made some calls.

She set them up with a slightly later than usual lunch and the promise of a popsicle if they stayed in there until Stacie came over. Chloe found the stack of court papers easily enough as they were still on the kitchen counter, her usual interest in keeping everything organised had waned since Judge Highberger had given his verdict just three days before. She read through the papers, blanched slightly at the rulings once more, before picking up the phone and calling her lawyers.

"I'll see if he is available." Dominque said politely. "Whom may I say is calling please?"

"It's Chloe Mitchem-Beale. Case number four seven-"

"-That's okay Mrs Mitchem, we have your files to hand. I'll just check Mr Harris's office, if you are okay to hold please?"

"That's fine, thank you." Chloe replied, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she feared it did. She heard elevator style music for a couple of minutes as she drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter before moving to take a seat on one of the kitchen stools.

Usually she liked to stand for any sort of confrontational matters so that she didn't get side tracked but today, she just didn't have the energy to stay on her feet. She heard the front gate begin to roll back and checked her security camera to make sure it was only Stacie, settling back down on the seat knowing Stacie would let herself in and go and see to Kate and Alex, understanding Chloe's brief messages about important phone calls.

"Mrs Mitchem?" Dominque cut into Chloe's daydream. Chloe quite liked the girl that worked as her lawyer's office manager. While not his personal secretary or legal assistant, Dominque was up to date with the cases and was usually extremely helpful in assisting with small pieces of information or confirming dates and times of appointments.

"Yes?"

"Mr Harris is unavailable this afternoon. He is free next Monday-"

"-If you would like to tell Mr Harris that he is about to lose me as a client, I am sure he can free up some time for me."

"Um…" Dominique began, making Chloe smirk. She never heard her say 'um' before.

"I'll wait." Chloe said, reaching for her pen and beginning to doodle on the corner of a dogeared envelope.

"He's not available, as he's out of the office." Dominique explained, causing Chloe's nose to twitch.

"Can you put me though to his cell?"

"Mrs Mitchem… he's out with… he's with your husband this afternoon, discussing the other matter."

"Oh." Chloe said, her eyebrows raising. She collected herself quickly. "Is Francis Delvecchio available?"

"I can check with his secretary. Are you okay to hold please?"

"Yes, of course." Chloe said, leaning to the side and giving Stacie a short wave from the kitchen as her friend quietly closed the front door.

"Mrs Mitchem, thank you for holding." Dominque said after a short wait.

"No problem."

"Mr Delvecchio will return your call in just a few minutes. He is just with a client at the moment. Would you prefer your home number or your cell?"

"My cell would be fine, thank you. Thanks for your help Dominque."

"You are welcome, Mrs Mitchem. Thank you for calling today."

Chloe ended the call and cricked her neck, annoyed that she seemed to be losing a little bit of the gumption she'd developed on her drive home earlier. Gathering up her papers, she slipped them back into the cardboard folder and wondered if it was too early to pour herself a glass of wine, deciding quickly that it wasn't and set to work on opening up the fridge to see what was available. She was just replacing the bottle back on the rack when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Mrs Mitchem? It's Frank Delvecchio. Good afternoon to you." The crisp, honed accent from Oliver Harris's boss belittled a warm, grandfatherly gentlemen who often played Santa Claus at his grandchildren's school.

"Thank you for calling me back so soon, Mr Delvecchio." Chloe said, settling her glass of wine down on her kitchen counter.

"Please call me Frank."

"Frank."

"How may I help you today? I hear the court case was a wonderful success for your family and I am sure you must be very pleased with the outcome."

"That is what I am calling you about, actually. I'm afraid there has been a huge mistake."

"A mistake?" Frank said, his voice rising a little.

"Yes. I need to make a complaint about the way my case was handled, and especially about Oliver Harris's conduct."

"I'm terribly sorry but I'm not following Mrs Mitchem."

"This is partly my fault as I allowed myself to get carried away with David's thoughts but the little plan that he cooked up with Oliver was beyond compression. I don't understand how they both thought that no one else was going to get hurt by their actions. By my actions too, as I have to take the blame for this as well." Chloe babbled. "And the way he went at her in court, I mean, it was atrocious and unforgiveable. She's a human being, a mother and a great person and didn't deserve this. I don't want to take the child away from her over this. I'm not paying the bill until this is settled."

"Mrs Mitchem, I think you'd better start from the beginning." Frank said, his voice neither sounding frustrating or as if he were trying to rush her.

Chloe spent the next twenty minutes oversharing her thoughts and feelings, her misgivings and struggles with the way that the court case was handled, the judge's verdict and what a terrible person she'd become over the last few months.

"It's just not me, Frank. I've never treated a human being like that before, let alone the mother of one of my children. Gosh, that sounds so weird to say it like that but it's how it is. I've acted appallingly but that's not an excuse and I have to make this right." She said, her voice beginning to break with emotion.

"What do you need me to do for you here Mrs Mitchem?" Frank asked carefully.

"How do I go about undoing the judge's ruling?"

"In simple terms, it cannot be undone. The ruling is final. All paperwork has been signed by all parties."

"There must be something?"

"Miss Mitchell can appeal the verdict and it's likely to take six months for the appeal to go through. It isn't as simple as just changing your mind, I'm afraid."

"There's no cooling off period?"

Frank Delvecchio gave a low chuckle.

"I'm afraid not. Your husband specifically asked not to have that in the contract as he, and I quote, said 'I know that Chloe will change her mind', and he wanted to save you the heartache of-"

"-This isn't about me anymore. This is about Beca and Jessie and Alex. I'd not stopped to consider them as people before now."

"Unfortunately, you cannot appeal a court's decision simply because you don't like it or have a change of heart. There has to be a valid reason for you to appeal… and I'm not sure a judge will hear a plea against a case that went your way. Some people launch appeals because they are just mad at the decision or at the other side, but an appeal is taken seriously and the court can punish people who frivolously file a lawsuit, for example, one that isn't based on a valid reason. Winning an appeal is very hard, as it must be proved that the original judge made a legal mistake. It can't be an ethical mistake or a change of heart, there has to be something legally immoral." Frank explained.

"Thank you for the explanation but I have to make this better."

"I can have Oliver Harris run through some options with you."

"No, not him." Chloe said bluntly. "I don't want any more dealings with him. I don't know who is worse, my husband or my lawyer. Is there another attorney available?"

"None that match Oliver's status. He deals primarily with our Hollywood high profile family law cases."

"Would you take me on as a client Mr Delvecchio?" Chloe asked, turning on a little of her charm. "I feel very comfortable speaking with you."

"I… I would have to speak to Mr Harris senior; Oliver is his son, and I would rather not… interfere in their family matters without speaking to Richard first. I would be able to take you and your husband on if-"

"-It would just be me, Mr Delvecchio. David can stay with Mr Harris."

"I am sure we can work something out Mrs Mitchem." Frank said easily. "I believe with the current situation with your husband, we might be able to appeal on what is known as a de novo review. It goes before an appellate court and they don't defer to any decisions made in the court. It isn't a new trail, for want of a better word. The appellate court will base its review on the evidence in the record from the original court review."

"Okay…" Chloe said, scribbling a few notes down. "… and if that doesn't work?"

"You could potentially file a request for Miss Mitchell to adopt Jessica permanently, instead of yourself, with a look at a private, shared custody order. Or if you felt it was better to do the adoption for Alexandra, we can arrange for that to happen. Either way, it is not going to be easy and the fees-"

"-I'm not worried about the money; I just need to make this right. When Beca… Miss Mitchell, brings Jessie over on Friday, I'll try and talk to her then. Maybe we can work something out. Or maybe I should just talk to her beforehand, so she doesn't have to move her around and disrupt the child?" Chloe suggested.

"If you don't take Jessica on Friday, you could be held in contempt of a court ruling. And believe me when I say that we would have no control over the media on this matter. We are able to limit the outflow through our own channels but for something like that, it would be impossible as you will have, in essence, broken the law."

"Okay, I understand. I sincerely thank you for your time."

"You are welcome Mrs Mitchem. I will ask my secretary, Jane, to follow this up with you and arrange a time for you to come to the offices."

"That's perfect. Thank you again."

"Enjoy the rest of your day." Frank said kindly.

"And you, bye."

.oOo.

David came home the next morning and found Chloe out by the pool with Alex and Kate. The area by the steps was littered with colourful pool noodles that Alex was using to poke Kate in the butt. Kate was yelling and squealing at Alex to stop but it was doing little to dissuade the little brunette. Chloe watched the two of them play, as she sat cross legged on the edge. She had been awake for most of the night, the afternoon of phone calls having taken their toll on her.

After speaking with Frank Delvecchio, Chloe had called the lawyers at her studio for any additional advice, as well as contacting a child psychologist and Legal Aid. Although Mr Delvecchio was quite correct, she wanted to see if there was anything else for her to consider. She knew she could get this sorted out, but it was just going to take time and money to put right. Every time Chloe closed her eyes, she saw Beca's face as the final verdict sunk in and the way she collapsed to the floor with no one around to catch her.

"Hi." David said quietly.

"Hi."

"So, I got a call from Oliver."

"Hmm mmm." Chloe replied, non-committedly, knowing her husband was lying.

"He said you don't want him working with you anymore."

"That's right."

"Can I ask why?"

Chloe turned to look up at him.

"Do you really need to ask me that question?"

"I guess not." David said gently.

"Please don't play me for a fool. I know you met up with him yesterday."

"Did Lauren call you?"

"No. Just…" Chloe sighed and watched as David crouched down beside her, knowing his question didn't really warrant an answer. "… I need you to stop lying to me, okay?"

"Okay."

"I know our marriage fell apart years ago and we tried to hold it together for the sake of the kids, and it worked… for a while. But you never used to lie to me."

"Yeah, I know." David said so softly that Chloe almost missed what he said. She looked over towards the girls for a couple of minutes while David fiddled with his hands.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why do you never talk to the girls when you come home?" Chloe asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You always say hello to me, or yell something obscene if you're in a mood, but you never address the girls directly anymore?"

"I do."

"If you do, then why aren't they out of the pool wrapping their wet little bodies around you in delight at you being home?"

David scratched his cheek for a second or two and looked over to where the girls were playing. For a moment, Chloe saw the old David in the look he gave the two girls. It was the same look he used to give to her when they were dating in college.

"You've been so obsessed with winning the court case with Beca, that you've completely lost sight of what you have here at home." Chloe continued. "As I said to you yesterday."

"You may be right." David said, settling himself down next to Chloe. Her eyes widened a little at his simple sentence. "I've not lost sight of what I have here, but I've been preoccupied. I guess I felt everything was out of my control. I was shocked and, as you know, I don't handle change very well."

"But you stopped talking to me too."

"I know. I know I did." David said, picking up a small stick from the side of the pool. "I'm sorry."

Chloe let those words hang in the air for a while as she tried to remember the last time that they'd spoken this calmly to each other. It meant a lot to her to hear David apologise.

"What's changed with you since we spoke yesterday?" Chloe asked, keeping an eye on the girls as they started to see how far they could throw the pool noodles into the water.

"Everything."

"Like what?" Chloe asked.

"Like Holly's pregnant."

"What?" Chloe said weakly as she blinked rapidly against the news. Holly wasn't the surprise, but she hadn't been expected David's news.

"Yeah, eleven weeks."

"Your girlfriend is pregnant?" Chloe felt her cheeks flush as she squeaked out the words.

"Yeah."

Chloe looked up to the sky for a moment, trying to take in David's news. She'd known about David's girlfriend for a while now and it wasn't a secret between them. Chloe had accepted that their marriage was over years before, just after the girls were born. Holly's name was rarely mentioned, and the last Chloe remembered David saying anything about her was just after Valentine's Day when she came over to watch the girls while they took a trip to the police station. Chloe closed her eyes against the threatening tears and took a deep breath.

"Are you happy?" She asked.

"I mean, yeah." He said, looking over to her. "It wasn't planned."

Chloe chewed on her lip for a minute or two, willing herself not to cry. She wasn't completely shocked by David's news, there had been plenty of warning signs as hard as she tried to deny it, although the painful truth was hard to hear.

"I think… for me… I can have all the kids I want." David said flippantly and ignored Chloe's sharp intake of breath. "I guess, I never considered the women's side of it before. It's different for you. I told Holly about the court case, don't worry she won't say anything, and she asked me about Beca and Jessica. I guess it finally fell into place a little that if Beca is gay, then she may not get another chance at having a kid unless there's a process involved. I can start another family, but you and she might not be able to."

"Wow!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Crap, that came out wrong." David winced at the exasperation on Chloe's face. " Sorry. I just mean that when Holly told me yesterday and I could just hear you saying, 'these kids are people, not possessions' and you were right, I had taken everything for granted."

"Took you long enough, you sack of shit." Chloe said, punching his arm lightly.

"So, I hear you want to appeal." David said, poking at the grass with his broken twig. "Against your own decision."

"Your decision. And yes, I feel it's the right thing to do."

"Why did you let it go this far?"

"I think I've been trying to fix something that was so beyond broken that I let myself get swept up with what you wanted, in order to keep the peace. But I'm not attributing it all to you anymore, I'm as much to blame in this mess. I broke someone's heart and it's up to me to fix it. I didn't let Beca's feelings come into this or give her a chance to come to terms with it all."

"And what if I don't agree to this?" David said.

"If you don't agree to this David, there is nothing in the future for you. You continue to ride my shirt tails like it's nothing, but I'm not putting up with it any longer. You have given me dozens of ultimatums over the last few months and now it's my turn. I don't know how to make it work yet, I'm still trying to figure that all out but if you don't consent and agree to finding a better way for us to work this out, then I'll take you to court and prevent you from seeing any of the girls. There's enough photographic evidence of what you've done to me over the years that you'll not have a leg to stand on once I've finished with you. I'm not doing this anymore David. Especially if Holly is pregnant. You'll need to move out, find somewhere else to live other than the pool house."

"I know. We're going to get a place near to the school. We might qualify for teacher housing."

"And you know you'll not get a penny from me in alimony." Chloe said, her voice thick. "I was prepared to give you money to leave but a baby changes everything D. Your timing really, really, really sucks."

"Money never meant anything to you before. You always called it our money."

"But it does now. And the reason it does now is because it meant more to you than the girls, me, your family."

David nodded slowly, accepting he couldn't win that argument.

"I'm appointing Frank to be my lawyer and I'll have him draw up a new set of divorce papers. Are you going to contest anything?" Chloe asked him.

David looked over towards the swimming pool for a couple of minutes as an early morning breeze rippled the water.

"The house is yours." He said simply. "I want the girls to grow up in a place I know so it would be good to picture them here."

"Okay." Chloe nodded. "You are keeping your car?"

"If that's okay with you?"

"It's fine. I'll transfer the note over to you."

"I'll take some of the furniture, so we've got some stuff for our new place."

"What are you thinking of taking?"

"The stuff from the pool house. Bed, sofa, kitchen stuff and my recliner in the lounge."

"And…" Chloe sighed. "… money?"

"No, I think you were right. I got used to the good life and forgot where I came from. I don't want to take anything."

"What made you remember?"

"I think the baby news hit me hard." David said wistfully.

"It would be nice if you remembered your daughters in that sentiment too." Chloe said, though not unkindly. "Just promise me you won't screw up your next family."

"I'll try not to." He said. "I still love you."

"And part of me will always love you." Chloe said calmly. "I don't want to end up hating you though, so we need to make it this right for all three girls and for Beca."

David nodded slowly.

"Okay, okay. I want to make this right. I still want access to Jessica, and I want to see Kate and Alex."

"An hour every two weeks good enough for you?" Chloe asked.

"No way, that's not enough for…" David trailed off, finally understanding the situation in its entirety.

"Frank Delvecchio said we still need to take Jessie on Friday or we risk being held in contempt. And I've set up some appointments for the week so I can get this sorted. I just need Beca to listen to what I have to say and hope that she'll eventually understand that we need to work together properly. When she brings Jessie on Friday, I'll talk to her then and I just hope she'll hear me out."

"And if she won't listen?" David asked but all Chloe could do was shrug her shoulders.

.oOo.