Maggie sat nervously in the waiting room of the lawyer's office with what seemed like half of her life in a manila folder. She brought nearly everything that they had asked for and hoped she could find the rest.

When the receptionist called her name, Maggie took a quick moment to bless herself and pray for strength in what she was about to do.

"Sister, I'm Thomas Mackey. We spoke on the phone," the lawyer greeted warmly as he shook Maggie's hand. He was younger than she had anticipated but his skill in family law, especially in challenging cases, was highly recommended.

"I'm glad you're able to help," Maggie replied as she followed him back to his office.

"I'll do my best. This is an interesting situation," Mackey replied as he pulled out a chair for Maggie and sat down himself. "I was able to start looking over the documents that were faxed over in advance to try and get a general idea of what we're looking at but these bits of paper are just the skeleton. I need you to fill in the guts for me. Tell me a story."

"What would you like to know?" Maggie asked nervously.

"Tell me about your son."

"Matthew."

The lawyer made a few notes, noticing that Maggie was not a verbal volcano like most parents. "When is his birthday?"

"October 21."

"How old is Matthew now?"

"Thirteen."

"Where is Matthew currently living?"

"The St. Agnes home for children."

The lawyer looked up. "Am I correct in saying it is affiliated with the convent that you currently reside in?"

Maggie nodded. "It is."

"How long has Matthew lived there?"

"Since his father died so about three years."

The lawyer made a note of that. That was something he definitely wanted to delve deeper into.

"Is he in public or private school?"

"Catholic school. He's in eighth grade," Maggie corrected.

The lawyer made a few more notes. "How are his grades?"

"He does well. He manages to maintain As in his classes. After his accident and again after his father passed, his grades slipped a bit but they rebounded nicely."

The lawyer made a few more notes. "I can understand the drop in grades after his father's passing. Talk to me more about this accident."

Most people in Hell's Kitchen knew what happened to Matt but Maggie couldn't expect a Manhattan lawyer to know. "When Matthew was nine, he pushed an older gentleman out of the way of an oncoming truck. The truck spilled its cargo which was toxic chemicals. Some of it got into Matthew's eyes and blinded him."

"Does he have any remaining vision?"

Maggie shook her head. "Zero light perception. All the doctors have deemed it irreversible."

"What are Matthew's accommodations in school? Does he have a current 504 plan?"

"He has a 504 but I don't believe it has been updated since its issuance because Matthew's vision hasn't changed. He is fluent in Braille and he is allowed access to screen readers and text to speech software. When that is not available, he has to record his responses and someone will transcribe them for him."

"Does he have an aide at school or use a seeing eye dog?"

"No."

Mackey made a few more notes. "I'd very much like to meet him as soon as possible. I want to go back to something you said earlier. Matthew has been living at St Agnes since his father passed, why are you only requesting a change of custody now?"

Maggie swallowed hard. Now, the painful part. "Because up until recently, Matthew didn't know I was his mother."

The lawyer held his breath a moment at that statement. "Elaborate on that. When did you and his father separate?"

"Matthew was about a month old. I was suffering from severe depression at the time and I was taken in by the church to begin treatment."

"Did you have visitation with Matthew?"

"No, I never asked for it."

"Did his father request child support?"

"No, he didn't. "

The lawyer pulls out one of the documents that Maggie provided. "I see that the papers for the dissolution of your marriage were drawn up on your behalf by the Archdiocese of New York and your late husband is the Respondent. They weren't signed for nearly eighteen months."

"I was not well and sometimes incoherent and unresponsive during a depressive episode. The Church had me sign them when I was preparing to take my vows to enter into service. Jack didn't want our marriage to end and was reluctant to sign."

"Mr. Murdock was granted full custody of Matthew. Was this a sole custody agreement or did you voluntarily give up your parental rights to Matthew?"

"I don't know," Maggie admitted sadly. "I was told to sign something in regards to Matthew. I'm not sure if I read it. How much of a difference does it make?"

Mackey sighed and put down his pen. "Unfortunately, a big one. If Mr. Murdock only had sole custody and you did not waive your parental rights, we would file for a change in custody due to extenuating circumstances. If you voluntarily waived your parental rights, we would need to do a full-fledged adoption of Matthew. In either circumstance, there's a few things I would need from you before we can file for a temporary change in custody."

"What do I need to do? I don't want my son to pay for my poor choices any more than he already has."

"Obviously, you would need to submit your resignation to the Archdiocese. You would need to obtain a suitable apartment with at least two bedrooms for yourself and Matthew. You would need to obtain employment with sufficient wages to support yourself and Matthew, preferably without public assistance. Given the nature of why you left Matthew and his father, I would imagine a psychiatric evaluation would be necessary to eliminate any chance of relapse. Matthew would also need to be interviewed. He's nearly in high school so his opinion would need to be taken into consideration. Our ultimate goal is what is best for Matthew."

Maggie decided to walk back from the lawyer's office. She had a great deal to digest and it wasn't a horrible walk, just a bit long.

She found a bench just outside of Matthew's school and just sat and waited. When the kids started to come out, some of the others St. Agnes kids were confused to see her, usually Sister Anne brought them back to the orphanage. Maggie smiled and pointed in Sister Anne's direction as she waited because Matt was typically one of the last to come out.

"Matthew, over here!" Maggie called out to him when she saw him.

Matt made his way through the departing students over to where Maggie was. "Am I in trouble? I don't think I did anything."

Maggie laughed as she patted the bench next to her. "No, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Can you please call me Matt or Matty? Dad only called me Matthew when I was in trouble. I knew when he threw out the Matthew Michael that I was dead where I stood. You call me Matthew all the time and it always seems like I'm in trouble," Matt asked as he sat down.

"I think I can get into the habit. So, I spoke to the lawyer today."

"So what happened?" Matt was anxious to hear the details.

"He outlined all I have to do like finding an apartment and a job as well as he would like to talk to you."

"When does he want to do that?"

"As soon as possible," Maggie said as she stood up and offered her arm to Matt. "It's a bit of a walk unless you want to take a cab."

Matt stood up and folded his cane and shoved it into his backpack before taking Maggie's arm. "Walking's fine. Half the cabs smell weird lately."

"So, how did school go today?" Maggie started as they walked.

"Social studies really sucked. We had a sub and the teacher forgot to leave a Braille copy of the work for me. I don't really blame her for forgetting. I mean you've got other things on your mind when you wake up puking. Anyway, the sub gets real bitchy - "

"Language," Maggie interrupted.

"Sorry," Matt apologized and continued. "Anyway, the sub gets all in my face because I'm not working. I tell her I can't read the paper and ask to work with someone. She cops an attitude and tells me no. Some of the people sitting near me tried to whisper it to me but then the sub got on their case. Science was another shitshow."

"Matthew," Maggie warned again.

"Sorry. My lab partner was absent so I had to work with the teacher so that was just weird."

"How did the English test go?"

"That was just straight up pie," Matt laughed as he brushed his nails on his shirt. "Music was a letdown."

"Matty, what happened? You normally love music."

"When they let me participate," Matt groaned. "They were doing this rhythm stick thing where you have to jump over them. I could easily do this. I jump rope all the time. Listening to the pattern was simple. They wouldn't even let me try because they're afraid I'll trip but it doesn't matter for the others."

Maggie put her hand over Matt's comfortingly. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Someday, they'll see that there's more to you than what's on the surface. Do I need to say something?"

Matt shook his head. "Not gonna change anything. It just sucks that I don't get the chance."

Maggie wanted to say something about Matt being excluded but it wouldn't have much weight behind it until he was with her again.

She checked in with the receptionist and Mr. Mackey was quick to appear. "Sister, it's good to see you again. Matthew, it's nice to meet you."

Matt offered his hand to shake. He was taught manners. "It's nice to meet you too."

Mackey was impressed by Matt. Most kids he met weren't so together. "Sister, can I speak to Matthew alone first?" he asked as he shook Matt's hand.

Maggie nodded. "I'll just be out here," she agreed as she took a seat.

"Matthew, come with me. Let's talk in my office," the lawyer stated as he guided Matt down the hall to his office. "Can I call you Matthew?"

"I prefer Matt."

"I'll make note of that," the lawyer said as he set Matt's hand on a chair. "So, I spoke with your mom for quite some time this morning and I want to hear your thoughts."

"Where do you want me to start?" Matt asked.

"Your mom said that up until recently that you did not know she was your mother. How did you feel about that?"

"I was hurt and angry that everyone lied to me or kept it from me."

"Did you ever ask your Dad about her?"

Matt nodded. "A few times but it just made him sad so I stopped asking. I loved my Dad and I didn't want to hurt him."

"Now, your mom wants you to live with her. How does it make you feel?"

Matt paused before answering. "I'm excited but nervous. I mean I've technically lived around her for three years now but not one on one. If anyone could find her after my Dad died, we would have been together right away and none of this would be needed, right?"

The boy had a point. "Do you hold any animosity towards your mom?"

"I was angry and hurt but I've moved on. We can't change the past no matter how much we want to. If I could, I'd have both my parents. I want to live with my mom. I've forgiven her. Shouldn't my opinion be the only one that matters here?"

"I wish it were that easy. Everyone is looking out for what's best for you," Mackey commented.

"She's my mom. I get at least one of my parents back. What's the alternative? I stay at the orphanage until I'm eighteen and then I'm on my own. I've been there long enough to know that very few teenagers get adopted and no one is going to want one that's blind. I want my mom back. It's all I've ever wanted."

This boy continued to impress Mackey. "What do you want to be when you grow up, Matt?"

"A lawyer," Matt answered quickly.

"Why is that?"

"My Dad always wanted me to use my brain instead of my fists. I want to help people. There's a lot of good people who get handed a bad hand. They need someone to stick up for them when no one else will."

Mackey smiled. "Matt, I think that's one of the best reasons given for someone to go into my profession. Can I use that on my business card?"

Matt laughed. "I think I should get to use it on my business cards."

"I look forward to be working with you one day. How about we get your mom?" Mackey said as he offered Matt his arm to guide him back out to the waiting room. "Sister, you got a minute? There's just one thing I want to talk about."

"Of course," Maggie excused herself from Matt and followed the lawyer. "What is it?"

Mackey smiled. "Your son is not like most of the kids I meet. Usually, they're a lot rougher than he is."

"Matthew does get in his fair share of trouble," Maggie admitted.

"That boy is your ace in the hole. He's smart, articulate, well mannered, good hearted and when they interview him, he's going to drive the point home."

"A credit to his father. Jack was always on him to study."

"Don't sell yourself short. After you establish a home and have employment, we'll file for the change in custody. Once Family Services looks everything over and completes the home study, you and your son should be reunited."

"I want to thank you so much for this," Maggie stated.

"Thank me when we finish. We're at the beginning of a very long road."