It is a common superstition that the thirteenth day of the month, especially if it falls on a Friday, is a day of bad luck. However, today, on the tenth day of January, experiencing bad luck on the thirteenth appeared to not be the case for Michaela. She had just gotten off the phone with her insurance company and she found out that her office was going to be ready for operations again on Friday, January thirteenth, which was over a month early. The original completion date that she was given was February 20, 2023.
She asked her insurance company how their contractors were able to finish so quickly. She expected a thorough job. She wanted everything up to code, and she paid extra to storm proof the place. Michaela knew that no building could ever be fully storm proofed because one could never truly and fully predict what will happen during a natural disaster. Nevertheless, she wanted to try at all costs to avoid the difficult situation that she'd been put in after the last storm. She never wanted to experience anything like it again.
Her insurance company informed her that they were able to finish so quickly because one of their other clients decided to sell their business as is and would no longer be needing their services. That meant that Michaela's office could be pushed up in the schedule.
Michaela was ecstatic! She would be able to rehire her employees, goodness knows they needed the money. Honestly, she was very happy to be able to return to normalcy. She was tired of living life like a vampire. It was hard to be up all night and asleep all day. She had young children and a boyfriend that she wanted to spend time with during normal hours of operation for everyone.
Now she was allowing her mind to wander and making plans about what to do next. The only problem that she foresaw was her contract with the hospital. She'd signed a contract with the hospital to work for three months. The hospital administration had helped her out of a serious bind, and she didn't want to burn bridges with them. If they wouldn't let her out of the contract, she could at least rehire her main secretary, Jessica, and have her redecorate the office so she would have an excuse to pay her.
She could also rehire Jessica's two office assistants, Andrea and Haylie. She wanted to rehire her nurses, Erika and Melissa, but she was worried that she may insult them if she asked them to decorate the office for her. She could ask her secretary and office assistants to do that job, but her nurses were medical professionals. She decided that she could at least run it by them though. They were probably dying to get back to work, and if not, they likely wanted a paycheck at the very least.
Michaela also wanted to get back to normal business hours because that meant that Dorothy could get back to normal business hours as well. She'd become increasingly worried about Dorothy for the last few days. She'd seen a bruise on Dorothy's face under her cheek bone. Though the older woman attempted to cover it up with make-up, Michaela could still see a slight discoloration and swelling.
Between that night, back in September, when she came to Michaela's home after she'd clearly been beaten, until a few days ago when Michaela saw that bad bruise on her face, Dorothy seemed a little off at times. This was the first indication of an injury that Michaela had seen since September, but she recalled several times when her children's nanny displayed emotional concerns.
Dorothy was far too easily startled, and her reactions to being startled were over the top at times, in Michaela's opinion. One time, Brian hugged her leg from behind and she screamed as if the two-year-old had just lit her leg on fire. Her high-pitched shrieking scared Brian and he started to cry, so Michaela had to calm him down. Dorothy apologized profusely when it happened. She claimed that she hadn't seen Brian and she thought a rat was crawling up her leg. Michaela didn't know why Dorothy would think a rat would be in her house, as the house was new and clean. After thinking on it, however, Michaela knew that she would scream like that, herself, if a rat randomly crawled up her own leg. Michaela felt in that case, Dorothy's reaction was justified. She could have dropped it then, but within the next five minutes, Colleen came downstairs from her bedroom and unexpectedly hugged the nanny, and Dorothy screamed in horror for a second time. Dorothy's action resulted in Michaela having to not just comfort Colleen, who started to cry, but she had to calm down Brian all over again. Dorothy's excuse that time was that her tensions were raised from just having been startled by Brian. Michaela didn't know what to say, she had to forgive Dorothy's actions, as strange as they were, but the entire episode made a red flag go up in Michaela's mind.
That wasn't the only emotional issue that she displayed. Dorothy also avoided talking about her home life, even when it came to answering very basic and general questions. Matthew, who was just trying to be friendly, asked her what she got for Christmas this year, and Dorothy refused to answer him. She wasn't harsh about it, she simply said, "Oh I don't wanna talk about that, tell me what you got for Christmas." Her reply satisfied Matthew, but for Michaela, another red flag went up.
No one had confirmed to Michaela that it was Dorothy's husband, Marcus, who was beating her, but she was starting to come to that conclusion on her own. All signs pointed to it. Dorothy's body language and countenance changed when she was around him. Everyone that Michaela knew, who also knew Dorothy, seemed to dislike her husband including Snowbird, Olive, Loren, and even Sully. Marcus' personality at church didn't help Michaela's negative opinion and suspicions about him either.
He was far too controlling. He didn't like it when Dorothy talked to anyone for too long. It didn't matter if she was talking to a man or a woman, Marcus didn't like it. Come to think of it, it likely did upset him more if Dorothy spoke to men her own age. Michaela had never once seen Dorothy speak to a man who was her age. The big exception to that was, of course, her brother-in-law. Marcus didn't appear to mind her talking to Loren.
Michaela wanted to ask Sully about it, but he had far too much on his plate. He was seeing a lawyer that day about one of the biggest items on his plate, Hank Lawson. He promised to call her as soon as his meeting was over. Since she had learned the news about her office, she could call any of her employees to make them aware of the new completion date, but she didn't want to be on the phone with them when Sully called. As a result, she was currently sitting on her couch, the house was quiet because her children had returned to school, and she was waiting for Sully to call her.
Now that her mind was on Sully, she inwardly recounted what happened on Christmas. After Ilsa showed up unexpectedly at her home with her granddaughter, which subsequently changed the mood of their quiet family celebration to confusion and chaos, Sully said he'd heard nothing from the elderly woman or from Hank.
After it was over, Sully decided that he needed to make two changes right away. First, he had to get himself prepared in case Hank tried to get custody of Zachary. Second, and he hated it, but he felt that he may have to cut all ties between Ilsa and Zachary, especially after the stunt she pulled. Showing up to Michaela's house, uninvited, was bad enough, but for her to bring that child over and drop that kind of a bomb on them unexpectedly… It was just uncalled for.
She and Sully had a private conversation after the kids went to bed. He said that he was glad that Hank had the good sense to stay away, but he should have stopped his grandmother from going to Michaela's house, especially if Mia is his child. He'd also said that if he was in Hank's situation, he would want to tell Zachary about Mia himself, and he'd want to do it in a way that was more sensitive. It was going to be a shock, no matter what, but he could have thought of a million different ways to deliver that kind of information. The whole thing was so strange to him, that Sully had also said that he wasn't even sure that he believed that Mia was really Zachary's sister.
Mia. Michaela sighed and shook her head. She didn't know what was going on with Hank or his grandmother. She didn't care what her true lineage was, she worried about that little girl and prayed for her every night. Once Mia was fed and felt comfortable, she warmed up to Michaela. Michaela found out some interesting tidbits of information.
***Sixteen Days Earlier, Christmas Evening***
Michaela had given Mia a plate of turkey, gravy, and cornbread stuffing. Those were the food items that Colleen liked best at dinner, so Michaela figured that those items were the best choice to give this little girl. Not knowing if the child was a picky eater or not, she reasoned that there was a higher probability of her liking the food since that was what Michaela's own child liked. Michaela's eyes bulged at how quickly Mia ate up all of her food. She was happy that this little girl liked what Michaela had given her but was sad at the same time because she must have been very hungry.
Once she was finished, Michaela gave her some hot chocolate. She wanted to make sure that Mia was warmed up.
"Thank you," Mia said timidly as she sipped her cocoa.
"You're very welcome," Michaela replied, taking a seat at the kitchen table, across from her. "How old are you, Mia?"
"Six," she answered in a small voice.
"When is your birthday?" Michaela questioned, trying to coax the little girl out of her shell a little more, "You know, you have beautiful hair. That beautiful auburn color and those sweet little ringlets. I would have loved to have hair like yours when I was little."
Mia smiled at Michaela, appreciating her warmth, and trusting that she was a nice person, "November Twenty-Six."
"I see. That is about the same age as my little girl. She is in the first grade, are you in the first grade too?" Michaela inquired. The child was six, but she had a birthday that was late in the year. Michaela wasn't quite sure what the age cutoffs were in Colorado to enroll your child in kindergarten. Colleen and Matthew were past that, and Brian wasn't there yet, so she hadn't had a reason to find out that information.
"I'm in kindergarten, but I'm supposed to be in first grade," Mia squeaked, but she was starting to get more comfortable.
"Why aren't you in the first grade?" Michaela asked, a little taken back because children don't typically flunk kindergarten. As far as she knew, if they were held back, it was for social reasons.
"'Cause I didn't know how to write my name," she informed Michaela.
Michaela focused on keeping her facial expressions in check. She suspected there was more to it than that. She just didn't know how it was possible for a six-year-old to not know how to write her name. Both Matthew and Colleen had mastered it by age four, and Brian was starting to learn now. It was possible that Mia had some sort of developmental delay, but Michaela was speaking to her and interacting with her. Based on Michaela's observations, she certainly didn't appear to have a delay. It all led Michaela to believe that Mia's lack of skills was most likely due to parental neglect.
"Do you know how to write your name now?" she asked.
"Yes," Mia said with a nod.
"Why couldn't you before?" Michaela wasn't sure if this line of questioning was appropriate, but she was very curious now.
"Sometimes my mommy would stay out and party all night and then she would be too tired to take me to school in the morning," Mia told Michaela. She was young and had not been trained to not blurt things like that out. Nevertheless, her answer told Michaela that neglect was this child's biggest problem.
"Where is your mommy now?" she inquired.
"I don't know," Mia answered honestly.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Michaela questioned.
"On my birthday," Mia said and started to sniffle, "My mommy said that I can't live with her anymore and I have to live with my Nana."
Michaela mentally noted that Mia spoke pretty well for a six-year-old. Almost as well as Colleen. So whoever her mother was, Michaela suspected that she was articulate and educated enough that her daughter learned from her. That didn't answer why she was so neglectful or why she said that she had to live with her grandmother.
"There is no need to cry, Sweetheart," Michaela tried to soothe her, "We're just talking."
"I can't help it," Mia confessed, "First my mommy said I can't live with her and now Nana says I can't live with her either."
"Where does Nana say you are supposed to live?" Michaela inquired, as she reached out to hold her hand.
"Nana said that I have to live with this really grumpy man," Mia explained as she accepted Michaela's hand, "His name is Hank. He's mean and he smells funny, but Nana said that I have to live with him because he's my Daddy."
That was interesting news that Michaela would have to share with Sully. Miss Ilsa had said that Mia was her grandchild, so that would make her at the very least, Zachary's cousin. However, if she was Hank's child too, then that made her Zachary's sister, and that was something that Sully would have to contend with.
"What do you mean, he smells funny?" Michaela hoped that the child hadn't already seen Hank intoxicated.
"I think he smells because he smokes a lot," she said, "I don't want to live with him. I just want my mommy back."
Michaela hoped that meant that at the very least the child hadn't seen him drunk. She didn't think that Mia had the most responsible mother in the world, but she was the only sense of stability the child had. This poor sweet little girl. Michaela lost count of the number of times this child's condition had horrified her and she hadn't even spent a full hour with her.
***Present Day***
A few blocks from Michaela's neighborhood, Sully was sitting at a table with Mrs. Lori Joyner, the social worker that finalized Zachary's adoption, and Mrs. Lenora Rossi, the state appointed attorney that worked with all of the social workers on adoption cases. He sat quietly, focusing on the wear and tear of his old leather briefcase, as both women read through all of the paperwork that he'd brought with him.
Miss Ilsa's last visit was still very much on his mind, and he was wondering why he hadn't heard from her since. Before the lawyer started viewing his documents, he asked if there was a way to find out what the deal was with young Mia. The most important information that he wanted to know was if she was really Hank's daughter, which would make her Zachary's sister as well. Mrs. Rossi told him that she didn't have access to Mia's case, and even if she did, she could only share personal information like that with a legal guardian.
"I have good news and bad news," Mrs. Rossi announced when she finished reading through the documents.
"Yes?" Sully questioned. He didn't care what news he got first, he just wanted to know his options.
"The bad news is this Document of Custodial Termination is not set in stone," she reported, "The state is a big proponent of keeping families together, Mr. Sully. In typical cases, if either parent is sent to prison, we'll say the father because that is what happened in this case, his rights are terminated, and the mother automatically gets sole custody of any children, assuming she has not also been sent to prison. However, if the father is not serving a life sentence, when he gets out of jail, and assuming his children are still minors, it is well within his rights to petition the court for custody. Typically, they don't because they are trying to get back on their feet again, but if they do, and the judge agrees, they usually get court supervised visitation for the first six months, then unsupervised visitation, and if it all works out in the end, the father can get up to 50% of his custodial rights back."
"Then what does this mean for the adoption?" Sully asked, his heart was starting to race. He shifted his attention to Mrs. Joyner next, "If Hank still has rights to Zac, why was the adoption allowed? Is it even valid?"
"The adoption is valid," Mrs. Joyner said, "Mr. Lawson does not have custodial rights. If he did, we could not have validated it."
"What?" Sully questioned, lifting his hand in the direction of Mrs. Rossi, "But she just said–"
"I think you've misunderstood me," Mrs. Rossi quickly added.
Sully felt a headache coming on. He had issues with migraines from time to time and he hoped he could last the meeting without having one develop, "What did I misunderstand?"
"You provided a Document of Custodial Termination that was validated and signed by a judge," Mrs. Rossi explained, "You provided a notarized Transfer of Rights Request that was signed by your late wife that established that at the time of her demise, all of her custodial rights are to be transferred to you. You also have signed adoption papers that were validated by Mrs. Joyner, who is a social worker and is licensed to represent the state in matters of adoption. Trust me, your adoption is perfectly valid."
"I don't understand," Sully stated firmly. He was really confused now, and his head was spinning. If what she'd just said was the case, then what was the point of her sharing all of that "bad news" with him about Hank having rights?
"The adoption is valid, and Mr. Lawson currently does not have any rights to your son," The lawyer said clearly, "What I am trying to explain is that since he is out of prison now and he did not sign away his custodial rights, being the natural father, he can petition the court to reinstate his rights."
"But a judge has to agree," Mrs. Joyner added.
"Hank is out of prison," Sully pointed out to the two of them, "but he isn't out of the woods yet. He's still on parole, and he will be on parole for another six years."
"A judge will take that all into consideration," Mrs. Joyner said.
"Yes," Mrs. Rossi agreed, "In this district, you will go in front of Judge Webster. If Mr. Lawson decides to take this to court, Judge Webster will take everything into consideration and decide what is in the best interest of the child. Typically, the court views the best interest of the child means shared custody between the child's two natural parents. Being the child's natural father is what Mr. Lawson has on his side. They will also look at the living conditions, and the state does not like to separate siblings. Those are two things that are on your side."
"I am Zachary's legal father," Sully stated, feeling that that fact should also tip the scales in his favor. However, he had some new worries going through his head, "you said that in the cases with a natural father and a natural mother, the parent who's been in jail can get up to 50% custody. Can that realistically happen here?" Shared custody would be better than nothing, he supposed, but he didn't want that. He wanted to keep his promise to his late wife. He wanted to keep his promise to his son.
"I honestly don't know," Mrs. Rossi replied. "You have a very unusual situation. Typically, in cases like this, if one of the parents has died, the child resides with a grandparent or is in the foster care system. You typically don't see a natural father take an adoptive father to court."
"You just never know what a judge is going to do," Mrs. Joyner explained further, "I have seen some pretty crazy things happen over the years. Usually, if the child is in foster care, they will award the natural parent custody, assuming they can prove that they are not a danger to the child. They do it as soon as possible too but will assign a court liaison to look in on them. They do that because the foster care system is jam packed. There are not enough homes for these kids, and they need to put them somewhere. When it comes to grandparents or other relatives, I've seen the natural parent win in that case too, even if the relatives are providing a much better home."
"Great," Sully scoffed and put his head in his hands. His head was pounding now. He was going to have a full-blown migraine; he could feel it coming on. He prayed he could get home first. Maybe he should just drive to Michaela's house, she lived closer to the social worker's office than he did.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Sully," Mrs. Rossi said, hoping to raise his spirits, " Don't lose heart yet. You are an adoptive parent. You're not a foster or a court appointed guardian. You are a legal parent, and in the eyes of the law, you are no different than a natural parent."
"That's true too," Mrs. Joyner added, "We are just trying to explain that you never know what a judge is going to do. The last thing we want is for you to be blindsided because it is possible for a judge to decide against you. I'm not saying that he will decide against you, but it's possible. We don't get cases like this typically. Usually, if a child has been legally adopted, both natural parents are either dead, one natural parent is dead and the other one willingly signed the child over to the state, or the natural mother decided to put the baby up for adoption while she was pregnant and she never named the natural father. Do you see how unusual your case is?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Sully answered. He understood what they were telling him, but that didn't change the fact that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible because he was going to vomit.
Michaela sat on her sofa, mindlessly playing solitaire on her phone. She wished Sully would call because she was dying to know what was going on. His consultation was at 9:30 in the morning, and it was 10:54 right now. A little less than an hour and a half had gone by since his appointment, so Michaela wasn't worried that something went terribly wrong yet; she was just anxious to know what he'd learned from the lawyer.
"What is that?" she whispered aloud to herself. She heard a loud sound that made her think that one of the neighborhood children kicked a soccer ball and accidentally let the ball roll across the street and thud against her front door. It was definitely loud enough that it brought Michaela right out of her thoughts. Shutting off her game and then placing her phone down on the coffee table in front of her, she got up to investigate. When she opened the door, she gasped loudly, "Sully."
Sully was standing on the other side of the door, but he was looking down and using his hands to block excess light.
"What happened?" She questioned with concern.
"I'm having one of my headaches," he mumbled, "It ain't that bad yet."
"I heard a loud thump," Michaela informed him, quickly standing to the side so he could walk inside the house.
"I dropped my briefcase and…," Sully informed her, "...um… I think it hit the door on the way down. I'll get it."
"No, I'll get it!" Michaela said, she was scolding him now, "You go sit on the couch."
Sully obeyed her and went inside as she went in search of his briefcase. When she found it, she smiled and wondered if it once belonged to his birth father. She remembered that her father carried something very similar that he'd bought way back in the '70s. She took a quick peek inside, not to spy, but to check to make sure whatever he had inside was in good order. That was a loud thud she'd heard when he first came to the door. She took a quick glance and then shut it. There was only paperwork inside, he hadn't been carrying an iPad, laptop, or anything else that could have been destroyed by being dropped on the ground.
Michaela shut the door and followed him to her sofa. Getting a closer look at him, she could see that he was sweating and uncomfortable. He'd obviously just come out of his meeting with the lawyer because instead of his usual jeans and sturdy cotton shirt that he wore during the week, so he could easily jump on a horse and move his cattle, he was wearing navy blue linen trousers that were belted with a brown leather belt. Tucked into his pants, was a long-sleeve, navy blue and white striped button up shirt. On his feet, were brown leather loafers instead of his usual work boots.
Michaela sighed and started to unbutton the top buttons of his shirt to give him some air. "What did you mean when you said that you are having one of your headaches?" she inquired. He wasn't wearing a tie, so he hadn't buttoned up his shirt all the way to his neck. She initially undid the second button, but decided to undo the third button as well, in case she thought it necessary to listen to his heart.
"They ain't that big of a deal," Sully mumbled. He'd rested his head on the back pillow of her couch and he had his eyes shut.
"I'll be the judge of that," she stated firmly, getting into doctor mode, "Can you describe them?"
"I get migraines," he groaned, and then started to chuckle lightly, "I get them every now and then. This one ain't that bad yet. My father used to get them, and now I get them. I'm just laughin' because a doctor once told my Pa that men don't usually get migraines. He made a joke about it."
"That's true, women tend to be inflicted more, but men are certainly not immuned," Michaela explained, "How bad can they get? What are your usual symptoms?"
"Right now, my head's throbbin' and it's hard to take in light, but I haven't puked yet" he explained weakly, "and I could still drive."
"Do you usually experience nausea?" she inquired, cringing slightly because he said he could still drive. Luckily, he had a successful drive to her home, but it was not a wise decision for him to get behind the wheel of a car. She decided right then that when she gets him feeling better, she will insist that when situations like this happen that he needs to call her to come and pick him up.
"Yeah," he breathed, lifting his hand to hold the side of his head. When they get real bad, I can barely move. I usually puke and I can't see, I can't take any lights or loud noises. When I feel one comin' on, I usually call Ma, to watch the kids, and then go to bed when she gets there."
"Then we need to get you upstairs and straight to bed while we still can," Michaela ordered, "What do you usually take for the pain?"
"Nothin'," Sully said, "I just try to sleep."
"I want you to take some migraine medicine," Michaela insisted. "I have some good pills that you can take. It's best for you to take them now while you can. If the nausea gets too bad, you could throw them up and that wouldn't be helpful for you. Come on, I'll help you get up the stairs."
"I don't wanna bother you," Sully protested, "I can just lay on the couch. You have work tonight."
"You could never be a bother to me, Sweetheart," she confessed honestly and lovingly, "You will be much more comfortable in the bedroom. Don't worry about the children, I will pick them up from school when it's time. If you take this medicine that I have for you, it may help you get through the migraine more quickly than usual. Who knows? You might feel well enough to come and pick them up with me."
Sully didn't want to move. Medicine had never been very effective for him, including the medicine that said "migraine" on the box. He'd never seen a doctor about getting help for his migraines, because he didn't like or trust them. Snowbird had taken him to different doctors about the headaches in his teens, but the result of that was a misdiagnosis. Since he'd met Michaela, he trusted her and respected her medical judgment, but his feelings about doctors, in general, remained the same. He'd try the medicine and follow doctor's orders for her and her only.
"Alright," he groaned, "I'll go upstairs. I'll do whatever ya think is best."
Sully awoke in Michaela's bed. He was under a cotton sheet, stripped down to his boxer-briefs and he had a white pedestal fan blowing cool air in his direction.
The first thing he did was yawn, and then he reached over to the fan and turned it off. He saw Michaela's phone on the nightstand next to him and figured that she must have set it down when she set up the fan next to him, and forgot it was there. He reached over and picked it up and found that it was almost 1:00. He'd slept for a good ninety minutes at least.
Since it was only 1:00, there was still two hours until the kids were done with school. He could continue with the rest of his day as planned.
As he laid on his side thinking about the rest of the day, it hit him. The reason why he was in Michaela's bed at all was because she put him there during the early stages of his migraine. Now, in ninety short minutes, his migraine was gone. His head no longer hurt! How could this be? He never gets through the pain this quickly, and he wanted to talk to Michaela about it immediately.
With fast movements, Sully flipped over in bed. His goal was to get up from the side of the bed that was closest to the door, but he'd been asleep on the side of the bed that was closest to the bedroom window. Once he turned over, he soon realized that he wasn't alone. Michaela was asleep next to him. Remembering that she was still in scrubs when he'd initially arrived at her home, it looked like she had changed into a silk, black pajama set, with a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. She was up much higher than he was on the bed; having propped herself up on a couple of pillows. She'd also covered herself with the blankets that he wasn't using.
He hoped that his sudden movements hadn't woken her up. She was the one who had to work all night long.
"How do you feel?" She asked him with a sleepy voice, her eyes still closed.
"Much better," he replied. He was happy that his pain was gone, but he still felt guilty that he did indeed wake her.
"Come here," she invited him, opening up her arms for him.
Sully scooted closer. He hugged her middle and then rested his head on her silk covered abdomen. Next, he felt her lips on the hairline of his forehead, followed by her soft hands in his hair. As they held each other in their current position, he started imagining them one day snuggling the same way in their bed. He wondered if he would get the chance to feel their unborn child kicking against the same cheek that he had on her flat abdomen now.
"I'm glad the medicine worked," Michaela said, bringing him back to the present. She'd opened her eyes, and her voice sounded much more active and awake.
"What type of medicine was that?" Sully asked, impressed with her that she was able to get him through this migraine so soon. He still couldn't believe that his pain was completely gone.
"It's called Insozin, and it's relatively new to the market. It was developed by Dr. Theodora Soll-Insozin. I gave you one of the samples that I had, because many pharmacies don't carry it and it has to be special ordered. It's a mixture of typical pain medications: ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and acetylsalicylic acid. The exact formulation is what is different about this particular medication," Michaela explained, sparing him the details of the exact formulation. When the medication was first introduced to the market, it was something that she, David, and her father discussed at length. She highly doubted that Sully would care about that part.
"How did you know it would work?" Sully questioned.
"I didn't know for sure, but I just had a hunch," she explained, as she caressed his scalp with her hands, "If you are in the early stages of a migraine, it's important to act fast. That's why I wanted you to take the pills right away. The worse your migraine gets, the less effective the pills will be, and then I would've had to move to an injection. You said that migraine medicine doesn't work on you. I have a feeling that the reason for that is because medicine, pain medicine in particular, is most effective when you consider the patient's weight. Over-the-counter medication is always given in lower doses. As you said, migraines tend to affect women more than men. As a general rule, women tend to weigh less than men. Taking your weight into consideration, I gave you a stronger dose than you are used to. I'm also very certain you aren't used to this formulation.
Gosh, Sully thought to himself. She is so beautiful, kind, and also very smart. He was very impressed with her skills, even more so now that she was able to get him through a migraine so quickly. Since he'd experienced his first one, it usually took at least a day for it to pass.
Sully had suffered from migraines for most of his adult life, experiencing his first one when he was sixteen. It happened when he was being hospitalized for smoke inhalation. He was hospitalized just after he lost half of his family for the second time. Snowbird, Daniel, and Sully survived the fire that killed Cloud Dancing, Breckon and Walter. Although they survived, they still had to stay in the hospital for a few days, and that was when Sully had his first one. The doctor that took care of all three of them during that time, believed that the severe headache that Sully experienced was a side effect of the smoke inhalation. At the time, that seemed like a reasonable diagnosis.
The problem with that diagnosis was that the headaches didn't stop. Sully had a second migraine headache about a year later, and another one occurred a few months after that. Frustrated, Snowbird took him to a different doctor for a second opinion. She didn't believe that he'd still be feeling the side effects of smoke inhalation over a year later. The doctor that they saw after that gave him a CT scan and told him that he didn't have brain tumors or other abnormalities in the brain, so it was probably just a headache that he experienced. Not satisfied, Snowbird asked the doctor if it was just a headache, then why was it so debilitating? The doctor shrugged at her and told her that he's a teenager and he was probably overexaggerating the pain. Snowbird was not satisfied with that answer either.
Finally, they asked Olive, and she was the one that reminded Sully of his father's migraines. He was only ten when his father died, so he remembered him having them. He just hadn't concluded that he was having migraines himself. He remembered what his father used to do, which was lay down in a dark room and stay put until it went away. That was how Sully usually handled his migraines as well.
"How did your talk with the lawyer go?" Michaela asked him.
Sully let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Don't tell me that Hank has a leg to stand on," Michaela voiced with obvious displeasure.
"They said he doesn't have any rights…right now," Sully informed her. Staying in the same position with his head on her abdomen, just under her breasts, he closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his face against the soft material of her shirt.
"What does that mean?" Michaela questioned, allowing her fingers to start a second scalp massage.
Sully kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling that her small fingers were giving his head, "That means the adoption stands, but he has the right to petition the court for custody," he answered her, "and he can get Zac back."
"How can he get him back?" Michaela inquired. That certainly wasn't the understanding that she had when she was getting divorced, "When my ex-husband signed over his rights, they made it very clear that he did not have the right to change his mind. Once he gave up his rights, that was it."
"That's exactly the difference with Hank," Sully said, "He didn't sign over anything. His rights were terminated because he went to prison. He has the right to petition the court and prove that he's fit to be a parent."
"Petitioning the court and actually getting the child back are two different things, Sweetheart," Michaela explained, "I'm sure Ethan can petition the court too, but the lawyers explained to both of us that if he signs over his rights to the children to me, then that better be what he really wants, because it is very difficult to go back after that."
"I know, Darlin', but we're goin' in circles here. Our situations are two different things," Sully reminded her, "Ethan did it willingly and Hank didn't."
"Hank lost custody of Zac because he went to prison, right?" she questioned.
"Right," Sully agreed that she was correct.
"He went to prison for killing his child's grandparent in a car accident in which he was driving drunk. Am I right again?" she questioned a second time.
"Right again," Sully confirmed.
"How can he prove that he is now fit to care for a child after that?" Michaela asked, getting to her point.
"I don't know, but they said that it was possible," he informed her, "I was in a room with a lawyer and the social worker that approved and signed off on Zac's adoption. They both told me that they wanted to prepare me for the worst possible scenario because you never know what a judge is gonna do."
"Oh, for goodness sake," Michaela said, shaking her head. The very thought of Zachary being put in the custody of a man like Hank was just ridiculous to her. She agreed that they didn't know what a judge could do or how he could see things, but what was the true reality here? The job of a judge is to decide what is in the best interest of the child. If being in Sully's custody wasn't in Zachary's best interest, then what hope could Hank possibly have? Sully was a far better father than Hank. Michaela wasn't pleased with what Sully had learned, but decided to ask about something else, "Were you able to find out anything about Mia?"
"No, I'm sorry, Love," Sully said, "I don't have custody of Mia, so I don't have the right to know her personal information. At least that's what the lawyer said."
To be continued. Please review. =)
Thank you all for your support. I'm very glad everyone is enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I am not an expert on the law, nor am I an expert on medicine.