For a brief, split-second moment, Dex doesn't recognize what he sees in front of him. He stares at himself in the full-length mirror, standing tall in a light blue suit. He smooths down the front of his blazer, taking a deep breath all the while. His fingers then graze the back of his head, running over where the stitches used to be.
You're doing the right thing with what you've decided, he thinks to himself, Healing takes time and you're going to need a lot of it.
"Da!" Ciara smacks her hand against the bars of her crib. Dex turns her way and shoots her a smile, approaching her.
"What is it, baby? What's up?" he pulls her up. She doesn't answer, turning her head towards the closed bedroom door. He nods in understanding, heading downstairs. A rapid series of knocks echo in the living room when he reaches the bottom.
"They're here," he coos back at her, opening the front door. Danny, Rocco, and Scout stand on the other side, "Thanks for coming, guys. I really appreciate it."
"You're family," Rocco steps into the penthouse, "We'll do whatever you need us to."
"As long as Mom makes us, sure," Danny mumbles, rolling his eyes. Rocco shoots him a glare as Dex passes Ciara to him.
"Okay, well," the young man says, clearing his throat, "I need to get to the courthouse before the traffic makes me late. The baby food's in the fridge, and she'll need to go down for a nap around 2 PM. You guys can do whatever you want as long as you keep an eye on her. If you need anything, text me. Oh, and I know you two are fighting," he points at Danny and Rocco, "so try not to kill each other, your sister, or my daughter."
"We'll be civil," Rocco forces a smile, "don't worry."
"Speaking of being civil, you're gonna let Aunt Kristina back in, right?" Danny asks, crossing his arms, "She's Ciara's mom, after all."
Dex makes a face, "We'll see."
"Whatever."
"Bye, Uncle Dex!" Scout opens her arms for a hug, and he indulges her. He nods at the teenage boys before grabbing his keys, wallet, phone, and black trenchcoat. Snow litters the streets as he drives out of the parking garage and towards the courthouse. He rides with the radio off, the hum of the engine and grinding of the tires filling the space. He manages to avoid the brunt of traffic and park in a spot a bit far from the courthouse steps, and he does his best to shield himself from the swaths of journalists pursuing him.
"Well, look who it is," Dante remarks, Sam's hand in his as Dex shuts the courthouse doors behind him, "free from the hospital bed."
"It feels great," Dex laughs as the couple approaches him, "and thank you for getting the kids to babysit Ciara. I owe you one."
"Anytime," Sam smiles, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine. The head stitches are gone, the drugs and treatment mostly worked-"
"Mostly?"
"The pathogen is pretty much permanent. I'm not contagious or anything, but Dr. Obrecht couldn't get rid of it. It won't really affect me unless I get sick with something else, and then it'll just make me feel worse."
"Liesl told you all of that?"
"In a…long-winded way, yes. But hey, I can eat and drink and live my life with virtually no issues, so I'll manage."
"You kind of have to," Same says awkwardly, and the trio share a few chuckles.
"I really do appreciate you getting Danny, Rocco, and Scout to watch their cousin, though," Dex pivots.
"Of course. As long as they know how to take care of her, it should be fine."
"I absolutely let them know. Food's in the fridge, nap's in the afternoon, keep an eye on her, and don't put her in the middle of your fights. I know Danny and Rocco are still butting heads, so I made sure to say something."
Dante offers him a smirk, "You sound like a dad."
Dex returns one of his own, "I am one."
"There you are!" Alexis approaches them from out of the blue, "I've been looking for you!"
"We were just making sure Dex knew how important his decision was," Dante answers, the smirk still present on his face.
"Yes, well, whatever Dex decided came from what he felt was best for Ciara…right?"
"Right," Dex nods, "...I should probably meet with my attorney right now."
"He's in the courtroom. In fact, I think it's best that we're all there."
Alexis leads the way as the group walks to their assigned courtroom. Dex heads towards his court-assigned attorney, who stands by their table, as the other three take their seats in the gallery, joining Sonny, TJ, Spencer, and Trina. For a brief moment, he meets Kristina's gaze, offering her a flat smile. She reciprocates in kind, and it prompts him to approach her.
"Hi," he greets her, reaching for her hand.
"Hey," she nods, grabbing his fingers.
"Big day today."
"Very big."
"Nervous?"
"Yeah."
"Me too."
"Have you decided on what to do?"
"I have, and I think it's what's best for now."
"For now?" the courtroom doors open, Diane walking through them. She looks Dex up and down when she gets to her respective seat.
"I do believe you're meant to be over there," she points to his attorney before waving her arms at him to shoo him away.
"For now," Kristina repeats, catching her attorney's attention, "He said that what he decided was best 'for now.' How worried should I be about that?"
"All rise!" the bailiff's voice booms as Judge Lopez enters the room. She takes a seat, scanning the courtroom.
"You may be seated," she says before looking at Dex, "I hope you're feeling better, Mr. Heller."
Dex stands tall, his attorney to his right, "I am, Your Honor, and I appreciate you moving the hearing to today."
"We couldn't hold this hearing without you," Judge Lopez remarks, "and even then, you endured something horrible. To make you be here in the midst of that would be…shortsighted, to say the least."
"Thank you."
"Let's begin today's proceedings, shall we?"
"Please rise," Judge Lopez nods at Kristina and Diane. They follow her command, "What say you, Dexter James Heller, as to the approval or denial of joint custody of Ciara Josephine Heller with Kristina Adela Corinthos-Davis?"
"Denied."
Soft gasps and grunts immediately fill the courtroom. Dante and Sam exchange looks, Alexis and Sonny shake their heads, and Trina grabs Spencer's shoulder when he slaps his knee in frustration.
"She risked her life to save him, and he's still going to keep Ciara from her?" he hisses.
"I'm sure it's not that simple…" Trina sighs.
"Diane," Kristina gives the woman a panicked look. Diane doesn't appear to respond, "I'm screwed, aren't I?"
"What say you, Dexter James Heller, as to the approval or denial of visitation with Ciara Josephine Heller for Kristina Adela Corinthos-Davis?"
"Approved."
Kristina and Diane let out a quiet, relieved sigh, as does most of the gallery. Spencer maintains his bitter composure.
"Have you and your attorney worked out the arrangements?" Judge Lopez questions.
"Yes, Your Honor," the attorney lifts a manila folder, a moderately-sized stack of documents present in it, "We have a courtesy copy for you. May I approach the bench?"
"You may," the man walks up to the judge, handing her a collection of documents. She flips through the pages before looking at the opposing table, "Ms. Miller?"
Diane and Kristina stand up.
"Does your client agree to one week per month of visitation, excluding holidays, and that any visits beyond those limitations must be formally approved by Mr. Heller?"
Diane mutters to the young woman, "We can fight for more time-"
"Accept it," Kristina replies in kind.
"What?!"
"Just do it."
"...Y-Yes, Your Honor," Diane responds to Judge Lopez, "My client agrees to that term. In regards to holidays, why are they excluded?"
"The arrangement notes that Mr. Heller grants visitation on all major holidays, making it separate from the assigned week, which is slated to be the end of each month," the opposing attorney replies.
"Alright," the judge pulls out another page, "Ms. Miller, does your client agree to having bi-yearly status checks with the court for the purposes of continuing the arrangement and/or revisiting custody?"
Diane looks at Kristina, who simply nods, "Yes, Your Honor."
"Lovely. I'll get this through the filing system and we'll all be set," Judge Lopez nods before she bangs her gavel. Everyone gets to their feet, watching her and the bailiff exit. Dex shakes his attorney's hand before the elder man leaves the courtroom. TJ approaches him from the gallery, and they bro-hug over the half-wall.
"You're really okay with this?" Sonny asks as he and Alexis approach Kristina.
"I am," she nods, "I have to earn custody. Getting visitation is a big step forward."
"Seems like Dex would've denied custody and visitation had Victor not gone after him," Diane observes, "You bought yourself some grace in your trip to Greenland."
"I went to save him and Ciara because I love them. Whether he changed his mind about this or not is all him."
"I appreciate how selfless you've been throughout all this," Alexis smiles.
"Some women say that having a baby changes you," Kristina says, "I think they're right."
"Ditto," the women break out into reserved giggles, slightly catching Dex's attention. He admires the joy on their faces from afar, letting out a relieved sigh.
"Why did you do that?" Spencer snaps, stepping up to the man, "Kristina helped save your life, and you still deny her access to her baby?"
"She still lied and tried to pass Ciara off as someone else's child. I can't excuse that just because she was part of the team in Greenland."
"She deserved joint custody."
"That's not up to you."
"Okay," Trina tries to cut in, "let's all try to calm down."
"Give me one good reason visitation was the right thing to do," Spencer snaps, "and don't tell me it's because Kristina deserved to be punished."
"Spencer," Dante slaps a hand on his cousin's shoulder, "I think it's best to appreciate that Kristina gets to be in Ciara's life in the first place. Visitation is a good thing."
"Yeah," Sam nods, looking between the young men, "I mean, Dex is still processing everything that Kristina did and what came out at the trial, I'm sure, and Ciara has to adjust to someone who isn't her dad taking care of her."
"You two think Dex denying custody is good? Really?"
"I think we should get going," Trina tugs his arm, aiming to diffuse the conversation. She smiles at Dex when Spencer budges, "I'm glad you're letting Kristina back in, even if it's little by little. Hopefully your family's able to heal from everything that's happened."
"Hopefully," Dex nods, watching them walk off.
"...Well, I should probably check on the kids," Sam pulls out her phone, "and make sure everyone's still alive."
"Good idea," Dante nods as she walks away.
"How are you?" Dex asks, his hands against the top of the half-wall.
"How am I? That's an odd question."
"Well, I mean, you told me you kind of lived through this-"
"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm good. Kristina and I sort of…worked things out. And hey, it seems like you guys are working things out yourselves."
"In a way. It'll take some time."
"Do you want to reconcile?"
Dex opens his mouth to reply, stopping when he sees Alexis approaching him.
"Sorry to interrupt," she cuts in, "but I was hoping I could talk to you?"
"Go for it," Dante nods, walking towards Sam. Dex waits with nervous anticipation as she takes the man's spot.
"I just want to apologize," she says.
"For?"
"What I said back at the penthouse, when Sonny and I came by and tried to advocate for Kristina. I had no business equating you to your mother, and I'm sorry that I did so."
"Oh," Dex blinks, "uh, it's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I mean, you were just fighting for your daughter, right? I'd do the same if Ciara was ever in this kind of situation."
"Let's hope she's not."
"Oh, absolutely," Dex nods, "and try not to compare me to my family in the future."
"I won't."
"Then we're good," Dex extends a hand for Alexis to shake.
"I think we're past this," she gestures at his open palm. Dex gives her a smile before meeting her in the middle for a hug. The sound of a throat clearing causes them both to pull back.
"Boss," Dex nods at Sonny.
"Oh boy, here we go…" Alexis mutters loud enough for Sonny to hear her.
"No, no," he holds a hand up, "I just wanted to…to thank you for giving Kristina a break w-with the visitation."
"She's earned it," Dex replies.
"Maybe one day soon y-you can give her more than that."
"We'll see."
"Dad," Kristina snaps as she joins the trio, "come on."
"I'm just giving him some kudos!" Sonny puts his hands up, "I'm not doing anything!"
"Is that true?" Dex and Alexis nod at her question. She pauses to think of her next move, "Can you guys give Dex and I some space to talk?"
Sonny and Alexis look at one another before exiting, leaving Dex and Kristina as the only people left in the room. Dex takes a sharp breath before it's knocked out of him, Kristina's arms tight around his torso.
"Thank you," she says softly, and he holds her against him.
"You helped save my life," his tone matches hers, "even with us not talking. And I love you."
"I love you too."
They remain in place, Dex gently swaying her from side to side. She eventually pulls away just as the doors open up, Dante poking his head in.
"Is everything okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," Kristina nods, "we were just…talking. In private."
"I can see that. I need to steal Dex for a moment, if that's okay."
"What's up? Is everything okay with Ciara?" Dex questions.
"...Sort of."
Dex doesn't respond, swiftly moving past Dante and marching up to Sam, whose phone rested in her palm.
"They're saying that she's not going to sleep," she tells him, "She can't stop crying."
"Let me see," Dex takes the phone from her, staring at the screen, "Hey, guys, what's going on?"
"She's really upset," Rocco answers, "I wanted to call you, but Danny decided to call his mom instead."
"What happened?"
"Nothing!" Danny shouts, appearing in the frame just as Dante and Kristina exit the courtroom, "Rocco and I tried to put her down, and she just started whining."
"You two didn't fight in front of her, did you?" Sam rests her hands on her hips.
"No! C'mon, Mom, give me some credit!"
"Danny, put Rocco back on the phone," Dex says.
"Why should I? You don't think I can help my cousin?"
"Danny," Sam cuts in, "do what he told you to do. Go check on your sister."
"Fine, whatever," the teenager hands the phone back to Rocco, the image in the frame a bit shaky during the handoff.
"Let me see her," the baby's distraught face immediately pops up on the screen. Her cries are both shrill and muffled through the speaker, "Hi, Ciara, it's Dada. I know you're tired, but everything's okay, it's okay."
The infant slowly starts to calm down, her lip quivering as she stares at the screen, "I know you miss me, and I miss you too. Take it easy on yourself and your cousins for me, okay? I'll be home soon; I love you."
"Thanks, Uncle Dex," Rocco speaks up, "...I hope it's okay that I call you that."
"It is," Dex smiles, "I'll see you guys soon. Thank you for watching her."
"Anytime," the young man ends the call, handing the phone back to Sam. He gives everyone a warm goodbye before taking off. Kristina watches him leave with awe ik her eyes, the air sucked out of her lungs all the while. She stays put for a beat, soaking in the day's events as her family's minging smoothly blurs into a comforting, commonplace white noise.