Disclaimer: Apparently people are getting in trouble for not using these. My middle name is Trouble...
Summary: Jess fights Haylie for custody of Jacob while the Gilmore's receive some shocking news. Sequel to Wedding of the Century.
Author's Note: I have no excuse for the year long delay other than the usual school and work. I hope your torment was well worth the wait. The timeline of the story is a little more advanced than I had planned on, but I think you all will enjoy it. :)
Jess waited nervously but patiently in the crowded courtroom. A few other cases had been scheduled before his, most of them involving juvenile delinquents. He tapped his shoe on the ground, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the suit he wore.
"Mariano vs. Mann." The bailiff called. Jess stood nervously, following his lawyer to the front of the courtroom. He stood beside his lawyer facing straight ahead. If he looked over at Haylie he would lose all his nerve.
"Mr. Mariano, Jacob has been in your care for the past year and a half, correct?" The judged looked over the rims of his glasses at Jess.
"Yes, sir."
The judge turned his attention to Haylie.
"Ms. Mann, did you visit your son during this duration?"
Haylie pouted and shook her head, delicate blond curls bouncing back and forth, giving her a false look of innocence.
"No, your honor. Mr. Mariano wouldn't let me see Jacob at all!"
That's not true, Jess thought. He turned his head to see what his lawyer would do, but he was gone. Even the other people waiting to hear the ruling on their cases were gone.
"Mr. Mariano, why would you keep a mother away from her child?" The judge chided, "The State of New York rules in favor of Ms. Mann."
Jess watched as the bailiff handed Jacob over the Haylie. The child was screaming and kicking refusing to be held by the woman.
"You can't do this! He doesn't want to be with her! Can't you see that! I need him! I need him!!!" Jess yelled, but no sound came from his mouth and he was frozen still as he watched that wretched woman walk out of the courtroom with Jacob, completely oblivious to Jess.
Jess sat up rigid in bed trying to calm his breathing and trying not to wake up Rory. He looked over at the clock.
6:30
He figured he might as well go ahead and get a head start on the day. He quietly got out of bed and padded down the hall to Jacob's room. He walked over to see the toddler already wide awake.
"Da!" The little boy drawled out the name as the pacifier dropped from his mouth. Jess smiled and scooped the boy up from the crib. He brought Jacob into the living to let him play with a few toys while he sorted out breakfast. He quickly went into autopilot while cooking, distracted by another nerve racking dream. They had been steadily getting worse for the past 6 months. The first custody hearing was bad enough, then he found out it would take nearly a year to get a final ruling from the judge. It had been bad enough seeing Haylie there. She looked much different than that last night when she had left. She was certainly trying to look her best for the court.
He took out Jacob's kiddie fork and spoon. The little tike had been trying his best to use utensils but usually ended up using his hands. It looked like this morning would be no different. The syrup from the pancake made his little red fork slip right off every time and in only a few seconds, Jacob had ditched the fork and dug right in with his hands. Jess cringed but let it go, the boy was only a year and a half, he figured he had the rest of his life to use a fork.
Rory wandered groggily into the small kitchen and without saying a word helped herself to some syrup drenched pancakes. Jess pushed a coffee in front of her as she sat down at the table.
"Bless you." She said and grabbed the mug as if it were a life raft.
"That's what all the ladies say." Rory only giggled as she paved her way through the enormous pile of food.
Jess waited until he was sure Jacob was full before taking his plate away. He looked over at his son before throwing his arms in the air.
"Bath time!" He said excitedly. Jacob giggled relentlessly as he, too, through his arms over his head. Rory found this excruciatingly cute. A year ago she probably would have found it a bit frightening. To be honest it was the only way to get the boy into the bath as he usually fought and kicked away from the water. After several attempts with bath toys and other tricks, Jess figured out that if you got the little boy excited enough he'd do anything.
"When do you need to leave?" Jess hated it when Rory had to go back to school. They always had a great weekend but he was always dreading the weekdays without her.
"Noon-ish. I have a ton of laundry to do. I'll probably end up doing some of my mom's too. She's starting to waddle." Rory said.
"And if she wasn't pregnant?" Jess smirked, scrubbing the syrup out of Jacob's hair. The boy was oblivious, playing with a little boat that he brought crashing down into the water.
"I would probably still end up doing some of her laundry. She's getting a sonogram Saturday, you guys want to come down while she forces you to look at the blobs she calls pictures?" Rory asked.
"We would love to." He gave Rory a quick kiss before wrapping a towel around Jacob.
Rory felt a pang of guilt for having to be away from the boys all week. She knew it took a toll on Jess too. They were each other's support system. Rory wished she could spend more time with them. She tried to look on the bright side. Spring semester was almost over and she would get to spend all summer with the two best guys in the world.
"I got him, you go eat." Rory said as she took Jacob and shooed Jess towards the kitchen.
Jess followed suit and sat down at the table. He usually forgot to eat until much later when Rory wasn't around. He reminded himself that it wouldn't be like this much longer. He had the perfect plan to make everything better.
A/N: Yes, kiddies. time for reviewing and general anticipation for the next chapter. Also feel free to check out a new blog I started about fanfiction:
xangadotcom/authoralert
It would be awesome to get some more topics from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment there as well. : )