Chapter Text
It seemed too good to be true.
Well, not good per se. Good for her, yes. Good for Little Suzie, definitely . But not good for Chloe or the future of her relationship with her daughter. A relationship which, in the next twenty minutes, would legally be transferred to Susan.
She continued to look back and forth down the street in front of the courthouse, little Suzie gripped tightly in her arms. Her heart seized painfully every time she spotted a white woman with dark hair within a block of her.
“Susan,” said a male voice from behind her.
Susan turned, releasing Suzie ever so slightly at the sight of her father Henry.
He had on a coat and tie and even though most of his shirt was hidden underneath the jacket and coat, she could tell he was sweating heavily under the collar. His eyes lit up when he saw both his daughter and his granddaughter, but there was still a great deal of sadness in them.
Susan knew why, of course. Though he had taken on grandpa duties more in the last few months and both he and Susan were happy about the new aspect of their relationship, there was still a daughter missing from the equation. And today, she would be taken out of the equation in not only the eyes of the family, but in the eyes of the state too.
“I’m glad you came,” Susan said, her voice far quieter than she had expected it to be.
“Of course I came,” Henry replied. He put a hand on her shoulder, unsure of whether he was steadying her or himself. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
Susan opened her mouth to say something but, fearing no words would come out, she closed it again and just nodded.
Henry greeted little Suzie and accepted Susan’s handing her off. As he turned his attention to his granddaughter, Susan took a deep breath and checked her watch.
“We should probably get heading inside.”
It was Henry’s turn to take a deep breath. He adjusted his grip on Suzie and followed Susan inside.
They made their way in the large doors. The attendant at the front desk then led them further into the building, past wood paneled offices and hearing rooms.
Finally, after it seemed like they had walked forever through the labyrinthine building, the young man guiding them opened a large wooden door and held it open for them to enter. Susan led with Henry in tow.
“The Honorable Judge Henrietta Sauer,” the young man introduced as Susan and Henry took seats opposite an imposing older woman.
“Thank you Trevor.”
The young man nodded, trying to hide the way his eyes lit up a little to be called by name, as he ducked out the door, closing it behind him.
“Alright. The court stenographer will be in in just a moment,” Judge Sauer informed them. She straightened out the papers in her hand.
Susan, Henry, and little Suzie waited in silence (or in Suzie’s case near silence) for a few minutes before a short woman carrying a typewriter backed in through the door.
“So sorry, your Honor,” the woman apologized as she sat down at the table and arranged her materials, “but Judge McLucas was running really behind.”
“Yes, well Jonas never really did learn how to tell time, I’m afraid,” Judge Sauer said with a sigh. “I’ll give you a minute to set up Lena.”
“All set to go whenever you are,” the stenographer said, giving the judge a thumbs up.
“Wonderful.” Judge Sauer folded her hands on the desk. “My name is Judge Henrietta Sauer and we are here today for the custody proceedings of Susan Lewis who is requesting full custody over her biological niece, uh, Suzie Lewis.”
The Judge raised her eyes from the paper she read from to Susan, who smiled sheepishly.
“My sister named her after me.”
“I see. Well, we are here because the law requires six months to pass before you can claim abandonment. As that time has now passed, we are able to proceed with the custody hearing.”
Susan nodded stiffly. She knew the only reason that the judge was repeating this was for the official record, but there was still part of her that felt this was all a big set-up. She was going to sit through all this just to get Suzie taken away from her.
“Now,” the judge continued, breaking Susan from her thoughts, “do you currently know where your sister is?”
“I do not.”
“Have you been contacted by your sister at all in these last six months?”
“Yes, I have, your Honor,” Susan said. “Chloe sent a card at Christmas. It had money in it and a note that… that implied the money was meant for me in return for taking care of Su- her daughter.”
Susan could feel her father’s eyes boring into her from beside her, but she didn’t dare look at him. She was suddenly unsure if she had told him about the card or the $3,000 inside it that she had used to pay Suzie’s daycare debt and start a college fund .
“Was there a return address on this card?”
“There was not, your Honor.”
“And was there any indication in this card of Chloe’s intention to return and resume caring for her daughter?”
Susan took a deep breath.
“No, your Honor. There was not.”
The judge sat up straighter. She adjusted a paper on the table and then turned her attention to Henry.
“Sir, would you please state your name and relationship to the child in question.”
“Henry Lewis,” Henry replied slowly. “And I’m, uh, Suzie’s grandfather. And Chloe and Susan’s father.”
“Thank you. Now, Mr. Lewis,” the judge began, interlacing her fingers on the table once again. “You said that you are father of both the biological mother as well as the woman seeking custody of the child. Have you been involved in the care of Suzie since she was born?”
“Uh, well, we were… we were there. We visited,” Henry said, his tone unsure. “But it wasn’t until Chloe left Suzie with her sister that we, well, I mean I starting helping out.”
“And when you say ‘helping out’, what do you mean by that?” the judge asked. Her intense gaze disarmed him. “Do you provide financial resources to Susan for the care of Suzie?”
“No, no,” Henry said, shaking his head. “Susan’s a doctor. She makes much more money than us. No, I help out some when Susan has to work overnight.”
The judge glanced quickly between Henry and Susan before looking back to Henry.
“You keep saying ‘us’ and ‘we’, Mr. Lewis,” the judge pointed out. “Who is this ‘us’ to which you refer?”
Henry let out a large sigh.
“I mean me and my wife, your Honor.”
“You and your wife,” the judge repeated. “Let the record show that your wife is not here at the proceedings with you. Could you please explain why your wife is not here with you today?”
“She, uh…She’s not too big on the whole ‘grandma’ thing,” Henry said. He swallowed, shifting in his seat and then, as if an afterthought, added, “at all. She wasn’t too interested when it was Chloe and she’s not that interested now. With Susan, I mean.”
The judge nodded, taking this into consideration. She scribbled a note on her legal pad and then looked back to Susan, who had all but stopped breathing.
“Miss- I’m sorry, I mean Dr. Lewis,” the judge said, correcting herself, “you currently employed, correct?”
“Yes, your Honor.” Susan nodded. “I’m a resident in emergency medicine at County General Hospital.”
The judge scribbled another note.
“As I understand it, Dr. Lewis, residents often have to work long and unpredictable hours,” the judge stated. “Is that correct?”
“Yes, your Honor. But I’ve been working with hospital staff to ensure that I can be available for Suzie and do what’s best for her. Adjusting my workload and hours and all that.”
Susan knew it wasn’t exactly a lie (and definitely not enough to be considered perjury), but she also knew it wasn’t the whole truth either. Mark would support her, and maybe even Morgenstern too, but there was no way in hell Kerry Weaver would be willing to cut her slack on this. Even asking would probably result in ammunition Kerry could use against her at some point.
“Well,” the judge said, snapping Susan out of her thoughts, “seeing as Chloe Lewis has not made any meaningful attempts at reunification in the past six months, that you have been caring for Suzie since her biological mother left, and that you have demonstrated both the financial and social support necessary to provide for Suzie, I hereby grant you, Susan Lewis, full custody of Suzie Lewis. Effective immediately.”
Susan let out a large breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. The corner of the judge’s mouth twitched into something resembling a smile.
“It can’t be that much of a surprise, can it?”
“No, it isn’t...” Susan said with a slight chuckle. Suzie replied with a giggle of her own. “....but God does it feel good to hear.”