1.6 Fighting for Clara

 Maya sat down in Alex's office. "Tell me more about me seeing Clara. What is this all about?"
Alex gave her an evil smile. "If I remember it right, didn't Clara's father take Clara and leave town without telling you? Haven't you been looking for them the past three years?"
"Alex...tell me what is going on. You know thats not what happened. I left when Clara was a baby. I am not proud of it, and sometimes I wonder how Clara has turned out, but I am not the victim here...but how is Clara? Have you seen her? "

"Listen Maya. You were young, and irresponsible, and so you made a hasty decision to leave. But Gavin still left town with your daughter, and never told you were he was going. And now he's hooking up with a white trash blonde who grew up in  the foster care system of Bridgeport. She has no family, no job, and has conveniently stepped in your shoes as Clara's mom. Gavin has a temper, and I just don't think thats the kind of life you want Clara to grow up in."

"What if I told you you could get Clara back? Have a chance to be her mom again. To start fresh with her. What do you think Maya? Don't you want Clara to be with her real mom?"

Maya had always had a cold heart, incapable of really loving anyone but the idea of getting her daughter back after all these years tugged at what little bit of a heart she had left. "I do...how are we going to get a judge to give her back to me after me being out of her life for so long?"

Eric sneered. "Do you know who I am? I am the District Attorney here in Riverview. The judges in town are my friends, we get beers after a long day in court and play golf on Saturdays. You just do exactly what I tell you, and in no time, Clara will be back in your arms. Where she belongs."

"Eric, I have to ask. What's in this for you?"

"Lets just say I don't like being deceived. And people that do bad things should be punished. Plus, I missed you baby."

Alex and Maya had gone to high school together in Sunset Valley. They partied on the weekends, and even had ended up in each other's beds every so often in college. They had been friends with benefits, who lived a privileged life because Alex came from money. They lost touch once Maya got pregnant with Clara, but Alex remembered when she told him she was engaged to marry Gavin. He had scoffed at her for settling for a teacher who made a third of the salary he would make after law school. Once he realized what was going on with Annelise and Gavin, he knew he wasn't going to let Gavin get away with stealing another one of "his" women.

"I've missed you too. Lets get my baby back," Clara said.

"Okay, lets talk details. If we want this to work, we have to have our stories straight."

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Gavin and Annelise were finally together and not trying to suppress their feelings for one another any more. They were in love, and the life they had built together was what they both had dreamed about. But, like life seems to go, one Sunday afternoon a bomb was dropped in their life when they returned home from a family walk. 

"Gavin...who is that woman sitting on the porch?" Annelise asked.

Gavin's stomach dropped, and his mouth felt dry. "NO....it can't be."

"Hello darling..." Maya said coyly to Gavin as she got up and approached them. "And you, you must be Annelise, the woman trying to play mommy to MY daughter."

"You can't honestly consider yourself a mother, can you now?" Annelise asked in an icy tone. "You left that title behind when you left your daughter when she was a baby."

"Maybe that's what Gavin wants you to believe, but the way I see it, and the way the courts will see it is Gavin took my daughter away from me and moved across the country without notice or warning."

"What are you CRAZY Maya? You left Clara with a babysitter and skipped town, leaving nothing but  a note. You abandoned her! You need to leave Maya. You gave up your rights three years ago when you walked away from your daughter. You are selfish, a coward, and crazy if you think you will ever get her back now."

"You are so, so naive if you truly believe that. Maya is my daughter, and the courts always rule in favor of children being with their moms. Besides, once they hear the truth about you STEALING her from me and fleeing the country, you'll be lucky to have visitation once a week!" Maya said angrily.

"You are IMPOSSIBLE Maya. And a poor excuse for a mother! LEAVE and do not come back to our house, ever again!" Gavin yelled.

At this point, Annelise had taken Clara away from the fighting and arguing. She whimpered in her arms . "Ssshh baby, everything is going to be fine. This is your home. We are your family and nothing is going to happen to you."

"I'll see you in court, Gavin Hyatt. You will be hearing from my lawyer. And I'll see you soon, muffin. Mommy loves you." Maya said to Clara across the lawn.

After Maya finally left, Gavin and Annelise sat at the kitchen table, both of them quiet as they thought about what just happened. They both were fearful about the possibility of Clara, and hoped that Maya was just trying to scare them. 

"Gavin, I think we need to get a lawyer."

"I just don't understand. Why now? After all this time she's been away after willing walking away from her daughter, what made her choose to come back now? She can't possibly just want Clara, if she wanted her she wouldn't have left. I feel like she's trying to purposely hurt us."

"Maybe she is. But we can't let her win. We're going to find a lawyer, and if this goes to court, you have the upper hand. You've raised Clara alone for three years and given her a good life. Thats more than Maya can say!" Annelise was trying to build Gavin up, but inside her heart was hurting. This is what she had been so afraid of, this is why she was so hesitant to get involved with a man with a child. But even still, Annelise loved him and wanted to help get through this so they could go back to being a blissful, happy family.

That evening, they all sat on the floor and just played together. Clara babbled as she played with her stuffed bunny while Annelise and Gavin tried to put on a happy face and pretend nothing was wrong as to not scare Clara. She didn't know that the woman who showed up at her house was her birth mother, and they hoped she wouldn't have to know that until she was old enough to understand.

When it was time for Clara to go to bed, Annelise took bedtime duty and Gavin got online to start researching the best family practice lawyers. He prayed that it wouldn't come to that, that Maya would leave again and not bother them, but he knew he had to be prepared just in case. He wasn't going to lose his daughter, no matter what he had to do.

 "Goodnight princess. Sweet dreams, little one. " Annelise said softly as she put Clara to sleep in her new room. "I love you to the moon and back."

Clara reached her arms up to Annelise and said "night Mama."

Annelise's heart swelled and she stood there, stroking the little girls face until she fell asleep. She didn't know it was possible to love another human, especially one that wasn't biologically hers this month. She was terrified to lose her, but knew that together she and Gavin would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

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A few weeks later, Gavin was devastated to find the notice that he was to appear in court at the end of the month. Maya was suing him for full-custody of Clara. The first thing Gavin did was hire a well known and respectable lawyer, Allison Hall. She was tough as hell, and promised Gavin that they would do everything they could to make sure Clara never went back to Maya.

Their day in court was just the five of them. Jude Brown, plus Gavin and his lawyer, and Maya and her lawyer, Nicolas Render. Nicolas had a reputation for fighting dirty in civil suits, and this day was no different. 

"Your honor, we're hear today because my client has been wrongly withheld rights to her daughter for the past three years. Today we ask you to grant her full custody so the little girl doesn't have to grow up without a mother. This man over here," he said as he pointed to Gavin, "kidnapped his daughter and left town with her without telling her mother. His selfish act kept Maya from seeing their daughter, and today, we are asking you to give back Maya what she has lost."

"Thank you, Mr. Browing. Ms. Hall, please state your case now." Jude Brown said emotionless.

"Your Honor, Mr. Browning has either been deceived by his client, or is bold-face lying to the court. My client has raised his daughter alone, as a single parent because of Ms. Anderson's despicable actions. She left her daughter alone with a babysitter while my client was at work, and left nothing but a note. My client tried contacting her for over a year after she abandoned them. He sent her text messages, called her cell phone, sent letters to her parents address, and even tried contacting her friends trying to get back in touch with her. My client never wanted his daughter to grow up without a mother, and the fact that three years later Maya is suddenly wanting to claim her parental rights is both wrong and very confusing for the child."

Judge Brown looked between both parties, perplexed. "This is turning into a she-said he said incident! I will not make a ruling based upon a misrepresentation of the truth. Do either of you have proof of what transpired when the child was an infant?" he asked.

Allison smirked as she reached into her bag and pulled out the note Maya had left Gavin, along with phone records of the numerous times that Gavin had tried calling, the emails, and the text messages he sent. She delivered those to the Judge and sat down, the court room silent. "What about you and your client, Mr. Browning? Is there anything you'd like me to consider before I make my ruling?"

Nicolas whispered to Maya. "Your honor, my client does not have any records, legitimate or fabricated, on her at this time to prove her story, but Gavin did move here to town when Clara was an infant. He was trying to get away from my client and he took his daughter with him!"

"Enough. I will need a two hour recess. When we resume, I will have a ruling."

Two hours later, they were back in the court room. The judge had granted Gavin full custody of Clara, based on the evidence that he had proving that Maya had been the one to abandon him and Clara, not the other way around. He claimed Maya was an unfit mother and at this time, she was not even granted visitation.

Gavin was so excited, his eyes welled up with tears as he thanked his lawyer. Maya and her attorney both glared at Gavin out of the corners of their eyes. Gavin couldn't wait to get home to Clara and to Annelise and tell them the news. He had felt so much anxiety over the possibility of loosing Maya, he  hadn't been sleeping well and finally he felt like he could breathe again.

After everyone had cleared the courtroom, Maya screamed at her lawyer. "This is ALL YOUR FAULT! You lied to me! You told me we'd get her back. I WANT MY DAUGHTER!" She yelled.

"Maya, listen, this isn't over. Just stay in town, and try and get your life together. We will try again in six months to prove to the judge you are a fit mother. Maybe we can get you 50/50 custody."

Maya's voice dropped to barely below a whisper. "I don't want my daughter every other week. I want her every single day. And you, and Gavin are going to pay for keeping her from me." She said coldly.