Travis sat beside Caitlyn on one of the long wooden benches that lined the hallways of the county courthouse. He wore his only suit, the same one he had worn for his mother’s funeral and for the hearing where he had been granted custody of Caitlyn. It itched and pulled at his shoulders. He hoped he would never have to wear the thing again.

Caitlyn’s hands fidgeted with her phone. He could tell she wasn’t really looking at it, only needing something to do with her hands. He reached over and gave her wrist a squeeze, and she turned her palm to clasp his.

Mr. DeMers, Caitlyn’s appointed attorney, stood a few feet away, chatting in a low voice with Ginger. When the door to the courtroom was propped open, Ginger motioned them forward.

Travis remembered the room from before. Mauve carpet and those same wooden benches filled half the room. The judge’s platform was raised, and her bench wasn’t just a bench, but a whole workstation, with a section for her court reporter-slash-assistant who had a computer and phone at her station.

Based on television, Travis had previously pictured two distinctive tables, but in this courtroom, there was one massive one that all parties sat around. It could probably fit ten people on the length facing the judge plus the sides, and today it looked like they were going to test that theory.

Caitlyn and Travis hovered near Ginger as they waited for everyone to arrive and get settled. Ricky and two finely dressed men swept past and set up on the far side of the table. Travis glanced back to see a younger man and middle-aged woman following, but not participating. They were also wearing what would have been Travis and Caitlyn's nicest clothes if they were remotely their style – the woman in a floral dress and suit jacket, and the young man in a suit that probably got a lot more use than Travis’s own. The young man caught Travis staring and lifted one side of his mouth in an expression that Travis had seen countless times at his mother’s funeral – pity.

“Travis,” Ginger’s voice pulled him from tracking the Pastor’s family further, “Caitlyn has to sit up here with us.” Her general gesture back referred to Mr. DeMers and a familiar woman who rolled forward with a crate on wheels that must have held three feet worth of files. He recognized her as Ginger’s assistant and certifier. “You can too, if you like.”

Travis looked to Caitlyn, who grabbed for his hand again and nodded. Before they took their seats, the door opened again, and a crowd shuffled in. Whitman, Mr. Tynan, Mrs. Leake, Mr. Samwell, the school principal, and Deputy Andrews walked to the first bench behind them and filled it completely.

“What are you doing here?” Travis whispered to a smiling Whitman, but it was Mr. Tynan who answer.

“We are supporting you.”

Travis sputtered, but didn’t have time to recover. Judge Sepulveda entered the room and everyone was told to rise.

He could feel their eyes on his back, and he was glad that his sister had reached for his hand yet again, even though he knew it was slippery from sweat.

The room sat in unison and the proceedings began in mind numbing detail. Travis didn’t understand half of what was being said. He knew that Ginger and Mr. DeMers were on his side, but he suddenly worried that he should have read some of the statutes too, so that he had half a clue what was happening. If it had been Whitman up here, he certainly would have done more research to prepare.

He did understand what Ricky’s lawyer said, as the man leaned forward and spoke into one of the microphones scattered around the massive oak table.

“Pastor Chelate has filed the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity with the county, has taken tests to prove his paternity, and is requesting full custody of Caitlyn Butler.”

There it was, the arrow to pierce Travis’s heart. He knew it was coming, but he didn’t anticipate how badly it would sting.

There was a lot of back and forth between lawyers that Travis missed as his body and mind went on autopilot. This was really it. He might be separated from Caitlyn.

“I’d like to hear from Caitlyn, if we could,” the judge’s sharp voice broke through the fog and Travis swung his head to a petrified Caitlyn.

Mr. DeMers scooted the microphone past Travis and closer to Caitlyn. She sat forward in her seat and wiped her hand on her skirt when Travis finally released it after a few tugs. She reached into her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“Um,” she started then jumped back when her voice was louder than she was expecting due to the microphone. “Hi. I wrote stuff down so I wouldn’t forget. Is it okay if I read it?”

“Of course, Caitlyn,” the judge said, cracking the first and probably only smile of the day. She regarded the adults in the room with caution, but obviously had a soft spot for the kids that came through her courtroom. “Whatever makes you the most comfortable.”

Caitlyn tried to smile, but it looked more like she needed to sneeze. She cleared her throat and gripped the paper between both hands.

“My name is Caitlyn Butler.” Her eyes flitted up briefly and she snorted. “Well, you knew that. Sorry. Okay.” She returned to eyes to her statement, slightly more relaxed now that she’d made herself laugh. “It has been almost a year since my mother died. She was my best friend and the best mom anyone could ever have. She was strict and demanding, but she was also goofy and loving and filled our home with joy. She had a weird fascination with clowns, which I don’t even know, but I would put up with a whole house filled with clowns if it meant that I could be with her for even a minute longer.”

Caitlyn’s voice wavered and Mr. DeMers handed Travis a box of tissues. Travis took one and dabbed at his eyes, quietly thanking Mr. DeMers.

“No, for her,” Mr. DeMers whispered in his ear, snatched a tissue out of the box and passed it around Travis’s back to Caitlyn.

She used it to wipe her nose.

“The only thing I can think of that would be worse than losing my mom would be losing my brother too.”

Travis snatched another tissue for himself.

“I will be the first to admit that he is a humongous butthead.” Travis couldn’t stop the sound of surprise from slipping out of his mouth, and Caitlyn flashed him a watery grin. He peered over her shoulder and sure enough, there was “humongous butthead” typed and planned. “The bathroom always looks like a typhoon hit it after he takes a shower. And he wakes me up by teasing me with coffee instead of with an alarm like a normal human being.

“I didn’t do so well after my mom died. I was lost and scared, but Travis never gave up on me. I yelled and screamed, but he made me go to a counselor. He made me get out of bed every day. He wouldn’t leave me alone for two seconds in the beginning, which was really annoying, but also showed me that I still had people who loved me around.

“When we were little, Travis used to help me try to figure out who my father was, because my mom refused to say. He was my biggest partner in crime. After she died, even though it might have meant losing me, he still tried everything he could to find my father. Because Travis always has and always will want what’s best for me.

“In less than two months, I’ll be eighteen years old. I may not have always realized it, but family isn’t about blood, or DNA, or a last name. It’s about the people who love you and look out for you, even when you’re not able to do it for yourself. Maybe, sometime in the future, I will have forgiven Mr. Chelate for refusing to acknowledge me for the first seventeen years and ten months of my life. Maybe we can even have a relationship at some point. But I want to make that choice for myself, and not be forced into it by him or his lawyers or some jud–” Caitlyn glanced up and blushed at Judge Sepulveda. “Or by you, Your Honor. Sorry.”

Caitlyn folded her paper back up and blew her nose into the tissue. Travis couldn’t restrain himself and threw his arms around his sister, who clung to him like it was her last chance to do so.

“Thank you for that very moving statement, Caitlyn,” the judge said. “How are you doing in school now? Are you making plans for your future?”

Caitlyn turned to the bench behind her and back around, smiling in a way that she hadn’t done all morning. “I’m doing okay in school. Better than I was last year, obviously. And I’m working at the library. Mr. Todd is pretty cool. I think I’d like to be a librarian like him. Or maybe an English teacher. I’ve recently discovered that I love to read.”

Travis was positive he heard a sniff behind him. It was confirmed when Mr. DeMers passed the tissue box back to the row of Slat Creek observers. Travis bit his tongue to keep from grinning at the thought of Whitman blubbering over Caitlyn’s praise.

The hearing continued, most of it happening via lawyers. Ginger was called to state that Child Welfare’s position was that Caitlyn should remain with Travis. Mr. Chelate’s lawyers tried to paint Travis as reckless, using Caitlyn’s overdose attempt and declining grades as fuel. Travis wanted to crawl across the table and stab them with rusty nails for talking about it in front of Caitlyn like they were.

Mr. DeMers countered Mr. Chelate’s lawyers by proclaiming that the row of folks behind him sat some of Slat Creek’s most prominent citizens, who had voluntarily come to him and asked to be character witnesses for Travis Butler.

Travis’s jaw dropped to the table.

One by one, residents of Slat Creek, the men and woman who, until today, Travis would have sworn couldn’t stand the sight of him and would just as soon have him leave than be a part of the town, stood and told the judge stories of how Travis Butler had made their town, their neighborhood, their school, and his sister better, simply by being there.

Mr. Tynan drudged up stories from years past, when Travis would help him deliver meals and carry heavy loads to his church, because Travis was worried about Mr. Tynan’s back. Mrs. Leake talked about all the times Travis chopped extra wood and delivered it to her and her daughter and several of the other neighbors who couldn’t get out or haul the wood for themselves. Principal Samwell talked about how Travis was up at the school weekly, finding out about Caitlyn’s progress and asking teachers how she was doing. He also mentioned that Travis did all this despite the school not holding the most positive memories for Travis. He took that moment to apologize to Travis for not doing more to stop the bullying that had happened, and Caitlyn snuck a tissue into Travis’s hand where the other two were crumpled beyond usefulness.

Deputy Andrews told about how Caitlyn had reacted when she ran away, crying that she didn’t want to have to live with her father, and how it was so very different to the time when he had to visit their home and tell them of their mother’s death. How Caitlyn clung to Travis and Travis had repeated over and over that he had her. Travis hadn’t realized how much of an impression it had made on the deputy, but the man teared up as he told the story to the courtroom.

Finally, it was Whitman’s turn to speak, and Travis had to turn back around and face the judge. He couldn’t look at Whitman as he spoke of Travis’s worth and not burst into tears.

“My name is Whitman Todd, and I’m the head librarian in Slat Creek. Caitlyn Butler interns at the library for two and a half hours every afternoon. During the summer, she worked four hours a day with me, particularly helping with the children’s camp. She’s a wonderful mentor to those children, and I can’t wait to see what she does with her life, because I know whatever she chooses, she’s going to do great things.

“But I think, in the fray and chaos of trying to do the right thing for this amazing seventeen-year-old girl, it has been forgotten that here also sits a twenty-one-year-old man who also lost his mother. Who has had to deal with that loss, while shifting from brother to care-giver, almost overnight. Has he made some mistakes during that transition? Undoubtedly. I’d like to see any genuinely truthful parent here admit that they haven’t. But what’s most important is that he loves Caitlyn with his whole heart, and she loves him back in equal measure. Yes, taking Caitlyn away from Travis would be detrimental for Caitlyn’s mental and emotional well-being, but I feel like it needs to be pointed out that it would be so for Travis as well. These two are a team, a family unit, and after the tragedy that they have endured, only someone without any real sense of family or decency, would split them up.”

Travis looked around the courtroom like some out-of-body experience. He had expected Whitman’s support, but not a statement like that. And the other townspeople, well, that was wholly unexpected. This wasn’t for him. It couldn’t have been. Yet, there in the courtroom, sat a whole team of people who had his back.

Mr. Chelate’s lawyers requested that his wife and son speak, and Travis tuned them out until Caitlyn nudged him under the table. He looked over to see the son, whose name must have been announced but Travis hadn’t paid enough attention, standing with hands clasped in front of him.

“I know first-hand how hurtful it is to have your father constantly spewing poison about people, berating them for being promiscuous or gay or ungodly.”

“Now wait a minute,” Ricky shouted, rising from his seat, his finger pointed at his son. Travis turned his wide eyes to Caitlyn, who look similarly surprised, but delightedly so.

“Mr. Chelate, please sit down and be quiet,” Judge Sepulveda said, and Mr. Chelate’s lawyers tugged him back into his seat. “Please continue, Jeremy.”

Jeremy avoided his father’s eyes and stared directly at the judge. “Things that might apply to my friends, or myself, or people I have loved. He’ll spew that poison to Caitlyn about her mother and her brother. I know because I’ve had to hear it non-stop since I returned from OSU two days ago to attend this hearing. Caitlyn has been through enough. She shouldn’t have to deal with that too. I believe the best place for her is with her brother, although I hope that she would like to get to know me as a brother too, in the future.” His tentative smile wavered as it flickered over Ricky Chelate on its way to Caitlyn, but it strengthened when he saw the hope lighting up her face. “If you want.”

Caitlyn nodded and smiled back.

Jeremy sat down, and Travis watched as the boy’s mother whispered in his ear. Her fury couldn’t match her husbands, but her lips soured and her eyes bored into her son. Jeremy focused on a point of the courtroom and seemed to fade out. Poor kid. If Travis could switch out the reason for the hearing and request that he be granted custody of Jeremy, he would. He had no idea what actually went on inside that family, but the brief glimpse into Jeremy’s life indicated pure misery.

The judge shortly wrapped things up and adjusted her microphone so that it would clearly pick up her ruling.

“Because Miss Butler is less than two months away from turning eighteen, I am weighing her wishes accordingly. Based upon that and the testimony here today, I believe that removing Miss Butler from the care of her brother, Travis Butler, would be detrimental to all parties. Therefore, I hereby grant that Travis Butler shall retain full custody of Caitlyn Butler. Child Welfare will continue to monitor the custody arrangement. No visitation rights are granted to Mr. Chelate. If he wishes to request visitation, it shall be done through Child Welfare and will be at Miss Butler’s discretion. That is all.”

A cheer went up behind him, but all Travis could do was slump in his chair in relief.