can't change what you don't know

partners in crime

                 The next morning Tatum woke up to jay knocking her bedroom light on, "c'mon babes, time to get up" he pulled out the outfit from the wardrobe he had picked out last night.  Tatum yawned and finally woke up, "I'm nervous" she groggily rolled into the floor which made jay smile.  He sat down onto the bed as she rolled onto her back, still on the floor, and looked up at him, "we'll be alright, besides, we're partners in crime remember?" He pinky promised her.  Tatum nodded and sealed the promise back, "forever and always" she smiled and stood up as he pulled her off the floor.  He ruffed up her hair and walked to the door, "get changed, we're leaving in just under an hour" he smiled and left her to do her thing.

About 25 minutes later Tatum walked out of her room in an elegant black dress hailey had gotten her for the big day they'd all been waiting for, the whole team were planning on being there when the trio walked out of the room so they could be supportive friends to both jay and the kid.  Jay was in a grey suit and a black tie, "we'll be alright Tate, don't worry too much. Whatever happens today happens, we'll figure it out" he gave her a quick hug before passing her some breakfast she could eat in the go. 

                 Before they could get out of the car jay turned to look at her, "stay strong for me okay?" He smiled.  Tatum nodded, "promise" she put her pinkie up, jay sealed the promise with a pinkie promise, "mmhmm" he nodded.  The rest of the team were waiting nearby for them, "good luck today" hank patted jays shoulder and pulled the kids ear playfully.  Tatum laughed, she really like hank and looked up to him a lot, "let's go" jay nodded and lead them into the court building.  Hailey was on the other side of jay and linked arms with him as they walked down the hall.  They saw Cassie stood there with a few members of her family, for example; tatums grandfather and aunties.

                  The two sides of the family separated themselves from each other before jay, Tatum and Cassie were called in.  The trio stood up and followed the man into the conference room where they were guided to sit down in front of 5 people like last time.  A man took a deep breath, "we're here today to discuss the final hearing regarding the legal situation over Tatum Walker, do you all understand?" He kept a serious face.  They all nodded as Tatum sat in between the parents, she snakes her hand into jays as she felt him hold it back.  The woman smiled, "we've thought long and hard about this final decision and like I've just said, it will be final. We hereby announce that Cassie Walker will remain the legal guardian of Tatum Walker, as for the living arrangements. We have concluded that a system going by the structure of weekdays and weekends should be a good fit" she spat out.

                   Tatum felt her whole world shatter, not only had she created a special bond with her dad, she was now being taken away from him.  Another man took a deep breath, "with that being said, Cassie, you will get Tatum on the weekdays, and jay, you will get Tatum on the weekends. Does anyone object to this arrangement?" He raised an eyebrow.  Jay and Cassie shook their heads, fully knowing that this was final, but jay could feel tatums hand begin to tremble in his own.  He rubbed her lower arm to calm her down as she finally shook her head.  And that was it, the meeting had ended and the decision had been made...

                  The trio walked out of the room, Cassie took Tatum by her side, and walked with a smile on her face.  Tatum and jay didn't look too happy so from the second jay got out over to his team they already knew.  He shook his head to confirm their suspicions and immediately looked over to Tatum who was still staring at him.  He left the team from a minute as the kid wriggled her way out of her mother's grasp, "you're gonna be perfectly okay babes you know that? And you heard them, I'm gonna see you every weekend, we'll make it work. I love you so much, don't ever forget that" he wiped a tear away from her cheek and pulled her into a hug.  Tatum nodded, "I love you too" she mumbled out.

                 Cassie walked over to them, "glad we made it happen" she nodded at jay and took Tatum in her grasp.  Jay kept a straight face, "I'll keep the clothes she already has at mine, you keep what she's got at your house. We'll figure something out" he huffed.  Cassie nodded, "sounds good" she smiled falsely and lead Tatum over to her aunties.  Jay walked back over to the team, "I get her on the weekends" he clutched the file he was given in his hands.  He waved at his baby before Cassie lead her out of the court building and took her home, "can we go back to the district, I wanna know why I didn't get full custody" he scoffed.  Hank nodded, "anything you need" he nodded.

Back at the district jay sat down at his desk and opened up the case file, he scanned the page and thoroughly read the report. He huffed and ran his hand over his face then read it out loud, "the reason I didn't get custody was because of my job, it's too unpredictable for a child to rely on the parent when they're single and raising them alone with a high risk job, oh and because Cassie has looked after her longer, I didn't have a chance" he huffed. The team frowned, it was the, the odds were stacked up against him and it wasn't a fair trial. But they had to work with what they had, and weekends with his child were better than nothing.