~The Next Morning~
My alarm went off at 6:30 as usual so I got up and went out into the hall to go wake the girls. As I left my room I noticed that the bathroom light was already on and I heard music playing softly through the crack of the door letting me know at least one of them was up. I continued making my way to Vicky's room and I knocked on her door before pushing it open and flicking on the lights.
"Hey it's time to get up." I said as I noticed Vicky was still fast asleep in her bed. I walked over to her and lightly shook her causing her to groan and roll over.
"Five more minutes ma." She mumbled as she got comfortable to go back to sleep.
"No cause five minutes turns into ten and ten turns into twenty so get up Victoria." I said sternly as I pulled the covers off of her making her groan again.
She finally sat up and rubbed her eyes before standing up and stretching. She walked over to me and just laid her head on my shoulder causing me to shake my head and laugh lightly.
"Don't be trying to sleep on me. You gotta get ready for school." I said as I gently pushed her off of me. She just groaned before slowly walking out to the bathroom.
As the girls were getting ready I went downstairs and made a cup of coffee before making the girls some breakfast. After about 30 minutes Emrys came downstairs fully dressed and ready for school. She set her bags down in the living room before coming into the kitchen to eat. I bid her good morning and she waved back obviously not in the mood to really talk so I let her be. About 20 minutes after that Vicky came down with her bag as well, seemingly ready for the day.
She came in the kitchen and quickly ate breakfast before heading out the door with her friend. I bid them goodbye and closed the door behind them before heading upstairs to get ready for my day.
Drew got up shortly after I came back upstairs and started getting ready as well so we could head down to the court house. We were both dressed and ready to go by 9 o'clock so we headed out the door and made our way downtown.
~At The Courthouse~
Drew pulled into the first parking spot he saw and cut the engine before turning to look at me with a smile. I tried to return it but my nerves were starting to get the best of me.
"Ready?" He asked as he reached over and grabbed my hand. He lightly squeezed it as he awaited my answer. I took a deep breath before nodding.
"I'm ready." I said softly as I squeezed his hand back. He nodded before letting my hand go to get out of the car.
I took off my seatbelt before grabbing my purse and exiting the car as well. I walked around the front of the car meeting Drew on the sidewalk. We joined hands before making our way up to the steps of the courthouse. We walked up them at a slower pace but once we reached the top Drew opened the door and we walked in.
Drew took the task of going and talking to the clerk at the front desk to tell her about our appointment with the judge. I just stood back and waited for him to finish because my nerves were still getting to me. We were so close to finally claiming her as our own daughter and I was afraid something would come along and mess it up.
I snapped out of my worrying thoughts as Drew started following the clerk to the judge's office. I followed behind them still staying silent and trying to keep my peace but the moment we were in the office my peace went out the window. I sat in one of the chairs and instantly started tapping my foot in anticipation. I could tell Drew was nervous too because he kept fiddling with his wedding ring as we sat in a tense silence waiting for the judge. Soon enough the judge came in and said good morning before she sat behind her desk.
"Alright so you are here to obtain legal guardianship over Ms Victoria Briggs correct?" She started as she looked over the papers sitting on her desk.
"Yes that's correct. She's been in our care for the past few months and we would like to officially make her a part of the family." Drew answered almost immediately.
"Alright then. Usually we set up a meeting with the child and potential guardians but since she's over 18 that won't be very necessary. Will you be planning on changing her last name as well?" The judge asked looking up at us. Drew looked at me for an answer so I cleared my throat before speaking up.
"We'd just like to add ours on to the end. Basically making it hyphenated so she can keep her maiden name." I replied with a light smile.
"Alright well I just have a few questions to ask before we can sign some paperwork and make everything official." She said as she glanced down at the papers.
"Number one. Are you able to financially provide for said child?"
"Yes." Drew and I responded at the same time.
"Alright good. Number two, do you all have ample time to care for said child's needs?"
"Yes." We answered together.
"Alright. Are you physically able to fulfill responsibilities when taking care of said child?" She asked looking up from the paper.
"Yes." We answered again.
"Alright well her mother has previously relinquished her rights to Ms. Victoria so all that's left is a few signatures and initials." She said as she pulled some documents out of the stack and set them in front of us.
Once she had everything laid out she offered Drew and I a pen and pointed out everything we needed to sign and date. We signed about six different documents before setting the pens down with a smile.
"Alright now let me scan these to put them in the system and everything will be completed." She said with a smile as she finished looking over everything.
She got up and went to her printer and placed the documents on it before faxing them to her computer. She walked back over to her desk and logged into her computer proceeding to file all of our paperwork correctly. After about two minutes the final document of guardianship was being printed and handed to Drew and I.
"Congratulations. You are now the legal guardians of Victoria Melody Briggs - Sheard."
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