Our story begins as it has been years since the baby was placed in foster care due to the constant fights between mom, Megan, Brad and myself over who is capable enough to care for the child. In the aftermath of this situation, Megan, mom and Brad chose to leave for England as they could not believe that I put them in the situation where they were forced to care for the baby even though they lacked financial support and physical ability to do so. Even though I thought for sure Megan would have returned long before now, she has kept her word that she would remain in England until I got the baby back. The problem was that I knew anything I could say in defense of myself would do no good. I couldn’t do this alone. Also one thing Brad said to me that made sense was the fact that Megan was beautiful and may have easily moved on from me. I didn’t think I would ever see her again. As far as things between mom and I, well we don’t have anything if I’m being honest. She hasn’t talked to me or acknowledged me at all since she left and Brad has not either. For years, all I had left to remember them by were pictures of when I was relevant with Megan and mom and Brad. I thought those days would never occur again. To my credit, I was kind of right. Then again, I had not seen or had contact with any of them in years so a lot of things had changed. Unfortunately, nothing has been as I knew it. Brad has been arrested for attempting to commit incest on Megan during their time in England and will be locked away for life and mom’s health has become so bad that she is bed ridden and unable to speak. The only thing that is remotely the same as it was back then is that Megan is still single to this point but a lot of stuff has changed for her as well particularly how she felt about me. Things look really bad for me at this point but I have to say I’m used to it. This is where our story begins.

Bringing Megan Home: Chapter 1: The Fight By Jefferson Bert

Our story takes place seven years after the baby was placed in foster care due to the fights between Megan, Brad, mom and myself over who is capable of caring for the baby. For years, I’ve looked at the pictures of us back when I was somewhat relevant and I constantly ask myself how a baby as beautiful as Megan could cause so many problems and also why I even had to have a baby in the first place. I kind of regret asking the second question because if I didn’t have the baby, none of us would have Megan and honestly, she was the only thing innocent in the whole situation. She may have been the reason we were all fighting but she was worth fighting for. I have cried myself to sleep at night wishing someone would come back. My phone has pretty much sat on my bed side and collected dust as no one ever calls me. I had lost my mother, my brother, my wife to be, and pretty much lost my way and confidence as a person. Things could not have gotten worse for me. This was until one day when I heard a sound I had not heard in years. My phone finally rang and it was Megan but she was nowhere near the person I remember her to be.

“Megan, oh my god I’m so glad to hear your voice. How have you been?” I ask excitedly

“It sure has taken you long enough.” she said

I then become confused. “Taken me long enough to do what?” I ask

“If our baby was really that important to you, then you would understand. What the fuck happened seven years ago? Don’t pretend you don’t know. I don’t have patience.” Megan said impatiently.

“So how is everything?” I ask.

“YOU KNOW WHY I’M CALLING. THIS ISN’T A FRIENDLY CONVERSATION. I’M NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING THAT’S HAPPENED TO ANYBODY UNTIL WE SORT THIS OUT. WHEN THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO GO TO COURT AND GET OUR CHILD BACK? IT’S BEEN SEVEN GOD DAMN YEARS. OUR BABY HAS NOT KNOWN HER PARENTS FOR HER WHOLE LIFE. I HAD TO GIVE HER UP BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID MISTAKE. THAT WAS THE LAST TIME I SAW HER. WELL I’VE NOW RUN OUT OF PATIENCE. SHE’S OUR DAUGHTER GOD DAMN IT AND I WANT TO BE THERE FOR HER. SO QUIT PLAYING FUCKIN DUMB AND WORK WITH ME TO GET HER BACK. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO, I WILL HANG UP THIS FUCKIN PHONE AND ENSURE THAT YOU NEVER SEE ME OR HER AGAIN.” Megan snaps.

“Ok I’ll do that but I have to set a court date and you’ll have to come back from England. When do you plan to come back?” I ask.

“This wasn’t a fuckin vacation. I suffered while I was here both physically and emotionally. I came here because you forced me to with the stupid decisions that you made. This is nobody’s fault but yours so the least you can do is fix it. I have set a court date for us. It is tomorrow morning. We’re getting our baby back whether you like it or not.” said Megan

Megan comes back that evening and explains everything that has happened between her and Brad while they were gone.

“He was so mad at you for what you did to our child. He wanted to ensure that the baby grew up with a father that loved her. I tried to say no but he just kept pushing and pushing and wouldn’t stop.” she explained.

“So what you’re saying is he basically sexually assaulted you.” I reply

“Well he didn’t actually touch me but he kept making inappropriate comments and gestures towards me. He would stand over me and physically block me when I tried to get passed him while saying that you were no good for me and just little things like that.” Megan said.

“So what happened? Are you pregnant again?” I asked sarcastically.

Megan gives no verbal response but slaps me in the face. “No more of that. You have been treating me like a slut for the entire time you’ve known me and for a while it was ok but now I’ve had it. You do know that me being here does not mean that I’m still in love with you? Also, the fact remains that even after we get our daughter back, I may return to England to give her the life she deserves. A life away from you. As for Brad, I called the police and he has been arrested and is in jail for life with no possibility of being released. I don’t want him anywhere near our daughter. This is my only focus now. It’s doing what I think is best for our daughter. It’s not about you. Not about our relationship or us getting intimate. It’s strictly about her. When all of this finishes, I’m going to give her the best life I can to make up for seven years of BS that she had to go through. Honestly, I really don’t think you deserve to be part of what’s good in her life.” Megan said

Though it seemed harsh, Megan brought up some good points as I shared in her belief that the baby had been through a lot and deserves the best life possible. With this in mind, the conversation ended.

The court date arrived and Megan and I had built a strong case as to why the baby should be released in our care.

“After reviewing your testimony, I see that you both love this baby very much. The issue I have though is the fact that there’s serious reluctance for this court to grant either one of you custody or even joint custody based on your history of fights and physical violence towards one another. There is also the fact that your brother has not been the type of person who is deemed fit as an uncle due to his arrest for attempted incest on the child’s mother. This baby should not be exposed to this sort of thing as you could do damage to her well being. With all of this in mind, I have reached a compromise. It is this court’s ruling to place the baby in the care of an adoption agency where you will have visitation rights with your daughter at times agreed upon between you and the child’s adoptive parents. You must only visit with the baby when the adoptive parents are present and must not go anywhere with her unsupervised. You also have no say as far as the best interest of the child is concerned and final decisions as to the child’s welfare must come from the adoptive parents. We will examine this case further in a month. Court adjourned.” said the judge

“Objection.” Megan said.

“I’m sorry. My decision is final.” said the judge

“Your honor if I may speak in my defense. I know we may have showed some poor judgement in caring for the baby before but I assure you that nothing will happen if and when she is in my care. Brad has been arrested and will not be present in her life anymore. I waited for seven long years to see my child and I want to be there for her. There must be something you can do.” Megan said

“You’ve waited a whole seven years right? Well then you can wait another month. If you choose not to, I can reverse the decision and you won’t see her at all. That is also an option.” warned the judge.

With nothing left to say in her defense, Megan went to leave but then was stopped by the judge. He had been convinced by a police officer to grant her the request.

“Just a minute please. Before you go, I’ve been doing some thinking. This story is really sad and I know this child has been through a lot and needs her parents who obviously both love her very much. I suppose I could make an exception and allow the baby to be released to the both of you. However, I do believe that it is in the best interest of the child that her biological mother and father at least live in the same house. You do not have to like each other. We have no control over that but as terms of the condition of her release to you, we ask that you do not argue or fight in view of your daughter as this could harm her emotionally. She’s already been through so much. If you need to argue, it is recommended that you do so when she’s not around. Failure to comply with this will result in my forced reversal of the decision.” the judge says.

“Thank you so much.” Megan said

“We only strive to provide the best care for all children. You need to do your part in proving you can do that.” the judge said.

“You will not regret your decision.” said Megan.

“So It looks like we’re back together.” I say as I attempt to kiss Megan.

“Don’t even think about it. You heard what the judge said. We just have to live together. He didn’t say anything about us loving each other. In front of our daughter, I will pretend to love you but away from our daughter, you’re still an asshole. While you live with me, you sleep on the couch and there is no intimacy. We are being held together like tape through our daughter. It’s the only way I can get her back so I will go through with it. I refuse to allow my daughter to suffer anymore and if us living together is the only way to make this, I’m willing to make that sacrifice.” Megan said

Megan and I then leave the court room together and return home.

The End