FicWad

"Can I help you?" Pete asked the man who stood in their doorway that Monday afternoon.

He was tall and wiry, and he wore a sleek black suit to match his slicked back dark hair. He look too official for his own good and Pete laughed to himself,; the man reminded him of a bad television personality.

"I'm from Child Services of Chicago, I need to speak to Mr.Stump about Kendall?" the man asked as Pete ushered him into the kitchen.

"Patrick!" Pete called into the apartment.

Moments later Patrick emerged from his bedroom.

"Mr.Stump, I'm from Child Services, I need to speak to you about Kendall," the man repeated, seating himself at the table, across from Pete and Patrick.

Patrick studied the man's expression hard, but nodded his head in agreement nonetheless.

"How long has the child been under your care?" the man asked, taking out a pad of paper and a pen.

"About two months now," Patrick replied simply.

"And how has everything been going?"

"Fine, I guess."

"Do you have a job, Mr.Stump?"

"Yes. Well off and on, really. My band just got back from a tour this past week."

"I see," the man said, scribbling something onto the pad of paper,"Where was Kendall while you were away?"

"She came with us."

"And is the child enrolled in school?"

"She's there now."

"Do you feel that you can provide a suitable environment to raise Kendall?"

"She ain't dead yet, is she?" Pete interjected.

"Pete!" Patrick elbowed him in the ribs.

"Look, I don't get it. Has someone reported me or something?" he asked.

"We've spoken to a Mrs.Steele, Kendall's biological mother. She's raised some concerns about the lifestyle and environment. She's pursuing custody of Kendall," the man explained.

"What? Wait, I adopted her, I mean, she can't just take her. She just got out of rehab for God's sake! Surely you wouldn't give someone like that a kid."

"This is just the procedure. It's all routine. We get a call, we have to investigate it. And the court will favor you, given the circumstances."

"Alright," Patrick sighed,"So now what do we do?"

"You're going to have to attend a hearing next week to decide Kendall's permanent placement, and then a follow-up hearing about a month later," the man explained, standing up to leave.

"Ok, well, we're not interested in giving the kid up any day soon, but thank you for stopping by, and good luck with the game show you host," Pete said, shoving him out the doorway.

---

Kendall walked into her bedroom and tossed her backpack onto the floor.

"Kendall, I need to talk to you," Patrick said, opening the door and walking into her room.

She looked into his eyes,"Something's wrong," she said.

"Maybe not,"he started, sitting down next to her on her bed,"A man from Child Services came by today. And he asked me a bunch of questions about how you're doing and how I've been taking care of you," he explained.

"Cut the crap, Patrick, what's wrong?" Kendall asked.

"You're mom's trying to get custody of you," he told her.

"What?" Kendall gulped,"Why is she doing this to me? Is she trying to ruin my entire life?" she cried as Patrick wrapped his arms around her.

"It's gonna be alright, Kendall, calm down," he said, rocking her back and forth as she cried.

"It's gonna be OK."

Kendall pulled away from him and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Promise me you won't let her take me away," she said, holding out her pinky finger.

He looped his pinky through hers,"I promise."