InsaneJournal

While the ruling had not come as a surprise to some (namely Sam, their parents and her brother), Cameron was still reeling from the decision as they filed out of the courtroom five minutes later. It was a bittersweet victory. He hadn't missed the way the expression on Octavia's parents' faces changed from hopeful and excited to disappointed and slightly heart-broken. Their daughter was missing, either because she had run away or had been kidnapped, or because she was dead and no one had found her body yet, and now, some judge had just told them that they would not be the main caregivers for their grandson. Cameron couldn't possibly know exactly how that felt, but he was sure he would have been devastated if the judge had ruled in the grandparents' favour instead. He knew that he should feel happy, because after everything that he had been put through over the last few months, he'd won. He was supposed to feel some sort of satisfaction at that, wasn't he? After all of the nasty comments about his abilities as a father and their ability to provide a stable home for the toddler, someone had actually seen the truth. Someone had seen how much both of them loved Kyle, and how happy he was with them.

But he wasn't happy. Instead of feeling happy that they won, he felt guilty. He felt like they'd taken Kyle away from half of his family.

People were still milling around outside the courtroom, and Cameron couldn't help but notice a cluser of Octavia's relatives, standing apart and obviously consoling each other. He was fairly sure that her mother was crying, although her back was to him. "Kyle, want to go see your grandma and grandpa?" he asked the two year old nuzzling his shoulder. The little boy picked up his head and looked at Cameron, confused. He hadn't seen his maternal grandparents since the entire thing started; Sam's brother hadn't thought it would be a wise idea for the parties to have any contact before the decision was made.

Cameron set him down and the boy took off running, shouting "Nana!" the entire way. Cameron knew that he'd done the right thing when he saw Octavia's mother turn, bend down with her arms open wide and wrap Kyle up in a big hug. He felt a hand squeeze his own - Sam - as he watched the reunion. "He's so happy to see them," he commented.

"Of course he is. They're family."

She was right. They were still family, even though they had tried to take Kyle away from him. Cameron knew they were only doing what they thought was best, but making sure they all had a relationship with Kyle was actually the best thing for them all. Cameron gave Sam a quick kiss and walked over to the other family, feeling a bit out of place. "Umm..." Octavia's family fell silent, and Cameron could see them all stiffen. He wondered if they were worried that he was going to take Kyle away right then, or if they just didn't know how they were all supposed to act around each other. Cameron didn't know how to act either, but he was going to try to be friendly.

"I... I'm sorry about all of this. I didn't mean to..." There were so many things that Cameron wanted to say to them, so many things he didn't want to say in front of Kyle. He didn't want to talk about Octavia in front of him, just in case he understood more than they all thought. "I just want him to be happy. I hope you know that. And I... now's not the best time, but I want to work out a visitation schedule, so he can go visit all of you. I think all of these changes have been a bit overwhelming for him, so I..." He felt Sam by his side even before he saw her out of his periphery. Her presence reassured him a little. He was doing the right thing. "It would be good for him to see familiar faces. I don't know what your plans are for Christmas, but... I can bring him by on Christmas Eve, if you'd like," he suggested slowly. "My mum's hosting a big party on Christmas Day, and Sam and I, we don't want to drag him around to a bunch of places on Christmas, so if..."

"Christmas Eve would be perfect." Octavia's mother had put up the most resistance, but she surprised Cameron by being the one to agree to his terms. "We would love to have him--" Her husband nudged her gently, giving her a pointed stare, "ah, all three of you, for Christmas."

Cameron didn't think he really wanted to drop by on Christmas Eve, but he was (reluctantly) willing to do so for Kyle's sake, and he knew Sam would feel the same way. "How's four? He'll be up from his nap by then." All around, it was agreed that four would be just fine, and then the group fell silent again, all unsure of themselves. Cameron found it difficult enough to deal with all of the new familial relationships in his own family, but to figure the same out with a group of people he was only related to through a child, that was even more confusing. "We'll... see you then. C'mon, bud, we have to go home." Cameron took Kyle's hand and, after allowing the boy to say his goodbyes, was about to lead him away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He let Sam cart Kyle off while he hung back.

"I... wanted to apologise for..."

"Please, don't, it's..." He was about to say that it was okay, but it wasn't. It wasn't at all okay for them to put him through what they had, even if he understood their motives. "I know why you did all of this. I would have done the same. I can't... can't imagine life without him anymore, so if someone were to... well, let's just say that I understand."

"I think we were a bit quick to judge," Octavia's mother explained. "We don't know you, and we love our grandson very much. How were we to know?"

Cameron knew he should be mildly offended that they hadn't trusted him enough to take good care of him, when he'd never done anything to earn their mistrust - but then again, he hadn't done anything to earn their trust, either. "I love him. We both do. He hasn't been in our lives very long, but... there's just nothing like being woken up by a two and a half year old who wants to snuggle before breakfast." He looked over his shoulder to find his parents beckoning, and Sam with a sleepy Kyle on her shoulder, waving a hand at his maternal grandparents. "I should go... I just want you to know that I'd never try to keep him from you. He needs to know his grandparents - all of them." The wounds weren't mended completely - and Cameron didn't know if they would ever heal, because no matter how many apologies were given, there were some things that just couldn't be forgotten - but at least they were taking a few steps forward. It was Christmas, after all, and what would Christmas be if he didn't try to mend the fences just a little bit?