Surrogacy
James was holding their daughter in his arms. He held her against his chest, adjusting the small blanket that Zethrid had given them to cover her better. "Bella Griffin-Kogane. Our daughter." James said, caressing her cheek with his finger. Her eyes were shut, and she had James's chocolate brown hair.
She squirmed a bit, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them up. James gasped softly, before smiling. "She has my eyes.." Keith said quietly. "She's beautiful." James says. "Just like you." Keith says softly. "Can I hold her?" He asked. James moved her to Keith's arm, and he cradled her in her arms, holding her close to his chest. She looked up at him, and he smiled.
"Hi. I'm Keith. Your Dad. Well, one of them. Your other dad is James, and he's amazing. Just know, he's going to use the "I fought in a war, I shouldn't have to deal with your attitude" line on you a lot, so you better listen to him." James swatted Keith's shoulder playfully, then smoothed out some of her hair.
"But we're gonna take care of you, and protect you, and always be there for you, no matter what, I promise. And we'll always love you. And you're gonna have a great family, who'll always be there for you. And yeah, it's a big family, and a little- well, a lot- crazy, but they're great."
James leaned into Keith as they looked down at their daughter. Sofia came out of the room in a wheelchair, hands folded in her lap. Her dark blond hair spilled around her shoulders. James made eye contact and smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He mouthed. She nodded, smiling softly.
Carrying a baby was never easy, especially if it was someone else's. She'd been a surrogate for almost eight years, and Bella was the most recent. She had to admit, at first, she was a bit skeptical. They were an odd couple. Not because they were gay, but because of their differences. James was very social, immediately introducing himself to her and her wife. Keith had been quieter, much more serious looking. As she got to know the couple better, she saw that even though they were almost complete opposites, they balanced each other out.
And as she saw them holding their little girl, their litttle girl whom she'd held in her body for nine months, she smiled. They were going to be great parents.
"This is outrageous!" James said. "We paid for the surrogate, we paid for her doctor visits, we went with her to the visits, we helped her and her husband with errands, with paying for food and transportation to the doctor, we paid for the hospital room where she gave birth, paid for her care after the birth, and you're telling me that now, we don't even get to have custody of our child? We don't even get to see them, or know what their gender is?"
Mrs.Carmichel sighed. "Mr.Griffin, I-" "Kogane." James interrupted. "Mr.Kogane." She corrected. "I understand that this is a very difficult time. But we have to take into account Ms.Jones's concerns." "HER concerns? It took almost three years for us to get a surrogate! And you're worried about her concerns? She may have carried this child, but we paid for almost everything, and have been waiting years to have a child of our own. And you're telling me that because she doesn't think we'll be good parents or something like that, she gets to decide whether or not we have our child?"
She sighed again. "Mr.Kogane, we're doing our best. Now, where is your husband? You mentioned that he'd be here."
At that moment, Keith came bursting in the room, Allura right behind him. Allura offered a sweet smile to Mrs.Carmichel. "Hi. I'm Allura Altea, I'll be representing Mr. and M.Kogane in this matter. Now, I have a court order, and a subpoena, sighed and sealed by Judge Bridger for this woman, Mrs.Jones, and her husband, along with yourself and their lawyer to appear in court two days from today to discuss this matter. Now, from what I have heard, this woman has no standing whatsoever to keep custody of this child, or decide what happens to them. If she does not comply with our subpoena and turn over the child, she will be asked to reimburse my clients for every cent they spent on her care and treatment, along with giving them custody of their child." She said, handing Mrs.Carmichel some documents.
"I-oh. Wow. You've covered every base here." Allura smiled. "Yes. I'd also like to have an interview with Mrs.Jones, and see how both she and my clients interact with the child. Also, I believe they have a right to know the gender of their child now." She sat down and folded her hands together on the table in one swift motion as she said this. "Um, well, okay. It's a boy-"
James gasped, hand flying Keith's own. "As according to the legal documents, his name is Aidan Michael Kogane. But Mrs.Jones, as part of her petition to keep the child, wants to change his name to Anthony Justin Jones. He has black hair and purple eyes, your skin tone-" she nodded to James "-and was born at 2:08 PM, January 19th, weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces."
"When can we see him?" Keith asked.
James picked Aidan up gently, holding him against his chest. "Hi." He coos. "Hey buddy. How ya doing?" Keith asked, coming up besides him. Aidan cooed happily, smiling up at them. "Hey Aidan. I'm James, and this is Keith. We're going to be your dads. Well, hopefully. We have to see how things turn out. But I can promise you, if we are your dads, we're going to do everything we can to give you a great life and make you happy."
Aidan smiled wider, and Keith tickled his stomach with his pointer finger. Aidan gurgled and wrapped a hand around his finger, holding it tightly. Keith wiggled his finger and chuckled. "Got a strong grip, don't ya? Just like your daddy. Never wants to get out of bed. And he's clingy. Always wants to cuddle. you seem pretty cuddly. And you're so cute."
They seamlessly moved Aidan from James's arms to Keith's, who held him to his chest. They talked to him for a while, and when he started to fuss, James went and got a bottle from one of the nurses, and Keith fed him. Then James burped him and held him, swaying a bit as him and Keith talked with Mr.Jones.
"I really don't see her problem with it. You guys seem like you'd be great parents." He admits. "It's probably the tattoos." Keith says, gesturing to his arm. "People are thrown off by them." "It's not bad. You said the knife is a family heirloom, right? And your grandmother's favorite flowers are around it?" Keith nodded. "Yep. James has one too. Red and black roses on his right bicep."
Mr.Jones, whose first name was Mark, nodded. "Interesting choice. I know red roses are for love, but black roses.." "They mean endings. But with endings come new beginnings." James answered.
"I see. Can I ask about the ending?" James looked down. "It's, um, complicated."
"Actually your honor, yes, I do. I see no reason for these men not to have their child. They've proven, time and time again, that' they're more than capable of taking care of Aidan." Mark said. "His name is Anthony." Karen snapped. "His name is Aidan Michael Kogane. And he is their son. I officially withdraw our objection and give them full custody of their son."
"No! He is my son!" Karen screeched, going over to Romelle, who was next to the baby carrier. She picked him up, cradling him to her chest. "See? He responds to me! I am his mother! And you are his father! Not these men!"
Aidan started whining, then crying, which then turned into wailing.
James started to rise, but Karen shot him a glare. "Do not come anywhere near me and my child, f*ggot!" James reeled back, and the judge banged his mallet on the table. "One more comment like that and I'll hold you in contempt!" He declared. Keith huffed and stood, taking Aidan from Karen's arms as she argued with her husband.
He immediately started to calm once he saw him, and smiled. The wailing died down, but he still sniffled. "Aw, don't cry Aidan. Daddy's here. Come on, let's get you your pacifier." Keith reached into the baby bag, pulling out the lion baby toy. He waved it in Aidan's face before pushing it to his lips softly, and the baby sucked it into his mouth.
"I don't see any reason for them not to-" "NO! I will not have it! I carried that child in my body for 9 months, and I will raise them for the next 18 years! These men will not raise my child!"
Aidan started to whine again, and Keith walked over to James, who took him into his arms, holding him close to his chest.
Mark and Karen continued to argue as their lawyer and the judge tried to calm them down. James adjusted the blanket so that it covered Aidan's ears, scooting his chair to the far end of the table, away from the noise.