By two I was almost on the verge of a panic attack. Pa decided that my being his son was not going to bother him nearly as much as we would have hoped it would. I made my arguments as convincing as possible but the fact of the mater was that he had years of practice and I was a seventeen year old fighting for my life.

Fighting for my life was actually a big deal though.

The jury requested a recess and we all filed out of the courtroom with orders to return in an hour.

"You're doing a great job, Philip." Mr. Burr assured me as we stood in the hallway, waiting. Pa walked out, eyeing both of us, but he went on his way without saying anything.

"Pip!" I was halfway through turning around when someone hit me on my side, wrapping their arms around me.

"Hi Theo..."

"Why are you so upset?" She frowned at me, still hugging me. "You're doing fantastic!"

"I'm freaking out!"

Mr. Burr shushed me, glancing around to make sure Pa wasn't around. "Your father preys on the weak, kid, take a deep breath. You are not weak, don't give him reason to think so."

"You're doing great, Philip. I don't think you can see his reactions from where you're standing, but your mother and I can see the anger flying off of him. You're shutting him down, shutting him up, he's using scare tactics more than anything."

"She's right, Peanut. You've got him running."

I turned to look at my mom, smiling a little. "Thanks, but I don't think I can scare him enough to do that."

"Nothing is more terrifying than the idea of your child besting you." Mr. Burr commented. "Give the man a run for his money, Philip, you're already doing it and if you keep it up, you'll definitely win this."

"What could I best you at, Dad? Cooking?" Theodosia joked.

"Probably. You've got your mother's skill. You can out-argue me any day of the week."

"To be fair, Aaron, you're not a very argumentative person. I remember that whole 'talk less, smile more' idea you had in college." Mom pointed out.

"Well he got over that, didn't he? You can't go by that policy when you're a lawyer." Theodosia giggled.

"You certainly can." Mr. Burr shook his head.

I chuckled and wriggled out of Theodosia's arms. "I've got to use the bathroom so bad, I'll be right back."

She kissed my cheek and went back to debating with her dad.

I found my way to the restrooms and did my business. As I washed my hands, the bathroom door opened and someone else walked in.

"Philip." Pa said quietly. I winced at the flat tone, but nodded in his general direction.

"Pops."

"You're doing fairly well, I'll give you that much. How long did you and Burr practice for this?"

"I actually wrote all my own arguments. He only looked them over to tell me if there was anything I couldn't say or do." I said quietly.

Pa was silent for a moment.

"Why are you trying to take my parenting rights away from me, Philip? Have I ever beaten you? Refused you the things you needed or deserved? I did my best as a father, I had not role model to follow but I did what was best for you, I always had you in mind first."

"I'm not talking to you about this, Pops." Engaging him would only give him information about my future arguments and I really didn't want to go up against him if he had my whole riot act tucked into the back of his mind.

"Philip I am your father and I care for you a lot."

"Clearly not enough to let me love someone because of who her father is."

Pa bristled.

"This won't help you keep her, you know."

I froze, the paper towel I was using to dry my hands clenched in my fists.

I could see Pa smirking in the mirror. He thought he hit the jackpot, didn't he?

"Watching you and I go back and forth in front of that judge only shows your little Theodosia what you will become. She won't be able to see you as yourself anymore, at the slightest hint of emotion she will see me. Can you put her through that? I know you can't, Philip-"

"I'm not you." I snapped, whipping around. "Theodosia, like me, is able to distinguish between a person and their child. She knows I am not you and she will never see me as you. I am not you and I never will be."

"What will you be then?" He narrowed his eyes. 

I drew myself up and set my jaw, meeting his eyes. It hurt to see hatred and anger there, but I ignored it.

"I will be better."

The swinging bathroom door swished behind me as I marched out into the hall again.