...Emily just stood there.

"We didn't open it, of course. But I think you might have an idea of what it is" Hotch said. "You might want to sit down" he said and she sat and began to open.

Sitting at her boss's office, Emily couldn't believe what she was reading. Jeremy had filled for custody of Isabella. What she feared so much was happening. How was she supposed to tell her daughter. Finally when things were looking up. She had just started to make plans for the girl's 9th birthday. Things were going great. And now that was happening.

"So?" Hotch asked after giving her time to read and process.

"He filled for full custody" Emily said with tears in her eyes. Hotch stood up, walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Emily was trying hard not to cry.

"I can get Marcus Clark, we worked with him on a case a while ago. He's specialized in custody cases. He's really good" Hotch said.

"Okay" Emily said standing up and walking to the door. She was speechless.

"Emily" Hotch said and she stopped. Hotch walked to her and hugged her. She tried hard not to cry. She was so scared. She couldn't lose her girl, she just couldn't.

Outside Penelope and JJ were looking through the window. Penelope started crying and JJ hugged her. Looking at Emily's face both knew it was serious.
After a while Emily walked out of Hotch's office to find the rest of the team waiting for her by the stairs.

"What happened?" Rossi asked.

"Jeremy filled for custody" Emily said.

"He won't get her Em" Derek said serious.

"Hotch is calling the lawyer" Emily said and JJ gave the woman's hand a squeeze.
Emily walked and sat on her desk.
"We need to work" she said getting some paperwork she had to do.

"Emily" Derek said but she didn't even look up.

The team headed to their desks and started working.

.

About an hour later Hotch went and told Emily the lawyer was there, so she headed to his office. A few moments in and he arrived.
The entire team couldn't help but pick at the window.

"Can I see the letter?" Marcus Clark asked and Emily handed it to him. Hotch noticed the team was looking and closed the blinds to give the woman some privacy.

"Anything I'm right outside" Hotch said. Emily nodded yes and he left.

"So tomorrow you and Isabella will separately have an interview with the judge and the hearing will be on Friday. He's likely to give out temporary custody of the child and schedule another hearing" Clark said once he finished reading the letter where the info was. "The most important thing here is you talking to your daughter about this." He said and Emily could feel her heart pounding on her head. "You need to explain to her what's going on and find exactly what she wants so we can work with that." He said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"I'll go over with you the main questions you'll be asked tomorrow. We need to collect all the necessary paperwork and send in with your file." He said and Emily nodded.

After about an hour, Emily walked out of Hotch's office and thanked the lawyer.

"We'll meet tomorrow at 9 here" Marcus Clark said.

"Yes. Thank you so much" Emily said and the man left.

Suddenly Rossi got out of his office.
"How did it go?" He asked her.

"He thinks I have a good chance" Emily said not really believing it.

"You're a wonderful mother. Never doubt that" Rossi said. Emily gave him a small smile.

"I need to get all the documents" she said.

"Okay. And anything I'm here" Rossi said.

"Thank you" she said and walked to Penelope's office.

"Penelope?" She said opening the door.

"Yes!" Penelope said with tears still streaming down her cheeks, turning to face Emily.

"Can you help me with this?" Emily asked handing the list of documents she had to get.

"Sure." Penelope said already wiping her face and typing things on the computer.

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It was almost 3pm when Emily finished putting everything she needed in the file. She put it on a drawer on her desk, got her bag and started walking to the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Derek asked her.

"I'm going to pick Bella up" she answered serious and not even bothering to stop.
She went to the car and drove to the school.

.

Isabella walked out of the building and felt her phone vibrating. She took it out of her pocket and it was Emily.

"Hi" Bella said excited.

"Hey. I came to pick you up" Emily said smiling. She could see Bella from the parking lot and she saw how the girl was smiling.

"Oh. I see you" Bella said as she spotted the car. She hung up, told her friends goodbye and ran to the car.

"Hi" she said opening the door and getting in.

"Hi Bells" Emily said smiling and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Are we going home?" Bella asked a bit confused and Emily let go of the hug.

"No. BAU." She said.

"Why did you pick me up then? I don't mind taking the bus mom" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"How about McDonald's?" Emily asked making an excited face.

"Yes" Bella said and giggled at Emily's face.

"Alright" Emily smiled and drove.

They ate and then headed to the BAU.

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As she stepped out of the elevator, Isabella couldn't help but notice eyes watching her.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Bella asked shyly taking Emily's hand.

"Yeah. Let's go to Hotch's office honey. They must have got a case" Emily said walking faster.

"Go sit. I'll be right back" she told the girl as they walked in and Bella took a seat on the couch. She was a bit nervous. She just knew something was happening and her mom wasn't telling her.

Emily walked to the conference room to find the team waiting for her.
"Do we have a case?" Emily asked.

"No. Ummn..." JJ said but before she could continue Emily saw Jeremy was there.

"You son of b-" she started.

"Em. This isn't a good idea" Derek said grabbing her arm.

"How could you? How can you do this to your sister?" Emily said angry and Jeremy just stared. "Do you know how this is gonna make her feel?" She asked. "You need to stop thinking about yourself Jeremy. Think about her. She doesn't need to go through this"

"I am thinking about her. That's why I'm doing this. She can't stay with you. She didn't choose this life. Your life. She deserves better and you know that" Jeremy said.

"She deserves a mother. And a family" Emily said looking at her team around her. "She deserves to stay where she wants to be. I promised to take her to Seattle whenever she wanted." Emily said.

"Why did she have to run then?" Jeremy said and waited for Emily to talk but she was so pissed that she just didn't say anything.

"You don't even know" Jeremy said. "You were never there. You don't even know your own child. How are you supposed to take care of her?" he said.

"You won't take her away from me" Emily said between her teeth. She was so pissed.

"Just wait and see" Jeremy said angry too.

They were so busy arguing that no one saw the small child was standing at the door listening to everything with so many tears running down her cheeks. When Jeremy told Emily to wait and see, Isabella ran to her mother and hugged her legs.

"Bella, I told you to wait for me in the office" Emily said heartbroken. She did not want the girl to find out like that.

"Come here princess" Derek said noticing the girl's eyes were full. He went to pick her up but she tighten her grip around Emily.

"What's going on, mommy?" Bella asked.

"Wow you didn't even tell her" Jeremy said.

"I just picked her up from school" Emily said. "Come here" she said picking the girl up. "We need to talk" Emily said walking to sit on the couch. She placed Bella on her lap and started, carefully trying not to hurt the girl even more. "your brother thinks it's a good idea for you to stay with him in Seattle." She said and Bella just looked confused. Emily looked at Hotch unsure of what to say.

"Look Bella" Hotch said walking in front of the girl and kneeing down. "Sometimes when a mom and a dad don't live together anymore they go see a judge that helps them find out who is the best choice to take care of their children. And your brother thought it was a good idea if the judge helped him and your mom" he explained.

"Help him and mom?" Bella asked still a little confused.

"Yeah. Help them find out which one of them should take care of you" Hotch said.

"Who I should live with?" Bella asked as her eyes got even fuller.

"Yes" Hotch said.

"No! No! I wanna live with you" Bella said turning to Emily and bursting into tears. Emily hugged the girl.

"We'll talk to the judge, okay? It's gonna be okay" Emily told the child as her own eyes filled with tears.

"No! I don't want the judge to choose. I wanna live with you! Daddy said I was going to live with you mommy" Bella cried.

"I'm sorry baby" Emily said as some tears escaped.

Isabella's sobs filled the room. Penelope was crying too and JJ was on the verge of tears.

"Take her to my office" Hotch said and Emily walked out caring the crying child in her arms.

"Are you happy man?" Derek asked Jeremy, he was so mad.

Jeremy didn't say another word and walked out.

"I'm gonna go check on them" Penelope said and went to Hotch's office followed by JJ.

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Emily walked in the office and went to the couch.

"I don't wanna go with him mommy" Bella cried.

"I know honey" Emily said rocking the girl. "We're going to talk to the judge, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

Penelope and JJ walked in.
"Hi" Penelope said and sat on the couch next to Emily. JJ stood in front of them.

"It's going to be alright, bunny" Penelope said talking the child's hand in hers.

It took a while but Isabella calmed down.

"Penny" Bella said.

"Yes bunny" Penelope said smiling and pushing her tears away.

"Can you tell him I want to stay with my mom?" The girl asked.

"Tell who?" Penelope asked.

"The judge. Can you tell him?"

"Of course I can." Penelope said.

"We're going to talk to him honey, don't worry" Emily said and Bella stared at her with tears in her eyes. "And you're gonna talk to him too"

"I am?" Bella said.

"Yeah. Look... We have a very good lawyer that will help us and tomorrow he'll talk to you about everything" Emily explained.

"And then I can go home with you?" Bella asked.

"Hopefully" Emily said and gave the girl a kiss.

"I just don't understand why he doesn't want me to stay with you" Bella said.

"Your brother?" JJ asked.

"Yeah" Bella said sadly.

Emily hugged the girl, not really knowing what to say.
"How about if we go home right now?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

"Alright. Say bye to Aunt Penelope and Aunt JJ so we can go" Emily said making Bella stand up.

"Bye" Bella said hugging Penelope and then moved on to JJ. Then she held Emily's hand.

"Mom" Bella said.

"Yes" Emily said looking at the girl and Bella just hugged her. "Jump" Emily said and picked the girl up. Isabella laid her head on her mother's shoulder and kept a tight grip around her.

"Have a good night today bunny" Penelope said rubbing circles on the girl's back.

"You too" Bella whispered and they all smiled.

"Em, anything just call" JJ said and Emily nodded yes.

"Thank you" Emily said and left.

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Isabella fell asleep on the way back home so when they got there Emily carried her inside. The woman knew the child would probably have a bad night so she just let her sleep. Inside the house she put Bella down on the couch and walked to the kitchen. She got a glass of wine and sat next to the sleeping girl to watch some tv. 24 minutes later Bella jumped awake. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and rocked her till she calmed down.

"Do you want to watch 'doctor who' ?" Emily asked the girl.

"Yeah" Bella said sounding sad.

Emily put the show on and they watched that till dinner time. Emily ordered pizza and once it got there they sat in the kitchen to eat. Afterwards both went to shower. Isabella walked out of the bathroom wearing long sleeves and pants, she picked up her blanket and Tramp and went to Emily's bedroom. She laid down on the bed hugging her things and she didn't take long to fall asleep.

Emily smiled when she walked in to find the girl asleep on her bed. She was wrapped in a towel so she went to get dressed and then went to bed. She wrapped the small girl in her arms and let out a breath as the child tightened her grip around her. It took a long time for her to sleep that night but eventually she did and for both their lucks the girl slept peacefully the entire night.

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(Thursday)

It was 7:45 when Emily woke up. She showered, got dressed, made breakfast and headed up to wake Isabella.
"Bellie. Wake up mon amour" she said soothing the child's hair.

Isabella moved a little on the bed and when she opened her eyes she jumped and hugged Emily. Emily picked her up and took her to the bathroom.

"Let's shower?" She asked the girl who just stayed quiet. "Come on honey. Shower quickly and I'll get your clothes" Emily said letting the girl down. They needed to meet the lawyer that morning. Isabella showered while Emily picked out an outfit for her. It was quite cold so Emily chose jeans, a navy shirt and a winter coat, and placed it all on the bed. Isabella walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and got dressed while Emily waited downstairs. Once the girl finished she headed to the kitchen and they ate, then Bella went back upstairs and just sat on her bed. She was so scared that she would go out and never go back home that she started crying. She hugged her legs and just cried.

A couples minutes later Emily walked in to find the girl crying...
"Oh Bella" the woman said walking to sit next to the girl but before she could sit Isabella jumped in her arms.

"I don't wanna go with him mommy" she cried.

Emily wasn't sure of what to tell the girl. She was also so scared. She ended up just sitting on the bed holding the child in her arms and rocking her till she calmed down.

"We have to go see the lawyer now, baby" Emily said.

"No. I wanna stay home" Bella said sounding upset.

"It's going to be okay, honey. We have to go" Emily said.

"No! I wanna stay" Bella said as more tears rolled down her face.

"Bella you're not going anywhere today. You're coming home with me." Emily said. "We'll just talk to the lawyer and then the judge and then we'll come home. That's it"

"Are you sure?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily said. "We'll just talk to him baby." She said and the girl just sat there looking upset. "I promise you'll come home with me afterwards" she added.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Let's go then?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

"Go get your shoes on" she said and the girl jumped out of her lap and ran to get her shoes. Bella put on her red rain boots and walked downstairs.

Emily smiled as she saw the girl was wearing those boots again. "Baby it's not raining" she said smiling.

"I like them" Bella said walking to her mother.

"Alright" Emily smiled. "Let's go?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said taking her hand and they walked to the car.

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Emily and Isabella were sitting at Hotch's office waiting for the lawyer to get there when Penelope walked in.

"Hi. Sorry, um... I just wanted to check on you guys" Penelope said as she saw Hotch was there with them.

"We're okay" Emily said giving Bella's hand a squeeze. Since they got out of the car the child had not let go of her.

"Anything you know where to find me" Penelope said with a small smile and Emily nodded. "Bye" Penelope said and walked out closing the door.

Suddenly it opened again but this time it was the lawyer.
"Hi" Marcus Clark said.

"Good morning. I'll leave you three alone." Hotch said and walked out.

"So you must be Isabella" Marcus said looking at the girl who just hid her face behind Emily's arm.

"It's okay Bella" Emily said but the girl stayed hiding.

The lawyer explained to them how the interviews would go and told them some questions the judge would probably ask. By the end of it Bella was okay with the man there and even talked to him a little.

"I know this is scary sweetheart but you have to try to talk to him and answer his questions. Even if they are hard" Marcus said.

"Look if you don't tell him he won't know what you want" Emily said.

"And Bella there's just one thing you have to promise us" Marcus said and the girl just stared. "No matter what he asks you, you cannot lie" he said. "Do you understand?" He asked and she nodded yes. "Do you promise me you won't lie?" He asked and she just nodded yes.
"I think we can go now" Marcus said and Bella grabbed Emily's arm.

"It's okay. Remember what I promised you this morning? You're coming back home with me" Emily said but the girl didn't let go of her so she stood up and picked Bella up.
They walked out of Hotch's office to find Derek and Penelope waiting for them around Reid's desk.

"We're going to the judge's office for interviews" Emily said.

"We know. We're going too" Penelope said.

"Oh guys it's okay you don't have to" Emily said.

"We won't take no" Derek said. "Who's gonna watch the princess when you talk to the man?" He asked tucking Bella's hair behind her ear and the girl let go of Emily and Derek got her.

Emily smiled at him and they headed off.

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They were sitting in the waiting room at the judge's office and couldn't help but notice how tensed Isabella looked. She had not let go of her mother since they walked out of the car.
They waited a while and the judge called Emily in. Isabella tightened her grip on her mother.

"It's okay baby. It won't take long" Emily said.

"No" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be back don't worry. You stay here with uncle Morgan and aunt Penelope huh?" Emily said but the girl didn't let go.

"Come here princess" Derek said as he stood up and walked to the girl. She let go of Emily and hugged him and he lifted her up in his arms. She couldn't help it and started to cry.

"I'll be back baby" Emily said feeling really bad.

"It's okay go. She'll be alright" Derek said and Emily left.

He sat back down and placed the girl on his lap. Penelope held Isabella's hand and they just stayed silent till the child calmed down.

.

Inside the judge's office Emily tensed feeling really nervous about all the questions he would ask her. He talked a little about the case and then asked if she bothered answering some questions for him. She said of course not and he started. He asked about Isabella's school and free time, who stayed with the girl and picked her up from school, how the child's life was before John passed away, the story behind her not staying with Emily in the first place, and many more. Emily felt as she answered some of them that the judge was clearly judging her actions. She couldn't help but feel scared he would end up giving Bella to Jeremy.

.

Outside, Isabella stayed the entire time sitting quietly on Derek's lap. A lady called Sarah had gone to talk to them and she said she was a social worker and psychologist and would walk in with Isabella so she tried talking to the girl a bit but with no success, she only got some nods.

When Emily walked out Isabella looked very relieved to see her mother again.

"See?! I told I'd be back" Emily said as the girl ran to her arms. She sat and placed Bella on her lap.

"Can we go home now?" Bella asked.

"You have to talk to him, remember?" Emily said and the girl looked sad. "It's gonna be okay baby"

Suddenly the judge called the child in.

"Let's go?" Sarah said. Sarah was very tall and she had a very long and curly blonde hair.

"Mommy" Bella said with tears in her eyes. She was so scared.

"I'll be right here waiting for you just like you waited for me" Emily promised.

"Come on, Sweetie" Sarah said and Bella took her hand and bravely walked in the judge's office.

"Good morning Isabella" the judge said as Sarah guided the child to a chair.

"Good morning" Bella said shyly sitting down.

"So you are here today so we can talk a little bit about your life, right?" The judge said and the girl just stared. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" He asked and Bella nodded no.

"You need to use your words honey" Sarah said.

"No I don't mind" Bella said embarrassed.

"Okay. So... " he started.

With every question Isabella got more and more tensed and scared that she was going to end up with her brother. The man was asking her things that she knew most mothers did but because of her work Emily didn't. He asked about Jeremy too. He also asked how she felt about Emily's work and she had to tell the truth.

"I think it's brave what she does" Bella said.

"Why would it be brave?" The judge asked and Bella froze. She just knew he wouldn't like the answer.

"Because she could get hurt" Bella said almost a whisper.

"Does that scare you?" He asked her.

She took some time to think and said "sometimes. But she's tough and she has her team to protect her. So I know she'll be okay"

"Okay" the man said.

"Sir I know it's scary but I really wanna stay with my mom" Bella said as tears filled her eyes.

"I can see you do but it's my job to see what's best for you, where you will be safer" he said and the girl started crying. She hugged her legs and hid her face.

"Hey" Sarah said taking the girl's hand and Bella just cried.

Once she calmed down a bit the man asked her a few more questions about Emily and about Jeremy and then said they were done. Bella felt it didn't go very well and she was so scared. She walked out of his office holding Sarah's hand and when she spotted her mother she sprinted.

"Let's go home. I wanna go home" Bella said crying.

"Okay okay. Let's go" Emily said lifting the child up in her arms.

"I wanna go right now" said the crying girl.

"It's okay we're going." Emily said rubbing circles on the child's back.

"I'll call you later" Marcus Clark said and Emily left with Derek and Penelope.

As they walked inside the elevator Jeremy walked in too. Isabella tightened her grip on Emily when she saw him and no one said a word.
They walked to the car and Emily placed Bella on the back seat and sat beside her.

"Garcia would you mind coming over to my house?" Emily asked a little embarrassed but she knew the rest of the day would probably be bad.

"Of course I'll go" Penelope said. "You didn't even have to ask I was planning it already" Penelope said and Emily let out a laugh.

"I don't think she's joking Prentiss" Derek said and Emily laughed and they headed to her apartment. When they got there Penelope went upstairs with Bella so the girl could change and Emily and Derek sat in the living room.

"Do you mind if I stay too?" Derek asked.

"Of course not, I'm sure she'll love having you here" Emily said and he smiled.

It wasn't long till Bella walked back downstairs with Penelope. She was wearing pajamas and had her blanket in hands.

"Why are you ready for bed?" Emily asked but the girl didn't say a word. Isabella just walked to her mom and sat on her lap. Emily wrapped her arms around the girl as Derek turned the tv on.

After a while the doorbell rang. It was Chloe.

"Em, it's Chloe." Penelope said before opening.

"I don't wanna see her right now" Bella said sounding sad.

"I'll talk to her" Derek said walking to the door. He walked out and explained the situation to Chloe who of course cried. He took the child back to her apartment and then explained it all to Hilary. The woman was very sorry and told him that if they needed anything she would help. Derek went back to Emily's apartment. They watched tv till dinner time, then ate what Penelope cooked. After dinner Derek asked if Bella wanted to play chess so she sat with him at the dining table and played. He won the first time and then she won.

"How about this one now?" Penelope asked holding 'Candyland' and they laughed. "Oh come on it's fun" she said.

"Fine" Derek said smiling and they played it, Penelope, Derek, Bella and Emily. They all had a great time and loved seeing the child more relaxed and laughing.

It was almost 10 when Emily noticed Bella was very tired and fighting her sleep.
"Do you want to go to bed?" Emily asked the girl who just nodded yes.
"Let's go" Emily smiled and took the girl's hand. "Say goodnight"

"Goodnight aunt penny" Bella told Penelope and the woman hugged her. "Goodnight uncle Morgan" Bella said sounding sleepy and Derek laughed.

"I'm uncle Morgan now?" He asked her and she just nodded and he smiled. "I like it" he said and they all laughed.

As they were walking upstairs Bella asked if she could sleep on Emily's bed and of course the woman said yes. So she tucked the girl in and then headed back downstairs. They talked about what was happening and then Penelope headed to Bella's bedroom, Derek stayed on the couch and Emily laid next to her sleeping girl. Once again she wrapped the tiny child in her arms and fell asleep.

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(Friday)

It was a little over 4am when Isabella woke up screaming and crying. Emily jumped awake and pulled the child to her lap.

"Shuuuu shuuuu it was just a bad dream. It's okay. You're okay" she kept saying as Isabella sobbed in her arms. As always that sound made her head pound. She hated it.

Derek and Penelope heard the scream and it wasn't long till both appeared to find Emily holding the crying child. They saw Emily's face and just knew their friend needed help so they walked in and sat on the bed.

"Hey. What happened princess?" Derek asked Bella who was starting to calm down.

"Can you tell the judge I wanna stay with mommy?" Bella asked him, her voice thick from crying.

"We'll tell him don't worry" Penelope said as tears rolled down her own cheeks.

"It's okay baby. You're okay. Let's try to sleep. Come on" Emily said placing Bella next to her and lying back down again without taking her arms from around the child. Bella snuggled her blanket and relaxed on her mother's embrace. Derek and Penelope saw they were okay so they headed back.

"Anything I'm right downstairs" Derek said and Emily mouthed a "thank you" and he gave her a sad smile understanding how hard it must be for the woman.

Isabella fell asleep shortly and Penelope too but Derek and Emily both stayed awake.

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Around 7:30, Emily got out of bed and went to get ready. She wanted to get ready before the girl woke up so she showered, got dressed and headed downstairs to eat.

"Hey" Derek said as Emily appeared downstairs.

"Hi" she said looking tired.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked and she shook her head no. "Me neither" he said walking to the kitchen behind her.

"It's just..." She said and took a deep breath. "I think.. I think he'll take her" she said as her eyes filled with tears.

Before she said anything else Derek was hugging her.
"Don't think like that" he said and Emily let go of the hug.

"It's easier said than done" Emily said. She was able to keep her tears in but Derek could see she was hurt.
She walked to the coffee machine and made coffee. They drank and then sat in the living room allowing Penelope and Bella to sleep some more.

It wasn't long till Penelope walked down and joined them.

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Upstairs Isabella woke up to an empty bed and her eyes immediately filled with tears as she started running downstairs. When she saw Emily she just hugged her and bursted into tears. Emily wrapped her arms around the child who was crying on her lap. She couldn't believe how her kid who used to never ever cry was just a little waterfall nowadays.

"Did you have another bad dream?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said trying to take control of her breathing again.

"Oh baby. It's gonna be okay" Emily said pushing the hair out of the girl's forehead and giving her a kiss there.
"Let's have breakfast" Emily said making Bella stand up. She took the girl's hand and they walked to the island. They ate and then sat to watch tv. Bella didn't let go of her mother not even to go to the bathroom. She wanted Emily at all times. Around 12 they got ready for the hearing. Emily wore a lady suit and Bella wore a navy dress and white tights. And then they ate lunch that Penelope had cooked.

"Go get a jacket honey" Emily told the girl. It wasn't very cold outside but Bella had just recovered from pneumonia so Emily was being extra careful. Isabella got her black winter coat and put her red rain boots on and headed back downstairs.

"What's with the boots bunny?" Penelope asked, she also had noticed how often the girl was wearing it.

"Nothing" Bella said.

"Bella I don't think it's a good idea to wear those today" Emily said making a face. She knew it was best if they were formally dressed. "How about your black docs?" Emily said talking about the doc martins boots. She thought they were way better looking than the girl's old red rain boots.

"Okay" Bella said walking back upstairs. She changed her shoes and walked back down.

"Let's go?" Emily asked Bella and the girl just walked to her and grabbed her hand.

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The entire ride, Bella had a tight grip on Emily's suit. The girl was so nervous. They all were.
When they got there they met the rest of the team at the entrance and then walked in to find Jeremy and Marley already inside. When Bella saw him she stopped walking and hid behind Emily.

"It's okay honey" Emily said throwing one arm around the girl. "Come on let's sit" she said walking to sit where they were supposed to, beside Marcus Clark. She led Bella to the seat between them and waited for the judge.
It wasn't long till the judge walked in. They stood politely and sat back down.

The judge talked about the case and then it was time for the important part.
"The court wants further evaluation of the case. Today's decision will be temporary until the final hearing in 15 days." He said and Bella just sat there confused.

"What does that mean?" Bella asked her mom but before Emily could answer the judge began talking again.

"The state grants temporary custody of the minor to Jeremy Marshall effecting immediately till second hearing in 15 days." The judge said.

"What?" Bella asked as she realized what the man's decision was.

The child looked at Emily and Emily couldn't find the words to say. Isabella jumped in her mother's arms and started crying.