I Say a Little Prayer -
Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart
And I will love you
__________________________
Maya's P.O.V

The car ride over to the Mr. Matthews' place was silent. The radio wasn't on even after Mason's request to put on his favorite song, "Home" by Phillip Phillips. Ironic, as he is about to be out of a home. At least with me anyway. I was looking out the window and saw a family, a mom, dad, son, and a daughter. They were playing in their yard. It was only for a brief couple of seconds, but you could see that they were genuinely happy. I fought back my urge to cry.

"Are we almost there yet daddy? I'm tired." Ciara said softly as she was drifting off trying to keep herself awake. "Are we almost there yet?" She said lowly to herself before she faded off falling asleep.

"We're almost there sweetie," Lucas said softly keeping his eyes on the road turning on the radio to a random station. Lucas turned the corner and we were there at his house. If anyone could help us, it was Topanga. Hopefully, she could do her best to help us.

"Are we here? Are we at grandpa's house?" Mason excitedly asked unbuckling himself from his booster seat. "Let me out! I wanna see grandpa." He opened the car door and ran the fastest that he could to the door.  

"Well, he's not exactly your grandpa. More like a family friend. " He couldn't hear me, he was in the doorway. Matt came and stood next to me while Ciara and Lucas rushed to the door while he gave her a piggy-back ride. He put his arm around my shoulder and whispered something. It was way too fain for me to hear. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start this. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let him in the house. We could've been on our merry way and stay a happy family." Lucas overheard him and turned his head. He put Ciara down from his shoulder and turned around. 

"You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault. We would've been served anyway. And if your dad really thought about wanting to have you back, he definitely without a doubt would've gotten a lawyer to get you and Mason back."

"Can I knock on the door now? I'm tired of waiting outside," Mason asks with a whine in his voice. I nod my head and he knocks. He keeps knocking because no one answered the door at that instant. He knocked louder and faster. Lucas rushed over to the door and grabbed his hand for him to stop. 

I saw Riley answer the door and got very confused as to why she was there. "Riley, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to Philly for the weekend?" I asked her and she just smiled at me.

"Did you really think I was going to let you guys have all this trouble and not help you guys. I'm going to be your lawyer. And besides my dad told me you were coming." She spurted out really fast.

"Riley, you're no--" 

"I know. I'm not going to lose this case. I'm gonna help you keep this family together." She interrupted Lucas. She was very proud about this. But, unfortunately, she isn't going to be our lawyer. 

"Riley, I'm sorry to tell you this but, you're not our lawyer. Riles, I love you, but I need your mom for this. Your mom is the best lawyer I have ever met. " Her smile faded and she moved aside. 

"Come inside. My mother is in the kitchen." She wasn't upset with me. She was more upset at the fact that I didn't ask her first. She was going to get over it. She had to, I needed her in my corner.

I walk through the house and pass the living room and see Reina and Francesca sitting on the couch playing with their dolls. I saw Mason and Ciara run over there and quickly chat with their cousins. Matt stayed by my side and walked to the kitchen. I saw Topanga sitting at the table getting her things in order. She had her briefcase and her binder thing with her. "Hi, Mrs. Matthews, thank you so much for helping us out." 

"No problem guys. So I have good news and good news. I can do this all pro bono and I'm gonna win this case," She hugged me tightly. I knew we had this case. It was gonna be easy. She had it in the bag. "Riley, if you can be my second chair, you could be a lot of help to me." 

Riley heard her name and she peered out of the corner. She had her briefcase with her because she knew that she was gonna be my lawyer, co-lawyer. "Of course, of course, I'll be the second chair. I'll help you win this like no one's business."

"Maya if we're gonna win this. We need to know everything. I need your adoption files. I can contact the agency for Matt and Mason's files. But, everything else I'm gonna need from you." She looks at me, I nod and I look at Matt. Lucas stays quiet throughout the whole thing. I haven't asked him how he felt about this whole thing. He's probably staying strong about this whole thing just for me. 

"And this is where I come in. My da-- my biological father is a drug dealer, an abuser, and an all-around monster." I nearly fell out of my chair when he told us that. 

"Wait, what? Why isn't he in jail right now? Shouldn't your dad be in jail and not your mother?" I asked him.

"Well, when my mother got arrested he wasn't at the apartment. And my mom loved him so much that she never ratted on him." He looked down at his shoes and stopped talking. Lucas whispered in his ear and Matt got up and left out the back door. 

"So, what are we going to do? We can't let my kids back with him." Lucas got really defensive. 

"There's one thing that we can fight," I heard Riley speak up. "His name isn't on the birth certificate so, he doesn't have any rights, no visitation, no custody. So legally he can't fight for this." 

Topanga shook her head no, "he can just argue that he had no idea that she was pregnant and take a court-ordered DNA test and prove that these kids are his. We gotta come up with a different game plan."

"I just wish we knew what to do." Riley started to get jittery. She started searching online and writing down everything she knows.

"I just can't believe his mother is in prison. Do you think he went to see her for the duration that he was in there?" Lucas asked. Topanga and Riley stared at him, so did I. I knew where this was going. I took a couple classes in college myself but I never went through with it. 

"That's it. When their mother got arrested, the police had no choice to contact their father or in this case their mother's husband because they were living in the house at the time. So, then when she got arrested the cops had to be called, so, therefore, he had to know where his kids went but didn't do anything about it. So, we can use that as the basis of our argument." I held Lucas' hand. 

"Thanks, Lucas. You really helped us." I kiss his cheek smiling through it. I knew we were going to win this. and nothing was going to stop us.