Summary: The court proceedings are over, but how do your daughters feel about it all?
a/n: three au updates in two days? who is she? (i have too much free time now and my motivation is back so i hope yall are READY) anyway there isn't too much going on in this part but it does shed some light on a few things and y'all can see some more of the girls' personalities!! enjoyyyyy
masterlist | NHL Masterlists | Even If It Makes Me Blue AU Masterlist
“Oh, thank God,” you let out a sigh of relief as you walked through the doors of the courthouse. You make sure to avoid looking in Ellis’s direction, not wanting to give him the chance to start anything. The woman who testified for you hugs you, congratulating you on getting full custody of the girls before saying her boyfriend was here for her. You and Joseph watch as she walks to a black Porsche, catching a glimpse of a familiar face as she steps into the car.
“Is her boyfriend Joe Burrow?” Joseph asks from beside you.
“Okay, I get the surprise, but you’re acting like you aren’t literally a goalie in the NHL.” You give him an incredulous look.
“Alright, alright. You got me. You ready to go get your girls?”
“Am I ever. Let’s go.” It felt like an impossible weight had been lifted from your shoulders. You weren’t even sure what was going on in the courtroom half the time, relying on your lawyer to get you through it. You really need to send her a gift basket or something. All you knew was that you were exhausted in every form of the word, and all you wanted now was to go see your girls. Hopefully, you could talk Jo into hanging around for a while longer tonight, too. He hasn’t gotten much time with the girls, and as soon as it may be, if this is something you’re truly gonna go for, it’s important that the girls approve.
When you both finally get back to your place, the two of you head inside, and you quickly thank and pay the babysitter, informing her that you did get custody and you’d still love to have her as a sitter. She gladly agreed before making her way out the door. You walk toward the living room, only to be met with an excited toddler barreling toward you full-force.
“Mommy! I missed you!”
“Aw, I missed you, too, Maevey! Where’s Margot? I missed her too.”
“She’s in her woom! Oh! Hi, Mr. Joey!” She runs off toward Jo, blabbing away as she makes him lift her into his arms. She never was a shy one. You make your way to Margot’s room, wanting to see if she’s up for a movie night or something. You peek around the open door, finding her sitting on her floor, crying.
“Oh, baby. What’s wrong?” You carefully crouch down beside her, trying to be as gentle as possible.
“We get to stay with you, right? We don’t have to go with him?” She sniffles, and it breaks your heart.
“Yes, honey. Yes, you get to stay with me. He can’t even visit, okay? It’s just us. I promise.”
She snuggles up to you, getting as close as she can. “Good.” That’s all she says, and you’re both content to leave it at that. You’re about to offer up movie night when you hear a familiar tiny pair of feet racing into the room.
“Mommy! Margot! Mr. Jo said he’d take us for ice cweam! C’mon, Margot, you gotta get weady! What kind are you gonna get? I’m gonna get cotton candy!” She continues rambling on to her sister, and you make your way back to Joseph.
“Ice cream, huh?”
He lets out a deep sigh, and you watch as a bright red blush works its way onto his cheeks. “I couldn’t tell her no. She was giving me the saddest puppy dog eyes, and she just looked so sweet. I just- I couldn’t do it.”
You laugh at how disappointed he looks at his weakness to a three-year-old. “It’s okay, big guy. I think we all deserve it.” You watch relief flood his face, and he opens his mouth to say something. He gets cut off, though, when that same three-year-old comes running in again, her older sister hot on her tail.
“Mr. Jo! Mommy! It’s ice cweam time! Let’s go! Let’s go!” You share a look with Joseph before the four of you head out.
As you all walk into the ice cream shop, you and Maeve lead the group, her clinging tightly to your hand. Jo and Margot hang back, and you think you hear Joseph trying to start up a conversation. “Mommy, don’t you think Mr. Jo is vewy nice.”
“Yes, baby, he is very nice. It was very kind of him to offer to take us all out for ice cream.” You smile down at her.
“Yeah. He’s nicer than Daddy. He wouldn’t buy us ice cream.”
“Maeve,” you try to be stern with her, “Just because we may not like him doesn’t mean we can say mean things about him. Be nice, sweetheart.”
“Jus’ sayin’.” She shrugs, like that wasn’t what she wanted you to get from her words at all.
Joseph and Margot catch up then, and you can feel the awkward energy between them. You see a dejected look on Joseph’s face and an almost annoyed one on Margot’s; you’d have to mention it to Jo later. For now, you’d enjoy ice cream with your girls and the man who is slowly but surely healing something he broke a long time ago.
