Better?

Donna gripped her purse tightly as she waited for the court proceeding to start. The day she had been dreading for months had finally arrived and she was desperate to find out the verdict. Her lawyer had gone in alone to represent Donna and her foster daughter. The little girl was still at school. Though she knew that it was happening, she was unaware of what it might mean for her and her relationship with Donna. Donna was just praying for a mistrial or for the woman to be flatly denied all together. It wasn't like she didn't like her. She was just worried for what it would mean for A'Lexus.

The seconds ticked by as she sat with her worries and woes keeping her company. Aobut seven hundred seconds into waiting, the doors open. Ja'Tia came out first. She avoided eye contact as she walked past the bench where Donna sat and walked out of the courtroom. Maxwell came out after her, holding a manila folder. Donna shot out of the bench.

"What happened? What did they say?"

"She gets supervised visits. They're an hour on Saturday every other week."

"So she can fight for custody?"

"It is her daughter," Maxwell said. "The woman technically never did anything wrong. She was young and got with the wrong person. Now, she's paying for that mistake."

"Lex is really adjusting though. She gets along well with the other kids, she has great grades, and she is doing better than she was in her old house."

"We got a judge that thinks it is best for a child to be with its birth parents. That's rare in itself. The woman is doing everything she can. She recently got custody of A'Lexus's younger brothers back. She is doing counseling, has a stable residence, a full-time job, and is really just hoping to have her baby back."

"So that's it? Four months of taking care of this kid just go away like that?"

"It's the cross you bear when you become a foster parent," Maxwell said. "I'm sorry. Here are the details of the supervised visits and a DHS caseworker will be in contact with you in a few days."

Maxwell handed Donna the manila folder and walked out, leaving the crying woman alone with the realization that she was going to lose her kid.