6, New Beginnings
#6 of A Little Thing Called Life
So the site is acting funny again, so I hope the spacing isn't too far off. This chapter gives more insight to the process of Marco's adoption process, and things seem to improve as our story nears Christmas time.
Draco had been through a lot in the last several weeks, though nowhere near as much as Marco Burton, one of his students. Marco approached his desk one day and told him about what his father had been doing.
Next thing he knew, he was housing the poor equine, his father now behind bars, until his mother was found, which just wasn't meant to be. Marco's mother was found dead in a storm drain one day not long after he took Marco in.
It broke his heart to tell the young boy about his mother. Naturally, Marco was upset, but he was caught off guard by something the colt said.
"Why can't I just stay here with you??" the boy sobbed into his shoulder. This made Draco feel extremely pleased that Marco didn't want to leave, so he would of course fight for custody, which he had considered doing anyway, he hated to imagine him in the foster care system..
That process in itself felt like it was going to go on forever. It took him weeks to get through to anyone, then he had the state fighting against him saying "You are a single, unmarried person, Mr. Blaiz, how can we be sure you will take proper care of the kit? Do you have any idea what it takes to be a parent?"
The process got Draco's blood boiling several times, apparently being a school teacher just wasn't enough, he had to be married as well?? So what about all the single parents out there? There were several of them!
It was nearing Christmas, and everyone in Draco's house seemed to be getting antsy and anxious. Draco had managed to direct his play on top of all that has been going on, and felt that his class was about ready to perform, so he set the date for the 15th of December.
Meanwhile, he did his Christmas shopping with Jason, having something big planned for Diesel and Marco, he had even managed to sneak in a small surprise for Jason while he wasn't looking.
The days ticked by gradually, anxiously awaiting the next scheduled court date, which was set for December 19, just after school let out for Christmas Break. The theater production helped a bit, which was an enormous success, considering everything that was going on at the same time.
Finally, the day came for him, along with Marco, to appear in court. They were both dressed in their nicest suits, and Draco helped Marco tame his mane. The drive to the courthouse was silent, the car filled with tension and high hopes.
Marco, who was born Catholic, prayed the Rosary on the way to the courthouse, while Draco said a silent prayer in his head.
Jase sat in the back seat of Draco's car, invisible and unknown to the two sitting up front. He could hear their silent prayers, and knew how desperate they were.
Jase Howler, a doberman pinscher, had been following Draco Blaiz for the dragon's whole life as a guardian angel.
The fact that Draco never committed suicide was because Jase had been there to stop him when he was up on top of a bridge about to jump. That had been the only time Jase allowed himself to take a physical form and be seen by the dragon.
He focused on what he was going to do, knowing that an entire future rested on today's outcome. Marco was an incredibly bright young stallion with a promising possible future. But if he didn't receive the right care now, then it wouldn't be so bright.
He knew just how rough foster care could be, he thought back to his life before he became a guardian angel when he had spent his entire life in the foster care system. Having this in mind, he knew what he had to do.
Draco pulled up in front of the courthouse, and together he and Marco walked inside. Draco lead the young stallion right to where he knew the courtroom would be. Inside was a female fox dressed in a bright beige suit.
She and Draco shook paws before she turned her eyes to Marco. "And this handsome young stallion must be Marco, Draco here has told me a lot about you! My name is Rita Goodman, I'm the lawyer that has been representing you and Mr. Blaiz through this whole ordeal."
The two of them shook paws and sat down at the table while they waited for the other party to show up. The seconds seemed to tick by in hours, and Draco was about ready to break from the tension mounting up in the room.
After what felt like an eternity, a thin lanky zebra walked into the room and looked at the three of them.
"Good morning Mr. Blaiz, Ms. Goodman, and I take it this young colt her is Mr. Marco. I am Judge Benson here to receive some final statements from you before I make a final custodial decision." the zebra stated as he took his seat.
Marco sat in his seat next to Mr. Blaiz, looking straight ahead at Judge Benson. The judge started off by going over what had been discussed so far, just to make sure he had all the current information.
He then looked at Marco "Now, Mr. Marco, I want to get some statements from you about your well being while under Mr. Blaiz's care, I will ask you a question, and I want you to answer them as truthfully as possible."
Marco took in a deep breath and nodded, looking the zebra in the eyes. He was ready, and he was confident.
"Now then, first off, Mr. Draco Blaiz has confessed to being one of your teachers at Cooper High School, as well as driving your school bus, is this correct?" the judge asked, to which Marco answered a confident "Yes."
"Very good. Now he has also admitted to being in a homosexual relationship with Mr. Diesel Patrick, who has provided his own statement to the court. Are you comfortable with this relationship?" the judge asked, as if trying to find any reason not to let him stay in a home where such a relationship existed.
Marco smiled and answered "Yes, of course, the two of them seem happy together, and are more than happy to make accommodations for me."
Judge Benson smiled a bit and moved on. "In the last month you have been staying with Mr. Blaiz, has he ever neglected you in any way? This could include forgetting to feed you, not making sure you have clean clothes or toiletries."
"No," the young stallion replied "He has treated me better than my biological father. He makes sure I eat three meals every day, keeps his house clean, and has even bought clothes for me." Marco was starting to feel better about the outcome, the judges smile made him feel better with each question.
"Very good. Now he has also admitted to smoking, does he, or Mr. Patrick ever smoke with you in the house or in the car?" the judge asked
"No, never in the house or in the car. They only time they smoke around me, is if I happen to go outside with them, then they make sure to be down wind of me."
The questions went on like this for what felt like another hour, when Judge Benson finally came to an end. "Ok, that's all I need from you Mr. Marco. If y'all want to take a thirty minute break, I will have a verdict and some paperwork for you all.
Draco smiled as he and Marco walked down the street a ways to the McDonalds on the corner for a quick lunch, where Diesel was waiting for them with a smile on his face.
"So how is it going so far? Any idea what the final results will be?" the husky asked as they all sat down to their lunch.
"Well, today is the day he gets what he needs from Marco, whose answers have all been satisfactory so far," he started as he unwrapped his Big Mac burger "So I have a good feeling about this."
The three of them sat and talked for a few minutes while they ate, after which Diesel drove them back to the courthouse and joined in for the verdict.
The room was abuzz with an excited energy as they all waited, holding hands as a family, for the judge to come back in.
Judge Benson finally entered the room with a small smile on his face as he looked at them.
"I have reached a verdict, and I Judge Jim Benson hereby declare that custody of Marco Berry Burton go to Mr. Draco Blackfire Blaiz. My you go from here and live a good full life."
The three of them rejoiced happily as the zebra passed the papers over for Draco to sign, making the colt formally known as Marco Berry Burton officially his son, Marco Berry Blaiz.
That night, the three of them went to see a movie in celebration.
Draco also, over dinner, invited Diesel to come live with himself and Marco, and they could be a family.
Diesel smiled softly before kissing the dragon on the lips "Of course, you know I'm a sucker for family."
Marco was finally happy, the court ruled in his favor, and he would get to stay with Draco for as long as he wanted, and could now proudly call the dragon "Dad" and smile while saying it. Further more, Diesel would be coming to live with them. He had a family again, a new family.
It didn't take more than a day for the three of them to get Diesel moved out of his apartment and into the house, and Marco was happy to assist. All of the apartment furniture was sold, as his dad had already furnished their whole house.
After they got done moving Diesel's things over, the family went to Golden Corral for a family meal. His dad had mentioned throwing a Christmas party in order to celebrate with friends and family.
After dinner, they went to a photography studio to have a family portrait taken. This was going to be the best Christmas in his whole fourteen years.
Draco sat at his home desk looking through his email. There were several emails of congratulations from friends and co-workers congratulating him on his new son. Then there were also several RSVP's for the Christmas party he was planning.
These came from all over, some from his distant cousins in Arizona, some from Diesel's family, including his parents, some co-workers, and even some of Marco's friends.
This brought a smile to the dragons face. The family would be glad to hear this. With that he stood up and walked out into the living room where Diesel and Marco were playing Resident Evil 6 together.
"Well," he started with a stretch "It looks like were going to have a full house this week, so how about the three of us go out and find us the best Christmas tree we can find?"
The two sitting on the couch looked up at him and smiled as Diesel hit the save button. "Sounds great, let me throw some clothes on and I'll be ready to go." He jumped up, wearing only his boxer shorts and went to get dressed.
Marco stood up, also in his boxer shorts, and gave the dragon a large hug. "This is going to be the best Christmas ever, thanks dad." and with that, he went to his room to get dressed.
Draco stepped outside with a bright smile on his face as he lit a cigarette. Marco had started calling him dad, which made his heart sing with joy. He had always wanted at least one kit of his own, and though Marco was a bit older than he had anticipated his first kit to be, his dream still came true, and at least he could be there for Marco as he went through high school, which was a very hard time for a kit Marco's age.
Twenty minutes later, the family of three were on their way to Wal-Mart, where the best selection of Christmas trees could be found in both artificial and live varieties. When they got there, they went straight to the gardening section where the trees could be found.
They were aiming for a potted tree that they could plant outside after the Christmas season.
He let Marco pick out the tree, since as he understood it, Marco had never really had all that much of a Christmas. Marco did some searching and found the tallest tree they had, which was about six feet tall and was as full and thick as one of the redwoods deep in the oldest forests in America.
Next they spent several hours picking out ornaments and garlands and different lights of different flash patterns. When they had a cart full of Christmas, they finally checked out, loaded everything in back of Diesel's pickup, and headed home.
The remainder of the evening was spent decorating the house with garland, stockings, Christmas lights, and a roaring fire in the fireplace, saving the tree for last.
The evening came to a close with the three of them huddled on the couch watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas".
Jase Howler stood in the corner of the room while Judge Benson asked Marco his long list of questions. Jase could see that the judge struggled with the dragons choice in mates, many custody battles were lost over someones sexuality.
He watched and listened, knowing that the judge found every answer acceptable, he just couldn't get past homosexuality.
When the zebra finally called for a 30 minute break, Draco, Marco, and the lawyer left the room. Jase, still invisible to everyone but himself, lingered behind.
He walked up to the zebra and snapped his fingers in the judges face and whispered into his ears "They will return with Diesel, and you will see a happy family. You will grant custody to Draco, because you know deep down that he will make a good father figure to the stallion."
The judge blinked twice, hearing the subliminal message and subconsciously taking in the advice.
Jase then went back to Draco and Marco. He followed them to the McDonalds not far from the courthouse. He planted the idea in Draco's and Diesel's minds to have Diesel sit in for the verdict.
He smiled to himself, knowing that he had done the right thing as he went back to watching his charge.
That Wednesday, some of the party guests started showing up early, mostly just the ones from out of town, such as Draco's cousins from Arizona, and some of Marco's friends. As the day went on, the tree became obscured by the pile of gifts that the guests had brought.
About an hour before the party was scheduled to actually start, Jason showed up with two wrapped gifts, intended for Marco, Draco and Diesel, but were told not to open them until Christmas morning, they were set aside.
Draco insisted on the party being non-alcoholic as too much alcohol would remind Marco too much of his past, so instead Diesel had set up a "Mock-Bar" which included alcohol free versions of everyone's Christmas favorites, and plain eggnog.
Draco's cousin Bruce and Diesel's father Pete took care of the grill and the food, while a few of the women stayed in the kitchen baking.
The younger kits ran around outside playing there hide and seek, football, and fantasy games.
Marco and his friends took to playing video games in his room until the food was ready, and all this left Draco to entertain and be the main host.
After dinner, they started the Chinese gift exchange, that by the end of it, left Draco with a digital photo frame, Diesel with a pair of cowboy boots, and Marco with a blank photo album and stationery kit.
Draco smiled as all of the guests left, with the exception of his cousins, who would stay a couple days to catch up, he hadn't really seen them much since his mom died, as they were from her side of the family, and that was when they were seven, eight, and nine years old.
His cousins left that following Saturday, two days before Christmas, to give the family of three some time to be a family.
The three of them spent the days before Christmas wandering the shopping mall, walking through the parks, and even building snowmen.
On Christmas morning, they all woke fairly early, round 8 am or so, to enjoy a fully cooked breakfast and a few Christmas specials on TV, they wouldn't be opening gifts until later that afternoon when Jason showed up.
Jason arrived at five that evening wearing a Santa suit, he had even shoved a couple pillows under his red coat to make himself look jolly, and had put on a fake beard.
"Oh my god, dude, you are so silly!" Draco commented with a laugh, he even had Marco laughing his tail off.
Diesel walked in from the bedroom and couldn't hold in his laughter either. "Well, if he wants to dress like santa, then he gets to pass out the gifts.
Jason grabbed the first one and passed it to Marco. Marco opened the gift, which was from Diesel, to find a brand new HD digital camera. "Whoa! Awesome! Now I have something to fill my scrap book with! Thanks Diesel!"
Next Jason grabbed the one he had brought for Draco and Diesel, a large flat rectangle. The two of them opened it together just as a flash from Marco's new camera caught them looking down at a photo that Jason had taken of the two of them standing in front of Draco's school bus one day after work.
Next, was a gift to Diesel from Draco, which was a box set of all six Star Wars movies, which caught him off guard, considering he hadn't told the dragon anything about his collection being lost in a drug deal years ago "You know me only too well hon, I can't believe you remembered!" The look on the husky's face was priceless and Marco made sure that it would be remembered forever as the flash of the camera blinded the room again.
Next was a rather large box to Marco from Draco, which turned out to be a brand new computer, and Draco had the pleasure of capturing the look on the colts face with his own camera.
Marco also received a rather extensive chemistry set from Jason, a book of Shakespeare's complete works from Diesel's parents, and an iPad from Draco's cousins.
Draco received a box set of all 7 Harry Potter books from Diesel, he also received his own copy of Shakespeare's works from Marco, and a "Worlds Best Bus Driver" mug from Jason.
Diesel received a pair of fingerles leather gloves from Jason, and a model motorcycle from Marco.
Jason received a different food gift box from each of them, and a new pocket knife from Draco, which made him very happy.
The last box was for Draco, Diesel, and Marco and was the largest one of all that Draco's cousins had left for them. When opened, it turned out to be one of those HD curve screened smart TV's.
The night was starting to come to a close, Jason left sometime around 9, leaving Draco and his family to set up the new television set on the wall, after which they watched Star Wars Episode I before turning in at around 1 am.
Marco went to bed that night, an idea forming for the first page in his scrapbook, using the photos he had captured with his new camera, the page would be titled "New Beginnings" and it would be dedicated to his new life with his new family.
He slept peacefully that night, knowing that everything would be ok now that he had Draco to call his father, now the future looked bright for the first time in his life.