Chapter Text
It's movie night. Hen loved movie nights with Karen. A cheesy romcom was playing and popcorn was strewn all across the couch. Karen was a breath of fresh air compared to Hen's ex— not that Hen spent a lot of time thinking about her ex now that Karen was in the picture. But sometimes, when it was quiet and lovely, Hen did think about how she'd never had something as good as this before.
Hen's phone ringing breaks the comfortable silence she'd been sharing with Karen. She sighed, taking the call. "Hello?" She mouthed an "I'm sorry" to Karen.
"Hen? It's Officer Grant. Athena. Um, you might remember me as Eva Mathis' parole officer? I regret to inform you that she's died in a prison riot this afternoon. You're still her next point of contact, so I was just reaching out…. There's also a lawyer trying to get hold of you." Athena's voice was apologetic by the end of her small speech.
"Oh." Hen covered her mouth. "Oh my God, are you serious? She's gone?" Her voice shook. "Um, okay. Uh, why do I need to hear from a lawyer? She left— she left me something?" Hen asked in confusion, shaking her head to visibly remove the layer of confusion.
Karen looked at her, concerned as Officer Grant continued, "You could say that. It's really better you hear it from the lawyer, Miss Wilson. Are you able to come to the Green Law Firm tomorrow?"
"Yes, uh, what time? Can I bring my girlfriend?" Hen wanted to throw up. She swallowed it down, taking Karen's offered hand, and waiting for Athena to respond.
"Of course, bring your support system," Athena assured her. "Mr. Goldbloom will be expecting you at half ten, alright? Do you need the address?" she asked.
"No, I can… I can GPS it. Thanks though, Officer Carter." Hen gulped. "Tomorrow at ten thirty. Thank you."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Wilson." Athena responded. "I'll be in touch if you need me. Bye, now." she hung up.
Karen looked at Hen, concern etched all over her face. "What is it baby?" she asked. "Who was that?"
"It was uh, Officer Athena Carter with the LAPD. Eva's dead. She apparently left me something I have to meet with a lawyer to find out what it is." Hen's face crumpled at the last word, her eyes losing the battle against the tears that had been building since she picked up the phone.
"Oh God, Hen." Karen whispered. "Baby, I'm so sorry. What can I do?" Karen pulled Hen into her arms.
"Come with me tomorrow. Meeting's at 10:30?" Hen whispered into Karen's neck as she cried.
"Of course, baby. There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you right now." Karen promised, rubbing Hen's back. "Do you need to call out of work? I forget if you're on tomorrow." She asked practically.
"No, uh, I just finished a 48 so I have a 48 off." Hen nodded into Karen's shoulder, sighing deeply as she inhaled the sweet scent of her girlfriend.
"Okay. Tomorrow we will figure this out, okay? We're in this together. Let's just go to bed." Karen suggested, running a hand through her hair. "It'll be a long day for you."
"Yeah, yeah you're right. Alright, my love. Let's go." Hen agreed in a whisper. She allowed Karen to pull her to her feet off the couch, and followed Karen to bed.
The next morning, ten twenty in the morning.
"Here we are, babe." Karen said as they pulled into the parking lot of Green Law Firm. "You're sure you want to go in there?" she asked seriously, yet her eyes were gentle.
"Yes." Hen nodded, once firmly. "I owe it to myself to find out what happened. Is that okay? It's not about her, not really." She begged Karen to understand.
"I know, my love. It's gonna be OK. Let's go." Karen squeezed Hen's hand and they walked inside. "Hi, we have a meeting with Mr. Goldbloom at ten thirty." She told the receptionist.
"He'll be right out for you." The receptionist responded with a smile. "Ya'll can have a seat right there." she gestured to the waiting rooom. Karen led Hen towards a chair.
Just as they were sitting, a man walked out. "Henrietta Wilson? I'm Mr. Goldbloom. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but given the circumstances…" He made a face of sympathy. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. Please, call me Hen." Hen said, standing and following Mr. Goldbloom to his office with Karen.
"So what did Eva leave me? I didn't think she had much in prison." Hen asked questioningly.
"There's no easy way to say this," Mr. Goldbloom said regretfully. "But Ms. Mathis left you as the sole person responsible for her newborn, a uh, Disel Mathis. He's currently being fostered in Santa Cruz, California, by a lovely couple. They're not able to take him permanently."
Karen and Hen shared a look of disbelief.. "I wasn't aware she was pregnant." Hen stammered. "Is that something she can even do?"
"You can refuse. The child's father will be notified, if he's alive, or Disel will go into foster care." Mr. Goldbloom assured them. "Right now the father is unlisted, so Disel would have to go through a DNA test." he explained.
"Can we talk about this? When do we have to decide?" Hen asked, looking at Karen.
Karen stammered. "That's a hell of a lot to throw at someone with no warning."
Mr. Goldbloom winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry, I wish I had better answers for you ladies. Disel will need to find a permanent placement within two weeks, so you do have time to talk. Ideally we'd get you out to Santa Cruz and meet him, and the fosters, before making an official change of custody."
Hen sighed, and turned away from Karen. "I don't really need to think about it as much as discuss with my partner."
Karen took Hen's hand. "If Hen is in this, so am I. When can we meet Disel?" She decided firmly. Hen met her eyes at last, disbelief and hope warring in her own.
"I can set you up this weekend, if you're able to make it out to Santa Cruz. It's a beautiful city." Mr. Goldbloom said.
"Yes, please. That'd be great." Hen said with more confidence, now that she knew where Karen stood. "Just one thing. If we go through with taking care of Disel, are we able to change his name?" she asked, uncertainly.
"Absolutely. During the adoption meeting, you're welcome to change his name to something that suits you both." Mr. Goldbloom said. "I'll be in touch regarding times that the fosters are able to meet with you." He promised, standing up.
Karen and Hen stood as well. Hen shook Mr. Goldbloom's hand. "Thank you, Mr. Goldbloom. I appreciate you meeting with us." she said earnestly.
"It's nice to meet you both. Bye now." Mr. Goldbloom said jovially. "I'll call you this afternoon with those times." he assured them.
Karen dragged Hen out of the office, her eyes shining. "We're going to have a baby?" She asked. "That's not what I was expecting Eva to leave you."
"You and me both, babe." Hen assured her. "I didn't even know she was pregnant."
"Who do you think the father is?" Karen wondered as they got back in their car.
"I have no earthly idea, my love." Hen admitted with a sigh. "I gotta call Bobby and call out this weekend."
"Do you think he'll be okay with that?" Karen asked nervously.
"He should be fine. There's enough advanced notice. At least he's not Gerard." Hen shrugged. "Oh God, this means I get to tell Chim I have a baby!"
"We should meet Disel first." Karen rationalized. "You can show him pictures too then."
"Babe, you're a genius." Hen grinned over at her partner. "I'm so glad I'm doing this with you."
Karen flashed her a coy smile. "No one else I'd rather be surprised with a baby with than you, Babe." she teased.
Hen laughed as she drove off, towards their shared home.