It was no longer surprising when Joey showed up at our house out of the blue when she was supposed to be at her mom's.  It was just a little heartbreaking that her mother was moving hundreds of miles away soon and they couldn't seem to be civil with each other.  When I came back from a recording session she was laying on the couch with Elliott as they watched a show.

"Separate," I told them as I put my bag down.  Elliott rolled his eyes but obeyed.  They both sat up and continued talking.  Lin was currently trying to wrangle Alex to the bathroom.  From the sounds of it she'd had an accident.  Jack was crying from his room.

I wandered down the hall to get Jack from his crib.  He'd just woken up from his nap so he was probably dirty and hungry.  I talked to him quietly as I took him to the changing table and cleaned him up.  Then we went to the kitchen for a little snack.

As Lin was finishing up he got a phone call, apparently from his ex.  He wandered out, talking about how he couldn't force her to go over there.  This caught Joey's attention and she watched her father as he multi-tasked.  He finally hung up, sighing.

"What did she want?" Joey asked him.

Lin tucked away his phone.  "She's upset you won't go over there when it's her time."

"She totally attacked me this morning!" Joey told him.  "She was being such a bitch."

"Josephine," Lin warned her on her language.

"She is!" Joey got up, looking upset.  "She said I always choose you and no matter what she does I don't think she's a good enough mom.  She's the one who's choosing to move to Chicago.  She could stay here and be with me but she's too selfish!"

"Josephine, she has her reasons," Lin explained.  "It's a hard situation.  But your mom's gonna be gone in two weeks and you won't see her for months probably."

"Thank God," she mumbled.  Lin sighed, obviously bothered by her answer.  It broke my heart that they weren't getting along, especially since they'd be separated soon.

____

A couple days later I was going through the mail when I found a letter from the New York City Family Court system.  It was addressed to Lin, so I took him over to it immediately.  He furrowed his eyebrows at the table and started to open it.  I watched his face as his eyes darted back and forth across the page.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said, rubbing his fingers over his temple.

"What is it?" I asked, anxious to hear.

"Clarita is claiming I'm in violation of our custody agreement," he said, standing up.  "Because Joey's not spending her time at her house.  I can't believe this."

I was shocked that Clarita was bringing the legal system into this.  Joey was fourteen years old.  She was old enough to make her own choices about where to spend her time.  Lin had nothing to do with her decision.

He immediately whipped out his phone and called up Clarita.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he growled over the phone.  "You're getting the courts involved?"

Lin was silent, his face screwed up in an exasperated expression as Clarita explained herself on the other end.

"Clarita, she's fourteen.  I cannot force her to go to your place," he explained.  "You know that."

More silence as Clarita talked.

"Have you tried to get her to do something she doesn't want to lately?" he posed as he began to pace.  He was getting more and more worked up as Clarita spoke on the other end.  I could hear her voice becoming agitated.

"Well if you're trying to win more popularity points with her, you're failing miserably," Lin spat.  "You'll be hearing from my lawyer."

He ended the call and dropped his phone on the counter, running his hands over his hair.  "I cannot believe she'd do this."

I squeezed his arm in support, not wanting to dig, but wanting more details.  Luckily, he wanted to vent to me.

"She said I should be forcing her to go to her place when it's her time," he went on, going to the fridge and getting a soda.  "It's like she's never met Joey.  If she doesn't want to something, she's not gonna do it.  I cannot force her to like her mother."

"Wow," I said simply as he paced, stopping to chug his soda periodically.

"We've always been able to be civil about Joey," he said.  "It's all gone to shit."

"So, you're contacting your lawyer?"

"You bet your ass I am," he said.  "As soon as my heart rate returns to normal."

I nodded and glanced over at Jack, who had pulled himself up to standing at the couch.  He grinned and laughed at me, proud of himself.  Eager for a distraction, I went to play with him and Alex while Lin calmed down and then went to his room to make his phone call.

When he came out half an hour later he looked worried.  I was in the process of getting the little kids set up with lunch.  Once they were settled I joined him in the kitchen where we talked in hush voices.

"My lawyer says she has a case," he said reluctantly.  "Legally, she's supposed to be there.  If I don't get her there I could be held in violation."

I furrowed my eyebrows.  "Seriously?  They don't take into account that she's a teenager?"

"Apparently not," he said, resting his hands on his head, linked together.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.  He just shook his head, obviously rattled and worried.

Lin was all about being as open and honest with Joey as possible, so after dinner that night he went to her room to tell her the situation.  It made her hate her mother more.  Elliott was being the understanding boyfriend, being sweet and sympathizing with her.

Lin had a meeting with his lawyer the next day, where he found out Clarita was actually suing for full custody now.  Lin was beside himself and was too angry to talk to Clarita.  Joey refused to talk to her mother and wouldn't go anywhere near her house.  Lin didn't bother to urge her to go to her mother's.

The next week, Clarita moved to Chicago with the legal case pending.  She would have to fly back to New York to attend court.  As a mother, I tried to understand where she was coming from.  This was her daughter; her flesh and blood.  I had a hard time thinking of being apart from Elliott for longer than a couple days.  I understood that the distance must be killing her, and the fact that Joey didn't feel close to her hurt.  But if I could do something to make Elliott happier or his life better, I would do it.  I would never want to purposely make his life harder.  If Joey had the choice to stay in New York and keep a life she loved, she should be able to.  No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't understand how Clarita could do this to her daughter.

A couple weeks later, it was time for their court case.  It was on a Tuesday so Joey had to miss school.  I wasn't sure if Joey should go, but she'd been adamant to Lin that she wanted to be there and state what she wanted.  Elliott begged me to let him go but I didn't think it was a good idea.  After he'd left for school and the younger kids had been picked up by Lin's parents, I knocked on Joey's door.

I pushed the door open and saw her hunched over, buckling up a cute pair of Mary Jane shoes.  She was dressed in a nice black dress, her hair half-pulled up looking clean and put-together.  She looked up and offered me a small smile.

"Can I sit?" I asked her and she said yes.  Joey and I didn't have a particularly close relationship.  I was her dad's girlfriend.  She had a mother, obviously, so it was hard for me to know my place.  I got the urge that morning to talk with her and make sure she was okay.

"How are you feeling?" I asked gently.

She shrugged, adjusting the little silver bracelet on her wrist.  "I just want it to be over so I can get back to my life."

I nodded, but there was a distinct possibility that her life wouldn't return to normal.  Clarita was her mother and mothers usually won custody disputes.  She could very well be headed to live in Chicago very soon.  The idea sickened me, but it was possible.

"I'm sure," I told her.  "I'm sorry you're having to go through this."

"I never thought my mom would do something like this," she said, staring ahead blankly.  We'd never really shown any affection towards each other but I had the urge to squeeze her hand.  She accepted it and gave me another small smile.

"Well, if you ever need to talk to an adult who's not your parent I'm here, okay?" I offered.

"Thanks, Pippa," she told me, and surprised me by giving me a hug.  I chuckled a little, surprised, and hugged her back.  Lin pushed the door open, adjusting his cuffs.  He was dressed up, which didn't happen often.  He looked professional in a navy suit and pants with a stark white dress shirt.

"Ready?" he asked us.  I nodded and we both stood up.

On the way there, Joey started complaining that her brand new dress shoes were killing her.  She was probably going to have blisters on her heels.  When we reached the courthouse, Lin took Joey's hand and they walked up the steps together, me trailing a couple steps behind.

We waited at some of the benches nearby.  Joey got out her phone and zoned out.  I saw Clarita walk in with her lawyer and we met eyes momentarily.  I quickly looked away.  Joey never looked up from her phone and I realized that was probably intentional.  I held Lin's hand as we waited for our case to be called.

After almost an hour of waiting, it was finally our turn.  I sat behind Lin, his lawyer, and Joey on one side.  My hands were sweaty and I already felt like I needed a shower.  It was a miracle that just sitting in a court room didn't give more people heart attacks.

The judge called the case to order and both lawyers stated their client's wishes.  Clarita, as the other, had a right to have her daughter with her.  It wasn't feasible to have her travel back and forth between Chicago and New York, so it made sense for her to have sole custody.  Lin's lawyer argued that Joey was fourteen and had grown up in New York.  Her whole life was here and it would be damaging to uproot her. 

I zoned out a bit at the legal mumbo jumbo.  The judge then asked Joey if she wanted to say anything and she nodded.  The poor kid looked absolutely terrified.  I saw Lin squeeze her shoulder in encouragement and give her a wink.  She walked up to the podium, adjusting it to her small stature.  As she began, her voice shook a little.

"Your honor, my name is Josephine Miranda.  I am fourteen years old and an honor roll student at Hunter College High School," she began.  "I was born and raised here in New York.  I know the subway system, the streets, and the best pizza places.  I have tons of friends and I love my school.

"Your honor, since I am a high school student I believe I'm old enough to make my own decision about which parent I stay with.  Since my life is here, I would like to stay with my dad, Lin-Manuel Miranda."

She turned back to look at her dad and smiled.  She seemed to relax a little.

"I would visit my mother over the summer and during school breaks," she went on.  "I feel this would be in my best interest.  Thank you, your honor."

She quickly turned and walked back to her seat, glad to be out of the spotlight of the court.  Lin kissed her temple and patted her leg, whispering a compliment to her.  The judge thanked Joey for her words and looked over his paperwork.  The court would recess for lunch, then he'd announce his decision.

We filed out of the court room and out into the street.  None of us were very hungry, too nervous to get anything down.  We found a coffee house nearby and nibbled on some cheese and fruit.  Joey kept bouncing her heel in nervousness.

We decided to head back quickly because we didn't want to miss the judge's decision.  The benches were far from comfortable and we ended up waiting almost an hour again.  Finally, our case was called again and we stood up, feeling like rocks were in our bellies.  I took Lin's hand and squeezed it, knowing our lives could possibly change drastically in the next few minutes.

Together, we walked into the court room.