centexhairysub

Well, the same warning goes for me; except for testifying in custody matters, I have no specific legal training. I have been involved because of my job in custody issues in Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico; almost exclusively in Texas though. I know that individual states have some really strange laws and rules in place when it comes to family law matters. Cody would clearly have the strongest case as the child's biological father but we have not even seen Cody or heard him mentioned since Maddy's birth except in passing that he had not seen the child. Cody has shown no interest in the child nor has he ever be portrayed as someone that found family important to him. That being said, tragedy has a way of changing how people view the world and those around them and this could clearly wake up some feeling in him that would make him want Maddy; I doubt it but... Actually with Cody's past and the details that the family knows about it; I don't think it would be hard to make a case against Cody in a court of law; the issue is that anything that would hurt Cody would at least in some ways hurt the family as well. If Will is viewed as an adult in this instance because of his emancipation; then at least in Texas he would have the next best claim on the child. The issue with the emancipation is what I am unsure of in this instance; emancipation gives a minor adult status in some areas but not others and I am not sure if custody is an area that the emancipated minor would be considered adult in or not. In Texas, if neither parent is alive or able to care for the child, an adult sibling is considered the primary next of kin. Their wishes would over-ride either a grandparent or the aunt/uncle of the child. If Will is considered a legal adult for the purpose of custody because of his emancipation; then he would be the clear choice after Cody to retain custody. *** Tim, where are you, we need you... *** Brad and Robbie would have no standing at all in Texas. Neither of them have ever been married to Jeanine, and the fact that Brad fathered another child on Jeanine would not give him any standing at all. Robbie did have power of attorney for Jeanine, at least for a while, and Jeanine may have given him other legal authority as well We just don't know. But unless Jeanine names them as guardians or named them in her will; they would have no legal rights to the child period because there is no relation by blood or marriage. Darius is of legal age but unless Jeanine adopted him legally; he would really have no standing because although Jeanine raised him, he was not her child by blood or legal adoption. JJ is not of age and not legally emancipated and once again unless Jeanine adopted him legally would have no standing. I know that in If It Fits there was talk about Jeanine, Robbie, and Brad all adopting the kids but then Bitty died and I don't remember if anything actually happened with it. Jeanine went to work for Marie Crampton when Darius was born and Marie started taking care of him. There have been several mentions of Jeanine going back to home to see her family but until the Sunday before at Jeanine and Hank's party, we have never met any of them.We did not meet a parent or brothers and sisters at the party. Since there has never been any mention of parents or siblings; it would seem her family is more an extended family not immediate family and they would have little claim to Maddison. Two things make this sort of a moot conversation; one is that maybe Hank and Jeanine came to their senses and left soon after Robbie and the kids and secondly, Jeanine may have had a will spelling out who got custody. Now, I do think that Jeanine and Hank will perish because of the set up but one can hope...I sort of doubt there is a will; with everything that Jeanine has gone through recently, setting down to have a will drawn up seems a little to much for her to have dealt with but... Something else, I always thought was telling is that Maddison Graves was the child's name. Her last name was the same as Jeanine, there is nothing in the name to tie the child to Cody. I know this isn't a legal argument but it seems to be an indication of how little Cody is connected to the child...

Well done, and I can tell a lot of thought went into these selections...

Okay, I have had a few hours to gather myself since I read the chapter; plus, I have already gone back and read it again when I got home but I have calmed down enough to put a few thoughts down... I cannot say enough about the writing and flow of this chapter. It was just so well done and there was not an extra or wasted word or thought. I just found this powerful from start to finish. I hate hate hate that Jeanine and Hank will not make it. It is one of the true misfortunes of that day how many people died because the police and 911 operators told the people in Tower 2 to stay put and not evacuate. The other awful truth is that there were no attempts at any air rescue by helicopters. The antennas on Tower 1 would have made it almost impossible for anyone to have been picked up from that tower but Tower 2 was such that people could have been saved from the roof but there was just no plan in place and that tower collapsed before anything could be done. The police helicopters were not equiped to be able to pick anyone up and there was just not enough time to get any others there. Another true tragedy was how many firefighters died because once the police helicopters notified the ground that the building was going to collapse and the police ordered their people to get out; there was no radio compatibility between the police and fire radios and the same warning did not go out to the fire personel. Most of the police that were in the towers got out because of that warning; of course there were some police that either did not get the warning because of radio problems or they choose to stay and try to help and were trapped. I am going to assume that Brad and Stef are going to make it out. Even with Stef's bad ankle from where they came out into the staircase to the ground floor, they should have plenty of time to get out. Brad will be beside himself when he gets out and realizes that the second tower has been hit and that everyone could be trapped there. I know that there were accounts of people going into the second tower to try and get people out and I could see Brad trying to do that but it would have been hard to do. As much as Brad has annoyed me over the course of this story; I hope that both he and Stef survive. Staircase A was the only way out from above where the plane hit on Tower 2. There was some damage and it was very crowded but because they started almost immediately and are young and in good shape, yes even Robbie, I would suspect that Will, Darius, Robbie, and Maddie will all make it out of Tower 2. JJ will be okay physically but I think he will be the one most affected by Jeanine's death. I think that Will and Darius will be devastated mostly because they were there with her and did not push harder to make her leave, but JJ has always been the one that was tied to her the more tightly and for a most of his life. I know they have been on the outs but I still think of the three boys, he will be the one most deeply impacted by her death. JP will be beside himself. He will have no way to contact anyone and will not even be able to get close to the towers before they fall more than likely. I really figured that he would be okay but he may very well give himself a heart attack trying to get there. I still have to believe that JP will be safe because for me, the story will end with his death. Claire, Jack, John, and even Marie will be trapped in a web of silence and not knowing for at least a day or so. Since JJ got through to Escorial, they may get that message and know that he is safe but there was almost no contact with the area around ground zero that first day or so. Claire is faced with losing almost half her family in one fell swoop. Jack is caught between worrying about his wife and her family and trying to hold her and their kids together. John is faced with losing his best friend and grandfather, either or both would be devastating for him. One hopes that Marie will realize that her plan of revenge pales in comparrison to this real tragedy. As they make there way out of the towers, the first problem will be trying to regroup and find each other. As I stated there was almost no cell phone or any other type of communication after this in that area. I can only hope that they will realize with everything going on that Jeanine's place will be the best place to meet up. The chaos and confusion that rained down on everyone that first day or so is one of the reasons that the initial reports on how many were killed were so far off. Even for those that survive, the biggest terror will become did the others??? Getting to see Brad's point of view was just great; this was the first time that I even remotely thought he was coming from a place with Will that was about anything other that trying to control him. While I think that Will has a pretty good built in bullshit meter; I do understand Brad's fear of someone taking advantage of or going after Will. I still think he is more wrong than right, but at least I don't think he is a total ass about this anymore... It isn't all about control, which I had begun to think it was just about that with him. I have to think that Will will take very seriously his promise to Jeanine to take care of Maddie. Except for Cody, who has never really shown any interest in the child, Will is going to be her closest surviving relative. *** Tim, do you know how this would work with Will being an emancipated minor??? *** I know that in Texas an adult sibling would take precedent over a grandparent or aunt/uncle, but I am not sure how it would be dealt with since Will is under age but emancipated. I mean he obviously would have the financial resources to take care of her but if there is not will, and I am going to bet there isn't one; what will happen? Plus, a teen parent would be an interesting storyline for this saga; how much would Will grow up if he was suddenly responsible for a child??? This chapter and probably the next few are going to be really hard for me to process. While I only knew one person that died in the attacks that day; it was a friend of a friend more that someone I had been truly close to, it really impacted me for quite a while. I traveled up there after the attack to work with the grief counselors that were brought in to help those impacted by this tragedy. The picture of the man that jumped was really hard for me to take. One of the women that I dealt with really closely, lost her son because he jumped. They found his body on the top of another building in the complex. It was really hard for her to process. I think the fact that he choose to jump was harder for her to deal with than if he had just perished in the building collapse. Mark, you did an exceptional job with this. I can't wait to see how you deal with this over the next several chapters. I really liked getting the multiple points of view, it really gave a more well rounded feeling to the events.... Bravo...

Bravo.... I just can't stop crying right now; so I will do my other comments in the forum later... A truly great job of writing...

Damn, Will really has been a pain since he was born.... LOL...

Marie's death was devestating for all those that truly cared about her. Marie wasn't a perfect person but she was one that loved fully and wholly and well. I have to say that the way the JP handled his brother was just amazing. I have to think that he finally feels more on an even keel with him in Claremont. I have to wonder what Jim did about finding out that he and his son shared a lover?

I am not sure that Brad would be this excited if he could look about fifteen years into the future... LOL... You would think that with all the preaching about safe sex that Brad would realize what causes this problem and have used protection but what the hell...

The truth comes out but did it really suprise anyone? I think keeping the kids with Marie was the right choice. As long as you has Jeanine there to help her, there really should not be any problem. Brad and Robbie committed and together living next to Stef and Greg. This will either be the perfect arrangement or a complete disaster...

Karma can be a bitch or an angel. I truly do believe that what goes around comes around. Marie going back to Paris to pull in her relations to help Robbie would have been a big deal. Family is foremost in France and to some extent the country is still run by a small group of families that have always had influence and power...

Well, Brad and Jeanine being more than friends. I have to believe that Brad will hold on to the information about JJ's parentage, he might let JP know, but this information will prove to be interesting down the line. I have to wonder about Bitty and her relationship with all the other members of her family. Does everyone really want to get at her and use her or does anyone even care about her at all? Brad seems to care but you have to wonder why after all of these problems they had so many years?

Well, I can't wait to see what all gets involved with JP and Brad working to get Robbie out of this predicament. I have to wonder what all they will find out about Neil. I don't even remember this Kohl but I bet Brad will find him. Police are all the same all the world over. Some are good and some are bad but they all have a slight chip on their shoulder about those with money...

Well, damn, did Robbie go back and kill Neil or did Brad really kill him??? I have to admit this is going to get very interesting....

Well, another kid for Bitty, I have to wonder how long till she is going to be back using. I knew that Neil was going to be back and causing problems. Brad is enough like JP that Neil is probably the one that needs to be careful...

WOW, I am just in shock... I really am suprised by JP on this. I have to really question the idea of him sleeping with Marcel. I don't have as much of an issue with Mouse but Marcel seems a little bit out of line. I can see that Brad needs to decide if Robbie is going to be enough for him. He is risking not only their relationship but their health...

Why do I feel that the issue with Neil really isn't done yet??? I would worry about Marcel with Dr. Carbonne, I don't know why but that really sort of bothered me...

Damn, I did not see this coming at all. Marcel is a typical 16 y/o but I can see where Robbie is going to be pissed as hell.

Yea, JP is not sick.... This is just the best news... I am glad that JP is willing to stay with Mouse. Mouse loves JP and JP loves him; they will just have to be really careful. It is amazing to look back now and remember how freaked out everyone was by the idea of AIDS. The irrational fear that people had about the disease was just amazing.

Damn, will those Hayes genes ever not run true... I swear such a blast from the past. I can understand why Mouse was so freaked out. I wonder if he ever really got over being in love with Billy?

It is so sad what some people do to their children. They are miserable so they end up trying to make their children more miserable just for the sake of doing so... One editing note, when Stef and Brad are talking, I think Stef meant to say to focus on Claire and Jack, not Claire and Brad.

I am curious about Bitty's comment about Darius father. I am pretty sure that Darius's father is an Iranian national. I have to wonder if Bitty isn't talking about the father of the baby she is pregnate with now. When you are around a child, you just see the world in such a different way.

Brad and Robbie are going to have to work on sharing all parts of their life. Brad is already showing signs of being a control freak and I think he will have trouble with this aspect of their relationship. It was nice that Claire and Jack ended the dinner with some good news. JP going to Paris with the others will be good for everyone. I am sort of glad about JP and Mouse, they are not in love but each of them need someone else right now.

Losing Roger would have to be devestating for everyone; but losing JP would end the saga. For me, CAP is and always will be about JP. I have to wonder how everyone will react to JP's news. I love how Brad is supporting Robbie in his dealing with therapy. It is very hard for some people to accept that they need to therapy and it can be so much harder if they don't have a good support system behind them.

Well, we meet Darius. Something good came from Bitty, I know what a shock. You can tell that Brad cares about Darius already. I have to wonder if Marie and Jeanine are more than employeer/employee. It was just sad to see Sam and just annoying to see Jake. I don't understand how someone can be so involved with someone inapporpriate to the point of risking all of your other relationships or even your life.

Stef was right, fisting is one of the most intimate acts that you can do with another person. It can also be used quite abusively as well. Brad and Robbie are going to be okay. I have to say that I believe that Neil will keep his promise and try to move against them.

This was just a roller coaster ride. I just felt myself being pulled in every direction possible. I think it is telling that the family have decided to seperate Robbie from Neil, but in my experience this really doesn't work if the person can't be made to understand that they were in an abusive relationship.