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Will wasn't a little boy- he had never been a little boy- so he did not hold Mary's hand on the way to the courthouse. Lots was happening, in a legal language he couldn't understand. Mary said it would keep him out of jail, and keep him with his mother. When he asked about her job, Mary said nothing, just told him not to worry. Will had the funny suspicion that Mary was in a lot of trouble too, but she had reassured him that the judge would go along with it, that this was just a formality, and she wouldn't have dragged him along to something that the judge wouldn't go along with. He frowned as he thought of his time in the Children's Home that he had been placed in once the worlds were sealed. He didn't understand how Mary had so many strings she could pull, including allowing the Home to let Kirjava stay with him. And the judge. And this agreement. Mary was like a goddess. Lyra would definitely have been impressed.
Will hoped so. He missed his mother terribly, and hadn't seen her since the day he had left- it felt like in that time he had aged at least a decade, but once again, Mary reassured him that was not the case. He thought of Lyra, and his heart constricted tightly. He wanted his mother, but he missed Lyra terribly. Would his mother understand that he had loved someone more than her?
"That's terrible thinking," Kirjava hissed at him.
"Hush," Will said quietly. "I can't help it if it's true."
"You don't love Lyra more," Kirjava said, and if she could have rolled her eyes, she would have.
"Well, I don't love her less!" Will said fiercely.
"You just love them differently, is all," Mary said softly, looking sadly at Kirjava, and Will knew she yearned to have her dæmon take corporal form. "You'll have to stay outside-"
"I know, I know," Kirjava said testily. "I had many a conversation with Pan on how terrible this world is."
"Hey!" Will protested, and Kirjava jumped lightly into his arms. She was a cat, not a kitten, but sometimes she took on the personality of a new kitten who only wanted love and attention. She licked his face, and Will tried to turn away, but she licked some more until Will relented and pet her.
"I miss them too," She whispered to Will. "But we'll get to see your mother, and that will make the hurt a little less."
Will nodded- he knew it was true, he knew that seeing his mother would take the pain away. He knew his mother would hold to him tightly and not let him go for as long as she could. But he also wondered how damaged she would be, how the hospital they'd had her in had treated her. He worried about medications, and losing his mother. She may have been sick with something, but that was the mother Will wanted right now. He just wanted something normal.
"We're here," Mary said quietly, breaking Will's thoughts. He kissed his dæmon and set her down, then stared at the door to the municiple courthouse.
He could do this.
*
Seeing his mother was a shock. She was sitting on the other end of the courtroom from him and Mary, looking around and muttering. In a way, Will was glad they hadn't broken her, but in another, he was worried she'd forever be like this. She was dressed properly all right, but the sleeves of her blouse were worn up, and Will could see where she had been gripping her left arm tightly. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, though Will did notice a ribbon tucked into his mother's trouser pocket. The laces on her loafers were tied neatly, and Will knew someone had helped his mother get ready. He suspected it was the care taker sitting next to his mother, who kept reassuringly patting her shoulder. Will felt a surge of protection- of jealously- rush through him. He should have been the one comforting his mother.
He listened as Mary, the judge, and the caretaker sparred back and forth, all the while trying to catch his mother's eye. But she would not- or could not- look at him. It was only when the judge asked him a question that he tore his glance away from his mother.
"Sir?" Will said softly. "Could you repeat your question?" His voice trembled, but he stared at the judge. The judge seemed to recognise the intensity in Will's eyes, and when he answered Will, he seemed slightly frightened.
"Do you promise, if you and your mother are to live under the care of Ms Malone, that you will attend school and not violate any laws?"
Will nodded, "I promise."
"No fights at school, no fights out of school. No skipping school, no low marks," the judge clarified.
Will nodded again, "I promise."
The judge leaned back and sighed, "Then I see no reason, seeing as all parties are agreed, that this arrangement cannot go through." His voice took on a more professional role. "It is the opinion of the court that Mrs Perry and her son Will, be transferred to the custody and legal guardianship of Ms Malone."
He banged his gavel and Mary swooped Will up in a tight hug. Will once again immediately searched out for his mother, who still did not look at him. The caretaker took her by the hand and led her to Will and Mary.
Will let go of Mary and took a step towards his mother, taking her by the shoulders gently, "Ma? It's me, it's- it's your Will."
She still did not look, so Will continued, "I found Dad. John Parry. I found him. And he saved me. And he was a good man. And he missed us every day. And he loves us, Mum. Dad said to tell you that he never stopped loving you."
Mary placed a hand on Will's shoulder, perhaps to get him to stop his emotional outburst, but he shrugged her off.
"Mum! It's me, it's Will, and it's all going to be better now. No-one is going to hurt you. Me and Mary, we're going to make real good sure of that. So let's go home, Mum, please?"
Will held his breath, never taking his eyes off his mother. Slowly her head turned to look at her son. Will was afraid she did not recognise him. "Mum?" he asked softly in a whisper.
"Will, it's okay," Mary whispered. "We'll go home and sort it all out there."
"Mum?" he asked again, his eyes burning with tears.
And his mother smiled at him, bright and innocent. "Home," she said. "Let's go home, son."