“Legal Advice”

by Atonia and Stacey

"Here, let me get the door for you, mate," Adam said, as Colin hobbled into Richie Roberts' office on his crutches.

Adam put out his ciggie, followed him in. He smelled fresh coffee brewing, smiled.

Colin took a deep breath, "This is it, mate," he thought to himself, then headed up to the front desk.

Adam quietly followed behind him, still quite curious as to what Colin was up to.

"Morning, Miss Peeg," Colin told Roberts' secretary, "Is your boss in this morning?"

“He is, yes, Mr. O’Brien. I’ll just let him know you are here,” she smiled and looked at Adam who she’d never met. “Are you to see Mr. Roberts too?”

Adam grinned, "Just the chauffer," he told her, then added, "who could use a good cuppa about now."

Colin flashed him a scolding look, then said, "Sorry 'bout that Miss Peeg, this would be my ill-mannered brother-in-law, Adam, and no, he'll be waiting out here,"  he turned back to Adam, flashing him a grim look, "or in the car...," then back to Miss Peeg, "if he's a bother to you, that is."

“Oh I am sure he will not be a bother to me Mr. O’Brien,” Miss Peeg stepped from her desk to let Richie know Colin was there to meet with him.

"See that you don't," Colin whispered to his brother-in-law.

Adam glared, then slumped down in a chair off to the side of Miss Peeg's desk. His head was still buzzing from the night before, as he waited patiently for Colin to finish what ever business he had with this Roberts fellow.

Richie came to his door and greeted Colin, “Hey there Colin, come on in…Miss Peeg…coffee.”

“Yes sir, it’s on the way,” Miss Peeg busied herself with the coffee pot and cups.

"G’Day, Richie, I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this," Colin told him, following him into his office. "I should have called ahead."

“No problem Colin, I’m not doing anything I can’t put aside for you.” Miss Peeg brought in their coffee and left closing the door. She handed a cup to the young man slumped in the chair, he looked like he could use a cup of coffee.

“What’s up Colin?” Richie noticed his nervous condition.

Colin cleared his throat, "I... um... well, I’m in need of a bit of legal advice about something," he looked down at his hands, fidgeting a bit, "it's of a personal nature, really."

“Maybe I can help you if you tell me what it’s about,” Richie sipped his coffee. Whatever it was, it was hard going for Colin to talk about it.

"What...um... what are my legal rights as far as getting DNA testing done?" Colin asked, nervously.

Richie was quiet for a moment, “Legally you don’t have any, Colin, you weren’t married to her. Peace of mind testing, yeah, you could have that done when the baby’s born. It could be done now but the mother would have to cooperate and there’s a risk to the child. I think I know where you’re going with this. If paternity is in question, wait until the baby’s born. I’ll help you then, you can have it done before they leave the hospital. I don’t know how far you want to go with this, if you’d want to claim paternity and the child, we can go to court with that.”

Colin nodded, let out a sigh. "I know it mine, it's got to be," he looked up at Richie, "Oh hell, the thought of that...that fuckin' weirdo... raising my kid... I can't allow that, I won't. If it takes every penny I got, so be it. Problem is, I'm not married, I don't exactly have a good track record as far as the law is concerned, and I'm not exactly made of money the way that slimy bastard husband of hers is."

“I’ll work with you Colin, as far as my fee is concerned. I’m not sure how he will react, weirdo that he is. Sorry, I know that’s not a legal term, just my personal opinion. If you can prove it’s yours and there’s a valid reason other than slimy bastard then we’ve got a good chance. You have any idea what Kate will do if it’s proven your child?”

Colin thought for a moment. Kate had already told him that for all intents and purposes the baby was Sid's and she would fight him all the way on it, no matter what. He figured that meant even if the blood test was in his favor, she'd stick by Sid. He rubbed a hand across his chin, looked back up at Richie, "She'll fight it all the way, I'm certain. Strewth, Richie, I could care less if I ever saw the woman again except for she's carrying my child."

“If it’s yours Colin, you will have rights and responsibilities regardless of what she wants. I’ll go ahead and quietly lay the groundwork if you want me to, then when the child is born we’ll go to work.”

"Ta, mate, I'd appreciate it," Colin told him, "Assuming she goes full term, there's still four more months to go before the child is born. Which might not seem like a long time to you, but to me, it's a fuckin' eternity, mate."

“I’m sure it is Colin,” Richie said reassuringly, “first off, you can go get a blood test done and bring me the results. I’ll get a file goin’. And don’t worry, four months will pass pretty quickly. You might also begin figuring out how you’d care for a child should you get custody. I’m going to start digging in Mr. Harbor’s past and see what I can come up with.”

"I'll get right on that, mate," Colin told him, reaching for his crutches, "In fact, I'll have my brother-in-law drive me there now. Sooner we can get things moving along on this the better." He stood up, extended his hand out to Richie, "Thanks again, Richie. I'll have the clinic send over the blood work as soon as possible."

Richie opened the door for him and clapped him on the back, “I’ll take care of my end Colin,” he glanced over at his brother-in-law who appeared to be asleep in the chair. “Might want to wake up your driver.”

Colin shook his head, sighed. "Lad has a thing for stayin' out all hours of the night," he confided to Richie, as he walked over to Adam and nudged him with one of his crutches, "Oi! Sleeping beauty! Get your beauty rest on your own time, mate," he chuckled.

Adam opened his eyes, "Wha's tha?" he mumbled, still half asleep.

"Time to go," Colin told him, "Move your arse."

Adam slowly got to his feet, wobbling a bit. "Thanks for the coffee, Miss," he told Miss Peeg as he stumbled to the door, holding it open for Colin.

“Oh dear,” Miss Peeg exclaimed, “I do hope he CAN drive.”

"He'll be fine, we'll stop at Andy's, get some more coffee in him before we head in to Coffs," Colin said, "Miss Peeg, always a pleasure to see you, Roberts, I'll be contacting you again soon." Colin headed out of the office, Adam stumbling behind him.

“That young man needs a good night’s sleep,” Miss Peeg looked at Mr. Roberts who gave her a look and went back into his office.