Infinite

Arch turned slightly towards the door when I went to open in. He peered at me across the room and fiddled with the stud on Charlie's collar as he attempted to hold the dog back. I offered him one more sturdy smile and opened it up. Abigail stood on the other side, obviously, but she was dressed entirely different than she had been in court and her demeanor was just slightly less overwhelming.

I pulled the door open just enough for her to see me and offered her a muted greeting. "Hello, Ms. Drewry," I said over Charlie's bark, standing in the opening to my house, "Did you find the place alright?"

She smiled tightly and tucked a strand of hair back from her face. "Yes, I did," she answered, undoubtedly noticing the way my body was positioned between her and the child on the inside, "I'm very pleased to finally be here and to be able to see my son again. It's been too long and I've been so worried about how he's been."

I nodded and stepped back just slightly. I peered over my shoulder towards the little boy and was surprised to see that he was gone. His bedroom door was shut now, so I stepped back even more and swung the door open. "Please come in," I offered, moving out of the way.

She stepped through eagerly, expecting Arch to be waiting for her. I watched her eyes scan the inside of the house and peer around the corner the best she could into the kitchen. The inside of the house was surprising to a lot of people. The ceiling was incredibly high and vaulted due to the exposed second floor and balcony. It was unexpected.

"Arch is in his room," I said, watching her eyes scan the doors on the second floor, "Would you like something to drink why I go get him?" I questioned, standing awkwardly next to the couch as she kept her eyes trained on the second floor.

"No thank you," she answered, dropping her eyes back to me finally, "I just want to see my son." She held onto her bag in front of her and locked her jaw.

"I understand that," I answered, "But I would like to talk to you for a moment before I bring him downstairs."

She frowned slightly. "What about?"

"About you," I answered, "I don't want you laying anything too heavy on him. He's just a child and he's nervous to have you here. I don't want you crying around him or causing him anymore stress. He's doing well right now and I don't want anything to jeopardize that."

"Ms. Gurewitz, I understand that he's in your care right now, but I want to speak with my son openly. He's my child and I want him to know how much I care about him and how sorry I am for everything that happened to him."

"He knows what happened to him," I answered grimly, "He probably views it a lot differently than you do and you probably won't like what he has to say about it, so don't even bring it up unless he does. Not this time at least. I need you to do what's best for him, not what's best for you."

She looked taken aback by my choice of wording. "I've always tried to do what's best for him," she answered, "I know that I made a mistake, but I'm trying to make it right. That's why I'm here."

I peered at her, taking in her slightly tensed posture and expression. I nodded then, not wanting her to feel as though she was under attack. She wasn't, not yet anyway, but when it came to fighting for Arch, there would be no holding back. Protectiveness had edged it way up just under my skin and I could feel it there, threatening her to make one wrong move while she was here.

"I'll try to get him to come down," I said, watching her expression glaze over. She didn't speak again as I slid past her and headed up the stairs to Arch's room. I pushed the door open just slightly and stepped in, offering him a sad smile when I saw him sitting on his bed next to the dog, staring at me.

"Arch, you should come back downstairs," I said, sitting down on the edge and leaning towards him, "She really just wants to see you, sweetheart. You don't even have to talk if you don't want to, you can just ask her to watch a movie with you, I'm sure that'll be enough."

He shook his blonde head and ran his fingers over the dog. He sat in the center of his little bed with his legs crossed under him and looked at me with darkened blue eyes. "I'm still scared," he replied, "She's my mom but I don't want her to be."

"Just think of her as a friend for now," I suggested, hoping it would take some of the pressure off of him, "At the end of the day, she is going to leave and you're staying right here with me, Arch. She's just a friend coming to visit and she will leave when you say."

He looked at me dully as he did often. "I want her to leave now."

I chuckled and growled playfully as I wrapped my arms around him and slid him over to me. Charlie's eyes followed our movements but he didn't pick his head up from the comforter. "You have to at least spend a little time with her," I argued, "You can't ask her to leave until after we eat lunch, at least."

He groaned and laid back dramatically in my lap. He opened his eyes at stared at my face., his eyes narrowing in thought. "Is she messing with my TV?" he questioned, causing me to laugh at his priorities.

I turned him around and slid him to the floor. He got to his feet as I answered, "I doubt it. She probably can't find the remote." I gave him a look and he grinned at the mention of his not-so-secret habit.

"I like my channels," he said in defense of his actions, "I don't want you to change it when I'm not here."

I stood up and grabbed his hand in mine. He smiled easily and together we headed to the balcony, shutting the door to keep Charlie on the other side. Abigail sat below us, perched on the end of the couch, and Arch stared down at the woman he remembered in such a terrible light. He glanced up to me and I nodded and we kept moving towards the stairs.

Her hair was dark and wispy and it fell in tangled half-curls down to her shoulders. Her features were thin and narrow and she was as skinny as a stick. She looked up at him and covered her mouth with her hand, doing a very bad job of keeping her emotions from the stoic child descending the stairs next to me.

He looked nothing like her and felt no warmth towards her either. His hold on my hand was tight and unrelenting as we came to the bottom of the stairs and walked over to her. She stood right away and cooed to herself about him. He looked at me again and then back at her and stood up little straighter like a soldier; like his father.

"Arch," she greeted in a quiet voice, "You're so grown up."

She took in how different he was from the child she'd last seen at daycare. Like the photos in court, it was obvious that it pained her to see how much he had changed without her. It was if someone had taken the child she left and replaced him with an experienced little man who was shrunk down to the height of a child.

"I saw your pictures," she continued, "Of you at school and everything. It looks like you're doing really well. I've always known how smart you are."

He nodded once, looking at her as if she was a stranger.

"We should go eat," I cut in, lifting Arch from the ground, "I made some things earlier when we had a few friends over, so I figured we could finish that up."

"Heather and Jadeen made them," Arch said, calling me out on my little white lie.

I grinned and nodded, bumping my head lightly against his. "He's right, our friends made them rather," I said to Abigail as the three of us went into the kitchen, "You can have a seat. I'll get everything ready."

He grabbed my shirt strap so I couldn't put him down in a chair next to her, but she spoke up and I let him go and quickly stepped away.

"What are you friends like, Arch?" she questioned, leaning sideways against the table so she could face and speak to him.

He shrugged. "They're school friends."

"Not Silvi," I argued, trying to keep him talking, "She comes over plenty or we all go out somewhere. You love having Silvi around."

"She doesn't go to your school? How did you meet her?" Abigail questioned.

"School," Arch answered without explanation.

I stepped over with a plate from this morning and gave him a look. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "Silvi goes to his school," I tried to clarify, "It's just that he tends to see her outside more often than not. She was just over this morning, in fact."

"Then she had to leave," Arch added, "because of you."

Abigail was slightly surprised by his words. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you had plans this morning, I was just so eager to come and spend some time with you."

The young blonde nodded and pushed back against his chair, situating himself so that he was sitting on he knees. He leaned across the table and reached for one of the sandwiches that Heather had brought over this morning. He'd already eaten two earlier.

I acted as though I had forgotten that Abigail never let him eat meat and Arch didn't seem to connect his old rules with this woman either, because he was halfway through when she brought it up.

"Did you stop eating vegetarian soon after you came to stay here?" she questioned, picking at the bread on her own deli sub.

Arch shrugged with his mouth full. Abigail turned her head to me and waited for the answer to her question. I grabbed our drinks; a Gatorade for Arch and flavored bottled water for us and set them down when I went to sit on Arch's other side.

"We didn't feel that he was getting enough protein," I said as I dropped into the chair next to him and reached for my own sandwich, "He was really scrawny and wanted to try other foods, so we allowed him to."

"Sometimes children don't know what is best for them. Many children want to eat only candy but their parents don't allow it. That would be insane," she said, watching as he son gobbled down another huge bite, ignoring the salad I set in front of him.

"You can't really compare meat to candy," I rebutted, "Humans need protein to survive and children need a balanced diet. He still eats all his fruits and veggies, but now he's stronger and happier."

Abigail nodded begrudgingly and turned towards her own meal. I didn't offer her another alternative because she didn't ask. She looked like she needed some meat on her bones so I kept quiet and finished off my own food as Arch asked for something more.

"What do you want, sweetheart?" I questioned, leaning towards him across the table to take his plate, "There's still some of Jadeen's salad in the fridge."

"Do we have Jello?" he questioned randomly, tipping his head to the side as he thought about and considered it. He grinned at me sillily.

I chuckled. "No, I don't think so, Arch," I answered, "And even if there was some somewhere, it takes awhile to make it." I got up and went to the counter to grab him another half a sub.

"Thank you." He grinned and then turned his attention back to his plate.

I turned to his mother. "So, what do you do for a living?" I questioned between bites, "I don't really know anything about you."

"I'm between jobs right now," she answered, pulling her shoulders back as she sat up straighter, "I was taking some time off to get things together after Archer died and now I'm heading in the right direction, but all my attention has turned to my son."

Arch's didn't look up at his father's name. He just continued to eat his food, although he was starting to slow down about six bites into it.

"Did you ever work before all of this?" I questioned, honestly knowing nothing about the woman's life before her husband's death, but suspecting that it hadn't changed too drastically.

"I had a few jobs," she said politely, "but never anything that I felt would make a decent career. I had planned on being married and raising our children for a long time. We were planning on having more than Arch someday, we just never got the chance." She looked at the light-headed boy as he sat back and stared at her with his eyebrows knitted together. She swallowed and looked away from his wise gaze. "What about you? What do you do?"

"I work for a record label," I explained, "I seek out new talent and introduce their music to my bosses in hopes of getting them some sort of contract."

She glanced around the modern kitchen and then back. "You must be making decent money to afford all of this. Or is this your boyfriend's house?"

"I don't have to want for anything, if that's what you mean," I said, "and no, this is my house. It belongs to me and is in my name. I bought it a few years ago."

Abigail nodded and asked, "How old are you? If you don't mind telling me. I'm just curious as to how you've done so well for yourself. You seem so young."

"I'm twenty-five," I said with no qualms and an easy smile, "I haven't quite reached the age where I'm embarrassed by how long I've been alive."

She looked surprised at my age despite her own words and nodded quickly. "I thought you were a little older," she said honestly, "It's unusual for someone as young as yourself to be interested in children in the foster system rather than regular things that people your age are out doing."

"I'm the oldest of four siblings. I've always looked out for everyone so having Arch is natural. I love having him here and it doesn't hinder me at all. I do everything that everyone else did at twenty-five, I've just got a sidekick is all."

"Would you consider taking on another foster child if Arch wasn't with you?" she questioned, causing Arch to turn his attention to the both of us.

"No," I answered right away, "I couldn't just go find another child and replace him. Arch isn't just some little boy that I found and decided to keep with me for awhile. He just sort of ended up with me and I couldn't ask for a better kid."

"So, when he leaves, that's it? You wouldn't take on another child?"

"No," I said, "It's not like I could replace him. Arch is family."

"But he's not," she argued, trying to make her point, "All I'm trying to figure out is if you plan on making a habit of taking care of other people's children. When Arch leaves, do you think you'll be lonely to the point where you'll reconsider?"

"Abigail, I don't see Arch leaving right away," I rebutted, sparing a careful glance at him, "And even if he ever did leave me, he wouldn't be out of my life forever. I would always be there to make sure that he's getting the most out of the life."

"I just don't know how that's fair to his real family," she answered, "When he leaves he doesn't need someone sticking around reminding him of this. It's cruel."

"There are plenty of worse things someone could do to him rather than caring," I said calculatedly, "Not caring, perhaps."

"When he leaves, he won't need you any longer-"

"I'm not leaving," Arch cut in, turning is defiant gaze to his mother, "I'm not going anywhere. I want Atti to be my mom, not you. Stop saying that I'm leaving." He clambered out of his seat and barreled into my side, his arms wrapping all the way around me.

"Eventually you're coming home, Arch," she answered, upset over the idea that he wasn't, "You can't live with Ms. Atticus forever. She's not your family."

"We're not talking about this right now," I cut her off, staring her in the face, "This isn't appropriate, Abigail. I asked you not to do this in front of him." I stood up and pulled him into my arms at the sight of tears in his eyes. I hurried past her as she gave a half-assed apology and I wandered into the living room, heading upstairs.

"Where are you taking him?" She quickly got out of her chair and followed us out of the kitchen. When she realized that I was taking him back up stairs, where she wasn't allowed to be, she argued, "You can't take him from me. I've barely seen him. I'm sorry that he's upset, but it's the truth, Atticus. He will come home with me eventually."

"No, I won't," Arch cried out from my arms, "I don't want to go with you. I never want to go with you. I don't love you."

I turned around to face her and Arch whipped around to look at her too. "I told you not to upset him," I said to her loudly, "He's not yours right now, no matter what you think. He's in my care and he's my boy. You come in here and think you can explain the truth to him? You're in for a rude awakening, Mrs. Drewry."

I groaned in frustration and turned away from her to compose myself. Arch sat righteously in my arms, his expression telling me that he felt the same way I did and he was glad that I put his mother in her place. Abigail was quiet for a moment as I ran my fingers through Arch's hair and kissed his forehead, silently checking that he was alright.

He nodded and tightened his grip around me. Finally, I faced her again. "No more talk of any of that crap," I stated, "If you want to spend a little more time with Arch then you stick to comfortable topics. Find out about him. He's a brilliant child, Mrs. Drewry. You shouldn't waste your time trying to bring anyone down. You don't know how long you get with him."

I walked past her to the couch and dropped Arch down onto his favorite spot in the entire house. He looked at his mom, who stood with her arms crossed, and quickly reached in between the set of cushions to pull out the remote and turn the TV on.

"You should join him," I said to the brunette woman as I toned down the hostility, "He adores that TV. You'll learn a lot about him just by asking about his favorite shows."

She glanced at me like she was a wounded animal, although still prideful. "Your favorite show used to be Telitubies," she said as she moved past to me to sit on the couch with him, keeping a comfortable distance between them, "When you were a baby you were fascinated by the TVs on their tummies."

I caught Arch's eye to make sure he was alright with me leaving them there alone before I went back into the kitchen to give them a moment and to clean up after all of us. I gathered the plates on top of each other and carried them over to the sink. Once rinsed and in the dishwasher, I leaned against the island counter and listened as Abigail really spoke to her son for the first time in over a year and a half.

"What's your favorite thing to do?"

"I like playing XBox with Ronnie. Sometimes I beat him, but usually he wins. We always beat everyone else when we play online though. He even plays with me when he's on tour."

"You really like Ronnie then?"

"He's my bestfriend. I miss him when he's not home."

"And at school? What do you do at school?"

"Play with Silvi and learn things. Atti said that my teacher said I'm one of the smartest kids in her class."

"You were always a smart baby. The first to do everything. I was always so proud to show you off to everyone. They all thought you were just wonderful."

It was impossible to listen and not get upset. It was so hurtful that someone who could talk so kindly about Arch could ever not come back for him. If he had been the same type of child when he was a baby and toddler, I couldn't imagine ever letting him go, or out of my sight for that matter. Listening to a mother connect with her child after so long was heartbreaking, not because she was back in his life, but because it had to come to this.

I wiped down the table and counter tops to give them a little more time together before I couldn't hold out any longer and I rounded the corner back into the room. Arch grinned automatically and slid from his claimed spot over to my lap as I dropped into the chair.

"What have you guys been talking about?" I asked, easily wrapping my arms around his little waist.

"Nothing really," Arch answered before Abigail could. She stopped herself from replying since he beat her to it and pressed her lips together to stifle her own words.

"Well what are you watching?" I asked, peaking past him to the screen. I frowned as someone came rip-roaring out a large house covered in blood. "What the heck is this?" I questioned, yanking the remote from him. I quickly changed the channel to Disney and he frowned, reaching to get it back.

"I like that movie," he said indignantly, "Put it back."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "What's it called?" I questioned.

He faltered, peering back at the screen as though it would tell him the answer. "Uh, Evil Knife Killer," he said, trying to sound confident.

"You liar," I muttered, lifting him up and turning him around so that he was facing me. He exploded in giggles, already trying to push out of my arms. I held onto him tightly so he wouldn't fly back into the coffee table and tickled his sides, grinning at his infectious laughter.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, shoving away from my body, "Atti, please, I"m sorry!"

"You know better than to watch scary movies," I argued, grabbing one of his bare feet. He screeched and yanked his foot away from my grasp, apologizing profusely as he struggled to get away. Charlie was barking from his room, obviously upset that Arch was.

"I'm sorry!" he said once again through his giggles, "I won't do it again! I love you, I'm sorry! Stop, stop!" He pushed backwards with his hands against the arm of the chair and I gently let him slide down my legs to the hardwood floor. When he hit the ground, he quickly scrambled up and sneakily grabbed the remote from my side before he raced to the farthest end of the couch - his favorite spot.

"Arch, don't you dare turn it back," I said as he flipped through the channels.

He pulled his legs up and sat practically on the back of the couch. "I'm not," he answered without taking his eyes off the screen, "But I don't like that channel."

Abigail sat softly on the end of the couch as Arch flipped through the channels and explained why they were or weren't good channels in his opinion. He made me laugh and I didn't hold back. Part of me felt as though I was on the brink of getting to keep him forever and the other part wondered if it was fair for me to take someone so wonderful from the woman who created him.

She had made mistakes, terrible ones, and hurt him more than anyone could, but she was here and looking at him, I couldn't imagine how I would feel about the woman who would try to take him from me. He was absolutely spectacular. I wanted to keep him so much but I felt as though I was battling myself for the right to be his mother. Was it ethical for me to take him from her? Did she really deserve to lose him? She was the one who had given him up in the first place.

"Arch," I said, calling him from his ramblings, "Arch, can you go upstairs for awhile? You can watch this in your room."

He frowned at me over the coffee table. "Why? Don't you want to hangout with me?" he questioned, peering leerily at his mother, who was already nodding.

"I need to talk to Abigail," I said, "Please, baby. It's just for a little while."

He nodded and climbed down from the couch. As he passed he handed me the remote as though it was an honor and then hurried up the stairs, his bare feet slapping against the wood. When his bedroom door closed, I spoke up.

"Abigail, I wanted to tell you first. I didn't want you to hear it from some lawyer in a court room," I said, taking a deep breath and clasping my hands together. She stared at me from her spot, her eyebrows knitted together and her expression guarded.

"I've decided to try and adopt Arch," I said, putting it out in the open, "I know that you're trying to get him back, but I can't give up on him. I don't care what it comes down to, Mrs. Drewry. I love him and I'll fight for him."

She was quiet, stunned, and thinking. "He's my son," she said in an angry daze, "You can't really take him from me. He's my baby. I created him and I love him. You can't do this to me."

"He belongs to the state," I answered, "You left him, Abigail. He needed someone and I was there for him. I didn't know that he would become this important to me, but he has and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that he has the best opportunities in life. That he has me and I have him."

"You can't do that," she argued, shaking her head, "Just because you have money you think that you can win a fight against me and take my child from me. Well you can't. He's mine and I'll prove that to you."

"I love him, Abigail. I'm not doing this to spite you. Somehow, he wormed his way into my heart and I can't imagine a world without him," I explained although she'd stopped listening and started shaking her head. "Arch is my son, I can feel it in my bones. I'd give up my whole world to keep him here with me."

"He's my son!" she shouted, getting to her feet, "He's mine. Mine. He's coming home with me. I don't care if you think you've already won, but he's my child." She stepped away from the couch, away from me, and began screaming for him. Charlie started howling from the bedroom and I got up, begging for her to stop before I had to make her leave. She kept screaming for him as though she'd lost her mind.

"Arch! Please, come to mom! I love you, Archer, come downstairs. Please, Arch."

"Abigail, stop it," I demanded, reaching out to grab her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she screaming, ripping out of my grasp, "You can't have him! Archer!"

"That's not his name," I said in a low tone, glaring at her, "You're only causing him more pain by doing that to him, Abigail. You can't put him through this. Please, stop. Please, you have to leave."

She moved towards the stairs and I threw myself in front of her, blocking her from getting any closer to him. She screamed loudly and jumped backwards, tears rushing down her face as she screamed for him again. I pulled my phone from my jeans and dialed the nonemergency number for the police as Arch timidly stepped out of his room and shut the door on the barking dog.

"Atticus…" he trailed off, his eyes watching the scene unfold in front of him. It was a huge disaster.

I met his eyes and shook my head quickly. "Baby, go back in your room," I called up to him as Abigail screamed for him to come to her. "Go inside and close the door. Turn on your TV and keep turning it up until it's all you hear."

"But, Atticus-"

I told him once again to go back in his room as the operator began speaking in me ear, obviously distraught by the sound of Abigail's wails in the background. "Hello? Is anyone there? What's happening?"

"I'm here," I answered quickly, still standing on the bottom step as Abigail Drewry howled and cried, repeating the same few words. "I need an officer to my house. We're having a bit of an issue with my foster-son's mother."

I relayed my address and the woman on the other end promised that two police officers were on their way to us and would be here as soon as possible. She asked if she needed to stay on the line and I assured her that it would be fine before I hung up and grabbed Abigail's wrist as she tried to move past me.

"You can't see him like this," I said, gently pushing her down from the stairs, "Please, you need to calm down. You're just scaring him."

"He's my son," she answered belligerently, "He would never be afraid of me. He loves me. I'm his mother." She tried to step past me again and I blocked her way.

"Abigail, please," I begged, "He's just a child. He's scared. Calm down - for Arch's sake if not for your own."

She wiped her eyes and laughed sarcastically. "For myself?" she sneered, "What do you care about me? You're trying to steal my son from me, Atticus. Why should I listen to you? I'm taking my son and we're going home."

"You're not going anywhere with him," I answered firmly, "But you can leave. If you go now I won't press charges." I rested one hand on the banister and stood up straight, looking down on her as she laughed.

"What charges? You're the one who should be charged. You kidnapped my son and now you're trying to steal him from me. You're a kidnapper. You shouldn't be allowed around another child. You might steal them from their mother."

"Mrs. Drewry, I took him when no one else would. You left him at my daycare and you never came back for him. He was a terrified little boy who just wanted his mother. You had your chance to rescue him. Now it's too late."

There was a harsh knock on the door and one of the officers called out to us, identifying themselves. I called for them to come in and they hurdled through the unlocked door, moving right to the distraught woman to restrain her. She shouted, Charlie barked, and Arch reappeared on the balcony, watching with wide eyes as one of the officers took his mom outside and the other one moved to me to figure out what was going on.

"Her name is Abigail Drewry," I explained, not realizing that Arch was at the top listening to us, "Her son is in the foster system and I look after him. Today was her first visitation in almost two years. Things got a little out of control when she and I were talking."

"Where's the child?" he asked, although his words tapered off when he looked up and saw the little boy standing at the railing, peering down at us with a dull expression.

"Arch," I called, turning to hurry to him. I took the stairs two at a time and lifted him into my arms, holding on tightly. I carted him back into his room and slammed the door shut. "Are you okay?" I asked, setting him down so I could get a decent look at him, "Everything's fine. Your mom just got upset that she couldn't see you more today," I partially explained, not wanting to tell him of my plans to adopt him under these circumstances, "Everything's going to be alright now, I just need you to stay up here and keep Charlie company. He's scared too."

He nodded without a word and sat down on the edge of his bed. I sighed and kissed his face, pulling him to me for another hug. "I'm sorry, baby," I murmured into his ear, "This is all going to be over in a few minutes."

I left him in his room and went back downstairs to talk to Officer Gregory again.