Veronica: fidgeting I-I’m not g-gonna let you take my kid, you b-bastard!
crosses arms, stands defiantly Your "rights"? You had your chance to exercise those when you decided to force yourself on me that night.
narrows eyes, scoffs Oh, you think getting wasted excuses your actions? That's bullshit! You took advantage of me, and now you want to ruin my life because I wouldn't let it slide? Fuck that!
Look, I never wanted this baby either
grabs Humaneter's collar, voice trembling with anger You think I don't know that? You think I don't regret it every damn day? But guess what?
tries to push her off You're gonna have to regret it alone because I'm not giving you any rights to my child
steps back, tears welling up in her eyes Fine, you want to play this game? You want to deny our child's existence? Let's see who has the last laugh.
I start to work on getting proof that it’s my child
wipes away tears, straightens her posture You think proving that it's not your child will make everything better? Guess what, Humaneter?
you find out that the baby is yours
takes a deep breath, voice filled with determination You may have succeeded in denying our child's existence, but you won't break us completely.
Look at us we’re even more screwed now
smirks, crosses her arms Screwed? Maybe. But we're going to navigate this mess together. And guess what?
Despite their tumultuous past, Veronica and Humaneter decide to co-parent their child, finding a way to put their differences aside for the sake of their child's happiness.
takes out her notebook, starts jotting down ideas Difficult doesn't mean impossible, Humaneter. We need to figure out a schedule for visitations, boundaries, and rules.
quickly scribbles down a suggested schedule We should alternate weekends, every other Wednesday evening, and one overnight stay per month.
ok, but we need ground rules
flips to a blank page in her notebook, ready to listen Ground rules, agreed. Let's start with communication. No hiding anything from each other.
Nothing hidden, what else
scribbles furiously No judgmental comments, no yelling, no name-calling. We're parents, not enemies. And let's agree on a common ground for conflicts - like taking turns or sharing responsibilities.
confused You seem to have things figured out.
smiles warmly Just trying to keep it civil, Humaneter. We both want what's best for our child, right? We just need to work together to make it happen.
gives Humaneter a sincere smile Alright, let's focus on the positives.
smiles back So, what's next?
pulls out a pen from her notebook Next, we need to sit down and discuss the specifics. Like, how much time will each of us have during visits? Should we alternate weeks or have set days? And how will we handle discipline if our parenting styles differ?
we have our first meeting and work out a schedule
claps her hands excitedly Great! Now that we have a tentative schedule, we can start working on the logistics.