Sullivan vs. Sullivan

A special thanks to Naughty Paladin for all the help and ideas to tweak this story to make it the best it could be, This is my first swing into the LW category and I know how brutal you can all be. So I am ready for whatever may come.

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I stood in front of the door, reflecting back on my life. I was 67 years old, had been married to the love of my life and had two wonderful children as well as five grandchildren. My life was as good as it could have ever been. My wife Maggie was a saint all through our marriage. She stayed at home and took care of the kids and the house, never a complaint came from her.

I have stood in front of this door many times in my life. Sometimes in anger, sometimes in dread. Sometimes I stand here in anxiety wondering what will happen when I come through. I just never know from one day to the next what will happen as I step through. As I stepped through the door it was eerily quiet. Then I heard the inevitable sound, "All rise. The honorable Judge Jeffrey Stone residing."

I walked to my bench, high above the rest of the room. Looking out over the room. A man and his lawyer to one side, a woman and her lawyer on the other. The court stenographer, bailiff and clerk were all in the room as well. "Be seated," I said as I took my seat. I looked at the case file before me and flipped it over, reading the information within. Seems the husband is seeking a divorce.

"Your honor, the case of Sullivan vs Sullivan," said the clerk.

I looked up at the people gathered. "OK, Mr. Sullivan, you are seeking a divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. With division of assets as a 50-50 split, as well as joint custody of the minor children. Is that correct?" I asked.

Mr. Sullivan leaned forwards towards the mic on the table and said, "That's correct your honor."

I looked over at the opposing side. "Mr. Snyder, does your client agree to these terms?"

He stood up and said, "She does not your honor. She does not wish for a divorce and wants to seek counseling to try and reconcile to save their marriage."

I looked out over both parties, Mr. Sullivan was whispering to his lawyer. "I am inclined to agree that counseling is needed as I am all for saving any marriage if at all possible," I said.

Mr. Sullivans lawyer stood up and said, "Your honor, we wish to withdraw the petition for divorce at this time."

"Well I have never seen something work out quite this well, this fast.

However, if that is what you wish then, case dismissed." I banged the gavel. I watched as the wife stood smiling, she started to walk towards her husband to hug him, but he ignored her completely and just walked out of the room. She stood there dumbfounded and started to cry. I had a feeling this was not the last I would see of these two.

I made my way back to my chambers and plopped down into my chair. On my desk sat a picture of my wife and children when they were younger. I picked it up and looked at it. They were so young and innocent. It makes me sad to see people like those two who have children having to go through something like this.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number for my daughter, it rang sever times before she answered it. "Hello darling, I was just calling to see how you were doing."

"Hi Dad, I'm doing OK I guess. How about you?" she replied.

"I'm doing good darling, but you don't sound like you are doing OK what's going on with you?" I asked.

She let out a sigh and started sobbing a bit. "Oh Daddy, Michael and I are having problems. I think we may end up getting divorced. He has been so distant lately. Always working, never having any time. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sorry to hear that sweetheart. Have you tried talking to him? Perhaps going to counseling. Marriage takes a lot of work, it's not something that you can just let sit idly by and hope it all works out." I told her. "Just look at your mom and me. We had plenty of ups and down, but we never drifted to far away because we worked everyday. We had communication. You need to tell him how you feel. You need to make him understand."

"I know dad. You and mom were the greatest parents anyone could ever ask for. I have tried talking to him, he just doesn't seem to want to listen," she said.

"Then you make him listen. Do whatever it takes. Do not give up. Put it into a letter or an email. Whatever it takes to make him listen and understand how you feel," I told her.

"OK dad Ill try that. Thank you for listening and making me feel better. You always know how to make my day a little better. I love you dad," she told me.

"I love you to darling. Call me if you need anything," I said.

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A week later I stood in front of those doors again and I just had this feeling of anxiety. I felt as if this was going to be a rough day. I walked in, "All rise, the honorable Judge Jeffery Stone residing."

I took the walk to my bench and sat, "Be seated." I looked out at the people and sure enough they were back again. I looked at the case file flipping it open. Divorce on the ground of infidelity. Well this just escalated pretty fast. Well this was New York after all you can do that as long as there is proof anyways.

I looked up, "So I see were back again. Mr. Sullivan, Divorce on the grounds of infidelity. I assume, Mr. Write that you and your client have proof of this infidelity? " I asked.

He stood up holding a thick envelop, "We do your honor." He handed it to the bailiff who brought it to me and placed it on my bench.

I looked at Mr. Sullivan, "why did you first attempt to divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences then decide to drop and change to infidelity if you hade all the evidence to begin with," I asked him.

"Your honor, I am not a malicious person. I did not want to have to public know what she had done. I wanted to give her a fair deal. However since she decided she did not want to take the fair deal, I felt I had no choice but to go this way and make it public knowledge of what she had done," he said.

I looked over to Mrs. Sullivans side of the room, "Well counselor, what does your client have to say now?"

He stood up, "Your honor my client has her own evidence that her husband was cheating as well. She knew he had been sleeping around for some time and that was the sole reason she started having an affair to begin with. We have the evidence here." He hands the bailiff the evidence to bring to me.

"I see," I said. Grabbing the envelops of evidence in my hand, "I will need some time to go over this. We will re-convene in one hour. Court dismissed." I banged the gavel and everyone filed from the room.

I walked into my chambers and tossed the envelopes on my desk. I poured myself a glass of cold water from the mini fridge and sat down to get started. The first thing that jumped out at me were the pictures, there were dozens of them. They showed Mrs. Sullivan and her lover in various stages of dress as well as various stages of coitus.

I grabbed the PI report and read over it. It seemed that the investigation lasted over a period of 3 months. I will never understand why any husband or wife depending on the aggrieved party would want to wait that amount of time. It just never made sense to me to put yourself through that much extra torture. The cheaters met twice a week during the evenings. Once during a "cliché" girls night out each week and of course the obligatory working late to get stuff done.

It seemed that there was video as well. I went to the couch and put the DVD into the player. Well, I thought nothing like watching homemade porn on the job. I hit the play button and my senses were immediately assaulted with the hairy ass of a man pounding into Mrs. Sullivan. They sounded like two animals rutting around in the wild. There was definitely no love involved in what the two of them were doing in this first clip.

When they had finished rutting around, they lie together on the bed. The man asked her, "So does your wimp husband fuck you as good as I do?"

She let out a chuckle, "No where near as good as you. I mean, he's not bad. He's gentle and loving just not as good and does not give me the amount of orgasms that you do."

He laughed at that, "Maybe you should cut the cuck off for a while and he will get the picture that you need better."

"I have already pretty much cut him down to once every couple weeks. Unless he starts whining about it of course. But lately he hasn't even bothered to try. He has not really paid much attention to me or the brats. I have to pawn them off on his parents whenever I need to get away from the house."

I hit the stop button. I had heard more than enough of this crap. I hated cheaters, I really did. However, nothing angered me more than someone mistreated children. Especially when those children where their own.

I then took the time to look over the wife evidence, it was no better than what hers was. At least hers was with one person, the husband was caught with about 10 different woman. He could be heard on the video saying some pretty horrible things about his wife as well as the kids that just made my blood boil.

I made a phone call to the parents of Mr. Sullivan asking them to come into the court for the decision I was about to make. They told me they could be there in 10 minutes. I sat there deliberating on what I was going to do until the hour was up.

I made my way through the doors, "All rise, the honorable Judge Jeffery Stone residing."

I sat down in my chair. The anger inside mee rolling, but I kept my professionalism face on at all times. That was who I was when I stepped through those doors. "You may be seated." I looked out over the room and saw the same people, as well as the parents of Mr. Sullivan sitting in the back of the room.

"I have looked over all of the evidence presented to me, and I must say I am shocked and appalled by what I witnessed on that DVD. I cannot at this time come to a decision, there are other factors that must be taken in. At this time I have to think of the best interest of both children. I feel at this time they would be best off living with the grandparents. I am giving them temporary custody and placement of both children until this whole matter can be resolved.

Both lawyers and parents immediately jumped up and started to object. I banged my gavel on the desk rather hard and loud, almost snapping it in two. "I will have order in my court room. That is my decision and it is final. Another outburst like that and you will all be held in contempt of court. Now sit down." I looked to the grandparents at the back of the room, "Mr. And Mrs, Sullivan can you please come forward?" They both stood and moved to the front of the room. "At this time I want the children placed with the two of you where they can be safe and happy. Is that something that you can be happy with?"

They both spoke at the same time, "Of course your honor." Then the grandmother spoke, "Your honor we love our grandkids to death and we spend a lot of time with them. We would love to have them with us."

"Then that is my order. The parents shall have supervised visitations one hour a week at your discretion and preferably at separate times. However, before that starts I wish to speak with both children myself. Can you bring them here tomorrow morning for a meeting with me?" I asked.

"That will not be a problem your honor. We will have to pull them from school for a while but I'm sure that will be ok. They are very smart children and can catch up easily," said Mrs. Sullivan.

"Then we will see you tomorrow morning. Court id adjourned," I said banging my gavel as i rose from the bench.

I went into my chambers and sat at my desk. I looked at the picture of my wife that sat on my desk, I couldn't help but smile remembering the first time I ever laid eyes on her back in my senior year of college. Walking across the campus to a class with an arm load of books and I tripped over my own feet. Books went flying everywhere. I hear giggling and I looked up, there she was, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. She had bent over to help me pick up my books and asked me if I was ok. I laughed at my own clumsiness and told her I was fine. I knew from that moment on we were destined to be together. It was a year later that we were married and I had just passed the bar to start practicing law. Time sure does fly by.

I looked at the photo of the whole family, my son and his wife and kids along with my daughter with her husband and kids. My life had turned out to be pretty good all things considered. I picked up my phone and dialed my sons number. It rang several times before it was answered, a young shrill female voice answered the phone. "hello Stone res.. ress.. Stone home," said the young voice.

I couldn't help but to laugh as my youngest granddaughter Abby answered the phone. "Well hello there Miss Abby. What are you doing today?" I asked her.

"Grandpa!" she squealed with delight. "I miss you grandpa."

"I miss you too sweetheart. Have you been a good girl for your mom and dad?" I asked her.

"I'm always a good girl grandpa," she said mater of fact.

"Abbigail, who's on the phone sweetheart?" I heard a female voice ask. It was Caroline my daughter-in-law.

"It's grandpa mommy," she said. "Do you wanna talk to mommy grandpa?"

"Sure sweetheart," I told her.

"Ok grandpa. I love you," she told me.

"I love you too sweetheart."

"Hi dad, is everything ok?" she asked as she grabbed the phone.

"Caroline, sweetheart. Everything's just fine. I was just calling to check in and see how everything is going. How are you and the kids? What is George up to? it has been a while since he has called me," I said to her.

"I am doing good dad. Just got a promotion at work. The girls are both doing great. Abby just started kindergarten and Sophie has moved on to the first grade. George has been really busy at the firm. Dad you would be so proud, I shouldn't tell you. He wants it to be a surprise, but he is about to be named partner," she said.

"That is wonderful sweetheart. Don't worry I wont say anything and will act surprised when he tells me," I chuckled.

"Thanks dad. I'm sure he would love that."

"Well sweetheart I am still at the office, so I should get headed for home now I will talk to you later. Give the kids kisses for me," I said.

"I will dad. Have a good night," she replied.

I hung up the phone, leaned back in my chair and let out a big sigh as I stretched my arms above my head and got ready to head home for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was in my office he next morning when there was a knock on my door. The bailiff opened the door, "The Sullivan children are here with the grandparents your honor."

"Ah yes let them in please," I told him.

Both children and the grandparents walked into the room. The children were quiet and seemed to be shy and reserved. I put a smile on my face as they looked over at me. "Hello and welcome. Please come in and have a seat on the couch here and lets talk for a bit."

"It's ok kids. The judge just wants to talk to you guys for a little bit," said their grandmother.

They made their way to the couch and sat in the middle with the grandparents sitting on either side of them. "Hello. You must be Mikala and William," I said to them.

They both nodded their heads. "Yes sir, your honor," said Mikala who was the oldest at 10.

"Please just call me Jeff, no need for your honor or any of that stuff in here. So Tell me kids, are you guys having fun with grandma and grandpa? Do you like staying with them?" I asked.

They shook their heads, "Yes sir, Grandma makes us cookies," said William with a smile.

I chuckled, "That's good. My grandma used to make me cookies all the time too. Tel ya what kids why don't you guys go with the officer for a minute I want to talk to your grandparents in private then ill bring you each back in so we can chat. Would you like that?" I asked them.

They both nodded and said, "OK."

I waited for the bailiff to take the children out to the hall. "Mr. And Mrs. Sullivan, the reason I gave you temporary custody of the children is based on some things I have witnessed and heard on the evidence of your daughter-in-laws adultery. It does not look good for either one of them right now as far as the well-being of the children are concerned. Their well-being must take priority over everything else."

Mrs. Sullivan was shaking her head, "You are right Jeff. I honestly don't know where we went wrong raising our son," she said letting out a sob.

I handed her a box of tissues from my desk. "None of this is your fault. Tell me how often before this did the children spend with you? How much did they ask you to babysit the kids?"

"The sad truth is, we had the kids more than their own parents. We had a much bigger part in raising them. They would spend most of the time when they were not working, off gallivanting around the town somewhere. Sometimes with each other, sometimes with someone else," said Mrs. Sullivan.

"I see. Could you both wait out in the hall for me Id like to talk to the children for a bit. Could you please send William in for me first?" I asked.

"Of course," said Mrs. Sullivan as they stood and made their way to the door.

Seconds later little William came walking through the door. I looked over at him and smiled, "Hello William. Please come sit. I would like to talk to you a little bit about your mom and dad if that's ok."

He shook his head and came over to sit on the couch. "Am I in trouble? Is that why mommy and daddy are fighting all the time?" He asked me.

The poor child only 8 years old and having to have the burden of parents like this, thinking it is all his fault. I let out a sigh, "No William you are not in trouble. Non of this is your fault. Do you see mommy and daddy fight a lot?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Yes sir, all the time. It scares me a lot. I try to tell them im scared but they just yell at me to be quiet and watch TV."

"I see. And does your mom or dad ever spend any time with you? Playing games or reading to you before bed? How about at suppertime, do you all sit together and eat like a family should?" I asked him.

"No sir they always tell me to just go to bed. Its usually my sister that helps me get ready and tucks me in at night. She is the one I spend most of the time playing with, or with grandma and pops when we are with them," he told me.

I let out a sigh, "Ok William, why don't you go out into the hall with your grandparents and have your sister come in for a few minutes please. Thank you for taking the time to come talk to me."

The boy stood up and smiled at me and shook my hand. That surprised me coming from an 8 year old boy. "You're welcome sir and thank you for helping my family." I was speechless at the manors this young child had, I knew right away it had to be the grandparents doing.

Seconds later Mikala walked in and sat down in front of me. "Hello Milkala. I just want to ask you a few questions then you can go home with your grandparents, will that be ok?" I asked her.

"Yes sir," she said.

"Do you like living with your grandparents Mikala?" I asked her.

"Yes, very much. Grandma lets me help her make cookies, and grandpa is always helping me with my school work," she said.

"That's nice. That's what good grandparents should do. Does your mom and dad ever do any of that kind of stuff with you?" I asked her.

She looked so sad as I asked her about that. "No sir, they are always too busy. They are fighting with each other all the time or not at home. Sometimes when I ask for help they call me bad names and tell me to go away," she said with tears coming to her eyes.

My heart started to ache for the poor child. I knew then and there what needed to be done. "OK sweetheart we don't need to talk about this any more. Why don't you go back outside and have your grandparents come back in for a minute."