“Baby… baby. Wake up. The judge has made his decision,” Brian whispered in my ear, rousing me from the clutches of the nightmare I had just been at the mercy of. It had seemed so real. I could still hear the judge’s words echoing in my mind: “After carefully reviewing the evidence, it is the will of this court that full custody of Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell be granted to Leighanne Wallace.”

“Oh thank you, God!” I exclaimed when I was finally able to grasp the fact that the verdict had just been a dream, nothing more.

“Are you okay, baby? You’re sweating and shivering,” Brian mentioned.

“I just had the most terrible nightmare. Leighanne won the case and got custody of Baylee. It seemed so real, Brian. I could have sworn it was real,” I cried, my shaking increasing with every thought spent remembering the dream.

“Oh, honey.” He pulled me into his arms, soothing my frayed nerves as my shaking finally subsided. “It was just a dream.” He continued to hold me, trying to soothe my fears away. I took several deep, calming breaths before pulling back. When I had finally calmed down enough to walk again, we made our way to the courtroom to hear the judge’s verdict.

The judge entered the courtroom, the same way he had in my dream. As we all took our seats, I watched him shuffle through the papers on his stand before his gaze turned to Brian and I. He lingered on us for awhile before shifting his gaze to Leighanne. His face revealed nothing of his final decision, and I blindly reached out for Brian’s hand, just needing to feel him. He grasped my hand in his and squeezed, letting me know he was with me.

Finally, the judge started talking. “After carefully reviewing the evidence, it is the will of this court that full custody of Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell be granted to Brian Littrell and that maternal rights be returned to Melanie Davis, effective immediately. This case is hereby closed.” Brian and I looked at each other, our eyes wide with shock and tears shining in both our eyes. We had won. Our son was ours again. We didn’t have to worry about Leighanne interfering in our lives anymore. With the judge’s decision, a huge weight had been lifted off both our shoulders. Finally, Brian turned to me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me passionately. In the background, we could hear the guys cheering for us as they made their way to the front to congratulate us.

I pulled away from Brian for a second, turning to Jackie, who was packing up his materials. “Jackie, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve given me back today. I owe you everything,” I told him, more tears falling from my eye.

“I told you, Mel. You don’t owe me anything. I’d do anything for you. I love you as if you were my own daughter. I’m just glad you’re happy and you’ve found yourself a nice young man to marry,” he told me, winking at me.

“Still, I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve given me back today. If you ever need ANYTHING, you let us know, okay, Jackie?” I offered.

“I’ll keep that in mind when my baby is born,” he laughed, giving me a big hug. “Now go be with your fiancé and your friends.”

“I love you, Jackie,” I told him one last time.

“I love you, too, sweetheart,” he responded back, a bittersweet smile on his face as he undoubtedly was remembering my mom. I watched him as he picked up his briefcase and walked out of the courtroom, a smile on my face.

I let out a sigh of relief and turned around, only to find Brian standing behind me, a huge smile on his face. We didn’t say a word as he pulled me into his arms, holding me close to him. Despite all the noise around us, Brian and I lost ourselves in our own world, happy just to be together.

I looked up into his caring blue eyes, amazed that I had finally reached this point in my life. Here I was with the only man I had ever loved, in his arms, lost in his eyes, knowing they held my past, my present and my future. I never wanted to leave, but I guess some things just aren’t meant to be. Just before all chaos broke loose, we said the only things in our hearts at that moment. “I love you.”

We didn’t have a chance to say anything else before the rest of the Boys attacked us in a group hug. “Congratulations” and other various celebratory phrases were shouted out as we all showed out excitement at the final decision.

I looked around me, my eyes lingering on each of the guys. Nick was smiling and laughing, his innocence and playfulness written on his sleeve. He was so full of life and had a heart as big as the sun. He never let life’s hardships keep him down for too long. He always saw the bright side at the end of the dark road. That was what I loved most about him. His optimistic nature was contagious, and his child-like wonder made you want to join in his fun and recapture your youth again. He had so much to offer the world. It was no wonder he was the object of so many women’s fantasies.

Next, my eyes landed on Howie. He was one of the most amazing guys I had ever met. He was the sweetest person alive, always putting other people first. I had never seen a single selfish act come from that man. He had the biggest heart I had ever seen, with the biggest capacity for love. His eyes really did tell his soul’s story. He had seen plenty of rough times. He had been hurt and scarred, but he never let that ruin the way he treated others. He took every day in stride, learning and keeping an eye out just in case he should find someone who needed a little help and spirit lifting.

I looked over at Kevin, who was taking a break from his usual serious, well-mannered, quiet self and was letting loose around his friends. Kevin had shocked me the most out of all the guys. His support never wavered in his friends and family. He showed them every day the true meaning of unconditional love. Sure, he put on a serious, father-figure persona most of the time, but that was only because he was trying to do everything in his power to protect his loved ones and to help prepare them for the future. He only wanted the best for everyone. And the most amazing thing about him was the fact that he was willing to sacrifice anything to ensure the happiness of his loved ones. He was so strong, too. He was the rock that held others together when they felt like they were falling apart. I could tell by the looks on the other guys’ faces when they looked at him that they knew they would not be where they are today without his determination and willingness to stand strong and firm in his decisions and in the best interests of everyone else.

I turned my attention to Alex. He had been my rock when I thought there was no way I could even make it through one more day. He had stayed by my side through my darkest times, and he was always willing to drop everything to be there for the ones he loved. He had been through more than enough in his life that would leave most people bitter and heartless. Alex was just the opposite. He was always on the lookout for his next big adventure, and he was always the one to get hurt because he never wanted to cause another person pain if he could help it. His heart was the thing that I loved most about him. His ability to make any situation fun was another major factor.

Finally, my eyes rested on Brian. He was smiling and laughing with Nick, joking around like he always seemed to be doing. His eyes shone with pure happiness – something I had never seen from another adult in my life. Brian had the heart of a kid, but the mind of a man. He lived to make others happy and to bring a little joy to their lives. Every time he smiled, you could see all the laugh lines, permanently etched on his face from a lifetime of smiling and laughing. He lived his life purely. And his faith never wavered no matter what situation he found himself in. He could make even the most skeptic person step back and take another look. He was the most amazing man I had ever met.

He must have felt my eyes on him because he lifted his eyes to mine, catching me gaze. He gave me a questioning look, but I just shook my head, telling him it wasn’t important. He smiled at me before returning to his conversation with Nick. Every few seconds, though, I would catch him looking my way again.

Yeah. This was my life, and I loved it. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world.

Finally, Brian finished his conversation with the guys, and he made his way to where I was standing, watching them. “What’s with that look on your face?” he asked, reaching me.

“What look?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“The ‘I-just-had-a-revelation’ look that suddenly appeared on your face,” he teased.

“Nothing. I was just wondering how I got so lucky,” I told him, smiling as he kissed my forehead.

He gave me a long, analyzing look before giving up trying to figure out what was running through my mind. He just smiled, pulled me in for a short, sweet kiss before saying the words I had been waiting to hear.  “Let’s go get our son.”

Our son. Our family. Oh yeah… life was good.