In the airy corridor of Leeds Family Court, a father hugs his young son - the baby nibbling on the waistband of his dad's hoodie, grinning from ear to ear.
It's a smile of magnetic power.
Lawyers in pressed black suits greet each other hastily, while Freddy coos and giggles in return.
In this court, children are separated from their parents every day.
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It is rare to see a child here, let alone happy because he is with his parents again.
We spent three weeks in British courtrooms, reporting from the hearing which are normally held behind closed doors, as part of a pilot project.
- Names of children and parents have been changed
During the 15 different cases we looked at, there were harrowing histories of abuse, shocking neglect, children sometimes living in homes without food or heating.
Their parents often abuse drugs and alcohol or suffer from mental illness.
Those parents are usually present in court and listening to these descriptions - and are often understandably upset or angry.
In these cases, where a request is usually made to the local authorities to take custody of the children, the atmosphere can be extremely tense.
Children can be taken away as soon as the court session is over.
If the city takes custody of the child, they enter an overburdened system with a record number of children - 82.000 in England.
There is an acute shortage of places for the most vulnerable or problematic teenagers.
Freddie's mother, Jessie, had been here many times before.
She has given birth to five children, but baby Freddie is the first she may be able to keep.
That depends on the decision of Nancy Hillier, senior judge of this court.
In the past, Jessie abused drugs and alcohol.
Sexually abused as a girl, she also suffered from mental problems.
Court records described her lifestyle as "chaotic."
She gave birth to her first baby as a teenager, and the state took custody of her.
Jessie soon became pregnant again and that child was also taken from her.
And it happened to her again and again.
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She was putting the child in "physical and emotional danger," according to the expert report.
Jessie was advised to go to specialist therapy, but none was available on the NHS.
She told us that she tried to borrow money to pay for it herself, but without success.
She even thought about going to the greengrocer.
"It was a huge rollercoaster," she says.
"I really don't understand why they say, 'Okay, you have to do this, this and that,' and it's not available to you."
Researchers tell us that it is common for mothers in these cases to be recommended specialist therapy, to which access is blocked before the court proceedings are over.
This became evident in another case in Leeds, in which Sarah tried to prevent her little Ellie from being adopted.
This would separate her from her biological family and end her very close relationship with her older half-siblings, children from Sarah's previous relationships who currently live with their father.
"They play together, hug each other. They love each other," said one lawyer, noting that the bond between siblings is the most important in life.
In her late twenties, neatly dressed, her hair tied in a ponytail, Sara sat poised the entire time.
She listened carefully to everything that was said.
She wanted Eli to come home or stay in foster care while she went to therapy.
Several times, when the lawyer showed a photo of the siblings together or mentioned Ella's father, Sara would cover her face or sob loudly.
The therapy was recommended to her by a specialized psychologist who performed her assessment for the court's needs.
Her case had dragged on for 18 months and she was still on the NHS waiting list.
The local authorities did not offer to pay for the treatment.
It's "cruel" that she can't get therapy, attorney Christopher Stiles said as he cross-examined his mother's social worker.
"I can't say I completely disagree with you," she replied.
Sara managed to overcome alcohol and drug addiction.
She claimed to have broken up with her abusive ex, but social workers doubt that.
He was most likely responsible for one child's injuries, which led to this court case.
The judge approved the adoption order and said that Sara needs to go to therapy because she will continue to see other children.
Jess's situation was different.
She managed to deal with her past problems on her own.
She told us that the isolation of the curfew during the covid pandemic gave her time to think about everything.
When she started seeing Freddie's father, she researched his past and found him to be "as clean as a tear" - unlike some of her other partners.
She said: "I thought, this is my chance to be happy."
Jessie trained for a new job, which she loves, and which also requires her to stay sober, out of trouble, and healthy.
"I can't afford to have a nervous breakdown," she said.
When a child is first placed in custody - as Freddie was taken from her at birth - it is through a temporary custody order issued by the court.
The court will then order an evaluation of the parents to see if the child can be safely returned to them or another family member, whether it will remain in state custody or be adopted.
Family lawyer Lucy Reed said that the courts are really trying to keep children within the framework of the natural family, as the law requires.
Sometimes this can lead to decisions that seem strange to those who do not know the system.
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We also attended the case of baby Jamie, who was born in a withdrawal crisis from opiates, because his mother was addicted to heroin.
He had trouble breathing and feeding, according to court records.
The nurses described him as "restless", "non-stop sneezing" and "very stiff".
One sister said it was the worst case of withdrawal crisis she had ever seen.
Jamie was assigned to a relative to live with him.
His father Joe wanted the baby to live with him.
Joe used cannabis and heroin, but recently stopped doing so.
The court was told that after much effort he managed to convince the West Yorkshire local authority that the baby would be safe with him.
Beverley Barnett Jones has worked on the frontline of child protection for nearly 30 years.
She is now at the Family Law Observatory in Nuffield. He says that such decisions are not big exceptions.
She says most people would question why it was done. But she says that people can change.
"It will surprise you. And it will show you that this change is real, it's authentic."
Joe worked closely with social workers and had a lot of support from his family.
He told us that the baby is doing well now and that he is enjoying being a young father.
"Suddenly life is worth living," he says. "It's amazing."
Since the court granted the guardianship order for Jamie, his father will receive additional help from social workers.
But it also means that parental responsibility is shared between Joe and the local authority.
If anything goes wrong, local authorities can take the baby back into their custody.
And in Freddy's case, the family reports were positive.
The child's protector, who represents his interests, also supported his return home.
The same psychologist who assessed that Jessie could not safely care for her fourth child, this time wrote that her "psychological and emotional stability has improved significantly" and that "there are currently no significant problems."
Freddie was returned to his parents a few weeks before the court session and it went very well.
Jessie told us it was like he was her first child.
"The first night he stayed with us, it was very, very strange to wake up to a baby crying," she says.
And then when she peeked over the bed rail and saw his "smiling face", she thought that "the fight was worth it" and she was "glad she didn't give up".
In court, Judge Hillier praised Jess' "remarkable turnaround" saying "these parents have made fantastic progress with Freddie" and concluded "how he is thriving under their care".
She also challenged the local authorities' decision, saying they had to rewrite the document explaining why they acted in this case.
In the document, Jessa's psychological problems are stated as current, when in fact they are from the past.
Jessie told me outside the court that she felt redeemed, especially when the judge told the state's attorney to redact the document.
"It's like someone turned to the local authorities and told them on my behalf:: 'We told you nicely.'"
West Yorkshire local authorities will provide support under the so-called with a supervision order.
This means that local authorities must "advise, help and befriend" the child.
Many mothers can't get out of the "vulnerable rut," as Jessie described it.
As soon as one baby is taken from them, they quickly become pregnant again, and there is an extremely high probability that the second child will be taken from them as well.
Professor Karen Broadhurst has been studying babies "born into state custody" for almost a decade.
"We are aware that the statistics remain stubbornly high," she says.
"We estimate that every fourth woman will at least return to court. And for the youngest women, it is one in three, which is an extremely high percentage."
We were able to follow these cases, to speak to Jessie and Joe, thanks to an "open law" experiment currently running in three court centers - Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle.
For decades there have been calls for greater openness in family courts, which this pilot project hopes to achieve.
Currently, most courts sit behind closed doors.
Lucy Reid is the founder of the Transparency Project, and supports this experiment.
"I think it has the potential to be very significant," she told us, admitting that she'll have to go through some "childish illnesses."
The courts are trying to solve them.
In the courts, we saw lawyers representing local authorities, children and their parents.
The process is hostile, which can seem aggressive, especially when people are being cross-examined.
Some of the cases were urgently convened as extraordinary sessions - one mother addressed the judge from the hospital's maternity ward.
Several cases dragged on for months, exceeding the court's 26-week deadline for concluding a case.
Jessie says she's glad we attended her case.
"It was about time," she said.
"Family courts need to stop being so secretive. People need to see what's going on."
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