Grandparents Of Cherokee Girl Fight To Keep Her In Oklahoma

The grandparents of a little Cherokee girl at the center of a custody battle said they're devastated with Wednesday's South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that ordered Veronica Brown to be returned to a couple in that state.

But her Oklahoma grandparents are fighting to keep the girl here with her father. They spoke with News On 6 exclusively.

The grandparents filed their own adoption papers in Oklahoma for Veronica, in case their son's parental rights are terminated.

Veronica and her step-mom, Robin, are visiting the grandparents, to make the most of whatever time they have left.

7/17/2013 Related Story: South Carolina Court Orders Baby Veronica Returned To Adoptive Parents

"She's so happy with us. We brought her home, the minute we got her in the car within three blocks, she was calling Dusten 'Daddy,'" Veronica's grandmother, Alice, said.

Alice and Tommy are "Mimi" and "Poppy" to Veronica. She's been with the family in Oklahoma for 19 months now.

Before that, Matt and Melanie Capobianco raised the child in South Carolina the first two years of her life, and now the Supreme Court there ruled in favor of giving Veronica back to them.

"It's tense, knowing we got her and we went all this distance with her, and they want to give her back to the other family," Tommy said.

They say the court order doesn't have Veronica's best interest in mind, because she's settled into her life in Oklahoma. They fear the consequences of removing a child from what they say is the only home she actually remembers.

"What this will do to her mentally, I'm just so afraid that this is going to scar her," Alice said.

Alice and Tommy don't doubt that the Capobiancos love Veronica.

"I see their side, too, they love her," Tommy said. "But I don't think things were handled in her best interest."

But they're moving forward with making her life in Oklahoma the most comfortable for her. They say they've brought in a bonding expert, who says removing the child now would be detrimental.

They've also introduced Veronica to their Cherokee customs, and they say she knows she's Indian.

Alice and Tommy said she'll never have to ask where she came from.

"'What did my grandma, my poppy, what were they like?' No one has those answers for her but us, and I will always be here for her," Alice said.

While Veronica plays with princesses, her family plays the waiting game.

It's unclear what motions will be filed before the deadline in South Carolina, so they're savoring every second with Veronica here in Oklahoma.

Dusten Brown and his family have contacted Senator Jim Inhofe, asking him to help them keep Veronica here, and they're asking others to do the same on their behalf.