While they agreed to be the boy’s godparents, both Reg Robellati (Thomas Gibson, Dharma & Greg, Chicago Hope) and Julia Foster (Poppy Montgomery, Without a Trace) are blindsided when, with the death of his mom and dad, nine-year-old Waylon Moore (Jeremy Bergman, Third Watch) is left in their care.  Though neither seems cut out for parenthood – Reg is a café owner whose on again-off again relationship with his girlfriend, Valerie, is far from stable; and Julia is a photographer whose rock and roll lifestyle is hardly suited for kids – they head for the retirement community where Waylon is staying with his eccentric Great Aunt Marie (Doris Roberts, Everybody Loves Raymond).  While they would like nothing more than to have Marie keep him, Reg and Julia agree that Waylon needs them.  But when they propose raising him in their separate households, the judge insists that, even if they choose to do it apart, Reg and Julia must care for Waylon in his own home.

Just minutes into their new lives as parents, scheduling problems force Julia and Reg to make some difficult adjustments.  But when Reg and some of his buddies are teaching young Waylon the finer points of poker, social worker Terry Allen arrives for an unannounced home visit.  And following their own firsthand look at the regimented parenting style of their neighbors, Craig and Tina Stanfill, Reg and Julia learn that, as a result of Terry’s report, Judge Caldwell is insisting that they live together in the boy’s family home.  While moving in with Waylon presents Reg and Julia with many unfamiliar choices, when Marie drops in to see how they are doing, she makes it clear that good scheduling isn’t the same as good parenting.

Back in court, news that the Stanfills have petitioned for custody has Julia and Reg working harder than ever to be the kind of parents Waylon deserves.  With the social worker’s reports coming down increasingly in favor of the Stanfills, Julia turns down a lucrative out-of-town work assignment as Reg hires her to take pictures to promote the café.  However, when Valerie suggests getting married so she could provide Waylon with a mother, Julia won’t be pushed aside.  Worried about coming between them, Waylon heads for the Stanfill’s on his own.  Upon realizing he’s gone, Reg and Julia resolve to bring him back and, after overhearing their heartfelt plea, Waylon is more than happy to go with them.  Finally, seeing that they are committed to doing the best they can, Waylon makes an impassioned courtroom defense on Reg and Julia’s behalf.  And once Marie makes it clear that she also approves of their unconventional approach, the judge sees just how much of a couple they have become as she awards custody to Reg and Julia.