Help Me Protect Alicia

My child's father, whom had domestically abused me, made a private arrangement with me for full child custody. The parameters of the agreement were that I would exchange hiding the domestic violence in order to not hinder his application into the NYPD. The other agreement for me to have full custody is for him to pay far less than I was entitled to. Not shockingly, he was rejected by the NYPD during the screening process. Now that he no longer needs me to hide his abuse, and now that I have moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota to reap the rewards of my hard work in finishing school so that I can work in my field, he is going back on his word and suing for sole custody. I was unable to work in New York while I was in school, being that he couldn't be bothered to show up consistently enough for me to work, nor would he give me enough child support to even come close to affording daycare. I was served my papers at 9pm Friday, August 10th for a preliminary trail hearing on Wednesday, August 29th. I managed to scrape together a loan to pay for the plane ticket for myself. Sadly, the court date is the exact date of Alicia's first day of Kindergarten. My wonderful fiance Ron will be the one tending to that in my stead. We just signed a brand new lease and just dont have the funds for an attorney's retainer. This is the best quote we got so far, without sacrificing experience or quality. I'm trying to find something more affordable, but I'm now just 2 business days prior to the trial and I'm stuck.  For those who know me, I hate asking for help. So you know I'm in absolute dire need to resort to this. If you are more comfortable loaning me money as well  we can try to work something out. Like any properly functioning parent, I'd do anything for my child's well being. Thank for your time and consideration. Respectfully, Vraja