Post by Wiccan Requiem on Mar 15, 2007 9:23:03 GMT 10
(Sorry for the long pause. Fic's been finished for a while)
Convictions Aren’t Fair
“Matthew,” Alex called, knocking on the door to his bedroom. It had been two weeks since he’d spent his first night with her. She was pleased at how well he was adjusting to being in a new place. She received no response to her knock. She sighed and opened the door. She turned on the light in hopes to rouse him. What she found made her heart skip a beat. The bed was empty and upon further inspection she found the window open. She had to grip the window sill to keep from falling over in panic. Her stomach started to crinkle in knots of déjà vu and nausea.
“This can’t be happening again,” she rasped to herself. Moments later a sharp knocking came from the front door. She steadied herself and closed the distance as quickly as she could. She yanked the door open as fast as she could. The ADA came face to face with a slightly irritated Olivia, holding a guilty looking Matthew by the arm.
“I believe he belongs to you,” Olivia stated. Alex glared her son and ushered both of them into the front hall.
“Sit down,” Alex ordered the eleven-year-old.
“You’d better start explaining why I find your room empty and then you are brought home by a cop,” she continued.
“I couldn’t sleep. And I didn’t want to wake you up. Olivia gave me her card and it had her address on it…so I went to talk,” he answered. Alex turned her furious gaze on Olivia.
“I didn’t tell him to sneak out on you, Alex. I told him he could call me if he needed to talk,” she stated.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he murmured, giving her puppy dog eyes.
“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. You nearly gave me an anxiety attack, Matt. You can’t just run off whenever you feel like it,” Alex reprimanded, running a hand through her hand. She glanced at her watch and stood up.
“We’ll talk more about this later. You need to get changed or we’re going to be late for court,” she stated, ushering him into his room. Once he was out of earshot she turned to look at Olivia.
“Should I be feeling like the bad guy?” she asked.
“You’re asking the wrong person…but I think you handled it well,” Olivia replied.
“He didn’t mean to scare you. He’s not a bad kid. He’s just getting used to having you back,” Liv added as Matthew emerged from his room. Wordlessly he walked up to Alex and gave her a firm hug.
“Thank you but you’re not off the hook yet,” she murmured, ruffling his hair. With that she bid Olivia goodbye and mother and son headed downstairs. Matthew climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt across his chest as Alex shoved the keys in the ignition.
“I’m scared,” he uttered once they were on the road.
“You’ll do fine. I’ll be in there with you. And just remember to answer all of Liz’s questions like we practiced,” Alex responded.
“Are you scared to testify?” he blurted as she eased on the break at a stop sign.
“Honey, being in a courtroom is my job,” she answered.
“I know…but do you ever have to be the witness?” he pressed.
“Sometimes. And it’s scary the first time but…I’m a little scared, yeah,” she finally replied. He grew silent for the remainder of the trip. As they ascended the courthouse steps they were met by Liz. She gave Matthew a soft smile and gave Alex’s shoulder a firm pat. She led them inside and to a bench outside the courtroom.
“You sure you’re ready, Alex?” Liz asked in a whisper.
“Liz, I’m doing my job. Of course I’m ready,” she answered.
“No, Alex. Right now, your job is to be a mother. Leave the prosecutor out here,” Liz ordered.
“I can’t do that, Liz. It’s part of who I am,” Alex argued.
“Will you at least try to keep your mouth shut when you’re not the stand? We don’t need you in contempt,” Liz murmured.
“Fine,” the ADA answered.
“Oh, their lawyer has sequestered all of the witnesses,” Liz added. Alex rolled her eyes and watched as Liz headed inside.
“Aren’t we going in?” Matthew questioned. Alex cleared her throat and looked her son.
“Not yet. We’re going to have to go in alone,” she began.
“But you said you were going to be there with me,” Matt protested.
“I know. But the Damaris’ lawyer did something called sequestering the witnesses,” she answered.
“What’s that mean?” he inquired.
“It means. That each witness has to go in by themselves,” she stated simply.
“I don’t want to be in there with them,” he whimpered.
“You’ll be ok. They can’t hurt you,” Alex assured him. The pair sat in silence for about ten minutes before the bailiff appeared and called Matthew’s name.
“Just remember, answer the questions honestly,” she whispered and watched him go.
“You nervous?” Olivia asked, sitting down next to Alex.
“Yeah. I swear if he makes Matt cry I’m going to ring his neck,” Alex grumbled. In the court room Matthew kept his gaze focused on Liz like they’d talked about. Everything was going alright. He was answering her questions like they’d practiced.
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Liz stated and sat down behind the table. The Damaris’ lawyer stood up and Matthew started to fidget.
“Matthew is it true that your parents were worried about you when you ran away?” he asked.
“They’re not my parents,” Matthew answered.
“Young man, please answer the question,” the judge stated as kindly as he could.
“I guess they were worried,” he muttered.
“Is it also true that you went to Alex Cabot’s apartment,” he continued.
“Yes,” Matthew began but was cut off by another question.
“Why were you going there? Did you know her?” h e asked.
“No…I…” he tried to answer.
“So you go to some woman’s apartment building in the middle of the night expecting what….she’d just let you in?” he pressed.
“Objection, Your Honor. Badgering the witness,” Liz shouted.
“Sustained,” the judge stated.
“No more questions,” the other lawyer muttered.
“You can step down,” the judge addressed Matthew. He quickly stood up and left the room with the bailiff. The bailiff motioned for Olivia to follow him. Matthew hurriedly filled her seat.
“It’s over,” Alex whispered, holding him in her arms.
“I answered all Liz’s questions. But…he…he kept asking questions and I didn’t know how to answer,” he muttered.
“It’s ok,” Alex consoled. Back in the court room, the defense was attempting to tear Olivia apart.
“Isn’t it true, detective that you obtained files from Mr. Damaris’ office without a warrant and without his consent?” he asked.
“We obtained a warrant that covered the material we found. It was part of an ongoing investigation,” she answered calmly.
“Counsel, approach,” the judge interrupted. Liz and the defense approached the judge.
“What evidence is this?” he asked.
“A binder full of articles about ADA Cabot following her life for the past seven years. These people were stalking her,” Liz explained.
“There is no evidence that suggested it was stalking in nature,” the defense argued.
“Your Honor, they had clippings from every case Ms. Cabot has ever tried in her career,” Liz countered.
“I’m going to have to deliberate about this,” the judge muttered, slamming his gavel down.
“We’re going to take a two hour recess,” he announced. Olivia let out a breath and headed out with Liz. Alex stood up, getting the feeling that something was wrong.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Well…they challenged the black binder. The judge is taking a recess to figure out what he’s going to do about it,” Liz answered. Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed her coat.
“Let’s get some lunch,” she suggested. Her three companions nodded and they headed out the front of the courthouse.
Convictions Aren’t Fair
“Matthew,” Alex called, knocking on the door to his bedroom. It had been two weeks since he’d spent his first night with her. She was pleased at how well he was adjusting to being in a new place. She received no response to her knock. She sighed and opened the door. She turned on the light in hopes to rouse him. What she found made her heart skip a beat. The bed was empty and upon further inspection she found the window open. She had to grip the window sill to keep from falling over in panic. Her stomach started to crinkle in knots of déjà vu and nausea.
“This can’t be happening again,” she rasped to herself. Moments later a sharp knocking came from the front door. She steadied herself and closed the distance as quickly as she could. She yanked the door open as fast as she could. The ADA came face to face with a slightly irritated Olivia, holding a guilty looking Matthew by the arm.
“I believe he belongs to you,” Olivia stated. Alex glared her son and ushered both of them into the front hall.
“Sit down,” Alex ordered the eleven-year-old.
“You’d better start explaining why I find your room empty and then you are brought home by a cop,” she continued.
“I couldn’t sleep. And I didn’t want to wake you up. Olivia gave me her card and it had her address on it…so I went to talk,” he answered. Alex turned her furious gaze on Olivia.
“I didn’t tell him to sneak out on you, Alex. I told him he could call me if he needed to talk,” she stated.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he murmured, giving her puppy dog eyes.
“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. You nearly gave me an anxiety attack, Matt. You can’t just run off whenever you feel like it,” Alex reprimanded, running a hand through her hand. She glanced at her watch and stood up.
“We’ll talk more about this later. You need to get changed or we’re going to be late for court,” she stated, ushering him into his room. Once he was out of earshot she turned to look at Olivia.
“Should I be feeling like the bad guy?” she asked.
“You’re asking the wrong person…but I think you handled it well,” Olivia replied.
“He didn’t mean to scare you. He’s not a bad kid. He’s just getting used to having you back,” Liv added as Matthew emerged from his room. Wordlessly he walked up to Alex and gave her a firm hug.
“Thank you but you’re not off the hook yet,” she murmured, ruffling his hair. With that she bid Olivia goodbye and mother and son headed downstairs. Matthew climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt across his chest as Alex shoved the keys in the ignition.
“I’m scared,” he uttered once they were on the road.
“You’ll do fine. I’ll be in there with you. And just remember to answer all of Liz’s questions like we practiced,” Alex responded.
“Are you scared to testify?” he blurted as she eased on the break at a stop sign.
“Honey, being in a courtroom is my job,” she answered.
“I know…but do you ever have to be the witness?” he pressed.
“Sometimes. And it’s scary the first time but…I’m a little scared, yeah,” she finally replied. He grew silent for the remainder of the trip. As they ascended the courthouse steps they were met by Liz. She gave Matthew a soft smile and gave Alex’s shoulder a firm pat. She led them inside and to a bench outside the courtroom.
“You sure you’re ready, Alex?” Liz asked in a whisper.
“Liz, I’m doing my job. Of course I’m ready,” she answered.
“No, Alex. Right now, your job is to be a mother. Leave the prosecutor out here,” Liz ordered.
“I can’t do that, Liz. It’s part of who I am,” Alex argued.
“Will you at least try to keep your mouth shut when you’re not the stand? We don’t need you in contempt,” Liz murmured.
“Fine,” the ADA answered.
“Oh, their lawyer has sequestered all of the witnesses,” Liz added. Alex rolled her eyes and watched as Liz headed inside.
“Aren’t we going in?” Matthew questioned. Alex cleared her throat and looked her son.
“Not yet. We’re going to have to go in alone,” she began.
“But you said you were going to be there with me,” Matt protested.
“I know. But the Damaris’ lawyer did something called sequestering the witnesses,” she answered.
“What’s that mean?” he inquired.
“It means. That each witness has to go in by themselves,” she stated simply.
“I don’t want to be in there with them,” he whimpered.
“You’ll be ok. They can’t hurt you,” Alex assured him. The pair sat in silence for about ten minutes before the bailiff appeared and called Matthew’s name.
“Just remember, answer the questions honestly,” she whispered and watched him go.
“You nervous?” Olivia asked, sitting down next to Alex.
“Yeah. I swear if he makes Matt cry I’m going to ring his neck,” Alex grumbled. In the court room Matthew kept his gaze focused on Liz like they’d talked about. Everything was going alright. He was answering her questions like they’d practiced.
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Liz stated and sat down behind the table. The Damaris’ lawyer stood up and Matthew started to fidget.
“Matthew is it true that your parents were worried about you when you ran away?” he asked.
“They’re not my parents,” Matthew answered.
“Young man, please answer the question,” the judge stated as kindly as he could.
“I guess they were worried,” he muttered.
“Is it also true that you went to Alex Cabot’s apartment,” he continued.
“Yes,” Matthew began but was cut off by another question.
“Why were you going there? Did you know her?” h e asked.
“No…I…” he tried to answer.
“So you go to some woman’s apartment building in the middle of the night expecting what….she’d just let you in?” he pressed.
“Objection, Your Honor. Badgering the witness,” Liz shouted.
“Sustained,” the judge stated.
“No more questions,” the other lawyer muttered.
“You can step down,” the judge addressed Matthew. He quickly stood up and left the room with the bailiff. The bailiff motioned for Olivia to follow him. Matthew hurriedly filled her seat.
“It’s over,” Alex whispered, holding him in her arms.
“I answered all Liz’s questions. But…he…he kept asking questions and I didn’t know how to answer,” he muttered.
“It’s ok,” Alex consoled. Back in the court room, the defense was attempting to tear Olivia apart.
“Isn’t it true, detective that you obtained files from Mr. Damaris’ office without a warrant and without his consent?” he asked.
“We obtained a warrant that covered the material we found. It was part of an ongoing investigation,” she answered calmly.
“Counsel, approach,” the judge interrupted. Liz and the defense approached the judge.
“What evidence is this?” he asked.
“A binder full of articles about ADA Cabot following her life for the past seven years. These people were stalking her,” Liz explained.
“There is no evidence that suggested it was stalking in nature,” the defense argued.
“Your Honor, they had clippings from every case Ms. Cabot has ever tried in her career,” Liz countered.
“I’m going to have to deliberate about this,” the judge muttered, slamming his gavel down.
“We’re going to take a two hour recess,” he announced. Olivia let out a breath and headed out with Liz. Alex stood up, getting the feeling that something was wrong.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Well…they challenged the black binder. The judge is taking a recess to figure out what he’s going to do about it,” Liz answered. Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed her coat.
“Let’s get some lunch,” she suggested. Her three companions nodded and they headed out the front of the courthouse.