What If?: Season Two

Disclaimer: The show, the characters, and some of the text is not mine.

Rated: PG-15

Warnings: Same as the show I guess: language, gay sex, nudity (not that you can see it), drama, angst, violence.

Pairings: Brian/Justin (friendship then possibly more), Brian/Michael (friendship), Brian/Other, Michael/David, Michael/Ben, Justin/Other

Summary: The sequel to "What If", pretty much chronicles the second season in this universe with some flashbacks or points from the "first season."

Note 1: Brian is only 26 in the beginning of this fic. Justin is 18.

Note 2: Characters will be AU and the timeline is a bit different.

Note 3: Some quotes and scenes are directly from the show (I don't own them) but others are mine and some have been fixed up a bit. If you recognize it, I don't own it (probably.)

Note 4: This series will be in four parts - i have the first three done. Part four is going to be a combination of seasons 4 and 5 of the show. Once all four parts are up i PLAN to do a few long ficlets that will portray other characters - some things are obviously not canon and i plan to keep it CLOSE to canon but not exactly like the show. As for Justin's schooling... i hope this part in the series clears it up a bit. If not i'll post a note in one of the other chapters to clear it up.

Note 5: I also have a few other fics that i've been wanting to write out so keep on a look out for those!

BIG THANKS to all my readers and reviewers.

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Chapter One: Trial, Day One

Friday June 4 1999

Chris Hobbs and his posse were lined up in a row in the defendants chairs. Five boys, five lawyers. All pleaded not guilty and for a quick joint trial with no jury. Melanie, upon finding out who the presiding judge would be, agreed almost immediately – the boys wouldn't get off scott-free with this judge as their jury.

With this in mind, Melanie began her opening argument.

"Exactly two weeks ago today, my clients were enjoying a nice evening at the Dance Hall." Melanie spoke, voice wavering slightly as she addressed the judge. She took a deep breath. "That special night ended in tragedy when the defendants decided to leave the party." She glanced at the boys. "They left their peers dancing to run to retrieve baseball bats from a nearby car. They stalked my clients." She paused again. "Then they swung – Brian Kinney fell. Justin Taylor fell not five seconds later. Neither of them got up again as they were assaulted viciously for over twenty minutes."

There was a cry from the audience and Melanie shot Jennifer Taylor a brief look of sadness. Debbie, who was sitting with her, pulled her into a hug as the rest of the group tried to keep themselves from cracking.

"The defendants would have you believe, your honor, that Brian and Justin deserved their fate simply because they loved each other. Simply because they danced at their Prom just like every other couple, and then left together. The defendants may call it 'divine intervention' but I call it a hate crime." She finished, returning to her seat. Hobbs' lawyer stood up next and cleared his throat.

"I speak for my colleague as well as myself when I say that what happened was a tragedy. But our clients were not in their right state of mind – they had too much to drink before arriving at the party. And when they arrived it was to see two men involved in a provocative dance. Mr. Hobbs and his friends were shaken to the core and acted irrationally." He sat back down to quiet boos from the audience.

Cameras flashed form the corners, people whispered. This case was big, and due to it's fame was set up to start and finish quickly. Each arguing side had a handful of witnesses that were to be sworn in and questioned that day: doctors and some classmates. The main witnesses – Jennifer, Daphne, Damian, and a few others - and defendants were to be called the following day.

The first witness, a classmate of Justin and Chris, was called to the stand and sworn it. Chris' big shot lawyer was the first to question her: he got her name, then tried to steer her into vilifying Justin and his behavior at school. After a few answers he quickly realized that he wasn't going to get what he wanted from the girl, who had nothing bad to say bout Justin but everything bad to say about Chris and his friends. He quickly sat back down with his colleagues, who had nothing to ask at the time.

Melanie quickly got to the point when she began her cross examination – who she was, how she knew the defendants and victims, how Chris and Justin acted at school, and then how she felt at the Prom. She let the girl ramble about how nice Justin was at school, that no he didn't flaunt his sexuality, and how Chris or one of his friends was always the one to start the fights or point it out to others.

The next four witnesses said exactly the same thing: No Justin didn't flaunt himself though he did act and speak a bit differently, Yes Chris and his buddies picked on him and other people in the school, No Justin never had sex in the broom closet or bathrooms that anyone knew of, and Yes Chris and his buddies had short tempers and never liked anyone that was different than himself or society norm.

Melanie smirked to herself as the defendant's lawyers declined calling any more student witnesses. She glanced at the Liberty Gang to see that they were keeping it together. She nodded once at Debbie to prepare her and Jennifer for the next witness: the ER doctor that treated Justin and Brian.

Immediately the big shot lawyer, Davidson, pounced on the only real lead he had for his client and for his colleagues. "Was there any evidence to support that my client assaulted the victims for any specific reason?"

"I'm not qualified to answer that, because I didn't handle any of the evidence we plled off of Mr. Kinney or Mr. Taylor. That would be the CSI team." He nodded to someone in the crowd. Melanie's next witness, apparently. "But I've been in the ER for many years and i've dealt with many victims of natural, and not so natural, problems. I've never seen any injuries like this that weren't caused by extreme hatred or frustration." Melanie smirked again as Davidson quickly sat back down.

"Could the injuries have been sustained in some other way?" One of the other lawyers asked.

"Possible." The ER doctor admitted. "Perhaps an extreme car accident. But most of the injuries were sustained in a different manner."

"No more questions." The other lawyer said. The boys were looking less smug, and a bit angry. Melanie stood up and smoothed her jacket before stepping forward.

"Tell me honestly what you thought when Mr. Kinney and Mr. Taylor were rushed in that Friday night." She started. The ER doctor cleared his throat.

"When I first saw them they were covered in bruises and blood. They were filthy. I thought maybe they had been in a car accident – very little else could normally cause this sort of look. As they were rushed in I could tell immediately that they were both in danger. I wasn't sure they were going to make it."

"Can you describe what your team did?"

"As best I can – it happens so fast. I remember setting up IVs and squeezing some fluids into them. I remember plugging them up to the monitors. I remember ordering transfusions for both men." He paused. "Beyond that I vaguely remember checking them for broken spines and other injuries. They crashed a few times but we were able to bring them back easy enough."

"Crashed?"

"Their hearts stopped. They were bleeding so heavily and I could see they both had head wounds. We stabilized them as best we could then I paged for a specialist – they were rushed up to x-ray and that's the last I saw of them." Melanie nodded, sat down with a shaky sigh, and the ER doctor was swapped for the man now responsible for Justin and Brian in the hospital.

Davidson and co had no questions for the man, other than the same thing that was already asked – was there any proof of who or why the pair were attacked. They got the same answer – anything was possible but unless it was a car crash (and even then it was dubious) then the only explanation from a professional medical view was an assault. Each doctor was clear to point out that only an enraged person or group could have caused such injuries - simple anger at, say, cheating on a test had never been that bad (he then proceeded to outline several cases where fellow students beat each other up for similar juvenile reasons.)

"Could you please describe the injuries Mr. Kinney sustained?" Melanie asked as soon as the roar from the courtroom died down.

"Well, after numerous x-rays and a CT scan we found quite a bit of damage. He had a serious head wound directly on the back of his head, just above his neck, that was bleeding profusely both outside and in – we had to drain some of the blood from his brain or he would have died. " The doctor paused. "Beyond that his worst injuries included a dislocated right shoulder, broken collar bone on the same side, and some broken ribs. Among his minor injuries were several small lacerations and bruises."

"Could you speculate as to how he could gain such injuries?" Melanie asked, wording the question carefully.

"The shoulder was popped at a certain forward angle, which suggests that it was bent behind his back. If it were a car accident it likely would have popped back or to the side, maybe upwards. The bruises were the worst on his wrists, the small of his back, and his legs."

"Could the bruises have come from a car accident – based on your experience treating such injuries?"

"Absolutely not. The broken collar bone maybe, but the other injuries were not typical of a car accident. In car accidents we see bruising along the should and chest - seatbelt injuries - and facial injuries. Sometimes bruising along the thighs or feet and upper arms. " Melanie nodded. She shuffled her papers for a moment.

"Can you describe Justin Taylor's injuries, please?" She heard Jennifer sniffling in the background.

"Mr. Taylor also had a head injury, although his was more off to one side. We had to drain blood from his head as well. I wouldn't hesitate to say that we had to drain more from him than his partner. Mr. Taylor is by far worse off in terms of other injuries. He had multiple cracks to the bones along his shoulders and top portion of his back, none of his ribs were spared – meaning all were bruised or broken – and his right hand was completely shattered."

Melanie winced as Jennifer began to cry in earnest. She let the court room settle down before asking the next question. "What was done for them?"

"Well, the surgery to drain blood form their brains. We also had to do some fancy surgery to repair the skull itself in both cases. Mr. Kinney was in surgery for his collar bone and we had to re-set his shoulder. Some of the lacerations needed stitches, but beyond that we provided powerful pain relief and let him rest." He paused. "As for Mr. Taylor, we had to go in surgically to repair some of the broken bones along his back and shoulders. He went into microsurgery two days ago so they could piece the bones in his hand back together."

"What do you predict the outcome to be?" Melanie asked the hardest question last. The doctor looked grim.

"They're currently in a coma. We don't know when, or even if, they will wake up. When they do they can have a whole array of problems from the head injury alone – memory loss, paralysis, seizures, difficulty speaking, seeing, hearing, walking, or understanding. Mr. Kinney is luck in the fact that beyond any of that he'll heal rather nicely and won't have much trouble with his arm or collar bone." The man sighed. "Mr Taylor has a whole array of problems to get through should he wake. Not counting the same possibilities from his head injury, he'll have difficulties with that whole arm as well as his shoulders. He'll probably need physical therapy for a long while and may never recover full use of his hand."

Melanie nodded sadly. The man was allowed to step down. The judge called a halt to the proceedings, and there was a swarm to get out of the stuffy room. Melanie moved slowly to join the Liberty Avenue gang and they stood in silence.

TBC