Mari & Ilna—I'm endlessly grateful for your love and support. The two of you make every day brighter and I'm thankful for the chance to continue to build this universe with you.
Sandy—Couldn't have made it through these last months without you. You're simply the best.
REAL Worlders—you guys are the definition of AWESOME! Thanks for making this universe such an AMAZING place.
xxxxxxxxx
Moving Forward (1/1)
Old Court House
Courtroom 3
Monday 3:45 P.M.
From her seat in the witness box Catherine had a clear, unobstructed view of the young man sitting at the defense table a mere fifteen feet away. He was clean shaven and sporting a fresh haircut. He wore a suit that was a full size too large for him, giving the impression of a young boy wearing his father's clothes. The knot in his tie was crooked and on his feet he wore neon green tennis shoes.
Catherine knew these were standard tricks some defense lawyers used in an attempt to make their client seem youthful and innocent.
But this defendant wasn't innocent.
He was a murderer.
It had been a little over a year since the night of the Cutler stakeout. The night when Andrew Burns, driven by jealousy and unrequited love for his boss, Abby Maxwell, killed both John Cutler and Billy Harrington.
Two senseless murders.
That night took away Catherine's boss, her job, and most importantly her friend, and changed her life forever.
The defense had managed to delay the trial for over a year by requesting multiple psychiatric evaluations of their client and by engaging in lengthy plea bargain talks that ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Finally they were out of tricks and it was time for Burns to face a jury of his peers.
The Prosecuting Attorney's office had spent the last week working with Catherine on trial prep even though she assured them it wasn't necessary. That night was burned into her memory. She recalled every minute as though it happened yesterday. The lighthearted conversation with Billy, his concern that cheating husband cases wouldn't be enough to keep her interested in the business, his question about whether she planned on quitting.
Just an average stakeout. Two colleagues working through the growing pains of a new company.
She recalled wrapping up the surveillance and preparing to leave when a strange car arrived unexpectedly.
Then she saw the gun.
And a very average night turned into something tragic.
She remembered a bullet grazing her arm and Billy's voice asking if she was ok.
Then suddenly he was on the ground and she was at his side. He was bleeding profusely but thankfully still alive. Still talking.
She knew there was no time to wait for an ambulance. She raced into the house to check on John Cutler. He may have been a cheater but there was no way she would leave him bleeding out on the floor if there was a chance he could be saved.
She felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
She raced back outside, got Billy in the van, assuring him every step of the way that he was going to be ok, and rushed to the hospital.
But he wasn't ok. It was too late. His injuries were too severe.
She found out during trial prep that the ER doctors would testify that Billy was essentially dead the minute the bullet ripped through his torso. The internal injuries were too massive. It was a miracle he remained conscious as long as he did.
Nothing Catherine could have done would have changed the outcome.
It had taken a long time for her to come to terms with the events of that night. And with the prospect of a trial still looming in front of her, where she would be forced to relive the entire night in detail for the jury, she had been unable to fully make peace with Billy's death.
This was the final step.
As she described the events of that night for the jury she felt a sense of catharsis. In the year plus since the murder she'd found a way to move forward, in large part thanks to Steve's support and encouragement. He'd helped her process the events of that night, deal with her survivor's guilt, and most importantly come to terms with the randomness that led such a mundane stakeout to go so terribly wrong.
Andrew Burns refused to look directly at her even once as she testified. But Catherine couldn't help but look at him.
She took note of the way he held the pencil in his hand, doodling on a yellow legal pad. The grip was so tight his knuckles were nearly white. The pencil's tip was gouging into the paper. She was sure his attorney had coached him to remain passive looking and yet the mere mention of John Cutler's name caused his eyes to narrow and his jaw to tighten.
Catherine described watching Abby and Cutler together through the window as she and Billy gathered information for Sarah Cutler.
She watched with satisfaction as Andrew Burns seethed with each new detail. She wanted the jury to see him for what he really was, not the image his attorney had so carefully crafted.
As her testimony continued his legs began to bounce nervously under the defense table.
Catherine hoped the jury noticed.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Steve sat alone in an aisle seat towards the rear of the courtroom.
The plan had been for the entire team to attend the trial, both as a sign of respect for Billy Harrington and as a show of support for Catherine.
Unfortunately a new high-profile case landed in their laps two days earlier. A multiple murder. And with the perpetrators still at large, and the team one member short as it was with Catherine working on trial prep, Chin, Kono and Danny just couldn't get away.
But there was no question they were there in spirit.
Steve watched Catherine carefully as she testified.
As she recounted the details of that night he was transported back to the moment on the beach when he got the call that she and Billy had been involved in a shooting.
The fear.
The panic.
The memory of sitting at her bedside, praying for her to wake up.
Her stubborn insistence on leaving the hospital and helping with the investigation. His desire to protect her and shield her from the pain. Of course he knew that would be impossible, but it didn't stop him from wanting to do it.
He remembered the weeks after the shooting as he watched Catherine struggle to come to terms with what had happened. How a simple cheating husband stakeout had ended with two men dead.
He watched her work through her guilt about Billy's death. Her self-recrimination. He watched her question her own actions that night over and over trying to figure out if there was something she could have, or should have, done differently.
Some action on her part that could have saved Billy.
And he watched her ultimately come to the conclusion that she had done all she could. That Andrew Burns was a wildcard that neither she nor Billy could have anticipated and there was nothing either of them could have done to change the course of that night's events.
He did his best to be there for her and to offer support and advice without trying to force her to move more quickly or slowly that she was prepared for. He knew she had to work through things at her own pace.
Still, as long as the trial still lay ahead she hadn't been able to put that night to rest completely.
As Catherine finished detailing the events surrounding the shooting, and her testimony moved on to the investigation itself, Steve could see the tension begin to leave her body. There were small, almost imperceptible signs no one else would notice.
The way her breathing slowed slightly and became deeper. The way her posture became less rigid. The way her hands relaxed. Steve knew that in moments of high tension Catherine unconsciously rubbed her left thumb against her forefinger. He smiled to himself as he noticed her hands resting motionless in her lap.
After a few more minutes the prosecution finished up their questioning. When the judge offered the defense attorney a chance to cross examine the witness he declined. Steve couldn't help but grin. He was sure Burns' defense had hoped Catherine would be the kind of unreliable witness they could use to poke holes in the prosecution's case.
But she was exactly the opposite.
As she left the stand and headed back the aisle towards the door of the courtroom their eyes locked. Steve could tell a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She'd done her part.
It was all up to the jury now.
He had no doubt she'd want to be immediately brought up to speed on the new case so she could get right back to work. Billy's memory would always be with her, with both of them, but now maybe they could work on forgetting that last horrible day.
Moving forward he hoped that when Billy's name came up they'd be able to think more of the happy times than the night of his death.
He took one last look at Andrew Burns then stood and followed Catherine into the hallway.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
A gray haired man stood at the top of the courthouse steps gathering his thoughts and reflecting on the events of the last several days.
The trial thus far had been excruciating.
Listening to the medical professionals recite the litany of damage Andrew Burns' bullet had done to Billy.
The details of the futile attempts to save his life.
And finally Catherine Rollins' description of the events of that night.
He wondered if Billy knew he was dying on that ride to the hospital. If he felt his life slipping away.
Above all he hoped Billy wasn't scared.
He was glad Catherine Rollins was there so his son's final minutes weren't spent alone.
Tom Harrington leaned against a marble column and watched as Steve and Catherine descended the steps and headed towards Iolani Palace. The two Five-0 officers were the picture of professionalism at first glance but as he watched he began to see deeper.
The way their hands brushed together lightly as they walked. The way their attention was focused completely on each other as they spoke. The way Steve's body tensed and went on alert when a young reporter approached looking for comments on the morning's testimony. Catherine's sigh and grateful smile when he dispatched the reporter immediately.
Billy had talked to his father about Catherine several times in the weeks before his death. Initially he'd been honest about his hopes of rekindling their romantic relationship. Tom had cautioned him against mixing romance with his attempts to start a new company but Billy had insisted that any feelings he had for her aside, Catherine was definitely the best person to head up his intel department.
As weeks passed Billy confided in his father that the more time he spent with Catherine, and the more he saw her and Steve together, the more he realized, much to his chagrin, that Steve and Catherine truly were meant for each other.
That what they had was a once in a lifetime love.
He told his father that for him Catherine might always be the one who got away, but ultimately he only wanted her to be happy and he knew Steve made her happy.
Watching the two of them together it was obvious to Tom Harrington she made him happy as well.
He took a deep breath and headed for the parking lot. For the rental car that would take him back to his hotel on this island where his son had spent so many happy times.
And also his last weeks.
He found solace in the fact that he knew Billy was pursuing his dreams. That he was happy in those final days.
Now it was his turn to see the trial through to its end then find a way to move forward in a way that would make his son proud.
THE END
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