It was 7:30 in the morning and Ally lay stagnant in her bed. As usual, her mind was a mile away from reality. She reached out and placed her hand over to the side of the bed where Larry used to sleep. Three months had past since he left and her pain was still raw. There was no way to occupy her mind, so she spent the majority of her free time in a state of depression.

Her friends had missed the real Ally as she was reluctant even to visit the bar because she could not help but envisage Larry performing to her on stage, which truly brought home what she had lost.

Renée entered Ally's bedroom, determined to bring Ally back to the land of the living.

"Ally honey? Are you ready to go to work?"

Ally felt like laughing. "Let me see . . . I got to be in court today for the worst possible case I could deal with. I got a heartbroken woman who attacked her cheating husband. What do I do? Do I give her encouragement during her time of angst? Tell her to find the strength within that I can't even find for myself?"

"Not everything is about . . . you-know-who."

"Can we not say his name anymore?"

"Larry douche bag Paul! He's not worth the pain, he isn't coming back and the sooner you realise that the better."

Ally had always hoped a miracle would happen and Larry would come back to her some day, but hearing the truth out loud pained her and she closed her eyes to block out the cruel world. Seeing she had hit a nerve, Renée softened her tone.

"Come on, Ally. Just get dressed, go to work and carry on."

Defiantly, Ally nodded and proceeded to get ready, determined to face another day with confidence.

Ally spoke to no-one when she entered the law firm and went straight to her office. Waiting for her was Glenn. She greeted him with a tired smile.

"Could I have a word?"

Ally took her coat off and sat down. "Sure, but I'm due in court soon so you'll have to make it snappish."

Glenn shut the door and took a seat in a chair opposite Ally. He could not help but notice how drawn she looked.

"Are you not well today? You look pale."

Ally realised how sick and weak she had been feeling since Larry left, but she put it all down to the depression. The past three months, her body felt as if it was not hers anymore. "I haven't been feeling well for a while, since you ask. I know it will pass. I'd rather stay at work than sit at home. Is that all you came to say?"

Glenn took a deep breath. "No I . . . I was wondering if you would be willing to go on a date with me tonight. I understand you believe you're not ready, but I truly think we should give this a go. You wont regret it."

Ally rested her head in her hands. It was true that her mind was elsewhere. How could she possibly concentrate on somebody else? On the other hand, she saw this was an opportunity to move her life on.

"One date?" She said.

"Sure. Then perhaps we could go from there . . ."

"We'll take it slow, alright?"

"Sure. I can do slow. Tonight then?"

"Tonight."

The door opened and Elaine stuck her head around. "Ally? Mrs Hauptmann is here."

Ally smiled emptily. "Great. Send her in. We're all set."

Glenn got up and passed Mrs Hauptmann through the door. She was a plain woman who seemed nervous.

"Miss McBeal, could I just talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course." Ally gestured towards a seat and Mrs Hauptmann sat down.

"This is going to sound very silly. Even though you're my lawyer and have a job to defend me anyway, I just wanted to know if you have any personal support for me in this case," she asked.

"Well, I must admit it is a little difficult to support your assaulting your husband with a rolling pin . . ."

"May I remind you he had a six month affair with his secretary?"

"That's where my support for you is." Ally could see that all of a sudden Mrs Hauptmann was under some stress. "Is there something you're really worried about?"

"It's just facing him in court. I know that she is going to be there as well. It's seeing him again. I can't bear it. I honestly feel like my heart is broken."

Ally nodded, feeling a relation to her. She leaned across her desk and touched Mrs Hauptmann's arm. "You have to be strong. We'll get him."

The two women exchanged vengeful glances between each other.

Teaming up with Richard on the way, who was second chair, the three of them made their way to court.

The first witness to be called was Mr Hauptmann, who was still bandaged and bruise as a result of the conflict with his wife. This display was obviously damaging for her case. Urgent to see past the horrific attack from her psychotic client, Ally decided to see Mr Hauptmann as someone much worse – a cowardly, deceptive man. Fuelled with contempt for the male race, Ally marched over to confront him, putting her hurt and anger over Larry to constructive use.

Ally began by giving Mr Hauptmann a mocking smile. "Mr Hauptmann, my name is Ally McBeal."

Mr Hauptmann responded with a feeble "Hello."

How pathetic. He's trying to gain sympathy from the jury by playing "little boy lost," Ally thought. "How long have you been married to your wife?"

"About a year."

"And how far into the marriage were you until you decided to begin an affair with Miss Posie?" Ally gestured towards a pretty, young brunette sitting close by.

Showing little remorse, Mr Hauptmann took a few moments to think. "About six months."

Ally's eyes widened. "Six months? So it wasn't very long before you strayed from your wife. Some might ask why it is you broke your vows so quickly. Some might also ask why you took them in the first place."

"Are you saying I was taking her for a ride? Marrying her for some wrong reason?"

Ally led him away from the question. "What is your wife's job?"

"She runs her own jewellery business, which she does well out of."

"So she earns a lot of money?"

"Quite a lot."

"And what is your job?"

Mr Hauptmann rolled his eyes. "I work in a bar. But I am not interested in her money. Even if I was, that doesn't give her the right to almost kill me!"

"Maybe not. But what you did do is lead this woman on. You deceived her and took full advantage of her love for you. Therefore, you caused her extreme emotional distress, did you not? You're not exactly the full victim here, smugly revealing your affair with Miss Posie after six months of a sham-marriage." Anger started to rise more and more in Ally's voice as she continued.

"I wasn't smug, I was being honest," said Mr Hauptmann.

Ally did not seem to hear him. "Of course two wrongs don't make a right, but surely you can't say your attack wasn't provoked?"

"If anything, I was respecting her with the truth."

Ally laughed, mockingly. "Respect?! What is it with you men?"

Each person in the courtroom reacted to Ally's last comment, yet she was too wrapped up in her own emotions to notice. Richard began to cringe as he realised Ally that was no longer focusing on the case, but on her personal life and clearly picturing Larry on the stand instead of Mr Hauptmann.

She went on. "I suppose a woman's feelings are unimportant to you. To you men, the coward's way out is the best way out. Running away and leaving when things get a little too difficult is by far the best option, regardless of the hurt it causes. I mean, there's no reason why you shouldn't abuse a woman's trust just because she loves you. Right?!"

Mr Hauptmann stared gormless at Ally, completely bewildered by her outburst. She returned the stare, but was suddenly distracted by a painful feeling.

"Miss McBeal?" The judge prompted.

Ally could not speak and instead fell to the floor, horrified to see she was bleeding heavily. The rest of the courtroom gawped at her for what seemed like forever, until Richard finally leapt out of his seat and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Feeling scared and confused, Ally pleaded to him. "Help me."