A/N: Thanks for the reviews! This chapter is shorter than the others but it mostly takes place inside the courtroom during a trial.

Okay, I hope you enjoy!

Criminal Court Building

He felt the hand once again on his elbow and he once again yanked it away. Stopping, he turned to John and as politely as he could, said, "John, I appreciate you getting me through security, but you have to stop."

"I'm just helping you out. It was easier before with Atticus, but now-"

"Yes, he helped, but I know how to get around perfectly fine. And, I have this," he said as he raised the walking stick that was in his left hand. "You can go now. I'll call when I get out of court. Hopefully that'll be really soon."

"If you can get the ADA to play 'Let's Make a Deal', you mean," John said before telling him, "The elevator to your left is empty."

Smirking slightly, he said, "Thanks. Now, go." He turned to his left and made it into the elevator before the doors started to close. He ran his fingers over the buttons, feeling the braille numbers, and selected the third floor.

The moment he walked off the elevator he heard a voice off to his right. It was the voice of the ADA presiding over the case he was in court for that day. She must have been on her cell phone because he couldn't hear anyone responding to her questions and comments. Turning toward voice, he started for her. "Novak."

Novak abruptly stopped talking into her cell phone as she told him, "I told you already, Goren, there is no way my office is not going to let me kick the rape charge just because you say so."

Bobby groaned a little as he heard her start to walk away. He followed. "Come on, he's innocent. The only reason-" a door hit him in the chest and he bit out an angry, "Fuck," as he pushed it open and walked into the courtroom. "You did that on purpose."

"Not my fault you can't see a door swinging back," Novak shot back from across the empty courtroom. "You're the one who said that you don't want to be treated differently-"

"Yeah, but intentionally letting the door swing back and hit me-" He heard her soft laughter and he shook his head, "that's just mean."

"Cut the melodrama, Goren. What'd you want?"

"You to say yes to my deal."

"Ha."

He sighed as he walked further into the room; he pushed open the swinging gate with his leg as he made his way to the defense table. "He's innocent," he pleaded again. "If you win this case-"

"What do you mean "if"?"

"What'd you got? You have a sketchy eye witness-"

"Who is the victim," she stressed.

"And a detective who went against procedure by showing her one photograph and encouraged her to make the identification. You're going to lock up an innocent man, orphan his son-"

"Okay," Novak said, cutting him off. She was quiet a moment before saying, "I'll kick the rape if he pleads guilty to the knife. He's got priors, so that'll make it a felony. One to three years. That's my only offer. Court starts in ten; the offer is off the table in nine."

Bobby sighed and shook his head. After giving it some thought, he said, "Okay. I'll talk to my client. Be back in ten."

"I know you're not also deaf. I said court starts in ten."

Bobby smirked a little as he called out, "Hey, bailiff?"

"Yeah, Goren?"

"I need to see my client."

The bailiff, who was a certified Sheriff, led him out of the courtroom and to holding where his client, Trevor Hines, sat waiting for the trial to begin.

Bobby waited until he heard the door close, leaving him and Hines alone. Stepping up to the bars of the cell, he gripped one in his hand as he leaned against it and said, "Trevor."

"Yeah, Bobby. I'm here." The uncertainty and disappointment he heard in Trevor's voice unsettled him.

Bobby knew that this case was unlike all the others. In this case, he knew for a fact that his client was innocent. It broke his heart to have to make a deal, but he was going up against a Judge who he knew for a fact not only hated him, but who also looked upon suspected rapist with an unfair bias. Every rape case that had been presented in Judge Daniel Hawthorne's court had never been won by the defense. It was one of the reasons Casey Novak wanted the Judge.

Letting out a breath, he asked, "Have I ever told you to take a cop-out?"

"No," Trevor answered as he stepped up to the cell bars.

"Well, uh…I was just made an offer. It's a good deal. I think you should take it. The ADA is offering one to three. She'll drop the rape if you cop to the knife."

Trevor was quiet for a long moment. "Isn't that like saying I'm guilty of the rape?"

"Absolutely not. Look, Trevor-"

"I'm not taking the deal. I want my day in court. From day one, you knew I was innocent and you promised me that you would go to battle for me. That's what you said."

Bobby had to admit, the man had him there. He did promise him that he would take this to trial, into battle, because he believed in his innocence. Despite his worries about the Judge, he had to concede to his client. "Are you sure that this is what you really want? Because if I go in there and this continues and you're found guilty, that's twenty to twenty-five. You'll be getting out at retirement age instead of going home in two months with time served. Two months, Trevor, on a knife charge."

He heard the sigh in defeat as he felt a hand over the one he had wrapped around a cell bar. Trevor squeezed his hand before saying, "Yeah, you're right. Two months sounds good. Okay, Bobby, let's take it."

"It'll be all right," he told him before leaving. "And maybe I can ask for time served and get you home to your son before dinner time."

Fifteen minutes later court was called into session. Bobby stood beside Trevor Hines at the defense table as Judge Daniel Hawthorne entered the courtroom.

After they took their seats, he heard Novak address the court. "Your Honor, we have a disposition of this matter."

"Is that correct, Mr. Goren?" Judge Hawthorne asked for his agreement to what Novak had announced.

Standing up, he said, "Yes, Your Honor, that's correct."

"And what is this proposed disposition, Miss Novak?" Hawthorne asked.

"Attempt criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, which is a Class E Felony, and one to three."

The courtroom was quiet for a moment and Bobby was greatly wondering if maybe the Judge wasn't such a hard-ass as everyone thought.

Then, he heard the Judge say, "So, let me get this straight. You're proposing to drop a rape charge for purposes of disposition?"

"Yes, Your-" Novak answered before she was cut off.

"Is this a joke?"

"No, Judge; this isn't a joke. We-"

"Well it has to be if you honestly think I'm going to allow that in my courtroom. I'm not going to put a dangerous criminal back on the street just to avoid a trial."

"Your Honor," Bobby protested, "This is an agreed upon disposition in which both sides agree that my client-"

"I don't care about what you believe, Mr. Goren," the Judge told him. "I care about what you can prove."

"And I can prove that there are mitigating circumstances-"

"Which you can argue at trial. The disposition is denied. Trial will commence forthwith. Meaning now, Mr. Goren. Take your seat."

Bobby didn't sit right away as he felt his anger start to boil up. He was ready to put up a fight.

"Bobby," he heard Novak whisper to him from across the space that separated their tables. "Don't do this."

After a brief moment, he finally sat back down. This battle was going to be hard to win, but he was now more determined than ever to win it, if only to spite the Judge. The only witnesses the prosecution had were the victim in the case and the detective who made the arrest of his client. First up was Detective Elliot Stabler with the Special Victim's Unit.

Bobby had many meetings with the SVU detective in court. Stabler was one of the better detectives, but he was also the most rash. The man had a temper and during one instance he had inadvertently pushed one of Stabler's buttons and ended up in a heated yelling match with the detective that was cause for the both of them to be held in contempt of court. To say that spending a couple of hours in a holding cell with Elliot Stabler was the worst time in his life was an understatement.

Since then, he tried to restrain himself from pushing the man too hard. The last thing he needed was to spend another second in a jail cell because the detective couldn't admit when he was wrong.

Novak had been questioning Stabler for nearly five minutes before asking about the knife and the identification made by the victim.

"The way I saw it, the perpetrator had to have lived in the same building as Miss Newton. Most rapes are done by those who live close to us, even people we know," Stabler answered.

"Detective Stabler, when you arrested Mr. Hines, what did you find?" Novak asked.

"I found a switchblade knife in his right jeans pocket. The same type of knife identified by the victim as being the one her rapist used."

"Is this the knife?"

Bobby knew that she was showing the detective the switchblade that Trevor had on him when he had been arrested. It was a regular switchblade, one that anyone could buy at a corner knife and gun store.

"Yes," Stabler answered her. "That's it."

Bobby heard the bag with the knife being dropped on his table as Novak walked by it. He turned his head toward her and shook it slightly at her antics. Inside, he was amused.

"Was there DNA evidence to connect Mr. Hines to the rape?"

"There was nothing found at the scene or during the rape kit done of Miss Newton," Stabler answered. "But that's not unusual."

"How so?" Novak asked.

"Because rapists are getting smarter and most use condoms."

"So, detective," Novak continued, "based on your investigation, what did you do with that knowledge?"

"I knew that if we were going to find out who did it, we needed an identification of the perpetrator by the victim. I got a picture of Mr. Hines and I showed it to the victim."

"And was she able to make a positive identification of the defendant?"

"Yes, ma'am, right away."

Bobby sat up further in his seat as heard that. The detective had lied. "Objection, the witness-" he called out as he stood.

"Overruled," Hawthorne said before he could finish.

Bobby took his seat but only because Novak had continued with her questioning.

Novak asked the detective, "Please continue."

Stabler then said, "She took a look at the picture and said "That's him. That's the man who raped me.""

"Objection, Your Hon-"

"Overruled," Hawthorne ruled again.

As Bobby sat back down, again having his argument cut off by the Judge, he heard Novak's follow-up question, "There was no hesitation in her answer whatsoever?" Novak asked in disbelief.

Bobby was surprised by that; he wasn't expecting her to question her own witness's answer.

"No, there wasn't," Stabler answered.

"No further questions."

"Would the defense like to cross?"

"You bet I would," Bobby softly said as he stood. "Detective Stabler," he said as he made his way to the podium that was in the middle of the two tables. "What's the NYPD's procedure when conducting a photographic lineup?"

Stabler was silent for a second before answering, "If you're asking if I broke procedure by showing Miss Newton one picture, then the answer is no."

"No? Really, that's your answer?"

"It's not a violation-"

"But it's not ethical and it's frowned upon because by law it constitutes an unjustifiably subjective procedure. It persuades the witness to agree with you. Did you give the victim any other choice in who her rapist could've been?"

Stabler again was silent before saying, "No, I didn't."

"Detective, you stated during Miss Novak's questioning that Miss Newton identified my client, Mr. Hines, right away. Could you clarify?"

"What'd you mean?" Stabler asked, confused.

"I mean, how soon was right away? A second? One minute?"

"Objection, Your Honor," Novak announced, interrupting him "I'm certain the detective didn't look at the clock and count the seconds that ticked by before the victim positively ID'd the defendant."

"Sustained," Hawthorne said, ruling in Novak's favor and preventing Stabler from having to answer the question.

Bobby felt his jaw twitch at the ruling, and the fact that the Judge allowed Novak to finish her objection before making his call. He was getting angrier by the second. "Detective Stabler, isn't it true that you had to ask the victim to take a closer look at the one photograph you showed her before she could say for sure if it was the man who raped her?" If Stabler lied to that very precise question, then he knew he had him for perjury.

Stabler was quiet for another moment, this time taking longer before finally answering, "I had to ask her a second time, yes."

"So, there was a hesitation in her answer?"

"No. She couldn't see the photo clearly due to the tears in her eyes and the fact that her left eye was partly swollen shut. But the moment she got a good, clear look, there was no hesitation."

Bobby gave a nod to that before asking, "Was Miss Newton given an sobriety test?"

Stabler hesitated in his response, but he finally answered, "Yes. She had been drinking that evening."

"Was she drunk?"

"She was impaired, yes."

"Slurring her words?"

Stabler let out a heavy sigh as he said, "Her speech was slurred."

"Then how could you have trusted her ID if her impairment was jeopardize?"

"Look, she was certain it was him."

"Did you receive any backlash for showing Miss Newton the one photograph during the identification process?" Bobby quickly asked, changing the direction of the questions. His point was made already with the victim being impaired.

Stabler didn't say anything for a long moment before answering, "I was suspended for a week and brought up on review for my actions."

"You knew that what you did, even though it wasn't technically a violation of procedure, was unethical and would result in disciplinary actions by your superiors?"

"That's correct, but I took the risk because I was certain that we had our guy."

"You were certain? Detective, were you in the apartment during the time Miss Newton was raped?" he asked astonishment, like he thought he had been.

Stabler didn't sound amused as he answered, "Of course I wasn't there."

"Oh…So, you didn't see who attacked Miss Newton and held her at knife point?"

"No."

"You didn't see who forced her on the floor and who raped her?"

"No."

"Objection, Your Honor. Badgering," Novak protested.

"Overruled," Judge Hawthorne ruled, surprising him.

Score one for him. Bobby left the podium as he stepped toward the witness stand as he said, "You're saying that you weren't there-"

"That's correct-" Stabler said while being interrupted as he kept talking.

"And since there is no DNA evidence of Mr. Hines anywhere in the apartment or on the victim, then how can you be so certain that Mr. Hines was the perpetrator?"

"He had the knife on him-"

Bobby reached into his left pocket and pulled out a switchblade. It was his; one that he carried with him at all times. "This knife?" He didn't have to see the look on Stabler's face to know that he was surprised. "This knife…" he said again as he walked over to the table and picked up the knife in the evidence bag. The one Novak had dropped on his desk. Holding up both knives, he showed them to Stabler, the Judge, but especially the jury. "So, which knife was it? The one in my left hand," he emphasized as he held out his knife. "Or the one in my right?" he asked as he held out the knife in evidence. He knew that both were the same in every way because Denise had told him.

"The one in your right," Stabler answered with a near deathly tone. The man was pissed off.

"Are you certain of that?"

Stabler let out a sigh and then a hesitated, "Yes." The detective had lost all of his bravado; he was no longer certain. Bobby knew that, and now so did the jury.

Bobby didn't smile. He didn't want the jury to think he had pulled some sort of trick on the detective, or on them. He put the bag back down on the table and turned around. Instead of going back to the podium, he leaned against the table as he pocketed his own knife while asking, "Did you do a check on all residence of the apartment building where both Miss Newton, and my client, Mr. Hines, lived, to determine how many of them carried the same type of switchblade?"

Stabler was quiet for a moment before answering, "No, I did not."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Miss Newton identified Mr. Hines-"

"She identified him an hour later, at the hospital and after you showed her one photograph. So, why didn't you do the check during the initial investigation?"

"I had reason to believe the perpetrator was Mr. Hines. When I did my search on him, he had the knife that Miss Newton described that her rapist used to threaten her life with."

"And what was that description?"

"I'm not sure. I don't remember her exact-"

Bobby reached around him and fingered the tabs on his files in his binder. He found the one he was looking for and pulled out the documents. "Documented evidence 4B," he said as he took a copy and tossed it on the prosecutors table before walking to the bench and handing one to the Judge. "Is this your report?" he asked as he stopped in front of the witness stand and handed it to Detective Stabler.

After a moment, Stabler answered, "Yes."

"Could you read the highlighted part, where it has the description of the knife, please?"

Stabler took a long moment, probably reading it to himself, before reading it out loud, "Nine inch blade, white handle with two round silver dots on either end."

"And now would you read Miss Newton's description of her rapist, please?"

Stabler was again quiet, this time longer, before answering, "All she said was that it was a black guy."

Bobby was quiet for a moment before asking, "That's it?"

"Yeah."

"So, let me see if I got his right. You get a perfectly precise description of the knife used, yet she can't remember anything about her attacker other than the fact that he was black? No scars? No facial hair? Tattoos?" Bobby asked as he remembered the description of Trevor. Trevor had a cut over his left eye from the fight that resulted in his assault conviction nine years ago; and he also had a mustache. The same mustache he's had for four years.

"She couldn't describe him, no, but once she saw his picture-"

"A single picture instead of the required six for a lineup that you had to show her twice."

"Objection. That wasn't a question," he heard Novak say behind him.

"Sustained. Mr. Goren that had already been established. If you don't have a question-"

"I have a question, Your Honor," he said, cutting the Judge off. "Detective Stabler, what was your reason for suspecting Mr. Hines other than the fact that he lived in the building, he was black, and he had a prior conviction of assault?"

After a long minute, Judge Hawthorne ordered Stabler, "Answer the question, detective."

When Stabler still had no answer for him, Bobby said, "It's okay, Your Honor, he doesn't need to answer that." He went to turn back to the defense table before turning back around, "Oh, one more thing. I did do a check of all the residence living in the building, detective. Out of the two-hundred and fifty residences, I found that eighty-seven of them own switchblades, twenty-two of which have criminal records and five of those were convicted in the past for rape. My client was not one of those five, because rape is a long way from assault. The truth is, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you needed someone to pin it on-"

"Objection! Your Honor-" Novak went to protest when the Judge cut her off.

"Sustained. Mr. Goren-"

"No further questions," he told the Judge, but at that point it didn't matter. The jury got the picture.

"Miss Novak, redirect?" Judge Hawthorne asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Novak said before she then asked Stabler, "Detective Stabler, based on the evidence you collected, the victim's testimony, and your judgment and experience as a seasoned detective, do you believe that the defendant, Mr. Hines, is guilty of rape?"

"Yes, I am," Stabler stressed.

"Nothing further for this witness."

Before Novak could call in her next witness, the victim, the Judge adjourned the court until after lunch. Once the jury was out of the courtroom and his client was being led back to the holding cell, Bobby turned toward the prosecution table as he said incredulously, "Badgering?"

"Hey, I tried. You were kicking my ass up there," Novak told him.

Bobby put all his files back into his binder and then dropped it into his briefcase as he told her, "The day I badger Elliot Stabler is the day I can see again. He's tough, and, he deserved it."

"God, I now wished the Judge would have agreed to the deal we made. I knew you were going to get to Stabler. You pissed him off. After that last question, he looked like he was going to jump you, or start going off like last time."

"He shouldn't have done what he did. He's just pissed because I called him out on it. And now because of it, he could cost you your case," he said as he picked up his case and pulled out the walking stick.

He unfolded it as he walked around the tables and to the gate. He knew the courtroom by memory and could easily move around it without the stick; it was out in the hallway with people around where he would need to use it.

"Don't worry; I had plenty to say to Stabler when I first found out that he had done it. He knew better."

Bobby heard the courtroom door being swung open and then a loud male voice.

"Hey, counselor!" It was Stabler.

"Take is easy, El, don't forget he can't see," said another person, a woman, and Bobby knew that it was Stabler's partner, Detective Olivia Benson.

He stopped walking as he felt a hand suddenly push him on the shoulder. He tensed as he told Stabler, "Do that again and I'll charge you with assault."

"Yeah, I bet you'll love nothing more. You have no problem getting rapists off-"

"My client's innocent, and if he gets off, you only have yourself to blame to that stupid stunt you pulled," he snapped back.

"El!" Benson called out as he heard a scuffle. "Cool it!"

Bobby stepped back as he envisioned the detective trying to come toward him. He went to walk through the aisle between the seats when he heard another voice.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I need to speak with Mr. Goren."

He turned at the unexpected voice and stood stunned as he said, "Alex?"

"Who are you?" Benson asked.

"Detective Alex Eames," she said, "Major Case. Are you through yelling at him, because we need to talk in private?"

Bobby smiled a little as he started walking toward her voice. She was on the other side of the seats, having come in the opposite door he had been trying to leave through.

"I'll meet up with you before court reconvenes, okay, Goren?" Novak called out to him.

"Okay," he off-handedly said as he stopped somewhere close to Alex. "Hey."

Alex touched him on the arm, letting him know she was there as she said "Hey" right back.

"What, uh…what do you need to talk about?"

"Well, I want to go grab some lunch. I'm in court today too, and once I found out you were also in the building, I thought we could go together."

Bobby smiled wider as he asked, "You want to have lunch with me?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Shaking his head, he couldn't think of anything as to why not. "No, no reason. Uh…where?"

"Somewhere close. I only have an hour and a half."

"Yeah, me too. I know just the place," he told her as he held out his arm, offering it to her. Once Alex wrapped her arm around his, he held up his walking stick as he said, "I'll drive."

Alex laughed at that as she let him lead the way down the hall, into the elevators, and then out of the building as he headed to a bar near the courthouse. The bar was a great place to have lunch because during the weekdays, it served the best steak burgers, fries, and iced tea in the five boroughs. Most of the customers to the bar during the day were city workers: doctors, lawyers, police officers, nurses, business men and woman, and college students and professors. At night, it was the same story.

They got a table by the wall for two and placed their orders, which were the same: burger, fries, and iced tea. As they waited, he asked, "How's your day so far?"

"Frustrating. I'm testifying in a murder case and the defense attorney is trying to tarnish my reputation and character as a witness."

"I hope you're putting him in his place. You're honest, moral, have an impeccable reputation, and you're a great cop, so…" he said with a shrug. "Don't let him get to you. You know who you are and that's all that matters. Nothing he can say will change that. If he doesn't know how to win without bringing up dirt that has no merit on the matter than he shouldn't be a lawyer."

Alex was quiet for a moment and he wondered if he said too much. Then, she said, "Thank you."

Smiling softly, he said, "You're welcome."

"No, I mean it, Bobby. Thank you. All day today, I've had a lawyer trying to tell me and convince a jury that I'm not worth a damn as a cop, and it's nice to have a lawyer tell me the truth, and tell me what I know to be true about who I am. You didn't have to do that, but you did. I appreciate it."

He gave a nod as he realized that what he said was more than just an encouraging comment. Alex had really appreciated it and seemed to have really needed to hear that. He didn't know what to say other than that other than what he had already said.

"I hope that wasn't what you did to Detective Stabler," she said as their drinks were placed in front of them.

"Uh, no. I would never hit below the belt like that. I kept to the facts of the case, to the evidence, and if I can't use it to win, then I never try to win by bringing up character flaws or try to tarnish a witness's reputation. Now, if you're a pathological liar or I know for a fact that you've snitched on suspects before for a reduced sentence or you've committed perjury before, then I'll bring it up."

"As anyone would."

"But never to someone who's genuinely trying to do the right thing and telling the truth."

"I'm glad to hear it."

It wasn't long after that their plates were placed in front of them and they started to eat. Bobby was still getting over the fact that Alex wanted to have lunch with him so he wasn't quite sure what to say. Then, he decided to ask her, "Alex, why uh…why did you ask me to lunch?"

She was quiet for a second, probably wondering why he asked, before telling him, "I have no ulterior motive, Bobby. I honestly wanted to have lunch with you because we were both in court. I don't know anybody else and I didn't catch Barek in time before she was back out on the street."

He took a sip of the tea before saying, "You mean I was your second choice?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes you did. You just said you missed Barek."

She groaned in frustration before saying, "Okay, yes, I was going to try and get lunch with Barek first, but I was thinking if you were in court too, then I should just ask you."

Bobby smirked a little at her frustration before saying, "Well, I'm glad I was a thought then. Have I been on your mind a lot lately?"

"Don't make me smack you," she said right back.

He chuckled a little, dropping it, but he still wanted to find out the answer to that. "You should've stayed at your father's last night. After you left, he pulled out the Scrabble board."

"Oh, lord. How badly did you beat the old man?"

"He yelled at me because I beat him with the triple word score for the letters 'X' and 'I'. He swore up and down that they didn't make a word. He had to break out the dictionary to verify that it is in fact, a noun, and can also be used as an adjective."

"Isn't 'X' 'I' the Roman numeral for eleven?"

"Yeah, and it's also the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, as well as the name of a river in South China," he explained. "John challenged me in a rematch for tonight. I told him I could if I had someone else there to tell me what the letters were. Mike came in handy for that game."

Alex laughed at that before saying, "My dad's probably at home studying the dictionary right now. He hates to lose."

"Me and him both. Next he'll challenge me to a game of Chess."

"Be careful with that, he was in the Chess Club in high school."

Bobby paused at that as he tried to imagine John Eames with being in a Chess Club. "Really?"

"I've seen the pictures."

He then asked, "You play Chess?"

"Oh, no. I stick to Checkers."

Smiling, he said, "I'm would love to play against you some day."

"Um, careful what you wish for. I haven't lost yet."

"I believe it," Bobby said as he thought of being able to spend some more quality time with Alex. He didn't know why, or where he got the nerve, but he asked once they were done with their food, "Would you uh…Alex, tonight if you're not busy with a case, or if something comes up, would uh, would you like to have dinner…with me?" As soon as he asked, he felt his lungs stop functioning as he waited her response.

And did she make him wait. Alex was quiet for what seemed like hours before she said, "Yeah, okay. I'd love to."

He let out a breath before smiling a little too wide. He didn't care, he was happy. "Great. Uh, I'll call you after I get done today and we can make plans."

"Sounds good."

Yes, it did sound good. Better than anything he's heard in a long time. He was going to have a dinner date with Alex Eames.

He walked her back to the courtroom where she was testifying and promised again to call once he was done in court before heading down the hall to the other courtroom where he was due back.

A few minutes after he returned to court, it was called back into session and Casey Novak called her only other witness, the victim. Novak asked Miss Newton the standard questions: when the crime happened, where, how, and most importantly who she believed committed the crime against her.

Miss Newton didn't hesitate to point to his client and say that he was the one who raped her. Bobby felt Trevor tense beside him as he was being called a rapist.

It seemed like an hour went by before he had a chance to cross-examine. Bobby only had one question for the victim. As he stood, he flipped open his binder and felt the tabs until he found the right one. Pulling out the group of six photographs, he sat that on top of the table before pulling out a black wool cap. He handed the cap to Trevor and asked him to put it on and pull it down to cover his face.

"Mr. Goren, what are you doing?"

"I'm proving my argument, Judge," Bobby answered before he addressed the witness. "Miss Newton," Bobby said as he walked around the table as he picked up the group of photos. "You said that you identified Mr. Hines after you got a good, clear look at his picture an hour after your attack, is that correct?"

"Yes. I know who did it, it was him."

Bobby held up his hand as he said, "I didn't ask you to identify anyone just yet, Miss Newton, okay. Now, the night that you were raped, you said that you had been out with friends, two friends to be exact, and you had been partying-"

"I was celebrating-"

"Please, Miss Newton, let me ask a question first before answering. Thank you," Bobby said with a small smile as he continued, but using the word 'celebrate' instead of 'partying'. "You were celebrating with your friends, and you said that you had a couple of drinks. How long were you out celebrating?"

"Only for an hour and a half. One of my friends wasn't feeling well so we cut it short."

"Huh-huh, and what were they?" he asked.

"What were what?"

"Oh, uh…what were the drinks that you had?"

"Well, I only had three Long Island's and two shots."

"Uh, Long Island Iced Teas, you mean?"

"Yes, three of those."

"Three Long Island's, which consist of shots of Rum, Gin, Vodka, and Tequila, and you had three of those, along with two shots…in an hour and a half. So, all together, you had actually up to six drinks. And how much do you weigh?"

"Excuse me?"

Bobby smiled slightly, almost embarrassed, as he said, "I don't mean to embarrass you. I know that a man should never ask a woman that, but for the purpose of my questioning, I would like to know how much you weigh."

She was quiet for a moment before saying, "One-forty."

"A hundred and forty pounds... and you had three Long Island Ice Teas and two shots. Are you aware of how the Blood Alcohol Content is determined, Miss Newton?"

"Objection, Your Honor. Relevance," Novak protested.

"I'm getting to it, Your Honor," Bobby said before the Judge could make a ruling.

Judge Hawthorne was quiet for a moment before saying, "Overruled. I'll allow it for now, but you better be getting somewhere soon, Mr. Goren."

Focusing back on his questioning, he asked again, "Miss Newton?"

She hesitated a moment before saying, "No, I'm not aware of it."

"It's determined based on percentage of alcohol in the blood, and body weight. You had six drinks, in under two hours, and you weigh a hundred and forty pounds…That would've given you a BAC of 0.19, that's twice over the legal limit. How long after you returned home before you were attacked?"

"I hardly got my door open before I was attacked by him from behind."

"Do you keep the lights on when you go out?" he asked.

"No," she answered without hesitating.

"Then…isn't it true that you didn't have time to turn on your lights?"

She was quiet for long moment, and even then, she stammered her answer, "I saw him. I saw the man who-"

"But you said you were attacked at the door. And you just stated that you don't keep the lights on. Miss Newton, were the lights on in any of the rooms in your apartment during the attack?"

"Objection, Your Honor. Badgering the witness."

"Overruled. Your witness encouraged the questioning, Miss Novak."

Bobby waited for the answer to his last question. When after a long minute he didn't get one, he asked, "Miss Newton, do you need me to repeat the question?"

"No, the lights weren't on, but I know it was him," she said.

"You know for certain that it was Mr. Hines who attacked and raped you while you were impaired with a BAC of 0.19, and in a dark apartment?"

"Yes," she stressed in anger.

Bobby finally walked up to the stand and presented her with the group of six photographs. "This, Miss Newton, is an accurate lineup. It contains six photographs of six different people, one in which is the man accused today of attacking you and raping you. Will you please identify that man?"

With Trevor's face being covered with the wool cap, he knew that she couldn't look over at him and make the identification. She had to pick him out of the lineup. Bobby waited as he gave Miss Newton enough time to look the photos over. He was taking a real gamble with this one; Miss Newton could have been looking and studying his client's features since day one, but he doubted it.

"It's the second guy."

Bobby wanted to smile. He put the lineup together with the help from Logan. Mike had told him that he put Trevor last. In the second slot, he put Ron Carver. "Are you a hundred percent certain?"

"Yes, that's him."

Bobby took the group of photos back and handed it to the Judge. He heard a slight mumble from the Judge before taking it back and showing it to Novak. She handed it back to without a sound as he then showed the jury. He heard the soft chatter and the intact of breaths. "Let the court know, that Miss Newton has identified ADA Ronald Carver as her attacker." He wanted to smirk at that, knowing that if Ron was in the courtroom how astonished he would have been. "Mr. Hines, you can take off the cap now, and Judge, I have no further questions."

Miss Newton left but not before going off on not only the court, and how it was a trick, but at him as well. After the courtroom was quieted by the gavel, Judge Hawthorne asked if Novak had any more witnesses to call.

"No, Your Honor, the prosecution rests."

Bobby then stood as he addressed the Judge, "Your Honor, I move for an immediate mistrial. The victim couldn't identify my client as her attacker, and my client has rights."

The Judge was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Miss Novak?"

"There's no opposition from the State, Your Honor," Novak said in defeat. She knew he had just won the case.

"Thank you, Miss Novak." Judge Hawthorne was quiet again before saying, "Motion granted in the move for a mistrial. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your assistance in these proceedings today, you are dismissed."

Bobby breathed out deeply as he sat down and patted Trevor on the arm.

"Oh my God," Trevor said, "You did it. Thank you."

Bobby smiled as the case was dismissed and Trevor Hines was officially declared a free man. "Told you I'll have you home in time for dinner."

As he was leaving the courtroom, he heard Novak coming up behind him.

"Congratulations, Goren. Another win in that cap of yours."

"A righteous win at that. He was actually innocent."

"I know, that was a shock," Novak said in agreement. "Do you think they'll actually get the right guy now?"

"I hope so. I'm sure Stabler and Benson can track down those other men in the building who it could've been. Hopefully they'll get lucky and the guy will confess."

"And then he'll call you up to defend him."

"Oh, no, I'm done with this. I'll let some Public Defender try and plea it out."

"After that victim's sketchy ID, you bet I'll make a deal. Think Carver will be too mad that you had a victim ID him as her rapist?"

Bobby couldn't stop laughing as he headed to the elevators. "I didn't make her do it." As he headed down to the ground floor, he pulled out his cell and made two calls. First to Alex, and then to John.

"Hello, Bobby. Are you ready for me to pick you up?" John asked as he answered the phone.

"Uh, no, actually. I've got plans for tonight, and I've got a ride."

"Plans? With who? Logan?"

Bobby didn't know whether to tell the man that he had a date with his daughter, so instead, he said, "No, it's…I've got a meeting." He hated himself for lying, but he didn't know if Alex wanted him to know.

"Oh, okay. Do you know how long you'll be?"

"It'll be a couple of hours, at least. I have a key so you don't need to wait up."

"Well, be careful. You don't know if someone might decide to take another shot at you."

"I got it, John. I'll watch my six, all right? Have a good night and I'll either see you when I get home or in the morning."

"Okay. Oh, wait, before you hang up, how did court go?"

"I got a mistrial," he said with a huge grin on his face as he stepped outside. The moment he did, he heard the reporters shouting questions at him from all round. "I gotta go," he quickly said into the phone before flipping it shut.

Bobby never was good at addressing the vultures, but in this case he had no problem addressing the questions about the innocent man who helped to regain his freedom after eleven months of being in jail for a crime he didn't do.

By the time he made it down the steps, which seemed to take an hour, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Bobby!"

He headed toward Alex and suddenly felt a hand on his arm.

"My car's right over her," she told him as she helped him to it.

Bobby got into the passenger seat and smiled as he told her, "I got a mistrial."

"I heard. That's great. He was innocent."

"So," he asked as she pulled out into traffic. "How did it go with you?"

"I won't know until after closing arguments. I don't think it'll take long for the jury to reach a verdict, so hopefully I'll know by this time tomorrow."

"But you stuck it to the defense attorney, right?"

"Oh, I laid into him all right. And I think I helped the prosecution to win it."

Bobby smiled at hearing that. He was happy for her, and he was glad they were going out. He felt like celebrating himself.

TBC…

PS: What about the date, you ask? You have to wait for the next chapter!