She couldn't do it. She couldn't stay, she could be in there with him. Alex stood up, moving to the end of the row as calmly as she could.
But she heard Norman speak again. "Are you alright, my dear?"
And it all got too much for her. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, unable to breathe, unable to move as the panic gripped her.
James was on his feet the moment she fell, ignoring the calls for him to sit down. "Shut up!" he shouted at Norman. "You don't get to talk to her, you don't get to look at her after what you did, what you tried to do!"
"Mr Barnes, your friends can help Miss Anderson. Sit down, or I will find you in contempt of court!"
"Fine," James grunted, "Then I'm in contempt." He pushed the bailiff out of the way and walked through the gate. Ignoring all the eyes on him, he knelt down in front of Alex and gathered her into his arms, running a hand through her hair as she hid her face in his chest. She was shaking horribly.
"He won't touch you, he can't get to you," he whispered, kissing the top of her head gently. "I promise that I won't let him anywhere near you. You're safe, sweetheart, I promise you."
Both Bernie and the bailiff were shouting at him to get back in his seat, Norman was laughing, Steve was trying to reason with the bailiff, and there were shouts and confusion from the people watching.
But the banging of the judge's gavel could be heard above it all. "Shut up!" he shouted. When there was silence, he sighed. "There will be an hour's recess, during which Mr. Osborn will be questioned with only his guards, the clerk, the prosecution, the defence, and myself present."
As the bailiff moved towards James, the judge raised his hand. "Mr Barnes will be removed to a side room, and Miss Anderson will be permitted to go with him, with a guard stationed outside the door."
James didn't need to be told twice. He lifted Alex into his arms, still holding her close. "We're going away from him now, it's alright," he said softly to her, following the guard out of the courtroom, and into a nearby office.
Once they were alone, James sat down on the floor, and just cradled Alex for a moment as she started to sob. "They're not going to let him near you, sweetheart," James said, his voice calm and caring, though worry laced it. He ran one of his hands through her hair, while his other arm kept her close to him.
"He was there, he was right in front of me, I thought I wouldn't ever have to see him again…" Alex's voice was muffled against James' chest as she curled into him, the sobs making her words shake.
James pressed a few gentle kisses to Alex's hair. "I didn't know he would be here, I swear to you. But, once they've finished questioning him, they'll take him back to prison. He'll be locked away, he'll never touch you again."
Her sobs starting to quieten, Alex sniffed as tears continued to drip down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, James. Oh God, what… What if I've ruined everything? Fuck, I broke down in the middle of your trial, what if that influences what the judge thinks?" She looked up to see a little smile on James' lips.
"It won't. He understands. I mean, he let me and you come here, didn't he? I don't think he'll hold this against me."
Alex managed to form the tiniest little laugh, but her eyes were still wet and glassy. "Maybe he'll see how fucking pathetic I am and acquit you so you can look after me."
Cuddling her even closer, James shook his head. "As if you don't look after me as well," he smiled, kissing her head again. "You're not pathetic, Alex, nobody would think that. Osborn's a monster, nobody will condemn you for panicking." He looked down at Alex, using the hand that had been in her hair to wipe some of her smudged make-up off with his thumb.
They were silent for a moment, just looking at each other. It was the first time that they had been alone together since James had been arrested. And, while, in reality, it had only been a few days, it felt like a lifetime.
The smile returned to James' face. "Hi," he said, helping her to sit up better.
"Hi," Alex said back, a little laugh in her voice. She lifted her hand to stroke a finger under a mark on his cheek. "Oh, James… Sweetheart, what did they do to you? I thought they were keeping you in solitary for your protection, so how-"
He cut her off. "Guards." James was shaking his head gently. "Some of the guards attacked me after they took me back to me cell."
"Both nights?"
James nodded. "Different guards. But I'm okay, really. I can take a few hits, and I didn't fight back, so I'm not in any more trouble." He stole a quick kiss, and kept his face close to hers. "What about you? You look so tired, Alex. Are you eating? You're so pale…"
Alex thought for a few moments. Had she been eating properly? She couldn't remember. "I… I think so… Maybe. I can't remember, I've been so worried."
"Doll, you've got to try and look after yourself," James sighed, biting his lip. "I'm going to be okay, whatever happens, I'll find a way through it."
He was a much better liar than Alex was, but she could still see straight through him. She could see how frightened he was. Alex put her arms around him properly, holding him close.
"He'll acquit you," she said, surprising herself with how sure of that she sounded. "He'd be a monster to find you guilt. This will be over in a few days, you'll come home, and we'll have our life again."
James nodded, hiding his face in her shoulder, even though they both knew it wouldn't be that simple. More people would target James now. More people would target Alex to get to James. They could try, but things would never be quite the same as before.
"You'll be home soon," Alex spoke, pulling back and cupping his face in her hands as they looked into each other's eyes. "I love you. I love you so much. I'll be waiting for you for as long as they keep you away from me, no matter how long that is."
James opened his mouth to argue, to say that she couldn't spend her life waiting for him if he wouldn't ever come back, but a knock on the door interrupted him.
"We're reconvening," the guard told them as she opened the door.
Neither of them moved for a while, but James eventually stood, helping Alex to her feet as well. He looked at her, lifting his hand to try and clear up her make-up again. "You might want to visit the bathroom, baby doll. You still look beautiful, but I don't think Bernie would be too happy if you came back in with mascara down your face," he joked, but there was a crack in his voice.
Alex forced herself to laugh, forced the fresh tears away from her eyes. "I love you," she said softly. "I love you so much, and it's going to be okay.
"I love you too," James whispered, leaning forward and capturing her lips in a deep and almost desperate kiss. "I love you, I love you."
The guard stepped towards them, and James diligently went with her, Alex following behind. She stopped off at the ladies' room and washed her face a few times, clearing up the make-up she'd cried off, before heading back into the courtroom.
There was no real headway made that day. After what had happened, both lawyers, the judge, and even the spectators looked exhausted and distracted. Court was adjourned within almost thirty minutes of it resuming. Before leaving, Alex caught James' eye, and managed the tiniest of smiles. But the smile fell from her face the moment she left the courtroom.
"Alex?"
On hearing Bernie's voice, Alex turned around, stepping to the side so she didn't block the flow of people in the corridor.
"I'm sorry to stop you, we'll be quick, I promise." Bernie was sanding with the judge from James' trial.
"Miss Anderson, regarding what happened earlier with Norman Osborn…"
Alex could practically feel the blood draining out of her face.
"We didn't question Mr. Osborn about it, as it is not directly related to this trial, but I wanted to ask you. It's obvious that the two of you have a history, is that something that you want to talk to the police or another authority about?"
There was a long silence between the three of them. Alex didn't know what to say. What did she want? Would she get a sense of closure, perhaps, if Norman was prosecuted for what had happened?
Somehow, she didn't think so.
"No." Alex gave a little shake of her head. "No, he's… He's locked up. He's already in there for life. I don't… I don't want to go through it all again. He's gone, that's good enough for me."
Was it?
The judge seemed to frown at her for a moment, but soon nodded. "Alright, it's up to you. If you change your mind, however, I would be happy to give you the names of some very good detectives, they would be very capable of handling any further evidence or accusations brought towards Mr. Osborn." He gave her a nod, and the beginnings of a smile, and then turned to leave.
Bernie looked at Alex for a few moments, and then pulled her into a quick hug. "Do you need anyone to take you home?" she offered.
Shaking her head again, Alex responded. "No. Thanks, Bernie, but… I think I could do with the walk. I think it'll do me some good."
Bernie's expression was a little doubtful, but she didn't say anything to back that up. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Alex. Get some sleep, it'll be another long day."
It was already getting dark, but Alex didn't mind that much. She preferred the morning to the evening, but, even now, there was always something magical about Manhattan at twilight. The sky was a mixture of blues, pinks, and oranges, the streetlights were just coming on, and the lights of stores and theatres started to shine brighter.
She walked up Broadway until she reached the Flat Iron Building (and, for a moment, she considered going into The Daily Bugle offices, if for nothing more than a touch of normality), moving to streets further west when the tourists got too much for her.
She was near the centre of Hell's Kitchen, less than five blocks from her apartment, when a man approached Alex.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?" He had a strong Southern accent and, as if that wasn't enough, his status as an out-of-towner was cemented by the I New York fanny pack he was wearing, with both his wallet and phone clearly visible. "I think I'm lost, could you show me how to get to the Empire States Building?" He was holding a map of Manhattan, which he gestured towards her with.
Forcing a smile, Alex stepped closer, standing next to him so she could point on his map. "Okay, so, you've got to keep walking down this street until you get to Thirty Fourth Street, and then you just take a left, and it's only a couple of bl-"
The word was cut off as a pain suddenly flared in her neck, and Alex raised a hand to the spot. A needle. Looking up at the man, she tried to speak, to scream, to alert someone. But no noise came out.
She was only dimly aware of him holding her up, moving her towards a car.
"Is she okay?" a passer-by asked, but Alex couldn't reply, her head was lolling, and only a small groan came out as she felt sleep creeping nearer.
"Guess your fancy New York cocktails are stronger than the stuff back home," the man laughed, slurring a word or two himself. "She'll be okay once we're back at the hotel, thank you, Ma'am."
Alex managed to utter a, "No…", but the woman had already moved on, content with the ruse.
She couldn't stand at all now, her assailant had to lift her to get her into the car. Dumping her carelessly on the backseat, he then moved to the driver's seat, and started to drive towards the south of the island.
Not that Alex which way they were going. She was already unconscious, her fingers curled in the collar of James' jacket.
