Chapter 8

"Elle, honey, calm down," Emmett said, running after Elle.

Elle scowled a little at herself. She was never like this. She was never worrying about her friends, even when she had to defend Brooke in court. "Sorry, Emmett, but I can't help it," Elle said, unlocking her office door.

"You always had. Just relax. You'll be fine," Emmett assured her.

"It's not me I'm worried about. It's Brooke. She never sounded so desperate and...scared in her life," Elle protested.

"What if it wasn't Brooke?" Emmett inquired.

"It was. That was my final decision. It has to be," Elle said, raising up a hand.

"Look, Elle, just don't worry yourself to death. You know Brooke so well, but I'm positive that we both know that she is a strong woman," Emmet told her.

Elle paused in the middle of her office and sighed. "You're right. Brooke could take care of herself even better than I can. And besides, I don't think worrying goes along with the little Squirt in here," Elle said with a laugh and touched her stomach.

"We've been called the baby "Squirt" for a while now. Shouldn't we-" but Emmett was cut off by a knock.

Elle then began to panic again. She paled and sat down at her chair. "She's early," Elle whispered.

"I'd better go. Give me a call when she leaves, ok Elle?" Emmett whispered back, making his way to the door.

"I promise!" Elle whispered loudly.

Emmett opened the door, but then smiled at who was at the door. Elle peered curiously at the door, but couldn't see. Instead of seeing Brooke, Elle saw Vivian coming through the door. At first, Elle looked shocked and surprised, but when Vivian began laughing, she relaxed.

"Don't worry, Elle, I'm not your mystery caller," Vivian laughed. "I just came by to give you your schedule for today. And you also have a two o' clock meeting in the main room downstairs."

Elle breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Viv. You're a sweetheart. What would I do without you?" Elle asked, smiling.

"Well, I think you could talk to your mystery caller without me," Vivian said with a sly glare, but also gave a sympathetic glance.

Elle fell back against in her office chair. "She's here?! Oh my goodness, why didn't you tell me before?!" Elle exclaimed.

"Well Emmett did tell me that you're a little panicky right now. But she asked me to ask you if she could come in earlier. I told her I'd ask you," Vivian said with a shrug, holding her checklist in her arms.

"Yes, of course she could come in. Send her in immediately. I'll talk to you later, Vivian," Elle called out.

Vivian closed the door and Elle sighed audibly. She put her head in her hands and shook her head. What was with her these days? Was she really changing that dramatically because of her pregnancy? It just couldn't be. Elle was too perky and exciting to change so quickly. Maybe it really was that Brooke was about to walk through her office door, and Elle didn't know what to expect at all.

A knock interrupted Elle's thoughts, and Elle composed herself as she got up and fixed her hair quickly. She touched the doorknob and then twisted it. She opened the door slowly and poised a smile on her face.

"Brooke!" Elle almost shrieked as soon as she saw her friend.

Brooke just stood there, tears falling down her cheeks, and tried smiling at Elle but couldn't. She raised her hand to her face and wiped a tear away. She walked in without saying a word and remained in the same position until Elle closed the door.

"Brooke! What happened? What's wrong?" Elle asked, looking even more worried now.

"Elle, they took her away. She's gone," Brooke whispered shakily before she began sobbing again.

Elle felt sorry for Brooke, even though she had no idea what she was talking about. Elle walked up to her friend and hugged her tightly. "It's ok to cry." She let Brooke cry on her shoulder for a while. Elle knew enough to never discourage a person, especially a woman, from crying if she needed to. Elle knew that something tragic must've happened if Brooke Wyndham of all people would be crying.

As Brooke calmed down a little, Elle let go of her tight grip on Brooke and held her hands. "Brooke, who's gone? Tell me. I want to help you," Elle said gently, and Brooke's eyes filled with tears again. "No, don't cry again. I'll do everything I can to help, but I need to know with what."

Brooke sniffed and wiped her tears again. Finally, she opened her mouth but her lips were trembling as she glanced at Elle's growing stomach. "Bailey's gone. They took her away. I tried to stop them, because I knew that I had a right to trial..." Brooke wailed.

"Who's Bailey, Brooke? Go on," Elle pressed.

"My daughter. The only thing I've ever loved that I'd cry for," Brooke said, swallowing.

Elle was taken aback. She was surprised with this answer. Brooke had a child? Is that why she hadn't gone to Elle and Emmett's wedding? Elle knew she and Brooke hadn't seen each other ever since Elle won Brooke's trial about three years back. Could Brooke had given birth to a baby girl and grown her for two years?

"Brooke, I never knew you had a child. Was she...yours?" Elle asked, realizing how dumb the question sounded.

"Yes! I was the one that carried her for eight months and three weeks! I was the one that spent full nights awake, caring for her! I was the one that grew her until she was almost two! Bailey was my world. And now they just...took her away. They can't just take away a baby from her mother!" Brooke exclaimed.

Elle was afraid Brooke would start acting hysterical. She didn't want that, so she embraced Brooke once again, but Brooke didn't shed too many tears. For once in her life, Elle felt the pain that Brooke could be bearing right that moment. Elle was about three months and a half along, but felt like she knew the baby personally. If someone would take her baby, she'd probably never stop crying.

"Ok. Brooke, I need you to sit down and tell me every single little thing that happened ever since I last saw you. I'll write it down, and if I could do anything about it, I'll help you. Does that sound fine?" Elle inquired, leading Brooke to the chair facing Elle's chair. Bruiser was sitting on Elle's desk, wagging his tail, but as soon as he saw Brooke crying and Elle looked worried, he stopped wagging and looked confused.

Brooke sat down. "Anything as long as I get Bailey back. I'll do anything," Brooke said softly with tears in her eyes.

It was hard for Elle to have to both believe and not believe Brooke in this case. First of all, Brooke was never good with telling lies and acting them out so perfectly as to the point of crying until she couldn't anymore. Second of all, if Brooke really hadn't seen Elle or Emmett or anyone Elle knew until this very moment, then that could've meant that Brooke conceived and didn't want people knowing.

Elle took her pink fuzzy pen and opened her notebook. "Go on, Brooke. Tell me everything that happened. I'll piece it up together in the end," Elle pushed.

Brooke took a deep breath. "Ok, well, after the trial, I was still in Boston until about two months after the trial. I ran into a friend of mine that I had known all my life. After a few more months, he asked me to marry him and I accepted. And then, a few more months passed, and I realized that something was wrong with me. I was pregnant. I went to the doctor and he announced that it would be a girl. I was so excited that I went home to tell my husband. But when I arrived, he wasn't there. I did everything to possibly find him, but nothing. I was left alone to care for myself in the state that I was in," Brooke paused, catching her breath.

Elle nodded, and wrote down everything she could catch. "Then what?"

"Well, as I said, the baby came at eight months and three weeks. She was early by almost two weeks. I was worried, but when she came out perfectly fine and beautiful, I couldn't be more relieved. Two years passed and I was still living alone, caring for Bailey. One day as I set her down for a nap, someone knocked on my door. When I opened it, it was my husband, a woman I'd never seen, and maybe some kind of policeman and a lawyer. They told me a few things and in conclusion, they said they had to take Bailey away since she wasn't my girl. It took them a while to actually get passed me, but when I almost fainted because of the lack of energy left, I let them through. They took Bailey away then. I heard her crying for me, but I couldn't do anything to stop them. I just told her goodbye for a while and then I began crying. That's all I did for about two months. I cried and ate about once a day. Nothing else. Finally, I thought about how I never got the chance to go on trial for Bailey. I had to get her back. I remembered how you won my case and I called you up. First I sent a fax in case you wouldn't answer, but then when I called and you answered, I was a little overjoyed, " Brooke said with a sigh.

"I was a little confused also. I didn't know who it was. But in the end, I found out it was you because of how you pronounce my name. You have a little accent on it," Elle smiled.

"I guess I'm special," Brooke winced in a small smile. "Anyway, I couldn't bear tell you anything else besides that fact that I needed help. I didn't say my name because I thought you wouldn't even want to talk to me because I never bothered calling you or even going to your wedding."

Elle put her hand on Brooke's. "Don't even think about apologizing. Not after what you've been through. I would do the same thing if anything would happen to my baby. It's not grown yet, but if I'd have grown it for two years, I probably wouldn't even have eaten."

"So now I'm here, telling you my story. There's nothing else to say really, except that I think that the woman that was with my ex was his new wife. He cheated on me. Probably just to carry an affair. I'll kill him if I ever get my hands on him," Brooke said with gritted teeth.

"That wouldn't be such a great idea. So...when did they take Bailey away?" Elle asked.

"Exactly two months ago. It felt so odd to talk to someone again, other than Bailey, but now I'm so glad I called you, Elle. I missed you more than you could ever think of. So can you please help me?" Brooke asked with pleading eyes.

Elle thought about the chances of her winning the case in court. She didn't know what she'd do if they lost and Brooke wouldn't be allowed to keep her own child. "Yes. I'll help. Emmett will too. You can count on both of us. But you must understand, Brooke, that there are chances that we won't win your case. It's a possible answer, and I don't want to see you distressed and depressed about it, understood?" Elle asked.

"Yes, Elle. I'm just glad I told you everything. Even if you won't win my case, I'm glad I've seen you again, and told someone my side of the story," Brooke said, hiding the pain in her voice.

"I'm glad too, Brooke. Remember, if you need anyone to talk to, you either stop by at the office, or you come visit us at home. I'll call you when I have everything set," Elle said, getting up.

Brooke got up too. "Thank you again, Elle. For everything. This means so much to me," Brooke said, walking towards the door. "Oh and...if I were you, I'd guard that baby with my life. You never know what could happen to him or her. Keep it safe, Elle." And with that, Brooke exited, shutting the door behind her.

Elle smiled to herself and laid her hand on her belly. "I'll never let anything happen to you, even if my life depended on it. Of course, I'll try to guard you even now," Elle whispered, as if talking to the unborn child.

Elle took out her cell phone and dialed Emmett's number. "Emmett?" Elle asked carefully.

"Honey, are you ok?" Emmett asked quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm afraid Brooke isn't," Elle said with a sigh. "I took up her case."

"So it was Brooke. What happened to her?" Emmett asked worriedly.

"She was crying so hard when she arrived. Em, they took her daughter away from her. They said it was her ex husband's new wife's child. It's not true, and she didn't even get the chance to trial in court. I agreed to represent her," Elle explained, her voice shaky.

"That's terrible, Elle! But...Brooke had a kid?" Emmett inquired, sounding as if he didn't believe her.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to believe it, but it's true. Brooke isn't that good of a lier as to make up something so good and actually cry over it. Brooke never cries," Elle protested.

"But, Elle, why did you take her case without discussing things with me? You don't know if she was telling the truth, or if her case was worth it," Emmett told her.

"How can you say that, Em?! We both know that Brooke wasn't lying! I told you that she isn't so good in telling lies that she cries over them!" Elle protested again.

"Ok then, but what if we won't win the case? What if it's not worth it?" Emmett asked, though he was sure Elle had an explanation for that too.

"Ok-" she started, but Emmett groaned. "You stop that, Emmett. Even if we don't win her case, I have to at least try."

"And why do you want to have all this stress upon you, sweetie?" Emmett asked, beginning to sound worried.

"Emmett, what if it was our child that got taken away from us? What if someone just appeared on our doorstep and forcefully took my baby away, saying that it was rightfully theirs? Wouldn't you want someone to represent us in court?" Elle asked, then laid her hand on her belly.

There was a long pause but she could hear him breathing. She knew that she had managed to convince him, when he had nothing else to say. "Well...when you put it that way..." he sighed.

"Exactly! You butthead. You just have to believe in what's right," Elle said, smiling to yourself.

"Elle, why do you always have to be right?" Emmett inquired.

Elle laughed, remembering what they had said to each other a couple of years ago. They were younger, but always had fun with their words.

"I don't have to be. When I talk to you, I just am," Elle giggled.

"Elle, you're always right, even when you're not talking to me," Emmett laughed.

"Actually, I'm just being logical when I'm not with you. I'm right when I am."

Emmett had to laugh again. The real Elle Woods was back from her state of worrying, and he was glad. "Honey, take care of yourself. You're still important to me."

"Thanks, darling. I'm so tired and when I get home, I'll take a nap," Elle said, then yawned as if to prove it. "I'd love to go now, but I have a meeting with the partners at two."

"Ok then. I'll be home later today," Emmett told her. "Now I have to go but-"

"Wait, what time are you coming home?" Elle asked quickly.

"Probably around six," he simply said.

"Oh, ok."

"Elle, don't get any ideas, ok? And take care of yourself," Emmett said with a serious tone.

"I always do. Love you, Em," Elle said then made a kiss sound through the phone. "Bruiser does too."

"Love you too," Emmett replied, then hung up.