A/N - Hello, readers. Wanted to make Jane squirm a bit with this chapter. And I hope everyone has fun watching R&I summer finale tonight. :) Now, on to the story.


Eric had not been kidding. The attorney for the Tomlinson family, Lawrence, was a sight to behold…if you enjoyed watching master manipulators at work. He parried and dodged Eric's attacks easily, hardly deterred by his adversary's clever attempts. From the look on his face, Jane knew Eric was just testing Lawrence to see if he was on his A-game. Regardless, she just hoped he could keep up with the other attorney when the kiddie-gloves came off. Her livelihood depended on it.

With a quick look over at the plaintiff's side, Jane noticed that, besides Lawrence, no representative from the Tomlinson family was present. That's odd, Jane thought. Why sue someone if you can't even be bothered to show up? Maybe this would mean that the lawsuit was dismissed and she could go back to Homicide…

After listening to Lawrence's endless diatribe, the judge finally addressed the obvious absence of his client, "Mr. Lawrence…as much as I would love to continue listening to one of your legendary opening statements, could you please tell me where your client is? There's no point continuing onward with this trial if a representative of the Tomlinson family doesn't show up."

Lawrence smirked at Jane and Eric. "My client is undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. She is absolutely devastated she can't be here, your honor, but her treatment makes sitting for prolonged periods extremely difficult on her body. I'll be acting as a sole temporary representative of the Tomlinson family's wishes for this trial."

The judge sighed. "Predictable… You better have documentation for this supposed illness. I know how much you love to embellish, Mr. Lawrence."

"Of course, your honor," Lawrence said condescendingly, handing the papers over to an aide.

The judge skimmed over the papers while Jane squirmed awkwardly in her seat, waiting for something, anything, to happen. She hated sitting in court. I wonder how Clementine is doing, Jane thought distractedly. When she had left in the morning, the baby seemed fine. A little fussier than usual but nothing Maura couldn't handle on her own. Jane had told her mother to drop in on the two of them just in case, hoping that precaution wouldn't be necessary.

With a polite cough, Eric brought her attention back to the trial. He offered her a smile.

"Stay focused," he commanded softly. "He sees you off guard, he'll take advantage."

Jane nodded slightly in response. Normally, she would have no problem focusing but that was before she had a child at home to worry about.

"Fine, everything is in order." The judge handed the papers back to the aide. "Now that that is settled, let's move on to the individual stances and the testimony."

"But I haven't finished my opening arguments," Lawrence whined.

"Half of us are asleep, Mr. Lawrence. I think you've finished," the judge replied, causing a round of quiet snickers to rise up from Jane's supporters.

"Yes, your honor. The Tomlinson family has submitted a complaint against Detective Jane Rizzoli of the Boston Police Department for having an undue influence in Edward Tomlinson Jr.'s death. We seek to prove that Jane Rizzoli's actions were a result of incompetence on her part."

In frustration, Jane clenched the wooden table, the word 'incompetent' forcing a growl from her throat. She was a respected detective. The word incompetent had never once factored into any of the many glowing reviews of her through the years. Temperamental, yes. Incompetent, no. Eric's eyes stayed locked on his adversary's as he lightly patted Jane's knee in an effort to lower her tension.

"Thank you, Mr. Lawrence," the judge said disinterestedly, turning his attention to Eric and Jane. "And the defendant's response to the plaintiff's allegations?"

Jane wanted nothing more but to jump up and claim her innocence but Eric had told her to specifically to hold all of her enthusiasm for her testimony.

"We refute the plaintiff's claims. Despite his obvious lack of evidence, we claim this is a frivolous lawsuit, serving no other purpose but to waste the court's time and further Mr. Lawrence's own…personal agendas against the Boston Police Department. All charges should be dropped."

A cheer of approval came up from the crowd. Jane smiled, glad to be feeling all of her fellow detectives supporting her.

"This is a court room. Not the Calgary Stampede. If all of you don't quiet down, I'll have no problem charging each of you with contempt." The cheers settled down and the judge turned his attention back to Eric. "Thank you for your opinions on what my ruling should be concerning this case, Mr. Weiss. But this is my courtroom. I know you've been out of the loop for a while but knowing who's in charge of handing down judgments is first-year law school."

"My apologies, your honor," Eric replied.

The judge nodded, turning his attention back to Lawrence with a barely concealed yawn.

"Mr. Lawrence, please call your witness."

"Thank you, your honor. I call the defendant, Jane Rizzoli, to the stand."

Surprised to hear her name, Jane blinked once, twice, three times before Eric tapped her on the shoulder to wake her up. This was it, her chance to set the record straight. She stood up from chair and proceeded to the small area next to the judge. With a quick recital of the mandatory oath, Jane sat down, ignoring all of the stares of those around her except for one. Her attorney, Eric Weiss. Even though it had been nearly ten years since she had been placed in this situation with him, Jane still felt the same level of safety upon being called to the stand, knowing he would always have her back.

Jane sighed, waiting for the questions to start. After what felt like an hour, Lawrence walked up to her.

"Detective Rizzoli, do you mind if I call you that? Detective Rizzoli?" he asked sweetly.

"That is my name."

Another chuckle rose from the crowd.

Lawrence smiled. "Yes. That is your name isn't it?"

"Objection," Eric groaned with an eye-roll. "I think the witness knows her own name."

"Sustained. Move on to your next question, Mr. Lawrence," the judge yawned, seemingly bored with the proceedings.

"Are you aware of the proceedings that took place concerning Edward Tomlinson Jr.'s death?"

"Yes, sir."

"Could you relate it to us?"

Jane related the events of the drug raid to the court.

Lawrence ran his hand through his hair, walking back to his desk to pull out several medical reports. After walking back to Jane, he handed the reports to her.

"Could you please read those autopsy reports of the deceased to the court please? The highlighted portions," Lawrence said condescendingly, as if she couldn't have possibly made that connection herself. Asshole, Jane thought, tapping her feet against the floor in annoyance.

Her eyes skimmed over the report. "The deceased, Edward Tomlinson Jr., suffered from advanced forms of schizophrenia, mostly resulting in auditory hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, and disorganized cognitive functions resulting in a diminished capacity for speech. He had been ignoring his medicine for several months given the lack of antipsychotics in his bloodstream."

"Excuse me, your honor. There is no reference of this report in the official autopsy report of the chief medical examiner."

"There shouldn't be," Lawrence replied smugly. "These findings were delivered to me by the Tomlinson family's private psychiatrist."

Lawrence took the report back from Jane, turning to address the court.

"The deceased was a schizophrenic who wasn't on his medication…hmm, it all adds up, doesn't it? Jane Rizzoli shot a young man twice who was suffering from a psychotic episode. He had little to no control over his actions that night, yet Ms. Rizzoli felt the need to shoot him. Not subdue him like Section E.F.12.5 of the police academy rulebook mandates." Lawrence handed a copy of the highlighted section of the handbook to the judge. "Typical…you and your fellow detectives seem to take this line of action a lot. Isn't it true that your partner, Detective Barold Frost, also killed a suspect in the bank robberies that occurred last year?"

"Yes, but the suspect in question was an accomplice in the bank robberies and he was going to pull a gun on my partner."

Lawrence smiled wryly. "So the potential of lethal force by a suspect who could have easily been subdued validates a detective's choice to use lethal force…hmm, that's good to know."

"Objection," Eric sighed. "Rhetorical questions are hardly conducive to a proper testimony, your honor."

The judge nodded, fiddling with his cuff links in boredom. "Sustained. Mr. Lawrence, get to your point, sooner rather than later. Either rephrase your question so the witness can answer properly or move on."

"Yes, your honor," Lawrence said, unperturbed by the interruption. "Let's turn our focus back to the victim, Edward Tomlinson Jr. Why did you decide to shoot him, Detective?"

With a raised eyebrow, Jane returned her attention to Lawrence. "Mr. Tomlinson ran. He was going to jump into the Harbor unless I stopped him. If he went into the Harbor he would have gotten away."

"So you didn't notice anything odd about his behavior? According to the medical report received from his psychiatrist, Tomlinson would have been acting erratically. In particular, his doctor reiterated to me that the victim had a predilection towards glossolalia, speaking in tongues in layman's terms."

"I was a bit too busy trying to apprehend the subject in question to notice those kinds of details. So, no, I didn't notice anything particularly erratic about his behavior."

Lawrence laughed, turning his attention back to the detective. "And that's all that matters to you, Detective? Apprehending your suspect and getting your man at all costs? Even if that man was innocent? Even if he died?"

"I'd hardly call running away from the police the actions of an innocent man, sir."

"Actions don't prove guilt in the legal arena, Detective," Lawrence said, slamming his hand on the desk in front of Jane. "You took his chance to be declared guilty before the law by using lethal force. All because he acted like a guilty man, not to mention this assumption is based off of your singular opinion…"

Jane growled with clenched teeth. "What are you getting at?"

"You know what I'm getting at. That night you made a decision to shoot an ill man for no other reason but to make a collar. He wasn't being charged, yet you insisted on going after him like he was a producer of the drugs in question. No one can prove their innocence in a court where the judge is playing the jury."

Jane slammed her fist down on the wooden barrier before her. "I did not play judge and jury. He could have been a producer or a distributor. I didn't know because he ran before I had a chance to finish questioning him. He made the decision to run, not me! I did nothing wrong. I apprehended the fleeing suspect using any means necessary. That's what cops do!"

"And where in the BPD handbook does it say that it's okay to shoot a defenseless suspect two times?" Lawrence asked, reflecting Jane's own anger back at her in an effort to further enrage her. "Face it, Detective. You shot the plaintiff's son, not because you were following protocol, but because you thought it was the right thing to do. You made the decision based off of your own moral code that told you to shoot that defenseless man two times, once in the chest and once in the leg, because he was a criminal to you, in your eyes. Accept it."

"There's nothing to accept," Jane exclaimed, her blood pumping in her ears. She looked over at Eric with pleading eyes but knew there was nothing he could do. Lawrence was doing a damn good job examining her testimony, finding the flaws that he could manipulate to his advantage. There was nothing for Eric to object to. Nevertheless, he offered a sympathetic smile, encouraging her to weather the storm of being on the stand.

With a confident smirk, Lawrence went over to his satchel and grabbed a set of pictures out of his bag. Jane felt a sense of dread coming over her.

"You'd do anything to get your man, wouldn't you, Detective?" he asked with just a hint of a snarl.

At the sudden shift in Lawrence's mood, Jane narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Any cop worth his salt would tell you the same."

Placing the pictures on the projector, Lawrence looked back at Jane with a devious smile.

"And that's understandable. With the police department cutting back on funds while crime rate continues to increase, you have to find any kind of advantage you can just to keep up."

"I guess… Advantages are important. It's why most detectives have CIs, to keep an ear on the areas where cops wouldn't be exactly welcome and gain an advantage," she frowned, her confusion at Lawrence's line of questioning obvious.

"Interesting. Does that include going outside the law, bending the rules, to get an advantage?" he muttered, turning on the projector, revealing the pictures to the court. "You being a woman coming into the male-dominated world of BPD and so dedicated to closing cases, getting your man, you decided to use what skills you had to get an advantage. Like dating a prosecutor or maybe even a chief medical examiner."

A shocked sigh came up from the court, causing Eric to quickly stand up. "Objection. Your honor, Detective Rizzoli's personal life isn't on display for the public. It has nothing to do with this case. Could we please stay on focus?"

Jane turned and stared at the collection of pictures being displayed. Jane and Eric at the annual costume party, Jane and Eric at a mutual friend's barbecue, Jane and Eric on vacation in Florida… All of the past memories of her relationship with Eric displayed for public viewing. She could barely breathe as the anger and embarrassment clenched her lungs. There was no need for her colleagues to see this.

And how in the hell did he figure out that she was with Maura? It was hardly a secret but still there was a level of discretion amongst those in BPD. Everyone knew that talking to an outsider about another detective's affairs was next to verboten unless your life depended on it. What happens in BPD, stays in BPD.

"Eric," Jane whispered, desperately hoping he could stop the trial. She might be tough, but there was only so much abuse she could take. All she wanted to do was to insert her nails into that groveling sonovabitch's neck and make him understand what it felt like to feel…uncomfortable. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the impulse, her fingers twitching with the effort.

"Judge, I'd like to ask for a recess for the day. The defense was not prepared for this sudden change in Mr. Lawrence's argument."

The judge coughed, his face taking in Lawrence's pictures with a frown of disapproval. All pretenses of his earlier boredom dropped nothing but seriousness in its place.

"Yes, I think that would be appropriate. However, I'd like to say that I have no intention to sit through an expose of the defendant's personal affairs. Proving Detective Rizzoli's guilt regarding the matter at hand is one thing, but going on a witch-hunt to further nothing more but a personal vendetta against law enforcement is not a fish I want swimming around my courtroom. Continuing down this path of discussion is the quickest way to get this trial dismissed. Mr. Lawrence, you have been warned. Court resumes tomorrow at one pm. Court is adjourned."