Good evening…morning…whatever this is. I warn you. This is a rather short and filler-like chappie, but it does have a long-awaited confrontation and a new plot twist. Read on, my faithful readers, read on

XD

"Sam. Calm down." Danny encouraged slowly, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Oh, my god, Danny. You don't get it." She tightened her hands on the steering wheel, keeping her glaring eyes on the road in front of her. "What would you do if you were going to meet your lawyer so you could talk about the night you were raped, huh? Would you calm down?"

Danny sighed. She'd been like that since she picked him up earlier that morning. He leaned back against the passenger's side door and crossed his arms. When she was in one of these moods, especially lately, he figured it was best to just let her rant.

"I mean, I get a call in the middle of dinner from some random detective saying that he needs me in New York by tomorrow. It's unbelievable! And then my lawyer says she'll have to meet me before the trial starts so I can fill her in on a year of information. I know it's not her fault, it's just really stressful, you know?"

"I understand, Sam. It's a really tight schedule, and you're really worried about the case." He said, trying to be as helpful as possible.

"Among other things." She said grimly, putting a hand on her stomach subconsciously. It was her latest habit. Whenever someone mentioned or she thought about Greg, her hand moved straight to the belly. Danny wasn't sure if she knew she did it or not, but if she was watching some sappy romance movie or writing in her notebook, her hand was resting comfortably on her swollen stomach.

"So, how much farther is it to this place?" he asked, glancing at the car's clock.

"We're almost there, actually." She replied, her demeanor slightly happier. "Should only be about twenty or so more minutes." Her hand moved from her belly to turn up the radio, and when the volume was to her satisfaction, it fell to her lap instead of returning to its resting place.

That kept him content. The window was open, blowing her shoulder-length hair around her face, and Danny took the opportunity to admire her. She was decked rather nicer than usual. She wore nice black pants, pinstriped with lime green to match her thermal. Her dark eyeliner was toned down, lighter and more brown than black. And her violet lipstick was nowhere in sight, just a thin layer of clear gloss covering her lips. He had to admit, this more natural look was hot.

"What?"

Danny broke from his trance, blushing as he realized he had been caught staring at her. "Huh?" Genius. "Sorry, Sam, I guess I just spaced out."

"Oh. Well are you gonna get out or what?"

"Huh?" Double genius. It took him a moment to realize they were in a parking lot, a rather empty parking lot, but a parking lot nonetheless. "Oh, yeah." He unbuckled his seatbelt and stumbled out, watching Sam get out gracefully, embarrassed that he'd been so dense as not to realize they had stopped.

He followed her as she headed for the large building in front of them. It was extremely tall, made of brick. There was a part of the wall that was filled with bricks that had named inscribed on them, donators, Danny guessed. A stone mermaid sat near to the right of the building, her hands held above her head as if she was offering something. Water spouted from her open hands, collecting in the small pool the mermaid was lying in. The courthouse.

As they entered, Danny noticed that the Mansons' names were written on one of the bricks. "You guys donated?" he inquired casually, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

"My loving parents." Sam replied, picking a dark hair off of her shirt and dropping it to her side. "Publicity thing." She picked her phone out of her black leather bag and pressed a few buttons, turning it off, Danny supposed, before slipping it back in.

As she looked up, her face suddenly brightened, and she gasped. "Charlie!"

"Sam!" The girl in question ran towards a woman near the back of the room that Danny hadn't noticed. The woman was wearing a nice black pant-suit, a lacy camisole peaking out from behind her jacket. Her brown hair was cut bluntly at her chin, and her bangs swept from her left, just barely concealing a pair of green eyes. "Oh, my god, I haven't seen you in forever."

Sam laughed. "I think that's a good thing." Danny stepped up behind her, placing a hand on the small of her back.

"Ah, the moral support." The woman said with a smile, putting a fist on her hip.

"This is my friend, Danny. Danny, this is Charlotte Davenport, my lawyer and fellow rich girl gone rebel." She clasped her hands in front of her, her smile broad. Danny didn't miss how she slightly emphasized the word "friend"; he just wondered if that was for his sake or Charlotte's.

"Please, call me Charlie." She extended a nicely manicured hand and he took it, shaking it. She had a firm grip.

"Nice to meet you, Charlie."

She nodded and turned to Sam, her face more serious. "Alright, I've got a private room set up for us so you can fill me in." She looked at her watch. "It looks like we've got more time than I thought, so we won't be so rushed." Charlie waved them down a hall, walking towards a door near the end, pushing it open. "Of course, you know that Jerk-face's lawyer's gonna want to talk to you too, right?"

Sam groaned as she took a seat at the table in the middle of the room. "Yes, it's just all been so hectic that I forgot."

"I know, seriously. I haven't even had time to prepare anything. But don't worry, I won't let you slip, Sam." Charlie sat down in the chair across from her, and Danny took the one beside her.

"I know. I'm not worried about losing or winning. I just… I don't know…"

Charlie looked at her sympathetically for a moment before opening the file in front of her and sighing. "Okay, I know about as much as you told me. Would you mind filling me in on details? Dates? Times, if possible?"

"I'll try."

Danny sat with his eyes closed and his head down as Sam relayed the story she had told the detective at the hospital in Charleston. His fists repetitively clenched and unclenched under the table, and about half way through her story, Sam noticed and discreetly slipped her hand over his. She kept it there until his hand relaxed and took hers in his. Once he did that, she stuttered for a moment and put her own hand back on the table.

Danny inwardly sighed as her story came to an end and the women began talking about Caleb. "Speaking of, Danny?"

"Yeah?" He said, looking up at her.

"The trial's going to start in a little bit, and I didn't really get anything for breakfast. Would you mind going and getting me my backpack out of the car?" She looked at him pleadingly.

"You mean, 'Would you get my backpack out of the car while I gush to my friend about stuff I don't want you to hear?'" he said, but began standing anyways.

"That's exactly it." She grinned, playfully pushing him away.

"Sure, Sam." Danny strode out of the room, closing the door behind him, and walked back up the hall. Running a hand through his hair, he stepped into the lobby and out the door. He squinted as the bright sun greeted him, putting a hand up to block the glaring light.

With a yawn, he made his way towards Sam's car. He opened the passenger's door and leaned in, grabbing the small backpack in the floor. Sam's everything went in that bag. Whether it was her snacks or her keys, her notebook or her sonograms, everything important to her somehow ended up in the small abyss.

Danny ran a hand through his messy hair, shutting the door and walking back towards the large building. As he made his way to the doors, he noticed a man a year or two older than him standing by the fountain and smoking a cigarette. He began to look away, but noticed something familiar about him. He shook the feeling away and kept walking.

"So… You're the one who's screwing her, huh?"

Danny turned around. "What?" The man was speaking to him? Why?

He threw his cigarette to the ground, stepping on it. His voice was strange- deep, but light, with a classic New York accent. He spoke slowly, as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped. "You are… the person… who is screwing my girlfriend. Am I right?"

And then it all came together.

"You… you're the one at the hotel… The one who was at the door." He turned completely, fixing Sam's backpack on his shoulder. His fist tightened on the strap. "Greg…"

"I see she's still got that ratty old thing." The man shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, that was me. What about it?"

Danny could literally feel his eyes glowing. "You're supposed to be in custody."

He shrugged. "I'm meeting my lawyer. Decided I'd have a smoke before he showed up and apparently, they don't like smoking in the courthouse." He jerked his chin towards a man nearby Danny hadn't noticed. "That one's got a gun."

He was speechless. There, standing in front of him, was the pinpoint of all his anger and hate, and he couldn't even say anything out of bounds for fear of being arrested.

"You never answered my question. Are you sleeping with my girl or not?"

"First of all, she's not your girl, and I'll be damned if she ever let you call her that and get away with it. Second of all, no, I'm not." Eh. I have the right to remain silent, don't I?

Greg laughed bitterly. "Too bad. She was a good lay."

"You son of a bitch." Danny was already taking a step forward, his hands clenched at his sides, before he felt a hand grip his shoulder and heard a voice floating over his shoulder.

"Now, now, Daniel, I must ask you to stop harassing my client." The hand left his shoulder and Danny's jaw dropped as Greg was led inside by the person he hated almost as much as he hated Greg, himself. "Good morning, Gregory. My name is Vlad Masters and I'll be your lawyer today."

XD

This is just a filler, really, before we get to the actual trial. It's not very important, but I had to introduce Greg, Vlad, and Charlie before the story could go on. This is a short chapter, and another will be put up soon, I promise. I finished this at two in the morning, so I'm not so sure how wonderful my grammar and spelling is. I swear that the next chapter is going to get much more interesting. I've got action, romance, and a full relay of what happened that fateful night with Sam and Greg ahead, so I'm sorry if the chapter doesn't come as soon as it should. Thanks for reading!

By the way, I'm having a summary contest. I don't feel mine really fits the story, so if you have a suggestion, the winner gets a sneak preview of the next few chapters. :D