She Will Be Loved
~Chapter 12 – Playing the Part~
BPOV
I was at the Washington prison for over two weeks, and I had still never heard from Edward. I didn't expect him to send roses and candy, or whispered words of devotion in between the lines of a love letter, but since I was pregnant with his baby, I thought he'd at least write. I just had to accept the fact that he couldn't forgive me, so as much as it hurt, I tried not to hope for any contact from him other than when he came to pick up our baby.
But then, everything changed again….
"Your hearing has been moved up," a guard informed me one morning.
"Ok, when?" I asked surprised.
"Now, so get ready."
I thought that was extremely odd. I never heard of a hearing being moved up so quickly, and then not even having a twenty four hour notice ahead of time was beyond strange.
I was taken to the showers and then given an outfit to dress into, before being driven in a van to the courthouse.
I was brought in through a back door and then led down a hallway, and brought to a medium sized conference room. In the room was a large round table, surrounded by a bunch of chairs which were all empty except for a few. The first person I noticed was an official looking man in a suit, which I assumed was the judge by where he was sitting, and the second person I noticed was Charlie.
"Dad?" I said confused.
He stood and gave me a hug. "Hey kiddo," he said into my ear and then let me go so we could sit.
"What's going on?" I asked him, quietly.
The judge cleared his throat, and the other four people in the room took their seats. I looked at each one of them, and recognized three of them. One was my public defender, another was the prison doctor, and the third was Esme Cullen. I smiled a halfhearted hello to Esme, but she didn't return the gesture; she was all business, which worried me a bit. I thought back to all my encounters with Esme and tried to think about what she was going to say, and then I realized that it wasn't going to be good. I was never cooperative during our sessions, I was rude and belligerent on most occasions, and my reason for meeting with her was always related to my drug use and suicide attempts. Yep, I'd say I was screwed when it came to Dr. Cullen.
"Ok, we're here to discuss the case of Isabella Swan, on the charges of kidnapping a minor across state lines," the judge said emotionlessly. "Here today we have Dr. Esme Cullen PsyD, Dr. Kate Grey MD, Public defender Mr. Peter Randal, Prosecutor Stephan Vladimir, and I'm Judge Marcus Vulturinni. Sitting with Ms. Swan is her father Officer Charles Swan, who is the current police chief in the town of Forks."
No one said hello, they just sat there with unreadable expressions and waited for the judge to continue.
"I'd like to begin with stating the facts. Ten Year old Edward Anthony Masen the Third went missing while he waited for his school bus, four blocks from his home in Forks. He was found alive a week later in Las Vegas, Nevada with the help from a tip given by someone who had seen the child. Isabella Swan is the child's birth mother and was found in the same building with the minor. Now Dr. Cullen, you were Ms. Swan's psychologist when she was living in Seattle, can you give us an analysis of her behavior?"
"I've had the privilege of working with Ms. Swan over the past eight years, and I found her to be intelligent and a compassionate young woman," Esme said, shocking the hell out of me. Despite my behavior towards her, I always liked Esme but I never expected her to describe me in that way. "I was beyond shocked when I heard about her arrest, and knowing her, I would have to assume that whatever she did or didn't do, was in her opinion what was best for the child."
The judge turned to me then. "Ms. Swan, I have read your file, which basically states that you gave birth to the child when you were fifteen years of age, and then gave him up for adoption to your sister and the child's biological father."
"I never knowingly signed adoption papers," I said quietly.
"Yes, your father filled me in on those details, but I would like to hear your story from you," the judge said, and then waited while I told my truth the best way I could. I told him every detail from the way I got pregnant, to my mother and sister's betrayal, and then everything that happened afterwards. Everyone sat and listened to me, and I surprised myself by staying strong and not crying, though Charlie did tear up several times. It was difficult reliving all of it, but it also felt good in a way. No one was going to tell me to shut up, and even if they didn't believe my story, it was still out there, and it's not something someone would forget after listening to.
When I was finished, everyone was quiet for a few awkwardly heavy moments, and then finally the judge spoke. "Now, I do believe your story and I definitely feel sympathy, but I am bound by the law and legally, Mr. and Mrs. Masen have custody of the child," he said apologetically. "Now, if you had a reason to take the child other than feeling like you were wronged and that he belonged to you, then it might be different. Suspicion of child abuse has been used as defenses in cases like this, but you said the child was not abused, is that correct?"
"Not physically, no. But I do believe that Tanya's behavior towards him was emotionally abusive," I said defensively.
"Well, I'm sorry, but disagreeing with parenting methods isn't a defense for kidnapping," the judge said gently.
We listened to the prison doctor talk about my pregnancy, and then it was the prosecution's turn to argue against me.
"The Masens were absolutely sick with worry when their son disappeared. They cried for a torturously long week, having no idea if their son was dead or alive, and the emotional damages of this event will remain with them for many years to come. No parent should be forced into that situation. Ms. Swan has no legal rights to the child, and therefore she should be punished with the full extent of the law."
The judge nodded slightly and then turned to look at Charlie regretfully. "Chief Swan, we have known each other for a long time and I respect you immensely, which is why I agreed to move this hearing up so quickly for you, but there's really not much I can do here. You know just as well as I do, that the law doesn't always seem fair or take into consideration the motivation behind the crimes." And then the judge turned back to me. "The most I can advise is for you to sue your mother for Parental Coercion in your adoption case, but beyond that…."
"WAIT!" someone screamed as they barged through the door to the conference room. I turned around and was absolutely flabbergasted to see Jacob there, dressed as Jaclyn. He wasn't wearing his normal flashy outfits however; instead he had on a black business style dress with stockings and heels, a wig with a little hat, and a ton of makeup. With Jacob, was a smaller man dressed in a suit that was obviously too big for him…who just looked off in some way.
"And who are you?" the judge asked them.
"My name is Jaclyn Marilyn Madonna Black, and this is my husband Russell Hale Black, and we are here to testify…or confess," Jake said dramatically in his most feminine voice.
"Uh… please explain," the judge prompted.
"Well, it all started three years ago…well it actually started twenty nine years ago on the day I was born, but you don't need all those details," he said with a nervous giggle.
"Jake, what are you…" I started to ask, but he put his finger up to stop me.
"Anyway, my partner and I are obviously not a conventional couple…" Jake continued but the judge interrupted him.
"Ma'am, sir, whatever, you just said the man with you was your husband, and now you called him your partner."
"Oh…well, I think of him as my husband, but really we're not legally allowed to marry because we are both…transsexuals. Yes, I know it's difficult to believe, but I was born a man, and my partner was actually born a woman," Jake said and that's when I realized who his 'partner' was, it was Rose. What the hell were they doing.
"What does any of this have to do with this case?" the judge asked irritated.
"Sorry your majesty, I'm getting there," Jacob said quickly. "My partner and I have been trying to adopt a child for some time now, and let me tell you, it's next to impossible for an unconventional couple like us. But we just wanted a family. My ancestors fought the pale faces when they settled here because they wanted our people to adapt to their lifestyle and we refused to conform. We fought bravely down to the last warrior because we would not be oppressed. And now, a century or so later, our people are still fighting to be able to live the way we were born to live. I may not have been born with breasts and shaved legs, but you tell me, what woman was?"
We all just stared at him, unsure what to say, so he continued…
"A great poet once wrote: 'Don't be a drag, just be a queen. Whether you're broke or evergreen. You're black, white, beige, chola descent; you're Lebanese, you're orient. Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied, or teased, rejoice and love yourself today 'cause baby you were born this way'*…. And let me tell you, no truer words have ever been spoken. The beautifully talented Ms. Ga Ga isn't alone in her ideals, but she is definitely a minority in a country where we're all supposed to be free and equal. We don't get to choose our parents or what bodies we're born into, so why can't we all be treated as equals?" Jacob said dramatically with tears rolling down his cheeks for effect. I wanted to laugh at him, but I also wanted to cry because knew that despite how irrelevant his speech was to my case, he still meant every word of it. I just wish I knew what he and Rose were doing.
"Ok, you need to leave, you're disrupting a legal hearing here," the judge said and then waved forward a security guard.
"No, I have to get this out," Jake said while placing his hand over his chest and looking up at the ceiling. "That woman didn't take the boy," he said while pointing at me. "We did."
"Jacob, what are you doing?" I stood and asked shocked.
"It's ok honey, we thank you for taking the rap for us because you know how cruel the jail system can be for people like us. You know, strait people become gay, and gays can be scared straight….anywho, we can't let you go to jail for us. You highness, Isabella Swan didn't kidnap Anthony Masen, we did," Jake said unconvincingly.
The judge huffed out in frustration, and sighed. "And on what grounds did you have for kidnapping?" he humored them.
"I already told you…" Jake said, but then Rose stepped around him to speak.
"Your honor, my daughter was taken from me when she was seven years old, and my heart has ached for her every day since. My…partner and I just saw Anthony and thought he could complete our family and fill the hole my daughter left. So we just took him. Bella is our good friend, and she took the fall for us, but she's not the one who committed the crime," Rose said in her normal voice and then added "We just wanted a kid," in a deeper aggressive 'man' voice.
"Ok, let me get this straight," the judge said placating them. "You kidnapped a random child thousands of miles away from your residence, and he just so happened to have been your 'good friend's' biological son?" he asked in disbelief.
Rose and Jacob were quiet for a moment and looked at each other questionably. My dad let his face drop in his hands, and I was just really confused.
"That is beyond the point," Jacob said, refusing to give up. "Haven't you seen the soap opera 'As The World Turns'? Those types of seemingly 'random' events happen all the time."
Even if the story made sense, I would never let my friends get into trouble for something I did; so I decided we all had enough, and I spoke up."No, your honor, these are my friends, and I'm not sure why they're trying to take responsibility for this. I took my son, and they had nothing to do with it," I said strongly.
"You ruined it, I totally had them believing me," Jake whispered to Rose bitterly.
"No one believed anything," Rose snapped back at him, and then she pulled off her fake mustache and let her hair fall out of her hat. "Sorry," she said to me quietly.
I smiled sadly. "Thanks for trying," I said softly to both of them. Even if their attempt was fairly ridiculous, what they tried to do for me was beyond anything I could possibly imagine. Jacob was my best friend, my family, and in that one act, Rose moved up on my list of people I'd do anything for, and I was truly grateful for both in my life.
"Since neither of you were sworn in, I'll look past this obvious act and dismiss your entire interruption," the judge told them sternly. "Now Ms. Swan, would you like to have a trial to plea your case?" he asked me.
My stomach flipped in knots and sweat beaded up on my temple, but then I shook my head no. "That won't be necessary," I said no louder than a whisper, and then closed my eyes as I awaited my sentencing.
"I'm really sorry to have to do this, but I don't really have a choice. Isabella Swan, you are hereby sentenced to…"
"Hold on," someone else said as they came through the door. I knew that voice, I'd know him anywhere, it was Edward. I looked up at him and I couldn't help the tear that rolled down my cheek. It had been an extremely emotional couple of hours.
But like Jacob, Edward wasn't alone. Not only did he have Tanya with him, but they were holding hands and Edward didn't look disgusted by it one bit. Neither of them looked at me, but the room suddenly felt worlds smaller, and I could have sworn the oxygen level went down because it became much harder to breathe with them there.
"Now, who are you?" the judge asked exasperated.
"Uh, sorry for the intrusion your honor. We're the Masens," Edward said casually.
"You're the child's legal guardians?" the judge asked to be sure.
"Yes, your honor," Edward replied.
"Ok, but we don't need you to testify, the prosecutor already spoke on your behalf," the judge explained.
"I realize that sir, but we just had something to say," Edward told him. "We were vacationing in Italy, so we would have been here a lot sooner if we could have, but you know how airports can be."
The judge motioned for Edward to continue, so he did. "Anyway, while we were gone, we got to talking and realized that we were wrong. Right honey?" he asked Tanya. She didn't answer him, she just looked away towards the door. "We remembered that we actually gave Ms. Swan permission to take our son on vacation."
"Excuse me?" the judge said surprised.
"I know it seems horrible that we forgot about something so major, but it's true. A few months before our son went 'missing', my wife's sister asked to take our son on a road trip, and we agreed. But since then a lot happened and the sisters had somewhat of a falling out, so we didn't even think about it. This has all just been a tragic misunderstanding," Edward explained.
"Has it now?" the judge asked in disbelief.
"We're deeply sorry your honor, and we would be happy to make it up with a monetary retribution for any and all harm done in this case," Edward said completely relaxed.
"Reporting a false crime is against the law Mr. Masen, are you prepared to take responsibility for this with jail time?" the judge challenged him, making my heart practically beat out of my chest.
"I'm not prepared for that," Tanya said quickly in a panic.
"Sir, we're responsible for this mess, and if we need to go to jail to make it up to Ms. Swan, then that's what we'll do," Edward said without hesitation.
"Mrs. Masen?" the judge asked Tanya.
She glared at Edward, then at Charlie, and back at Edward again. "Yes, your honor," she said finally.
"Whatever, this is ridiculous," the judge said under his breath. "You need to make an official notion to drop all charges, and you'll both have to sign documents that there was no coercion behind your decision," the judge explained to them.
"That won't be a problem. Will it dear?" Edward said with a smile to Tanya.
"Of course not," Tanya said emotionlessly.
"Well, ok then, but jail time won't be necessary for either of you; I just needed to make sure you were serious with this. Ms. Swan needs to be escorted back to prison and set up to be released, and I really don't want to see any of you again. You may leave," the judge said frazzled, and then stood. Charlie stood with him and they shook hands and muttered some words to each other, before the judge walked out of the room.
I was in utter shock…
I didn't know what to think or how to feel about everything. It all happened so fast that I wasn't even sure if I was really awake, or if it was some parallel dream world that I somehow managed to find myself in.
"Holy Shit! We did it girl!" Jacob said and grabbed me tightly in a huge bear hug, so I knew it all had to be real because no dream would make my shoulders ache like that from Jake's bone crushing strength.
"Jake, pregnant remember," I croaked, so he let me go.
"Sorry baby," he murmured to my stomach.
"I'm so proud of you kiddo," Charlie said and then claimed me to hug.
"Thanks dad," I said absently, still unsure of how everything just went down.
"We need to get you back to the prison," a guard said to me.
I looked around quickly, searching for Edward, but he wasn't in the room anymore, but then my eyes locked with Rose's.
"Thank you so much," I said to her sincerely. Even if their plan didn't work, I'll never forget that she tried when she didn't have any reason to. I hardly knew her, but she risked her freedom for me, and that's a type of person that one doesn't meet too often.
"Oh stop," she said with a smile and a tear rolling down her cheek. "We'll have plenty of time for all that later when you're a free woman. Who knows, maybe someday you can help me try get my daughter back."
I nodded and wiped away a tear of my own. "I will, I promise," I told her and then I mouthed 'thank you' to Esme before being escorted out of the room.
When I was being led down the hall to where the parking lot was, I saw Edward again. He was standing with his arm around Tanya, and the two of them were talking to my public defender and the prosecutor. He looked up at me briefly as I passed, but then he looked back down again to sign whatever paper that was placed in front of him.
I didn't understand it. I thought it was just an act when they were in the hearing room asking for the charges to be dropped, but the way he continued to hold her, made me believe that perhaps it wasn't. Did they really go to Italy together and make up?
It may sound horrible, but I'd rather rot in jail for the rest of my life then ever see them together like that again. It made me sick, and I seriously thought I was going to have another breakdown. I got my freedom, but I would have to live in the hell of watching them together all over again, just like when we were in school. Edward and I shared kids together, which meant that Tanya would always be there, sticking her disgusting nose in where it doesn't belong and continuing to drain the lives out of Edward and Anthony.
I was so angry, and hurt, and relieved to be set free, and every other emotion I could possibly feel at a single time. What the hell did Tanya have over Edward? Why did he allow her to suck him back in like that?
But then I was hit with the realization that I was going to get to be a mother to my baby. Nothing was going to get in my way again, and I wouldn't let Tanya spoil that wonderful moment. She still had Anthony, but I wouldn't allow her anywhere near my second child. Edward would just have to come to see the baby wherever I decided to live, because I refused let it anywhere near the house he shared with that bitch.
My happiness was spoiled, but I wouldn't let it be ruined entirely. I had my dad back in my life, a best friend anyone could ask for in Jacob, and I knew Rose would always be in my life as well. I had my baby, and I would make sure that I saw Anthony as much as possible. So, life was good for the first time in so long, and I wasn't going to complain. I couldn't make Edward love me, and I decided then to never try again. He made it so I could be set free, so I was thankful but it was time to use that freedom and begin to finally start living again.
A/N: I know the hearing was a little unrealistic, but hey it's fiction and for entertainment value, picturing Jacob and Rose in drag was definitely worth the stray from reality. lol
Jacob's 'poem' was the song 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga. No copyright was intended.
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