A/N: eh. i wasn't able to do very much research that helped me. so, if this seems unrealistic, tell me how to fix it and i will try to rewrite it. or, just bear with me.

"Agent Booth," began Caroline, "Can you explain to me, in detail, what you did on the day you found Miss Whitaker?"

"I drove Dr. Brennan and myself to the place that Dr. Hodgins had figured out was where Lily was being kept," said Booth calmly. "I approached with my gun out, entered the building, and found Hecklend waiting for us."

"Where was Miss Whitaker?"

"We hadn't found her yet. Hecklend was threatening Dr. Brennan and said he would shoot her if I didn't let him go. Lily came running out the front door. I assume she was able to escape."

"Thank you, Agent Booth." Caroline, however, didn't look satisfied, and the defendant's lawyer, Mr. Michaels, was smirking.

Mr. Michaels was a broad-shouldered man with a wide smile and cloudy blue eyes. He approached the witness stand with his hands behind his back, a position Booth immediately detested.

"Agent Booth, was Dr. Brennan the only one in your car?"

Booth hesitated just a moment. "No."

The smirk gained confidence. "Who else was in it?"

"Dr. Zachary Addy had hidden in the backseat."

"And when did you realize it?"

"About five minutes before we reached Lily's location."

"And did you turn around and bring him right back to the Jeffersonian?"

"…No."

"Are you aware that my client was shot?"

"Yes."

"By your gun, nonetheless."

"Yes."

"Any idea why?"

Booth sighed, seeing where he was going with this. "Since Dr. Addy was present, I had him look for Lily. He found her and they rushed outside while Hecklend and I were facing off. Hecklend had Dr. Brennan in front of him, and he had his gun aimed at me. I turned when Lily and Dr. Addy came outside, and he shot while I was distracted. Lily pushed me away, and Dr. Addy pushed her. The bullet caught him on the arm, but Lily thought that he had gotten hurt. She had grabbed the gun Dr. Brennan had dropped, and she shot Hecklend before he could shoot anyone else. He shot again and hit Lily before Dr. Brennan and I got the gun away from him."

Mr. Michael's smirk was gone. He realized that Booth's recollection was doing nothing to help the defense.

"That's all, Agent Booth."

"Miss Whitaker, do you know a man named Drew Hecklend?" asked Caroline.

Lily played with her hands, then caught the look Angela sent her from the crowd and stopped. "Yes."

"Is he in this room?"

"Yes." Lily pointed past Caroline to the man sitting in the chair behind the defendant's table. He had bowed his head for the other testaments, but for hers his head was up, and he caught her eyes and held them.

"Let the records show that Miss Whitaker identifies the defendant. When did you first meet the defendant?"

"When I was six years old."

"How?"

"He kidnapped and raped me." Her voice remained steady as she aimed the comments directly at Hecklend, a fact she was immensely grateful for.

"And that was the last time you saw the bastard?"

Mr. Michaels stood up in his chair. "Objection, Your Honor!"

"Sustained, said the judge calmly. "Miss Julian, please refrain from swearing."

"I apologize Your Honor, I didn't realize I wasn't allowed to call a kidnapping murderer a bastard."

The jury tittered.

"Your Honor—" protested Michaels.

Caroline smiled. "I apologize. Miss Whitaker, was that the last time you saw Mr. Hecklend?"

"No. I saw him again a few weeks ago when he showed up outside my work and kidnapped me."

"Object—"

"I'm done here, Your Honor."

"Miss Whitaker," said Mr. Michaels. She had a feeling she would hate being called that by the time this trial was over. "Is it true you've been seeing a therapist?" He smiled at her as if she were his newest best friend.

"Psychiatrist," she corrected.

He raised his eyebrows. "Does it make a difference?"

Lily tensed and said, "I think it does."

"Alright. So, you are indeed seeing a psychiatrist?" He was still smiling.

"Yes. Dr. Sweets was assigned by the FBI to examine my mental state after the abduction." Her tone implied that she didn't much enjoy talking about this. His grin only grew.

"Are you sure it was not because you used an FBI-issue gun to shoot my client?"

"That may have had something to do with it," she conceded dryly.

A few members of the jury smiled. Booth felt a surge of pride. She was already winning the hearts of the jury, and she wasn't even trying.

"And you also underwent psychiatric care as a child?"

"Yes, after the first kidnapping."

"What was your psychiatrist's name?" he asked.

She resisted the urge to bite her lip. Michaels already knew the answer. He was only asking for the jury.

"Dr. Burk," she said.

"Do you know Dr. Burk's diagnosis?" he innocently asked. "His explanation for…" He glanced down at a clipboard. "Night terrors, mood swings, drop in grades…?"

"I would assume Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Getting raped at six will do that to you, you know."

Again the jury chuckled quietly. Michaels laughed a little himself, though it seemed forced.

"Miss Whitaker, I suppose I'll just get to the point."

Suddenly, Lily realized she didn't like his smile at all.

Zack leaned forward fractionally. "I don't get it. What's he trying to do?"

"He's trying to eliminate our best witness," mumbled Caroline, "ruin the jury's opinion of her sanity. He wants it to appear as though Lily's not in the right state of mind to be used as a credible witness. Now shush, stop talking, cherie."

"Miss Whitaker, is it possible that you've got the wrong man?"

Lily blinked. "I don't know what you're getting at."

"When you were six, you described your assailant as having brown eyes."

"Yes, that's right."

"Drew Hecklend's eyes are blue."

It took a moment for that to sink in. "No they are—"

"Yes, they are, Miss Whitaker. You also said your kidnapper had a mustache. As you can see, Mr. Hecklend does not."

"How hard is it to shave a mustache?" she demanded.

Michaels looked amused. "You're getting riled up, Miss Whitaker."

"No, actually, I'm very calm. But this is ridiculous. You're pulling reasons out of thin air in order to debunk what I'm saying, because you don't have any actual things to defend him with. He's obviously guilty, and you can't prove that wrong—"

"Uh oh," said Booth. "She needs to calm down."

"What?" whispered Brennan.

"If she doesn't calm down soon," he said quietly to her, "Michaels will have won. He wanted this to be her reaction. He wants the jury to see her angry."

Lily stopped abruptly, seeming to realize the same thing. She took a deep breath.

"Miss Whitaker," said Michaels in a low voice. "I understand this is very upsetting for you. It's an emotional time. If you would like to take a break…"

"I'm fine." Her voice was firm.

He looked mildly surprised; evidently, he had expected her to start crying or something. "Alright. A few more questions, then."

"Fire away."

"What are your relationships with your co-workers at the Jeffersonian?"

"They are just that: co-workers," said Lily. "I have also known them to be friends. They are the equivalent of a family."

"A family. That is something everyone aspires to have in the workplace. Now, would your friends ever do any favors for you?"

Lily's eyes narrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

"I suppose I'll have to be blunt. Did you or did you not ask your colleagues at the Jeffersonian to tamper with evidence in order to convict a man you openly loathe?"

"Objection, Your Honor," said Caroline, standing.

"I'll allow it," said the judge, "but careful of your questions, Mr. Michaels. Please answer the question, Miss Whitaker."

Lily merely looked stunned. The courtroom was silent, waiting for her response.

"I would never," she said. "Never! How dare you ask me that. I would never ask that of the scientists at the Jeffersonian, friend or not, family or not. And they are just that: scientists. They pride themselves on their search for the truth. They would never botch evidence or tamper with evidence, not even for a friend. They are professionals, Mr. Michaels."

The smile was gone from Michaels' face as a few members of the jury nodded slightly as she spoke.

"Thank you, Miss Whitaker. I have no more questions."

"They aren't even trying to defend themselves against the second kidnapping charges," said Caroline during the break. "If they can shed the charges for the first abduction and first degree murder, he'll get a maximum of ten years, if that."

Lily was very quiet, her hands curled around her styrofoam cup of coffee.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't handle that very well, did I?"

"No, you didn't, cherie," Caroline said. Then she sighed. "But Michaels is a slimy one, so we can't blame you."

"Even though the rest of us did quite well," said Brennan. Booth glared at her as Lily put her head in her hands. Brennan blinked. "What? What did I say?"

Zack was sitting next to her. They were all together, having pulled two tables together in the small café. He fidgeted, and then said, "You did fine."

Lily lifted her head and looked at him, taken aback. "Did you just lie to make me feel better?" She turned her disbelieving gaze on the rest of them. "Did Zack just lie to make me feel better?"

"That would be a yes, kid," said Booth.

"Who are you and what have you done with Zack?!"

The group laughed as Zack frowned and said, "I don't get it."

Lily's face flushed. "I'm going to get more coffee."

Angela raised her eyebrows, calling her bluff by saying, "Your cup is full, Lily."

Her blush deepened. "Oh…Right."

"So, why did you leave?" asked Booth, unable to keep himself from asking.

She stood. "Sugar. I need sugar."

She power-walked to the counter where there was an array of creamers and sugar packets. Booth made a move to get up and follow her, but Angela grabbed his arm with a fierce look. Caroline appraised them.

"She hasn't told you yet for a reason," she said.

"She told you?" asked Booth skeptically.

"Yes. Lily needed legal advice."

"Why?"

"Why? Because her father's a nutjob, cherie. And that's my professional opinion."

"What'd he do?" asked Hodgins.

"He's blackmailing her," Caroline said simply. "He said if she doesn't graduate law school and quit writing, he'll take away her brother's kid."

"What? She just gained custody!" protested Angela.

"Her father's a lawyer and threatened to use that to repeal her custodial rights." Caroline scoffed. "It's total bullshit, any good lawyer can see that, but the girl doesn't want to take that chance."

The group exchanged looks. Lily came back, cleared her throat, and sat down.

"What'd I miss?" she asked feebly.

"A lot," said Hodgins. "You've missed a lot."

A/N: well? this chapter was a little iffy for me, but i can't wait for this whole Hecklend business to be over. i hate that man.

even though i created him.

10 reviews until i hit 200! :D review!