Guys, I suck. I totally and completely suck. This past month has been crazy and to be honest I've had total writers block. I promise you I will keep updating this story as much as I can, but now I'm back at college for the fall semester so my schedule is pretty crazy. After these next couple chapters I am not going to write about every little thing, I will do Teddy's milestones and big events in the Grey family. Thank you all for being so patient and I hope you understand. And as always thank you for reading :)

This chapter begins the trial with Jack. I would just like to restate that I am writing this for FUN, and so some things might not be completely accurate in terms of real life court proceedings. I have never been to court so I don't know exactly how it works. But I looked into it a little and I tried my best. I hope you like it!

Chapter 21

Ana's POV

I wake up with a feeling of dread.

Today is the trial with Jack Hyde. This is the day I've been dreading for the past 8 and a half months. I feel like I might puke.

Taking a deep, shuddery breath, I feel Christian's arms tighten around me. He knows I'm awake. I turn to face him and I see his sad grey eyes reflecting all the pain in mine. I know how hard this is for him. Today is going to suck. Wordlessly, he kisses my forehead then presses his against mine. We stay like this for a long time, staring into each other's eyes, trying to fuse our strength so we can face this awful day. As bad as it sounds, I'm grateful that I am not alone in this. Christian is here by my side. And he always will be.

Ted's whimpers interrupt our silent moment. Christian kisses me again and rolls over.

"I'll get him, baby. You just rest for a minute." He glances down at me. I nod.
"Okay," I choke out.

Grimacing, Christian hurries out of the room. I sigh and decide I should get up and get ready. I need to distract myself from the thoughts running through my head.

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When I step back into the bedroom a little while later, Christian is sitting on the bed playing with Ted.

"Look Tedbear, its Mommy," Christian whispers to him. I scoop him up and close my eyes as I hold him close to my chest, breathing in his sweet baby scent. Lord give me strength. When I open my eyes I peek at Christian over the top of Teddy's head. He's staring at me again. I can't read his expression. We nod at eachother and he comes over and wraps his arms around Teddy and I. No matter what, we are in this together.

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One hour later we are ushered into a room in the back of the courthouse. It is very lavish, with faux leather couches surrounding a coffee table, a huge desk near the fireplace and a mini kitchen. Behind a door is a bathroom. I set Teddy's carrier down on the desk and peek in at him. He's out for the count. Good. I need to focus on what's ahead. A moment later I hear the door open and shut, and I turn around to see Grace and Carrick entering the room. I relax a little.
"Hello sweetheart, are you holding up okay?" Carrick kisses me on the cheek. He's going to be representing Mia and I as our lawyer today and I am so grateful to have him here.
"Given the circumstances, I'm doing okay I guess," I mutter back. Grace comes over and hugs me.

"Don't you let him scare you, darling girl, you hear me? We'll get this all taken care of. You're so brave, you and Mia, standing up to that hideous man. I still can't believe what happened to you two." Grace shakes her head, teary-eyed, and pats my hand again before releasing me to hug Christian. She whispers something I don't hear into his ear and he nods, his eyes tightening around the edges. Sigh. Everyone is so tense.

"Where is Mia?" I ask quietly.

"She's outside with Elliot. She had a bit of a breakdown on the way here, and he's trying to calm her down. She wanted a little space, but I know she'll want to see you," Carrick tells me. "You too," he nods at Christian.

Grace agrees to keep an eye on Teddy while Carrick gets his things together for the trial, so we head outside to the parking lot where Mia is leaned up against Grace and Carrick's SUV, hands over her eyes, shuddering and hiccupping uncontrollably. I hear Christian's sharp intake of breath when he sees her, and he quickly hurries over to her and pulls her into a bone-crushing hug. Mia glances up and when she sees its him she starts sobbing again.

"Oh, Christian…" Mia bawls. "I don't want to see him. I don't want to see her. I can't do this." Ditto, sister. My breath hitches in my throat and I am frozen, staring at the two of them. I must not cry.

"Shhh, Mia, it's going to be okay. We'll be right there with you, okay sweetheart? I am so proud of you for doing this. Don't let them scare you. I'll never let anything bad happen to you ever again." Christian tries to soothe his sister. She nods and sniffles. Elliot makes his way over to me and touches my arm lightly. I jump.

"Whoa, hey little sis...how're you holding up?" Elliot asks me softly. There's a tenderness in his blue eyes that I haven't seen before as he glances over at his sister again, then back at me. I just shake my head.

"I'm awful," I whisper. "But I have to be strong for Mia." For Christian, I think to myself. I don't think he could bear it if both of us were inconsolable. Elliot seems to understand my unspoken words. He just nods.
"Kate will be here soon," he tells me. "Her boss was trying to get her to cover the trial for the paper, but naturally she refused. That girl's gonna get herself fired one of these days," Elliot chuckles slightly. I manage a teeny smile.

"That's Kate for you," I say fondly. "She's as loyal as they come."

"That she is," Elliot smiles. "You excited about the wedding?"
It's hard to remember in the midst of all this stress that Elliot and Kate's wedding is only a few days away. "Yes, I'm ecstatic," I admit. "But its hard to think about that right now." Elliot nods.

"I know."

We sit in silence for a few more minutes, Mia's quiet sniffles the only sound. The stillness in the air is interrupted by the screeching of tires. I glance up in alarm to see Kate in her Porsche flying past us into a parking space. She slams the door and practically sprints over to me, pulling me into a bear hug.

"Oh my gosh Steele, this is seriously the worst. I am so sorry."

I squeeze her back tightly. "You're telling me. How did it go with Fletcher?"
She steps back and rolls her eyes. "Oh, please. Like I was really going to come sit in here and take notes. He knows who I am and who my family is. I told him there was no way in hell I was going to go against them like that and if he had a problem with it he could fire me on the spot." She tosses her hair behind her.

"Kate!" I gasp. "I appreciate the devotion, but I don't want you to get fired!"
Kate smirks. "He wouldn't fire me. He can't. I'm a damn good reporter and my name on those articles gets him double the readers than he would normally have. Don't you worry about me, Steele." Ugh, she is fabulous. I wish I could harness even a third of the confidence that Kate has. I shake my head.
"Thank you for being here," I say quietly. Kate squeezes my hand.

"Anytime, anywhere babe. Jeez, poor Mia," Kate sighs, glancing over towards the SUV. We walk over to where Christian and Mia are still locked together. I rub Mia's back.

"Hi sweetie," I say. Mia peeks up from Christian's shoulder.
"Ana," she mumbles and moves from Christian's arms to mine. Kate smooths her hair down a couple times.

"We can do this," I tell her. God, I hope so. Mia nods and takes a deep, shuddery breath.

"Well, let's get this over with." Kate takes one of her hands and Elliot takes the other, and they walk her towards the courthouse. Christian stands in front of me and studies my face seriously.
"Are you alright?" he asks me seriously. My eyes flick to his for a fraction of a second, and the look he's giving me makes me want to break down right there. I glance away and shake my head.
"Just...stay close to me," I whisper nearly inaudibly. Christian wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to him, kissing my hair.
"Always."