Author's note: It will probably become clear very quickly that I don't actually know anything about how court works. Let's call it artistic license and move on. :D

Chapter 21

Casey and Kayla both got more quiet and withdrawn as Monday drew closer, but neither actually broke down. Ricky spent as much time with Casey as possible; as long as someone was with him, Brax left him alone, and Casey was dealing with her being around better than the others. They spent a lot of time sitting in silence, or talking about completely random things.

"Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm awake?" he asked her at one point.

"Sorry?"

"Any time I wake up and there's people around, someone always asks if I'm awake."

Ricky smiled faintly. "You talk in your sleep."

"No I don't," Casey said blankly. "I've never talked in my sleep."

"Maybe you didn't before, but you do now. I had a whole conversation with you the other day. You were fast asleep the whole time."

"Conversation about what?"

She grinned again. "Well, it started off being about gym rosters, and it ended up being about cheese, and inbetween there was something about penguins?"

"You're making that up."

"Not a word. You and Brax had a very compelling conversation about ice." More seriously, she added, "You and Kayla talk about down there, sometimes."

"Do we," Casey muttered.

"We try not to listen."

"Yeah. I know." He scrubbed at his face. "Thanks for telling me."

"Sure."

On the Saturday, two days before the trial was due to start, Brax called everyone including Nate together at Angelo's. "Laring's just called me," he told them. "His opposite number has just made a demand the court's upholding. Once the case begins, Kayla can't be left alone with anyone on our side. Gotta be supervised by Nate or Leah, or by Laring or another court official."

"What? Why?" Casey protested.

"In case we start feeding her answers once we know how the case is going." He turned to look at Kayla. "I'm sorry, but we have to do this. Do you understand?"

"Leah, Dr Nate, or Mr Laring," she said dully.

"I know it'll be tough on you, and I'm sorry, but if we violate this, they'll take you away from Nate and Leah and DoCS will place you somewhere else. Not with your father," he added quickly when she looked up, panicked. "Another family, probably. But we don't want that, so we're going to make sure we don't get you alone."

"It starts on Monday?"

"Monday, yeah."

"I have to ask Kyle a question for a minute, please."

Brax waved them off, watching as they crossed to stand near the bar and talked for a moment. Kyle looked around, catching Nate's eye, and the doctor went to join them.

"Casey," Phoebe said abruptly, and Brax looked back at him. Casey had his elbows planted on the table and the heels of his hands pressing into his eyes.

"Case," he said softly.

"He's just determined to keep twisting the knife, isn't he?" Casey said distantly. Lowering his hands, he added "I'm fine. This shouldn't even surprise me at this point. Would they really take her away?"

"They wanted to do that to start with. They don't like us having so much contact with her. Laring argued them down to supervised visits only, but Casey, they'll be watching. Do not take any walks and end up over there by coincidence, you hear me?"

"I hear you."

"Yeah?"

"I hear you, Brax."

Nate and Kayla came back to the table; Brax glanced over at Kyle and then tapped Casey's shoulder. "Drinks all around, I think. Come help me carry."

Kyle was already pulling down glasses when they joined him; without looking around, he said quietly "She wanted to know if she's supposed to answer the lawyers straight or not."

"What'd you tell her?" Brax asked. Casey fished out a bottle of soda, pouring slowly as he listened.

"Nate and I agreed she should probably answer straight. Unless she gets tired while the other guy's at her."

"Kyle," Brax said warningly.

Kyle shook his head. "She'll talk straight. As straight as she can, anyway. Nate promised to call a break if she needs one; he's her guardian and she's a minor, it should work."

"Do you think she can handle this?"

"I think she's really determined to try." Looking at Casey, he added, "I think Nate would probably find a reason to step out of the room if you were visiting."

"Don't tell him that, I've only just got him to promise to be careful," Brax protested.

"Are you guys squeezing the oranges yourself?" Phoebe demanded from just behind Brax. "Give me those, Kyle." Kyle passed over a handful of glasses and she turned away, heading back to the table. Kyle shrugged at his brothers, grabbing the bottle and a handful of napkins and following.

"Soda?" Heath protested. "We're drinking soda now?"

"There's minors at the table, Heath," Brax pointed out, carrying the glasses Casey had already filled back and passing them out. "You'd rather we were drinking alcohol?"

"I wasn't planning on giving Harley any," Heath answered sharply.

"And I'm on call," Nate added. "So soda's fine for me."

"Can I –" Kayla cut herself off, clearing her throat self-consciously.

"What is it?" Brax asked, thumping Heath when he started to complain about the drink again.

"Just to say thank you. I'm difficult, I know I am, and I make things complicated, and my father makes them even more complicated. And you've all helped, and been really nice, and I like it so much more up here with you all. And I don't want you to be in trouble, but it makes me happy you're doing this for me. Thank you." She ducked her head, staring intently at her glass.

"You're welcome," Ricky told her gently.

Brax picked up his glass, staring at it. "Toast?" he suggested. "This being all over quickly, and coming out right for us."

"Here here," Heath agreed. "We take too much time off from the gym, Andy's likely to change the name."

"He's joking," Casey told Kayla, lifting his glass. She followed suit, and around the table the others did the same, echoing Brax's toast.

"To this being over quickly and coming out right."

Nate brought Kayla to the court house; they'd agreed that it wouldn't look good for her to arrive with the Braxtons. Laring met them when they arrived, quietly making sure that Kayla knew what was going to happen. Kayla was pale and quiet but she answered his questions and talked to Nate.

The Braxtons arrived only a few minutes before the court was due to begin, and Laring kept them busy going over the plans they'd made. Casey made sure he was standing next to Kayla, but they didn't talk, just listened as Laring went over everything again.

Her father's lawyer, Hawkins, had the first opening statement, and his explanation for things left the Braxtons furious. According to him, Kayla had been so upset by the death of her mother she'd retreated to the bunker herself, and rather than cause her more stress and anguish her father had allowed her to remain there. He maintained that she had never been locked in, that she'd known where the hidden door was all the time and had often left to stay in the house with him. He claimed that he'd found Casey injured on his property, and for lack of room in the house had brought him to the bunker to heal.

Nate and Brax had to keep warning Kayla not to speak up. She kept wanting to deny what Hawkins was saying, to put her own claims forward. Nate promised she'd get her chance to speak and she could tell them exactly what had happened then.

"There's so many people," she murmured, leaning against Nate. "Why are they all here?"

"They want to see what's happening," he explained. Glancing at Brax, he added, "It is a lot of people, though, isn't it? And Kayla's a minor."

"This isn't family court, mate. Still, maybe we should do something about that," Brax agreed, turning to whisper to Laring.

Laring raised a hand and waited until Hawkins paused. "Pardon my interruption," he said politely. "I've had a request from my clients to clear the room. Kayla's spent a lot of time away from any social interaction, she doesn't do well in large crowds."

"Objection, prejudicial!" Hawkins said immediately.

"My apologies, I'm only attempting to explain the request."

"Be careful what you explain in future," the judge said dryly. "Request granted. Bailiffs, clear the court please."

Kayla watched curiously as the bailiffs cleared the spectators; they left the Braxton group alone, and Emerson was there as the police representative. Two men were left sitting on her father's side of the room, but it was empty apart from that.

Hawkins kept going with his explanation for a while, claiming that Kayla's father had only ever been trying to protect her by allowing her to stay in the bunker as she wished. He said that Kayla had been aware her father was away, that she'd been supposed to find out who Casey was and help him return home and had instead kept him for her own amusement. Brax had to talk very quickly to keep Casey quiet at that.

Hawkins finished up and Laring stood, giving his opening statement. He kept it much more accurate; grief stricken over his wife's death, Kayla's father had locked her away and kept her for years before deciding, for unknown reasons, to add another person to the bunker. Kayla's father sat silent and grim faced during the recital.

Hawkins called Casey as his first witness; he spent a while establishing that Casey had a record and had served time in both juvie and gaol as well as a string of minor offences before finally getting down to the actual matter at hand. After some general questions about the bunker, he started asking more specific questions.

"You were provided with food, is that correct?"

"Yes."

Hawkins eyed him. "Well, was it bread and gruel, was it a four course banquet? Give us some details."

Casey grimaced, shifting slightly closer to the microphone. "Some of those camping meals, where you squeeze the packet and it heats up. Other than that it was all cold stuff. We weren't given any way to heat anything. We got hot when he restocked, that's all."

"How often was that?"

He shrugged. "I've been told I was there nearly six weeks; we got five hot meals, so once a week?"

"You don't know?"

"There were no clocks, no windows, and he took my watch. Kayla still doesn't grasp the concept of time, not really. All we had to go on was the lights, and he was controlling them."

"If you had to guess, if no one had told you how long you'd been in there, how long would you think?"

Casey shook his head. "Honestly, no idea. Time went very slowly in there."

"Now." Hawkins shifted through some papers. "You shared a bed?"

"No," Casey said tightly, ignoring the complaint from Heath and Brax.

"I'm sorry? My report here says there was one bed, a double."

"Was a single when I got there; he swapped it out after a bit...there was only one, but we didn't share it."

"Then where did you sleep?"

"On the floor, mostly. In the kitchen for a while."

Hawkins frowned. "I'm sorry, you slept on the floor? When there was a bed? Does Kayla not like to share?"

Casey scowled. "You think cos I'm a Braxton, I'm going to force myself on a kid who literally couldn't get away from me? She slept in the bed. I slept on the floor."

"We've all seen how comfortable you two are physically."

The judge had to threaten Brax to get him to settle down; Casey took the time to take several deep breaths.

"Kayla's physically comfortable with just about everyone," he said once the room was back in order. "I'm fairly sure she'd even be comfortable with you. Her father never hit her; he didn't injure her. She has no idea the things people can do to each other. She's not afraid. But we aren't sleeping together. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, Kayla's not capable of making decisions like that yet."

"A noble stance," Hawkins agreed, and Laring stood to protest. "I'll withdraw that, if you like. Mr Braxton, you've said that time passed very slowly in the bunker. How did you occupy yourself?"

"With difficulty. There was a CD player, a handful of books. After a while we got playing cards and board games. I spent a lot of time staring at the walls."

"You don't like to read?"

Casey made a face. "I'm dyslexic. Reading for pleasure isn't very pleasurable."

"I'd like to go back for a moment – you said you slept in the kitchen for a while?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I knew he was getting in that way, and I wanted out. So I set up camp there and didn't leave."

"And what happened?"

"He turned the lights off to try and drive me out. When that didn't work, he turned off the water until I went back in the living room."

"Is it possible the water was accidentally cut off?"

Casey shook his head. "It only happened that one time, and once I stopped camping in the kitchen it came back on."

"Still, perhaps a coincidence?"

Casey didn't answer, and Hawkins sighed as though disappointed. "Well. You've heard that Kayla knew where the door and the controls were –"

"No," Casey interrupted him.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. There's no way she knew anything. We were in a twenty foot square space. I'd have known if she'd been doing anything."

"Would you." Hawkins flicked through his papers again. "You said that the bed was changed for a double. I have a statement here that says you were in the bathroom at the time –"

"Locked in and tied up, yeah –"

"– so you have no proof that Kayla wasn't taking part in the move. Or indeed that she wasn't directing it."

"She wasn't," he said evenly.

"Sadly, your belief is not proof. She also tended to sleep longer than you when you were sedated, yes?"

"Yes. She's smaller than I am. A dose that put me out for a couple of hours put her out for much longer."

"Or, she was taking a smaller dose later than you, so that you wouldn't realise she'd been active while you were asleep."

"Objection, speculation!" Laring called.

"Sustained," the judge agreed. "Stick to the facts, Mr Hawkins."

"My apologies." Hawkins thought for a moment. "So what you have told us, Mr Barrett –"

"Braxton."

"My apologies again, my information is that Johnny Barrett was your father."

Casey met Kyle's eyes, smiling grimly. "My name is Braxton, not Barrett."

"Duly noted. What you have told us, Mr Braxton, is that you were housed comfortably, fed regularly, given amusements –"

"Sorry, are you trying to say that because he chucked a few packets at us and gave us a bed it wasn't as bad as a real kidnapping? Just cos I wasn't tied to a car in the desert and left to die of dehydration, it doesn't count somehow?"

"Casey, sit down," Laring said sharply. Casey blinked, realising that he was standing up, leaning over the dock's railing. In the stands, Brax and Kyle were holding Kayla in her seat. "Your Honour, perhaps a recess?"

"I think that's a good idea," she agreed. "Let's take twenty minutes, and the jury can forget the last three minutes of testimony. You can step down, Mr Braxton, but you'll be back on the stand after the recess."
"Actually, we have no further questions for Mr Braxton at this time," Hawkins said.

"Mr Laring, do you want to re-examine?"

"I'd like to speak to my client first, your Honour."

"Very well. Court is in recess."

Laring steered Casey outside; the group followed, and Phoebe touched his arm gently. "I can't believe he was saying those things."

"I shouldn't've reacted like that," Casey muttered, resting his chin on her head. "Sorry, Kyle." Kyle shrugged it off, frowning.

"What's kidnapped?" Kayla asked him.

"It's what happened to Casey. Being taken somewhere you don't want to be and not allowed to leave."

"Was I kidnapped?"

"Trickier for you, cos it's your dad and your house, technically. I think they're using confined for you. That means you couldn't leave."

"No, there was no door until you broke the wall," she agreed.

"You want Casey back on the stand?" Brax asked.

"Actually, I think it might be better to move on," Laring said thoughtfully.

"What, to Kayla?"

"Yes. The jury heard Casey, even if they're supposed to disregard it. Let's let them get a look at her."

"Sure that's a good idea?" Heath asked. "She's not exactly predictable."

"Good, that's what we want right now. Her father's trying to argue that he did this for her own good, to protect her. Let's let the jury see what he's done to her."

"Think you can do it?" Casey asked her.

"Answer questions like you did?"

"Yep, just like me."

"Should I yell like you did?"

He laughed softly. "No. You should not yell. I shouldn't have yelled, I just..." Blinking, he turned to Laring, drawing him away from the others to talk urgently to him.

"You'll be fine," Ricky assured Kayla. "Don't worry. D'you want some water?"

"Thank you." Kayla took the bottle, sipping from it.

Casey came back, grinning. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She tugged at his arm until he leaned down, whispering in his ear.

Grinning, he shook his head. "Not if you don't want to. C'mon."

"What'd she say?" Brax asked. "And what's all that with Laring?"

"Later."

"Case..."

"Trust me. Later."