It was a rainy August 28 that found the Mitchell household scurrying about to get everyone where they needed to be. Beca had to leave at 7:00 am to get to Atlanta to meet with the DA before Mary Matthews' trial began at 8:30. Matthews would not take a plea despite the evidence against her..
Chloe got Emily ready and had to leave by 8:00 to drop Emily off at her mom's house and still make her first class at 9:00. Mama B met Chloe at the door and took Emily.
"All ready for our first day of classes?," Mama B asked.
"Yes," Chloe said. "Since I changed my major, I'll have to take an extra year to get my teaching degree. Some of my medical classes aren't part of the education program, so I'm taking more credits. It's going to be a really busy two years."
"Well," Mama B said. "If anyone can do it, I know you can. Your father and I are very proud of you."
"Thanks, mom," Chloe said. "Okay, munchkin, give me a kiss and I'll see you later."
"Wuv you," Emily says.
"I love you, too," Chloe says and kisses Emily. "Bye."
Chloe leaves and hurries to campus to get to her first class. Ashley and Amanda hurried through the rain to the car. Ashley drove to the high school and told Amanda she'd be there to pick her up at 2:45. Amanda took a deep breath and got out of the car.
"Here we go," Amanda said as she walked into the school.
Denise finished her second cup of coffee and put together some lunch and a snack for later. Her first class didn't start until 11:00, but then she had to stay on campus for 2 more classes at 1:30 and 3:00 pm. It was 10:15 when she made her way outside to her car. She was glad to see that the rain had stopped.
In Atlanta, Beca sat in the court room waiting or her turn to testify. She listened as both the DA and the Defense laid out their cases. Beca frowned and looked over at Jesse when she heard the Defense lawyer tell how they were going to prove that Beca intimidated and provoked his client into pushing her.
The DA finally called Beca to the stand. She asked Beca to relay the circumstances by which Beca found herself at the zoo. Beca talked about how they went as a group to get away and enjoy doing something they all wanted to do. She explained how they were having lunch when Mary Matthews showed up with a news crew.
"Did she say anything?," the DA asked Beca.
"She called for Ashley," Beca said. "Insisting that Ashley speak to her. I knew Ashley didn't want to so I moved between her and Mrs. Matthews. I told Mrs. Matthews to stop and not come any closer."
"Then what happened?," the DA asked.
"Then she said that I was keeping her daughter from her," Beca said. "She wiped a few fake tears and made sure to stare at the camera. It wasn't hard to tell she was playing up to them. I asked Ashley and she said she didn't want to see or talk to her mother. So I reiterated that Ashley didn't want to see her."
"Did Mrs. Matthews she say anything?," the DA asked.
"She said," Beca replied. "Quote 'I'm her mother, 0f course she wants to see me. You're the one keeping her from me. Ashley, do what's right and tell her you want to talk to me.' End quote. She then looked into the camera and said, and again I'm quoting her here. 'This is what I was talking about. This Detective is keeping my baby girl away from me."
The DA nodded her head and said, "Please go on."
So Beca gave them a full recap of what happened next.
Flashback to Zoo altercation
"Your baby girl," Beca said, "is 19 years old and can speak for herself."
Beca turns slightly to look at Ashley.
"Ashley," Beca said. "Do you want to see or speak to your mother?"
Ashley looked at Beca and shook her head and quietly said, "No."
Beca turned back to Ashley's mother, blocking Ashley from her sight.
"Well, there you have it," Beca said. "She doesn't want to see or speak to you. I suggest you be on your way and don't bother Ashley or us again."
Ashley's mother glared at Beca and Ashley. She settled her glare on Ashley.
"Ashley, honey," her mother said her voice dripping with sugar. "I know they've done something to you. I promise I'll get you away from them, baby, if it's the last thing I do."
Ashley's face paled even more. Her mother turned back to the camera and wiped more "tears" from her face.
"I finally find my baby girl," her mother said through her 'tears.' "And they've brainwashed her into not wanting to see me."
Beca couldn't take it anymore. She walked over and got in the woman's face.
"We found your daughter almost three weeks ago," Beca told her not caring about the news crew. "Everyone knew where she was for the first two weeks. Where were you? Because I know for a fact you didn't go to the hospital to see her. And, how did you even know she would be here? At the zoo, today."
"It was just a coincidence," Mrs. Matthews says.
"Was it also just a coincidence that you had a news crew with you?," Beca asked.
Beca and Mrs. Matthews both turned to look at the camera man and news woman.
"What did she tell you to get you here?," Beca asked the news woman.
"She said that she used to bring Ashley to the zoo when she was little," the news woman told Beca. "She said that she knew Ashley was going to be here today and wanted to surprise her. My bosses thought it would be a real feel good moment. And, for the record, I have no idea how she knew that Ashley was here."
"Are you paying her for some sort of exclusive on Ashley?," Beca asked.
"Yes," the news woman told Beca. "She said that after their reunion she could get us an exclusive interview with Ashley."
"You're pathetic," Beca said to Mrs. Matthews. "You don't care about Ashley. You only care about your own payday. Ashley is no longer your business. She has a new family and they are taking care of her, like a real family does."
"Fuck you, bitch!," Mrs. Matthews screamed at Beca. She pushed Beca, catching her by surprise, and knocked her down. Beca landed with a thud.
Jesse and Altman reacted quickly and grabbed Mrs. Matthews.
"Ma'am," Altman said. "You are under arrest for assaulting a police officer."
The news woman made sure the camera man was still filming. Mrs. Matthews struggled against Jesse.
"Fuck you, too" Mrs. Matthews yells. She turns toward Ashley and continues screaming.
"You're nothing but a piece of shit anyway. You're worthless, you little bitch! I never wanted you. You owe me. Come over here you stupid twit and give them an interview."
End Flashback
"At this point I had managed to get myself back on my feet," Beca said. "I got in Matthews' face and told if she said on more word I'd cut out her tongue. She finally wised up and kept her mouth shut after that."
"Is that it?," the DA asked.
"That's it," Beca said.
"Your honor," the DA said. "The people would like to enter the people's exhibit #4 into evidence. This is the video the news crew took of the incident."
"So entered," the judge states.
The DA takes the news crew's video and puts it into the VCR. She hits play and doesn't say a word, just lets the tape play. The court room was quiet as the tape played. The tape ended and the DA moved the TV stand back to its original spot.
"That's not what fucking happened," Mary Matthews yells out. "They manipulated the tape. They fixed it somehow to make me look guilty."
The entire time Mary was speaking the judge was banging his gavel telling her attorney to keep her quiet. He finally gets her to settle down.
"My apologies, your honor," the attorney says.
"Fuck you!," Mary says looking at the judge.
The judge banged his gavel and told her if she didn't remain quiet he was going to hold her in contempt. Her lawyer spoke quietly to her and she seemed to settle down.
"The people are done with this witness," the DA said.
"Your witness," the judge tells the defense attorney.
"Thank you, your honor," the attorney said. "Now, Miss Mitchell-"
"It's Detective Mitchell," Beca said.
"Right," the attorney said. "Detective Mitchell. In the video we can plainly see you getting in Ms. Matthews' face. What did you whisper to her?"
"I didn't whisper anything to her," Beca said.
"Didn't you tell her she wouldn't win against you?," the attorney asked. "Didn't you also threaten her life if she came near you or her daughters?"
"No," Beca said. "You saw the tape. It caught everything I-"
"Ah, yes," the attorney said with a smirk. "The tape. Did you have access to this tape before the trial?"
"No," Beca said. "It was with the DA."
"So, we don't know if the tape was tampered with," the attorney said.
Beca laughed.
"You find that amusing, Detective?," the attorney asked.
"I always find clowns amusing," Beca replied with a smirk.
Several people in attendance snickered. The defense attorney's face reddened.
"Your honor," the attorney said looking at the judge.
"You asked the question, counselor," the judge told him. "Do you have anything else for this witness?"
"Nothing further," the attorney stated.
"You may step down, detective," the judge said to Beca.
Beca got down and started walking back to her seat. As she walked past the tables Mary Matthews suddenly jumped up and slammed into Beca knocking them both to the ground. Beca grabbed for Mary's hands as she started throwing punches. Beca manage to get a grip and flipped Mary over so that now Beca was on top and holding her arms. Mary started bucking, trying to throw Beca, so Beca just stood up. Jesse and a bailiff then flipped Mary onto her stomach and cuffed her hands behind her back.
Once they had Mary under control the judge cleared the court room.
"You okay?," Jesse asked Beca.
"Yeah," Beca said.
"You're bleeding," the DA pointed out.
"What?," Beca said reaching up to where the DA pointed. "It's nothing."
"The EMT's are here," Jesse said. "Let them look at it."
"I'm fine," Beca said.
"I'll be the judge of that," Stacie said. "Let me just clean it. Okay?"
"Fine," Beca said and sat on one of the benches.
While Stacie was taking care of Beca, the DA and the defense attorney were in a heated discussion. Beca watched as the DA finally held up her hand in a "stay here" way and walked over to Beca.
"He wants to cut a deal," the DA said. "I'm amending the charges to bring a second count of assaulting an officer against Mary Matthews."
"What's the deal?," Beca asks.
Stacie puts bandage on Beca's forehead to cover the cut.
"You're all good," Stacie says and walks over to Jessica and Jesse.
"He wants the minimum for each count," the DA said. "To be served concurrently. Which means she'll still be out in 3 years."
"You're not giving it to him, are you?," Beca asked.
"No," the DA said. "I told him we had enough, especially with her outburst here, to get the maximum on both counts. I offered him 8-10 years with no parole. He's going to take it back to Ms. Matthews. I also told him I wanted your okay first. If you say no, we'll continue the trial and see what happens."
"Do you think she'll take it?," Beca asked.
"When she hears she can get 25-30 years," the DA said. "I think she'll take it."
"Okay," Beca said. "Do the 8-10."
"Fine," the DA said. "We'll let the judge know and we should be back in session in about 20 minutes."
It was about 30 minutes later when the judge called the cort to order. He spoke of the deal and Mary Matthews was sentenced to 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Jesse and Beca smiled as they left the court house. They spotted Stacie and Jessica still in front of the court house.
"Hey, Stacie," Beca said. "What are you guys doing in Atlanta?"
"We were transporting a patient to Atlanta General," Stacie told her. "We were coming to see how the trial was when we saw one of the guards and he asked us to check on a detective who was hurt. Didn't know it was you until I walked in."
"Want to get some lunch with us before we head back to Barden?," Beca asked.
"Sounds good," Stacie says.
The four friends walk to a diner just a couple of blocks from the court house.
At lunch time on campus, Chloe was feeling a bit overwhelmed. She saw Denise and they grabbed a table and ate together. Chloe felt more relaxed and went to her next class with a bounce back in her step. It was close to 2:30 before she was able to leave campus to pick up Emily. Chloe got home and carried Emily and her book bag into the house. She was just getting a snack for Emily when she heard the garage door opening and a few minutes later Beca walked in.
"Hey, babe," Chloe said as Beca came into the kitchen
"Hey," Beca said as she walked over and gave Emily a kiss on her forehead. "Hey, baby girl."
She went behind Chloe and put her arms around her fiance's waist. She leaned her chin on Chloe's shoulder.
"How was school?," Beca said.
"It kicked my butt," Chloe said. "I've been taking it easy for so long, it was hard getting back in the swing of things."
"I know what you mean," Beca said. "My first day back at work, I was so tired when I got home, I was ready to retire and become a lady of leisure."
Chloe laughed.
"I'm making Emily a snack," Chloe said. "Want some?"
"Mmmm," Beca said eying the cut up fruit Chloe was putting on a plate. "I'd love some."
Just then Ashley and Amanda walked in.
"But it will be so much fun," Amanda said.
"You'll have to ask Beca," Ashley said.
"Ask Beca what?," Beca asked.
"Hey, Beca," Amanda said just noticing the woman. "There's going to an art contest at school. The prize is $100 and a chance to compete in a State Art Competition. The prize there is $1,000. Here's a flyer about it."
Beca takes the flyer and looks it over. Chloe reads it over her shoulder.
"This sounds great, Amanda," Beca tells her. "I'm all for it."
"I just, um, need," Amanda said. "Some supplies for it."
"Okay," Beca said. "We'll go to the art supply place in Atlanta on Saturday."
"Really?," Amanda asked.
"Really," Beca said.
"Thank you," Amanda said with a smile. "I'll be in my room doing homework."
"Wait," Beca said. "I wanted to tell you and Ashley that your mother was sentenced to 10 years in jail with no parole. So, she'll be out of your lives for at least 10 years."
"I thought she was only getting 3 years," Chloe said.
"She would have," Beca said. "But she decided to attack me when I left the witness stand."
"Oh, my God," Chloe said. "I'm a horrible fiance. I didn't even see the bandage. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Beca said. "It's just a scratch. Stacie put the bandage on it after she cleaned it."
"I'm glad you're okay, Beca," Amanda said.
"I'm glad she got more time," Ashley said.
Beca looked at Amanda and frowned.
"You okay, Amanda?," Beca asked.
"Yeah," Amanda said. "I just feel weird because I'm actually feeling bad for her. She was a horrible mother and I sometimes hate her, but I also feel bad because she has to go to jail."
"It's okay to feel bad for her," Chloe said. "It just means you're human and have compassion even when it's for someone you don't think deserves it."
"When is Denise due home?," Beca asked.
"Around 5:00," Chloe said.
"How about we order pizza for dinner tonight?," Beca suggested. "I know everyone's tired with everything going on today."
"Sounds good to me," Amanda and Ashley both say.
"What do say, Em?," Chloe asked. "Do you want pizza?"
"Yay!," Emily says.
"Great," Beca said. "We'll order after Denise gets home."
"I have homework," Amanda says. "The first day of school and I have homework. Yuck!"
"I'm going to go rest until dinner," Ashley said.
"You okay, Ash?," Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Ashley said. "Just a little tired."
"When's your next doctor's appointment?," Beca asked.
"Thursday," Ashley said.
'Are you taking the prenatal vitamins?," Beca asked her.
"Yeah," Ashley said. "Don't worry, Beca. I just didn't sleep well last night thinking about you and my mom's trial."
"Okay," Beca said. "Sorry to be such a worry wart. I just want to make sure you and the baby are taken care of."
Ashley walked over and hugged Beca.
"Thanks, mom," Ashley said with a grin. "I love you, too."
"Go rest," Beca said with a grin. "We'll wake you when pizza's here."
"Thanks," Ashley said and went to her room.
Beca popped the last grape into her mouth. She walked over to Chloe who was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter. She stood in front of her and Chloe spread her legs so Beca could step in closer. Chloe put her arms around Beca's waist and laid her head on Beca's shoulder. Beca put her arms around Chloe and held her.
"Why don't you go up and run a nice hot bath," Beca said. "Emily and I will find something to amuse ourselves with for the the next hour or so."
"Hmm," Chloe hummed. "That actually sounds really good. Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Beca said pulling back and looking at Chloe.
"Thanks, babe," Chloe said. "Hey, Em. What are you and mommy going to do while I'm taking my bath?"
"Snowman," Emily says and claps.
"I should have known," Beca said with a loud sigh.
"You love it," Chloe said with a smile.
"No," Beca said. "I love Emily. Which is why I will watch it with her for the ten thousandth time."
"I love you," Chloe said.
"I love you, too," Beca said giving Chloe a kiss. "Now go, before I change my mind."
"I'm going, I'm going," Chloe said and did just that.
"Okay, kiddo," Beca said. "Let's get you cleaned up and we'll go watch Snowman."
Emily claps. Beca takes the dish away from Emily and wipes her face and hands. She then picks her up and puts her on the floor. Emily takes off for the living room with Beca right behind her. Emily runs in and climbs up on the sofa. Beca gets the DVD and puts it in the player. She grabs the remote and sits next to Emily. Emily climbs in Beca's lap and sits with her back to Beca's front. Beca presses play and the movie begins. Emily just has to look up at Beca with her baby blue eyes and Beca starts singing. After an hour, Chloe comes back down and joins them. She and Beca sing the songs much to Emily's delight.
They are on the second watching when Denise gets home.
"Hey, guys," Denise says when she walks in.
"Hey, Denise," Beca and Chloe say.
"Hey, Em," Denise says and tickles her belly.
"No, Nise," Emily says. "Snowman."
"I'm sorry," Denise said and steps away from Emily chuckling.
"You know if you stay," Chloe says. "You have to sing."
"I'm in," Denise says and immediately starts singing with the very next song.
When the movie ends, Beca goes to order the pizza. She tells Denise and Chloe it should arrive in about 30 minutes.
"I'm going to put my stuff away," Denise said getting up. "And, put on something more comfortable."
"Me, too," Beca said getting up as well. She kisses Chloe. "Be right back."
"Come on, Em," Chloe said grabbing the toddler. "Let's go get drinks and stuff for the pizza."
Before she comes down, Beca checks on Ashley and Amanda, letting them know dinner would be there soon. Ashley walks down with Beca and they walk into the kitchen.
"Need any help?," Beca asks Chloe.
"That's okay," Chloe said. "I'm good."
The pizza arrived and the girls sat around the counter eating. Beca told them everything that happened in court that day.
"You guys okay?," Denise asked Ashley and Amanda.
"Yeah," Ashley said. "I'm good. I'm actually glad she got the 10 years instead of just 3."
"So am I," Amanda says. "I feel like I can actually live my life and not be afraid anymore."
"Hey, Ashley," Beca said. "Are you going to need someone to go to the doctor's with you on Thursday? I could probably get a couple of hours off and meet you there."
"Um, no, I, uh," Ashley says her face turning a bright red.
"Jesse?," Beca asked with a small laugh.
"Yes," Ashley said grinning. "He's going to take me."
"Good," Beca said. "I'll cover for him so he can stay with you for as long as you want."
"I think I might want to find out the sex of the baby," Ashley said.
"Really?," Amanda said. "What are you hoping for?"
"Just a healthy baby," Ashley said. "But, I'm kind of hoping for a girl."
"I want it to be a boy," Amanda said. "We already have enough girls, don't you think?"
Everyone just laughed.
"I bet it's going to be a boy," Beca said. "I'll put up my Mustang for a week. If it's a girl, then the winner can drive my car for a week."
"No way," Denise said. "I'll take that bet and I'm picking girl. I'll put up making whatever you want for dinner for one week."
"You're on!," Beca said and the two shake on the best with a smile.