This is by far the longest and the most difficult chapter I had to write for this story. I warn you guys, I have zero knowledge about trials and law vocabulary... but I tried to make it as credible as I could. I hope you do like it and it sounds somewhat real.

The first part is some sort of background for what comes later. I was going to make two chapters out of it but I just couldn't wait.

I also borrowed in a certain part of this story some words of a description that Andrew Lincoln made about NR, although I modified it a little. Again, I liked how it fitted. I hope Andrew doesn't mind :P

don't hate me for this chapter! it just can't go smoothly between these two, there's still a lot ahead!

S.-

...

38.

She tried not to think in how her life was definitely going to change in a few hours. Most likely for better. Andrea kept telling her the worst that could happen was that he got a restraining order and that he had to reward her with some big amount of money, which for Carol, would be good, although not enough… since she would still like to see him go to jail. Andrea thought that was the most probable outcome, but she said that in cases of domestic violence, they only gave people 1 or 2 years of prison at the most. She didn't care. It was still something and it also meant the public knowledge of him being a son of a bitch, something she knew Ed had always tried to avoid at all costs. And she wanted that. She wanted people to see him for what he was.

Andrea had been invaluable as always these days. They practiced her speech, she told her how the usual procedings were, she also encouraged her not to cry when she spoke but said that if she ended up doing it it was ok anyway, and gave her all kind of important and random information so that Carol felt she was prepared now. Andrea may lack of experience, but she was her friend besides being a recently graduated lawyer, and she knew every detail about what she had gone through with Ed. The fact that it was her who was going to stand by her side during the whole trial reassured her deeply.

Carol's head had been a mess that Saturday she came back from Daryl's house. Andrea hadn't been home and she found herself pacing around the living room, thinking what she was going to do. She had like 15 missed calls for Tyresse and she felt extremely guilty for what he was doing to him, although, luckily, he wasn't aware, which made her feel even worse for some reason. She decided that day she'd call him and give him some excuse in order for him not to come to the trial, and then she'd ask him for some time to think things over. She kept convincing herself the right solution was going to magically appear in front of her when the trial was over, but she knew that was just an excuse to postpone thinking of things she was finding difficult to , she'd be able to focus more on what to do with her sentimental life, but she felt that she already knew the answer; what she didn't know, though, was whether there was a possibility behind that answer, if accepting how she felt was going to lead her somewhere different, which she doubted.

Carol thought Daryl was one of those rare people the more you got to know them, the more was revealed, which was the oppossite at how things normally were, in the sense that usually when you met someone, there was the excitement and the feeling that person was unique and everything, but then you got to know them better and they'd invariably become less interesting as you started to get used to them. When she first met him, she had thought of him as just as hot, rebel man, which he was too, but now there was so much more she could say about him; how smart he was, how he had a good heart, and how loyal he was if he happened to care for you, which she knew how hard he fighted not to. And how she felt about him had been like walking through a beautiful place, enjoying the view and all of a sudden falling into a deep cliff you had no idea it existed to begin with. It sort of just happened without her being able to avoid it. She used to say she was just having fun, used to tell Andrea it was all about how incredible having sex with him was, but at the same time during the last months she had barely thought about anything else. What she had with Daryl, she wouldn't know how to name, but she did know it was intense and unpredictable, absolutely constrasting with how safe, peaceful and secure being with Tyresse felt like.

Andrea, though, had convinced Carol that she shouldn't run into things and tell Tyresse not to come. She had insisted she was being reckless and acting out of the heat of the moment, and she had also said she wasn't doing anything wrong since the three of them were adults and she wasn't committed to none of them. Carol wasn't sure about that: at least Daryl knew there was someone else, but Tyresse had no idea and he was actually the one who wanted something serious out of this. When she asked Andrea how was it that one day she was encouraging her to go see Daryl while the next she was saying she shouldn't stop seeing Tyresse, Andrea just told her she was scared Daryl might never admit his feelings to her. Carol didn't like the idea of speculating with the two men, which she thought she was doing in some way, although it wasn't on purpose, but she ended up listening to her, too tired of thinking about this whole issue.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day and she needed to rest urgently. She obliged herself to think of something else as she slowly began to fall asleep.

...

'Ready?' Andrea said, as Carol fixed her hair one more time. She had woken up terrified by the thought of Ed's presence after all this time. She swallowed hard.

'Andrea?'

'Yeah honey?'

'There's no way Ed knows about the sleeping pills, right?'
Andrea softly smiled at her. 'I thought of that Carol, a long time ago… and no, there's no way. He'd have killed you if he had found out, I assure you, that won't be a problem'.

'Thanks', Carol mumbled as they got in Andrea's car.

'Remember, Carol, you say whatever you want to say, just tell your story. There won't be any need to enhance or hide anything… when they ask you the questions, you just go ahead and answer, don't give them a second thought, that's usually what they want you to do. If any question happens to be inappropiate then I will intervine, don't worry about it'.

'Ok', Carol said, her heart beating so fast she was scared of passing away right there.

When they arrived to the court Tyresse was already outside. He kissed her cheek, not saying anything, and lifted his thumbs up. She gave him a small smile and headed inside. She saw Monica and Lori in there, who had came to support her, and Rick, who was sitting in the witnesses chairs. He gave her a warm smile and winked at her. Carol started to understand why Andrea had insisted so much about her not crying. She felt she wanted to burst into tears already, just by watching her friends backing her like this. Tyresse took a seat next to Monica and then Carol froze, squeezing Andrea's arm so hard it made her jump a little.

Ed was walking through the door, dressed in a grey suit, fatter and more disgusting than ever. She looked down, breathing in and out slowly, trying to keep calm.

'I can't do this Andrea, I want to get out of here', she whispered.

'Relax, honey, don't look at him. It's going to be alright, I promise you. You have to be strong and face this now, Carol, you can do this… next thing you know, we'll be out of here, celebrating. Trust me'.

'Oh my god, I didn't imagine it'd be so hard, seeing him again'.

'It is, Carol. This ain't no picnic. But you be strong now. Come on, let's sit'. And they sat in the first row of chairs, in front of the judge. Ed and his lawyer were sitting in the first row of the other line of chairs, but Carol was determined not to look in that direction, although she could feel his gaze stuck on her.

Everything was settled for the trial to start when the door cracked open, and Carol almost fell back from her chair as she saw Daryl crossing the room, slightly nodding at her before she lost sight of him, figuring he must have sat at the end of the courtroom. She felt protected somehow but the idea of him there, and she smiled to herself at his gesture. She knew him and she knew him coming here meant certainly a lot, but she couldn't avoid feeling this trial right now was a damn emotional rollercoaster she'd be lucky if she got out safe and sound. Carol looked at Andrea then.

'Don't', she said, looking straight to the front.

...

Carol managed to calm down after giving her own testimony. She had followed each of Andrea's instructions: forgetting there were people around, looking at Andrea whenever she felt nervous, answering the questions without giving it a second thought; and when she finished, her as well as Andrea thought she had done pretty well. She answered each and every question they'd asked, including the ones Ed's laywer did, which were tricky and clearly attemped to confuse her. She heard Ed chuckling sarcastically and booing as she spoke, but she managed to act as if he didn't exist. Luckily, she succeed. When she headed to her seat again, she looked up and saw Daryl at the end of the room, giving her a warm, sincere smile. Her heart beated even faster. Tyresse was winking at her a few rows ahead. What a mess, she thought, but she sat happily and proud of her performance anyway. She was going to take care of that later.

It was Rick's turn to be interrogated, first by Andrea and then by Ed's lawyer, who Carol didn't know, but she had been told he was one of the best in Gainsville, were Ed had spent the last months.

Rick stood up, looking at Carol with smily eyes. He went to the interrogation bench and sat confidently. He swore, his hand on his chest, before Andrea stood up and began to ask her questions.

'Hello Rick. Can you tell me how long have you known Carol for?'

'Sure', he said. 'well, I've always lived here and so did she… so we knew each other, without being close or anything. Now she's working at the library with my wife, so I guess we became closer or at least we are more in touch'.

'Mhm. And, have you ever heard rumours about Ed's behavior towards her?'

'Oh yes, definitely. I'd say they were more than rumours, actually. She was often seen with some injury on her face or a swollen eye. I, being a cop, was always trying to pay attention, but back then she wouldn't demand him or anything so there wasn't much we could do. It was one of those known secrets, you know?'

'Thank you, Rick. Despite the accusation of domestic abuse, have you ever had any kind of confrontation with Ed Peletier?'

'We had to drag him out of a couple of pubs every now and then… him being drunk or accusated of provocking people, starting street fights. I had to warn him myself a few times. He does not have any police records though.'

'So you would describe him as a normal behaved citizen then'.

'Sort of, I mean, he wasn't any different than many other people who just happen to be trouble sometimes, then again I wouldn't call him exactly an oustanding citizen'.

'Mhm… like most domestic abusers, fond of causing trouble but not so much as to catch people's attention. And can you tell us exactly what happened the day he ended up escaping out of town?'

'Yes, of course. It must have been 11 pm… We were getting ready to sleep when I heard screams outside. I ran to my front yard, told my wife to lock the door, and I saw Carol there, screaming, trying to escape from him, her arm cutted, heavily injured. I tried to talk to her and then she just passed out on me. I couldn't leave her there so I called the police station, told them to go after him. He was already gone though. When the police found him he was already in Gainsville, ended up detained there.'

'Thank you very much, Rick. Those were my five questions', Andrea said, and headed back to her seat.

It was Ed's lawyer's turn now, and Carol just wanted to hug Rick for having been so confident and answering all the questions with such sureness.

'Good morning, Rick Grimmes. I'm going to ask a few questions to you.'

Rick nodded, his attitude completely different towards this man.

'How close were you to Carol Peletier?'

'Like I told her lawyer, we knew each other, just because we lived in the same place. We got closer after all this and with my wife working with her, shared a few barbecues'.

'Have you ever had any kind of romantic relationship with her?'

Rick frowned. 'Of course not. Not with her or with anyone for that matter.'

'I see. How long have you been married? Would you say your behavior would change if you found out your wife was seeing other men?'

'Objection!' Andrea yelled from her seat. 'These questions are external to the purposes of this trial'.

'Denied', the judge said.

Rick chuckled, his confidence not erasing at all. 'I've been married for 10 years, and yes, I imagine my behaviour would change indeed. I believe nothing justifies beating on a woman, or on anyone for that matter'.

'But you do agree your behavior would change', the lawyer asked again.

'I do, I have to agree on that', Rick answered, a little confused by the man's choice of questions.

'Thank you, sir', the lawyer turned around.

Carol knew what was coming. Ed's testimony. Andrea held her hand and gave her a squeeze.
'Don't worry, Carol, and try to look at him. Don't piss off when you hear him lie. Everything's going perfect, he doesn't stand a chance', she muttered, not looking at her.

Carol made an effort and looked at the stranger in front of her. She had the feeling suddenly it hadn't been real, being married to Ed, as if it was something that had happened in other life of hers. He locked his gaze on her, an evil smirk spreading across his mouth, and she felt it again: the fear, the disdain, the memories she had been trying to erase from her mind for so long coming back, one by one. She swallowed hard. She was too close to winning it all, she couldn't break down right now.

'How long have you been married to Carol Peletier, Ed?'

'Six years.'

'Could you say you have been happily married during those 6 years?'

'Oh, well, I can tell you I was absolutely in love with her when we got married, we had our ups and downs, yes, like any other couple does, but I'd say we got along for the first two years. Then, I don't know what happened, she started to change'.

'To change? In which ways?' the lawyer asked.

'She started to hide things from me, like her starting college. Do you imagine how much it hurt? That your wife wouldn't want to share with you something as important as that?'

'What other things did she hide from you?'

'It was college first, then she started to come home very late at night. I remember asking her a couple of times what she was up to, and she always said she was out with Andrea, until I followed her one day, found her with another man. Never said anything though, but since that day, I recognize I started to lose my head'.

'Did you ever tell her this? That you saw her with another man?'

'I did once, she lost control, I tried to calm her down but she just wouldn't, I ended up having to stop her myself, hold her until she did calm down, but I never hitted her. I do recognize though my actions have been clumsy and rough at times, but when you find out the woman you love is seeing someone else, well, you just lose it. I did at least'.

'What happened the day she claimed you hurt her with a knife?'

'I did end up hurting her, but it was because I confronted her, told her again I knew she was seeing this man. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, we forced with it, I ended up hurting her, yes, it wasn't on purpose, it could have never been on purpose. I've always loved her, no matter what'. Ed's face started to desfigure, tears running over his face.

Carol just couldn't believe it, couldn't even begin to describe what she was starting to feel inside. Probably that rage and killing instict Ed was lying about. She started to breath heavily. Andrea held her leg. 'calm down, Carol', she mumbled.

'Was it always the same man she used to see?'

'I think so, yes, can't be sure if there weren't more anyway. The two times I saw her, it was with this man. He's right here actually, at the end of the room, and I know for sure they still see each other even although she started another relationship with another man, who happens to be here too. Everyone's here accusing me, when her actual lover's father is a murderer back in Senoia, his brother in jail for taking drugs and causing many kinds of public disturbs'.

A general murmur spreaded all over the courtroom then, as people started to turn around to watch the only man that was sitting at the end of the room. Daryl stood up then, his face red, his eyes burning in shame and anger. 'YA FUCKIN LIAR, YA SON OF A BITCH!' he yelled. The courtroom went in complete silence.

Carol's visión started to blur. No no no, she thought, feeling she was seconds away of walking away from the room, defeated.

'OBJECTION!' Andrea yelled even louder. 'There is no evidence of what Ed Peletier is saying.'

'Objection denied. He is giving his testimony miss, it is for us to discuss its veracity later' the judge glared at her.

Carol wasn't able to hear the rest of Ed's testimony, an increasing buzz spreading in her ears as her cloudy mind tried to process what was happening. Andrea's hand was still on her leg, and she held it tightly, feeling desperate for going outside and burst out crying.

...

Apparently, Ed's testimony had finished. The Bench stood up and the judge cleared his voice and spoke:

'There is going to be a 30 minute intermission in which we will be analyzing the evidence of Mr. Peletier's charges, we will be reading the Brief afterwards.'

Andrea stood up and grabbed Carol's hand. 'Follow me', she said, crossing the court room and almost starting to run towards the bathroom when they were finally outside.

She sat her on the toilet. 'Carol, are you here with me?' she asked her, holding her chin.

Carol looked at her. 'Andrea…' she said, starting to sob.

'Listen to me Carol. You cannot cry, not right now. You're going to cry and talk and yell when we get home, whatever you want. We're minutes away of this, you hear me? YOU are minutes away of Ed. He's not winning this. He fucking screwed you, I wasn't expecting that. But he ain't winning the trial honey. I love you, it will work out, you will see.' Andrea was talking very fast, her voice full of her own anxiety and the stress everything that happened back in that room had made her feel too.

Carol just nodded. 'Where's Daryl and Tyresse?', she asked, her voice trembling.

'I don't know honey, I think Daryl took off. I don't know, we'll think about them later ok? Now promise me Carol, please, you're not going to break down '.

'I promise', she mumbled. She wasn't thinking anymore, she felt like she was floating, actually, everything around her feeling so surreal.

...

The 30 minutes had gone by and they started to head to the court room again. They ran onto Tyresse, who was standing outside the room. He stared at her with sad eyes but nodded a little, turning around to head in the other direction. Carol felt she just couldn't manage to look at him.

'It's ok, Carol. Let's get inside', Andrea whispered.

They sat down as people started to suit themselves in their seats. Carol felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw it was Rick's.

'Don't worry about anything, Carol. You're winning this, don't let him upset you. We all know who you are', he smiled at her and headed back to the witnesses seat.

The judge stood up. Carol felt her stomach clench so much she wanted to throw up.

'The Jury and Judge here present declare Mr. Ed Peletier guilty of physical and mental domestic abuse, giving Mrs. Carol Harrison the direct divorce, and condemning him to 1 year of prison, removing his right to approach Mrs. Harrison by any terms after his sentence expires'.