A/N; THANK YOU for the reviews. I really loved reading them.

So I wrote 90% of this last night after I updated - and thanks to your reviews felt inspired to finish it and post it.

Been a long day at work and I'm brain fried so I'm sorry for the mistakes.

Reasonable Doubt – Chapter 23

Erin POV

It's over an hour before I have the strength to think about joining Jay in our bed.

I've wiped my tears and toughened my resolve, before I slip my shoes off and shrug out of my coat.

I take a deep breath before climbing off the floor, ready to fight another day and head into the kitchen to splash water on my face.

My feet are quiet as I pad across to our room, looking inside to see Jay's rigid back to me, his head cast downwards.

"Jay." I whisper, my voice hoarse from the crying, he doesn't respond and guilt consumes me.

"I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry I didn't comfort you. Please forgive me." I blink back the tears, crawling across the bed until his back is against my front.

His hand comes up to rest on my arm that hangs across his chest, as I kiss the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." I whisper again against his shaking head.

"You didn't go anything wrong. I fucked up." I don't have a rebuttal so I stay silent.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, the pain in his voice breaking my heart.

"I fucked up, and because of it I'm gonna get locked up for something I didn't do."

"Jay…" I trail off, tears slipping down my cheeks.

"You do still believe me right? Please I need you to know I didn't do this."

"Hey. Look at me." My voice is commanding as I turn his head around to catch my gaze.

"I know you didn't. I wouldn't share my bed with you if I thought you were capable of that… The fight isn't over Jay."

"I saw the look on the jury's faces. On your face. I sealed my fate." My head is shaking violently as I swing a leg around so I'm straddling him, his hands coming up to rest on my thighs.

"It's not over. I have some leads, I've been working on them for a while, as a contingency."

"What you've been hiding from me." I have the decency to look down in shame, when I catch sight of his phone I frown and grab it from him.

"Don't do that to yourself."

"Erin, don't change the subject." He reaches for his phone and I smack his hand away.

"They don't know you, these people… trolls. They don't know what happened… don't read the vile things they're saying."

"The jury doesn't know me either. They're thinking the same things. I testified so they could know the kind of man I am… and you were right. It backfired."

"Jay." I drop his phone and cradle his face in my hands.

"I love you." I whisper to him, leaning in to join our lips in a gentle but demanding kiss.

"I love you too." He whispers against my lips, his tears slipping down his cheeks and hitting my thumbs.

I lean back, his hands massaging my hips and I know we both need this.

We need a night to just be together, a break from the trial, from me pouring over notes, from my constant nagging at him.

The blue in his eyes shine brighter with tears as I delicately brush them away with my lips, teasing my way down his chin and finally pressing firmly against his lips.

He wastes no time slipping his tongue into my warm mouth as he brings me closer, my hips grinding against his needing friction.

Our hands are fighting to tear the other's shirt off, desperately craving the warmth of our bodies meshed together.

I hear the sound of tearing and I'm so consumed by his hands on my now bare breasts that I can't bring myself to care.

Soft gasps spill from my lips as his fingers tease my nipples, the warmth spreading from my stomach down to my core.

His lips break from mine to drag his stubble down my neck, the sensation sending shivers down my spine.

My nails dig into his muscled back as his mouth drops over my breast, my thighs tightening around his hips in a vice as the throbbing escalates in need.

"Jay." I pant his name in pleasure as my fingers move to his scalp, running through his hair.

His body shudders against mine before he flips us around, landing on my back and staring up with swollen lips.

He softly reaches up for my hair clip and removes in, his fingers running through my hair slow and sensually until it's like a halo around my head.

My legs wrap around his back dragging him back down to me, his warmth protecting my bare skin from the chill in the air.

I use my hands to bring his face back down to mine, our lips meshed together in a heated dance of passion.

We shimmy out of our pants, only breaking the kiss when we have to before Jay's erection is pressed right where I desire it most.

"Jay." I groan as I lift my hips up, seeking more.

"I love you." He whispers before joining our bodies, giving me a moment to adjust before moving his hips to drive in and out of me.

"Oh god." I pant as I lift my hips for a better angle, moaning as he continues to hit the spot which sends my vision blurred.

"Faster." I whisper, nails digging into his arms.

I feel his pace increase, his lips swallowing my groans and mixing them with his.

Jay's fingers ghosting down my neck, across my nipples and down to my clit have me flying over the edge, my orgasm pulling him with me.

"Wow." I finally whisper into his sweaty neck when our pulses have slowed.

"It's been too long." He whispers into my hair, dropping a kiss before pulling out.

I whimper at the loss of contact before he cleans us up and pulls us under the cover.

I smile into his chest as he reaches for the remote and turns the TV on.

"Let's pretend this is a normal night. Watching Tv with my girlfriend."

"Well, I would hope there's going to be pizza." I tilt my head back to smirk up at him.

"Of course. Anything my girlfriend wants."

"I could get used to this." He places a kiss to my forehead.

"You're up early." Jay drops a kiss to my head as he passes by the kitchen breakfast bar and leans against the counter after grabbing a glass of water.

"I wanted seconds." I smirk as I take a bite of the leftover pizza.

"Of me or the pizza?" He raises his brow the way that sends a jolt down to my core.

The ringing of my phone interrupts our moment; I reach for it and answer.

"Hey, you get it?" I watch Jay frown in curiosity as he reaches for a slice of pizza.

"Yeah. He's wants to meet."

"When?"

"Today."

"Time to listen to what he has to say." I sigh into the phone.

"I'll set it up."

"Text me the deets."

"Who was that?" Jay asks raising an eyebrow.

"Jen."

"About?"

"Work."

"My case?"

"Yep." I take another bite of pizza, eyes back on the laptop in front of me typing questions and strategy for the next witness I'll be calling to the stand.

"Wanna elaborate?"

"Nope." My fingers fly across the keyboard ignoring his eyes on me.

"Erin. Is this that plan you've been working on? You mentioned it last night, and I know you've been keeping something from me."

"I'll let you know if it amounts to anything."

"Erin."

"No Jay, after yesterday I have to protect you. You're my client and from now on you're going to listen to me, you're not going to argue and I'm not going to cave to my client because I'm in love with him. It's not helping the case, and right now I'm more concerned with saving your life then telling you everything I'm doing." He drops the pizza back in the box.

"You're right. I'm the one who fucked up, and you feel guilty. You don't trust me anymore so you're cutting me out." My shoulders drop as I move to close my laptop.

"I do trust you Jay, it's not that simple." His eyes are locked on the floor, arms crossed over his chest.

"Jay." I slide the laptop and pizza box to the side before climbing onto the counter and sliding my ass over to where he's leaning against the bench.

"Don't beat yourself up." My voice is soft, knowing I need to keep his spirits up, but not knowing how to take the blame away from his errors on the stand.

My arms wrap around his upper body as I pull him into me and wrapping my legs around his waist.

"Don't say anything Erin."

"What?" I blink in shock.

"You're going to try and take responsibility for this, I'm a big boy I can live with the consequences of my decisions."

"Babe, we can sit here all day debating whose fault it was but it doesn't matter. All that matters is focusing on what's next. And I'm sorry…" My lips quiver as I blink away the sudden tears.

"For what?"

"Not comforting you last night. You're going through worse than me… I'm all you have and instead of letting you break down to me, I pushed you away to break down alone."

"Stop. You have put your life on hold for me. Given up actual paying cases. Jeopardized your standing at the firm, your relationship with a man who is practically a father to you. You have fought for me, comforted me, made me laugh and smile in a time I didn't think that was possible… No one has done those things in so long, since before all this happened."

"Jay…" I trial off not knowing what to say.

"You believed me when no one else did, not even my own blood."

"I couldn't deny the truth."

"I understand needing time to break down, before getting right back up to fight for me. You're not under usual lawyer stress. I know no matter what, if I'm convicted because of something I did- you will always blame yourself. You'll wonder if you should have slept less, should you have taken that break with your boyfriend to watch TV and eat pizza." I crack a smile at the thought of last night.

"You'll blame yourself. You'll go over everything that happened, and you won't stop fighting even if I'd want you to – so you can have a life back."

"So let's make sure that doesn't happen." I tell him before kissing him firmly.

"Besides I'm going to have to live with any mistakes made too. Because it's not your life and my life… it's our lives together now."

"I'm sorry I've jeopardized our life together."

"Stop it." I shake him in my legs, seeing a momentary smile.

"It's not over, let me do my job. It's what I'm best at."

"Okay, you can have your secrets if it's for us."

"Everything I'm doing is for us."

There's a part of me that doesn't believe the words I say.

Jay may think he's okay with my secrets, but when they come out it will be obvious I did it to save him, not us.

Once it's out, I wonder if there will even be an us left to save or just his betrayal.

A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed :)

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Stay safe everyone