Two days later, Kyle was sat in his room with Lillie, wanting to spend as much time as he could with her. They were due back in court later in the day for the verdict and what they hoped to be a sentencing. He was just as nervous as the day he had to speak in court, which his brothers had noticed.
"Are you going to come out for some lunch?" Brax asks.
"I'm not hungry." Kyle mutters, watching Lillie play with some blocks.
"You need to eat something." Brax says.
"I'm not hungry, I'll have something later."
"Kyle-"
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm not going to relapse again. Casey brought me some food from the diner earlier." He says, pointing to the empty container on the side.
"Okay, I didn't know." Brax says. "How are you feeling about this afternoon?"
"I just have this really bad feeling that he's going to be found not guilty." Kyle says, lightly shaking his head. "His lawyer was trying to make out that I let them do it to get rid of her." He says, picking Lillie up to hold her, needing the reassurance that he still had her.
"I think he's going to be found guilty, and with the other charges against him, he'll get a fair few years. He was just doing that because it was his job to get Ryan off. But you had more people on your side and a lot of evidence against him. He won't get away with it." Brax reassures. "Are you doing okay after they used your self harm against you?"
"I had a feeling it was going to be used, just not as much as it was. But I think in a way it helped the case. Mr Langdon was saying it would have helped the juries decision and they tend to take victims into account more than the defendant. I'm not looking forward to the verdict but it has to be done." Kyle sighs.
"How about we go for a walk with Lillie and Bruno before we have to leave?" Brax says. "It could help you clear your head."
"Yeah, that would be good." Kyle nods, Brax taking Lillie for a cuddle while Kyle get's the harness to put on Bruno. "Here, you could use some practice." He lightly smirks, handing him the chest carrier.
"Just this once." Brax shakes his head, putting in on and making sure Lillie was secure before they left, heading down to the beach.
To take Kyle's mind off the verdict, Brax made casual chat on the walk. They had some time before they had to leave, so Brax was glad he had enough time to make sure Kyle's nerves and anxiety was kept under control along the way. When they were down on the beach, they bumped into Marilyn and John.
"Sorry I can't make the verdict this afternoon, I need to work." Marilyn says.
"That's okay, there's no need for everyone going again." Kyle says, shuffling slightly.
"Everything will be fine. The jury are being played if they let him get away with what he's done." John says.
"Yeah, let's hope they haven't been." Brax says.
"Anyway, we'll leave you to it. Good luck." John says, him and Marilyn walking up to the beachfront.
"See, it's going to be fine." Brax says.
"We'll soon find out." Kyle mutters. "Can we sit here for a bit? We have time anyway?"
"Sure, I've got nowhere else to be." Brax nods as they sit down. "We can drop Lillie off at Heath's on the way back, Ricky's over there with Emilia already. They want to do a photoshoot of all the kids."
"Another one?" Kyle scoffs, Brax nodding.
"It's all they seem to do." Brax laughs, looking out over the ocean. "I have a feeling life's going to get better from now on."
"I really hope so." Kyle sighs.
"Can I ask you something?" Brax asks, not sure how Kyle would take it.
"Sure." Kyle nods.
"Once this is all over and you can go back to being a great father to Lillie without the court case hanging over your head, would you ever choose to get yourself a girl?" He asks, knowing his brother deserved to be happy with his family, even if he chose not to want another relationship.
"I honestly don't know. Maybe one day when things are more stable in my life" Kyle says, smiling at Bruno as he rolls in the sand.
"You can clean him off before we get home." Brax shakes his head.
Heath, Brax and Casey had gone with Kyle as support, meeting Tori and Justin outside the court first. They had to wait outside for a bit until they were called in, and when they did, Ryan was already in the stand, looking smug as he stared at Kyle.
"Ignore him." Brax quietly says, glaring at the ex-FED.
"It's a bit hard when he looks glad about something." Kyle sighs. "What happened yesterday for him to look so happy?"
"I don't know." Brax mutters.
"Will a member of the jury please rise." The Judge says, one standing up to represent them all. "Have you come to a verdict for the charges against Ryan Shaw?"
"We have, your honour." The jury member nods.
"Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of two accounts of murder?" The Judge asks.
"Guilty." The jury member says.
"Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of wiping the FED database of his charges?"
"Guilty."
"Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of breaking AVO bonds, the harassing of Tori Morgan and her daughter, Grace, and the attempted abduction?"
"Guilty."
"And finally, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of breaking and entering and abducting Lillie Braxton from Marilyn Chambers whilst she was babysitting him?" The Judge asks, and Brax had to remind Kyle to breathe as the question came up.
"Guilty."
"You can't do this!" Ryan shouts.
"It's over." Heath smiles.
"Court is adjourned whilst a sentencing is decided." The Judge says.
They went outside to wait while the Judge decided on a sentence, feeling hopeful that it was going to go well. Ryan had been found guilty, so they were sure there was no way he'd be let off a prison sentence. Not long later, they were called back in, Ryan not looking smug this time.
"Ryan Shaw, you have been found guilty on six accounts and impacted the lives of many that I'm sure will leave a lasting effect. You killed two people for which I can see no reason and you wiped a FED database just to to keep your name clear. You then tried to take a baby from her mother, breaking an AVO bond out against you. Then took an innocent baby without cause, treating her as your own when she had a father hoping of her safe return for months. I hereby sentence you to a life sentence in Sydney's Maximum Security Prison with no option of parole." The Judge sentences.
"You'll regret this!" Ryan glares at Tori and Kyle, being dragged down by officers as everyone else leaves.
They all agreed to go to Angelo's to celebrate, meeting Ricky, Bianca, Denny and the kids there.
"How did it go?" Ricky asks.
"He got life." Brax smiles, walking behind the bar to get them some beers.
"That's great news!" Bianca smiles.
"I wasn't expecting him to get that long." Kyle smiles.
"I can't believe we can finally live without being in fear of them." Tori says.
"Life can go back to normal now." Kyle nods, feeling a lot better now. "Thanks for all of you being there."
"Wouldn't have had it any other way bro." Heath smiles.
"How was Grace?" Tori asks.
"She's an angel. She loves Emilia and Lillie as well." Bianca says.
"We should keep it up in the future, they could be really good friends as they grow up." Tori says.
"Yeah, that sounds good." Kyle says. "Lillie and Emilia got on great before so it's great that they do with Grace as well."
"I bet they'll break some hearts when they're older." Bianca smiles.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it." Tori smiles.
