Nicky shifted closer to Galina when she spotted her lawyer walking down the hall. The heels that clicked on the marble floor were coordinated perfectly with the polished navy briefcase the tall blonde woman carried in one hand. Evelyn's suit was formal and crisp, with sheer pantyhose underneath her modest skirt, and a fashionable red scarf tied at her throat to reflect a bit of her personality into her career attire.

It hadn't been intentional, but Nicky had been getting constant vibes of her mother at every single meeting she'd had with this lawyer. Marka had often left the house looking just like this. Before her untimely death, she had been one of the top partner's in her firm, which had taken a lot of effort and dedication. It had been Marka's life work, and she had earned herself a lot of respect and commendation from both her colleagues and the people she had defended. Nicky had watched her climb the lucrative ladder her entire childhood with a peculiar mixture of resentment and pride. Evelyn was young and starting out still a ways from where her mother had gone, but Nicky saw the same ambitious fire in her lawyer's eye that had been in Marka's all her life. She was good at her job, and if anyone could get Nicky off the hook now, it was her.

"Good news, Nicky," Evelyn said once she reached them, holding her briefcase in front of her with both hands now. "The judge has agreed to meet with us in his chambers instead of the big courtroom," she glanced at Galina. "She'll be a bit more comfortable in there," she explained gently, tapping her french manicure rhythmically against the case.

"Nothing about this is comfortable," Nicky said bluntly, and Galina automatically reached her hand over to wrap around Nicky's wrist in a tight but secure embrace.

"It's normal to be nervous," Evelyn said gently, while Nicky carefully studied the pale and softly lined skin of Galina's hand. Her fingernails were manicured like the lawyer's too-red, in this case, but for the first time Nicky noticed how chipped the polish had gotten. Galina had been so focused on watching and taking care of her that she neglected to even update her manicure like she ordinarily would.

"I couldn't get her to eat a bite this morning," Galina said quietly. Her eyes looked a bit cloudy from lack of sleep. She had been tossing and turning all night herself.

"That's okay," Evelyn said to Nicky. "Once this is over I'm sure your appetite will be back with a vengeance. Your mom can take you out for lunch to celebrate."

"You're feeling positive," Nicky said dully. She refused to get her hopes up, or worse Red's. She did think she had been making good strides since everything had come up but it still didn't change the fact that she was now a repeat offender, and Evelyn hadn't been able to get the judge changed from the one who already disliked her from last time.

"We have a strong case," Evelyn said calmly, "that is if you check your attitude at the door before we go in."

"I'll be good," Nicky sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"Is your husband here?" Evelyn turned to Galina.

"He's supposed to be," Galina replied. "He said he would meet us here."

Evelyn briskly checked the pearl banded watch on her wrist. It was nearly time. "I wanted both of you to walk in with her," she said with a small frown. "It's really important we put forth a united front in there. You're both her guardians and we need to have him on board."

"He is on board," Galina insisted, "he cares about all of this as much as I do."

Nicky glanced sideways at her with a look of skepticism on her face. Dmitri barely even spoke to her anymore. He hadn't scolded her since that night and was always polite, but usually he preferred to wait until she exited a room before he entered. Often he didn't even come home and had been spending more time with his sons. Nicky was getting used to eating her meals at the big kitchen table or at the counter in the store, with just Red to herself.

The tension between husband and wife was obvious. Nicky had overheard Dmitri expressing concerns about the cost of her legal fees and whether Galina had gotten them entirely in over their heads. They still made her go to bed way too early, but that extra time at night was spent doing separate things and barely speaking, as far as Nicky could tell. Dmitri hadn't attended a single meeting with the lawyer, but when Evelyn had phoned him directly to express the importance of him attending court, he had agreed to show up.

"My throat is dry," Nicky croaked, feeling far more nervous that she would have ever admitted. She was way more worried this time than the first time she'd been sentenced to juvie. Back then Nicky hadn't really given a damn about what they did to her, but now she knew she had a lot to lose. She might not have her mother anymore, and her father might not want her, but she'd found a new family that loved her and hadn't appreciated it until it was too late. If Nicky lost everything today, she knew she'd have nobody to blame but herself.

"I'll get you some water," Galina said, giving Nicky's wrist another squeeze before she released it. There were vending machines at the other end of the corridor. Galina was wearing a pair of high heeled black leather boots with her red skirt and Nicky focused on them entirely as she watched her walk away. Click Clack. Nicky listened to the sound of her steps so that she would not have to make eye contact or conversation with her lawyer.

So, it was with an incredulous jolt that Nicky looked up just as Dmitri reached her side. His hands deep in the pocket of his grey pants and his breath slightly wheezy. "I'm not late?" he said to Nicky in his thick Russian accent, while she just stared up at him.

He had said he would be here and she'd never known him to not keep his word, but it still surprised her nonetheless. She didn't know if the situations were reversed if she would have turned up. She wouldn't blame him for wanting her out of his house after all the trouble she'd caused.

"No, you're right on time," Evelyn assured him, after a pause when she realized Nicky wasn't going to speak. "They'll probably come get us soon."

Dmitri nodded. "Where's Mama?" he asked Nicky.

"She went to get me water," Nicky answered, her voice barely above a whisper. Dmitri nodded at that again and then took the vacant seat beside Nicky on the bench. He exhaled loudly and leaned into the backrest, shooting another glance at Nicky who had linked all her fingers together and stretched them out in front of her. She cracked her knuckles, unable to resist shooting Dmitri a look as she watched his involuntarly wince which never failed to appear when she did that.

"You're going to get arthritis when you're older if you keep that up," Dmitri said warningly.

"I'm just getting some kinks out," Nicky shrugged playfully.

"You're going to wind up with hands like mine," Dmitri said, holding out his left hand with its swollen knuckles and fingers. The light streaming through the large windows bounced off the gold watch he was wearing on his wrist, when he flexed it.

Nicky's eyes narrowed as Dmitri noticed her staring and held it up a little closer for her inspection. "It still doesn't work," he told her.

"Where did you find that?" Nicky gasped, touching it lightly with the pad of her finger. "I tried to go back and get it-"

"Maxsim was able to track it down for me," Dmitri explained. "They charged us a price only a fool would pay, but we paid it anyway. It was never about the money."

"I'll work everyday until I make enough to pay you back for it," Nicky told him, her eye welling up with tears. Relief coursed through her at the sight of the sentimental irreplaceable item she had stolen. The wrong she didn't think she would have ever been able to make right. If she ever got to see Maxsim again, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from running up to give him a huge hug in gratitude for fixing what she could not.

"I'm really sorry," Nicky apologized, brushing the tears from her eyes and giving her foster father a shaky smile.

"I know you are," Dmitri said gently, "but it's easy to forgive now that I have this back again."

She nodded her head in understanding and looked up to see Red headed back their way with a bottle of water in her hand for Nicky.

"Pop, found his watch," Nicky told her, accepting the water bottle from her hand and unscrewing the lid to take a huge gulp. The name his sons called him slipped off her lips almost as naturally as addressing Red as mom had. She could see Evelyn smiling at them, as she checked her watch one more time.

"So, that's why you were late," Galina commented, as the lawyer silently began to usher them down the hall towards the Judge's Chambers.

"I wasn't late," Dmitri protested.

"Almost," Galina replied.

"Come on you two," Nicky called lightly, her heart pounding so hard in her chest it was physically painful. She felt like she was going to explode with all of the conflicting emotions charging through her right now, with fear being the most paramount. It was growing with every step.

Galina's hand took hold of hers and squeezed tightly, which was exactly what Nicky needed. She took a deep breath and said to them all. "Let's get this over with." Wanting to believe with all of her heart that this was not the end of anything-but the beginning.