Disclaimer: I don't own anybody except for Brad and Chelsea and the people in the courtroom. The original characters belong to......well.....they just don't belong to me, ok.
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Okay.....well.....I watched Free Fall last night. The scripting was pretty bad. Fortunately Hayden was as good as he could be with a sucky script.....plus he was wearing red.....which made it all ok! I'm kidding.....but he did a good job considering what he had to work with.
In Your Darkest Hour
Ch. 15
Scott went home happy after getting the money he needed. He entered the apartment to find Shelby sitting on the couch with Chelsea. He shut the door quietly so as not to wake the sleeping baby.
"Hey." He said to Shelby. She smiled warmly. He sat down on the couch next to her. "I have something for you."
"Is it chocolate? I've been wanting chocolate for a week, and sorry Scott, you don't have anything bad for you in this house."
"No." he laughed. "Better." He handed her the check. She opened it with her one free hand.
"Scott....this is a check made out to me....from your father.....I don't understand." She said staring down at it with wide eyes.
"I asked Dad for the money in one of my old accounts. He didn't want to give it to me, but he eventually agreed."
"Oh, Scott.....this is too much. I'd never be able to repay you." She argued.
"I'm not asking you to." He said, but she still tried to hand it back to him. He pushed it back to her. "I'm not asking you to." He repeated. "I'm asking you to take this, and not worry about it. That's the only thing I want from you."
She hesitated and then agreed. "Okay." She said adjusting Chelsea in her arms, she was just waking up.
"Ok, good. Um....can I hold her?" he asked almost hopefully.
"Well....yeah...sure." Shelby said handing a now awake Chelsea to him. Shelby stood up and stretched as Scott held her.
All of the sudden Chelsea started coughing and then spit up all over Scott's navy blue sweater. He went with his first reaction and threw the baby down next to him on the couch..
"Scott!!" Shelby screamed as he looked down at the spit up all over him. She bolted over to the couch and scooped a startled Chelsea up in her arms. "What were you thinking?! You could have killed her!"
"I'm sorry!" he yelled not wanting to couch the spit up on his sweater. "I just saw puke coming at me and I lost it!" he said.
Shelby loosened and smirked a little. "You have a lot to learn about babies, Scott." She said putting her down in her pen. "A lot to learn. Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She said and tugged on a clean part of his sweater. He followed her into the laundry room. "Take it off." She commanded. He grabbed on to the material from the back, just below his neck, and pulled it over his head, leaving his wife beater on. He handed the soiled shirt to her. They talked while she pretreated the material for washing.
"So did they tell you?" she asked
"Tell me what?" he asked watching her.
"Brad dropped the charges." She said with a smile.
"And you?" he asked her
"I'm still pressing them. Like you said....now that I'm in....I'm gonna stay in. I'm not backing down." She said proudly.
"Good job, Shelb." He said shivering a little from the cold of wearing only a wife beater in the middle of winter.
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4 days later. New
York City Courthouse. 9:16 A.M.
The trial started early the next week. They had called witnesses from all over the place. From the cliffhangers, to family, to co-workers. The list of people was potentially endless.
Shelby was stressed out because she knew all the problems this would cause. There was no way around it. Scott was going to find out about Chelsea in one way or another, and Shelby had a feeling it was going to be this way.
"All rise." The bailiff called the morning of the trial. "The Honorable Judge McIntyre." he announced. "The case of Bradley Javenson vs. Shelby Javenson."
The judge called for opening statements, which were made by the lawyers. The trial drug on like this, a series of long drawn out questions. Shelby was so bored she actually started to space out until she was called to the stand by her lawyer. She took it.
"State your name." He said to her.
"Shelby Javenson."
"And what is your relation to the plaintiff, Bradley Javenson?"
"He's my husband." She replied.
"How long have you been married?"
"About a year."
"Shelby, tell me. What was your relationship like with Mr. Javenson?"
"It wasn't good."
"Please go into greater detail."
"He was physically abusive."
"Ok, when in your relationship did the abuse start?"
"About a month after we got married."
And it went on like that. Question after question. Shelby thought she was finally done when her lawyer said the phrase "No further questions." But she wasn't done. Brad's lawyer requested a cross examination, which he was granted. She leaned back in her chair, exhausted.
"When you went back to your home that night, did you plan on hurting Brad?" he asked her.
"No.....We were just going to pick up clothes."
"And that requires a gun and a friend?" he asked her.
"Scott came with me just for moral support...the gun was for protection."
"Mrs. Javenson, why did you wait till midnight to go pick up your things?" he inquired
"To reduce the risk of running into Brad."
"But you brought a gun! So. Tell me this is correct. You went to the house at midnight, a time when most people are at home asleep, to avoid confrontation with my client, but you still brought along a friend...who is obviously much bigger than the plaintiff, and a gun?"
"It was for safety!!!!" she insisted.
"You didn't take that gun with intent to harm or kill Bradley Javenson?"
"Objection. Leading." Shelby's lawyer argued.
"Sustained. Rephrase the question." The judge said.
"Did you take the gun with you with intent to harm or kill Bradley Javenson?"
"No!" she exclaimed.
"No further questions" he said.
Hours passed. They picked apart every little detail. Brad's lawyer called Peter to the stand. Shelby knew what they wanted with him, and Shelby hoped they hadn't dug up too much dirt on her.
"How do you know the plaintiff?" they asked him.
"I taught her in high school." He said
"I see. And tell me. What kind of school was it?" they asked him. Shelby dropped her forehead into her hand knowing where this was going. Peter gave her a reassuring look and then answered the question.
"It's an emotional growth school."
"Tell me a little about it."
"It's called Horizon. We teach kids there who have lost control of their lives and need to get back on track. We help them do that."
"And the plaintiff attended this school?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Three years."
"And what kind of a student was she?" he asked.
"Average." Peter said not wanting to get into a big discussion on Shelby's past.
"Was she wild?" he asked Peter.
"Objection. Leading." Shelby's lawyer said again.
"Sustained. Please rephrase the question." The judge said.
"Was she a difficult student?" he finally asked.
"No more than the others." Peter said and gave Shelby a smile.
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Ok........you'll get the ruling next chapter I think...also...Scott may find out. 10 reviews please.