Ok this is quite a long chapter for you, it handles a lot of law and courtroom things that I know nothing about so I've tried my best and if anything has been done wrong please, please please find it in your heart to ignor it, or just use your imagination…

This will be the second to last chapter, meaning that there is only one more chapter after this. So please review :-)

Enjoy!

With the trial the next day Chandler was feeling more then nervous. Tomorrow would be the day. Would he be faced with a murder sentence or be able to go free?

Mike had built his confidence up, giving him some belief that he might actually win his claim in defence. Monica had been acting a lot more confident the last couple of weeks as well. Every day for the four weeks after her first visit to him she had come with two of the other friends. One day when she was in the bathroom Joey told Chandler she had been eating again. Chandler had noticed it as well. Phoebe told him she had been too distracted to notice she was actually eating when someone put food down in front of her.

A week before the trial he had a surprise visitor.

~

'Mom? What are you doing here?' He asked in surprise when he sat down and saw not his friends sitting before him but his own mother.

'What? Can't a mother visit her son in prison?' She asked innocently with a hint of amusement in her voice. He hung his head from the words effect on him. He knew she didn't mean it to sound like he had done something terrible, and to any other person in any other situation it would have sounded normal, but this time it just reminded him of the severity of the situation he was in.

'Chandler, sweetheart, I'm not mad, if that's what you're thinking, ok.' She said sincerely. 'I think it was a wonderful thing you did, protecting your wife like that.' Her voice was soft and more mother-like then Chandler had ever heard in his life. It was comforting and much welcome. 'Anyone, Chandler, anyone who would do what that bastard did to Monica deserves what he got. Remember that, you did nothing wrong.'

Chandler looked up at her and saw for the first time in years his real mother. After his dad left them and she was left to be a single parent, struggling with her new found fame from her books and a long line of new boyfriends trying to prove there was nothing wrong with her side of relationships, all the while still trying to be close to her son. But her son grew up and moved away, and suddenly he didn't seem such a top priority in her life.

All she saw of her son after he went off to college was on the Christmas holidays. All the other times he was with his friends, or she was away on another tour or holiday. But now she had regained the role of the mother she had once been. Not ultimately the best mother in the world, but good enough to be there for her son when he needed her.

Like now…

'Honey, when you do get out where are you going to go?' Nora asked. Chandler looked at her through confused eyes. 'Well you cant go home, I don't think Monica would do well there, too many bad memories now.' Chandler sighed. 'And I don't think you would want to stay in the city for too long, the media will be all over when you get out.'

'Would you stop it!' Chandler snapped suddenly. Nora looked shocked, stopped in mid speech.

'Stop what?' She asked, all traces of the original mother disappearing in her confusion.

'Speaking as though I'll defiantly get off with defence! There's still a chance that I could be sentenced y'know.' Chandler stared straight in to her eyes. 'I could be sent down for life, I might never see my wife again. I could never see my friends again. And every time someone speaks as though I've already been cleared it just reminds me of exactly the opposite and I cant stand it!' He yelled.

A guard standing near to them walked over and Chandler held up his hands in defence.

'Sorry. I'm sorry, I'll calm down I swear ok?' He said to the guard. The guard nodded sternly at him and walked back to his position. 'Sorry Mom, it just really gets to me. I don't want to be locked up for the rest of my life, I really don't.' He whispered. Nora smiled sadly at her son. The one time he truly needed her and she couldn't do anything.

'Chandler, I don't think that there's a jury in the world that will find you guilty for murder. You would never hurt anybody. I'm a character witness at the trial, I can tell them what you're really like, so will your friends and co-workers. We'll show the jury that you're innocent ok? So don't worry.'

'But-'

'Look Chandler, even if by some strange outcome you really do get sent down for murder it wouldn't necessarily be for life. Just remember that.' Chandler nodded. 'Right, now where were we?'

'Where would Monica and I live.'

'In my house in Buffalo, it's still in New York so you're not too far from your friends, I don't think they'll let you out of the state anyway. And it's quiet so I don't think you'll be disturbed. I wont be there until sometime next year, I have work to do in villa in Spain, my next book is set there and I need a little inspiration y'know.' She winked and Chandler laughed.   

~

His mothers words had given him some more confidence about the trial the next day, but he was still nervous.

He tossed and turned for hours that night, both dreading and anticipating the day ahead. It would be the last day he would be wondering his fate.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Finally, through some miracle the morning came. His trial was at 11 that morning. His cell mates wished him luck and some of the other men there that he didn't get much contact with (thank God) shouted abuse at him once more. But like all the other times it was the least of his worries.

Eleven o'clock came and he was taken to the courtroom.

~*~*~*~*~

'Monica Bing, could you please tell the jury in your own words what happened on the night of July 18th?' Mike asked Monica as she stood on the witness stand.

Monica took a deep shaky breath and began to recount the evening again.

'… And then he pinned me against the floor and started to remove my clothes.' Monica said shakily, tears running down her face. Chandler was sitting in his own box with two guards beside him. It was killing him to see her like this.

'Then  what happened Monica, can you tell us?' Mike asked softly, all during her speech he had been gently prompting her to continue.

'Then Chandler knocked him off me.'

'What was he like at this point?'

'He was angry, he looked like he would give his own life to save mine.'

'Did he say anything?'

'No, he just stood between me and him.' Her breathing was becoming rapid and shallow, 'He was shaking and staring straight at the intruder. The intruder jumped up and ran at us again.'

'Then what happened?' Mike encouraged almost forcefully.

'Then h-h picked up the- the knife and-'

'and?'

Monica took a deep breath, her voice was shaky and her hands were trembling widely. Tears were streaming down her face and she lent forward for support on the rail in front of her.

'and he- he thrust it towards his chest.'

'Do you think he meant to kill him?'

'No! he did it to protect me, he didn't mean to kill him!' She shouted. She took another shuddering breath and fainted, falling to the ground.

'Monica!' Chandler yelled as she hit the floor. As Mike and a police officer rushed towards her Chandler tried to get to her too, but he was held back by the guards.

Monica was carried off and the trial went on, but Chandler would co-operate without knowing how Monica was. Eventually someone came in from the room she was taken to and told them she was fine, just a little weak. The trial went on.

More witnesses were called, Treager told them how he had heard someone break in and called the police straight away, answering Chandler silent question as to how the police had gotten there so quickly.

Old friends and work colleagues were called in to tell them what they knew about Chandler.

Chandler himself was allowed to speak in his defence, telling the eager jury why he did what he did, purely to protect his wife. Monica, who had returned to the stands by this time began to cry again. Chandler looked up at her, straight in to her eyes and whispered; 'I'm sorry.'

~*~*~*~*~

At the end of a long day the jury were ready to give their verdict. It had been unanimous, everyone agreeing on whether Chandler was innocent or guilty…

To Be Continued… Only if people review enough so I know you're interested.