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While You Were Sleeping

Part 9

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

Monica nodded and then, unsure of how these procedures went, added as a formality, "Yes, yes I do"

She watched as the uniformed guard sat down and her own lawyer stood up. She still wasn't sure if he could win her the case but she had no choice now. He was there. Her freedom hung in the balance and him, plus 12 people she had never even met, had the power to grant it or take it. Sitting as she was instructed to do, she watched as Mr Hargreaves made his standard talk. Telling them all she was innocent. Mentioning that she loved her husband and would never attempt to kill him. She loved her friends, she loved them all. She'd never hurt them. Eventually he sat down and a tall blonde woman with hair piled above her head stood up. Monica assumed she was the prosecution. The woman approached Monica and started firing questions at her, her nasal tones never leaving her,

"Where were on the night of the 22nd November?"

"At home"

"Alone?"

"Yes"

"You never left you apartment?"

"No"

"Are you sure?"

Monica paused. If she was honest she wasn't sure. She had no idea if she'd stayed in that apartment, gone to sleep and then woken up with a scream reverberating around her brain. Of if somewhere in the middle of it all she walked downstairs, shot her best friends and murdered four people. Aware that this was not what she was supposed to say she nodded and then repeated,

"Yes. Yes I'm sure"

She saw the lawyer watching her every move and Monica was suddenly self conscious. All these people were watching her. Everyone's eyes were on her, they all wanted to know why she'd done it. Oh, they all knew she'd done it. They just wanted to know what had driven her to it.

"Why did you hate your husband?"

Monica recoiled, horror struck, "What?" she whispered,

"Why did you hate your husband?" she asked again, "Was it because he couldn't give you children? He was cheating on you? You were cheating on him and couldn't bear to leave him?"

"STOP IT!" She yelled, horrified at all her personal business being dragged around the court like some kind of sick gossip column. The accusations were flying at her and she was powerless to stop them, all she could do was try and explain. Glancing quickly at her own lawyer, knowing he would not approve of what she was about to do, she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I have never hated my husband. I love him. It's not his fault we can't have children, it's ours. I don't know who shot him, or my friends. Or who killed those people. I don't even know that it wasn't me. I was asleep. I can remember sitting on my bed and the suddenly two hours had passed and I was awake. And that's something I can never forgive myself for. My friends suffered, they screamed and they bled and people I cared about died. And during that I was asleep. I wasn't with them. I don't deserve to be standing here, I deserve to be with them. Lying in a hospital bed hooked up to more machines than I have ever seen in my life. I love them," she cried, tears no flowing freely, "I love them and I survived while they suffered. Punish me as much as you want. Nothing can ever be worse than how I feel right now" Monica sank back into her seat sobbing. In her distress she barely even noticed the uniformed officer walking towards the judge. She simply continued to sob.

"Miss Geller that outburst would usually result in a warning, but I shall let it pass this time. Court will adjourn now while the charges brought against Miss Geller are reviewed"

Monica was lead away, the Judges words ringing in her head. 'Reviewed'. That could only mean they were changing the. And that could only mean that someone else had died. Someone else was dead. With a jolt Monica realised the only people still alive following the shooting were her friends. Her friends, her husband. One of them was now dead, and she was charged with their murder.

"ROSS!" she yelled hysterically as the guards began forcing her through the door, "Ross!! Please! Who?!"

Her refused to answer her. Turning his face away as he pulled a tattered handkerchief from his jacket pocket.

One more was gone.

One more life taken away.

Who was next?