Disclaimer: I asked for the rights to Mort Rainey, but it didn't happen, so I still don't own him…damn it.

AN: I know that people are begging for violent vengeance to be brought upon Amber's parents, but I already have something planned for them, so don't worry; just read the story and see what happens next. And for those who don't understand the prosecution's tactic, that's explained in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Life's Trials Continue:

That Same Night: Amber's POV:

I was definitely not looking forward to this afternoon. Last night had been another family night where we had ordered pizza (with extra mushrooms for Elizabeth's), and watched Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, which was a personal favorite of Elizabeth's and mine. Elizabeth loved watching the fairies fly with their tiny wings, blessing the baby with gifts, and always laughed when the dress changed colors. It was wonderful to see her so happy, and it made us happy, too.

After letting Elizabeth burn off her excess energy, I tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. She gave me a sweet, happy smile as her eyes drifted shut. I softly whispered a story to her so that she'd have pleasant dreams, and when I thought she was asleep, I kissed her forehead. As I began to close the door behind me, I heard her call out to me.

"I love you, Mommy."

I smiled. "I love you, too, precious," I whispered back to her. I heard her mumble something as I closed the door behind me before heading down the hallway towards the master bedroom.

I'd just finished pulling the nightgown over my head when I felt Mort's hands on my hips, underneath the nightgown. I couldn't stop myself from blushing.

"Was there something you wanted, Mort?" I teased, not turning to look at him as I tried to pull my nightgown down around his hands.

"Actually, yes, there is something I'd like," he muttered as he pressed his lips against my neck.

I giggled and turned around, putting my arms around his neck. "And what if I decide not to let you have it?" I whispered, smirking at him.

He growled. "Then I'll just have to take it."

I shivered as he swept me up and tossed me onto the bed.



The Next Day: Amber's POV:

We were once again dressed somberly and professionally for the trial. Shannon and Melanie were oddly cheerful as they met us in front of the courthouse, and I gave Mort a concerned look - after all, the last thing we needed was for our lawyers to get overconfident when the trial wasn't even half over! Mort simply shook his head and shrugged. Elizabeth clung to my hand, and Becca stood behind her, twisting a lock of blue hair around her fingers. I sighed and we all headed inside.

Once in the courtroom, Elizabeth, Becca and I took our usual place in front, by Mort and our lawyer-friends. After everyone had taken their places, Mort looked back at me and smiled assuredly, trying to cheer me up. I smiled back at him and Lizzie gave him a small wave. Then Judge Clark entered the room, and the second day of the trial began as Miss Kapusta stood up to call her first witness of the day.

"Your Honor, the prosecution calls Mrs. Redding to the stand."

I was extremely confused. Why would my parents call up an old teacher of mine from high school? It didn't make any sense! Mrs. Redding was always very kind to me during high school, and had helped me to discover that I had writing potential. How was this going to help my parents win the case? I watched as my former teacher was sworn in and took her seat at the stand.

"Mrs. Redding, you taught Amber while she was in high school, is that correct?" asked Miss Kapusta.

"Yes, that's right," replied the elderly woman who had inspired me to become a writer.

"Could you describe the type of student Amber was at that time?"

Mrs. Redding smiled. "Oh, Amber was a good student, and had great potential for becoming a writer. At the time, she wanted to become a reporter for a magazine or newspaper, but she really didn't have the attitude for that line of work, so I persuaded her to apply her talents elsewhere."

Miss Kapusta positioned herself in front of the stand, her arms crossed upon her breast. "Could you describe what sort of attitude Amber did have?"

"She was very sweet and hardworking, but very quiet…very secluded," Mrs. Redding answered, her kind, wrinkled features looking thoughtful. "She did alright, but she didn't exactly interact very well with others. When she was in our newspaper class, she was alone most of the time. I think that she was rather unpopular with the other students because the others only worked with her when they had to edit each other's articles."

"So you could say that she was a loner," Miss Kapusta asked.

"Well, no, she didn't have the loner attitude," Mrs. Redding said. "I'd say that she was, well, an outcast."

"As in, no one liked her or wanted to be friends with her?"

"That's right."

I could feel tears swell up in my eyes. Mrs. Redding was right; I had been an outcast, but it was rather by choice. I didn't want to belong to any of the clubs that did nothing but raise money to go on field trips that didn't teach you anything. I was poor at sports, band class eventually drove me nuts with the idiots who didn't care how badly they played, and I didn't want to join any of the debate teams, cheerleading squads or dance teams. But that was the way I was, and I couldn't change that. I watched as Miss Kapusta sat down and Melanie stood up.

"So according to you, Amber was socially isolated from others," Melanie said. "Are you any sort of psychiatrist, Mrs. Redding?"

My former teacher looked puzzled. "No, I'm not."

"Then we should take your word that Amber was 'different' and not socially normal," Melanie asked, turning to look at the jury.

Mrs. Redding looked offended. "I have been a teacher for over thirty years, and I know what I'm talking about when it comes to teenagers. Amber was an isolated individual and not interactive with those of her own age. Teens like that can become mentally unhealthy adults."

Melanie raised an eyebrow in what appeared to be doubt. "But isn't it true that some people prefer to be alone in life?" she asked. "Some people just don't like being in large groups of people, or can't tolerate others for unknown reasons." She smiled. "After all, writers of all sorts do that sort of thing all the time. And you did say that Amber had the abilities of an author, did you not?"

"I did, and I suppose that's true, but-"

"So it would be safe to say that Amber could have chosen to be alone, as most authors do, because she had the mentality and behavior of an author. Isn't that right?" Melanie interrupted her.

Mrs. Redding went quiet. Melanie smirked.

"No further questions, Your Honor," she said, returning to her seat.

"The court will take a short twenty minute recess," Judge Clark declared, banging her gavel.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I gathered Elizabeth and Becca to head outside for some fresh air. I needed to have a talk with my husband and our lawyers.



Mort's POV
:

They had all gathered in an isolated corner to talk about what was going on with the trial, and what the hell the prosecution was trying to do by calling up all of these witnesses from Amber's past. Becca had taken a bored and troubled Elizabeth home to entertain her for the day, and the four adults had cups of flavored coffee as they gathered to discuss the situation.

"Shannon, what the hell are they trying to do in there?" Amber demanded. "I really don't appreciate having former friends and teachers dragged all the way out here to testify against the man I love!"

The two lawyers exchanged a look before Melanie opened her mouth to speak. "Mort, Amber, what they're trying to do is show how mentally and emotionally open Amber was to Mort's 'manipulation.'" She took a sip of her coffee before explaining further. "They're basically trying to prove that Amber was emotionally and mentally unstable when Mort took her, and show how easy it was for him to convince her that you two are soulmates."

Mort went livid. "You mean that they're willing to prove that Amber's as 'mentally unstable' as I am just to get their way? But she's their daughter!"

"And if they prove her unstable, they'll be able to take her home with them so that she can be 'treated' for her illness," Shannon said, sipping her drink. "And if they prove the both of you unstable, Mort will be locked away, Amber will go with her parents to be 'treated', and Elizabeth will go with them out west." She took another sip of her drink. "After all, they are her only other relatives, besides her uncle, and he's not financially stable enough to care for her, so that just leaves her grandparents."

Mort looked over at his wife and saw her go pale. He instantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close, knowing that she needed him since it looked like she was going to pass out any second. Her pale face and quivering body told of her fears and concerns about what the future could hold for their family and friends. If her parents had wanted money, Mort would have willingly handed over his entire fortune, the one which had exploded exponentially after he'd released the book that Amber had first edited for him. He would have gladly sold the homes in Europe and the apartment in New York City if they could have been left alone.

But it wasn't about money…it was about a set of parents that couldn't accept the fact that their daughter had grown up and left them to start her own life and family. And now they wanted her back, under any circumstances. This wasn't a battle of wills…it was war. Mort could feel the need for violence rise up inside of him, but knew he couldn't act on them. The experience with Shooter had shown him that too much suppressed anger and hurt could (and would) explode in unexpected ways, and Mort wasn't like that anymore…he had Amber and Elizabeth, he had love and support though this, and he would not jeopardize it for anything in this world.

Amber leaned into his shoulder and buried her face in his neck. Mort tossed his coffee cup away and wrapped her in a tight hug, closing his eyes and kissing her cheek, inhaling the warm, sugary scent of her perfume. Looking up over her shoulder, he spotted her parents giving them a disapproving glare that would have killed him, if it'd possessed such a power. Mort glared back before once again turning his attention back towards his frightened wife.

"Darling, you know that Hell will freeze over before either one of us will lose this case, and lose Elizabeth, to your parents," he whispered, wiping falling tears from her eyes. "I swear that we'll do everything we can to keep our Lizzie, and our lives, safe from them."

Amber gave him a tearful smile. "I know," she whispered. "I know you will, and that Shannon and Melanie will try, too, and that makes me feel a bit better. But I can't help but wonder how they managed to find all of these people and how long this is going to go on."

Mort pressed a kiss to her lips. "Hopefully not too long, beautiful," he whispered.

A cough interrupted their tender moment. They turned around to find Shannon and Melanie smiling tenderly at them. Amber blushed as Mort released her, but still kept an arm around her waist. Shannon nudged her cousin and gave her a wink. Mel winked back before turning back towards their clients.

"Mort's right, Amber," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Shannon and I are going to fight to keep you two together, and to keep your family here, where it belongs. I can't tell you how we're going to do that, but we'll come up with something."

"Were you able to contact any of our friends in the writing community? Are any of them back from their tours or isolation periods yet?" asked Amber, her arm finding its way around Mort's waist.

Shannon shook her head. "No, not yet," she replied, drinking down the last of her drink. "No idea how to contact the isolated ones, either. Their addresses are unlisted, and the publishing companies aren't willing to give out the addresses they do have unless we have a warrant or subpoena ordering them to give the addresses to us."

Amber moaned in despair. "Is there any hope of finding any sort of witness anywhere?" she asked.

Mort tightened his grip on his wife. He could hear the desperation in her voice and could understand her concern. Her parents could find a dozen witnesses to testify on their behalf, and Shannon and Melanie could keep turning the tides around for the Rainey's, but they truly needed witnesses who were totally on their side. If they couldn't find anyone, then they might as well hand the entire case to the Olson's on a silver platter and kiss their family life goodbye. That could not - no, would not- happen!

Mort frowned in thought. "There has to be someone out there willing to help us," he muttered to the others. "Someone who knows how horrible Amber's parents really are, and are willing to go against them in a court of law."

Amber shook her head. "My father is well liked at his job as a box designer, and my mother is absolutely adored at the day care center where she works," she growled. "By my guess, my father truly is interested in my wellbeing, but that still doesn't excuse him from what he's doing now, or has done in the past."

"Okay, so your father is a semi-good guy who's occasionally been there for you in the past," Melanie said, running her tongue over her bottom lip repeatedly as she lost herself in thought. "What exactly did you mean when you said that your mom was adored at work?"

Amber snorted. "What I mean is that, despite having abused two children of her own, she's very good at taking care of children that aren't hers," she said bitterly, her eyes narrowing. "If you tried to charge her with being a negligent mother, her lawyers will bring in dozens of children and their parents to testify on my mother's behalf. They'll say that she's always been wonderful with their children, and that it's more likely that children run to her than away from her." Amber took a deep drink from her cup and tossed the empty container away.

Shannon frowned. "Evil at home, but an angel in public," she muttered, sipping the last of her drink. "That's usually what abusers do. If we could get people in here to go against your mother without letting the prosecuting party know about them, it would be great for our side."

Amber's eyes suddenly turned sad. "I just wish there were a few that could help!" she said, her voice hollow. "I just want this thing to be over!"



Amber's POV
:

After the break, we all returned to the courtroom. As I braced myself for another witness to smash my 'mental stability' issues into oblivion, the judge came and made an unexpected announcement.

"Due to circumstances beyond the control of this court, I will have to recess this trial for three days' time," she stated, looking between the two parties. "It will resume on that day at 1:00 pm."

The bang of her gavel signaled the end of the day, and the four of us headed outside and into the cold winter day. Shannon and Melanie grabbed a taxi and headed for their office so they could get started on the list of names I'd given them, and Mort and I headed home to see our greatest treasure…our little girl. Unfortunately, she was asleep when we got there, so the two of us sat on the couch, turned on some soft classical music and watched the snow fall outside our window. Boring, I know, but it was so wonderfully soothing and romantically perfect that I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Besides, who knew whether or not this would be one of the last peaceful moments we had together?



AN
: Lots of mushy parts at the end of my chapters lately…should I stop doing that, or is mush good? Oh, well. Review and let me know how you think the story's going! Thanks!