Maggie looked around the cavernous room and tightened her hold on her father's hand. Carver said, "It won't look so big when there are people here, Maggie." He motioned to the gallery and said, "You will sit with your parents back there until I need you. When I call you, the bailiff will bring you up here and you'll sit in this chair. The judge will be up there."

"Is the mean lady gonna be here?"

"Yes. She will sit over there but she won't be allowed to talk to you or touch you."

"Will Daddy be here?"

"He won't be able to come up to the stand with you, but he'll be right back there, waiting for you. Before you come up here, your daddy will be up here, and your mother and grandfather, and your Uncle Mike. So you'll be able to see how it goes, okay?"

She nodded, but her hand was still tight on her father's. A door at the front of the courtroom opened and a tall man with silver hair came into the room. "I have ten minutes, Mr. Carver."

"Thank you for your time, Judge Burrows."

Goren lifted Maggie into his arms as the judge approached. Carver said, "You know Detective Goren, your honor."

"Yes." He extended his hand, which Goren shook. "How are you, detective?"

"Fine, sir."

"I reviewed the medical reports from Massachusetts. I'm glad to see you have made a full recovery."

"Thank you, sir."

Carver went on. "This is his daughter, Maggie."

The judge smiled kindly at the little girl. "Well, hello there, Maggie. Did Mr. Carver and your father explain what is going to happen?"

She nodded. "I gotta sit in that big chair and tell you what the mean lady did to me and my baby."

Burrows looked at Goren quizzically. "Her little brother," he explained.

He nodded understanding. "That's right. Did they tell you that you need to tell me the truth? Do you know what that means?"

"Daddy said I gotta say just what happened and answer all-a questions about it."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes."

"And you can tell me about it?"

"Yes."

"Even with lots of people around?"

"Yes. Is it gonna be scary?"

"Maybe. But your mommy and daddy will be in the room. And Mr. Carver and I will be up here with you. If it will make you feel better, you can look up at me and talk to me, or you can look at Mr. Carver and talk to him. Okay?"

"I don't gotta look at the mean lady?"

"No, Maggie. You don't."

"Okay."

Burrows smiled and lightly ruffled her hair. "I'm satisfied. I think Miss Maggie will do just fine. Do you plan to have her sit in on any of my sessions?"

"Yes, your honor. This afternoon and probably next week."

He nodded. "Good." He turned back to Maggie. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. Don't be scared about this, okay?"

"But the mean lady is gonna be here."

"Yes, but she will not be mean to you any longer. You're a brave girl and there will be plenty of people around to be sure she can't hurt you."

She put her arms around her father's neck. "An' Daddy?"

"Yes. And Daddy." He shook Goren's hand and then Carver's. "I'll see you soon. Good-bye, Maggie."

Goren whispered into her ear. "Good-bye, your honor," she replied.

Burrows smiled and left the courtroom.

After lunch, both Goren and Eames were scheduled to testify in Burrows' courtroom. Maggie sat on her father's lap in the gallery, watching everything with wide-eyed amazement. When he was called to testify, she climbed onto her mother's lap and watched closely as Carver, and then the defense counselor, questioned him. When he returned, she climbed back onto his lap as her mother was called to testify. When the court adjourned, they brought her up to see Carver. "See, Maggie?" he said. "It's not so bad."

"There was a lotta people here."

"And there will be when you come to testify. Just don't pay any attention to them. They'll be quiet."

"What if they don'?"

"Judge Burrows will make them be quiet. People listen to the judge. "

"Even the mean lady?"

Her answer came from the direction of the bench where Burrows had returned to the courtroom. "Yes, Maggie. Even the mean lady." He approached them and smiled kindly at her. "If all the people really bother you, I can have them all leave while you testify."

"Not Mommy and Daddy."

"Of course not. Some people have to stay. The people who sit over there," he motioned to the jury box. "They have to stay. And Mr. Carver and the lady and her lawyer. A few other people, like my bailiff. And me, of course, but I'll be right up here next to you. And I'll let your parents stay. So, if all the people bother you, just let me know, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. Thank you..." She looked thoughtful, trying to remember what her father had told her that morning. "Your honor!" she said with a big smile.

Burrows laughed. "You will do just fine, Maggie. Thank you for coming to see me again this afternoon." He patted her arm gently and smiled at the two detectives. "Don't worry, detectives. Maggie will do fine and we'll make certain to take good care of her while she is on the stand."

"Thank you, your honor," Eames replied.

The judge returned to his chambers and they left the now empty courtroom with Carver.

Over the next two weeks, Carver met with Maggie and her parents a few times a week to explore her testimony and get her comfortable in a courtroom setting. She would talk to Carver, visit Judge Burrows and play games with her parents in the courtroom. By the time the trial began, she was no longer apprehensive about being in "your honor's" courtroom. But her father, in spite of Eames' reassurances, was still unhappy with the situation, and the thought of his little girl being put on the stand at Nicole Wallace's trial deeply unsettled him.

The night before Maggie was scheduled to testify, she was very excited. It took an extra hour-and-a-half to get her to settle down and finally go to sleep. Goren came out into the living room. Eames looked up at him from the couch. "Finally," she said with a smile.

He dropped down beside her and rubbed his face wearily. "I really don't like this, Alex."

"I know. I'm not thrilled by it, but Carver has prepared her well and Judge Burrows really seems to like her. He'll watch out for her. We'll be right there, Bobby. Wallace is not going to hurt her any more."

"She is still worried about seeing her."

"I know. But once she does see her, and she sees that Carver and the judge meant what they said, she'll be fine. She knows you're going to be right there...and she relies on you to keep her safe."

He sighed miserably. "I don't..."

His wife's hand closed over his mouth. "Don't you even go there. We didn't do anything wrong. What happened was not our fault. Just be glad it turned out well and let it go. She's going down, Bobby, and our daughter is a key element in putting her away. Be glad for that."

"I'll just be glad when it's over."

"So will I."

Four hours later, Eames woke up. His side of the bed was cold and unwrinkled. She sighed heavily. Getting up from the warm bed, she headed to the living room, where he was wandering around the room. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, did I wake you?"

"Kind of. You weren't there."

"Sorry. I, uh, I can't sleep."

"Bobby, you have to testify tomorrow, too. And if you screw up on the stand, I swear I'll knock the crap out of you."

"Have I ever screwed up on the stand?"

"No, and you're not going to start. Now come on to bed."

"I..."

She crossed the room and grabbed his hand, leading him back toward the bedroom. "Alex..."

"Shh. Just come on."

Once in the room, she shut the door and began to unbutton his shirt. He watched her, his hands coming up to rest on her sides. She pushed his shirt open, then took each sleeve, one at a time, and unbuttoned his cuffs. Pushing his shirt over his shoulders, it slid down his arms and fluttered, unnoticed, to the floor. She ran her hands over the hair on his chest and his abdomen, laying gentle kisses along the way. His hands came up now and unbuttoned her flannel pajama shirt, which followed the same path to the floor his shirt had. His hands busied themselves with her chest as she turned her face up toward his, parting her lips to accept his deep kiss, and moved her hands to his belt. Seconds after his pants hit the floor, she hit the bed, his body hovering above hers. Touching, teasing and ultimately surrendering, she made absolutely certain he managed to forget...everything...and he finally drifted off to sleep with her head resting on his chest and her body draped halfway over his.