Chapter 7 – Let the Wind Blow

Disclaimer: I don't own "Life with Derek" or anything produced by The Beach Boys or Brian Wilson. I receive no profit from this story except my enjoyment in writing it. The chapter title "Let the Wind Blow" is a song from Brian Wilson's album "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times"

"Hey, Derek."

Derek opened his eyes to see Sam shaking him gently awake.

"Hey, Sam." Derek sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. "Hey, man, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine." Sam's arm was bandaged and in a sling. "They removed the bullet, cleaned the wound and dressed it and let me go. They gave me a prescription for pain killers, but I think I'll stick to ibuprofen. I'm afraid anything stronger would knock me out or make me drunk."

Derek nodded. "Did you talk to the guard?"

"Yeah. Apparently, Ben got away. He hasn't been home, and they lost his trail."

"Damn!" Derek swore. "Well, I guess we need to figure out what to do next. Are you able to talk right now? I mean, do you feel up to it?"

"Sure, Derek. I'm really okay."

"Tell me what Emily's done legally to protect herself from Ben. I'm talking about Risk Assessments, safety plans, Restraining Orders. Also, has she kept a log of everything Ben has done to her?"

"When she moved in here I had the police come by to take her statement. They did a Risk Assessment at her request. She had kept a log of all the abusive incidents for about a year. She really did great. She'd taken digital photos of her injuries, things he broke around the house when he was angry, so she had photographic evidence. On the strength of it, Ben was charged with aggravated assault, multiple counts."

"So he does have a charge against him already, before the incident today?"

"Yeah. The judge, stupid man, did grant him bail, but Ben was ordered to stay away from her."

"Yeah, that's called a "term of release". It's standard in assault cases. If he so much as approaches her again, he'll be rearrested on that charge."

"What does that mean for Emily?"

"Well, it's not that effective. The perpetrator is usually released AGAIN on bail, but with even stricter limitations. But for a perpetual abuser or stalker, those limitations rarely work. They always seem to come back for more."

Sam sat back on the sofa. "So, what's left? Does Emily stay in the shelter until Ben is behind bars for good?"

Derek smirked. "For good? That doesn't mean anything. Oftentimes even when the perpetrator is sentenced and serves time he can be released without the victim being notified, so it happens frequently that there is another assault and the victim isn't prepared."

Sam sighed. "So where does that leave us?"

Derek ran his fingers through Casey's hair. "Depends on how you look at it. I think it would be good if we all got out of town for a while, but we need to stay together. I can try to file an ex parte Restraining Order on Ben for Casey, but since it's been over ten years since they briefly dated, I'm not sure about obtaining it. But at least I can have it on file that I made the attempt. If that doesn't work, I can file for a Peace Bond."

"Okay, you lost me. What's an ex parte Restraining Order, and what's a peace bond?"

"When Emily got her Restraining Order, what happened?"

"The judge just granted an emergency one until Ben was summoned. Then she was granted another one after he appeared before the judge."

"Right. The Emergency Restraining Order is an ex parte. It's granted when there is an immediate need but can't last longer than one week. It just grants the victim protection until the alleged perpetrator has a chance to be notified of the order and appear before the judge to tell his side of the story."

"So why might that be a problem for Casey?"

Derek sighed. "Well, Restraining Orders are family court matters. It can only apply to partners and ex-partners, and since Casey and Ben had such a brief relationship, and since it occurred such a long time ago, it's unlikely that a Restraining Order would be granted. Plus, threats and property damage aren't considered grounds for a Restraining Order, and that's all that can be proved right now."

"What about the Peace Bond?"

"It does consider threats and property damage as evidence of endangerment, but the catch is that Peace Bonds can't be granted unless the accused answers a summons to appear before a Justice of the Peace. The victim has to be there as well, to give evidence under oath. Then the accused has the chance for rebuttal, and the JP decides whether or not to grant the bond."

"Well, that stinks. But what can the Peace Bond do?"

"You understand that in our situation this is all a formality to establish precedent, that we have used all the legal redress available to us for protection. It really doesn't mean anything if Ben is willing to go after us at any cost, and from his actions today I think we have to assume that is the case."

Sam frowned. "So the Peace Bond doesn't mean anything?"

"Well, it's not a criminal charge against the accused. But if he breaches the bond, it is a criminal offense. Also, if the judge issues the bond and the perpetrator refuses to sign it, he can be jailed for up to 12 months. But there's no precedent on the sentence if the bond is breached. It's usually just a slap on the wrist."

Sam nodded. "So you need to try to file this stuff before you leave town?"

"Right. Like I said, it's just a formality. But it'll be good for a jury to know we followed the legal procedures- it gives them a sense that we were really concerned for our safety."

"That's if Ben is caught."

"Chances are, he will be. We can have the police continue to do drive bys and stakeouts at your home, and at Dad and Nora's. I'm sure that Ben will make another attempt."

"So you think I need to leave town with you guys?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I think so. The police aren't going to be able to keep a guard here. You can hire one, but it's usually a better choice to go to a safe place."

"What about Emily?"

"She's the safest of all of us right now, that is unless Ben finds the shelter."

Sam looked thoughtful. "Derek, I can't leave her here. If I go, she needs to come with us."

"That could look bad for her at his trial. The defense could suggest that she didn't really think herself in much danger, if she was willing to leave the shelter."

"Would it really make that much difference?"

Derek thought about it a minute. "Well, it could lose her the case. On the other hand, he's going to be facing even more serious charges by the attempted murder charge he'll face for shooting you. Her situation wouldn't have any bearing on your case against him, only on hers. So he'd still be looking at serious time, even if he's not sentenced in Emily's case."

"But won't her case have to be discussed in mine? I mean, the fact that I was protecting her is the reason Ben came after me in the first place."

"Maybe, but the defense would probably argue that Ben shot you because of Casey and myself, not because of Emily. See, if Ben only came after us, and Emily's situation was not admitted, then Ben could come off as someone who just lost his head in a fit of jealous rage, rather than as someone who consistently beat his wife. There's more sympathy with the jury then, and a good chance for a light sentence. Yeah, his lawyer would do everything humanly possible to keep Emily's name out of the courtroom altogether."

Sam sat back in his chair and sighed. "So, where do we go from here?"

"I think I have an idea. Sam, let's go to the courthouse and let me file all this paperwork, and then we'll all go to Dad and Nora's. I hate to, because it might endanger them. But Ben knows where they live, so it probably won't make any difference anyway. They may be able to help us. Why don't you go pack your bags and let me make some phone calls. Maybe I can pull some strings on Emily's behalf."

Sam nodded. "I'm glad you know the law, Derek. That's a comfort, anyway."

Derek smiled wryly. "I just wish that the laws were better. We get a lot of cases in my firm where people try to manipulate the law to make money, or to hurt another person out of spite. There's way too many loopholes that people can take advantage of. That's one reason why I'm looking forward to starting a firm with Casey. It'll be good to use the law to help people with real needs for a change, instead of just the freeloaders and manipulators."

Sam laughed. "Man, Derek, I can't believe you're saying this. The Derek Venturi I know couldn't wait to make his first million. Isn't that why you joined your firm in the first place?"

Derek nodded. "I'm ashamed to say it is. But that was before I saw how cases like those hurt people. I've seen divorce cases where the parents fought for months over stuff, and neglected their kids. Or deadbeat dads who've changed jobs constantly to keep from paying child support. I've seen a millionare sue a single mom, who was barely making ends meet, for all she had- just because she put a scratch on his new Porsche when she was trying to get her baby out of it's car seat. It just makes you sick after a while. I guess seeing the real world changed me. I'd like to try to help the people who really need help, rather than make money off of the ones who are milking them dry."

Sam nodded. "The world didn't seem like such an evil place when were kids, did it?"

"Man, I thought the world revolved around Derek Venturi, or at least it owed me something. At least I thought that until I fell for Casey. Not being able to have the one thing I wanted more than anything helped me grow up, I think."

Sam stood up and headed upstairs. "Well, let me get to packing. I guess you need to wake up Casey and make your phone calls."

When he was gone, Derek looked down at Casey, who was still sleeping peacefully, her head in his lap. Much as he hated to bring her back to reality, they really did need to get busy. "At least I can wake her gently," Derek thought, and began kissing her.

"Umm…Derek…" Casey mumbled as she began sleepily kissing him back.

"Wake up, baby," Derek whispered as he kissed her eyes.

Casey opened her eyes and looked up at him, then her eyes opened widely as she realized that they were at Sam's, and everything that had happened came back to her. "Derek? How long did I sleep?"

"About four hours. I actually slept for a while too. Sam's okay, he's upstairs packing his suitcase. I've got to try to get to the courthouse before it closes and file some paperwork, and I'm going to see if we can use the condo that your mom's law firm owns in Edmondton as a temporary safe house for us until Ben is caught. If it's not being used, it would be an ideal hideaway for us."

Casey nodded. "That's a good idea. And Sam is going with us?"

"Yes, and he wants to bring Emily as well."

Casey gasped. "But that could hurt her chances of winning her case!"

"I know, but Sam did say that Emily has photographs of her injuries and kept a good record of Ben's abuses over the past year. That should override any qualms that a jury might have. Plus, if she goes into hiding with us, we might be able to tie Ben's shooting of Sam into Emily's case. A judge still may declare it inadmissible, but it's worth a shot."

Casey smiled. "So we're going to Edmonton, Derek? You know, we might be accused of taking our honeymoon before the wedding," she giggled as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Derek lifted her face up to his. "Case, I know you're scared, but at least we'll be together instead of on opposite sides of the country." He looked down at her hand and fingered her ring. "Of course, we could just get married there, you know."

Casey shook her head. "A real honeymoon with Sam and Emily there? I don't think so. On our real honeymoon, I want you all to myself."

Derek glanced upstairs, then looked back at Casey. "What is it?" she asked.

"Just wondering…"

"What?"

"Just wondering how much time we have before Sam comes downstairs."

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Time for what, Derek?"

Derek sighed. "God, I just wish we could be alone."

Casey ran her hands through his hair. "Well, we are going into hiding. Think of all the hours we'll have, stuck in a condo with nothing else to do…"

Derek started moving her shirt collar over as he kissed down her neck. "Guess I'll need to bring my Monopoly game, then…"

"You want a monopoly, Venturi? I plan to monopolize you the entire time we're in hiding, what do you think of that?"

"You're a ruthless competitor, you know that?" Derek moaned as she began kissing him relentlessly.

"No more than you. Besides, I promise you fringe benefits when you land on my property."

"Benefits, Casey? And just what might those be?"

"Would you care for a demonstration?"

Derek heard Sam coming downstairs and sat up. "Would I ever. But I think it'll have to wait."

Casey sat up as well as Sam came down with a large suitcase in his hand. "I packed for a week, and since we'll pretty much be stuck inside for a while, I brought some games. Do you guys still like to play Monopoly?"

Derek looked over as Casey giggled. "Glad you thought of it, Sam. And yeah, we still like to play Monopoly." He leaned over and kissed Casey. "Very much indeed."

AN: Hope you stayed with me through all the legal jargon. Establishing the legal redress for victims of stalking or spousal abuse in Canada is important to the story, but I'm not completely happy with this chapter. It was important to me to establish Derek as I think he'll be in his late twenties: still driven and confident, but having a strongly defined moral center. I think that this is something that Casey brings to him, at least by the time he's the age he is in my story. Please review and let me know what you think. I'm working very hard on Chapter 8- it's quite dark...gothic, in fact.