Disclaimer: I am not Anthony Zuiker, Ann Donahue or Carol Mendelsohn. All the characters of CSI: NY are not mine…I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. I promise that I will put them back, exactly the way I found them when I'm done….Oh, Cory Reid is mine and I will take credit for anything she does. :)

A/N: Thanks for patiently waiting...Okay. It's time to wrap the trial up! If you can't tell, the story is almost complete! The final chapter total is going to be 51. I do have an idea for a sequel, but it will not be written as quickly as this one was, since I start back to school on August 28. I do also have a DL fic in the works, so look for that soon after this one is complete! As always, please, please, please R&R! My muse loves the attention!

Chapter 47.

Closing Arguments

It had been four weeks since Danny had left and Cory was in the midst of a deep depression. Nicole had tried to get her to go out, but she just sat at home. She couldn't even bring herself to swim; the memories of Danny and her in the pool were just too strong. Finally, the night before the closing arguments, Nicole came over and dragged her out of her house.

"Nic! I don't want to go. I just want to be by myself."

"Ain't gonna happen. I'm tired of seeing you pine yourself away for Danny. Either you are going to have to change the decision that you made or you are going to snap out of this depression! I'm more worried about you now than I was when James was killed. At least then you had a reason to live…revenge. We are going to Cowboy's whether you like it or not! No arguments!"

"Fine! I'll get ready." Cory stormed out of her living room and into the bedroom. When she returned, she was wearing a pair of low-rise jeans, boots and a purple halter top. "What day is it?"

Nicole looked at her in disbelief. "It's Thursday, November 2. Since it's Thursday, they will be playing rock music after ten." Nicole watched as she grabbed her purse and they headed out the door.

Cory looked at Nicole when they got into her SUV. "Nic. Thanks. I'm sorry I was such a bitch."

Nicole smiled. "Sweetie, I know. You've been under enormous pressure and the situation with Danny is so not helping. You just need a night to unwind and recharge."

(Cowboy's)

Cory and Nicole walked into the bar slash dancehall. They were still playing country music, but Cory didn't mind. She was in the mood for country tonight. Nicole got her a drink and they decided to play pool for a little bit.

Nicole laughed when they were halfway through their first game. "Don't look now, but we are being checked out by two guys over there."

Cory just laughed. "Yeah, like we'll be interested. Maybe for free drinks!" Cory missed her shot and went back to her table to watch Nicole play.

"Hi, darlin'. Would you like to play me in pool?"

Cory mentally rolled her eyes at the man. She was feeling adventurous when she turned around, so she looked at him and his friend. "How 'bout we play teams. Guys against the girls. Loser buys a round."

The two men looked at each other and agreed. "Alright."

Cory turned to Nicole and said, "Hey, Nic. We're starting a new game. Guys against the girls. Loser buys drinks."

Nicole nodded. Cory turned back to the guys, "I'm Cory, she's Nicole."

The man who had approached her smiled. "I'm Matt and this is Josh." Matt was tall, probably about six-one. Josh was a little shorter, probably about five-eleven. Both were blonde and fairly good-looking.

Nicole put more money in the machine and looked at Cory. "You wanna rack?"

Cory smirked. "Yeah. They can break." Quickly she set up the rack and stood back as Matt broke. She watched him play and he was fairly good. Nicole and Cory also watched as he purposely missed at shot.

Nicole leaned over to her. "Clear the table, girl."

Cory giggled and proceeded to do just that. When she sunk the eight ball in a side pocket, she looked up at the astounded looks on the guy's faces. "I guess the first round is on you."

Matt grumbled good-naturedly and went to get the drinks.

Several hours passed and the guys had to ante up for another three rounds of drinks. The girls had won every game, with both Nicole and Cory clearing the table several times. The guys had just brought the third round back when the dance music started. Cory quickly downed the drink and made her way to the dance floor. Nicole and the guys joined her and she spent the next couple of hours lost in the music.

Finally, about midnight her and Nicole decided to go home. She rebuffed Matt's attempt to ask her out. When she got home, she just passed out on her bed.

(The next day)

Cory made it into the courtroom just before the trial began for the day. She knew that there were only a couple of witnesses left and then the closing arguments would begin following lunch.

Cory watched as the defense called their last witness. It was Ortiz's aunt, Marisol. Cory made sure that no expression crossed her face. She had never liked the woman who supposedly took Carlos in.

Two hours later, Cory's temper was shot. She was tired of hearing Ortiz's aunt talk. The worst part was that she was managing to win some sympathy with the jury, by saying how bad she treated him. "Shit. It doesn't matter that he had two parents that loved him and taught him all the right things! No…she has to keep going on and on about she screwed up with him. Augh!"

Finally the defense rested. Judge Owens looked at both attorneys. "If neither side has anything else to contribute?" At their nods no, he continued. "Court is in recess until two o'clock, when the closing arguments will begin."

Cory got up and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned as saw Matthew and Marlene standing there. "Hey, guys. You came to the trial? I thought you said that you couldn't handle it."

Marlene drew Cory in for a hug. "We just had to be here for the closing arguments, just like we were for the opening arguments. How are you holding up?"

Cory grimaced. "I've been better. Do y'all want to have lunch?"

Marlene and Matthew smiled. Marlene said, "We have reservations at the Reata. We booked it for three, figuring that you would come with us."

Cory left with them, to go to the Reata, which was on Houston Street and not far from the courthouse.

(The Reata)

Cory and the Hogan's sat down in the luxurious dining room at the Reata. Cory looked over the menu. "What are y'all going to have?"

They looked over the lunch menu. All three decided to get the tortilla soup for an appetizer. Marlene and Cory decided to get the stacked chicken enchiladas while Matthew decided on the carne asada with the cheese enchiladas.

After they had ordered, Matthew looked at Cory.

Cory noticed an unusual look in his eyes. "What is it?"

Matthew drew in a breath. "You know that we love you like a daughter, right?" Cory nodded. "We came here so that we could have lunch with you. We have something to tell you."

Cory felt the blood drain from her face. All she could imagine was that it was something serious, like one of them was dying from cancer or something. "What?" Her voice was quiet.

Marlene seemed to pick up on her feeling. "Honey, it's nothing bad."

Matthew nodded his head. "No, it's very good, in fact. We wanted you to know that we have named you soul beneficiary of our estate when we die."

Cory felt her jaw drop in surprise. "Um…What? Why?"

The older couple laughed, gently. Marlene was the one to answer her. "Honey. Ortiz took both of our children away from us. We are only children and have no close relatives. We think of you like our daughter. It made the decision an easy one. We love you."

Cory felt tears come to her eyes. "I love y'all, too. You are definitely my second set of parents. I love my parents and all, but I have this special bond with y'all. I'm just so stunned!"

Cory became quiet as their appetizers were delivered.

(Back at the trial)

Cory sat quietly beside Marlene and Matthew as the judge called the court to order. She was holding Marlene's hand.

Judge Owens said, "The prosecution will have the floor first, for your closing remarks."

O'Reilly stood up. He cleared his throat and walked to stand in front of the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have a serious task in front of you. You must look at the evidence that was presented and make a decision on whether or not the defendant, Carlos Ortiz, is guilty of the crimes that he is charged with."

O'Reilly began to pace in front of the jury. "You have seen the horrific tapes which show Ortiz committing these crimes. I am sure that the images from those tapes will haunt you, like they haunt me, until your death. Not only did he not show any mercy, he gloated over his ability to take life. You must ask yourself if you are willing to put such a person back on the street to continue his murderous ways. Those tapes show that Ortiz has no moral compass. He is a megalomaniacal person who believes that he is God. That was his reasoning for killing these people. He was unhappy with them. Please good people of the jury, think heavily on the decision that you are about to make. I ask you to provide justice to the families that he has destroyed with his God complex."

O'Reilly stopped pacing and made eye contact with every person on the jury. "Ignore what the defense has said about his rough upbringing. What the defense did not tell you that he had two loving parents for seventeen years of his life that strove to teach him right from wrong. He chose to ignore them. That was a choice that he made all by himself. I ask you to consider justice for the Hogan's, who lost both of their children to this man. Consider justice for the family of Armando De La Cruz, who corrupted his life to bring this man down. Consider justice for all of the victims that you know are out there, but we do not know about. That is what I charge you with, ladies and gentlemen. Consider your responsibility of bringing this man to justice and let justice be served! Thank you."

Cory watched O'Reilly as he sat down. She was close to cheering out loud at his words. He had managed to capture the essence of the trial in a few well chosen words and bold statements. She felt her heart swell in emotion. She could tell by the looks on the jurors faces that they to were thinking hard on the task that they had before them.

Judge Owens looked at Elizabeth Marquez. "Defense, you have the floor for your closing remarks."

Elizabeth Marquez stood up and walked in front of the jury. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, the prosecution makes some compelling remarks. I ask you to think with you heads and hearts. Do not let the prosecution's over pompous remarks sway you. From the evidence you can tell that Ortiz was not raised with a moral compass, contrary to what the prosecution states. His parents left him alone for long periods of time. As a result, they are responsible for making him the man that he is today. Yes, the evidence is damning, but in it you see a man whose world was ripped from him. The woman he was in love with, who professed to love him back, who told him that she would always be his, chose to marry another man out of the blue. He knew that she was being controlled by some other forces, rather than her own, and he broke her free of control. He found out he was being betrayed by a close friend and things got out of hand."

Marquez looked at Ortiz, still trying to drum up support for him from the jury. "Does the man sitting before you look like a megalomaniac? No. He is just an ordinary man who made some bad choices out of anger. I ask you to consider what you would have done if you had been in his shoes. How do you know that you would not have reacted the same way? I ask you, good people, consider what you would have done in his shoes. Thank you." Marquez sat back down.

Judge Owens looked at the jury. "People of the jury. I remind you that your responsibility is to the law. You must consider all of the evidence that was present by both sides. Any decision that you make must be unanimous." Judge Owens looked at the clock. It was after four o'clock. "I declare this court to be in recess until nine o'clock Monday morning when deliberations will begin. People of the jury, remember that you are sequestered and are not allowed to discuss this case with anyone but your fellow jurors. Have a good weekend." He banged his gavel once and the court stood up and filed out of the courtroom.

A/N:

the little corinthian- I agree. It was fluffy mopey sadness! I love Stella in a hat, too. For some reason I think it just works. As for boys in hats...I have an idea for that but it will not include everyone. :D I'll probably try to do that in the next story!

chili-peppers- I'm glad that I've brought you onto the fm radio bandwagon! My fav ship is DL but I can also see Linday with Flack, so that's why this story came out this way. My DL story is not going to be this long. It's only going to be 5 chapters. I hope you like!

pnkrckprncss- Nope! You are in very good company in the gutter! I hope you like it down here! (I spend so much time in the gutter that I gave up and finally purchased a house down here. It looks like Cory's house.) I'm sorry I blindsided you with Danny leaving. That's the way that I wantd Cory and Danny to feel. They did not want to think about him having to leave. That means that I did my job as a writer!

screaming-poetically- I swear my muse is visiting you! I do have plans to set up Hawkes in the next story...I'm going to lay to ground work in this story to continue that storyline! I agree. I love Hawkes. It's taken me a bit to really get my head around his character. I want to do him justice. :D As for proposing...it depends on how I want the story to end...Does she end up in New York? Does she stay in Texas? Does Danny move to Dallas? These are all questions that still need to be answered. (hum...maybe I can leave the decision until I write the seqel--(ducking out of the way of objects hurled at my head at the thought of leaving y'all in suspense)--ok. You'll find out by the end of the story!) I'm going to definately try to write some SMacked! Tim saying y'all was just a sign of how long he's lived in Texas. It's just a natural thing to say here!

stargazr- Glad to see you back! I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long:D