Chapter 13
When everybody had taken a seat the judge addressed the jury. "Have you come to a verdict in all charges?"
"Yes, we have." The speaker – a middle aged man – answered.
"Then please hand the verdict forms to the catchpole."
The man did as he was told.
"Miss Austen, would you and your lawyer please stand up?" The judge told Kate. As soon as they were standing the catchpole started to read.
"We, the jury in the trial the State California against Katherine Elisabeth Austen have found the defendant not guilty of murder in the first degree according at Wayne Jansen § 1112. The verdict was 9 to 3 votes with 2 dissenting votes and 1 abstention.
We, the jury in the above titled action have found the defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter at Wayne Jansen according § 1111. The verdict was unanimous.
We, the jury in the above titled action have found the defendant not guilty of armed robbery according § 2113 a. The verdict was unanimous.
We, the jury in the above titled action, have found the defendant not guilty of involuntary manslaughter at Thomas Brennan according § 1111. The verdict was 10 to 2 votes with 2 dissenting votes.
We, the jury in the above titled action have found Miss Austen guilty of assaulting the police officer Robert Miller according § 111." The verdict was unanimous.
Kate tried to progress all the information. So the Jury had come to the conclusion that killing Wayne hadn't been murder in the first degree. But how hard would her sentence for manslaughter be?
She had been found not guilty concerning the bank robbery, what would make her sentence a lot less hard. But what meant the most to Kate in this very moment was that these people didn't think she was responsible for Tom's death. Maybe they were right and she hadn't killed him after all. Her thoughts were soon interrupted when the judge continued.
"I will now adjourn to the camera to decide about the sentence. The sitting of the court is abated until then."
The judge left and Kate was brought into the waiting room again. Jack had insisted to stay in case Kate felt dizzy again. Her lawyer was allowed to stay, too.
"How long will that take?" Kate asked the attorney.
"That differs. But in most cases it doesn't take longer than 30 minutes. The judge definitely thought about the sentence before, in case the Jury would decide what you did wasn't murder in the first degree," he answered.
Kate felt very nervous. In a few minutes she would know how long she had to be apart from Jack. Jack sensed her discomfort and took his fiancée's hand. He didn't know what more he could say to make her feel better and truth to be told he was as worried as Kate. He looked at the pale and frightened woman next to him and wished he could just take her home, care for her and make her forget all her worries. Kate had been through a lot and she deserved a fresh start. She deserved a home and someone who showed her every day that she was a great person. Jack wished he could start giving her the life she deserved right now.
Nobody in the room spoke a word while they waited for the judge to make his decision. They didn't need to wait long. After 15 minutes the door opened and the catchpole called them back into the courtroom.
"Miss Austen, would you and your lawyer please stand up?" the judge ordered again.
"The Jury declared you guilty of voluntary manslaughter according § 1111 and assault according § 111. You will be sentenced to a 4 years sentence. "
Kate had no time to convince herself to be happy about the relatively mild sentence instead of feeling broken with the thought of spending 4 years of her life without Jack and their child.
After a short pause the judge continued. "The sentence will be released on licence. Your period of probation will last two years. During these two years you have to see your probation officer once a week. You will be imposed to pay Officer Miller a compensation of 5.000 $. You may not leave the United States during these two years. Miss Austen, when I listened to the witnesses of the defense, I came to the conclusion that you are not a threat to society anymore. These people described you as a friendly and non aggressive person. I decided to give you the chance to start over. I hope you will take this chance."
Kate couldn't believe it. It was over. She was free.
"Congratulations," Kate's lawyer said smiling and reached for her hand. Instead of taking it, Kate gave Turner a big hug.
"Thank you," she whispered, with tears in her eyes.
The judge tried to speak again; he still hadn't declared the trial closed. But no one noticed him anymore. All the survivors were clapping and cheering. Claire and Charlie hugged, Sawyer made a Victory sign into a nearby Camera, Sun told Jin in Korean "She's free" again and again and Hurley hugged a stunned reporter who had been sitting next to him.
In all that chaos Kate didn't notice Jack coming towards her until he stood right in front of her. For a second they only stared at each other, still not completely sure that this wasn't only a dream. It was Jack who broke the spell and took Kate into his arms, holding her tight to convince himself that this was real. When Jack loosened his grip on her Kate took the chance to pull her fiancé into a passionate kiss. "Take me home," Kate whispered when they both could breathe again.
Jack looked at Kate's attorney. "Can Kate sign her release papers and get her stuff tomorrow? She really needs some rest."
"I think that will be alright," he answered.
"I doubt that Freckles will get much rest today. Hurley is already calling a party service. I think he is planning one of those sentimental "Welcome home" celebrations for the evening. So you two will have to do your private celebration before." Sawyer said grinning wide. Before Jack could snap at him, Sawyer took a surprised Kate into his arms. "Good luck, Freckles. I'm glad you're free."
"Treat her right, Jacko," he added and left before Kate and Jack could say anything.
Jack placed a hand on Kate's back and gently guided her out of the courtroom, both of them ignoring the questions of the reporters. They spent the ride to Jack's house in silence, both of them lost in their thoughts. Kate came out of her trance like state not until Jack opened the passenger side door for her.
"We're home, love," he told her softly. Home. Kate liked the sound of the word. She smiled and took Jack's outstretched hand. When they had entered the house Jack took Kate in his arms.
"Shell I give you a tour or do you want to catch some sleep first? You still look a little pale."
Kate smiled at the worry that lay in Jack's eyes and voice. "I'm actually quite tired. I think I'll take a nap. Will you stay with me?" Kate asked seriously.
"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," Jack replied stroking her cheek.
Jack guided Kate to his bedroom and watched when she stripped down to her underwear. Once again, Kate's beauty took his breath away.
"Are you checking me out, Doctor Shephard?" Kate asked teasingly when she noticed his gaze.
"Would you mind if I were?" He teased back.
"I would mind if you weren't," Kate answered with a grin while she climbed into bed. Jack smiled and quickly undressed and followed her.
"I love you more than anything in the world," Jack whispered seriously when Kate lay in his arms.
"I love you, too, Jack. More than I've ever loved anybody else. I was so afraid that they would take me away from you," Kate admitted and snuggled closer to him.
"Me, too. But we don't have to worry anymore. From now on no one will ever be able to take you away from me."
Kate closed her eyes contently and within minutes she was deep asleep. Jack lay awake for a while and watched Kate sleep, one of his hands stroking her hair and the other one resting on her stomach. But then sleep overtook him, too. Jack hadn't slept all night and now that the stress was over he felt how tired he was.
The pair was awoken by the ringing of the phone. Jack looked at his alarm clock and was surprised to see that it was nearly 6 pm.
"Hi Jack." Claire said when he answered the phone. "I just wanted to tell you that the party starts at 8 o' clock. We meet at the O'Brien's Pub."
"Claire, that's really nice of you guys, but I'm not sure if Kate is up to a party. She's really beat."
"I'm fine Jack," Kate interrupted. "But I've got nothing to wear. I hate that suit I had to wear for the trial. And I can't come wearing one of your shirts, Jack."
"Jack, is this Kate I hear in the back?"
"Yes. She says she feels good, but she has nothing to wear besides the suit she wore in the morning. The rest of her things are still at the prison."
"No problem. Sun and I have taken care of that. We went Shopping and bought Kate a really fancy dress. Trust me, you guys will love it. Tell Kate to consider it as our Welcome-home-present. I'll come over at quarter past 7 with the dress. We can drive to the Pub together."
"Alright. Thanks for everything Claire. Bye."
"When does the party start? Do we have time to buy a dress first?" Kate asked.
"No need for that. Claire and Sun bought you a dress. I think Claire knew that you would argue about that, so she told me you should just see it as a welcome home present. She will bring it at quarter past 7."
"That means we have more than an hour with nothing to do, right?" Kate asked with a seductive smile. "What did Sawyer say about our private little celebration?"
Author's note: So, here's the long expected end of Kate's trial. I hope you liked this chapter. My story is coming to an end, but I will write one more chapter. It will be an epilogue that takes plays a year after rescue. Thanks to everybody who kept reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me.