Author's note: Happy Scorpion Monday!

CHAPTER SEVEN

Paige headed straight for the bathroom, where she locked herself in a stall. After relieving herself, she sat for several minutes, silently sobbing into the now sodden tissue she'd been given. Her contractions were subsiding despite the fact her stress level hadn't lessened.

Oh, God, she'd forgotten she'd agreed to. . .consented. . . She'd only done it to keep them from killing Walter, for the greater good. A phrase she wished she'd never heard of. And she couldn't understand how Walter could seemingly invoke it so casually. It had nearly destroyed her to do so.

Pulling herself together, she exited the cubicle and waddled over to the sink. A glance into the mirror made her wince. Her face was splotchy and her mascara had streaked down her cheeks. Blood welled up from where she'd bit her lip too hard.

Pulling a handful of paper towels from the dispenser, she dampened them under the faucet. The cool water stung her eyes before it began to soothe them. She dabbed at her lip, flinching as it burned.

A woman entered the restroom. She appeared to be in her late 40's, early 50's, with grayish blonde hair and wearing a polyester jacket and skirt in a pale pink. Paige remembered her grandmother owning a similar outfit.

"You slut."

What the hell? Paige had never laid eyes on this woman in her life and she was stunned by the venom in her voice. She tossed the wad of paper towels into the trash before heading for the exit. The woman blocked her way.

"You and your sinful ways led my poor Larry astray," the woman snarled. "He's a good God-fearing man. He'd be a faithful husband if whores like you would stop luring him into temptation."

The woman paused, taking a menacing step toward Paige and sneering, "You better pray nothing happens to you. . .and your children if he's not acquitted." She stared at Paige's round belly with a sour look of disapproval.

Paige gasped as the woman spun around and stalked out of the bathroom. Oh, God. She wrapped her arms over her stomach, panic nearly crippling her at the thought of harm coming to the baby. . .or to Ralph. Oh, God, Ralph. . .

"Dammit," she mumbled as she reached for her phone before remembering she'd left it with the bailiff in the witness room. She hurried out into the hallway, glancing around for a familiar face.

"Hey, kiddo, are you okay?" Relief filled her as she recognized Cabe's voice. It was short-lived as she remembered why she was glad he was there.

"I need to call Ralph," she said frantically. "A woman. . . She threatened. . . Ralph, the baby. . ."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, sweetheart.." The agent put his arm around her shoulders and guided her to an nearby bench. "Take a beat then tell me what happened."

After she'd taken a couple of deep breaths, she told Cabe about her encounter with the woman in the bathroom. "I think she was one of the. . .one of the defendants' wives. I need to make sure Ralph's okay."

"Let me contact the team assigned to his school," said the Homeland agent. He patted her on the arm. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Oh, God, Cabe. . ." Whatever she'd been about to say was drowned out by an outburst from inside the courtroom.

"If you want to worry about someone," the agent said with a shake of his head, "you should worry about Walter."

Paige bit her lip as she stared at the closed doors as several people were shouting over each other on the other side of the wall. What the hell was going on in there?

ooooo

"Your Honor, may I have a moment with my witness please?

Walter stopped struggling against the bailiff who had been dragging him into the courtroom when he heard Ms Lee's request. The judge must have agreed because he was led to the prosecutor's table.

"Sit down," she snapped, the expression on her face telling him he was in serious trouble. "What the hell was that all about?" she hissed.

Closing his eyes, he once again saw Paige's tear streaked pale face. What had they done to her? It had been apparent to him she wasn't all right. . .that she needed him. . . Probably as much as he needed her.

"Nothing. Misunderstanding," he lied.

She scrutinized him like she knew he wasn't telling the truth, but decided to let it pass. "Ms Dineen will be fine. You need to calm down and worry about yourself," she said in a tone which made it sound like it wasn't a suggestion. "Do you think you can do that?"

Gritting his teeth, he nodded, not trusting himself to say anything.

"Good." She got to her feet and indicated he should do the same. "Your Honor, I would like to call Walter O'Brien to the stand," Ms Lee announced as he was escorted to the witness box and sworn in.

The prosecuting attorney let Walter do what he did best - state facts. He started his testimony with Cabe assigning them with the case, ending with Toby and Happy rescuing them. There were a few facts he glossed over, deeming them private and no one else's concern. Ms Lee seemed pleased with his performance, giving him a grudging smile as she sat back down.

"So, Mr O'Brien," the defense attorney drawled as he shuffled through a stack of files in front of him. "Is it true you have an IQ of 197?"

"Yes, it is."

"So are you the smartest man alive or something?"

"No, I'm currently the 5th smartest person in the world."

The lawyer chuckled. "In your earlier statements, you described your alleged injuries as life threatening."

"Yes," he replied, taking an instant dislike to the man, whom he was certain was the person responsible for making Paige cry.

"According to your medical records," the lawyer said, holding up a folder, "you were unconscious when you arrived at the hospital. And according to your doctors, you claimed you were asleep or unconscious for large periods of time during your alleged ordeal."

"I was conscious for the important incidents." Walter gritted his teeth at the attempt to poke holes in his testimony. "I remember being taken hostage, being threatened, being beaten. . ." He pointed at two of the defendants . "I remember those. . .bast. . .m-m-men. . .trying to. . .to rape Paige. . ."

"Paige? You mean Ms Dineen?"

"Yes." Glancing over at the prosecutor, he noted her frown at his slip. But calling her 'Ms Dineen' didn't seem right. He'd never thought of her as anything but Paige from the moment he'd met her.

"Did you know another man had stayed at Ms Dineen's apartment the night before the alleged events?"

"Objection, Your Honor. This question is as irrelevant now as it was during the previous witness's testimony."

"Overruled." The judge banged his gavel. "Earlier it would have been hearsay. Answer the question, Mr O'Brien."

"Yes, I was aware of Pai. . .uh, Ms Dineen's houseguest." He hadn't liked Drew staying with her then and time hadn't changed that fact. "I don't see how this is relevant. It has nothing to do with. . ."

The defense attorney interrupted him. "What was the relationship between you and Ms Dineen on the day in question?"

"We, uh, we were. . ." Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear his mind of his disastrous attempt at dating someone else and the estrangement it had caused between him and Paige. "She was upset with me, and ah, asked for time off, which I granted."

"You're her boss, is that correct?"

"On paper, yes. She and the other team members have equal say in most decisions regarding the company."

"But it's your company. . .Scorpion, right? You are listed as its owner and sole proprietor."

"Yes, but I don't see what this has to do with. . ."

"I'm getting to that," the lawyer cut him off again. "Are you the father of Ms Dineen's child?"

Walter narrowed his eyes at the man. This was the second time the defense attorney had abruptly interrupted him, then changed the subject. He was obviously trying to disconcert him, make him contradict himself, throw doubt on his testimony.

"Yes." Once again, pride mingled with a bit of guilt surged through him. He tamped them both down as the pride was unwarranted and the guilt was unreasonable.

"You sound mighty sure of that."

Ms Lee got to her feet. "Your Honor. . ."

"Mr McKenzie. . ."

"Sorry, sir," said the defense attorney, who returned his attention to Walter. "Was the child conceived while you and Ms Dineen were allegedly held hostage?"

Lowering his gaze, Walter nodded as he said yes. He squirmed nervously in his seat, hoping they wouldn't dig too deep into his sexual history.

"Mr O'Brien, as Ms Dineen's employer, did you coerce or sexually harass her into having sex with you?"

He was so stunned by the question, he was at a loss for words. Clearing his throat as he gathered his wits, he croaked out indignantly, "Of course not. It. . .It was mutual. I was. . .I'm in love with her. . . I would, would never. . ."

"A simple no will do, Mr O'Brien." McKenzie turned to the jury and smirked. "So after she had consensual sex with you, did she also consent to have sex with the two defendants you accused of allegedly attempting to rape her?

"She was under duress, they had a knife to her throat." He shuddered as he relived that terrifying moment. "She only agreed because of some misguided intention of keeping them from killing me. I was as good as dead. . ."

The lawyer frowned at him before disrupting him. "You mentioned in your earlier testimony you were allegedly beaten for removing a light bulb from the ceiling. Ms Dineen stated it contained a hidden camera. Is that why you destroyed it?"

Oh, crap. Neither he or Paige had told Ms Lee about the camera. . .and what it had recorded. "Uh, yes?" he replied cautiously, throwing a quick glance at the prosecutor. She looked like she wanted to strangle someone. . .probably him.

"You know," the defense attorney drawled as he glanced over at the prosecutors, "during discovery, we were given copies of the videos from every camera at Wildecliff Manor. Every camera except one, it seems."

Beads of sweat formed on Walter's forehead and he ran his hand over his face and into his hair. Closing his eyes, his breathing growing shallow, he braced himself for more questions he really didn't want to answer.

"Do you know what happened to that video, Mr O'Brien?"

"Yes. I destroyed the original."

"The original? You mean there was more than one copy.?"

Oh, shit. "Yes, I made a copy." He gulped nervously before continuing, "which has since been destroyed as well."

"So you're admitting you deliberately destroyed evidence?"

"I didn't realize it was evidence at the. . ."

"Ignorance is not an excuse, Mr O'Brien," McKenzie declared. "Was there something on that video you wanted to hide? Like perhaps your sexual encounter with Ms Dineen wasn't as mutual as you claim it was?"

"Objection!" Ms Lee jumped out of her chair. "Speculation on the defense's part. Both Ms Dineen and Mr O'Brien have stated under oath it was consensual."

"Your Honor," the defense attorney began, "I. . ."

"Sustained." The judge pointed at Mr McKenzie. "You need to rephrase your question."

"Yes, sir." The attorney turned to Walter. "Why did you destroy the video?"

His whole body flushed with embarrassment. "It contained nothing pertinent to this case," he mumbled. It was true though. There had been no sound, so the militia members' threats weren't audible. His beating and the attempted rape came after he'd torn the camera from the ceiling.

"I don't think you're in a position to determine that, Mr O'Brien," said the judge. "Answer the question."

Walter lifted his head, staring at the four men and the woman sitting at the defense's table. The leader, Kilkenny he thought his name was, was blatantly leering back at him in a way which made Walter sure the other man had watched as he and Paige had. . .

"I destroyed it because I didn't want these sick perverts viewing m-m-me and. . . Pai. . . Ms Dineen. . ." Oh God, they'd done it again. Taken one of the most beautiful moments of his life, reducing it to something sordid and ugly.

Gulping for air, he tried to calm himself, but his mind was flooded with pictures of him and Paige, loving each other. . .only to be replaced with images of her shoving him aside and having sex with the militia men. Of all of the recurring nightmares he'd had since the kidnapping, it was the one which disturbed him the most.

"Viewing you and Ms Dineen doing what, Mr O'Brien?"

Turning his attention to the defense lawyer, seeing the nasty grins on the other men's smug faces, Walter's tenuous control on his temper shattered.

"You know what we were doing!" he shouted, pointing at the defendants. "You fucking bastards watched us!" He rose up out of his chair. Almost instantaneously, two bailiffs each grabbed one of his arms.

Loud bangs resonated nearby, and Walter realized the judge was pounding his gavel and calling out for order in the court. He was thrust back into his seat.

"Another outburst like that, Mr O'Brien, and you'll be held in contempt of court," said the judge. "You already have obstruction of justice and evidence tampering charges hanging over your head."

Walter dropped his face into his hands, breathing harshly as he tried to calm himself. He was in deep shit. And as much as he hated resorting to it, there was only one way out.

Sitting up straight, he turned to the judge. "There is. . .was. . .another copy of the video."

"Is it in your possession?"

"No." He took a deep breath. "I'm not 100% certain of its whereabouts. Linda. . .Linda Merrick may have it."

"And do you know how to contact Ms Merrick?"

"Yes. She currently resides in the California Institute for Women. She tried to kill me about three months ago."