A/N: Ok. So I'm not overly keen on this chapter. I struggled quite a bit with writing it. This was my first attempt at writing a court scene and I just feel like I completely screwed it up. I hope you can forgive me for any mistakes that have been made hides face. Also, I only received one review each for the two chapters before this one. However, I have received a few new followers for this fanfic which is a plus I guess. Still, it's nice to know what my readers are thinking and feeling about my work so please review. If anyone has any ideas for a few filler chapters please could you PM as I'm too excited about future plots to think of any myself and I really don't want this to be rushed. Once again, I hope you enjoy this next chapter even if I didn't particularly enjoy writing it and apologies for this really long winded Author's Note. xxx

Weeks went by and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Maria had settled into school nicely and had made a number of friends, Olivia had easily gotten back into the swing of work and things between her and Elliot had been going great. It felt like the three of them were a little family. They would often have dinner together, whether that be at Olivia's apartment, at Elliot's place or, on a few occasions, a kid-friendly restaurant. There had been multiple days out enjoyed by all three most Saturday's and Maria's nightmares were virtually non existent thanks to her numerous sessions with George Huang. Life was perfect.

Until the dreaded phone call came.

Olivia had been in the middle of making dinner when her phone began to buzz and light up with Casey's name as the caller ID. Without thinking anything of it, Liv answered the call.

"Hey, Case. How are you?" Olivia asked in a cheery tone. She smiled at Maria who was sat at the breakfast bar doing her homework. The child looked up at the mention of one of her beloved 'aunts' names and grinned in excitement.

"Hey, Liv. I'm good thank you. How are you and my favourite niece?" The red head responded.

"Thing's couldn't be going any better. Maria loves school – you wouldn't believe how smart she is, I'm so proud of her. Even her nightmares have almost completely gone, George is-" Olivia would have continued to gush but was stopped by Casey interrupted her with something she had tried to block out.

"The trial starts in two weeks." Casey decided that getting straight to the point was the best course of action. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. A few moments past and all Casey could hear was silence. "Liv? You still there?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, Casey. Just give me a second." A flustered Olivia eventually responded once she had time to gather her thoughts. She held the phone away from her and turned to face her foster daughter who had just finished with her homework and was neatly returning her worksheets to her backpack. "Maria, Baby, go wash up for dinner. It will be ready in five minutes."

"Ok, Mommy." Maria chirped back before collecting her things and going off down the hall of the apartment.

"Sorry, Casey. What was you saying?" Olivia spoke into her cell phone once she had lifted it back to her ear.

"Dwyer's trial? It's in two weeks. We're going to have to start prepping her for it. The sooner the better. Have you spoken to her about testifying yet?" Casey asked gently, knowing that Olivia was still struggling with the thought of Maria testifying and worrying about the affects it would have on the child.

"No. I've just not been able to find the right time-"

"Liv, there is no right time to talk about it. The sooner you do, the quicker all of this will be all over." Casey sympathised with her friend, she really did and she knew that deep down Olivia knew what she was saying was right.

"I know. I know. I just...Casey, she's been through so much already. Seeing him again is just going to bring back so many bad memories for her. She's worked so hard in her sessions with Huang. This trial is just going make her revert back into that scared child she was when she first came to stay with me."

"Olivia, I get it. You're going to have to trust me. You have to remember that I have dealt with victims her age before and...so have you. The process isn't going to be any different. You and I both know that the more the witness is prepped, the stronger they are on the stand. When can we start?"

Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering the ADA's question. "Is next week ok? I will talk to her about it tonight after dinner that way she will have time to get used to the idea."

"Next week will be fine. I'll meet you at the courthouse Monday morning. Is noon ok?" Casey asked.

"Noon is fine. Thanks for the heads up, Case." The two ladies said their goodbyes and hung up the phone just in time for Maria to return from washing up for dinner.

After dinner, the mother-daughter pair sat on the couch watching a movie when Olivia decided that there was no time like the present to bring up the subject of the trial. Before broaching the subject, Olivia breathed in deeply and pulled Maria onto her lap and began to tickle her, causing the little girl to burst into breathless giggles.

"Mommy! Stop! That tickles! I'm...trying...to...watch...the movie!" The five year old cried out as she squirmed in her mothers hold.

Olivia stopped her tickling attack and paused the movie which earned her a glare from her charge. "Hey, don't pull that face at me." The older brunette warned.

"But I was watching that. I wanted to finish it before bedtime." Maria whined in a typical kid-like fashion.

"I know, Baby. I promise you can stay up a little bit later tonight so you can finish your movie but first Mama has to talk to you about something. Something really important." Olivia lifted the Latina's chin so that she could make eye contact with her and see any changes in her facial expressions throughout their next conversation which was, without a doubt, going to be difficult for both of them.

"Am I in trouble, Mommy?" Maria asked worriedly. She couldn't think of anything that she had done that would warrant a telling off.

Olivia sighed and pulled her little girl's body closer towards her. "No, Sweetheart. You're not in trouble. It's about...Richard." She decided to get straight to the point and inwardly groaned when she felt Maria immediately tense up at the mention of that monster's name.

Tears pooled in the girl's eyes as she looked up into Olivia's eyes and the mother's heart broke when she saw the little lips begin to tremble. "Do I have to go and live with him again? Don't send me back, Mama. I'll be good, I promise!" Maria cried and clung tightly onto Olivia's shirt as if Richard was about to burst through the front door at any minute and rip her out of her new mommy's arms.

"Shhhh. Shhh. That's never going to happen. Nothing you ever do will make me send you away...ever. I promise. You're my baby and no one is going to take you away from me." Olivia began to rock back and forth, as if soothing a newborn child and only stopped when Maria ceased her trembling. "Look at me, Baby." It only took Maria a few seconds to comply with Liv's soft command and closed her eyes gently as her foster mother wiped away the tears that had rolled down her face. She reopened her soft brown eyes when Olivia began to speak again. "Richard is going to go to prison for a very long time for what he did to you."

"He is?" Maria asked, her face lighting up just a little.

"Mhm. Aunt Casey is going to make sure he does but...she's going to need your help." Olivia stated.

"I wanna help Aunt Casey!"

"That's good, Honey that's really good because she's going to need you to be really brave by telling the judge about what Richard did. Do you think you can do that?" Olivia continuously ran her fingers through Maria's soft brown locks, knowing that it always soothed her after a nightmare.

Maria looked down at her lap and contemplated Liv's words before looking back up at her mother. "Is Richard going to be there?"

There it was. The question Liv had been dreading and she knew that there was no way for her to protect her little girl from the truth. Olivia sighed and continued her soft caresses as she responded with her answer. "He is but he won't be able to touch you or speak to you. There's going to be a lot of police officers there, including me and Elliot and Grandpa. No one is going to let him near you."

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Maria finally made her decision. "Ok, Mommy. I'll speak to the judge."

Olivia smiled and tightened her hold on the five year old. "That's my brave girl." She praised before planting a loving kiss on the top of her child's head.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Baby?"

"Can we watch the rest of the movie now?"

"Sure we can." Olivia answered and resumed the movie.

Around three am the next morning, Liv was woken by a sound she hadn't heard in weeks. It was the sound of Maria's piercing screams.

This time her bloody curdling nightmare was accompanied by wet bedsheets.

Two weeks later and it was now the day of Dwyer's trial. Olivia was currently seated on a bench outside the court room. Sat on her lap was a tense little five year old who clung onto Liv as if her life depended on it. Ever since Maria had been informed about her having to testify, the child's nightmares had been relentless. Olivia had often found herself sleep deprived as more often than not, she had been woken up at least three or four times in the middle of the night. It was in those moments of exhaustion that she congratulated herself on making the decision to pull Maria out of school and counted her lucky stars that she had Cragen as her superior officer. The NYPD captain had been kind enough to give Liv some time off in order for her to be there for her child during these trying times.

Cragen wasn't the only one who was great at showing his support for the little makeshift family. Elliot had also been amazing and Olivia couldn't fault any of his actions over the previous weeks. He never failed to answer three am phone calls, and always succeeded in soothing his distraught partner. On three separate occasions, he had even driven over to her apartment after receiving one of the previously mentioned phone calls. Olivia told him all three times that his physical presence wasn't necessary however, she didn't put up a fight when El told her to get some sleep and to not worry, assuring her that he would stay awake in case another horrid night terror occurred.

Olivia looked down when she felt a strong, muscular hand gently squeeze her own and trailed her eyes up the arm the said hand was attached to. Her gaze finally landed on her partner's face and she shot him a weak smile. "You ok, Liv? You've not said a word since we got here." Elliot asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine. Just thinking that's all. Thank you for coming here with us." Olivia responded before placing a soft kiss onto her companions lips.

Elliot caressed her cheek lovingly before rubbing his hand across Maria's back, hoping to help with the tension in the little girl's body. "No need to thank me. There is no where I would rather be." He told her matter of factly as he gently brushed his thumb over Liv's knuckles.

They sat in a somewhat comfortable silence for another five minutes before Casey arrived and told them that it was time for the court proceedings to start. "Maria is up first. I thought it would be best if we got her testimony out there as soon as possible."

Olivia sighed in slight relief as she stood up from the bench, holding onto her foster daughter's hand firmly. She shot her friend and colleague an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Casey. Elliot is going to take Maria straight back to my place once she is done. I don't want her being in the same room as that man any longer than she has to be."

"That's understandable. I must warn you, though. Dwyer's lawyer is ruthless and has not been known to tread lightly during his cross examinations, no matter how old or young the witness is. I will object as soon as I think he has gone too far so try not to worry about him too much." The red head warned.

The brunette woman felt her defences rise that much more at her friend's words and decided that it was time to stop delaying the inevitable. "Ok. I think we're ready." She took a deep breath before following Casey's path into the courtroom.

Opening speeches had been made and it was now time for Casey's first witness who was, of course, Maria.

Before she left the bench she was sat on, Maria was pulled into a tight hug and a kiss was placed on top of her head. "Ok, Baby. Remember to just tell the truth and if you get scared just look right at me and nobody else, ok?" Olivia whispered and the five year old nodded apprehensively before taking a hold of Casey's offered hand. The judge had allowed for Casey to escort Maria to the stand due to her young age, something Olivia was grateful for. Once seated, Olivia couldn't help but notice how small her little girl was. She was reminded of how Maria had to sit on a couple of cushions in order for her face to be seen over the top of the witness box during their preparation sessions.

"Good morning, Maria. How are you today?" Casey started off with an easy question, hoping to ease the child in gently.

Maria smiled weakly and shrugged. "I'm ok, I guess." She responded.

"I'm glad to hear that. Remind me, how old are you again?" The ADA asked, although she of course already knew the answer to her own question.

"I'm five." Casey shot a look at the jury who were all slightly stunned at how young the victim of this case was.

"Maria, can you remind me why we are all here today?" Novak asked softly as she slowly walked over to the witness box and gave the little girl a reassuring look.

Maria looked down at her lap briefly before bravely lifting her head up to look at her Aunt Casey. "Because I got hurt." She said in a heartbreaking tone of voice.

Casey nodded slightly as if to confirm the statement before asking her next question, pausing just enough for the child's words to sink in with the jury as well as the judge. "Can you please tell me how you were hurt?"

Olivia closed her eyes at this one particular question and felt as Elliot wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She only reopened them when Maria began to speak. "A man locked me in a room and...and took pictures of me in my underwear."

Casey stepped back and smiled sadly before addressing the courtroom. "The prosecution would like to present 'Exhibit A'." The black screen that was at the front of the room turned on to reveal a picture of Maria sat on a bed wearing just a vest and panties. "Maria, is this one of the pictures the man took of you?"

Maria glanced at the screen quickly before looking away rather abruptly. "Yes. There are lots of pictures just like that one."

"Apart from locking you in the room and taking pictures, were you hurt in any other way?" Casey questioned.

"Yes. He touched me on my privates and would sometimes put his boy part inside me. That really hurt. Once he even let a friend come into the room and do it too. His friend also took pictures but in those ones I wasn't wearing anything at all." Olivia felt an unbelievable amount of pride mixed with pain fill her as she listened to Maria bravely tell all the strangers that were present about the hell she had gone through and was still going through.

"Ok, Maria. I only have a couple more questions and I think they are going to be less tricky for you to answer. Is the man who did these things to you in this room today?"

"Yes." Due to the fact that she knew what was coming next, Maria's voice began to tremble slightly.

"Can you point him out and say his name so that all these nice people know where he is sitting?" Casey requested and felt a sense of satisfaction when Maria immediately responded.

"The man who hurt me is called Richard and he is sitting right there." The child pointed directly at Dwyer who looked like he had seen better days. One of his eyes was swollen shut and he also had a split lip. Clearly the other 'residents' in his new home had discovered the reason as to why he was incarcerated.

There was a series of gasps and people began to chatter amongst themselves before they were all silenced by the judge who had banged his gavel and exclaimed, "Order! Order in the court room!" It took a few seconds but the crowd did, eventually, settle down and silence themselves.

"The prosecution has no further questions for this witness, Your Honor." Casey spoke directly to the judge as she sat down at the prosecution desk.

"Before we proceed with today's hearing, does the defence wish to cross examine Miss Recinos?" The judge asked, addressing Dwyer's lawyer who stood up.

"I do, Your Honor."

"When you're ready then." The judge announced.

Dwyer's lawyer walked over to the witness stand where Maria still sat unaware of what was about to hit her. "Hi, Maria. My name is Mr Simms. I just want to ask you a couple of questions."

"Hello, Mr Simms." Maria greeted the man politely and nodded to signify that she understood what he had said.

"Maria, do you know what a story is?" Simms began.

Casey frowned, having a feeling she knew where his line of questioning was going but patiently waited for the right moment to object. She looked behind her to see that both El and Liv had the same look of realisation on their faces as she did. The ADA gave them a look as if to say 'don't worry. I'll stop him before he goes too far' before turning to face the front of the courtroom.

"Yes. My Mommy tells me a story every night at bedtime. I love stories." The five year old answered innocently.

"That's really nice of your mommy to do that. Now, do you think you could tell me the difference between a story and real life?"

Not missing a beat, Casey abruptly stood from her chair and exclaimed, "Objection, Your Honor! Relevance?" as she glared at her opposition.

Simms rolled his eyes and looked at the judge. "The answer the witness gives to my question will determine whether or not if she can accurately describe what the difference is between fantasy and reality, Your Honor."

The judge looked between Casey and the sleazy defence lawyer before sighing and making his decision. "I will allow the question but I must warn you, Mr Simms, you are dangerously close to crossing a very fine line." The man then looked down at Maria who had her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Please answer Mr Simms question, Miss Recinos."

Maria looked over at Olivia very briefly before going back facing the lawyer who stood in front of her. He had an impatient look on his face and his lips were turned up in a slight smirk. "A story is made up, something that isn't real and didn't really happen. Stuff that happens to real people is real life." The young child tried to explain the difference Simms had asked her about.

"So it's a bit like truths and lies?" Simms asked to clarify.

"Yes, Sir." Maria nodded, glad that the man before her seemed to understand what she had been trying to convey.

"Maria, do you like to tell stories? When you play with your dollies or stuffed animals do you like to pretend that fun things are happening to them and that they are real?"

Maria shrugged a little before saying, "Sometimes. It's fun to pretend."

"Does that mean that what you told us about Richard hurting you could be another one of your made up stories?" The little girl frowned at this question, not quite understanding the defence lawyers question. "We're all waiting, Maria. Is it true that you lied about Richard hurting you? He fed you and clothed you all that time you lived with him and this is how you repay him? By sending him to jail?!"

"Objection, badgering!" Casey once again jumped up from her chair, as did Olivia and Elliot. Liv looked as if she wanted to snatch Maria up into her arms and run thousands of miles away from their current location whilst El was practically ready to pounce on Simms at any moment.

Olivia almost broke down in the seconds that followed when Maria locked eyes with her and called out to her in her anguish. "Mommy?! Mommy I want to go home!"

The judge once again banged his gavel as people once again began to whisper loudly. "Order! Order!" He looked between Casey and Mr Simms. "I'm sorry, Mr Simms, but I have to agree with Ms Novak on this occasion. I warned you about that line and you've just decided to step over it. The jury will disregard you question. Do you have any more questions for Miss Recinos?"

Mr Simms huffed due to being blown off, "No, Your Honor."

"Very well, the witness may step down." At the judges words, Casey wasted no time in hurrying over to Maria and taking her back to Olivia and Elliot who both embraced her lovingly.

"You did so well, Baby. I'm very proud of you." Liv admitted as she wiped the tears off of Maria's face. "Listen to me carefully. I want you to go with Elliot. He's going to take you home and give you some lunch."

"Aren't you coming, Mama?" Maria asked, her eyes wide.

Olivia shook her head in the negative. "I have to speak to the judge and answer some questions first but I promise I will be home before dinner."

Maria looked down sadly and only nodded when Elliot asked if she was ready to leave. Olivia watched as Elliot lifted the girl up into his arms and smiled sadly when Maria looked over El's shoulder as she waved her goodbye dejectedly. Liv blew her a kiss and smiled reassuringly and once the two loves of her life had left, she breathed deeply and headed towards the witness stand.

It was now her turn to testify against Dwyer and she would do anything and everything to ensure that he got the punishment he deserved.

Olivia left the courthouse as soon as she heard the jury's verdict a few hours later and headed straight for home. She heaved a tired sigh before using her key to enter her apartment. "Guys?! I'm back!" Liv called out as she shut the door behind her. If she didn't know any better she would have assumed that nobody was home. However, the fact that she could smell dinner cooking was the only sign that she wasn't alone in the apartment.

This all changed when she heard a thud and footsteps running in her direction. "Mommy!" Maria's shrill voice yelled out as she sped towards Olivia who had just about enough time to hold her arms out in order to catch the girl.

The tired woman wasted no time in lifting her foster child into her arms and planting a kiss to one of her little cheeks. "Hi, Sweetie. Were you a good girl for Elliot?" Liv asked, rubbing Maria's back soothingly.

Her question was quickly answered not by her child but rather by a new voice that came from the entrance to the hallway. "She was a perfect angel." Elliot announced his presence before wandering over to his girlfriend and giving her a gentle peck to her plump lips. "How did it go after we left?"

Olivia sighed and lowered Maria to the floor as she spoke. "Maria, why don't you go and play for a little while? I need have a grown up talk with Elliot."

"Ok. But after can you watch cartoons with me?" Maria asked sweetly.

"Of course I will. I will come and get you when we're done talking." At this, the child cheered and skipped off in the direction of her room. Olivia watched her fondly before she was brought back to reality by her partner calling out her name. "Huh?" Was the only sound that escaped her mouth as she turned to face Elliot.

"How did the rest of the trial go? You don't seem too happy." Elliot asked concerned as he studied Liv's blank face.

"Let's talk over coffee. It's been a long day and I need a little pick me up." Was all the brunette said before leading the way over to the kitchen area.

The two seasoned NYPD detectives stood leaning against the kitchen counters nursing their hot beverages before Elliot decided that the silence had gone on long enough. "What happened, Liv?"

Olivia sighed heavily and placed her coffee mug onto the kitchen work top before replying. "It was pretty open and shut really. Simms only witness was Dwyer himself so apart from me and a few experts, including George, there wasn't much more to be said. It didn't take long for the the jury to come back with a unanimous verdict." She paused to take a breath and when she didn't expand El, rather worriedly, questioned her once more.

"Well what was the outcome?"

"They found him guilty on all charges and the judge sentenced him to twenty five to life without the possibility of parole." Liv said tiredly.

Elliot beamed and hugged her to his chest. "That's great, Liv, but I know that there is something bothering you still."

Olivia clung onto her boyfriend for a brief second before stepping back slightly. "I'm alright and I'm happy with the results..."

"I can sense a 'but' coming. Talk to me, Babe. I can help you." Elliot beseeched.

Liv ran her fingers through her short hair before pinching the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache coming on. "I just can't stop worrying about how Maria might be affected from her having to testify. She just looked so scared and small in that witness box. I never want to see her be put into a position like that ever again."

Elliot once again pulled her into a comforting embrace and placed a intimate kiss on the top of her head. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. You can't stress yourself over something that hasn't even occurred yet. I'll be by both your sides every step of the way. We, all three of us, are in this together, ok?" Olivia mumbled an 'ok' into his chest and looked up when he spoke his next words. "Now, why don't you go and tell Maria that she never has to see Dwyer again whilst I dish up dinner? It's almost ready."

"Ok. Thanks, Elliot. I don't know how I would have coped through all of this if you weren't there today. I love you." Liv admitted quietly.

"Anytime and I love you too. Now why don't you go and get our girl?" Was El's simple response.

I apologise for this chapters ending but I hope you enjoyed the rest of the chapter. Many thanks. xxx