Thanks for all the reviews from the other day. They definitely keep me motivated! This story has been going on for just over a year now … CRAZY!

This chapter deals with a heap of legalities. Bare in mind things are done waaaayyy differently here to the way they are done in the US. I've done my best to keep it real but this is fiction and I am in no way experienced in law. I've been on a jury once. That's about it 😊

(14/7/2019)

CHAPTER 71

Elizabeth was running through the school corridors. It was dark and dingier than she ever remembered and there was no one else around. She could hear the heavy footsteps behind her and she urged her own bare feet to go faster. The floor was cold and hard, but she didn't slow down. She ran to the door at the end of the hall and knowing it led outside, she hurtled toward it. But when she pushed through to the other side, she stumbled down another corridor. Elizabeth looked around in confusion and heard laughter behind her.

"No. Leave me alone!" she yelled to the dark figure behind her before she broke into a run again.

"Elizabeth!" the voice yelled after her.

Tears of frustration began to roll down her cheeks. She reached another door and once again it led down another corridor the same as the last.

"No, no, no!"

"Beth. Beth."

The voice was different now and with one last shudder, the corridor disappeared. A hand was on her shoulder and initially she shrugged it off before realising that she was home in her bed and that the hand belonged to a concerned Jack. He now hovered over her, not touching her but making sure she was awake.

"Jack?" she said, her voice cracking.

"Beth. You had another nightmare."

Her heart was still pounding in her chest as she laid back, her head resting on the pillow. Her breathing was still hurried as she tried to calm down. Jack reached out to touch her and she automatically shrank away from him without thinking. He pulled his hand back like he had been burned.

"Was it the same one?" he asked softly.

"Kind of. It wasn't as gruesome this time."

"Well, that is a good thing I guess."

Jack watched her, this time he reached his hand out to touch her own. She wrapped her fingers around his and they both lay there hand-in-hand.

"You were crying this time though" he added.

Elizabeth didn't say anything. There was nothing that could be said.

"I wish I could have been there and I wish I could help you now."

"I know. But you're here and that's the important thing."

000

They were quiet and Jack kept hold of Elizabeth's hand firmly, waiting until her breathing evened out and he knew that she had gone to sleep. Only then did he turn onto his side and put his arm protectively around her middle.

The dreams had been happening every night for two weeks. Elizabeth put on a brave front during the day but at night, that disappeared. Jack woke her every night, sometimes from screaming and sometimes from sobbing. Each nightmare was slightly different but still ended up with Elizabeth being terrified. He knew she needed help, although she insisted that she was fine. She hadn't realised but she was pushing Jack further and further away. When she first started having them, she sought comfort in Jack's arms but now his touch seemed to scare her.

Immediately after the incident, the gunman had been taken to hospital and once recovered from his gun shot wound he had been jailed with an urgent trial to take place. Elizabeth didn't want to face the man again and due to the nature of the offence and now her pregnancy had been upgraded to moderate risk, she was permitted to provide evidence via a television link. She was still required to present herself to the courthouse on the day of the trial but she wouldn't have to physically face the offender. Since her presence was required, unfortunately the family had to delay their holiday until after Christmas.

Jack's mind whirled with everything that was happening at the moment. Elizabeth was due in court in three more days and Jack just wanted it to be over and done with. He knew she needed closure and these nightmares proved just that.

000

Three days later, Elizabeth was sitting on the side of their bed with a bucket in her hands as she leant over it emptying her stomach contents. Jack came into their bedroom and sat beside her, letting his arm touch her but he didn't push her any further by holding her as he would of in the past.

"I can't do this, Jack."

"I know, but you have to. It will hopefully be all over for you today."

"What if it's not? This whole thing has been such an ordeal. I'm exhausted and my nerves are all jumpy. I snapped at Gracie yesterday because she wanted her shoe tied. This isn't me, Jack" she said as tears streamed down her face.

Jack agreed and not only did Elizabeth look exhausted but she looked really ill. She was pale and had dark rings under her eyes and she hadn't been eating properly.

"It will all be over soon and then we can get you back to normal."

Elizabeth nodded before she quickly bent her head back over the bucket.

Jack heard movement at the door and looked up to see Eve watching. Jack hurried over to her.

"Is Mommy sick?"

Jack bent down to her eye level.

"Yes. She's not very well. Are you almost ready to go to Aunt Vi's?"

"Yes."

"Is your backpack at the door?"

"No."

"Okay well go get it and put your dolly inside and place it near the front door."

"Okay, Daddy."

Eve ran off to her bedroom and reappeared moments later with her bag. Jack went and checked on Gracie and Halley who were both almost ready for school.

"Daddy, I can't do my hair" Gracie said.

"Me too" Halley said frustratedly.

"That's okay, just put your brushes in your bag and we will get Aunt Vi to fix it."

Jack proceeded to put all of their bags in his truck and help each of his daughters into their seats.

"Okay, stay there. I will just get Mommy and then we'll go."

Jack ran back upstairs and helped Elizabeth stand up, taking the bucket into his hands.

"Jack, I look like a mess."

"It doesn't matter. You don't need to look nice for them."

Elizabeth wobbled on her feet and Jack could tell that she was too weak to walk. He scooped her up and carried her down to the car before returning for her tea, which he had placed in a thermos mug, and some dry crackers. He climbed into the truck to see Elizabeth holding the bucket closely to her.

Thankfully, the drive to Viola's was quick. Jack hurriedly moved his daughters to her front door.

"Hi Jack."

"Hi Vi."

"How is she?"

"Not good."

Viola's gaze was focused on the car.

"Can you help the girls with their hair? I have no idea."

"Sure Jack. That's no problem."

"Are you right with getting them all to school?"

"Yes, Lionel is going to work from home today so he can stay with Lara and Eve while I drop the others."

"Thanks so much Vi. Thank Lionel too for me."

"It's no problem. It's the least that we could do."

"Alright we had better go. I will text you once I have more information."

"Okay. And Jack if it's best that the girls stay the night, that is alright too."

"Great. Thanks Vi. Speak to you later."

Jack ran back to the truck, reversed out of the drive and took off down the street. His hand reached across to grasp Elizabeth's and she surprisingly didn't flinch away from him.

"You okay?"

"There's nothing left to bring up."

"It's just nerves, baby. Take some deep breaths."

They parked at the back of the court house and Jack took Elizabeth's hand, walking with her to the front. As they rounded the corner, Jack was surprised to see a huge crowd of people waiting out the front. A few of them were clearly reporters, others maybe just curious about the court case. Jack held Elizabeth close and moved toward the front of the crowd. Jack could see the District Attorney, Peter Stoneman, that they had been speaking to in recent weeks at the front with some security guards. Jack gave him a wave and immediately the security guards parted and allowed Jack and Elizabeth through.

"Elizabeth. You made it."

She gave him a brief nod but stuck to Jack's side.

"She's not very well. Are we able to go in and sit down?"

"Of course. Let's head in."

Peter found a place for Elizabeth to sit down and even went to the effort to bring her a bottle of water.

"Is she okay, Jack?"

"Just fatigued and nervous, I think. She's been getting nightmares. We just want this whole thing behind us as quick as possible."

Peter reminded Jack of one of his father's old friends. He looked like someone you would be fearful of but on the inside he was just a big cuddly bear. He had been very understanding and gentle when it came to Elizabeth, but given his profession, it was not surprising that he was used to dealing with victims and their issues.

"Alright, I will do my best to make that happen for you."

"Thanks Peter."

Peter ran through the order of events with both Jack and Elizabeth and when the court assistant finally came to them, Elizabeth was somewhat ready to be moved to the private room in which she would be forced to wait until it was her time to provide her testimony.

Jack was struggling with whether to wait outside her room or sit in on the proceedings. In the end, he wasn't going to be much use where he was so he took a seat at the back of the courtroom. Then he could at least see Elizabeth's testimony and then exit the room to wait for her afterward.

Another thirty minutes of waiting and finally the court official announced the arrival of the judge. Everyone stood and Jack saw the entrance of a woman dressed all in black who appeared to be in her early fourties. From what Jack had heard, Peter would be happy with having a judge that was a middle-aged female. Maybe things were looking up, he thought to himself.

Jack sat there listening to the opening addresses, meanwhile not understanding how the defendant could possibly argue against the list of offences that Cassie's ex, Thomas Giblin, had obtained.

Witnesses were called and first up was surprisingly Cassie. Cassie was led in from a side door and took the stand and was sworn in. Questions flew from Peter across the room in quick succession, mainly revolving around her relationship with Thomas and how he came to be at the school that morning. It was still unclear why Thomas hadn't gone directly to her apartment rather than show up at the school.

As the proceedings continued, numerous witnesses came before Elizabeth, mainly because Peter was questioning people in the order of their interaction on the day. They took a break at lunchtime and everyone began to leave the courtroom. Jack hung his head thinking about Elizabeth who had remained isolated in that room all morning.

"Jack?"

He looked up to see Peter.

"I'm sorry. Elizabeth will be up this afternoon."

"I understand. She's just been so sick."

"I know. I can see the change since we met those few weeks ago."

"I better go see how she is."

"I'll do my best to wrap everything up with her today."

"Thanks."

Jack left and went back to the room where Elizabeth was being held. He knocked on the door and the court official allowed him in.

"Jack?"

"Hi Beth. Are you okay?"

Elizabeth burst into tears. "No. I'm so sick of the waiting."

Jack took her in his arms. "It's okay. You're up after lunch. It won't be long. Peter will do everything he can to get you out of here today."

Jack led her back to the sofa to the side of the room. He got her to sit down before he sat beside her and wrapped her hands in his own.

"We're almost there, Beth. It's almost done."

She rested her head on his shoulder and in no time he could tell she had drifted off to sleep. He eased her down on the sofa before he resumed his place beside her, taking her hand back in his.

About an hour later there was a knock on the door before Peter and his legal aide entered.

"She's asleep?"

"Yes. Are you ready to start soon?"

"Yes. You can stay in here for a bit longer but when it comes time for her testimony only the court official and her are permitted to be in here."

"That's fine."

"Maybe give her another ten minutes before you wake her" Peter said with a smile.

"Thanks."

After waiting a bit longer, Jack slowly began to wake Elizabeth.

"Baby, it's almost time."

Elizabeth yawned and slowly opened her eyes.

"I just want to sleep."

"Not long and you can be home in your own bed asleep, instead of here."

Elizabeth smiled. "I'm looking forward to that." Elizabeth sat up slowly and groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so dizzy."

"You haven't eaten or drunk anything all day. I will get you something to nibble on. How about I help you to sit in the chair over there and then you won't have to move again?"

Jack did just that, putting his arm around her waist and basically carrying her to the seat behind the desk that sat in front of the video camera.

Jack gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before speaking to the official before he left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a fresh bottle of water, a sandwich, a packet of biscuits and a banana.

"They've given the ten minute warning" the court official told Jack.

"Okay. Can you make sure she gets this?" Jack said handing him the bag of food and bottle of water.

"Sure."

Jack went back to the courtroom and slid back into a space in the back row just as they restarted. Almost immediately, Peter mentioned Elizabeth's involvement as the hostage in the situation.

"Due to the fact that she is over four months pregnant with twins and it is now considered an at risk pregnancy, Mrs Elizabeth Thornton has requested the testimony be done via video conference. She is in a private room next door."

"Objection, your Honor" the defendant's lawyer immediately spoke up.

Peter turned toward him in surprise. "Permission to approach the bench."

The judge granted permission for both lawyers to approach. Jack watched the whispered interchange taking place. He knew they had sought permission for special consideration for Elizabeth's testimony a week ago. The lawyers resumed their places as the judge spoke to the audience.

"Objection overruled" the judge stated. "Turn on the video conference."

Peter went and stood against a blank wall where a video was focused on him and Elizabeth's image appeared on a television screen to the side. As soon as the image and sound was checked, the court official stood beside Elizabeth and swore her in as a witness.

Elizabeth's eyes were glassy and her skin even more pale under the light from the camera. Peter began asking her questions about her relationship with Cassie and Elizabeth gave a small smile as she detailed their work relationship, as well as their friendship that had since developed over the last few months.

"It was you who took Ms Cassie Lanning to the hospital after she was beaten most recently?"

"Yes. I minded Bailey when she returned home for a funeral."

"But she arrived on your doorstep battered and bruised?"

"Speculation, your Honor" the defendant butted in.

Peter sighed. "How did Ms Lanning appear when she arrived at your house?"

"She was sitting behind the steering wheel of her car battered and bruised. Her eye was swollen shut and she had black bruises all over her."

"That was a few months ago now. Did you know who Mr Thomas Giblin was at the time?"

"No."

"Had you seen a photo of him before?"

"No."

"Did you know Ms Lanning's ex partner's name?"

"No. I think she mentioned Tommy once or twice but I can't remember. It didn't stand out."

"So when did you first notice the man you now know as Mr Thomas Giblin?"

Elizabeth went on to explain how she was at school on her day off to pick up her daughters and nephew and saw a suspicious man lingering.

"And you reported the incident?"

"Yes."

"And what was done?"

"Security was called in and we were watching and waiting to establish what the man was there for."

"But that was never established?"

"No. Then he disappeared."

"Right. When was the next instance you saw him?"

Jack watched as Elizabeth took a deep breath. "When he showed up at the school that day with a gun."

"Alright, let's back track for a moment. The incident occurred on a Tuesday. You don't normally work Tuesday's is that correct?"

"Yes."

"So why were you there?"

"Bailey, Cassie's son, had come down with an illness and asked if I could swap with her. I didn't mind swapping so it was arranged."

"So you were in the classroom that you and Cassie both teach in that morning?"

"Yes. With my students."

"How many students are in your class?"

"24" Elizabeth said with a smile. That was the first time her eyes had lit up at the mention of her students.

"Do you enjoy teaching, Mrs Thornton?"

"Oh yes. I love it."

"And you love children? You have three daughters of your own, is that correct?"

"Yes. I love children."

"And you have twins on the way too?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Jack noticed that Peter didn't allude to when they found out about that.

"So you were in the classroom that morning and what were you doing with your students before your day changed?"

"I had just welcomed all the students in and I was helping them hang up their bags and coats before they took their seats."

"Then what?"

"Well, we had barely started lessons when I heard yelling in the hallway. And then …" Elizabeth froze, her eyes flashed to the screen.

"And then …"

Elizabeth moved her hands in front of her and Jack could visibly see them shaking from where he was sitting.

"Then there were two gunshots."

"Please explain to us exactly what you did next."

Elizabeth detailed what happened inside the classroom with her students and Jack sat there in wonder. She hadn't told him any of this. All he had heard was what Shane had relayed to him and a little bit toward the end. Elizabeth spoke clearly but the emotion in her voice and the tears running down her face was enough to have some audience members tearing up with her.

"Did Mr Giblin ask where your class was?"

"Yes. I told him they were in the library."

"What happened next?"

Elizabeth kept talking and got to the part where she was dragged outside by gunpoint, Jack could see many people shaking their head. He glanced sideways and saw a man with a sheet of paper and a graphite pencil rapidly drawing a picture of Elizabeth, tears streaking her face.

"What was going through your mind at the time, Mrs Thornton?"

"Objection, your Honor. Relevance?"

"Overruled. It is important to know what the victim was feeling at the time of the event."

"Please continue, Mrs Thornton."

Elizabeth exhaled a breath slowly. "In one way, I was relieved to see that the gunman only had me as a hostage and none of the children. I also noticed that the police and military seemed to have assembled quickly and were trying to deal with the situation but at the same time I felt a lot of despair. I didn't think I was going to see my husband again …" Elizabeth's voice broke and she let out a sob, "… nor my daughters. And I didn't think my babies were going to make it."

"Mrs Thornton. Your husband was away at the time as well, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He's in the army and had been gone away for two weeks."

"And is it true that your family had already experienced an unfortunate turn of events not some five months prior?"

"Objection, your honor. Relevance?"

"Make your point, counsellor."

"Yes, ma'am. Please answer the question, Mrs Thornton."

"Yes, my husband was deployed in the middle east and was injured in an explosion. He suffered from a severe head injury and lost a lot of his memory. He has been recovering slowly."

"So your husband has given himself to serve and protect this country and you have dedicated your career to nurturing the minds of our youngsters?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you were held at gunpoint by the unemployed Mr Giblin. After he pulled you back into the school for the second time, Mr Giblin then proceeded to physically hurt you. Can you explain in detail what happened?"

Elizabeth explained how she was hit in the face and injured her abdomen and ribs but when she detailed what happened when she was kicked there were a few murmurs from the crowd.

"And you tried to stop it?"

"Yes. I yelled out to stop and that I was pregnant but he landed a kick to my abdomen anyway. Thankfully my wrist blocked most of the blow" Elizabeth said waving around the cast on her wrist.

"It sounds like you were very lucky to walk away from that, both you and your babies, unharmed."

"Yes. I was."

"Do you remember what happened after that final blow?"

"Not exactly. I was in a lot of pain and I was panicking when I heard the gunshot and at first I thought I had been shot but then I saw the gunman collapse nearby and I saw the blood and realised someone else must have fired the bullet."

"How did you feel?"

"Only when the military personnel surrounded him, did I feel relief. Then I passed out."

"Understandably. I think I would have passed out too." Peter gave her a small smile. "I am glad that your babies are alright and you were reunited with your husband and family. I would like to thank you and your husband for your continued service to the community."

"Thank you."

"I will hand you over to the defendant's lawyer now."

Elizabeth nodded slowly and rang her fingers together. Jack knew this was the part she was dreading. She had worried all week that she would say something wrong and end up inadvertently releasing Thomas Giblin back into the community. Even though both Peter and Jack had insisted that could never happen, it still remained Elizabeth's biggest concern.

To be continued …