Chapter Forty-Seven

John leaned into Clarissa's body, feeling her hands rub over his back as the threat of a seizure faded. He breathed in the scent that he'd come to recognize as safety, the smell of coffee and cinnamon calming his nerves. He could barely feel Claire's hands on his back, the thickness of the weighted blanket blocking out most of the outside world as he took comfort in his adoptive mother's arms. "I don't wanna go back in." He croaked, his voice thick with emotion. "Don't make me go back in."

Clarissa pulled the blanket farther up on his shoulders, wrapping it around his chest as she wiped the tears from his eyes. "You have to, Baby." She kissed his head, hugging him close again as she saw Kemp exit the courtroom. She glared daggers at the snake, holding John as he shook from his over excited nerves. "Shh… It's okay, you're going to be okay." She whispered in his ear, making sure she kept Kemp in her sight and away from John with her momma bear glare.

Amelia touched John's knee, looking up at her knight with fear in her eyes. "John?" She asked, waiting for him to peek at her from under Clarissa's chin. "Are you scared?"

John gave a broken smile, holding her hand in his. "I am."

Amelia nodded, adjusting the blanket that she knew helped him calm down around his side trying to keep as much weight as possible on his body. "Is Mister Kemp a mean man like the ones that took us?"

John gave a sad excuse for a laugh, making it come out more like a harsh breath than a laugh. "He's more of a snake than a man."

Clarissa rubbed her fingers through his gelled hair, wishing she could feel the soft locks instead of the gel. "You think you can go on?" She asked, smiling as he nodded. "Alright, lets go." She slowly stood, letting him take his time to stand and walk back inside. She took the blanket from his shoulders, kissing his head before the trial started back up. "You've got this."

John nodded, stepping back to the stand. "What was your last question?" He asked, meeting Kemp's eyes.

Kemp smiled, leaning toward the kid. "Were you and Miss Jenkins alone in Mister Jenkin's basement?"

John nodded, running his hand over the bump where the key was hidden. "Yes Sir. But I was unconscious for most of that time."

"And why were you unconscious for that time? Was it because you were to exhausted from raping her that you passed out?" Kemp smirked, leaning against the stand.

"I guess you missed it when I said I'm a virgin. And in case you couldn't get that into your birdbrain, that means I've never had relations with anyone and therefore couldn't have raped her." He let his gaze flit to Amelia, cursing himself for not making sure she was occupied before speaking. "Face it. I haven't done anything wrong."

Kemp motioned for John to step down, looking into the huge crowd that was John's family. "I'd like to call Claire Standish to the stand."

Claire slowly stood, giving John a bright smile as she recited the oath of truth.

Kemp paced before her, ignoring how John's eyes followed him as he moved. "Miss Standish, would you say that John is generally kind and forgiving?"

She nodded, turning her big Bambi eyes up to the slime-ball. "I'd say he's the sweetest man I've ever met."

Kemp nodded, looking at a piece of paper before handing it to the judge. "Has he ever threatened you in anyway? Raised his hands to you? Even hit you?"

Claire's face held pure shock. "He's never hit me." She stated, her hands balling in her blouse to keep her anger down. "He's never showed any aggression toward me, or even raised his voice at me."

Kemp nodded, motioning to the dark spot on her hand from the foundation she'd applied to John's eye. "Is that a bruise?"

She shook her head, rubbing the makeup off to show the pale skin beneath. "It's makeup!"

He looked at her, as if he was undressing her in his mind. "Are you using it to hide any bruises?"

"No!" She stood, lifting her shirt to show her perfect stomach. "John!" She shrieked as his body shielded hers from view. "John, let me show them that you never hurt me."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her shirt down as he refused to move away. "You're not stripping down here." He stated, taking his blazer off and wrapping her in an extra layer. "Not here, not anywhere but in your room, or on our honeymoon."

Kemp grinned, looking at the young couple. "Afraid we'll see something you don't want us too?"

John's shoulders bunched, and Claire knew she had to relax him before he got to worked up again. She ran her hands to the back of his head, pressing just behind his ears making him relax just enough that he wouldn't get in trouble. "Sir, he's just being a protective boyfriend. He does this a lot."

John leaned into her, resting his hands on her hips. "Promise me." He whispered into her ear, feeling her nod as he backed away. He turned to Kemp, the full force of his Bender glare hitting him head on. "I never hit her." He growled, going back to his seat to let him question Claire some more.

Kemp looked at Claire, already brewing up a new set of questions. "Has Johnathan ever caused harm to anyone while protecting you? Has he even sent someone to the hospital for either assault, or even rape?"

Claire glanced at John, not sure if he'd sent someone to the hospital before. "He's never hurt anyone bad enough to go to the hospital before as far as I know, and the only times that he's gotten violent with anyone is when he was attacked by his father in the courtroom in Shermer, and when he felt like we were all being threatened by his father after he escaped prison." She chose not to mention his latest fit after she'd found his destroyed Playboy, knowing that Kemp wouldn't need it. "But he's never lashed out at anyone in our family. He's always been the sweetest man alive to us, and he's been our rock through all of this."

Kemp nodded, motioning for her to step down. "I would like to call our eye witness to the stand, Amelia Johnson."

John sat up straighter, raising his hand as he spoke. "I object." He stated, standing as Amelia started to walk forward. "I'm not letting a seven-year-old testify."

Kemp tilted his head, ignoring the black fire in John's eyes, and the tension in his muscles that resembled a true fighter. "Are you afraid we'll hear something you don't want us to?"

John shook his head, resting his hand on Amelia's back as she clung to his leg for comfort. "No, Sir." He stated, wincing as Amelia's little fingers dug into his inner thigh. "I just don't think that a child should have to testify on her brother's behalf."

Amelia looked up at him, pulling on his belt. "I wanna tell." She stated, as he crouched down to her level. "I wanna help."

John lifted his eyes to Kemp, groaning as he knew that he was backed into a corner and had to let Amelia testify. "Alright, but remember, nothing but the truth and only speak when he asks you a question." He lifted the child into his arms, walking her up to the stand and showing her how to be sworn in. "I'm right here if you need me." He stated, stepping back to his seat but refusing to sit.

"Miss Johnson, can you tell me what you've seen John do at home? Has he ever kissed any of your friends, or touched them without permission?" Kemp asked, forgetting that Amelia was only seven.

"Well, he kisses Claire a lot, but Mommy says it's because he loves her a lot." She looked over at John to make sure she'd said the right thing.

Kemp chuckled, knowing that he'd have to simplify this for the child. "Have John and Claire ever gone into a room together and shut the door?"

She shook her head. "No. He always leaves his door open when he's with a girl. And all they do is sing, and play John's guitar, and write in a notebook." She smiled, remembering the night before when John, Claire, and she had all started singing old Disney songs until John started falling asleep and they had to shut it down. "Sometimes we sing Cinderella and Snow-White songs until one of us falls asleep."

"So, Johnathan and Claire have slept in the same bed together?" He asked, smiling as the child nodded.

"She helps John when he gets bad dreams." She stated, missing how John hung his head at the mention of the nightmares. "She wakes him up if they get too bad and he starts screaming."

"But they've always left the door open at these times?" He asked, becoming disappointed when she nodded.

"It's always open, and he makes me leave it open when I get bad dreams and go cuddle with him too."

"Do you get bad dreams a lot?" He pressed.

"Sometimes."

"And what are these dreams about?"

She swallowed, looking at John as he began fidgeting with his tie. "They're about when John saved me from the bad people, and when he was really sick and no one let me see him." She saw John's face contort with the memory of her seeing him have the seizures, the quilt getting to him from when he'd scared her with them. "He was really sick and we had to shave his hair because it looked bad, and he had blood on his arms when he started twitching on the floor a lot."

"Do you remember why he was twitching a lot?" He asked, hoping to hear more about the meth that had been in John's blood.

She looked up at the man, pulling on one of the ringlets John had twirled into her hair. "He had some bad stuff in his body and it made him sick."

He nodded, ignoring the tears that were brimming in the child's eyes. "And did John put that bad stuff in his body in front of you ever? Maybe with a needle?"

She shook her head, remembering seeing the little plastic thing on the needle sticking out of his bloodied back. "The bad people who took me put a needle in his back and Uncle Tom said that he was drugged and scared when Claire tried to touch him." She looked at her brother, remembering how John had talked him. "Uncle Tom and Daddy had to hold him when the ambulance came and they put him inside."

John's brow furrowed, not remembering any of that. He looked at Thomas, his question clear in his eyes. "Did that really happen?" He whispered.

Thomas nodded, looking up at his adoptive son. "You also tackled Brian when you though he was a threat."

John grimaced, looking over at Brian. "Sorry man."

Brian shrugged, waving him off as he returned his attention to the case. "Don't worry about it. You didn't know what was happening for a couple days afterwards."

"I didn't?"

Clarissa shook her head, remembering how John hadn't recognized any of them for the first two days he'd spent in the hospital. "No. You didn't even remember who we were."

John looked back to Amelia, noticing that she had tears in her eyes. "Alright, that's enough." He walked up to the stand lifting Amelia onto his hip and holing her close to his chest as she started to shake with tears. "No more questions for her." He stopped mid step as Kemp attempted to stand in his way, curling his lip in a snarl. "Let us by."

Kemp shook his head, jumping as John pushed past him, surprised by the force the skinny kid could muster. "Mister Bender, I'm not done gathering information."

John turned on the man, black eyes shining with anger. "Yes, you are." He handed Amelia to her mother, his heart breaking as she clutched to his shirt sleeve. "I'm not letting her testify anymore." He picked her back up, knowing that she wasn't going to let him leave her. "I'm not too keen on an adult making a little kid cry." He rubbed her back, wishing he didn't have the metal splits on his fingers so that he could comfort her better. "Matter of fact, I'm not too keen on making anyone cry in any way."

Kemp glared at him, catching the same glare that John was giving him from on of the other teens in the back. "Fine, but I'll have to ask you the rest of the questions I was going to ask her."

John nodded, looking at the child clutching at his shirt. "Of course, but let me get Amelia calmed down first, then I will be more than happy to answer any questions that I can remember the answers to." He took a seat, reaching for one of the stuffed animals he'd brought incase Amelia got bored. He shushed her, humming a little tune he'd been working on himself that he was still figuring out the words too.