Another random chapter while I work on the next episode-based one. I think I'll be taking a break after all the work I did on the Coon arc. Also, why does Fanfiction censor the word 'Coon'? I swear, every time I write it in the messaging system or it's in the comments, it's written as 'C***'. It's Coon, not cunt.

I think the next one will be "Raisins", but I've got to completely change the subplot because I hate the Butters subplot. Anyway, this chapter is Kyle-centric. It's a chapter I've had planned for a while: Mike Silverton going on trial for his crimes. Kyle is going to be supportive of Kate, but he's also going to try to prove to her that he's boyfriend material over Kenny.

A note to make is that most of my courtroom knowledge comes from books I've read or Law and Order. That show is fucking addictive.

OWTF!

If you had asked me four months ago what type of girl I was looking for, I wouldn't have been able to give you an answer. I wasn't really interested in romance or a relationship beyond friendship. I was happy being single. Sure, girls were interested in me from time to time, but that tended to end in disaster. I hated the fact that no girl seemed to want to pursue a deeper relationship. I hadn't developed a type due to my lack of experience with girls. Cartman was an asshole; no girl wanted to be with him. Stan had Wendy. And Kenny… well, Kenny was a pervert who seemed like he dated any girl he could. I was alone and I thought I'd be that way until middle school, when I'd meet girls who weren't obsessed with fashion and makeup.

Then Kate moved to South Park.

I met her on her first day of class, back when she was all shy and nervous from being in a new place. I thought she was nice enough, but as I got to know her, I realized she was different from the other girls in our class. She wasn't as girly as the others, and she preferred romance novels to fashion and makeup. She was definitely more rough-and-tumble than the other girls. Of course, that could've been a byproduct of living with the human waste heap known as Eric Cartman.

I guess you could say I realized how I felt in an instant. I knew she was attractive, but it was like color entered my world one day when we were talking. Suddenly, her green eyes seemed to glow brighter and her smile lit up her face as she laughed. I felt like I couldn't breathe for a moment, just looking at her.

"Kyle, are you okay?" she asked, noticing me staring.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I replied, stumbling a bit over my words. "Let's just, uh, go meet the others at the park, like we planned."

"Oh, shit! It's that late already?! Let's go!"

Her personality was one that took some time to wrap your head around if you weren't used to it. She was shy, outgoing, temperamental, sweet, strong, and smart. If you messed with her, especially if your name was Eric Cartman, she wouldn't hesitate to let you know that you fucked up. In some cases, like with Quinn Hart, she would deliver a beatdown worthy of an MMA fighter. I was actually kind of scared to find out what would happen if a guy dating her cheated on her. Chances are, he probably would end up unable to bear children.

At any rate, Kate was an amazing person. It wasn't hard to believe that I wasn't the only one with a crush on her. Kenny had admitted to having feelings for her, and he'd admitted it to her face, too. I knew Clyde had hit on her a couple times, leading to her hitting his shoulder. Nobody except me and Kenny were serious about possibly dating her.

That all came to a head after Kate's dad, Mike Silverton, was arrested.

Kate was asked to come to the trial to testify against him, along with her birth mom, Lisa Meyercheck. The news about Mike's arrest and trial was all over South Park, but nobody except us knew that sweet little Katherine Cartman was his daughter.

"Alright, kids," Mr. Mackey told us when he came into class. "Now, as many of you probably know, a man named Mike Silverton was recently arrested, m'kay? Principal Victoria has decided that it would be educational for you all to witness a trial, m'kay?" Butters raised his hand. "Yes, Butters?"

"Uh, what was he arrested for?" Butters asked.

"Uh, he was arrested for murder, rape, stalking, and domestic and child abuse," Mr. Mackey replied. "Now, Mr. Garrison has already printed the permission forms, so all of you get them signed, m'kay?"

He handed out the forms and everybody except Kate took one. She just stared at her desk, not even moving to take the paper from Mr. Mackey. He gave her a look of sympathy and pity before moving on to Wendy.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked her after the bell rang.

"I'm fine," she sighed. "I just… a field trip? To a murder trial of a child abuser? Is that safe?!"

"This is South Park. None of our field trips are conventional."

"I said safe, not conventional. But it's neither." She fiddled with the book in her hands. This one was called Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti. (A/N: Yes, that's an important detail. Shut up.)

"I know you hate your dad, but are you going to be able to do this?"

"Yeah, your dad's the prosecution."

"Whoa, really?"

"Really."

"Then I'll be there, too. I'll be your moral support."

"Thanks, Kyle." She gave me a little smile. "I need friends there."

"Well, probably our entire class will be there, so you'll have all of us behind you."

"A field trip?" Mom asked. "Where to?"

"A trial," I replied, taking a sip of my drink.

"Learning about the legal system, eh?" Dad commented. "What kind of trial is it?"

"Mike Silverton's." Mom dropped her fork.

"Oh, dear God," she murmured. "Why a murder trial?!"

"Mom, I want to go!"

"Why? Why would you want to go to a murder trial?"

"Because Mike is Kate's dad and she's testifying against him."

"Oh." Mom let out a sigh as she picked her fork back up. "Yes, you can go."

"Wait, really?"

"I want you to support your friend and see that bastard put behind bars." She pressed her lips into a thin line. "At least your father will be there."

"Thank you!" I cheered in relief.

"Kyle loves Kate!" Ike declared. I turned the same color as my hair.

"Aw, Kyle!" Mom cooed. "You have a crush."

"So what if I do?" I said defensively. "I'm going to focus on helping her through this trial, not on trying to get her to go out with me."

"That's very mature of you, son," Dad assured me. "I talked to Kate the other day, and she seemed like a very nice girl."

"Oh, we have to have her over for dinner after this is over," Mom gushed. I excused myself from the table.

On the day of the trip, we all arrived at school and waited in the gym for the buses. We'd been told to dress nicely for the courtroom, so I was wearing a dress suit and nice pants and I'd managed to tame my unruly red hair. Kenny had ditched his parka for the day, opting instead to wear a dress shirt and pants that weren't full of holes. A bunch of girls started giggling at him, but I don't think it's because he looked weird.

"Where's Kate?" Wendy asked me.

"She's, uh…" I replied, not knowing how to respond. "She's testifying."

"At the trial?"

"Yeah. Mike Silverton's her dad."

"Then… the child abuse charge… that means he abused Kate!"

"I know." I wanted to punch the bastard in the face. He'd terrorized Kate for nine years of her life, and he wasn't going to do it anymore if he got put away.

"All right, children, time to get on the bus," Mr. Garrison announced. "We have an hour to get to the courthouse."

On the bus, everyone was talking about the trial. Somehow (Cartman), it got out that Kate was Mike's daughter and that she was testifying against him. Kenny was sitting next to me, Stan across the aisle next to Wendy, so we wondered what Kate would say.

Hell, what would Lisa say?

"Ms. Meyercheck is bound to have more to say than Kate," Stan concluded. "She dealt with more of the abuse, not to mention she's the reason Kate's here at all."

"Yeah," Kenny agreed. "I think she's where Kate gets her strength. Ms. Meyercheck doesn't fuck around."

"Right," Cartman muttered from the seat in front of us. "When I got grounded after the Cthulhu thing, Mom sent me to live with Lisa for that time." He shuddered in horror.

"So you're scared of her," I snickered.

"HEY! Laugh all you want, Jew-Fag, but Lisa Meyercheck is a drill sergeant in disguise."

We arrived at the courthouse and were briefed on courtroom proceedings. Mr. Garrison led us inside the courtroom and put me, Kenny, Stan, Cartman, and Wendy right behind the prosecution. Dad was already there and talking to Ms. Meyercheck, who was holding Kate's hand tightly. Kate herself had her hair straight down, a bow stuck in the back. It was purple, like her dress, and she was wearing the same pair of silver heels she'd worn for the Little Miss Park County pageant.

"Hey, Kate," I whispered. She waved.

Before long, the trial began and Mike was escorted in. I glared at him in his fancy Italian suit, and his lawyer for good measure. The opening statements were made and Kate made her testimony, which was shortened due to her age. Lisa was then called to the stand.

"Ms. Meyercheck, would you tell us exactly what happened the day your daughter almost died?" Dad asked Lisa.

"Of course," she replied. "I went out to see my mother, who was in the hospital. It was late in the afternoon, so I left Kate at home. She was five, and I left her with a babysitter. While I was out, Mike came home and the babysitter left, thinking Kate would be fine with her father. I'm not entirely sure what happened after that, but all I know is I came home to my five-year-old daughter, one of the sweetest little girls I've ever met in my life, bleeding to death on the floor." She wiped a tear from her eye. "And that wasn't even the worst part."

"What was the worst part?"

"Kate doesn't remember it; she was either already unconscious or she's blocked it from her memory. The worst part of it all was that Mike… Mike was trying to…" She looked at our class in the rows. "I can't say with children in the room."

"Objection!" called the New Jersey lawyer. "The witness is too emotional!"

"Overruled," the judge declared.

"Ms. Meyercheck, please tell us what your ex-husband was doing."

"He was trying to… to… rape my little girl. I screamed and punched him in the face to stop him and I took Kate to the hospital. I was so emotionally overwrought that I couldn't think straight. After that, I packed our bags and Kate and I spent the next four years on the road. I eventually realized she wasn't safe with me, and that she needed a stable home. That was when I called my old friend, Liane Cartman, to ask her to adopt Kate. They'd met before, years ago, when I visited South Park. I knew Liane had a son Kate's age, and I knew what kind of place South Park was. I grew up here before I moved to New Jersey in high school."

"And how did Liane Cartman respond to your request?"

"She agreed to it, and I sent Kate her way. I didn't see her again until a few days after Mike's arrest, when I dropped off Kate's official paperwork. I love her, but I'm not a good mother. Liane is a good mother."

"Thank you, Ms. Meyercheck. No further questions, Your Honor."

We were all shocked into silence, and so was the jury.

I was appalled. I knew Mike was a horrible person, but to rape his own daughter?! What kind of sicko did that?! Even Cartman looked disgusted at the revelation. Kate looked horrified and violated. She started crying and a guard escorted her from the courtroom. The judge called for a short recess and I followed Kate and the guard out, along with Kenny.

"Hey, guys," she choked out as she sat in the hall. We sat on either side of her, forming a protective bubble as people streamed out of the courtroom. "I'm sorry I'm such a crybaby."

"No, you're allowed to cry about this," Kenny soothed, patting her on the back. "Your father is worse than mine, and mine's a drunken addict who can't hold a job."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault your father's a complete bastard who doesn't know how to treat his child."

"I can't remember him ever being remotely like a father to me," she admitted hoarsely. "I've never really had a dad. You guys are lucky. You've always had friends and family members to support you. It's always been just me and my mom."

"Well, now you have us," I told her. She gave us a smile.

"Thanks, guys."

We hugged her on either side as the rest of our class filed out of the courtroom. Kenny and I were pushed aside as the girls in our class surrounded Kate and started fussing over her. She mouthed, 'help me', but we shook our heads. We were all one-hundred percent behind her.

After the cross-examination and a bunch of other testimonies, the jury reached a verdict.

GUILTY.

As soon as that was announced, Mike was escorted from the courtroom and our class surged to congratulate Kate. She went right for our little group: me, Stan, Cartman, Kenny, and Wendy. We gave her the biggest group hug we could.

We didn't know it wouldn't last.

You didn't really think Mike would be a one-off character, did you? No, I have at least two more chapters planned with this fucker, and one involves Kate fulfilling her wish of putting a bullet between his eyes. Wish I could say Lisa gets a happy ending, but you'll just have to wait and see!

Next up is "Raisins"!

So long and thanks for all the fish!