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Intersecting Lines – The Trial

Part 08 – An Alternative View

In Court

Alex's viewpoint

We'd prepared Natalie carefully for this, Andrea and I had spent most of the last two evenings at her place, being plied with Ana's sensational coffee while we ran through what we wanted her to try and get across to the jury and the audience, both in the courtroom and across the country. Fortunately we'd seen the slime Peterson and the others were throwing and Nat was our best chance to get our side of the story out.

I mean it wasn't anything she wouldn't do anyway; Nat was a wiseass and had a smart mouth at the best of times so expecting her to sit still through the sort of crap Peterson's team were likely to fling was a non-starter, not after what they'd put Ana and the rest of her friends through, in fact she was practically champing at the bit. Plus having been in the hostile media gaze for years she was used to thinking on her feet and was most likely to be unfazed by whatever Peterson and his cohorts tried to throw at her.

Given she wasn't one of the investigating officers and was there as a witness to what had occurred, it was likely that rather than trying to question her testimony the Defence's cross would be an attempt to further smear us as they had with the others. If so we hoped they were in for an unpleasant surprise.

So it was that in court this morning we'd walked her through the information she'd been privy to and a range of other testimony before we'd started to move the questioning into what she thought were the motivations of the people trying to kill her. She'd been upfront, saying as she hadn't ever met any of the accused, it could hardly be because of her sexuality, after all none of them knew her well enough to know she was gay.

That was the baited hook and Cox had leapt after it, standing to object, instead suggesting her sexual orientation was well known, both through the online forums popular with LAPD members, and her performance at the last LAPD Ball.

"Given the witness flaunted their sexual choices out in front of hundreds of members of the LAPD, at one of the Department's highest profile events, the LAPD Ball, how could they not be aware?" Cox asked rhetorically. Unfazed, Natalie chuckled slightly then spoke.

"I wasn't aware that dancing with my friends and colleagues was flaunting it Mister Cox" she said with a smile even as he pounced on that, picking up his tablet and swiping through pages before he looked up.

"You danced with Agent Romanov did you not, and Detective Rizzoli, and Chief Johnson?" Natalie nodded agreeably.

"Yes, each of them several times in fact" She tipped her head to regard him. "I also danced with the male members of the Major Crimes team, including Lieutenant's Tao, Provenza and Flynn, Sergeant Gabriel and Detective Sanchez and the team's audio visual specialist Mister Watson as well" She smiled a little widely then continued, the scorn in her words belied by the smile on her face. "Should that also be taken as signs of lesbian behaviour Mr Cox? If so I really should let them know their sexual orientation has changed to lesbian, though I think most of them were already attracted to women anyway" There was a chorus of snickers and plenty of smiles in the audience and even from one or two jury members, drawing a frown from Craven and a scowl from Cox before Andrea looked to Craven and spoke up.

"If the Defence is quite finished with their penny ante pop psychology I would like to continue with this witnesses' testimony Your Honour" Craven had nodded and told Cox to sit down, reminding him that he'd have his chance to cross examine in due course.

We'd continued walking Nat through her evidence, making sure she mentioned the tape of the suspects discussing having them killed, plus the one of the discussion between Kennedy and Hernandez about the cost for having them all murdered. Cox had objected pro forma but hadn't got anywhere, Craven telling him to sit down, leaving us to get back to the task of sending his clients to death row.

We'd broken for lunch before reconvening to walk Natalie through the ambush and the arrest of Di Marco, Cox had tried to question the legality of that but the judge had shut him down when it had been explained that she was there with a detective who had actually taken Di Marco into custody. Natalie's role being basically the one telling him he was under arrest and reciting him his rights as Di Marco was arrested.

Finally we wrapped up around three and handed her over to the Defence for the cross. I was expecting Ling or Cox, but it was Peterson who stood to handle the questions, something I found interesting, as did Andrea by the raised eyebrow she shared with me. Maybe he felt that sending his attack dogs after someone who wasn't a police officer mightn't look good to the jury and the cameras, especially someone as soft-looking as Natalie, however if he thought she was going to be a pushover I hoped he was soon to be proved gravely mistaken.

In a way I was glad it was Peterson and not Ling doing the cross, Nat had taken Ling's attack on Ana really hard and very personally. I'd been afraid that if Ling had been the one doing the cross it would have gotten ugly very quickly, so that was one bullet dodged thank heavens.

Peterson started off polite enough but naturally it didn't last, a few establishing questions and he started in on her inclusion in the investigation.

"What exactly were you doing to be involved in this ill-starred investigation anyway? You were not a detective, I put it to you that you were involved only because you were part of the lesbian coven that Johnson and Raydor have surrounded themselves with" Natalie smiled.

"I wasn't really part of the investigation Mister Peterson; well not until I was identified as one of the people who were supposed to be killed by the hit men your clients were paying to come after my friends and I" Peterson wasn't wearing that.

"Supposedly" Nat raised her eyebrow at him and shook her head slightly as he continued. "So they brought an untrained individual into their investigation, rather than someone with actual investigative training, I put it to you that Raydor and Johnson had already made up their minds who the scapegoats they were looking for were, my clients" He turned to wave at the defendants. "Your involvement is an obvious example of how they were not looking for actual criminals, instead just going through the motions" Natalie looked to him and smiled.

"You have an interesting definition of untrained Mister Peterson. I wasn't actually carrying out the investigation, instead reviewing the information already collected by 'trained'…" she put it in finger quotes. "…detectives" Peterson pounced on that.

"Something that you had no qualifications for" Natalie shrugged.

"I'd like to think that a number of years as a journalist had given me the ability to review information and draw out relevant information"

"A job for the police, not a journalist"

"I think Woodward and Bernstein might disagree with you there Mister Peterson, and while I'm not a patch on either of those two legends, I can read documents and notice disparities just as well as the next person"

"An investigation no civilian should be involved with" At Peterson's barb Natalie just shrugged as she replied.

"I signed the Department's legal undertakings and non-disclosure agreements Mister Peterson; as such I was cleared to see the documents I was reading" He wasn't having a bar of it.

"But you were not a detective, as a civilian you should have had no role in the investigation" Surprisingly Nat smiled.

"I suppose you could see it that way, I wasn't a detective, simply someone helping out" Peterson pounced on that.

"So you agree that your presence was more about Johnson and Raydor keeping their lesbian associates involved in this whitewash?" Natalie shook her head.

"As I understand it that wasn't the main reason I was involved" She smiled sweetly. "It meant I got to assist their investigation and it also meant that I was safe from the potential attempts on my life orchestrated by your clients" Peterson was dismissive.

"So you say, but it looks rather like another case of this lesbian cabal we've heard so much about…" Natalie wasn't wearing that one.

"Something that you've spoken so much about Mister Peterson, but before this trial I'd never even heard the term" Peterson batted her objections away.

"Your actions as an incredibly close group of lesbians, practically living intertwined in each other's lives leads to that conclusion" Natalie shook her head slowly then replied, her tone just a little condescending.

"Mister Peterson, making a lot of noise about something doesn't mean it's true. The flat earth people, the Area 51 conspirators, the people who claim the moon landing was faked, the 911 conspiracy people, they make a lot of noise too, but that doesn't make their claims true" She shook her head as she continued. "I'd put your claims in the same category"

"Really?" Peterson looked to the jury. "I would suggest that your participation in this lesbian cabal orchestrated by Johnson and Raydor, their attempts to paint my clients as anything other than the innocent law enforcement personnel they are, is a reflection on their attempts to find scapegoats for crimes that Raydor was unable to solve" He looked to the jury. "They needed to close a major case to get Raydor promoted and therefore determined that trying to stitch up innocent members of the LAPD and Justice Department fitted the bill perfectly" Natalie tipped her head to regard him then finally spoke.

"Sorry Mister Peterson, but are you talking about the same trial the rest of us have been watching, because I'd kinda think the evidence there and the trial you're talking about are two separate things"

"The witness will confine themselves to the questions being asked" It was Craven, the pompous ass; Natalie though was unfazed, looking his way and nodding.

"Yes Your Honour, sorry"

Peterson smiled and went back to hammering at her relationship with Ana and by inference all of our sexuality, trying to suggest to the jury that our 'closeness' meant we weren't objective and that our case was tainted. He was trying to paint Nat as part of our so-called gay 'coven'. I sat and watched alongside Andrea as we waited for Natalie's chance to hit him with what we'd worked on.

"You would therefore be forced to agree that you seek out the company of lesbians over non-gay members of society would you not Miss Dearing, indicating your preference for them?" Natalie nodded slowly.

"Yes, most of my closest friends here in Los Angeles are gay" Natalie shrugged. "Of course most of my friends in Seattle and Denver and Cheyenne aren't" That drew a frown and a scoffing retort.

"Really, I find that hard to believe, your behaviour here in Los Angeles indicates a pattern of behaviour that is quite different to that comment" Natalie nodded agreeably as she replied.

"That's because I hadn't come out as gay until I met my partner in Seattle" Peterson nodded.

"So before that your pattern of friends was typically normal?" I was considering interjecting, seeing Andrea scowling at that choice of words but we both decided to let it slide, leaving this to Natalie, this was what we'd spent all those hours preparing her for after all.

"I'd say it was normal for a heterosexual girl, yes" Nat smiled, a little softly then pushed on. "But that was then, this is now, and I'm not that person anymore" Peterson frowned as he spoke.

"Yes, you seem to have abandoned your previous friends as thoroughly as you have you abandoned your previous lifestyle" Natalie shrugged.

"I don't see it that way Mister Peterson, I came to Los Angeles and made friends here, friends I met through work, the same as I did in Seattle for example"

"All your friends here are lesbians are they not?" Nat nodded agreeably as she answered.

"Well mostly, though there are guys and non-gay women here in LA I consider friends, but my closest friends, yeah they're gay"

"You choose to associate with your lesbian confederates to the exclusion of most others do you not?" Natalie nodded as she answered.

"Of course I choose to be with them, they're my friends after all" Peterson turned where he was standing between Nat and the jury and honed in on that.

"These lesbians, your friends as you call them; that you work with and socialise with to the exclusion of all others" Nat nodded again.

"You keep using that word exclusion, I wouldn't say to the 'exclusion' of all others" She smiled as she put the word in finger quotes. "I socialise with people from across the department and beyond"

"Oh really" Peterson's voice dripped scepticism. "Would you be kind enough to inform the court of who these others who aren't lesbian's might actually be?" Natalie smiled.

"The department's media team of course, given I'm a part of that team"

"Let's be honest here Miss Dearing, you lead that team. I would naturally expect you to spend time with them, as would any 'objective' observer" Natalie nodded agreeably.

"Naturally, plus the Major Crimes team…"

"Home to several of your gay friends" Peterson interrupted, but Nat remained unfazed as she nodded and replied.

"Yes, I socialise with my friends and their work colleagues, shocking I know" She smiled at the jury and pressed on. "Then there were drinks with the LAPD K9 unit two weeks back after we landed a deal to film a kids TV series about the unit" She frowned. "That was Friday night, we caught up with FBI Director Martinez and his wife for lunch on Saturday and attended a Sunday fundraising lunch with a group of media people I work closely with, I was one of their guests"

"Those are work functions in the main would you not agree?" Nat nodded once again, all smiles as she replied.

"Sure, I met them all through work, so to that point yes I suppose you could say so"

"Unlike your unnaturally close association with your lesbian friends" Natalie smiled even wider.

"Who I also all met through work" She shook her head at him. "I have friends I met through work who are straight and friends I met through work who are gay" She tipped her head to regard him. "I'm afraid this doesn't seem to be making your point Mister Peterson" Peterson's expression didn't change but I got the impression he wasn't impressed, he dived back in with his next question.

"You might socialise with work colleagues on a superficial level, but it is your lesbian friends with whom your life is intertwined" Peterson glanced at the jury and continued. "You spend all your free time at each other's houses, frequent lesbian dance and night clubs together, work together, socialise together, would you not agree that when you choose to spend time with someone, in the vast, in fact overwhelming, preponderance of cases, you chose to do so with your lesbian cohorts"

"I wouldn't say the overwhelming preponderance, that's your words Mister Peterson, not mine, but I prefer to spend time with my closest friends"

"Because they are lesbian's like you; that is why you choose to spend time with them in preference to others, is it not?"

"Not specifically for that reason but generally yes, mostly because we share the same interests" Peterson nodded, his expression and voice carrying hints of satisfaction, he obviously thought he'd made his point.

"Being gay" he stated, drawing a smile from Natalie before she answered his question.

"Well yes, there is that too but that's only a small part of our lives, I was going to say we like clothes and fashion, going out shopping and to nice cafés and restaurants with our friends, seeing movies together, going running or playing tennis or doing yoga, getting together over lunch or dinner or a barbeque, talking about our favourite TV shows, all the things friends do together" Peterson ignored that to go back to his key point, like a dog who couldn't let a bone alone.

"As I said, you are unnaturally close to your like-minded lesbian associates" Natalie gave him a slow smile.

"That's an unusual choice of words Mister Peterson; unnaturally…I certainly don't see it that way"

"Your relationship with your lesbian girlfriends certainly fits the description" I was about to object to the use of the word girlfriend, given all its connotations but Nat was already on it.

"Yes they are my girlfriends Mister Peterson, my lesbian girlfriends" She shook her head and pressed on. "Let me be clear on this. They are my girl…friends who happen to be lesbian, please don't suggest the wrong form of relationship when what you're insinuating doesn't exist"

"Given your excessive closeness, many would reach the same conclusion" He shook his head. "The unnatural closeness of your relationship with your friends, who you spend the vast majority of your time with, suggests such a conclusion" Nat slowly shook her head, not angry, somehow, though I was, instead she managed to convey amusement and a little pity towards Peterson, something she hammered home when she spoke.

"I'm sorry Mister Peterson, but you seem to have a really warped idea of what a lesbian's lifestyle is, but that's okay, you're a guy and don't understand what you're commenting on" She smiled. "It's not non-stop lesbian orgies and sex morning, noon and night" She shook her head and looked to the jury. "Sorry, that might be male fantasy and porn material, but in real life we're just like any group of couples" She pulled a face then continued. "We complain about our jobs, work to pay bills, argue about who's turn it is to take out the trash or wash the dishes or do the laundry, surprise each other, annoy each other and love each other, we're just the same as everyone else, the only difference is that we're two girls, not a girl and a guy" She shrugged. "Or two guys" She looked to Peterson, taking in his thoughtful expression; no doubt he was looking for a way to turn that to his advantage and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry" Natalie practically purred. "Was that not the answer you were looking for?" She tried to look a little repentant but it didn't come off. "I'm afraid gay girls don't conform to the stereotype some people have" Peterson rallied quickly.

"But you do not deny that you have an unnatural closeness to the other witnesses"

"You keep using that word but I don't think it means what you think it means" She smiled thinly and pressed on as I tried not to smirk at the quote from the Princess Bride, we'd watched it a month or so ago, sprawled all over the couches at our place, apparently it was one of her favourites. "That depends on what you would call unnatural" Nat tipped her head to regard Peterson. "I mean that could cover a wide variety of behaviours, one person's innocent habit is another's kink after all" She smiled at him then looked to the jury, hammering the point home. "In some countries my wearing a short skirt and having my head uncovered would be scandalous, whereas here…" She let that hang for a moment, giving time for everyone to see her point before pushing on. "Tell me Mister Peterson, what do you think constitutes unnatural?" He wasn't going to bite.

"I asked you the question Ms Dearing" Nat kept her voice calm and kept smiling.

"I know you did Mr Peterson, and I've asked for clarification, surely we're both just trying to get to the truth here" Nat being her usual happy, outgoing self, as we'd practiced, it was playing well with the jury I could see, making me smile thinly as I watched Peterson thinking that over for openings, before pushing forward a suggestion.

"You spend much of your work hours and social time together, visit gay clubs together, spend much of your free time together, to the exclusion of any and all others"

"Well Mr Peterson, I don't consider that strange at all" He looked openly sceptical, something his voice carried.

"To live a life almost joined at the hip to a group of other lesbians?" He glanced at the jury. "Many would" Natalie shook her head slowly and leaned forward to ensure the microphone picked up her response perfectly.

"Are you gay Mr Peterson?" Surprised, Peterson stood there for a second then shook his head as he replied.

"My sexuality is not a matter for this court" Natalie smiled kindly before replying.

"I think it is, after all you're peering into the lives of a group of gay girls and trying to pass judgement without understanding what you're talking about" She sat back. "That's like condemning a religion without once attending a service or reading their holy book" Nat shrugged. "Or disparaging a sport without understanding the rules or attending a game" She smiled widely. "You have to understand something before you can pass judgement" Peterson shook his head as he spoke dismissively.

"I do not need to be a lesbian to understand your lifestyle"

"Oh really?" Natalie pounced on that. "If you purport to understand lesbians then you tell me why I spend most of my free time socialising with other lesbians" Peterson deftly sidestepped that.

"Why don't you explain that to the court, you after all are the witness here" Natalie smiled happily as she spoke.

"Be glad to" She looked to the jury and began. "I am a member of a minority in this country; that is I am a gay woman, more than that, an openly gay woman" She smiled. "At the end of the day, it just means I fell in love with someone special, someone who just happened to be another girl, rather than a guy" She shook her head. "Many people, well most people actually, are cool with that, or don't care, but unfortunately not everyone accepts it, for some it's a religious thing, after all a number of the faiths have some quite nasty things to say about homosexuality in any form" She looked from the jury to the audience to the cameras then back again. "Then there are the people who don't like gays for any number of personal reasons, from feeling threatened by someone else with a different take on sexuality to parents worrying about whether their kids will turn homosexual if exposed to gay men or women, like being gay is some kind of weird communicable disease" She snorted and then smiled at the camera as she directed her comment to the audience across the country.

"Trust me, it doesn't work like that"

Washington DC Bethesda Naval Hospital

In her small cubicle in the rehabilitation centre of Bethesda Naval Hospital, Laura Dearing punched the air triumphantly.

"Way to go sis!" A couple of heads popped up at the noise, including her friends and fellow physical therapists Cathy Temple and Colleen Hamilton.

"What's up?" Colleen asked as Cathy nodded.

"My sister's in the witness box at that trial and she's making the defence lawyer look like an idiot" She grinned and indicated the small television screen she'd set up alongside her computer monitor. "Come and see" Both women hastened around and gathered behind Lauren.

"That's your sister? She's pretty" said Cathy as Colleen nodded.

"Yep, smart too, they're trying to make out that her being gay and having gay friends is a bad thing" Lauren shook her head. "Idiots"

In Court

Natalie turned back to look at the jury and continued her explanation.

"Some people see it as against god's will because we can't conceive a child, or something equally silly. I mean we can, it's just science; it's not all that different from artificial insemination really which is just science helping heterosexual couples who can't conceive naturally" Natalie moved slightly and favoured the camera closest to the jury with a small smile before continuing. "Then there are the men who see homosexuality in woman as a threat to their worldview. They see themselves as alpha males and women as their, sometimes subservient, partners and to have a woman not just reject them, but to seek sexual and emotional happiness with another woman offends their sense of right and wrong, threatening their worldview and their place in it"

"Does all this have a point?" Peterson interrupted as Natalie turned her head to regard him, all innocence.

"You did ask why I'm so close to my gay friends, I'm trying to answer that" She smiled. "Consider me a subject matter expert on the subject and that might help"

"You are expected to answer the question, not embark on a rambling diatribe" Peterson looked to Craven. "Your Honour, I ask you to direct the witness to stick to answering the questions put to them" I stood and spoke up.

"Your Honour, the witness is attempting to answer Counsel's question, unfortunately it seems as if Defence Counsel doesn't want to hear any context" I shook my head. "Defence has asked a question going to the heart of one of the great social issues of our time, human sexuality, expecting a yes or no answer. The witness is attempting to answer that question by placing it in context" Andrea stood to back me up.

"Your Honour, as a gay woman, one whose lifestyle and sexuality have been repeatedly and virulently attacked in this court by the Defence, I would like to petition the court to allow the witness to speak" She waved Natalie's way. "As the witness herself stated, she is a subject matter expert on the lifestyle of gay women in general and in particular a member of a group of gay women who have been subject to some especially nasty slurs and slanders here in this court. I ask that she be allowed to speak" Ling then rose and spoke up.

"Your Honour, I don't see how allowing the witness to undertake some rambling diatribe will assist this case" Craven looked from us to her and back again then looked to Natalie.

"Miss Dearing" She turned to look at him.

"Yes Your Honour" she asked, tilting her head to one side and smiling coquettishly, playing up to him slightly.

"Please try and keep your answers brief and to the point" She nodded and smiled a bit wider as she replied.

"I'll try Your Honour" He nodded.

"Then continue" Nat nodded briefly then leaned forward towards the microphone as Ling resumed her seat.

"So I'm a gay woman in a society that has generally accepted us, but there are still people who don't like us for all sorts of reasons" She shrugged then continued. "That's reason enough to be a little circumspect. On top of that, I'm an attractive woman, as are all of my friends, as such there is a second level of concern overlaid on top of the concerns that many gay woman have in society. There are predators out there who don't like gays, god knows there are enough beatings and murders of gay people each year to attest to that" She looked to the jury. "It's why those crimes are prosecuted as hate crimes" Shaking her head she continued. "When you add the higher than average risk of being attacked, raped and possibly murdered because you are an attractive woman, you can see why we're prudent about exactly how vulnerable we let ourselves be"

"Does this rambling diatribe actually have a point?" It was Peterson. I saw Andrea about to rise when Natalie nodded.

"I'm just coming to that now" She looked from the jury to the audience and the cameras. "Yes, I have a close relationship with my friends that some, such as Mr Peterson here obviously does, might label unnatural; however to me it is anything but. I spend my time in the company of other women who understand the concerns that I have, they share them too" Natalie turned her head to look at Andrea and I and smiled. "Deputy Chief Johnson, Doctor Isles, DDA's Cabot and Hobbs here, their partners, all of them are beautiful women whose looks and choice of partner and career have placed them at risk. We spend time with our friends because when we are together we know we are safe, without the risks that come from some elements of the wider community" Natalie turned back to face the jury as she spoke directly to them. "If I'm close to them, it's because they share my concerns, and spending time together is easier than spending time interacting with others who don't understand those concerns"

"So you're telling the court you spend all your time together with your lesbian 'friends'…" Peterson put it in quotes, the bastard. "…closeted together because you're afraid of being targeted for being a lesbian, by non-lesbians?" Peterson scoffed. "That sounds remarkably far-fetched wouldn't you agree?" Natalie however played it cool, shaking her head as she answered.

"Not really, given we're gay, or for being an attractive woman, or for working in a role with the LAPD, all of those lead to me and my friends being targeted"

"That's a bit of a stretch don't you think? That it's not safe to interact with non-gays because of your choice of partner, I would suggest it has more to do with your own personal issues and your shared disdain for those who do not share your lifestyle" Natalie shook her head, her voice clear and calm as I saw her slam the trap shut on him.

"You obviously haven't been keeping up with current events Mr Peterson" She smiled. "We are here in court today because there have been several attempts on our lives, in part because of our friendships" Nat's smile turned slightly cruel as she turned the question back on him, as we'd planned and practiced. "Which, given the assertions you and your team have been regularly making, seem to suggest that some of it is because of our sexuality" Leaving that thought hanging in the air she shrugged and looked to the jury again. "I hang out with my gay friends because they are my friends. Not only are we friends, just like everyone has friends they hang out with, they understand the same concerns I have, face the same issues I do, is it any wonder we hang out together?" Peterson didn't know enough to leave well enough alone.

"There is friendship and then there is the level of almost co-dependence you display as a group, you spend all day working together, you socialise when not working and go out to each other's houses or lesbian clubs at night together" Natalie nodded agreeably at Peterson's statement before replying.

"I think that there is a measure of co-dependence in any close friendship, after all liking and sharing the same things is normally a measure of friendship" She raised an eyebrow. "That's the same with your friends I gather Mister Peterson, the same as most people; and before you jump in, lesbians are most people"

"But here we have a group of women, all incredibly close lesbians, all involved in investigating and prosecuting a trial, a closeness that raises legitimate questions about your relationships, your objectivity and your suitability to conduct this investigation"

"Only if you consider lesbians and their friendships illegitimate, something I wouldn't expect from someone in this day and age Mister Peterson, not unless they're a nasty homophobe" She smiled sweetly at him before continuing. "The gender of the person we love isn't our only defining trait. They're my friends; that's why I spend time with them, I like spending time in their company. As for going out to lesbian clubs together, where would you have me go Mr Peterson?" She shook her head and continued before he could respond.

"I'm a lesbian Mister Peterson; my partner, my friends and I go to clubs that cater to us. There the people who make passes at me are other gay girls who, if I was single, might actually interest me. If I went to a non-gay club, I'd have passes not only from whichever girls that might be interested in me but a hell of a lot more guys, none of whom interest me at all" She tipped her head to regard him. "I can handle the girls but why would I want to have to fend off drunkenly aggressive and handsy guys all night as well?" Peterson tried to drag her back onto the track he wanted.

"So you disdain spending time with those who do not share your lifestyle, further proving your hostile attitude to non-lesbians, you obviously share much in common with Raydor and Johnson in that regard, hardly surprising given you live your life entwined in each other's lives" Nat tipped her head to regard him, probably buying herself a little time to answer, before she smiled a little nastily and spoke.

"Do you frequent gay nightclubs Mister Peterson?" she asked, drawing a surprised look from Peterson before he gave her a short retort.

"I do not" Her smile widened.

"Exactly, that's not your thing, I go to lesbian clubs because they are my thing" She smiled, "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it"

"The witness will stick to the point" Craven interjected, getting a nod and a smile from Natalie.

"Sorry, I mean yes Your Honour" She looked back at Peterson. "You go out to places that cater to people with similar tastes and interests, the same as I do" He made a dismissive gesture.

"I doubt there is any similarity whatsoever between our lifestyles, I do not feel the need to constantly live hand in glove with other people Miss Dearing, unlike you and your incredibly close friends" Natalie sadly shook her head before she replied.

"And so we come back once more to the insinuations regarding the extent of my friendship with the other women with whom I socialise, let me be completely clear on this Mister Peterson" She looked to the cameras. "I like my friends, really like them, they're good people who I really enjoy hanging out with and doing fun things together, I enjoy their company" She turned and directed her next words to the jury. "Some of them, my closest friends, I love them. They're like my sisters to me, I love them, trust them, care for them and would do anything for them and you know what, I know they'd do the same for me, without question" She looked back at Peterson, her voice firming up. "That said however, I have one lover, and I am hers and hers alone, the same as she is mine" Peterson went to say something but she rode straight over the top of him as she looked back to the jury.

"I love and am incredibly fortunate to be loved by a beautiful woman. I might have fallen for a man, but instead I fell for a person, someone who is everything I ever wanted, they happen to be a woman but what they are counts a hell of a lot less than who they are and they're the one person I love above all others" She turned back to Peterson, holding up her hand and showing the diamond ring there to the whole court. "I'm engaged to her and cannot wait to be married to her" Peterson looked like he was about to say something but she cut him off again. "So no Mister Peterson, despite your assertions about our closeness, I see nothing wrong with it. I have a group of really good friends; a small group who I love like sisters, but there is and always will be only one person for me and her name is Anastasia Romanov"

I smiled and turned my head, catching Andrea's eye, seeing her smile as she nodded gently and I did the same.

Peterson stood there for a few seconds, glancing at the jury and taking in their mood, I could see a few smiles and one or two jurors nodding gently, Natalie's words had obviously made an impact, something Peterson must have realised. He decided to cut his losses.

"No further questions for this witness" Craven looked to Humphries defender who looked at Natalie, stood and spoke.

"No questions from me Your Honour"

Boston

Susie and Riley were snuggled up on the couch at Susie's apartment, it was small but cosy, they each maintained a place but had decided that once their leases were up they'd look for a larger place to move in to, together. Now though they were watching the end of the day's proceedings in Los Angeles on cable. As they cut to the talking heads in the studio Susie muted the sound and looked to Riley.

"Wow" At her comment Riley nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much says it all" Susie nodded.

"Maura had really good things to say about her when I spoke to her last time she was here" Riley nodded slowly.

"Yeah, they said that they had a bunch of good friends out there, I guess we've seen a lot of them here" Susie nodded and sat up, Riley feeling the absence of her warmth and comfort, even as Susie started counting her fingers off.

"That FBI Agent and her partner, the one we just watched, Natalie; then there's her boss, the Deputy Chief and her partner, plus the two attorneys prosecuting and their partners, they all seem close"

"Close enough that the prosecution is trying to turn it against them" Susie, always the more optimistic of the two smiled.

"I'd say that just got a little bit less effective, thanks to that" She nodded at the television which showed the two anchors in the studio discussing the recent testimony. "She did a good job of explaining what it's like as an attractive, gay woman" She frowned. "It's not always easy" Picking up on her lover's slight discomfort Riley dragged her back down into her arms and snuggled close.

"That's why you have me bao-bei, for protection" The mangled pronunciation of the Chinese 'cherished one' that just happened to sound like the English 'baby' never failed to draw a smile from Susie and it did it again here.

"Barbarian" she scoffed though her smile belied the words. They lay there for a while, just cuddling, before Susie spoke, her voice reflective. "What are we going to do about us?"

"Oh?" asked Riley.

"I mean Cavanagh is still a dick about gays, that doesn't seem like it's going to change anytime soon, right?" Riley shook her head in monumental frustration.

"Unfortunately no, it doesn't look like it" She grimaced at recent memory. "To have him throw Jane under the defence's bus during a capital crime trial, that's just all kinds of wrong" Susie nodded against Riley's shoulder and replied, her voice kinda speculative.

"I still have Pike as my boss and he's a nightmare to work for, plus I don't like having to hide who we are and what we have together from everyone" She half shrugged, as best she could given the position she was in. "I want everyone to know we're together, to be open about it, not have to hide it" Riley placed a quick kiss to the top of Susie's head before replying.

"Me too, but what's the solution? Cavanagh's not going anywhere unfortunately and Maura's not coming back so you're stuck with Pike, same as I'm stuck with Cavanagh"

"Maybe, maybe not, I mean if Pike keeps messing up forensics evidence the way he has, maybe they'll get rid of him, but it's Cavanagh I'm worried about" Riley shook her head as she replied.

"He's hanging in till retirement and his pension, like I said, he's not going anywhere"

"That's what I mean. If he won't go, maybe you should" Riley twisted her head round and down to look Susie in the eyes.

"What do you mean, go back to vice?" Susie shook her head and moved to look up into her lover's eyes, brown eyes meeting subtly different brown.

"No we move somewhere where we can do our jobs as a criminologist and homicide detective, and be together publically, without the idiots we have as our bosses" Riley thought about it, the idea was a nice one, even if they'd have to start their careers again.

"Where though, we'd have to find a force that was looking for a criminologist and a homicide detective at the same time" Susie nodded at that, she sure as hell didn't want to do anything that might result in them not working together.

"I don't know, I'll give Maura a call and let her know what's happening here, she might know of something" Susie smiled. "Maybe the LAPD might have a job for us both, I know her and Jane would both put in a good word for us" Riley nodded slowly as she thought it over; LA was a damned long way away, the far side of the country in fact. It'd mean uprooting themselves and moving but on the other hand it had worked out for Maura and Jane... She looked down and smiled at her lover.

"Can't hurt, give her a call and see what she has to say" The smile she got back was happy and sexy and made her feel things were better just for seeing it. Susie crawled up her body to snuggle in Riley's lap and planted a kiss on her lips, one Riley happily returned even as she felt Susie's hands start to wander.

One thing led to another and before they knew it time was getting late, too late to cook so they had to order food in,

Neither one cared though.