A/N: I think I'm almost to the end of the story, with just a couple of more chapters to go. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review (or even just read!). As always, I'm sorry for any SVU or court errors that I make; the only thing I can say is that this is what things were like for me. All names have been changed to protect those involved.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Law and Order: SVU. That honor goes to the good folks over at NBC.

Spoilers: None.

Summary: An eleventh grader is sexually assaulted at school. Will Olivia, Alex, and the rest of the gang be able to help her cope?

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Grand Jury Room A

Alex again placed a reassuring hand on Julia's arm, trying to get her to relax; she could feel the tension radiating from the young girl's body, and she could see the panic on her face "You need to breathe," she softly reminded her, a little concerned over the fact that Julia seemed very close to hyperventilating.

"I'm trying to," Julia whispered back, hesitantly settling herself into the witness chair. Snaking her hand into her suit jacket's pocket, she stroked Hoot's fur, trying to focus on something other than the situation. Truth be told, she was seriously considering darting out of the room, unsure if she could handle the pressure of actually testifying. "Alex?"

"Hmm?" Alex moved so that she was standing just in front of Julia, in a sense blocking her view of the jurors. Although a few curious jurors were intently watching their interaction, the majority of them were engrossed with reading the police report.

"I don't know if I can do this," Julia nervously informed her. "I want to, but—" she trailed off. I'm scared. I'm really scared.

"But you're scared," Alex quietly finished her sentence, flashing her a sympathetic smile. "I know you are, Julia, but you know what? You're a strong young woman, and you can get through this."

But what if they don't believe me? Julia desperately wanted to ask Alex, staring at the ground as her anxiety mounted. She had seen Law and Order multiple times before, and knew that the defense attorneys always tried to get their clients off of the hook by persecuting the victim. Could she really handle that? Did she really want to handle that? She wanted to be believed, and was worried that the grand jurors would just laugh at her… or worse yet, judge her and tell her that she had asked for it; that every eleventh grade girl wanted and asked for it.

"Hey," Alex murmured, dipping her head to try to meet Julia's gaze. "You're going to be just fine, I promise," she continued to block her view of the jurors. "Just focus on my voice, okay? Just listen to my words, and ignore everyone else." She knew that Julia was terrified of what was to come, but she also suspected that a tiny part of her would be empowered by the testimony; grand juries tended to favor the victim, and the evidence, although slight, was still solid.

"Okay," Julia quietly nodded her understanding, although she immediately ignored Alex's advice and looked around the room. Glancing at the jurors, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. They seemed like normal people, and they were doing normal people type things. Book bags were strewn on the floor, half-eaten lunch sandwiches were left out on their tables, and the jurors all seemed to be friends. They were laughing, they were smiling, they were human.

But that didn't mean that she was any less scared or intimidated by the situation. Julia tried not to focus on the white noise of the jurors talking, nor on the excessive amount of heat that was spewing from the room's vents. And the lights—why were the lights so bright?

Remembering what both Alex and Olivia had instructed her to do, Julia took a deep breath, and then another, and then another. And then she took one more deep breath just for good measure, feeling the tension in her shoulders slightly ebb away.

Carefully studying Julia's posture and expression, Alex couldn't help but breathe her own sigh of relief when the young girl seemed to be a bit more relaxed. "Ready?" she gently inquired.

"Yeah," Julia replied, staring at the bailiff as he brought a copy of the Bible over to her. "I'll be fine," she gave Alex the slightest of smiles, allowing herself to be sworn in.

Taking one more deep breath, Julia shifted her gaze to Alex's, her fingers constantly moving against Hoot's fur.

"Julia, can you please tell the members of the jury what happened on December 4?" Alex started the 'discussion.'

Julia's mouth suddenly went dry, her face pale. Alex's question was too broad, and she had no idea where to start.

"Let me re-phrase the question," the ADA seemed to immediately understand the problem. "Can you tell us where you were on Wednesday, December 4, around 3:15 in the afternoon?"

Julia nodded, her eyes still riveted to Alex's face.

"I'm afraid that you're going to have to verbally answer the question," she gently reminded her.

"Oh, right," Julia cleared her throat. "At school, waiting in the bus loop for the bus to take me home."

"And were you alone?"

Julia absentmindedly shook her head no, before remembering that she had to talk. "Mark and his friend were also there," she uncomfortably murmured.

"Did you and Mark do any talking?"

"Not exactly," Julia sighed, starting to feel like the easiest way to get out of the grand jury hearing was just to answer the questions without thinking about them.

"What do you mean by 'not exactly?'" Alex calmly inquired, making sure to stand just beside her for support.

"Well—" Julia frowned, taking another deep breath. "He did the majority of the talking." Glancing up at the jurors for a moment, she added, "He kept asking me for oral sex over and over again. I said no at least three times, but I couldn't get him to leave me alone. I just wanted him to leave me alone," she whispered, her gaze returning to Alex's face. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone?

Alex tried to reassure Julia with a smile, gently asking, "And did he?"

"No," Julia stared at the floor, and then up at the jurors. "No, he continued to bother me when we got on the bus, too. I know that I made a mistake by sitting in the back, but I always sat in the back of the bus," she helplessly tried to explain. "I already felt confused by what Mark had been saying for the past hour, and I just… I just wasn't thinking clearly." Or at all. Glancing around the room, the eleventh grader tried to read the faces of the jurors. Were they disgusted with her? Upset? It was hard to tell.

"And then what happened, Julia?" Alex softly probed.

"Mark sat down next to me and wouldn't let me leave when I tried to get up," came her almost immediate response. "I tried to push past him, but he blocked my way," she needlessly added.

Frowning as her mind drifted elsewhere, Julia truthfully answered question after question to the best of her ability, semi-aware of the fact that she was no longer really focussed on what was taking place in the grand jury room; had Olivia been present, she would have testified that Julia's mind was protecting her by shutting down, much like it had back on December 4.

Without really thinking about what she was saying, Julia told the jurors about the bus's longer than normal ride home, the teacher that she saw at the stoplight, and how her mind had seemed to wander during much of the ordeal. She told them about how Mark had used his arm to hold her down, about what he had done to her with his fingers, and about the parting sex comment that he had made to her before getting off of the bus. Then she told them about the hot shower that she couldn't quite seem to make hot enough, and about the self-loathing and disgust that persisted even to this day.

Julia had no clue that silent tears were streaming down her cheeks by the time that she had finished her story, but they were.

She had no clue that the majority of the jurors were giving her sympathetic looks, but they were.

She had no clue that Alex was purposely remaining silent so that the jurors could digest her story, but she was. And they did.

And then the questions started flooding in.

"Why didn't you yell for help?" one juror hesitantly asked. "I mean, wouldn't the bus driver have done something to help you?"

"Yes," Julia honestly whispered her reply. "And I don't know why I didn't shout for help. I had been saying no for an hour, and I guess I had just hoped that that was good enough," she sadly shrugged. "I was scared, I felt lost, I felt out of control, I was worn out; I just wanted to go home and be alone. I was tired of verbally fending him off, and I had tried to get by him," she reminded the juror.

"But you didn't yell for help?" someone else repeated the exact same question.

"Remember, a victim only has to say no once," Alex spoke up, "And Julia testified that she said no multiple times and tried to physically push past Mark. That's more than what the law requires of a victim."

Julia flashed Alex a grateful smile.

"Do you know why the bus was late that day?" someone curiously asked.

Julia shook her head no. "I wish I did, though. If it had been on time, things probably would have turned out much differently."

"Has he bothered you since?" another juror asked.

"No," Julia murmured. "I see him every day, but he hasn't talked to me." Again, she didn't know about the issue with Michelle.

Wiping away the remainder of her tears, the eleventh grader took a shaky breath, gazing up at Alex; she really wanted to be done with her testimony now.

The lawyer nodded her reassurance, before returning her attention to the jurors. "Are there any other questions?" When none were forthcoming, she smiled at Julia. "Why don't you go ahead and wait outside?" she suggested, helping her to her feet and then to the door. Knowing Olivia as she did, Alex assumed that the detective would still be outside, and was gratified to see that she was.

Shuffling into the hallway, Julia sadly gazed at Olivia.

"You okay, honey?" the detective quietly asked, patting the empty spot on the bench beside her.

"I think so, yeah," Julia took a seat, taking a deep breath and then exhaling. "Tired, but okay." Although she was anxious to hear what the grand jury would say, she was thankful to be done with the whole thing; at least for now, anyhow.

"Well you did good," Olivia gently patted her shoulder. "I'm very proud of you, and I know that Alex is, as well."

Julia just closed her eyes, ignoring the few tears of relief that somehow managed to slip through.

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TO BE CONTINUED