A/N- To anyone still holding on, hey guys! I'm back with the final chapters! Junior year is busier than what I thought it would be, and then things just kept happening and I've jotted notes down over a course of a few months, and now that a blizzard hit us, I pieced them together. Funny thing, I've had the last chapter written for ages, like when I wrote the second chapter ages. I pretty much have lame reason after lame reason for not updating. Now I give you the rather long chapter 23.
Disclaimer: Same as always: I don't own the show or the characters from the show. This does come from my imagination. I don't profit from this. I also have very little knowledge of law, medicine and psychiatry and how certain situations are handled. I know that events like this wouldn't unfold like this, but in fiction, anything can happen.
Third POV:
"Nolan,
I'm sorry, but everything has gotten to be too much. I've decided that I need time to reconsider everything. I'm going to go study with Takeda for a while. I'm leaving Arrayah with you, in case I don't return. It's unfair to her if I take her away from you for an undecided amount of time, and if something happens to me, it will be hard for her to get back to you; Takeda may keep her to train, and I don't want that. Please, I hope you'll forgive me one day.
I love you both so much,
Amanda Clarke"
Nolan stares down at the crisp paper and curvy handwriting. How could she just leave him? How could she leave her daughter, their daughter, the one thing that kept her alive for seven years?
"Daddy, where's Mommy?" Nolan turns around and sees his little daughter, standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"She left us, Arrayah. She's gone." He tells her coldly. He can't stand there any longer. He stomps out of the cottage and toward the shore line, letter in hand. He rips the letter into pieces and throws it into to crashing waves. He gets to his knees and swears at the sand, the sky, the water. When he looks up, he is no longer on the beach, but at a wedding. He sits in the audience, next to a sour-faced teenage girl with long curly, blond hair. The orchestra starts playing and he and everyone else stands and looks toward the back of the room. The doors open and as the gently notes fill the room, a bride walks solely down the aisle with a bouquet of black roses; all the décor is in black and everyone is wearing black. When she makes it to the alter, the man he didn't notice standing up there raises her veil, revealing Emily's face.
"Emily looks happy." The teenager comments, ice lacing her voice. Nolan doesn't understand what's going on. How is Arrayah so much older and colder? Why is he at Emily's wedding, and why is he not the one at the alter with her? Before the priest even starts, he stands up and goes to Emily.
"What are you doing, Emily?" He whispers harshly in her ear.
"It's all part of the plan, Nolan. Please go back to your seat so the wedding can go on." Emily whispers back, just as harsh.
Nolan opens his eyes sharply with a gasp for air. He hears a gentle wheezing coming from the other side of the bed. When his eyes focus, he can tell he's not the only one awake.
"Arrayah, what are you doing up so early?" He whispers, hoping not to wake Emily.
"You were squirming in your sleep, and I really gotta go to the bathroom, but I'm stuck!" Arrayah whispers urgently, trying to get out of her mother's grasp. Sometime in the middle of the night, Emily had wrapped her arms around Arrayah and formed a cage around her.
"Okay, Ray, I'll help you out." Nolan gets up and retrieves one of the decorative pillows from the chest at the foot of the bed. He helps Arrayah untangle herself from Emily's hold and slips a pillow in her place. Emily doesn't seems to notice, and only snuggles closer to the pillow. Nolan leads Arrayah to the bathroom and waits outside of the door. When she comes out, he leads them back to Emily's room.
"Daddy, what were you dreaming about?" Arrayah asks, "You were moving a lot."
"It was just a silly bad dream." He shrugs off and picks her up.
"You told me there's no such thing as a silly bad dream, Daddy." Arrayah looks him in the eye, and Nolan can't help but see that angry teenager.
"You're right, Raya." He kisses her cheek, "But we both need to get some rest. We've had a busy evening and need all the sleep we can get."
Arrayah thinks about it for a second, "Fine, but we're gonna talk about it in the morning, right?" At this moment, he sees a smaller Emily, with a stare not as stern, but just as powerful.
"We can, now, let's get some sleep." He carries her into the bedroom and quickly trades the pillow out for his daughter. When Nolan lies down next to them, he wraps an arm over Emily and waits for Arrayah's breathing to even out before he can fully relax.
The next morning, there is news that Daniel Grayson was arrested for public intoxication and vandalism, after being found on the docks in the early hours of the morning. Emily isn't fully satisfied that he isn't getting a harder sentence, but she's refusing to admit what happened last night; she's fine with only her small family and Nolan's friends knowing what happened. Nolan stays on edge the whole day, worrying Arrayah would bring up his nightmare, but by the time they settled her in her own bed, the nightmare is forgotten. They lay in their own bed, door open if Arrayah needs them, Emily happily takes comfort in being curled up to Nolan.
"Nolan?" She asks quietly. They both hadn't said anything since they went to bed, and she doesn't want to wake him with something that's been pestering her today when she would think about what unfolded the night before.
Nolan looks down at her, "What's up?" Emily hadn't mentioned much of her attack, and if she's still the same as what she was six years ago, she's bottled it up and it needs to be unleashed.
"Who were those guys you called?" Emily makes eye contact with him. From what Arrayah told her, the guys who were outside weren't people Nolan would've become easily acquainted with.
"Just my motorcycle buddies." He chuckles and he can see Emily doesn't believe him, "Call it a mid-life crisis, but I bought a motorcycle three months after you went missing. I went on a ride around the state and made friends and helped them with some financial and technical things. You know, they really aren't as menacing as they look."
Emily gives him a skeptical look, trying to picture Nolan rolling around with a biker gang, "You really bought a motorcycle?"
"I did, it's red as your Sharpie. We should take a trip one day." He kisses her forehead and Emily still can't wrap her head around it, "You need to sleep, Emily."
Victoria Grayson steps off the private jet. She pulls her mink coat tighter against herself, the chilly winter air penetrating her layers of wooly and thick fabric. She's almost to the terminal when a tall man in a suit stops her.
"Excuse you, what are you-"She begins, infuriated at this building of a man stopping her from the warmth of the building. Her car is blocking her path.
"Victoria Grayson, you are under arrest for conspiring in the abduction Emily Thorne, tampering evidence to frame David Clarke, committing perjury, and being an accessory to laundering to terrorists. You have the right to remain silent..." He begins the Miranda rights and cuffing her as she tries putting up a fight. They had already gotten Conrad Grayson and were uncovering evidence suggesting Daniel was a part of the crime ring with his parents.
Emily and Arrayah continue growing stronger, emotionally and physically. Nolan is beginning to see her old spunk return, and he sees it in their daughter. Emily began physical training as soon as her cast was cut off and her physical therapist signed off on it, and Arrayah's confidence grew and her nightmares are becoming farther apart. With her parents' support, she grows more verbal and confident within herself. She becomes best friends with the Porter boys and actually grows fond of their sporadic tendencies.
The visits and studies got better, and Emily, along with Nolan, got cleared and had no current threat to Arrayah's custody. One night, after Arrayah was put down for bed and they were just relaxing in front of the fire place, Emily asked Nolan about making their daughter's true paternity public. The question surprised Nolan, but Emily explained that she was worried that Dwayne would try to file for visitation rights of Arrayah, she wanted to make sure Arrayah would have as little contact with him as possible, and she wanted everyone to know that Arrayah was Nolan's. They called their new attorney the next morning and got his approval. By that evening, Arrayah wasn't a Campbell anymore, she became a Ross.
In a small prison cell on Riker's Island, sits a man with eyes as pale blue as an iceberg and thinning brown hair. He stares at a magazine clipping that causes the creases in his forehead to deepen and his scowl grow harsher.
"Emily Thorne's Child's Paternal Identity Revealed."
In the photo is a snapshot the small family, the couple hand-in-hand with their child, who was caught mid-skip between them. The article that goes with it briefly explains Emily's case, and then mostly gushes about the details of Arrayah's true paternity. As his eyes scan the column, he grows angrier and angrier, till he whistles like a tea kettle. He rips Nolan's face out of the picture, crumbles it, and throws it to the ground. He screams as he does the same thing to Emily's picture. He stops and looks at Arrayah's crinkled picture. He was tough on her, but that's what made her good, and it didn't stop his love for her. If he thought he hurt her, he would've known. She lied, just like her mother, and will find a way to punish her. Even if his so-called family has already pleaded guilty, and will never see the light of day with their list of charges half his own, he will not go down without fighting and punishing his child and her mother.
The night leading up to their testimonies is a stressful one. Nolan and Emily sit Arrayah down at dinner and explain what will happen the next day. They would get up, get ready, and her social worker would pick her up and take her to testify, and then they will be able to be together for a few hours, and then Aiden, Emily and Nolan would go to the "grown-up" court. The thought of being away from her family makes Arrayah nervous, and she tries to persuade them to let her go with them, but they don't let up on their decision. They know very well what's going to be discussed in court, and Emily is less than thrilled that after this case is over, everyone is going to know what happened to her, much less her daughter at such a young and still innocent to most of the world's evils. There is some comfort from Sonya; she had told Emily if it had been up to her, this case would've went unreported and once Emily was strong enough, she could've taken care of them herself.
The next morning, the trio is very solemn and very tired from a night full of trying to comfort the terrors away. Their breakfast is quiet, Arrayah usually keeps them entertained by her wild dreams and chatters. Emily and Nolan try to keep their nerves down as low as they can, so no one is feeding off the other's negative energy. They dress nice and almost like they're going to a funeral, with their coordination in a theme of black and white, and look very uniform. Emily even manages to straighten out the tangle of curls that dominated Arrayah's head so she looked presentable to the judge and jury; Emily still has to prove she is a capable mother. Bonnie the Bunny makes an appearance when the Jeanne shows up. Emily manages to convince Arrayah that she can take the bunny with her, but when she's testifying she has to give her to Jeanne. The social worker drives Arrayah to New York City and Emily and Nolan follow them. The first thing that was to happen is Arrayah's testimony, and then beginning of Dwayne's trial would be later today. Her social worker guides Arrayah into the court room so her testimony can be given, and the only people who would be present would be Arrayah, her social worker, the judge, both attorneys, a court reporter, and a video camera . Not being able to see Arrayah makes Emily a nervous wreck, and Nolan tries to calm both of him and Emily. They situate themselves right across the doors so when Arrayah comes out, they are the first faces she sees.
During the ride, Ms. Jeanne explained to Arrayah that she would have to sit in a big chair, she will be questioned by her parents' lawyer, and then other lawyer may question how truthful she's being. She tells Arrayah not to get too upset with the questioner, and if she sees Arrayah getting too distressed, she will stop it so they can take a break. She continues with the comforting words that her parents will be just outside the door. When Arrayah enters the court room, she has to sit next to her social worker on the benches. When the Judge Wilma Tate, enters everyone stands up. When they sit, Arrayah shifts her bunny to Ms. Jeanne's lap. Judge Tate calls Arrayah up to the witness bench and Mr. Montgomery, her parents' lawyer, a man in his forties Arrayah met when she got her name changed, asks her the basic questions that make her testimony valid, and then when the kind looking judge nods her head, he asks her to tell about her home life with Dwayne, before she got away.
Arrayah tells about how Dwayne wouldn't let her see her mother when she entered school unless she was really good and brought home the highest grades possible. She retells of how when she brought home a B on a spelling test she woke up bruised in coverable area and laying on the kitchen floor and couldn't go to school for three days. She continues on how when she did get to see her mother, she looked scared and looked like she was hurt, but she lied and say she was fine, even when she was bleeding. Before she ran away, she hadn't been allowed to see her mother since July.
Mr. Montgomery prompts Arrayah to what made her flee the house. She recalls the story she told Nat a long time ago. When she's done, Mr. Montgomery smiles and tells her he's done. Arrayah gets nervous as she really looks at the other attorney, Mr. Goodman, the one that's supposed to make Dwayne win. He reminds Arrayah of a snake, with his black hair slicked back and his small, dark eyes focusing on everything, and his slinky walk up to the stand. She fights the urge to push back; she has to be brave. She makes eye contact with Ms. Jeanne, and sees her nod.
"Arrayah, why didn't you ever tell anyone about what was going on at home?" He paces in front of her and Arrayah inhales to calm herself.
"He told me bad things would happen to me and Mommy." Arrayah bravely tells him.
"Who's 'he', Arrayah? You have to be clear." Judge Tate kindly tells her. She knows she shouldn't be biased, but she's on the little girl's side, and doesn't want any chance of that man escaping.
"Dwayne, Willis, and Alex, ma'am." Judge Tate thanks her and smiles at her, with Arrayah giving her a weak one in return.
"It could get worse than what had already happened?" He gives her a sideways look and a crooked smile.
"I believed him when he said bad things could happen." Arrayah tells him.
"Arrayah, it's a pretty long way from the house you were in to the house and to the beach Mr. Mathis found you on, how could you have gotten there?" Arrayah hopes her panic isn't showing.
"I ran a long way; I didn't want to be found. I've never seen him with a gun, before." Arrayah tells him, and catches Ms. Jeanne's eye. She looks worried, but Mr. Goodman continues.
"Weren't you worried for your mother?" Arrayah can see his crooked teeth from the smirk he was flashing himself.
"Objection, your honor, that's a leading question and he's badgering the witness!" Arrayah is stunned at Mr. Montgomery's outburst. She feels her anxiety rise and feels like she's going to throw up.
"Sustained, Mr. Goodman do you have anything else?"
"Yes, your honor, how can we be sure she's credible? She's just a child, and she may have forgotten some details and she's substituted those details in with things she's been told."
"Your honor," Mr. Montgomery stands up and gets a nod from the judge to continue, "There is always a risk of things going amiss with a witness, but Arrayah has told most of this once, with official documentation to prove her stories should line up. When she was in the hospital, she was questioned, and that's when her memory should've been fresh. She had been alone for that time, with a minimal chance of her account being tainted." Arrayah looks between the Judge Tate and the attorneys, confused at what everyone just said.
"I want that documentation within the next hour, Mr. Montgomery. Is that all Mr. Goodman? Mr. Montgomery?" Judge Tate asks. Both men look at some papers on their desks and nod. Judge Tate politely tells Arrayah to go back to Ms. Jeanne and she makes a statement for the video camera and Arrayah is finally allowed to leave. Ms. Jeanne whispers to her to calmly walk down the aisle, even if she does want to run. Arrayah listens to her, but when she is out of the door, she empties her stomach in the garbage can by her parents. They are stunned for a second, but go to their daughter's aide.
"How'd she do?" Nolan questions as he rubs Arrayah's back as Emily holds her hair.
"Arrayah did so good, and she was so brave!" Ms. Jeanne tells the parents, and adding the last part to reassure Arrayah. She passes the prized bunny to Nolan so she won't forget and to make sure Arrayah has it later.
"That's great, did you hear that Ray?" Emily eagerly tells her daughter, trying to comfort her. When Arrayah is done, Emily takes her to the bathroom so she can get cleaned up in privacy. After she's finished, Emily, Nolan, and Arrayah meet Aiden for lunch and then go to Nolan's apartment to gather their wits and prepare for the real trial. Amanda and Charlotte come up with Carl and Andy so Arrayah doesn't have to go back to the court house. With Arrayah safely in the hands of Amanda and Charlotte, and the comfort of Bonnie, Aiden, Nolan, and Emily left to go to building that holds the start of their new lives.
A/N- This is the first part of the trial, it will be finished up in the next chapter. Just to warn you, I will be mostly hitting Emily's testimony next chapter, and it will get a little graphic. I hope you all forgive me and stick with me for the final two chapters. Be on the look out for it in the next two weeks!