Four Months Later

Brian rested his chin on Justin's shoulder as he studied his partner's latest creation. He always thought Justin's works were fabulous (especially the ones painted with him as the subject, of course), but since the ordeal with Prescott, his pieces had gotten noticeably darker in content. That was not very surprising; Justin's emotions had always manifested themselves through his painting.

This was one no exception – it was an abstract awash in shades of dark maroon, black, and navy. And while Brian would never profess to be an art expert, it didn't take a genius to discern the angry strokes that dominated this one, as well as the reason behind it.

Justin turned his head to give his lover a quick kiss. "I'm almost done," he said. "Just a few more minutes," he stated in answer to Brian's silent question.

Brian grasped the slender shoulders from behind and murmured, "I wish there was another way, Sunshine."

Justin turned in his embrace, wrapping his hands around the lean back. "I know. But we BOTH know there IS no other way." He sighed. "I just want to get this over with. I feel like my life's been on hold for the last few months." He was quiet for several seconds before admitting, "I'm not looking forward to seeing him again in that courtroom."

Brian nudged his forehead with his. "I know," he gently replied. "But I will be with you every step of the way."

Justin smiled gratefully. "I know you will, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. I couldn't do this without you, you know," he added, reaching his arms up to affectionately ruffle the auburn hair on Brian's neck.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Sunshine," he confirmed, pulling the blond head down for a tender kiss. Releasing his partner somewhat reluctantly, he said, "I'd better let you finish up. We don't want to be late. I'll grab some coffee so you can finish and take that shower." He kissed the blond once again, this time on the cheek, before returning to the kitchen.

Justin looked with dread at the army of media boom trucks, cameramen, and reporters stationed outside the Allegheny County courthouse downtown. Thanks to his previous confrontation with Hobbs, the bombing at Babylon, and now the ordeal with Prescott, who was a well-known figure in his own right, the attention to the trial had reached epic proportions, not only in Pittsburgh but also in New York City, where Prescott held his corporate offices. The man had been released on bail shortly after his arrest, despite the vehement protests of Justin's attorney, so he had been able to spend his considerable time and wealth obtaining the best defense money could buy. Justin's attorney, Greg Matthews, was supposed to be one of the best prosecuting attorneys in the state, according to Mel, whose advice Justin had sought shortly after returning to Pittsburgh.

But Matthews had already warned his client that this was going to be a difficult battle. There was no doubt that Prescott had kidnapped Justin, as well as instructed those under him to perform illegal activities, including wiretapping and impersonating another party; but for weeks now, there had been rumors that the defense was prepared to offer a temporary insanity plea to justify Prescott's actions, an idea that Brian found absolutely appalling and reprehensible. He was determined to see that justice was done, and more importantly, that his partner was protected at all costs.

Pushing through the aggressive throng of media representatives as they left their relatively safe confines of the 'Vette, Brian kept his arm firmly around Justin's waist, urging him to ignore the questions being thrown out at him relentlessly from all angles. Justin eyes were clouding over in pain and fear, as the claustrophobic atmosphere threatened to suffocate him. "Don't think about it, Sunshine," he comforted the younger man. "Keep your head up and keep walking. I've got you," he said softly, bending down to whisper in the blond's ear to be heard about the din of voices. Justin nodded and did as Brian instructed, striding purposefully to the front entrance door as the media throng was fortunately prevented from encroaching any further.

Justin paused just inside the door to take a deep breath, trying furiously to slow his breathing down and calm himself. Brian wrapped his arms firmly around him in a tight embrace. "Shh, it's going to be okay, Justin," he reassured him. He heard a sniffle from his partner; Brian's heart broke a little at the knowledge of how difficult a test this was going to be for the man he loved so much. He would have given anything to keep Justin from having to go through this, but he understood that ultimately only his partner could put the fucker away for good. And he knew that Justin was actually a lot stronger than others gave him credit for, or he wouldn't have survived what have been thrown at him time and time again.

Justin took another deep breath, before breaking away from Brian's comforting embrace. He, however, kept an arm wrapped around the other's man waist. With another long exhale, he said, "I'm as ready as I guess I'll ever be, Brian, let's get this over with." The older man smiled at him encouragingly, nudging his lover's nose with his own. "Let's go, Sunshine," he said, wrapping his own arm around the blond's waist as he led him toward the courtroom doors.

As they rounded the corner near Courtroom #B, they were shocked to see their "family" there: not only Jennifer, Molly and Tucker, but also Debbie, Emmett, and even Cynthia. Ted and Carl, of course, were already expected to be there, as they both had to testify on Justin's behalf. But they were probably surprised most of all by Lindsey & Mel's appearance.

Both women rushed up to Justin to hug him enthusiastically. "Justin! Hi, Sweetie," Mel said, as Lindsey offered him a kiss on the cheek. "You look good, Justin," Lindsey said, smiling affectionately at him.

Justin's eyes welled up with tears at the thought of this group making such a determined effort to show up and offer their support. He was overwhelmed by the love he was feeling from all of them. "Thank you, guys. These means so much to me," he said, voice choking up with emotion.

"We're all here for you, Sunshine," Deb answered, as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"You can do this, baby," Em, also, encouraged his friend. "And we'll be right in there with you. You go nail that bastard!" he added firmly.

"He WILL," Brian verified, speaking for both of them. "We BOTH will. That fucker's not going ANYWHERE from now on," he vowed. Turning to study his partner, he asked, "You ready to do this, Sunshine?"

Justin felt emboldened as he looked around at all the people who had made such a determined effort to show up to offer their encouragement and support. Squaring his shoulders, he smiled slightly at Brian and answered firmly, "Yeah. I'm ready. Let's do this." Returning his smile encouragingly, the large group entered the courtroom together.

As they proceeded into the room, it seemed liked everyone's eyes were on him. Justin noticed the space was quickly filling up. No doubt there were curious bystanders in the courtroom, in addition to press reporters sprinkled throughout, ready to dispense whatever prurient details they could dig up for their inquisitive audience, he thought distastefully. Sometimes he detested the freedom of the press; such an open society succeeded in creating an insatiable need to probe into everybody's business. He would have rather not had every juicy detail spread all over the evening news, but he knew it couldn't be stopped.

Sighing inwardly, he recognized his attorney sitting at the prosecutor's table. Catching his attention, Greg walked back toward Justin's group. "Hi, Justin, everybody," Matthews greeted them. He already knew most of Justin's supporters, such as Brian, of course, who had closely followed every move of the case since the event had happened, and Mel, who was asked to be an advising co-counsel on the case, having a friendly relationship already with Justin; he knew the young man was understandably very skittish over having to testify in court against the defendant, and along with Brian, Mel had the ability to help keep her friend calm.

"Justin, Mel, may I have a word with you privately?" he asked the pair, nodding his head toward a relatively empty corner. As he expected, not only did Justin and Mel follow him, but Brian as well. His client's partner had been very protective of Justin since the kidnapping, insisting he was not going to take any chances until he knew that Prescott was locked up, hopefully for the rest of his life. The man's love and protectiveness toward his blond partner was easily apparent, even to the most casual acquaintance.

As they stood off to the side out of earshot of any would-be eavesdroppers, Matthews advised his client, "I need to let you know that the defense team just filed a motion in connection with Prescott's "not guilty" plea. They are definitely going after a temporary insanity defense." At Brian's look of disgust, Matthews confided, "That doesn't surprise me in the least. After all, we've got Prescott dead to rights on the charges of kidnapping, wiretapping, and fraud. Although as I told you before, I honestly have doubts that the attempted rape charge will stick," he reminded his client, noticing the visible flinch Justin displayed at the word rape. "Even so, these other charges would bring at least 25 years to life if he's found guilty and convicted. So in my opinion, it's the only alternative the defense has."

Brian was furious at the thought that this man who had stalked Justin and terrorized him might be successful in pleading an insanity defense, and had great difficulty keeping his voice down as he said incredulously, "I don't BELIEVE this! This is a guy who planned everything out! He lured me away, managed to cancel the security men I had at the loft, and even found a way to get Justin out of town so he could drug and KIDNAP him! That doesn't sound like someone who's lost all his fucking marbles to me!"

"I agree with Brian," Justin said, he, too, aghast at the thought of Prescott practically getting away unpunished. "It takes a very calculating and intelligent mind to do what that he did, NOT someone whacked out of his fucking mind."

"I understand where you're coming from, believe me," Greg reassured them. "But under this type of defense, his attorneys only have to prove that he TEMPORARILY did not understand right from wrong at the time the crimes were committed. Don't get me wrong – it's NOT going to be an easy stance to prove, that's for damn sure. But arguably it's the only one they've got if he wants to be found not guilty. Obviously, they're taking a big risk here. But I think they're approaching it along the lines that it's not any riskier than him going ahead and pleading guilty right off the bat. At least this way, they feel they've got a chance."

"He's right, baby," Mel verified to her friend. "I'm not surprised they're trying this; in fact, I pretty much expected it. It's his only chance to not face a long jail sentence. But the cases of successfully arguing that defense are VERY rare, Justin, and the witnesses against him are impressive. I don't see him having a snowball's chance in Hell of winning with that plea."

Justin briefly closed his eyes, his body in a kind of inner turmoil. He was already extremely nervous about having to face Prescott again; now the very thought of him somehow not being held responsible for the torment he had put him through seemed unfathomable to him and made his sense of apprehension exponentially greater.

"Justin?" His inner struggle was interrupted by Brian's concerned eyes looking at him. "Remember what I said, Sunshine. I'm right here with you. When you get up there, you just tell everyone what happened and you look at me, NOT at that son of a bitch. Don't let him get to you. It's going to be all right. He's going to get what he deserves, Justin. You have to believe that. It's going to be all right," he repeated softly but fervently. He had to make his partner trust that justice would prevail in this courtroom after everything was all said and done; any other outcome was just not acceptable.

Justin smiled faintly, thinking how very much he loved this man who stood by him and protected him. "I'm okay," he reassured him. "As long as you're with me."

"Always," his lover vowed tenderly, reaching for Justin's hand, which the blond eagerly clasped in return.

"Good," Greg replied. Nodding at his client, he advised him, "Mel and I need to get back up front to get ready for opening arguments. You and Brian take a seat where you're comfortable. They'll be bringing out Prescott soon from the side chamber," he warned. You'll be called when it's your turn to be a witness, as well as Brian and the others. I'm not sure how long that will be. But just try to relax," he added, receiving somewhat of a look of disbelief from both men. "I know, easier said than done. But take deep breaths and try. You'll both be fine," he replied confidently, trying to reassure them. "Like Brian said, when it's your turn, just get up there and tell the truth. That should be enough right there to nail the bastard."

"Hang in there, baby," Mel said, giving him a brief hug before turning to follow her colleague back up the aisle to the prosecutor's table.

"C'mon, Sunshine," Brian urged his partner. "Let's go sit with the rest of our family, okay?" Pulling the blond's hand gently to follow him, he encouraged him to take a seat next to Jennifer, who took her son's other hand and squeezed it affectionately as she reached over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, honey?" she whispered to him, sensing his distress.

"Yeah, as okay as I'll ever be, I guess." He turned to give what he hoped was a reassuring smile to Brian, hoping desperately that his statement would turn out to be correct.