Wow...I really surprised myself by having another chapter ready so soon! I hope that makes you guys happy. :-)

Tom looked up and watched as Rosa Sheffield sat back down behind the defense table and Hicks left the stand. Day one of the trial was almost over, and he had no idea how many more were to come. But he did know one thing. It was going to get worse before it got better.

Dr. Phillip Marcus was the next witness called to the stand. D.A. Scott Hayden began his questioning. "Dr. Marcus, you were working the emergency room the day Officer Hanson was brought in, were you not?"

"Yes, I was," answered the doctor.

"Would you please tell the court what happened when he arrived?"

"As he came in, the paramedics briefed us on his condition…said he had been attacked, was semi-conscious, unresponsive, and that his blood pressure was dropping. We got him into a trauma room and started assessing him. He was becoming more aware of what was going on and started to panic. His heart rate was increasing, and he was thrashing around…distraught…frightened… so we were forced to sedate him in order to examine him."

"What was his condition?" asked Hayden.

Dr. Marcus took a deep breath before responding. "There was a lot of blood on and around his face, and his chest and abdomen were severely bruised. We suspected internal bleeding because of that and because of his low blood pressure, so I ordered a portable x-ray and an ultrasound. When his clothes were cut off, we noticed that there was blood and what appeared to be dried semen on his legs and boxer shorts. We cut the shorts off and bagged them for CSI and also swabbed the blood and semen on his body for evidence, and I performed a Sexual Assault Kit on him."

"And what did that entail?"

In the gallery, Tom closed his eyes, wishing he was anywhere else but in the courtroom as the doctor continued speaking.

"I took a blood sample to test for STDs. I combed his pubic hair and swabbed his genitals. Although there was no visible evidence of semen on his face, we swabbed his mouth just in case. I collected fingernail scrapings, and then we turned him over. I swabbed samples of the semen and blood on his backside and also the anal area where I noticed some lacerations."

"Lacerations?"

"Tearing," said Marcus.

"What did all of this evidence suggest to you?" asked Hayden.

"It appeared to me that he had been sexually violated against his will."

"Dr. Marcus," said Hayden, "I've got some photographs of Officer Hanson's injuries here to show. Can you confirm that these are photos taken by your staff in the E.R.?"

"Yes, they are."

"Thank you. I'm going to show them one by one. Would you please tell us what we are seeing here?" The D.A. put the first photo up on the stand. It was a close up of Tom's face, his eyes closed.

In their seats, Tom and his mother were both fidgeting. He was extremely uncomfortable listening to the doctor tell and show every detail of what had happened to his body…even more so having his mother experience it. Mrs. Hanson sat as she had in the hospital that day when Dr. Marcus reported Tom's condition to her…stoic and determined to stay strong for her son. But her heart was aching with each word.

Dr. Marcus shifted his gaze to the photo on display. "Well, we had cleaned most of the blood off when this was taken. You can see there is a large gash on his forehead that required ten stitches. Both eyes are blackened, but the left one had the most damage. It was extremely swollen and would barely open for days. His nose is broken, and you can see the multiple bruises and lacerations all over his face. Both of his lips are split open. In this picture we had already put a couple of sutures in to close them, but later we fully stitched them."

"What about these gashes on either side of his face?"

"Those are abrasions from rope that had been tied around a gag in his mouth. It had cut the corners of his mouth as well," said Marcus.

"Thank you, doctor," said Hayden as he pulled another photo from the pile. "And what about this one?"

"Those are marks on his neck and throat. Some of them are small, deep bruises that appear to be from fingertips. The others are blood bruises made by sucking the skin…more commonly known as hickeys."

"And these?" asked Hayden, presenting photos of Tom's arms.

Dr. Marcus replied, "Both arms have bruising at the tops which are indicative of hands gripping them. Then the wrists…those are more rope burns…deep cuts from his restraints."

"What about this one?"

The doctor looked at the photo of Tom's battered torso. "Obviously there are a large number of bruises there, but not all of them from the same source. Most of the bruising on his stomach appears to be from fists, while the ones on his chest and ribs look to be from blunt objects…possibly shoes…two or three different kinds."

Tom didn't know how much more of this he could take. Having perfect strangers stare at his exposed body and injuries was bad enough, but his mother…if he had his way, she would never see them…never know exactly what had happened or how hurt he had been. Dr. Hirsch had helped him with some mind relaxation exercises to keep from thinking about things that might upset him during the trial. So far, they had been only slightly effective. He stared straight ahead at a point on the wall just beyond the judge's bench. There was nothing…no one…else in the room that he dared look at.

"And here?" asked Hayden as he flipped the next photo over.

"Those are the bruises on his back…again, appearing to have been made by shoes. The especially dark ones on his lower back…the blows there actually extended deep enough to bruise his kidneys. There was quite a lot of blood in his urine for several days," said Marcus.

"So," said the D.A., putting away the photos, "what other injuries did Officer Hanson sustain from this beating?"

The doctor took a deep breath. "Well, we were correct in our suspicions about internal bleeding. He had a rupture in his spleen and it had to be surgically removed. He had a severe concussion as well as a hairline fracture of the skull. Three of his ribs were broken and two cracked. He was in shock and suffering from dehydration. We also did blood tests to assess for any sexually transmitted diseases."

"I have no further questions for Dr. Marcus, Your Honor," said Hayden.

"Ms. Sheffield? Your witness," said Judge Andrews.

"Thank you, Your Honor," she said as she approached the stand. "Dr. Marcus, the defense is not disagreeing that Tom Hanson was attacked, as your testimony so colorfully showed, but rather that he was not attacked by Mr. Eckert. Was there anything about the victim's injuries that told you Lee Eckert caused them?"

"Of course not," said Marcus. "There's no way to…"

"What about the sexual activity? We already know from Ms. Hicks' testimony that some of the semen present was from my client, but that only proves sexual activity between them. Can you conclude from that evidence that the sexual activity was not consensual?" asked Sheffield.

"Well," the doctor began, "normally when a victim comes in with signs of sexual activity as well as physical injuries, we do preliminarily conclude that the two are related."

"But that's not always the case, is it?"

"No, not always," he replied.

Sheffield continued, "Aside from the physical injuries which have not been proven to have been caused by Mr. Eckert, is there any proof that this sexual activity was non-consensual?"

The doctor looked puzzled. "Well, the tearing around the anal area would suggest…"

"Could that have been caused by rough consensual sex?" the defense attorney asked pointedly.

"Of course, but…"

"So your answer is 'yes'? The evidence of violent sexual activity could be the result of rough, consensual sex?"

Dr. Marcus said, "Well, it could be, but…"

"One more thing, doctor," Sheffield interrupted. "The evidence showed that semen from Officer Hanson was also present, correct?"

"Yes."

"In his underwear, on his body, and on a sheet found in Mr. Eckert's apartment, correct? Mixed with Mr. Eckert's semen?"

"Yes."

"And semen is released when a man has an orgasm, correct," she asked.

"Yes," Marcus answered. "But a man can…"

"A man's erection and subsequent orgasm happen when he is sexually aroused and experiencing sexual pleasure, isn't that right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Thank you, sir. I have no further questions," said Sheffield and she returned to her seat at the defense table.

"Your Honor," said Hayden, standing. "I'd like to redirect."

"Go ahead," responded the judge.

Hayden spoke from behind the table. "Dr. Marcus, was the physical appearance of Officer Hanson when he arrived consistent with other rape victims that you have treated?"

"Yes, it was," answered Marcus.

"And in your professional opinion as a medical doctor, is it possible for a man to have an erection and an orgasm without being sexually aroused?"

"Yes, it's not only possible, it's quite common."

"How so?" asked Hayden.

"Any sort of physical contact with the genitals can cause an erection, whether or not the man is engaged in sexual activity. And if something sexual is going on, whether he's enjoying it or not, his body is going to respond to the stimulation," said the doctor.

"So he would have no control over it?"

"That's correct."

"And it would not necessarily indicate sexual pleasure?" asked the D.A.

"Right," said Marcus. "It's a physical response by the body."

"Thank you, Dr. Marcus. No further questions." Hayden sat down.

"The witness is dismissed," said Judge Andrews. "Court will adjourn until noon tomorrow."

The jury filed out of the room as did Eckert, escorted by two court officers. The people seated in the gallery got up to leave as well, including Doug and Mrs. Hanson, but Tom stayed seated as D.A. Hayden approached. "Hi, folks…say, uh…before you leave, I'd like to talk to Tom a minute." He looked at Tom and said, "Tom, would you come with me to the conference room?"

Tom was still off in his own world, feeling sick, trying his best to stay as removed from the situation as he could. The doctor's testimony was grueling to hear, but the defense's cross examination was even worse. He was desperately regretting giving in and cooperating with the district attorney with prosecuting Eckert. He steeled himself and put his best 'I'm okay' look on his face and stood up. He smiled at his mother and told her he would meet her outside in a few minutes. He looked at Hayden. "Let's go."

"I'm putting you on the stand first thing tomorrow."

Tom felt his stomach drop, and he swallowed hard at Hayden's statement. "Already?" he asked.

"Tom, I don't have anyone else to call…just you and Kern. I want you to tell what happened first, then have him confirm everything," said Hayden.

Tom shook his head. "What does it matter what I say or if he confirms it?" His voice was getting louder. "They're up there telling lie after lie about me…it's all just a fucking game and there aren't any rules!"

"It's going to matter what you say, believe me. Look, you saw how I questioned Dr. Marcus again, setting everything straight. Don't worry…whatever they say or try to get you to say, I'm going to take care of it on the redirect, okay?"

"Yeah…yeah…" said Tom as he paced the room. "And I still have to sit there and let that…woman…get me to say things that aren't true…make me look like some lying psycho sexual pervert. And Eckert sits there grinning like a bastard, eating it all up. Jesus! This is exactly why I didn't want to do this! We're giving him exactly what he wants."

Hayden watched the young man pacing back and forth as he ranted. He felt for him…he really did. Truth was, he was starting to have his own doubts about this case and the lack of hard evidence. He just had to hope that the prosecution's testimony against that of a convicted killer would convince the jury. He knew this was going to be extremely rough on Hanson, but he also knew that having his key witness this emotionally passionate about what he was saying…about what had happened to him…that was going to be crucial in getting the jury to believe that Eckert was guilty. "Tom…listen…it's going to be fine. Just answer the questions as best you can…tell what…"

"Oh, I will…I will," said Tom as he stopped his pacing and looked at the D.A. "I'll do it. I'll tell what happened and I'll answer the questions. I'll do what you want. I'll do what everyone wants. And then…" He shook his head. "Then…that's it. I'm done doing what other people want me to do."

Hayden nodded. "I get it, Tom. I do. And I'm sorry you have to go through this." He sighed. Shit. Of course Hanson would say something like that right before Hayden had to say something like this. "There's one more thing, Tom. Marvin Kern."

"What about him?" Tom asked suspiciously.

"He wants to see you."

Tom erupted in laughter and looked up at the ceiling. "This is a joke, right? This whole thing is one big fucking joke, right?"

"I'm sorry, Tom," said Hayden. "They let me know during the break this afternoon. He says he won't testify unless he gets to see you first."

"So I guess that's what I have to do, right?" Tom gave the D.A. a disgusted look.

"I can't make you, Tom."

"Can't you?" Tom shot back. He turned his back on Hayden, hands on his hips and head down. He shook his head. "When?"

"I think it would be best to get it done today so tomorrow we can have it out of the way and start fresh with your testimony."

Tom sighed and turned to face the man. "Whatever you say."

An hour later, Tom sat on one side of a glass partition, his heart pounding. He had meant what he said to Scott Hayden. Once this trial was over, he would never again let anyone tell him what to do or how to do it. But for now, he sat waiting to face one of his attackers…waiting to be subjected once again to whatever kind of filth it was he wanted to toss at him. He looked up as Marvin Kern was escorted by an officer to the other side of the partition. The man was stocky, his reddish hair clashing with the orange jumpsuit he wore. But Tom felt nothing as he looked at him. He didn't recognize him or recall having seen him that night…not like he had recalled Walsh's eyes and tattoo.

Kern sat down opposite Tom, the glass between them, and picked up the telephone receiver on his side. When Tom did not do the same, Kern gestured to him to do so, asking "Please."

Tom read Kern's silent lips through the glass and sighed. Resigned to getting this over with, he picked up the receiver but did not speak.

Kern swallowed hard and nervously said, "Hey."

"Hey," Tom answered.

"Um…I just…thanks for seeing me," stuttered Kern.

"What do you want?"

Kern's lips were trembling as he looked down at the table and then back up at Tom. He drew in a shaky breath and said, "I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

It took a second for the words to sink in before Tom laughed, "Oh yeah?"

Kern bit his lip, a wounded look on his face. "Yeah. I…I didn't know what he was gonna do...I swear. And I…I should have…I mean, I…wish I'd…done something…stopped him."

"Me too," said Tom without emotion.

"I know…I know…I can't excuse it…but…I just…I'm sorry, man." He looked at Tom, his eyes pleading with him to say something…anything…to make him feel better.

"Okay," was the only response from Tom.

Kern nodded, acceptingly, as tears fell. He wiped them away with his sleeve and sniffed. "I have nightmares about it. I know you do too. It's just…I can't get it out of my head…it makes me sick…that I had any part in it."

"Is that all you wanted? You've seen me now. Is that it?"

"Just…I wish…I know you can't…probably…but…can you forgive me?" Kern looked pathetic, his eyes as red as his hair as he pleaded silently with them.

Tom looked at the officer standing behind Kern. "I think we're done now," he said to Kern.

Kern's face fell as the officer reached to stand him up. "Please, man! I'm sorry!" He was crying now. "I'm sorry!"

"Come on," said the officer as he pulled Kern away from his chair. The phone receiver dropped to the table.

Tom watched as Kern was led away. He could no longer hear him, but Kern continued to beg for forgiveness as he was pulled down the hallway. Tom hung the phone up, stood, and walked away.

Happy to hear from some of you that the testimony/trial stuff isn't boring. :-) Hope it continues that way and that you are still enjoying the story. Let me know what you think!