Tom looked at Hirsch for a moment more and then suddenly threw his arms around him, clutching the man tightly and mumbling weakly, "He raped me."

Hirsch sighed as he held the distraught young man, rubbing his back with one hand. "I know…I know."

Court officers cleared the spectators from the room as the small group of Tom's friends and family continued to surround him. Dr. Hirsch spoke gently to him as he broke the embrace and tried to look him in the eyes. He spoke as though they were the only two people in the room. "Come on…let's get out of here, okay? Come on." The doctor stood up, keeping his hands on Tom's shoulders so as not to break the human contact that he knew the young man desperately needed right then. He slid one hand down and took hold of Tom's arm, helping him to his feet. He then put his arm around him and left for the conference room with the others following close behind.

"Mr. Hayden!"

D.A. Scott Hayden stopped and turned to face the judge who was calling his name. "Your Honor?"

"In my chambers, please."

Hayden was not surprised to see that Defense Attorney Rosa Sheffield was already in the office. He did not bother with a greeting before he sat down.

"Scott, your witness is becoming increasingly unstable and disruptive," said Judge Andrews.

"With all due respect, sir," said Hayden evenly, "don't make this about him or try to blame him for it."

"I'm not blaming anyone, Counsel," answered the judge. "I'm concerned about his well-being first and foremost, but I'm also concerned about the effect on the case and the jury. Emotional displays like this could sway them one way or the other."

"Your Honor," Sheffield spoke up, "the defense is not worried about that."

"Of course you're not!" Hayden addressed her harshly. "You knew exactly how he would react! You planned it this way!"

Sheffield smiled sweetly at him. "I'm sorry your witness got upset, Scott, but Mr. Eckert had the right to question him about those things."

"I don't understand how you can defend that guy! You know he's lying about this!"

"I know nothing of the sort, Scott," she replied calmly. "You know full well I'm legally bound to report any evidence we have, whether it supports your side or my side. Just face it…the evidence says your witness is lying."

"He's the victim here, Rosa! And that's my point…"

"The point is…" interrupted Judge Andrews, "that we need to continue this trial in a civil manner. Ms. Sheffield, does the defense have any more questions for this witness?"

"No, Your Honor," she replied.

"Scott, I assume you want to re-direct?"

"Absolutely," answered Hayden, his arms crossed.

"Will we need to break for the day?"

Hayden shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "No, we're finishing this up this afternoon."

"Are you sure?" asked the judge. "It's already after 3:00."

"I'm sure. This ends today. It's done. We've put him through enough. We need to finish it."

Hayden knocked on the door to the conference room and then opened it a bit, peering inside. Tom sat at the table, Dr. Hirsch next to him, both of them silent. The doctor looked up at Hayden and shook his head slightly. The D.A. entered the room and sat across from the two men. He looked at Hirsch questioningly and the doctor nodded, so he spoke. "How are we doing here? Tom? Are you okay?"

Tom did not look up but shrugged his shoulders, a visible shudder running through him.

Dr. Hirsch put his hand on Tom's shoulder and asked Hayden, "When are we due back in court?"

The D.A. looked at his watch and answered, "In about twenty minutes."

At that, Tom looked up, eyes still teary and red.

"Twenty minutes?" asked Hirsch. "Scott, are you sure…"

"Yes," said Hayden. "We need to finish this. Tom?" He looked at the young man.

Tom let out a shaky sigh.

"He's done, okay? It's just you and me this afternoon, okay? And then you're done…it's over. Okay?"

Tom looked at him apprehensively, clasping his shaking hands in front of him on the table. He turned to give Dr. Hirsch a questioning look. The doctor nodded at him, and Tom turned back to Hayden, swallowed hard, and said quietly, "Okay."

The D.A. nodded. "Okay…okay, good. I'm just going to go over a few things that we need to clear up, and then you're done."

Tom nodded again, biting his lip.

Hayden continued, "I'm sorry for this, Tom…all of it…I really am."

Tom did not respond, but lowered his eyes.

Hayden sighed. "I guess we'd better get going then."

Tom sat once again on the witness stand. Hayden stood and approached. Despite all instructions to the contrary, Tom shifted his gaze to the defense table. Both Lee Eckert and his attorney, Rosa Sheffield, said contentedly, looking straight ahead. But as Tom stared, Eckert's eyes slowly moved to meet Tom's, and a slight smile appeared on the ex-con's lips. Tom held the man's look for a moment before turning his attention to the D.A.

"Officer Hanson," Hayden began, "In your testimony you stated that you had never been to Lee Eckert's apartment, yet when questioned by the defense it sounded as though you had been there. Can you please explain that to the court?"

Tom took a deep breath. Just finish this…just finish it. "I've never been in his current apartment…the one they found the sheet in. I don't know how it got there, but I've never been there for anything…for any reason."

"But you've been in his old apartment?" asked the D.A.

"Yes…while I was undercover. I had to go there. That was part of it…hanging out with him. But I never…" He looked up at Hayden and shook his head. "I never…did anything…with him."

"You mean you never had sex with him? Even while you were undercover?"

"No," said Tom, shaking his head again. "God, no. Never."

"And not on the night in question? At his current apartment?"

"Never," Tom repeated.

"When Mr. Eckert was questioning you, you admitted to having smoked marijuana in his old apartment and also having sex with a female there. Can you explain that?" asked Hayden.

"We were just…it just happened. We were drinking, and…I always bought the stuff, but…he never saw me use. He kept pushing me, and he was getting suspicious. So I…I smoked some pot. And the girl…she was always hanging around, and we…it just happened. It was wrong, but…at the time…it was just part of the job, you know?"

"You also testified in answer to the defense about a visit you made to Mr. Eckert while he was incarcerated. You said that this visit was not official business. Would you please tell us why you went to see him?"

"There was a girl…she hung out with us and stuff while I was undercover. He got her pregnant. She had the baby after he went to prison. She called me…I'd given her my number because…well…she never really got into any trouble, and she was all alone…I just told her if she ever needed anything…any help…she could call me."

"And she did?" asked Hayden.

"Yeah," replied Tom. "Yeah…just this one time though. She wanted to see him…in prison…show him the baby and stuff, but he wouldn't see her. But he told her…he said…if I came…he'd see me. She wanted me to take him some pictures of the kid."

"So you did?"

"Yeah…I did…I shouldn't have."

Hayden asked, "Why? What happened?"

Tom looked down at his hands and shook his head. "I just felt sorry for her. So I went. I was just gonna drop the pictures off, but they said he wouldn't take them unless I gave them to him. So I saw him. But he didn't want them. He just started screaming and cursing at me, and…I left." He shrugged.

"Did he say anything to you?"

"He was just yelling about me ratting him out and how he'd kill me if he got the chance."

"Was this the first time he'd threatened you?"

"No," said Tom. "In court…at his first trial…he did it there too."

"Did you see him any more after this visit?" asked the D.A.

"No…not until the…that night."

Hayden looked at him. "The night you were attacked?"

"Yeah," Tom said softly.

"Okay, I just have one more question for you, Officer Hanson. At their questioning, you told the defense that you had not wanted Mr. Eckert prosecuted for this. Why is that?"

Tom looked down at his hands again, trying to steady them as they began to shake.

"Officer Hanson?" prodded Hayden.

Tom raised his head and looked at the man, then scanned the room. Everyone had their eyes on him, waiting silently. He looked at the jury and then at the defense table. In the gallery he saw Dr. Hirsch sitting next to Detective Michaels who had come for the day. He saw Captain Fuller. And Doug. And between them sat his mother, her eyes watching him sadly. Tom turned his attention back to the D.A. and broke the silence. "This. This is why."

Hayden waited a moment and then asked, "What do you mean, Tom?"

"I…I mean…this. This whole thing. The questions. The answers. The pictures. The whole thing." He tried to keep from crying, but one tear spilled over, running slowly down his cheek. "I…my friends are here…my co-workers…I didn't want them to hear all of this. And…my mother…" He sought her out in the crowd again, still watching him and now wiping her own tears away. "I didn't want her to have to go through this."

Hayden let Tom's words hang in the air briefly, waiting for them to sink into those who were watching and listening, before he spoke. "Tom, is Lee Eckert the man who kidnapped, beat, and raped you that night?"

Tom looked over at the defense table again, but this time Eckert did not look back. "Yes. He is."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"I know," Tom answered his mother as he looked into the mirror, straightening his tie.

"He's not going to say anything you want to hear."

Tom finished adjusting his tie, smoothed it down with his hand, and then turned to look at her. "Yes, he is, Mom. I want to hear his story. I want to hear what he's been telling people about…us…about me. I need to know." He turned and headed for the front door, his mother following behind closely.

"But…are you sure? I just don't want to see you hurt anymore."

Tom stopped at the door and smiled at her. "I'm okay, Mom." She gave him an unconvinced look. "Really…I am." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then asked, "Are you coming?"

It had been a long weekend with court closed on Monday. Thankfully for Tom, his testimony had ended the session on Friday, leaving him three days to prepare for hearing Eckert's testimony. He had spent most of that time with Dr. Hirsch, talking and crying for hours while the doctor listened. He had finally agreed to some medication to help him sleep, and although he was quickly tiring of the ups and downs of the trial, he felt ready to face things again come Tuesday morning.

Margaret started at his smiling, expectant face for a moment and then could not stop her own smile from appearing. Despite her lingering concern, it felt good to see a genuine smile on his face. She grabbed her keys and purse. "Let's go."

Kind of short, I know. Sorry about that. Would you guys rather wait for a longer chapter or have more frequent shorter chapters? Either way, thanks for reading and especially reviewing. :-) Makes me motivated when I know someone is out there.