Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle and Lilly.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Mpreg, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Violence, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, etc.

Two Weeks Later

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Adam? Nobody would blame you if you didn't." Randy watched as his love dressed himself in a handsome white suit, fixing his hair for what had to be the hundredth time. He looked nervous and uncomfortable.

But Adam shook his head. He smiled wryly and fixed his tie. "I would blame myself. I have to see to it that this bastard is behind bars. If I'm not there, the trial could be tainted somehow. I can't let Chris off a second time."

Randy nodded. He understood that, he did. But he didn't want Adam to become so submerged that he forgot that that life was behind him, that Chris couldn't hurt him anymore. "Trust me, baby. The one thing that won't happen is Chris walking out of there a free man."

For the first time, Adam showed his true colors. His face was one of insecurity. "How can you be so sure?" He asked. Tears bubbled in his hazel eyes. "How can you be so sure, when he's already done it once?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but you're so upset…" Randy rose off of the bed and wrapped his arms around Adam's waist, sinking his chin into Adam's shoulder. "You know Jay, as in Jay Reso, you're lawyer?" A nod. "He was the original lawyer assigned to your case."

Adam blinked. The confused look on his face was so utterly adorable, Randy couldn't resist a small smile. "What do you mean, he was the original lawyer? Of course he was. I went to him myself!" The confusion only mounted when Randy smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Not then, Adam. He was the original lawyer assigned to your case when Chris first attacked you. He was the prosecutor. And he told me, the week before the trial, that Chris paid off the judge. That's why your case never went to court."

Adam shook his head, all of this so much to take in at once. So Jay had followed his case all of that time? But how did he even remember that it was him? "Not enough evidence. Bullshit." And then, "But how did he know that it was me?""

Randy stared into Adam's hazel eyes, smiling sweetly. "Tell me the man that could forget that beautiful face and I'd call him crazy. Because I know, ever since you gave me that lap dance at the club, that I've never forgotten you."

Adam flushed and looked down, embarrassed and enthralled all at the same time. He didn't understand how Randy could be so forward, and yet oddly romantic, at the same time. Slowly, Randy's calloused hands traveled up from Adam's waist and adjusted his tie so that it finally sat straight over the buttons of his crisp button-down. He pulled the suit jacket down and smoothed out all of the creases, smiling all the while. Even dressed for court, Adam looked absolutely radiant.

Randy didn't look too bad himself. Dressed in a black suit, which complimented the white suit that Adam wore, he had done his best to look suave and… at least somewhat calm at the same time. Truth be told, he was far from calm. In fact, he was nervous as hell. What if it didn't turn out in Adam's favor? Not that he doubted it would. He had no doubt that the court, the jury, and the judge would be able to see what the first judge couldn't. The streets weren't safe until Chris was off of them and behind bars.

But he kept his poker face like a mask. He loved Adam and had been a fool not to realize it before. There was no way that he would jeopardize that by leaning on Adam when Adam was the one who needed that crutch, that support system. He would never allow Adam to be in need and not be there to support him. It simply wasn't fair to the blond. Adam deserved everything, everything that Randy had to offer. And if he held anything from Adam, then he could lose him. And he couldn't lose anyone else.

"Are you ready?" Randy asked, staring into Adam's hazel eyes. "There's still time to change your mind. There's always time to back down." But, even as he said it, he knew that Adam wouldn't listen.

Adam shook his head. "I don't back down from anyone. I like to look a challenge in the eye. And that's all that Chris is to me anymore. He's a challenge and I'm about to put an end to him. I want to end that suffering once and for all."

"You're so brave, Adam. I'm very proud of you." Randy smiled, tilting Adam's head down and pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. "Are you ready to do this?" He asked, taking hold of Adam's hand and squeezing it.

Adam sighed, burying his head in Randy's chest, if only to waste another minute. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

"Then let's get this over with." Randy squeezed Adam's hand. "And after that, we have forever, okay? So there's no need to dwell on right now. It'll be over before you know it."

Adam looked at him skeptically, but nodded nonetheless. "If you say so."

Still holding onto Adam's hand, Randy grabbed the keys to his rental car and led him to the door. He allowed his eyes to rake over the room once more, not able to shake the feeling that he had forgotten something, before he brushed it off and pulled Adam out of the door behind him. Adam wasn't talking, his eyes focused on the floor. Randy knew better than to disturb him while he was like this. He was in his own little world, and Randy was along for the ride. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's time for your trial, Jericho. Are you ready to face the music?" Ryback smirked as he watched the older man squirm within his cell. He looked terribly uncomfortable, and that was good. "Or do you not quite feel up to it today?"

Chris looked up at him with narrow eyes. His face was gaunt and he looked queasy, like he was about to lose his lunch on Ryback's shoes. "You know what I want. Give me Brielle."

"You know what? Just because I like you so damn much, I'll clue you in on a little secret. Man to man. Brielle doesn't want you. Brielle doesn't love you. In fact, Brielle is scared of you."

Chris trembled as the words washed over him. "You're lying. How dare you even say her name! You're filthy! You don't deserve to say it!" And then, he spit at the gargantuan man.

Ryback wasn't in the mood for any more words. He marched over to Chris and unlocked the chains that bound him to the wall, before he lifted the smaller man with an ease that was almost frightening. Chris, however, remained absolutely stoic. A babbling mantra fell from his lips about how all of this was some sick, perverse dream and when he awoke, Brielle would be with him. Brielle was his angel. She had been there for him when he needed her, and now, he would be there for her. If only this brute could understand that!

Ryback certainly didn't hold back as he dragged the convict down the halls of the precinct, showing him in his truest form to all of the officers there. He was lower than dirt. What he had done to Adam was unforgivable, and if he wasn't punished to the fullest extent of the law, then the law had failed. Ryback had done his homework. He knew that Chris had paid off the judge. He knew that the law wasn't always perfect. But this time, it would be. That family would be safe from Chris. Or he would turn in his badge.

Tossing him rather haphazardly in the direction of the bailiff, he climbed into the front of the police car. He was only thankful that he wouldn't have to drive. If he had to drive, he couldn't guarantee the safe arrival of their star dumbass. He looked into the backseat of the police cruiser, where Chris sat, his hands handcuffed behind his back and his mouth sealed in a tight frown. When the bailiff (a young woman in her mid-thirties) tried to reach over him for a package, he nearly bit her. She slapped him hard and took her box.

"That man is a fucking maniac. Are you sure he's not going to plead for insanity?" She asked. From the look in her eyes, Ryback knew that she was totally serious. That was his only fear for this case. The insanity plea.

"I don't know." Ryback shrugged as they pulled out of the parking lot. "We'll just have to wait and see." And with that, they started toward the courthouse for an unpredictable trial.