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

Adam looked about worriedly. He went over what Jay had told him in his head, but that didn't make it any better. Any minute now, Chris would be led into the courtroom. This, of course, would be the first time that he had seen Chris since the second attack at the club. It made him incredibly uncomfortable to think that Chris would be so close to him, even with law officials firmly in between them. Jay reminded him that he would be shackled and have an officer with him at all times, but that did little to calm Adam.

The ride to the courtroom had been made in utter silence. Randy had driven, mostly because he wasn't sure that Adam would get them both there safely, and every chance that he had to look over at Adam, he noted the absent look on his face. But when he has asked him if he was okay, he had dismissed it with a weak smile that was as transparent as water. Randy hadn't pushed and Adam remained silent. And now, as he sat out in the crowd of reporters and supporters, he realized that maybe that had been a mistake.

But he didn't have too much time to dwell on that. Because, at that moment, the doors swung open and Chris was dragged to the front of the room by Officer Ryback. Like Jay had said, he was shackled. He had a crazy, distant look in his eyes. And when his head swung to the side, those crazed blue eyes focused in on Adam. Adam flinched away, gripping the table until his knuckles turned white. Ryback saw this and turned Chris away. He forced him into his seat and stood as his side, his arms crossed behind his back.

The bailiff read off of a sheet of paper. "In the case of Copeland versus Jericho, the honorable Judge Jacobs presiding." Glen made his way to the front of the courtroom and took his seat. "You may be seated."

Glen looked over the notes for the case. "Are we all here?" He looked to Adam, nodded, and then to Chris… his eyes narrowed at the empty seat next to the defendant. "Mr. Jericho, where is your lawyer?"

Ryback crossed his arms over his chest. "Mr. Otunga is caught in traffic, sir. He apologizes profusely and should arrive momentarily." Ryback answered. Chris rolled his eyes and Ryback was barely able to resist the urge to swat his shoulder.

As if on cue, David stormed into the courtroom, papers flying every which way. All eyes were on him as he made his way over to his client. "It's nice of you to finally join us, Mr. Otunga."

David refused to meet the older man's eyes. "I'm very sorry, your honor. It won't happen again."

"See to it that it doesn't." Glen shuffled some papers. "Mr. Reso, would you like to make your opening statement?"

Jay nodded, rising out of his chair. "Yes, sir."

Jay squeezed Adam's hand, offering him some silent comfort, before he walked over to address the jury. Adam watched as Jay put him on the mercy of the court, demanding retribution for a crime that could never be forgiven, never be forgotten. He described to them the scene of Adam in the shower, thankfully sparing some of the more brutal details, and brutally jabbed his finger in Chris' direction. When he finished, they were all uncomfortable, flushed, and silent. That was exactly the way that he wanted them.

David's approach had a bit more flair for the dramatic. He had the gall to claim that Adam was the one who had asked for Chris to 'love' him. There were no signs of a brutal attack and there was no rape on record, so who was to say that Chris had even attacked him that night? After all, Chris had never been prosecuted for the crime. Conveniently, he left out the tidbit about the under the table deal between Chris and the officers to have the case thrown out. When he finished, the reporters started to whisper amongst themselves.

"Order!" Glen slammed the gavel down. Immediately, silence prevailed. "The ball is in your court, Mr. Reso. Call your first witness."

Jay nodded. He offered Adam a quick look out of the corner of his eye, just to make sure that he was okay, before he made his way forward. "The prosecution calls Vince McMahon to the stand."

Vince made his way to the front of the courtroom, his usual strut lost and a solemn look on his face. The owner of D.A.M.N –The Hottest Male Exotic Dancers This Side of the World slid onto the stand and placed his hand on the bible, stating his full name and swearing to tell the whole truth and nothing else. When the bailiff carried the bible away, Jay approached the older man. There was a look of familiarity between both men, and with it, an obvious tension. Still, Jay pushed forward.

"I promise I'll start out easy for you." Jay smirked, not missing the heat in Vince's glare. "You run a fairly profitable business, don't you, Mr. McMahon?" A nod. "About how long would you say you've been in business?"

Vince was silent for a moment as he tried to think, before he offered, "I'd say the better part of ten years. We had to close for the lesser half of 2006, though. There had been some… unfavorable incidents."

"Would you care to share what these unfavorable incidents were?" Jay asked.

Vince frowned. "I wouldn't."

Glen looked at the witness distractedly. "Remember, you're under oath."

"Just answer the question, Mr. McMahon." Jay pushed a little harder.

Finally, Vince cracked. "There had been a series of attacks on the dancers. It was unprecedented, because we have a strict 'look, don't touch' motto – unless, of course, the dancer initiates it."

Jay nodded, seeming to take all of this in. He paced back and forth in front of the witness stand. "Tell me more about these attacks. Was it assault? Was it rape?" The added push to that word earned him a glare from Chris. "Well?"

Vince looked down. "It was rape."

"And how do you know that it was rape, Mr. McMahon?" Jay continued.

Vince's stare suddenly turned cold and distant. "Three of my dancers were attacked. One of them was my boy, Shawn. He was totally destroyed by that monster! Shawn was faithful, I know it. And even if he wasn't, you don't look like that after…"

Jay could tell that it was time to ease off of the gas pedal a little bit. He nodded and waited for Vince to calm, and once he did, he asked, "Was Adam one of the dancers that was raped?"

"Yes." Vince confirmed immediately.

"Do you remember when? I don't need an exact date. Just a month and a year will do it." Jay said.

"The fourth of December, 2006." Vince rattled off, as if he knew the date by heart.

Jay took a small Ziploc baggy over to the judge and handed it to him. "I enter exhibit A into evidence. This is the print-out of Adam's rape kit, dated December 4th, 2006." He turned to Vince. "No further questions."

Now, it was David Otunga's turn. Adam watched in silent wonder as he made his way across the room. He, too, looked incredibly familiar. If only he could remember where he had seen him… But he was brought back to the present by the voice of his lawyer, asking if he was okay. His voice was silent and unobtrusive, his head turned just so in order for his voice to be muffled and not carry to the judge. Adam nodded blandly. It was too early in the case to decide if he was really okay or not.

David had a video with him. He asked if they could play it and, with another wave of disinterest, Glen nodded. A small television was rolled in and he popped the video cassette into the VCR. Black and white lines of static danced across the screen. And then, in a flash, a black and white shot of the parking lot outside of D.A.M.N. could be seen. The two people in the picture were clearly Adam and Chris. It showed a violent struggle between the two of them, and it looked, for the most part, as if Adam was the aggressor.

David paused the video with Adam's hands around Chris' neck. He circled Adam's body in red ink. "Mr. McMahon, do tell me… is this not Adam Copeland, the man who brings a rape case against Mr. Jericho today?"

Vince frowned. "Yes, that's him."

"And what does he appear to be doing?" David asked, tapping his pen against the television screen.

Vince sighed. "It appears as if he's strangling Jericho." But Vince continued on to say that, "Unbeknownst to any of us at the time, Adam was pregnant. He couldn't have been the aggressor. It had to be self-defense."

"Just answer the questions, Mr. McMahon. Nothing more." Glen flipped his pen and turned his glare to Otunga. "Does this have a point, counselor? Or can the prosecution call their next witness?"

"Actually, I do have a point, your honor." He walked over to the table and picked up a police report. "And, according to the NYPD, Mr. Jericho has a very serious case."

He read off the police report. As Chris had worded it to the officer, Adam had been the assailant. They had been in a relationship for several years, but had recently hit hard times when Adam would come home at all hours with different men and entertain them in their room. Adam flushed darkly and looked down, ashamed of Chris' lies. The report went on to say that, in a violent attack, Adam had strangled him until he lost consciousness and had left him in the parking lot to be abused, or killed, in his vulnerable state.

"Has Mr. Copeland been under your supervision for a long time?" David asked. Vince nodded. "How many years would you say?"

"All of the years that the club has been open. He's a favorite of the customers." Vince said.

"Did he ever have a boyfriend, a serious, committed relationship, or was it simply all one night stands?" David asked. There was malice in his eyes and hatred dripping from his voice.

"I've never seen him with a boyfriend, no. But I'm his employer. I'm there to make sure he sells his best asset: his body. Remember, look but don't touch. It's not my business to know what goes on between his sheets."

"Let it be known that the man closest to Adam cannot confirm whether or not he was in a committed relationship. And, as Vince said, he commonly 'sold' his body. Not only is he a slut, but he's a prostitute as well!" David exclaimed.

Tears streaked down Adam's cheeks. Jay rose out of his chair, mortified. "Objection."

"Sustained. That will be all, counselor. Next witness." Glen banged the gavel.

The next two witnesses were short and sweet. The first one was JoMo. He, too, confessed to the fact that he had been the third and final rape victim at D.A.M.N. He was also the only one to be able to get a clear look at his attacker. When asked by Jay to name that man, he was able to identify Chris. But David quickly tore him down, somehow managing to make him look lower than trash. John broke down on the stand and Glen, thankfully, released him before he had to deal with any more questions from Otunga.

After that was Jeff. Obviously, he didn't want to be there. His boyfriend was getting uncomfortably close to his due date and was ordered on bed rest, so he couldn't travel with him. He was a bit harder to break, and it was clear that Otunga feared him. And rightfully so. Once he saw that David had made Adam cry, he was set on making David's life hell from the other side of the stand. All of the information they received was beneficial to their case, and when Jeff was dismissed, he offered a wary smile and left.

"Next witness, counselor?" Glen asked.

"The defense calls Wade Barrett to the stand."