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.
"Please state your name for the record, sir." David turned to the man on the stand, a sinister smile on his face.
The brawler rolled his eyes, still not entirely sure why David had insisted that he come here. "Wade Barrett."
"Mr. Barrett, is it true that you entertained a relationship with Mr. Copeland here for three years?" He received a nod. "What kind of boyfriend was Mr. Copeland? Was he faithful?" David asked.
Wade shrugged, clearly disinterested. "About as loyal as he could be, I guess. He was a bloody stripper, after all. When you take your clothes off for a living, it's kind of hard to keep it in your pants."
"Understood." David nodded. "Now, Mr. Barrett, where you aware that Adam was pregnant with your child at the time he was allegedly raped by the defendant, Chris Jericho?"
Wade frowned and shook his head. "No. I was in an accident at the fight club. Banged my head up pretty good. I was on life support for several years. Freak of nature that brought me back, yeah."
"When did this accident take place?" David asked.
"February of 2007." Wade answered offhandedly. "My memory's a little off, so I don't remember the exact date."
"That will do, Mr. Barrett. That will do." And then, he fired off another question. "Did Adam ever mention the defendant, Mr. Jericho, to you?"
Once again, Wade shrugged. "Not that I can remember."
David made his way over to the jury. "Let it be known that Adam, who claims that this man brutally raped him and almost killed his baby, didn't even tell his own boyfriend, the man he trusted above all else, about the incident." A pause. "No further questions."
It was the prosecution's witness. Jay didn't even know what to say to that. It wasn't that he hadn't prepared for them to pull a dirty, underhanded trick like that, but that he hadn't expected David to go so low as to pull a half-dead man out of the woodwork and use him against his own ex-boyfriend. But that was okay. The ball was in Jay's court. And he was about to learn just how hard the other man could play ball. When Jay was done with him, he'd never set foot in another courtroom without remembering his name.
Jay rose out of his chair and made a show of fixing his tie and smoothing the wrinkles out of his otherwise pristine black suit. All eyes were on him as he made his way to the stand where the British brawler was seated. The calm, collected look on his face was enough to make everyone nervous. Wade swallowed hard as Jay paced the distance in front of the stand once, twice, three times, and then turned and slammed his hands, palm down, onto the wooden structure in front of him.
"Think back a little while, would you, Mr. Barrett. I want you to think back to December of 2004. Your first Christmas with Adam. The first time he was pregnant. And only a month into your relationship too. What happened to that baby, Mr. Barrett?"
Wade looked to Glen for help, realized he would receive none from the indifferent judge, and frowned. "He miscarried and the child died." He confessed, just loud enough for the microphone to pick up.
"And the second child, four months later?"
"He miscarried that one too."
"The third child, which was October of 2005. He lost that one on his birthday, didn't he?" A pause. "The fourth, six months later?"
"We had some trouble with conception. There's no need to rub it in. It's painful enough as it is."
Jay smiled softly. "Forgive me for coming off as crude. I simply mean to point out to these kind people here that you have had some trouble with conception. I would like to enter this into evidence for the prosecution as Exhibit B."
It's not unusual for men to be able to bear children, but some have better luck than others. This is because, while there is really only one way for women to conceive, there are several for men. The most common is a biological mutation that was far too complicated for the doctor who examined Adam to explain to the court, but it was also the least likely for success. This was how Adam carried Brielle. And, consequently, the four other children that he lost.
The doctor had examined Adam and determined that, because of extensive damage that occurred in the rape (even if it had been six years ago), the biological abnormality had been 'injured'. Something within Adam had ruptured when Chris had raped Adam and it was very true that he could have lost the baby. The rupture would have caused intense internal bleeding, which in most cases resulted in death of both the parent and the fetus. He was lucky to still be alive.
"Were you rough in bed, Mr. Barrett?" Jay asked, his face a stony mask.
"Excuse me?" He asked. Color rose in his cheeks and he looked to Glen for a defense.
"Does this have a point, counselor?" Glen asked, flipping a pencil between his fingers.
"Yes, actually, it does." Jay said, leaning his shoulder on the witness stand.
"You're under oath, Mr. Barrett. Answer Mr. Reso's question."
Wade crossed his arms over his chest, obviously starting to take a defensive stance. "No, I wouldn't say that I was particularly rough in bed. I loved Adam. Why would I want to hurt him?"
Jay nodded. He could barely contain his smirk. The last thing Wade wanted to be was emotional. "That's fine, Mr. Barrett. Real fine." He took out a disc and put it into the DVD player. "Did you ever make him bleed?"
"I don't see what that has to do with anything." The jury started to mumble amongst themselves, clearly displeased by Wade's refusing to answer the question.
Jay frowned. "Just answer the question, Mr. Barrett."
"Fine. Yes. Maybe once or twice. It was always an accident, though. It's not my fault he can't take it like a man."
Jay chose to ignore that last comment. Instead, he turned to the television screen and pointed out two nearly identical pictures. The first was an x-ray of the inside of Adam's body; the second was an x-ray of the inside of a normal adult male's body with the same biological abnormality. With his green marker, Jay circled a small tear that Adam had, but the normal one did not. That was the reason that Adam kept loosing children. And it started with Wade.
"You see that there?" Jay tapped the screen. "As a brawler, I would think you would know how it feels to tear your meniscus. Nasty, right? That? That's about ten times worse. And it can kill you."
"What the hell? I never did that to him!" Wade exclaimed. He was rising to his feet, but Glen slammed the gavel down and ordered him to sit down or he would have him in contempt of court.
"Oh, but you did. You screwed yourself over when you said that you had made him bleed. You started the tear and," he pressed 'play' and it rolled over to the next set of pictures, "the defendant tore it completely."
Hushed whispers filled the courtroom. Wade, for lack of a better word, was stunned. "Order! Order!"
Jay turned off the DVD. "I enter this as Exhibit C." And then, to Wade. "No further questions."
"Court is in recess."
Adam went off to the comfort of Jeff, who shushed him and silently assured him that Chris wouldn't win this time. But really, he couldn't be sure. All they had in their favor was some circumstantial evidence and a rape kit that was six years old. But he didn't let Adam dwell on that. With Jay's permission, he took Adam and John out to breakfast just a little ways down the road. The recess would only last an hour or so, so they would need to stay close by.
Jay crushed a water bottle in his hand as he tried to think of a new approach. He may have won the battle with Wade, but if David continued to find the worms in the apple, he knew that he couldn't win every battle. He needed a bombshell. He needed someone that would convince the entire jury of Chris' guilt, and it had to be more than hearsay. He needed someone with a first-hand account of the bad blood that ran through Chris' veins. And he knew just who to get.
He finished off his water bottle and tossed it into the recycling bin. With a confident smile, he made his way over to Randy and pulled him away from the crowd. Randy was just as worried as everyone else. He knew that the chances of a conviction were slim to none, and that was why Jay singled him out. It was clear how much he loved Adam and that he would do anything for him. Even go against his better judgment to make the case sway in their favor…
"What is it, Jay? What do you need?" Randy asked.
Jay met his eyes. "I need Brielle."