Trial
Three years later (Hec's POV)

Splashing the water on my face, I inhaled and exhaled deeply. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I tried not to remember that night. I had done so well. It had been three years since the kidnap. I had never experienced any memory resurfacing the way that it was right now.

Annabella Hayes-Summers was my lawyer - taking the case as part of a favor to her niece and my best friends, Ana - and she had reminded me that I was going to be face to face with my kidnappers. When I walked into the courtroom and took my spot on the stand, I held my head high and testified against the three men who had broken into my apartment, bound me, beat me and kept me locked up.

My eyes stared them down, each one of them. My mother nodded at me as I put on a brave face and told the court how they held a gun to my head while I was kicked, punched and hit with a baseball bat in order to keep silent. I told the jury and the judge how I heard the screams of our neighbors - old Mr. Harrison who had been so kind to both me and Ana, and Amanda Ritter, a single mother with two young girls, Rita and Kee.

"Mr. Rodriguez," their defense attorney stood up. "Are you certain that these are the men who attacked your neighbors, Mr. Harrison, Miss. Ritter and her two daughters?"

"Yes."

"And will you explain to the jury again, how you came to that conclusion?"

"As mentioned, your clients," I gestured towards them, "forcibly entered my apartment. They broke down my door. I did what I could to defend myself but was quickly overpowered."

"Could you repeat that again? How did they overpower you," he asked.

"They tied my hands and feet behind me back while still kicking me."

"And your neighbors, they were in the room with you?"

"No," I shook my head. "They were in their apartments."

"And again, how do you know this?

I licked my lips impatiently, wondering where he was going with this. "In the middle of being assaulted, I heard Miss Ritter and Mr. Harrison screaming for help. After their screams had died down, those men entered my apartment to join their associates in beating me."

"But how can you conclude that it was those gentlemen there," he pointed at them.

"They had just come from that direction."

"They had just come from that direction," the attorney questioned. "Your roommate and her workmate had just come from that direction also. Could it not have been..."

"It wasn't Ana or Myra because Mr. Harrison and Miss Ritter were already dead."

"How do you know this? Were you the one out there?"

"I wasn't out there. I was inside my apartment," I said in an exasperated tone.

"A-ha," the man smiled. "So, what you're telling me, and the jury now, is that you're not fully convinced that it could be Mr. Blaze, Mr. Diesel or Mr. Ryan who murdered Miss Ritter or Mr. Harrison? Is that what you're testifying to now?"

"Objection, your honor," Annabella stood up.

"Overruled," the judge replied.

I took a deep breath. "It was your clients. Who else could it have been? They came from that direction, they had blood on their hands, they..."

"Did you actually see," he emphasized before pointing towards the table where they sat, "those three gentlemen murder Miss Ritter and Mr. Harrison?"

Sighing, I shook my head.

"Can you say it out loud for the record?"

Rolling my eyes, I couldn't believe that this scumbag was trying to help these three men get away with murdering our innocent neighbors.

"Mr. Rodriguez, answer the question," the judge stated.

"I cannot be one percent certain that those are the men," I replied.

"And why is that," the man smiled knowingly.

"Because they had me bound and gagged in my own apartment. I could barely move my hands and feet to get to..."

"I'll ask the question again," he stepped forward, leaning on the railing where the jury was. "Please inform the jury why it is that you cannot be one percent convinced that they had been the ones to attack your neighbors."

My head turned and looked the attorney in the face. "I hope that you can sleep at night knowing you are helping murderers get away with the death of innocent people," I said as there was shouts of agreement from people in the courtroom.

"Order, order," the judge pounded on the gavel. "Mr. Rodriguez, you will answer the question."

I took a moment to collect myself before looking at the defendants - each of them with smiles on their faces. They would only get charged with kidnapping, instead of murder and I hated myself for answering. "I didn't see them attack Mr. Harrison or Miss Ritter."

The attorney tapped the railing before nodding his head. "No further questions, your honor."

After my testimony was over, the judge dismissed everyone for a short recess before Annabella was to call up a special witness, a key witness. My mother went with my sister, Shauna, and her husband Zeke. I was glad that my nephews weren't here to see anything. Despite being so young, I knew that this wasn't something I wanted them to be subjected to.

Shaking my head and taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the mirror and went to walk outside.

Ana was right outside of the bathroom, leaning against a wall with a smile on her face. "Hey, we were looking for you," she adjusted her son on her hip.

"Did they continue," I asked.

Ana's smile disappeared, and she shook her head. "My Aunt said that we both did good, you and I."

"They're going to get away with it."

"We don't know that," she attempted to sooth my worries.

"So, they get slapped with a kidnapping charge, perhaps breaking and entering," I shook my head. "But Miss Ritter and Mr. Harrison," I repeated. "And what about Rita and Kee? Marcus Eaton had them kidnapped, probably sold them to the highest bidder. I can't believe that there are fuckin' sickos out there that..." I paused when I noticed that she had pressed her lips together and covered her son's ears. "I'm sorry," I shook my head and went to sit down at a nearby bench.

"Da," her son cried out and I shifted to see that Eric Coulter - Ana's husband - was at the other end of the hall. He squirmed in Ana's hold, continuing to point in that direction. However, Ana wouldn't let him down.

Instead, she walked over to where I was and sat down right next to me. Her son almost threw a tantrum, but Ana took a hold of his little body. "Reuben Coulter," she said in a firm tone, causing the little one year old to pause. His bottom lip trembled but Ana shook her head. Her son placed his head on Ana's shoulder where I saw his eyes turn watery. "No tears are going to come out," she looked over at me, giving me a reassuring look. Being a mother suited her. I would have given in to the little tantrum. "He does this all the time, I'm noticing. He'll feign crying so that someone gives him his way. They're all crocodile tears."

I chuckled and shook my head. "I remember when my son - well, my nephew - used to do that," I replied. "My mom would rush to his side and then you'd see him smiling away," I added. "He always got what he wanted when grandma was around."

Ana smiled in response. "I don't know what it is with grandchildren that make our parents fuss so much," she responded. "I mean, Jenny is three years old - still a spoiled baby - and Jimmy is eight years old. But the joy of having Reuben - or worst, Eve and Jericho," she named her brother Jonathan's son and step-daughter, "with my mother, they could get away with anything and they both know it, don't you," she looked down at her son who made a face like his father's. "Argh, this kid," she sighed and leaned back in the chair. "He frowns just like his father."

"Why don't you let him go to Eric?"

Ana turned to look at her husband as I looked around her to see him speaking with three men I didn't recognize.

"They're speaking about an important matter regarding the case and our interviews," Ana supplied as my head turned immediately towards her.

"Perhaps we should go there and..."

"Eric is handling it, Hec," this time she turned her strict tone over to me. "He'll take care of it. Believe me, we didn't want to make the decision without you, but I couldn't find you. Your mother said you came in this direction, so that's why I was outside the restroom, waiting for you." I went to stand but she immediately reached out and took my hand. "We should talk about what's going on with you."

"Nothing is going on with me. I'm fine," I pulled my hand away, trying to brush her off.

"You're not fine," she said, still with a determination to her voice. "I understand that today - the same date of the trial - is the date of our abduction, our torture. Anniversary dates - especially ones where we've experienced some sort of traumatic..."

I scoffed and walked to the other side of the hallway, leaning with my back against the wall to face her. "I do not have post-traumatic stress disorder, Ana."

"I'm not saying that you did."

"Yes, you are," my voice rose. "You think you know what happened to me, but you don't. And trying to tell me that I'm going through some sort of episode that..."

"Hector Rodriguez," she stood up, clutching her son to her chest. "You forget that I was in that SUV, too. Cain Banner ordered people to strip me down, beat me, touch me, humiliate me and bring me to my breaking point," tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

Unlike her son's, I knew the ones that would fall from her eyes would be real. It made me feel like a real dick, because I did forget about Ana. I had worried so much after we had been discovered, stayed in the hospital until they sent me home. Then the weeks that followed, I called her parent's house everyday checking in to see how she was. She had her time to mourn, grieve, get angry and irritated with everything.

I had forgot what she went through.

"I woke up this morning in a cold sweat. I know that you did, too." She stated into my eyes. "You're trying to hide from it, probably have been for the past three years. But it won't go away," she said as I let her words hit me.

"Why does it still follow me around, Ana? Why..."

"Did you speak to anyone about what happened?"

No, I hadn't, I thought but didn't say out loud.

"My therapist told me that when people go through something like this, it does something to our heart, to our mind," she gave me a reassuring smile. "Believe me I know. I felt like the entire ordeal took away my smile, because I felt like I wasn't worthy. It took away my sleep, because I didn't feel safe. Things like these transform you, but it doesn't mean that something is wrong with us or that we've gone mental. We're not broken. You are not broken, Hec. Cry if you want, get angry if you want. Laugh if you want," her smiled widened. Slowly she walked over to me, "but most importantly, you have to come to terms with what happened. And that whatever happens after this wasn't your fault. The death of Miss Ritter, Mr. Harrison or even Myra," she choked a sob, "it wasn't our fault, Hec. No one is to blame but those men in that courtroom."

"And if they get away with it because I screwed up on the stand..."

"Hec, don't you think my Aunt was prepared for that? She still has other witnesses who are going to testify," Ana smiled kindly. "You did not screw up."

"I couldn't protect you or Myra. I couldn't protect Miss Ritter and her kids. Or Mr. Harrison," I shook my head. "I'm younger, stronger. I should have been able to..."

"We can't live on 'what ifs' or 'could of, would of, should of'. All we can do is deal with what's in front of us," she touched my hand. "Hec, you are a strong person, you are brave and," she paused as her son turned around and reached out with his little hand to touch my face. Ana released a sound between a sob and a laugh as her eyes held mine. "You are my best friend, Hec. You were there for me when I needed you. And you know that if you ever need anything, I'm here for you. I'm just a phone call away. Two or three o'clock in the morning, you need someone to talk to, do it. Edward does. Sometimes Eric will take over or sometimes I will. We all need someone to listen to our concerns. That doesn't make us mental, that makes us human."

"Ana..."

"Hell, you could even drive to Erudite if you want. Watch my kid for a couple hours with Ven if that's what you want, just to get away from Dauntless," she shrugged. "Because I trust you, Hec. I trust you with my life, with my kid. Don't blame yourself for whatever happened in the past, or whatever the outcome of this trial is going to be. Because whatever happens, we've won, Hec."

She smiled and looked at Reuben, who turned around to play with his mother's hair.

"I look at my son and I know that I've won."

I considered what she was saying as she continued to lovingly look at her son.

"There are two paths that life gives you after situations like the one that you and I went through," she ran her hand over Reuben's head as he babbled some baby noises. "You let the situation consume you alive, then you wither and fade away from who you were, who you are. Or," Ana returned her gaze to me. "Or you climb up out of that pit, Hec. It's steep and takes a lot of hard work. But there are people who will jump in there with you, help you along the way. There are people at the top, cheering you on. There are some who will toss you a rope to help you climb, give you a bottle of water to help refresh you. It's hard, Hec. But you're not in this alone. Talk to me."

"I feel responsible," I admitted, feeling my heart beat faster as that confession came out of nowhere. "I know you said that I shouldn't think about the 'what ifs', but that's all that I see, Ana. I feel like I failed. I want to protect Ven. I want to protect my nephews, my mom, my sisters," I shook my head. "But how do I do that when I can't even protect myself?"

For a moment it was silent until Ana pulled me into a warm hug. I held her close and before I knew what was happening, I started to cry.

I wasn't sure when or how it happened but when I had taken whatever comfort and strength that I could from my best friend, I pulled back to see that her son wasn't there. Eric had appeared and was holding Reuben in his arms on the bench that Ana and I had just been sitting on.

Call it the 'guy' in me, but I immediately wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt and looked away from Eric, breathing in and out, trying to calm my emotional ass down. God, I was such a wreck.

Eric chuckled, and I turned to look at him as he rocked his son gently back and forth. "I cried too," he admitted. "I did for weeks after everything happened. Hell, I broke down in front of my sister when I thought we weren't going to find you and Ana. I broke down with Edward when we got the news about Myra. It's okay for a guy to cry, Hec," he lifted up a shoulder.

"A part of me, that night, as they were beating me and telling me that Marcus Eaton was going to sell me - that I'd fetch a pretty dollar for my ass," I looked down and shook my head. "A part of me wanted to die."

Eric stood up with a serious expression on his face and pulled me towards the side, farther away from Ana. I feared that he was about to hit me or perhaps kill me - that's how serious he looked, how angry his expression on his face had been.

Instead, he softened and confessed that a part of him wanted to die also. He had been so scared and felt so worthless. He couldn't protect Ana - the woman that he loved. I stood there in shock and awe, because I always believed that Eric was so confident, so sure of himself. He was an intelligent businessman, he could command attention. He had a lot of money, he knew the right people - and from what I found out, also the wrong type of people.

Regardless, he stood there in front of me, telling me that he didn't feel 'worthy'. What sort of man this powerful, didn't feel worthy?

"None of what I had before was real," Eric concluded. "When Ana stepped into my life, that was real. She was real. And I couldn't protect that. Felt that if she could be taken away from me, then it was obvious I wasn't meant to have wonderful things."

Eric touched my shoulder and pulled me to look down the hall.

"She reminds me every day, almost every morning, that I am worthy. That I didn't fail," he added. "None of what happened that day means that you are unworthy or a failure. And if you need reminding, Ana's offer still stands - you call me, or you call her. We're Dauntless, remember?"

I nodded, feeling a bit lighter. "Yeah," I agreed.

Ana came by us, reaching to touch her son. Eric sort of shrugged her off causing me to smile at their interactions. He kissed her forehead before leaving Ana with me.

She linked her arm with mine as we walked slowly behind Eric, carrying their son.

"There's a surprise witness - three surprise witnesses actually," Ana confessed.

I looked shockingly over at her as she laughed at my expression. "You going to tell me," I questioned.

As we came to a stop, Ana turned towards me and gave me a hug. When she pulled back, that's when I looked over my shoulder and saw a ghost.

"Myra," I practically shouted as a few people gasped down the hallway.

Myra practically ran towards me as I captured her in my arms. She smiled and started to cry as I did too. Myra was alive! How in the world was she alive? I saw her get shot. And that's exactly what I started to repeat. I saw her get shot. I saw it happen. She shouldn't have been alive. But here she was.

She pushed back and wiped her face. "Happy tears," Myra said as Edward came to stand by her. He held out his hand which I shook, before immediately dropping.

"I heard that you got married," my eyes narrowed at him.

"I got married to Myra," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side.

Realizing what he was implying, I smiled at them both before shaking my head, engulfing them both in a hug - sharing congratulations about the marriage and about the kid that I heard Edward had.

"Myra always wanted to start a family," I looked at her.

"Exactly what I told Valerie Martinez or was it Vanessa Mendoza," Ana smiled and hugged them both.

I nodded before shaking my head. "That's why Edward's new wife was your maid of honor," I snapped my fingers as the three of them laughed. "Someone could have told me." I remember standing there as one of the groomsmen - wondering why Edward's new wife was there. A few people had pointed at her and whispered - wondering what she was doing there. But Ana had known, Eric had known.

"We didn't want anyone to know until the trial." The four of us turned to see Annabella Hayes-Summers standing there with a serious expression. "Technically, Ms. Valdez violated a part of protocol by informing my niece in the first place," she said.

We all - seriously, each one of us - had the decency to look ashamed.

She held up an arm for Myra. "Are you ready to come back to life, Myra," she smiled slightly.

Myra touched my shoulder, leaned up to kiss Edward's cheek and smiled at Ana before walking pass us and over to follow Annabella into the courtroom. There were a few officers guarding her and I could only assume that her testimony was about to begin. Edward asked if I wanted to watch, but instead of responding, I walked inside after them.

Her testimony had gone smoother than mine and Ana's. In fact, the defense attorney was pretty much shocked that she had been there. He attempted to question her about that night, but she described what she saw - me in my incapacitated state and Marcus Eaton giving the order for two of the defendants to shoot her. She pointed out that the third defendant had whispered that he wanted to take her the same that he had taken those two children down the hall.

My fists clenched at the thought of Kee and Rita.

"And you're certain that..."

"I am," Myra answered the defense attorney confidently. She angled herself to stare down the men in the courtroom. "He stated outright, that he had kidnapped those two little children. And I'm confident that in order to get to them, he murdered Miss Ritter and Mr. Harrison."

Surprisingly, Kee had come onto the stand to testify after Myra had been finished. She cried and said that the man had explained she would have a new 'father' and that she had to do as was told. When questioned about her younger sister Rita, she started to weep further - breaking not just my heart but everyone in the courtroom when she said that Rita was taken by the third defendant away from her and never to be seen again.

The defense attorney stood up and tried to throw question after question at Kee. But she was strong. She held her head high and kept her answers short until the right question came around.

"I opened the door because I heard noise outside. I thought Mr. Harrison had a heart attack, but I saw Marcus Eaton and that man there," she pointed towards the first man who had also been the one to tie me up and beat me. "He had shot Mr. Harrison. Then when I screamed, he smiled at me and said that he would make sure that my sister and I kept quiet. I locked the door and went to hide my sister and our mom called the police. They barged into our apartment. And yes, it was him," she eyed the defense attorney. "He shot Mr. Harrison, took me and my sister away, and she killed my mother."

Evidence recovered from the scene helped us to conclude that Rita had been raped and sold when Jessica Coulter had entered the compound. Jessica gave her testimony then, providing further evidence that the three men had been instrumental in the kidnapping and selling of not just young women but also young children.

"And I'm certain that they would have done the same to Kee Ritter, Hector Rodriguez, Myra Valdez and Ana Summers," Jessica said with finality before glancing at the three of them.

Something she said in her testimony had caused the defense attorney to sweat and I wondered what it was.

When the guilty sentence had been passed, I had never felt so relieved in my life. All three of the men were found guilty on all counts. The jury was barely in the decision room before they concluded.

What shocked me was when the defense attorney stood up, Ana's cousin Blossom Hayes, waltzed up the center aisle with two men in suits.

"Matthew Carmichael," Blossom stated loudly as a few people began to murmur and whisper in shock. "You're under arrest for harassment, endangering the welfare of a child and obstruction of justice."

"This is absurd," the defense attorney cried out as the two men turned him around and placed his hands in cuffs.

I looked towards Ana who was staring at Eric. Eric glanced at us and smiled, patting his son's back. "He threatened Edward into withdrawing from his testimony." Eric wrapped his arm around Ana, bringing her closer. "Like I said earlier, Hector," he looked up at me, "you do anything for the people that you love."

We walked out of that courtroom, feeling lighter than we did walking in. It had been a long trial - an even longer journey to get to this trial.

Ana and I sat down in a diner in Amity the following day. She had been visiting family before heading back home to Erudite and I was invited up for the weekend, also.

"Thanks," I nodded to the waitress as she placed a cup of coffee in front of me.

"Since when do you drink coffee," Ana questioned.

I snorted and shook my head. "When we get old, we drink coffee," I stated as she started to laugh. "Thanks, Ana," I told her in a serious tone.

"You're the one I should be thanking, Hec," she replied. "If it wasn't for you, I would have given up on Eric, given up on this wonderful man who makes me happy. You encouraged me to keep going. I found a real friend in you when I moved to Dauntless."

"You didn't have too much guy friends, I remember you saying that."

"No, I didn't," she replied. "But I met you and you were like this annoying brother that I have," she described as I smiled. "You tell me straight about my insecurities. You push me when I need to. You were there when I needed someone to be there," her voice cracked, and I knew where she was coming from.

Scott and Noah were my close friends, but it was nice to have someone - other than my sister and her husband's family - who understood me. I felt invisible sometimes with my family and friends. But Ana had gone through the experiences I had, too - both before and after the kidnap took place.

"Eric trusted you with me, did you know that," she looked up to me and met my eyes. "That day that Marcus showed up and threw the package on top of your car," she brought up as I nodded. "I called Eric that night and he was glad that you were there with me, that I had a friend with me." Ana looked down as I saw a tear fall from her face. "You were brave and strong and a good friend, Hec."

"I'm glad that I knew that before I declared my love for you," I joked as she shook her head and wiped her eyes, letting out a small laugh.

"Yeah, it's right there in the dictionary," she stated. "Friendzone," she waved her hand, "and there's a picture of me and you." I started to smile at her. "But I do love you, Hec. I love you for all that I did, and all that you are."

"Right back at you," I replied.

Ana wiped her face again before picking up her water and taking a sip from it. "You know if I could have made you a bridesmaid, I would have."

"I'd look awful in that orange dress," I chuckled.

"It was peach!"

"It was a strapless with that," I motioned towards my chest.

Ana closed her eyes in annoyance. "Sweetheart neckline," she stated.

"Well whatever it was," I replied as she shook her head. "That thing wouldn't have matched on me. For one thing, my shoulders are too wide. And I think that I would have needed a push-up bra or something. Because I would not have filled that thing out nicely. I think I've gone down a cup size. Ven has me doing some sort of juice cleanse or whatever. I think I've gone down a cup size since then."

"You're insane," she said as we both started to laugh.

After we had calmed down, Ana pulled out a small envelope from her purse and slid it across the table top. She smiled at me as I took it, opening the seal slowly.

What I pulled out from there wasn't anything that I'd expect. I held the black and white photo in my hand and smiled. "I'm assuming you're pregnant again," I said as I glanced at the picture.

"Yup," she nodded, before shaking her head.

A cautious friend would have waited or thought this through, but Ana knew me too well for me to hold back. "It's kind of soon, don't you think?"

"It is. That's why I told Eric he has to get a vasectomy after this." I looked up at her. "Of course, that's not going to happen because he wants six kids."

"What do you want?"

"Two. Well," she paused and started to laugh. "Reuben is a bit too much for me to handle sometimes. So, on those days, I feel one kid is enough," she shook her head. Despite her saying it, I could still see the smile on her face. "I've had my second thoughts about having children, about being married and about a lot of things really. But I have a good circle of friends and family to support me. And that's why you are one of the first people to know."

My head shot up towards her in shock.

"Eric and I stuck to one family tradition when Reuben was born and we both agreed that this time around, we'd stray from tradition a bit," she smiled as I tried to think about what she was saying. "If we're having a son, we're going to name him 'Hector'."

"Wow," I smiled, feeling proud and loved.

"You know after that Trojan prince," she said as we both started to laugh. "Eric Bana was pretty good looking in that movie Troy."

"I can't believe I watched that movie with you and all you could talk about were the hot guys in there," I shook my head, remembering that night.

"Not all of them. I did mention that Sean Bean was better looking in Lord of the Rings," she argued.

"You weren't supposed to check him out. The purpose of us watching that was so that you could understand my references to the ring, and of course to The Hobbit."

"We watched a lot of movies together, H. Ford," she teased. "It was hard to remember everything."

"We certainly did, short round," I teased in reply.

We both laughed again before she leaned forward and smiled at me. "You were there with me, every step of the way - encouraging me to give Eric a chance, to not listen to outside influences, like that stupid text message or those pictures that I got. You picked me up whenever I was crying on the floor. I mean, there aren't a lot of people who would put up with all of that. But you did. And I can't easily say, that you are one of the reasons why Eric and I are together. Because you encouraged me to fight for us to be together, to stay together," she said as her eyes got watery. "And we decided that our son should have that name."

My eyes started to water, too. "I feel honored, Ana. I truly do."

"We went through hell and back, Hec. We came out the victors on this one. You and I are still standing," she said as I finally felt convinced that she was right. "The trial is over. Marcus Eaton is not getting off this time around. You and I get to look at the sunrise every morning, remember that."

I nodded, understanding now what she meant about her and I being the winners.

"So, uh," she sat back and raised her hand, asking for the check. "My parents have Reuben for the rest of the day. Eric is with Jordan and a few of his friends from Amity. They're doing some mud bogging."

"You're kidding," I chuckled. "I've actually never seen it in real life."

She looked at me with a mischievous smile. "I guess it's my turn to introduce you to something."

"Let's do it," I said, standing up as we paid for the bill. "You're not planning on leaving me on my own, are you? Because I'm serious, I've never seen it in real life. And I'm pretty sure your brother's friends are experts at it."

"Oh, don't worry," she waved her hand. "They're amateurs compared to me. And I won't leave you on your own, what kind of friend do you think I am?"

I chuckled and shook my head, putting my arm on her shoulder. "You're the best type of friend there is."

"Well, I had a good example to follow," she elbowed me before hurrying towards her dad's truck. I sure hoped that we weren't going to be driving that through the mud.

As we drove to the ranch that her brother's friend owned - singing horribly to music from the 80's - I realized just how free and strong people like Ana and I were. We survived, and we were going to keep on surviving.