A/N: Please excuse the many likely issues with my presentation of a hearing. As much as I do try to research, I am not a lawyer or anything in that realm.

This also turned extremely long, and procedural, so I hope it's not extremely boring. I felt that since I've gone on about the hearing, I should show a fair amount.

At the courthouse, Deeks and Kensi are met by Sam and Nell. Sam makes an imposing figure in his dress uniform, while Nell has settled on a black pantsuit that brings home the sense they shouldn't be messed with. Together, they're an intimidating pair.

"Looking good, Deeks," Sam says once they're within hearing distance. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Deeks replies, covering his nerves with a self-deprecating smile. Sam takes one of his large hands, and squeezes the back Deeks' neck, giving him a reassuring little shake before finishing it off with pat to his shoulder.

"You're going to be fine. You got this, and we got you," he says, reiterating Kensi's reassurances from earlier.

"Damn right," Nell agrees emphatically.

"Oh good, you're all here," Devin Risner says, coming from the opposite direction. "Any last minute questions or concerns?"

He gets a round of head shakes.

"Great. They're ready for us to go in."

Kensi and Nell stick close to Deeks as they settle in on their side of the courtroom, perhaps expecting Sylvia to attempt another confrontation. She remains in her seat though, conversing quietly with her lawyer, without a hint of anger or aggression. Still, he's comforted by Kensi's presence at his side.

That doesn't surprise Deeks; she'd been stunningly good at concealing her true personality in public throughout most of their relationship. He also imagines the second arrest and her lawyers have gone some way to scaring her into compliance.

He does notice her eyes linger on him as she's called to the witness stand and sworn in.

As Deeks predicted, his character is called into question. They bring up everything from his childhood, cast doubt on the nature of his relationship with Kensi, and on it goes.

"I'm not proud of my actions, but I was driven to them by Marty's colleagues and so-called friends, by his lies, and by his mistreatment. Even so, I still love him more than anything," Sylvia finishes at the end of her lengthy questioning by both sides, projecting a mournful air. Deeks thinks she's almost convinced herself that she's telling the truth.

They move on to her witnesses, which consists of several of her close close friends, an employee Deeks met a handful of times, and her mother. For the most part, it's a repetition of Sylvia's testimony.

Kensi, Sam, Nell, and the arresting officers are questioned next. Sylvia's lawyer is a man perhaps 10 years older than Deeks and aggressive in his approach to questioning. Sam deals with his frequent interruptions with a patient smirk. Nell is far less diplomatic, and Deeks would almost say entertaining if the matter weren't so serious.

Despite the frequent objections and deliberating over lines of questioning, they both manage to present a cohesive, and compelling narrative. Once again, Deeks is touched by their unending support and trust in him.

When it's Kensi's turn, he feels the tension settling into his shoulders again. Even though he knows Kensi can more than handle it, he dreads seeing her put under a microscope.

"Now, Ms. Blye, what is your relationship with Martin Deeks?" Sylvia's lawyer asks.

"He's my partner at the Los Angeles Police Department, where we're both employed. He's also a friend," Kensi responds calmly.

"Just a friend?"

"Yes."

"Yet Mr. Deeks has been staying with you for the last seven weeks, correct?" he asks. "That doesn't seem like strictly friend behavior to me."

"Deeks needed a place to stay, so I offered him one," Kensi answers, showing no signs of discomfort with the implications of the lawyer's questions.

"And he couldn't stay anywhere else."

"Is there some reason why he should have?"

The lawyer doesn't answer Kensi's inquiry, instead shifting the topic slightly. "It seems like you have a vested interest in seeing Marty and Sylvia's break up. You were instrumental in his decision to leave Sylvia, and to move out of their home when she was gone. You encouraged him to leave, didn't you?"

"Yes," Kensi answers firmly, her voice taking on an edge. "Not because I was looking for an opportune moment to step in and take Sylvia's place, or whatever sordid scenario you're implying." She leans forward, and her intensity has everyone's attention. "I saw my friend in distress. He was closed off, quiet—and anyone who knows Marty Deeks knows that something is wrong if he won't talk to you—and more importantly, I saw the bruises—"

"Ms. Blye, that'll do," the lawyer interrupts.

"Actually, I'd like to hear the rest," the judge counters, nodding to Kensi. "Continue, Ms. Blye."

"I observed a series of injuries over a few weeks of time that concerned me. When I questioned Deeks about it, he gave me excuses that didn't make sense. Falling down, being sick, etcetera." She smiles grimly. "I'm surprised it took me so long with how often we get called in for domestic violence, but I finally made the connection." She presses her lips together, shaking her head. "Those injuries started escalating, quickly, and I didn't want my friend and partner to become another statistic. So, yes, I intervened. And I won't ever apologize for that."

Seeming to find her testimony compelling as well, Sylvia's lawyer quickly ends his line of questioning.

Devin stands then, such a contrast to the other lawyer. "I just have a couple questions, Ms. Blye. "Have you ever seen Martin Deeks behave violently towards Ms. Gray or any other person without provocation?"

"No," Kensi says emphatically. "Deeks always looks to defuse situations. Even when Sylvia was shouting in his face and attacked him."

"Thank you, that will be all."

"I think we'll break for lunch now," the judge decides. "We'll reconvene in 45 minutes and continue with Mr. Deeks' testimony."

A part of Deeks is relieved for the break, because his head is aching and he need a few moments in quiet to himself. The other part is ready to just get it over with. His stomach is vaguely queasy from the tension and listening to his life be dissected in front of a crowd.

It isn't quite as bad as he'd anticipated, yet he knows he'll be rehashing it all with his therapist in a few days.

"Relax, Marty, we're doing fine," Devin assures him. When Deeks raises an eyebrow, he asks, "You can't tell?"

"Sorry, but my perception is a little skewed right now," Deeks admits.

"Well, it is. Did you see them?" Devin nods towards Sylvia and her lawyer, heads inclined towards each other. A bit of her composure has slipped, her temper showing through as she jabs her finger at the lawyer and hisses something. "Doesn't look like two people happy with the way things are going."

"C'mon, let's go for a walk," Kensi suggests, somehow anticipating that he's completely uninterested in food. "It'll be good to clear your mind."

When they arrive back at the courtroom, Deeks feels significantly calmer. Sam and Nell had both left to grab a quick bite while he and Kensi traced a path around the courthouse. She'd left him to his thoughts, staying close by, but not forcing conversation.

Deeks takes the stand, recalling what Devin had told him that morning. He looks out at the faces of his friends, Sylvia, her lawyer, and friends, and he knows he has nothing to hide.

Once again, Sylvia's lawyer questions him first. He makes a show of reviewing his files, observing Deeks.

"We've spent a long time today listening to your friends sing your praises. It's obvious they respect and care about you, so rather than waste more time trying to parse out their feelings from the truth, I'd like to cut right to the chase. If you were so unhappy with your relationship with Ms. Gray, why did you stay? As all your friends and colleagues keep reminding us, you're a grown man capable of making his own decisions. Miss Blye made it clear you freely left when she offered you her couch. Why didn't you leave the second you weren't happy in that relationship?"

Deeks licks his bottom lip, seeing where this is going now.

"As difficult as it may be for you believe, I didn't realize at first. It was so gradual and minor, that I just dismissed the manipulation and verbal abuse." He takes a breath to steady himself. "Then when she started getting more physical, I told myself when she punched me in the arm during an argument, it was playful. Until it started happening all the time, and the punches started getting harder."

"Given your past both as a child of an abusive father and as an officer who reportedly deals with cases of domestic violence with great frequency, shouldn't you have known the signs?"

"You know, I asked myself the same thing," Deeks admits, looking slightly beyond the lawyer. "It's one of the reasons I couldn't admit what was going on to myself, or anyone else. You think people won't believe you, or that they'll judge you."

"So, the reason you claim you didn't leave an allegedly abusive relationship is because you were self-conscious," the lawyer clarifies. "You see, I just don't buy that from a man Officer Hanna described as the life of the party and capable of talking down dangerous criminals. That sounds like a man secure enough in himself to not care about what anyone thinks. Maybe you didn't mind being hit around as much as you say you did."

"Objection!" Devin calls out, his face a mask of outrage.

"That's alright, I'm done," the other lawyer says, waving Devin down as he offers Deeks a disingenuous smile. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Deeks."

"As noted, we've heard a lot about your character from other people," Devin starts. "I'd like to hear about your relationship with Ms. Gray when it first began, and how it changed over time."

Deeks takes another steadying breath. They'd gone over this, prepared for this moment, regardless of what the other side asked. "When I met Sylvia, I was happier than I ever remembered. We spent all our free time together, met each other's friends and families. It was idyllic. After about a year together, we decided to move into a condo." He glances down at his fingers, reliving the past as he retells it. "And that's about when everything started to change. Like I said, it was subtle in the beginning. It started with manipulation I barely noticed to get what she wanted, and then turned to demeaning me and accusations when that didn't work."

Deeks pauses, to take a sip of water, because his hands have started shaking slightly. "From there, she started pushing and hitting me when she was upset. It got to the point, that I dreaded coming home. I thought I could still fix it, somehow, but I spent most of our time together trying to avoid a fight and her rage. But at that point, nothing I did seemed right or good enough."

"How frequently was Sylvia physically violent?"

"A couple months before our breakup, once or twice a week." He pauses yet again. "But, uh, it quickly increased to nearly every day. I knew I needed to leave, but I didn't know how."

"Thank you for sharing that, Martin. I know it must be hard to relive," Devin says, raising his eyebrow in a silent question. Deeks nods to sho he's all right to continue. "Since the incident where Ms. Gray attacked you outside your condo, have you been seeing a therapist?"

"Yes." Deeks flashes a glance towards the audience, resisting the urge to dip his head. "I've had some flashbacks and other traumatic responses related to the attack. The therapy has helped quite a bit with those."

"What do you feel when you feel when you think of Ms. Gray?"

"Sometimes fear, anger, betrayal. I loved her, and she took advantage of my feelings."

"My final question is, what are you hoping to come of this hearing?" Devin asks.

"I'm not looking for revenge," Deeks says, casting a glance towards Sylvia before he can stop himself. He sees a flash of shock cross her gestures before she smooths it out. "I want…I want Sylvia to realize that her actions do have consequences, I want to feel safe again which I haven't since the day she attacked me, and if possible, I don't want to worry about someone else being hurt by her."

"Thank you, that's all."

Deeks steps down, sitting next to Kensi again, and she instantly takes his hand beneath the table. Devin moves back into the center of the courtroom.

"Before I give me closing arguments, I'd like to show the court three pieces of evidence," he says, handing the judge a document, and then pointing a remote at the monitor beside the witness stand. "The first item is a collection of pictures that Mr. Deeks took in the two months prior to him ending his relationship with Sylvia Gray."

A series of cell phone photos fills the screen, the last two showing the fresh cut and now healed scar on Deeks' arm.

"These are examples of the violence Ms. Gray inflicted on my client before he decided to leave her. As Mr. Deeks described, you can see the injuries increase in frequency and severity."

"The second exhibit, is from the day Ms. Gray was taken into custody on assault charges. He clicks again, the first of the police photographs appearing, a close up of Deeks' split lip, and there's a hushed gasp from someone in the audience.

Even though Deeks knew it was coming, he tenses. Kensi's fingers tighten around his, and he focuses on that sensation instead of his suddenly pounding heart.

Devin slowly cycles through each slide, not lingering on any one photo but long enough that it makes an impact. When it comes to the full picture of Deeks' face, Kensi's hand trembles in his.

Devin pauses significantly, casting a glance around the room, at the judge. "These were taken immediately after Sylvia Gray attacked Martin Deeks. He was attempting to peacefully to leave their condominium when she arrived, angry and shouting. When he tried to defuse the situation, offered to speak with her privately, Sylvia Gray rewarded his patience by knocking him to the ground, repeatedly punching him in the face, and damaging his ribs in the process. Passion and anger are one thing, this level of violence is another."

"And finally, I have over 1,000 calls, texts, and voicemails Ms. Gray made to Martin Deeks' cell phone since he ended their relationship. Approximately 700 of those were sent after Ms. Gray's arrest. When she wasn't supposed to have any contact with Mr. Deeks." He clicks again and several isolated texts boxes appear on screen. He waits long enough for them to read the messages.

"Ms. Gray and her counsel have tried to convince this court that she is simply a passionate woman. That Marty Deeks was unduly influenced by his LAPD partner and friends. They want us to believe she felt neglected because Marty worked too much and too late. They've attempted to shift blame to everyone, but Ms. Gray. From implying Ms. Blye had nefarious intention in mind instead of simply helping Mr. Deeks escape an abusive situation to suggesting that Mr. Dekes enjoyed the abuse. None of these excuses, many of which are completely false, justify the systematic verbal, emotional, and physical abuse Sylvia Gray perpetrated against the man she claims to love so dearly," Devin says, gesturing to Deeks. "Just because he did not leave Sylvia the first, or second, or third time she abused him, does not mean he wanted or deserved that abuse. Ms. Gray has demonstrated that she is chronically violent, and through her repeated and unrelenting contact with Mr. Deeks, that she is a continued threat to him. Based on the evidence and testimonies presented in court today, Ms. Gray does not deserve to go free, and if she does, I fear for my client's safety."

"Thank you, Mr. Risen," the judge says, checking his watch as Devin returns to his seat. "I'm going to adjourn this hearing for today. We'll continue with closing arguments tomorrow at 8:00 A.M."

"Damn, I was hoping we would actually finish today," Deeks sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Around them, most of the audience is starting to filter out, but Deeks remains seated. He sees Sam and Nell making their way forward.

"Hey, it won't be that much longer," Sam encourages him. "Better they take their time now than having to come back later."

"Why don't we go grab some food," Nell suggests. "You have to be starving by now."

As they filter out, he sees Sylvia standing, waiting to be escorted out by one of the bailiffs. He almost looks away, but is stilled by the searching, desperate look she gives him. It's different than when she'd begged him to help her before; there's a sense of defeat about her that he's never seen before. As though the gravity of the situation has finally started to sink in.

He sees her lips part, her body shifting towards him, but before she can act, her lawyer settles a hand on her shoulder, and she turns back.

"Deeks, you ok?" Kensi asks from behind him, and he shakes himself out of the moment.

"Yeah." He follows along, feeling an odd sense of finality as they leave the building.