Sheila Cantillion RN smiled when she cleared the metal detector at the courthouse and saw Joey Moscini waiting by the first bank of elevators. She was sure he wasn't truly waiting for her, but she would enjoy his company anyway. Her mother would insist it was kismet. Her mother was into kismet. Or maybe her mother just wanted what she wanted and hated consequences. Conveniently since her mother believed that kismet had brought Peter Kaufman into their lives; that meant she held no responsibility for marrying a man who made her daughter uncomfortable, or even for staying with said man even after her twelve-year-old daughter had disclosed that he had forced himself upon her.

That reality had messed her up for years. She had fled the house of horrors on her eighteenth birthday but by then the damage was done. Her cousin Shari Cotter had taken pity on her and let her move into an apartment she was renting with her friends Tammy Hanson and Kylie Quinlan. All three of them had been dancers at The Paradise Lounge. Shari had offered to put in a good word with the boss and promised her that the money was great, but Sheila had known she could never do that. Instead, she took a nursing aide job at a nursing home in Moriches. It was disgusting and sometimes nearly back breaking, but it was relatively safe. It had taken her four years to complete her RN on their part time track. She got her degree in May 1989 and then started as a Med-Surg nurse on 4 North.

That was when she had met Joey Moscini. He had been part of the maintenance department then. He had been sweet but just as they were getting to know each other everything fell apart. Her former stepfather was admitted as a patient on her assigned floor. She hadn't been able to explain how or why he still evoked such terror not to her charge nurse, certainly not to Dr. Steven Hardy, and not even to Joey. So, she had just gone back inside herself. She had lied and told Joey she met someone else. She hadn't but it was easier for him to believe that she suspected.

Years later, after two different suicide attempts, she had admitted to her therapist how much she had needed Joey to have seen through her lies. Her therapist had suggested it hadn't actually been Joey. Her therapist thought she had been desperate for anyone to have seen her struggles. Her therapist also thought it was past time that she worked through the trauma of the past abuse and found her strength and salvation in herself. That was so much easier said than done but she had been trying.

So, when Joey smiled and said good morning she wondered if perhaps them both being selected for the fall term of the Chapparal County Grand Jury was an opportunity for them to have a second chance at a relationship when she could actually handle a relationship. Perhaps…

XXXXXXXX

Katherine Bell clutched her emesis basin and moaned. "Ohh, I feel sooooooo sick! I am going to beee sick," she wailed.

"It's ok, Katherine. I am right here, just let it all out," Prince Nikolas Cassadine encouraged as he patted her back.

Gwen Sanborn RN rolled her eyes. In the past she had looked forward to being pulled to cover Stepdown rather than the ICU for a shift. In the past it had been a nice break. Unfortunately, the last three times that had happened she had ended up with Katherine Bell as her patient. What Katherine lacked in actual acuity she made up for in demanding, entitlement, and just general nastiness.

"I need something else for the nausea. I told you before that only Ativan works for me!" Katherine screamed.

Gwen shook her head. "Unfortunately, you only have Compazine ordered," she said.

Only Katherine Bell could make her long for a ventilator patient, with a chest tube, a temporary pacemaker, and three pressors to titrate.

XXXXXXXX

Scott Baldwin sat at the table in one of the conference rooms on the sixth floor of the Courthouse on the Town Square, awaiting his grand jury appearance. New York State allowed defendants to testify in front of the grand jury. Since defendant testimony was supposed to open with a narrative of events most prosecutors chose to start with the defendant testimony, raise their own probative points, and then use their witnesses to emphasize them and support the indictment. Or at least that was how Scott preferred to handle it on the rare occasions that defendants chose to testify. Apparently, Dara had a different agenda, because instead of being shown into the vestibule outside the grand jury room to wait for his appearance, he had been sent upstairs to the sixth floor. Scott had no idea what that meant.

XXXXXXXX

Dara Jensen took a deep breath and then stood and up and faced the twenty Chapparal County residents who had shown up for their grand jury assignment. "Good morning! Thank you for your attendance, attention, and participation in the judicial process. I am Dara Jensen one of Chapparal County's assistant prosecutors. Today we're considering an indictment against defendant Scott Baldwin on the felony charge of first-degree rape. In NY State one has committed 1st degree rape if they have: engaged in sexual intercourse with another person by forcible compulsion; and or have engaged in sexual intercourse with another person who is physically helpless; and or engaged in sexual intercourse with a child who is less than 11 years old; and or engaged in sexual intercourse with a child who is less than 13 years old, and they are at least 18 years old. As is Mr. Baldwin's right, he has requested an opportunity to testify himself and directly refute all allegations and you will have an opportunity to hear from him later but first we should start at the beginning with the alleged victim, Tiffany Peterson," she said. As she paused waiting for the bailiff to bring in Miss Peterson, she realized how convenient it might be that grand jury proceedings were secret.

Tiffany Peterson came into the grand jury room dressed in a long skirt, with a sweater layered over her scoop neck blouse. Despite the effort that someone had taken with her wardrobe selection she still looked sullen rather than scared, at least in Dara's opinion. Tiffany sat down in the witness box and as she raised her right hand to be sworn Dara accepted what she was about to do.

"Good morning, Miss Peterson. Before we get started can you again state your name and your home address for the court record," Dara said.

Tiffany started to roll her eyes but then caught herself. "Tiffany Peterson. I live at 300 Pine Boulevard in Port Charles, NY."

"Thank you. Today I am going to ask you a series of questions about the events of October 3, 1997. I apologize in advance because some of these questions may be uncomfortable. Ultimately, we all want to see justice delivered. So, don't be overwhelmed or intimidated by me, all of these people, or the process. Just focus on telling the whole truth and I believe that the judicial process can work. Can you do that?" Dara asked.

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders. "I just want my rapist to be locked up!"

Dara didn't comment. Ironically it was distinctly possible that could happen. She was still considering pursuing statutory rape charges against JR Chandler. "As I said, we all want to see justice served. That is most likely when the truth is told. So, let's start with a little information about you. When were you born?"

"July 18th," Tiffany said.

"What year were you born?" Dara asked.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. "1981," she said flatly.

"So, you are 16? Do you attend school or work?"

"Yes, I am 16. I'm a junior at Port Charles High School and I worked at Baldwin, Jordan, & Baldwin before Mr. Baldwin raped me and destroyed my life!" Tiffany said. She then dropped her head down and made noises like she was crying.

Dara doubted the tears were genuine, but she made a point to pick up the Kleenex from her table and extend them to Tiffany. "Why don't you take a minute to compose yourself. I am sorry that these questions are hard, but we do need to get to the truth," she said.

Tiffany sniffled and snuffled for a few moments and then raised her head and wiped at her dry eyes.

"Perhaps it would be helpful if we jumped ahead a little. You told Detective Jordan from the PCPD that on the day in question you were at your after-school job at Baldwin, Jordan, & Baldwin. What time did you normally finish your workday?"

"I should have only stayed until five, but Mr. Baldwin made me stay late. He said it was to work on a case but when I came into his office, he said too much work makes Scotty a dull boy!" Tiffany said.

Tiffany's words were a bit surprising. The overarching theme that Scott Baldwin had forced her to work late, then drugged her, and raped her on his office desk was what she had initially told the PCPD Detectives. But the phrase attributed to him was new and for the first time, Dara began to wonder if Scott Baldwin was truly being set up not just caught in the middle of a teenager who had lied to her parents about having to work late so she could sneak into a club and then when she got caught in those lies had opted to lie more rather than come clean. As far as the grand jury was concerned maybe that didn't change anything but suddenly Dara had a deeper need to know who was really pulling Tiffany Peterson's strings.

XXXXXXXX

Dr. Monica Quartermaine watched her brother pace around the long table in the conference room on the sixth floor of the Chapparal County Courthouse. Everyone handled stress differently she supposed. Her brother paced. He always had.

March 8, 1995

Dr. Monica Quartermaine sighed as she watched her older brother pace around the perimeter of her hospital room. She couldn't say that being on the other side of the bed was fun, but Scott was carrying on as if she was dying. She was simply having a plasmapheresis procedure to address the hemolytic anemia which was likely associated with the Phyllodes Tumor she had removed almost a year earlier.

"Scott, please, can you just have a seat?" Monica asked.

Scott sighed deeply but he did eventually lower himself down onto the edge of the bottom of her bed. "I stink at small talk! You know, I'm just worried about you, right?"

Monica nodded. "I know. I suspect this is harder for you because of everything that happened with your mother. It's too close. I worry more about Emily for the same reason," she said.

Scott seemed to consider that. "I guess if I was a better uncle, I would have made that connection," he said.

"I think I understand why you couldn't. But, maybe, if you can, it could be good for both of you," Monica said.

Scott shrugged his shoulders.

Scott had pushed past his insecurity and reached out to his niece over their shared connection. Monica would always appreciate that and so much more.

At the conference table, Lee Baldwin took another bite of the Banana Nut Muffins that Monica had brought. "These are great sweetie, thank you. You really should try these, Scotty!" he said.

Scott just raised an eyebrow and kept pacing.

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXX

Dr. Evelyn Lambert felt like she was on trial when she walked into the grand jury room. She tried to assure herself that she had nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of and she would just tell the truth and it would all be over with. Unfortunately, telling the truth hadn't exactly worked for her in the past. Then there was the issue that she had no idea why the DA would even want her to testify unless it was to suggest that she was lying because otherwise it seemed that her testimony would support Scott's version of events much more than those of his alleged victim.

XXXXXXXX

Dara Jensen almost felt badly that Dr. Lambert was forced to testify before the grand jury coming off an overnight call. She truly hadn't realized that initially, and if the hospital attorney had just reached out to her to reschedule, she would have accommodated that. Unfortunately, one of PCGH's Pro Counsel was also representing the defendant and their other attorney was too busy working their own agenda to notice or care. Ironically, she really shouldn't have even needed Dr. Lambert's support of Scott's alibi to lead the grand jury to no true bill.

Dara was almost proud of how she had crafted her presentation. She had started with Tiffany Peterson's melodramatic testalie. She had interjected clarifying questions to show lack of credibility and she thought at least a few of the grand jurors figured out what she was doing. Then, she had introduced the PCGH intern who treated Tiffany in the ED. Dr. Harmon had testified that Tiffany had been intoxicated with an alcohol level of 0.12 and that her drug screen had also shown ectasy and cocaine. He had stated that after she had been in the ED for a while, she had stated she had been raped so he had completed a rape kit and notified the police. Next, she had called Detective Alex Garcia who had narrated the chain of events from his partner's initial interview with the victim, his review of the PCGH security footage which showed Tiffany being dropped off and how he had later tracked the vehicle registration to an Enterprise Car Rental by the airport where it had been reported stolen. She had questioned him about the crime scene at the Baldwin, Jordan, & Baldwin Law Firm and he had testified that nothing had seemed out of place on their original entry and although the CSI Unit conducted a thorough investigation, they had not found any physical evidence of body fluids. Detective Garcia had then shared how he had been helping a colleague with another investigation and while reviewing security footage from a local Club, Neptune's Net, he had seen Tiffany Peterson leaving the club on the night in question with an unidentified blond male. By tracing the license plate of the vehicle, which was registered to Chandler Enterprise they got into they had determined that the male was likely Adam "JR" Chandler Jr. and later they had obtained a DNA warrant that he had executed with his partner Detective Jordan. She had wrapped it all up with a bow by having the Port Charles/Chapparal County Crime Lab Director, Dr. Raphael Oligasti testify that the results of the rape kit clearly excluded Scott Baldwin and directly matched the swab submitted by JR Chandler.

With all of that, the fact that Scott Baldwin had a credible alibi seemed superfluous. Unfortunately, grand juries sometimes lacked the logical thought processes to follow a complex case and often seemed to indict by default. She couldn't take that risk, so she was going include the simple as well. That meant summoning Dr. Lambert, even post call.

XXXXXXXX

Beth Quartermaine gasped when she stepped into Carly Ashton's room on the High-Risk Obstetrical Unit. Lying in bed with an oxygen mask and connected to so many monitors and IV drips, Carly looked miserable. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was damp with sweat, and her eyes showed so much pain and fear. Beth felt like a horrible friend for missing that and suggesting that she understood how Carly felt a few days earlier. Clearly, she had not and could not!

"Oh, Carly, I'm so sorry! I guess I should have checked in sooner. So much for promising to be a less flaky friend," Beth said.

"You're not a flaky friend. Thanks for coming," Carly said.

"Of course. Mark isn't on service this week so he had an early day today and he can probably be flexible most of this week if you need something," Beth said.

"Thank you. Maybe now that you're here, Ned will go ahead and go to his important meeting," Carly said.

Ned Ashton gave his wife a rather pointed look. "Honey, I told you that there wasn't anything I couldn't reschedule or ask Celia or Quentin to handle," he said.

"I know what you said, but really Beth is here and that extra ultrasound they did looked good so maybe you should go and take care of things at ELQ today. Anyway, it's not like you're going to sit here and keep me company for the next two and a half months. I'm not due until the very end of December," Carly said.

Ned raised an eyebrow. "Ok, if you insist, I'll go to ELQ for the meeting with the US Army Corp of Engineers this afternoon. But once that is over, I'm going to figure out how to clear my calendar for at least the next week because I know that where I need to be is here supporting you," he said. Then he leaned over and gently kissed Carly's forehead before he stood up.

Beth sat down in the chair Ned had vacated. As she was searching for the right words, one of the nurses came back in.

"I just need to adjust your monitors," Carrie Sanders RN said.

"Is the baby, ok?" Carly asked desperately. New terror was evident in her eyes.

"Everything is fine, Mrs. Ashton, we just are getting some artifact along with the baby's heartbeat. I'm just going to apply a little more gel," Carrie said. She picked up a bottle from the counter and then made her way over to bed. She lifted up Carly's gown, applied some more gel, and started to adjust the pads on Carly's swollen abdomen.

Beth swallowed hard to camouflage the gasp that almost escaped. She knew every pregnancy was different, but Carly's abdomen was more swollen than seemed possible especially in contrast to how things had looked just a few days earlier on Sunday.

"There, that will work better. Is there anything I can get you while I'm in here?" Carrie asked.

"As long as the baby is ok, I'm ok. Thank you," Carly said.

Yet, Beth noticed how much Carly seemed to struggle to get those words out. She reached over and gave Carly's shoulder a squeeze. "Are you sure you're ok, Carly?" she asked.

"I don't really feel worse than before," Carly said.

Beth decided she could believe that, although that was perhaps even more ominous if you thought about it. "I guess that was kind of a dumb question, sorry," Beth conceded.

"It's ok, and if I lie completely still, I don't feel so badly. It's just if I try to move that I feel worse. I almost passed out in the shower yesterday morning. I had to lie on the floor and call Ned," Carly admitted. New tears glistened on her lashes.

Beth gave her shoulder another squeeze. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. I really can't imagine but I'm sure that must have been scary," she said.

"It was. Or maybe it is, I really don't feel any better," Carly said. Fresh tears were forming in her eyes.

Beth nodded and gave Carly's shoulder another squeeze. "Yeah, you look like you don't feel well. I really wish you felt better but I hope you understand that this isn't some personal failing, you're just very ill and you just need to let yourself rest and be cared for right now," she said.

Carly rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Dr. Meadows wants to deliver Michael early," she said.

"I'm sure that is scary but maybe it is what is best for both of you. I know you've had a really rough pregnancy and your body can only take so much," Beth said. She swallowed hard and tried not to think about her stepmother Marlena and her baby brother who had died from eclamptic seizure. Marlena had received all her care at Mercy Hospital and their obstetricians never pursued pre-term inductions. They said it went against their pro-life faith doctrine. But Beth found much irony in that because perhaps induction at 33 weeks might have saved both of their lives.

"Ned agrees with her, but I just want to give Michael the best chance, you know?" Carly asked.

"I know you do but I really think that what Dr. Meadows is recommending may be his best chance," Beth said.

"Maybe," Carly said wistfully.

Beth wasn't sure else to say. So, she just gave Carly's shoulder another squeeze.