24A\N: First an foremost…..I am so sorry! Please do not blame JusticeRocks - The long hiatus for our story is all on me, HazelId. Real life has intervened in big ways, small ways and good ways and not so nice ways in the past several months. And now here we are, with the world turned upside down, and maybe some escapism in the form of storytelling is something we all need now more than ever. I hesitate to make a promise on how quickly the next part of this story will come, and we are nearing the end of the journey for these characters. But I do promise that we will finish (as unfinished fics is one of my pet peeves.) Thank you for being patient with us (mostly me!) and thank you for reading and reviewing. And don't forget - wash your hands!
Disclaimer: We don't own anything.
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Chapter 9
Peter Stone looked up from the suitcase laid out on the bed in front of him. He sighed as he heard the text alert on his phone signal an incoming message. Again. He was certain it was another message from Mike. Peter was due to fly out first thing in the morning for the first pretrial hearing in the case of the People vs. Marcus Woll. Peter felt like he was as prepared as he could possibly be. All of his trial prep had been done cross-country, but Peter felt like he had all bases covered. Witness prep, even with Maddie, Claire, and James had gone really well. The enormous strain that had been placed on his friends' children was not lost on Peter. Maddie especially, had borne so much guilt for her part in the whole disaster that had led to the twins' kidnapping. The young girl had been working with a therapist and was making progress.
That did not mean that her father was at all happy with the prospect of his daughter on the stand. A fact that Mike had been quite vocal about throughout trial prep.
Peter understood, he really did. And were he in Mike's place, he would want to do everything humanly possible to protect his children, Peter was trying to walk the fine line between consoling and commiserating with his friend and doing his job as the riding prosecutor on the case. At times, like now, it was exhausting. Peter almost didn't even want to look at the incoming message on his phone.
His thoughts were interrupted by Anna's quiet voice as she entered the room. "Kids are both asleep," she told him, smiling softly as she came to his side. She surveyed that suitcase. "Anything I can do to help?"
Peter smiled slightly. "Want to reply to Mike's latest text for me?"
Anna shook her head. "Pass, but I can call in the reinforcements and get ahold of Connie if it will help."
Peter chuckled as he shook his head. "I get it. I understand his frustration," Peter sighed, "I just wish he would trust me and let me do my job."
Anna placed a soothing arm across his back, "Oh honey, he trusts you. There are dozens of lawyers in LA that could have taken this case, but he asked you.," she told her husband, "but you have to keep in mind, I don't think Mike Cutter is what anyone would ever call a 'stand on the sidelines' kind of guy, would they?"
Peter smiled sardonically, "No, he's definitely not. You're right." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "I'll miss you and the kids," he whispered just before their lips met.
Anna smiled, "We'll be there when the trial starts next week."
Peter nodded, "And then, maybe, once we convict Marcus Woll once and for all, we can all start to move forward from this."
Peter stood in front of the judge in the LA County Courthouse, thinking it really wasn't so different from the courtrooms he had appeared in both in Chicago and New York. The stakes were certainly higher in this case than probably any other case he had ever argued, but at least he felt comfortable on the playing field.
Though, if the defense got their way, he wouldn't be on the playing field much longer. The message he had received the previous evening was, indeed, from Mike. It was letting Peter know that the defense had just filed a motion for not only a change of venue but a change of counsel. Their argument was that Peter Stone was biased and too emotionally involved in the case to argue it in a professional manner. They were also petitioning the court for a change of venue, stating that with both Mike and Connie's high profile positions in the city, there was no way that their client could get a fair trial.
It was ridiculous, of course. Peter knew it, and he was sure the defense team knew it as well. Peter had argued that he was almost less biased as he was an outsider here, that any number of possible prosecutors here in LA would know who Mike was, would be one of his coworkers and friends.
It took almost no time at all for the judge to rule against the defense motions. Peter immediately turned to Mike sitting in the gallery, nodding his head as they cleared this first hurdle. Both men knew, this was just the beginning,
It was an odd contradiction. A large group, gathered all together, lounging in different spots around the living room after enjoying a meal and time together. They could be a family, together to mark a holiday, birthday, or some other milestone. Celebrating.
This group was indeed a family, by blood and by choice. However, they were not together to mark a celebration. This was a family that had suffered through a harrowing ordeal together. They were gathered now to give and gain strength ahead of the last leg of the journey. Tomorrow, Marcus Woll's trial would begin. After weeks of preparation and anxious waiting, the end was finally in sight, with just this final hurdle to cross.
Despite the gravity of the events that would follow in the morning, the mood in the Cutter household was if not jovial, than at least warm and congenial. Those present were doing their level best to ignore the elephant in the room that was the upcoming trial. The youngest members of the group, without even knowing it, were helping the most with this. Claire was entranced with baby Charlotte, enamoured with the idea of having her own "living baby doll" to play with. She was amazingly careful with the baby, and under the watchful eye of both Anna and Connie, Charlotte was enjoying the attention, too. Benji was enjoying having some more boys around and playing with in James and Andy. Maddie was quietly observing, tucked into a corner of the couch. She was able to muster a small smile at the antics of her brothers and sister, but she still didn't say much. No one pushed her, knowing that in the days to come the young lady would be thrust into a spotlight that all of them would give almost anything for her to be able to avoid.
Mike and Peter joined the rest of the group, having been placed on table bussing duties by their respective wives. Though Mike was anxious, he was trying his best to keep his emotions under wraps. He was aware that Peter's patience was wearing thin with him, and he didn't want to do anything to exacerbate the already tense situation between them. He had given Peter a wide berth throughout the evening.
And though most of those in attendance had not picked up on the distance between the two men, there was one person who had. And he decided it was time to do something about it.
"Mike," Jack McCoy said, standing up to meet the two men as they entered the room, before they could go their separate ways. "Do you have any of that Aberfeldy left?" he asked, referring to the bottle of single malt scotch that Jack had gifted to Mike when he left his job at the New York DA's office.
Mike looked momentarily surprised before nodding in the affirmative. "It's in my office," he told him.
Jack nodded once, placing an arm around each of the younger men as he ushered them down the hall. "You'll join us, won't you Peter?" he said, though it wasn't really a question. Peter and Mike exchanged questioning looks, but allowed themselves to be directed to Mike's home office.
No one spoke, but Mike couldn't hold back a chuckle as Jack took a seat behind his desk, propping his feet up on it in much the same way Mike remembered Jack lounging at his own desk back in New York after a long day's work.
It seemed like a lifetime ago.
Mike moved to a small table on the far side of the room. He poured three glasses of scotch before turning back to the other two men. As he handed a glass to each of them he heard Jack say, "Have a seat Mike," as he nodded toward the empty seat next to Peter. The two younger men studied their glasses for a moment as Jack took a sip from his own. Finally Jack spoke.
"Peter, how long have I known you?" he asked.
Peter looked surprised, glancing over at Mike before answering, "Since I was eight or nine i think."
Jack just nodded thoughtfully before continuing. "Did I ever tell either of you about the trial involving the drunk driver who killed Claire Kincaid?"
Mike and Peter exchanged looks again. They both, of course, knew who Claire Kincaid was. They had always heard the rumors of Jack's close relationship with his second chair. Before either of them could answer, Jack continued. "Peter you were just a boy so you probably don't remember, but you father was the riding ADA on that case."
Peter looked surprised, "No I didn't know. Dad never told me."
Jack shook his head, " He was and I had a hell of a time letting him do it, too," he said, contemplating the glass in his hand. "I lost count of the times I barged into his office with 'advice' on how he should proceed in the case. I just didn't feel like Ben realized how important the outcome was to me." His eyes seemed to focus on something far away for a moment before he added softly, "How important she was to me."
Mike and Peter exchanged glances, and missed Jack shaking his head to bring himself back to the present. "He finally got to the end of his rope with me and threw me out on my ass. We didn't speak for a long time after that."
And suddenly it all made sense to Peter. Why, when he was thirteen years old his father and Jack stopped talking to each other. Peter had remembered he had found it odd since Claire Kincaid had just died. He didn't see Jack again until he was seventeen and leaving for college, and that was only because he had sought him out one day at the D.A's office.
Jack sat forward, leaning across the desk to stare both of the younger men down in turn, "Don't let that happen here, either of you," He looked first at Mike. "Peter understands, more than you realize, what the stakes are here. He's doing his damndest not to let you down. So get out of his way." Jack then turned to level his gaze at Peter. "And give Mike some grace. He is in the most difficult position that a father could ever be in."
The two men, who had barely spoken for the past several days, finally turned to look at each other. It was Peter who spoke first.
"I won't let you down," he said.
Mike searched his gaze, and then nodded, "I know you won't."
Jack came around to the front of the desk, and the three men silently clinked their glasses together before simultaneously draining them.
At the same time, Anna caught Connie's eye across the family room and gave her the slightest of nods. They had a long talk earlier that morning about a situation that Connie felt like Anna was uniquely qualified to assist with. Time to put their plan into action.
"Hey Maddie," Anna said softly, "You mind giving me a hand putting this little one to bed?" She asked as she approached with a sleeping Charlotte in her arms.
Maddie looked up in surprise, but she quickly nodded her head. "Um, yeah, sure." She crossed the room and followed Anna up the stairs to the spare bedroom that they were staying in. She stood by while Anna changed Charlotte's diaper, handing over baby wipes and a clean sleeper at the proper times. She watched as Anna settled Charlotte into the Pack and Play next to their bed. The baby whimpered for just a moment before drifting peacefully back to sleep. Anna smiled down at her before turning to smile at Maddie, nodding her head toward Andy's room across the hall. Maddie knew that Benji would be sleeping there, and figured that Anna wanted to make sure his things were all situated. But instead, Anna sat down on Andy's bed, patting the spot beside her.
"Did your dad or Connie ever tell you that I was adopted?" Anna asked.
Maddie felt her eyebrows rise. "No. Really?"
"Mmhmm," Anna nodded. She told Maddie the story of how she had spent so much of her young life in foster care, before finally being adopted by the Valdez family. "I never really knew much about my birth parents," she shrugged as she looked at Maddie, "still don't."
"Wow," Maddie observed, "That must have been really hard. Not knowing your real parents."
Gotcha, Anna thought. "Oh I absolutely knew my 'real' parents," she said, "The people who gave me a home, who made me feel safe and secure, who gave me a last name, those are my real parents." She reached out and squeezed Maddie's hand. "Blood doesn't make you family. They loved me even though I wasn't theirs from birth." She dipped her head to catch Maddie's eye, "The same way that Connie loves you."
Maddie's face crumpled as tears began to stream down her face. She practically collapsed into Anna's arms, the weight of all that had been on her shoulders finally toppling her. "She can't love me like that. How could she love me like that?" Maddie sobbed. "Look what happened."
Anna just held her for a long moment before speaking. "Oh honey, Connie doesn't blame you for anything. She is so worried for you because she loves you so much. You are hers, beautiful girl. Nothing will ever change that." Anna let Maddie cry for several more minutes, until the youngster finally took a deep, wavering breath and sat up, wiping her face as she gave Anna a tentative smile.
"Thank you," she said, "thank you for telling me this."
Anna simply smiled with a shrug of her shoulders. "C'mon," Anna said, taking her hand and leading her out of the room. "I think it's time for the rest of the littles to get to bed."
They made their way downstairs, and Anna worked her magic, convincing all of the kids, even Andy, to follow her upstairs for a story. Maddie found herself alone in the family room with Connie, who was seated on the couch. They shared a long look, then Maddie simply walked over and curled up close to Connie's side. Connie wrapped an arm around her, holding her close and kissing the top of her head. "I love you Mom," Maddie whispered.
Connie smiled through the tears in her eyes. "I love you, too, baby."
A|N: (Justicerocks): Thank you for reading this chapter and please review.
