SHOUTOUTS\ANSWERS

JadeAlmasy: Yeah. Hope this is soon enough.

Queen of Shadows: I'm glad I made it understandable. About what I had sent you, what I had said was that if you wanted me to redo chapter nineteen so that it would be more realistic, to please send me the details.

Linkie: Yeah, I like Elaine too. I have Martin the way he is because he doesn't know how to deal. I was originally going to bring in Hannah, but decided not to. I had also originally planned on bringing Scott and Shelby together as boyfriend and girlfriend, but I decided to make this the last chapter, so you're all going to have to use your imaginations for their relationship. Sorry.

ShalBrenfan: Thanks. I will. By the way, have you read my story Project Normal? I didn't put much Shal\Bren romance in, but it's my first Mutant X fic and I was interested in knowing what you thought of it.

2008ccampbell: You'll have to see.

BrucasDreamerfan-aka Anna: Here's more.

DISCLAIMER

I only own Cecilia and anything you don't recognize. Everything else belongs to Fox Family. In this fic, Susan hasn't remarried. The only thing I know of court proceedings for sexual abuse cases is from what I've seen on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and I'm sure that's just an extremely edited showing.

Days later, Scott, his family, and Shelby walked into the courtroom. As soon as they had discovered the abuse, Martin and Elaine had called Scott's biological mother, Susan, but hadn't been able to reach her until two days earlier. At first, the adults were hesitant to let Shelby come, but Scott had been adamant about her being there for moral support.

"Well, here we are," Elaine said.

"Now Scott, remember what we told you. It's just like we practiced. The judge will be right there, you'll sit in the witness stand right there, and your family will be sitting right there," the prosecutor, Ken Greer, reminded him.

"I'll be fine. I can do this," Scott assured.

"And you won't ever have to look at her honey," Susan Barringer assured.

"Just us. It's why we're here," Shelby added.

"That's right," Elaine agreed.

"Come on, let's get this over with," Scott said. With that, they went to the pews. Presently, everybody else came in. When Cecilia came in with her defense attorney, Jerry Braxton, Scott looked straight ahead. It was the only way he could keep himself from going crazy.

"All rise. The honorable Judge Christopher Thornton residing," the bailiff announced. Everybody stood up.

"Be seated," Judge Thornton said, and everybody sat back down. "I understand that this is a sexual abuse case," he continued.

"Yes, Your Honor," Ken responded.

"Is the minor in question here?" the judge questioned.

"Right here, Your Honor," Scott confirmed, standing up.

"You do understand that we could've just done this through the video?" the man queried.

"Yes, sir. But this something I have to do," was the response.

"Okay," the man accepted. He had to admit---to himself at least---he was impressed. This kid was willing to face his abuser head on. Not many kids could do that. Scott was first. And he told them everything. How he had first met Cecilia, the first time he had gotten a bad vibe from her, the first time he had been raped, and how she had threatened him not to tell. Throughout all of this, Elaine had begun to cry. Martin drew her close and whispered something in her ear. After he was done, Cecilia's attorney came up.

"So let me get this straight. You're saying that my client raped you?" he asked.

"That's right. She did," Scott responded.

"Come on. You don't really expect us to believe that, do you? A big, strong football player being raped by a girl?" he queried condescendingly.

"Objection. Argumentative," Ken said.

"Sustained," Judge Thornton replied.

"I'll rephrase," Jerry stated. "Scott, are you saying you didn't try to stop her?" he continued.

"Of course I tried," Scott responded. "I told her 'no' and I even reached out to stop her," he continued.

"She's a very attractive woman, wouldn't you agree?" Jerry asked.

"She makes me sick," Scott snapped.

"A very attractive woman," Jerry repeated. "Hangs around a lot, spending time with her best friend---your stepmother. Could it be that she merely paid some attention to you out of politeness and you misconstrued that as a sign that she was attracted to you?" he continued.

"No! Of course not!" Scott exclaimed.

"And in fact, when she told you that nothing could ever happen between you two, you attacked her?" Jerry asked.

"No!" Scott shouted.

"Objection," Ken said.

"If you were being truthful, you would tell this court that when your father and stepmother came home on the night in question, you had called her upstairs in the pretense of needing help with some homework and then proceeded to assault Ms. Robbins?" Jerry added.

"No!" Scott yelled again.

"To this end, we see that Ms. Robbins wasn't on top of you out of sexual desire, but merely trying to protect herself from your perverted fantasies," Jerry concluded.

"NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Scott shouted.

"OBJECTION!" Ken bellowed. "Badgering," he added in a calmer voice.

"Sustained," Judge Thornton granted. "Watch yourself, Mr. Braxton," he added.

"Yes, Your Honor," the man said contritely. "No further questions," he added.

"You may step down," the judge told Scott. Then, Cecilia came up and her story was much different. According to her, Scott had grown infatuated with her, always trying to be close to her. She of course, had politely turned him down. After that, he had become impossible, calling her, begging her to come over.

"That must've been pretty scary," Braxton said in sympathy.

"It was," Cecilia nodded. "He wouldn't leave me alone, and I was too afraid to tell Lanie. After all, he was her stepson," she continued tearfully. With a soft scoff, Scott shook his head. She is unbelievable, he thought. Susan rubbed his arm comfortingly. When Braxton was through, Ken stood up.

"Ms. Robbins, what did you think when you first saw the plaintiff?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Cecilia wondered.

"Were you…attracted to him?" Ken queried.

"No! Heavens, no! He's a boy," Cecilia protested. "I like men," she added, earning scattered laughter.

"So, why would he say stuff like this?" Ken wondered.

"I have absolutely no idea. Maybe Scotty was jealous because Lanie was taking up all of Marty's time," Cecilia responded. Scott clenched a fist. Liar! his mind screamed. But he didn't say it. He wouldn't let her know that she was getting to him. He'd never give her that satisfaction.

"So you're saying that there was no sexual contact between you?" Ken asked.

"None whatsoever," Cecilia declared.

"Then how come the rape kit says differently?" Ken queried with a satisfied smile. Cecilia could only stare. She didn't know what to say.

"No further questions," Ken said, walking back to his client. The judge dismissed everyone while the jury convened. Several minutes later, the Barringer family and Shelby were summoned back in.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Thornton queried.

"They have Your Honor," the bailiff stated.

"All rise," Judge Thornton stated. Everyone stood up. Scott bit his lip, trying to ignore the knot in his stomach. Shelby reached out and grabbed his hand, which he squeezed gratefully.

"How do you find?" the man questioned.

"Guilty on all counts," the spokesperson responded.

"Yes!" Scott exclaimed in relief.

"Congratulations," Shelby said.

"Come on, let's go get some ice cream," Elaine stated.

"Actually, I'd rather have a chocolate-cherry shake," Scott responded. Everyone laughed.

"Whatever you want," Susan said. With that, they all walked out.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE

So, I sped up the jury's decision. Sue me. Hope everybody enjoyed the story. If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, contact the RAINN national hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).