Helloooopeople! This is my finish toStolenby Lucy Christopher (my idol!). It's my idea of what might have happened in court. It's also my first story so don't be too hard on me! Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own this; it all belongs to the AMAZING Lucy Christopher. ;)

~Stolen: The Final Chapter~

Everyone's eyes are on me. A deafening silence resonates through the courtroom. The day is finally here.

Ty, your future rests in my hands. I thought I'd made my decision. I thought I had a plan, and I was going to stick to it. I was going to tell the judge exactly what happened. The truth. I wasn't going to save you. I was going to tell them the truth.

But now, looking at you, I don't know what I want anymore. You're seated at the dock, you're hands held tightly behind your back, with thick, metal cuffs. Your head is down, your golden hair falling in your face. You look different, now. I can't quite put a finger on it, but you look… vulnerable. It's a side of you I don't see very often.

Only a few weeks ago, I was looking forward to this moment. It was exactly what I'd wanted. You about to be thrown in prison, and me about to go home.

So now that I've finally got what I wanted, why am I holding back tears? Why do I feel like I've left a part of me back in the Australian outback; a part of me I can never replace? Why do I feel like my heart is shattered into a million pieces and you're the only one who can fix it?

I don't even know who I am anymore.

The judge clears her throat. It's time to begin.

I answer the easy questions: age, name, address. But my mind is somewhere else.

You.

You've lifted your head now. I can see your eyes, those icy blue eyes, staring back at me with that powerful intensity that they've always had. Everything else seems to fade away. There is nothing. Only you. Only your eyes.

I can see them so clearly, but I can't see past them. I can't read you, the way you can read me.

How do youfeel about all of this? I can only imagine. Are you scared? Hopeful? Do you know what I'm going to say? Because I don't. Do you feel betrayed by me? Do you feel like this is my fault?

Isthis my fault? Could I have done something to stop this? Do I wantto stop this?

What the hell am I doing, Ty?

Because I haven't really said anything yet, but I feel like I'm betraying you. I feel like I'mthe one who should be sitting at that dock, held back with handcuffs, not you. But why?

I pry my eyes away from you, turning my head towards the judge.

"Miss Toombs," the judge starts. "How do you know Mr. Macfarlane?"

I open my mouth to reply, but the words catch dry in my throat.

What words? What do I want to say? Because I don't know the answer. How do I know you? DoI know you? Who are you, Ty?

"Miss Toombs," the judge repeats, impatient now. "Could you please explain how you met Mr. Macfarlane?"

I haven't got much time. How I begin this story –ourstory- determines your future, Ty. This is important. I have to choose my answer, and I have to choose it fast.

But I can't. I can't do this, Ty. I can't handle this kind of pressure.

I turn to you for guidance, but you give me nothing. Your eyes just stare into mine with emotions that I can't read.

"It was six years ago," I begin, but my voice can barely pass for a whisper. Everyone has to strain their ears to hear me. "I was ten. Ty –Tyler – was almost nineteen. We met at a park… in a rhododendron garden. We – we started talking. We became friends."

"What did you talk about?" the judge asks.

I turn to you again. This time, I see something I recognize in your eyes. Hope. "Uh… we talked about the flowers," I say, clearly losing the judge's interest. "Just childish small-talk, really. I was only ten."

The judge nods. "So how did your… your friend end up kidnapping you?"

I swallow. "We… we met again, at the airport. In August, recently… I didn't recognize him. He – he offered to buy me a coffee. I said yes. We got talking again."

The judge sighs. "What did you talk about this time?"

"We were just getting to know each other. We introduced ourselves, talked about my parents' jobs, stuff like that. Just more small talk, I guess."

"Where is this going, Miss Toombs?" the judge interrupts. "How did he end up kidnapping you?"

I turn to you once again, but your head is lowered. "I – I think the coffee was d-drugged."

The judge doesn't say anything, just waits for me to continue.

So I do. "I don't really know what h-happened after that… I was kind of out of it, hence the drugs, and all… I th-think we were on a plane. He fed me some more drugs, I think. And then I woke up a-and I was there. In the Australian desert."

"Did Mr. Macfarlane ever abuse you, in any way?" asks the judge.

I shake my head. "Ty would never hurt me."

She nods slowly. I don't think she's convinced. "Describe your relationship with Mr. Macfarlane, Miss Toombs. Did you get along?"

"I hated him at first," I reply, honestly. "I was scared of him. But as the days went on… I realised he had no intention of hurting me. I learned to understand him. Him, and the beautiful Australian desert he calls home. I started seeing a different side of him. A side that I… I didn't know he had in him."

"And what else?"the judge urges.

I let my eyes trail back to you. You're head is still lowered, your face hidden by a mess of golden hair. "He told me about his… his life, before he met me. He told me about my life, too… he seemed to know more about it than I did. He taught me about the land, about how we're all twined together as one. He showed me something so… so beautiful, so different to anything I've ever seen before. And there… there was one night... Ty, do you remember that night?"

You lift your head to look at me, with hopeful eyes.

I smile. "That night when you told me stories of the stars? When you explained to me how everything is… is both eternal and brief. How everything, the whole world, is united, balanced on the wings of a moth. You told me how the desert was created… sung up by the spirits of the land. And we lay on the sand together, you held me in your arms. We slept under the stars. D-do you remember, Ty?"

You nod at me, your eyes shining.

"You saved my life, knowing that it meant tuning yourself in. I don't want you to go to jail, Ty, I don't!" I'm sobbing now. "It's taking away everything you've worked so hard for, freedom's all you ever wanted! They can't take that away from you, Ty, they can't!"

The judge raises her eyebrows. "And why don't you want him to go to jail, Miss Toombs?"

I take a deep breath. "Because I love him."

The courtroom gasps.

But it's true, isn't it? I love you. And it's such a relief to finally get it out there. To admit it to the courtroom, to my family, to you. And most of all, to finally admit it to myself.

Your eyes are full of surprise, disbelief. But then you smile, your eyes welling up. "Gem…" you murmur.

I smile back at you, my own vision blurring with tears. "I love you, Ty."

~The End~

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my first story! Please feel free to review; I take feedback and criticism. :) Cheers! xx

~xoxo ViNi~