Chapter Four-Hundred-Eighty-Eight
“They’re taking forever, Daddy” Ellie insisted after thirty minutes had gone by and she was still seated in Sean’s lap, ‘protecting’ him from harm.
“Just be patient, Elenore. I know I taught you patience when you were in my care.”
“My backside remembers loud an’ clear, daddy” Ellie insisted softly and he cringed involuntarily. He looked around hoping nobody had seen, but of course Trevor always so watchful of him these days had seen, Kevin and Jerald who were watching Ellie from across the room had heard and seen, and he’d noticed for the past thirty minutes that the Judge had been sitting in his seat watching them and probably hearing them as well.
“Yes well…then you ought to know better then and use the patience I gave you huh?” he asked trying to sound tough and not fooling anybody.
“I’m five years old daddy,” Ellie explained, trying to be patient with him knowing he isn’t any good at this father stuff and therefore doesn’t really know better. “Five year olds can’t be patient all the time especially when they are really scareds.”
“My five year old can,” Sean insisted.
“Sean,” Trevor cut in. “Quit the tough guy façade it’s not working okay?” Sean glowered at him and Trevor continued. “She’s scared and she’s done a lot for you today the least you can do is be understanding especially right now.” Sean looked down at Ellie in his lap and was suddenly at a complete loss for what to do. He’s never been understanding with her before and he doesn’t even know where to start now. It took him a long time just to admit to himself that he loves her and there is not a damn thing he can do about it so he might as well surrender.
Showing it is even more foreign to him but he was getting it – slowly…but to be understanding and patient with her? He has a hard enough time being understanding and patient with Trevor and there is not a single soul in the world that he loves more than him. Sure Ellie comes in pretty close, but he’s known and loved Trevor for so much longer – their whole life and has been aware of it for that long too. He is only just getting acquainted with his newfound love for his daughter and it’s much too late for that. Ellie noticed the struggle and conflict in his eyes and she leaned up and kissed his cheek affectionately.
“It’s okay daddy, you tried you just need practice” Ellie told him gently and then slid from his lap and he and Trevor watched her as she walked across the room and crawled into Kevin’s lap instead, seeking the affection that she so desperately wanted and would never get from Sean. They watched as she sunk into Kevin’s chest comfortably when she got it no questions asked. Sean looked at Trevor then, who gently took his hand into his and squeezed it.
“You don’t know that it’s too late,” Trevor insisted, confronting what he’d seen on Sean’s face that nobody else would’ve ever picked up on. “She and Ashley put up a pretty good fight…especially Ashley. Did you see the silence she forced the Lawyers into? If they let us live I promise you I will help you work on it baby.”
“What good will that do when I will be in prison?”
“I’m sure she’ll visit us all the time. I know she won’t let anybody get away with not letting her and you can write her letters too. And even so it won’t hurt to work on it anyway.”
“I don’t know if I want her visiting me while I am in that vile place. I don’t want her to see me in an even worse condition then I am in now.”
“No one is going to lay a hand on you without getting through me first.”
“I am not going to let you do that.”
“You don’t have a choice. I am your match in every way, you can’t stop me.” Sean scowled and Trevor brought his hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it while ignoring the Judge’s watchful eyes. “Being in prison once already has made me a pretty tough man Sean…I can fling anybody no matter their size or weight across the room while barely lifting a finger. You know that. There isn’t much that I can’t handle.”
“You are going to piss someone off one of these days and they’re going to put a knife in your back when you’re not looking. And then Ellie’s fight will be for nothing when I lose you anyway.”
“Well then at least I died with some dignity in me by protecting the man I love instead of the death penalty.” Sean shook his head.
“I refuse to let it happen.”
“Sean.”
“No! I almost lost you once already do not risk me losing you again do you hear me?” Trevor sighed heavily. “I’m not a doctor like you, I can’t fix you up and nobody else in that place is going to do it.”
“Well I am not going to just stand around and let them beat on you either. I almost lost you once too, remember?”
“You never let me forget it,” Sean insisted while rubbing at his eyes when he felt tears clouding up in them at the memory of Trevor being shot before his very eyes.
“Of course I don’t and I won’t anytime soon either. I want you to be well aware of how stupid your actions were that day so that hopefully you will gain some brains in that head of yours.”
“As stupid as I was, at least my actions got me you.” Trevor rolled his eyes.
“You already had me, you didn’t need to get yourself shot.”
“Would you have ever come out of the closet and told me that you love me if you weren’t on the verge of losing me forever?”
“I eventually would have…I was thinking about it when I was reading Shelly’s letter while you were in the shower…”
“See at least my way brought you out faster – for all we know I could’ve had to wait for months for a confession.” Trevor rolled his eyes once more and shook his head.
“It was reckless and stupid and the next time you send me into a panic like that again I won’t remove the bullet and stitch you up.” Sean arched his eyebrow at him.
“Okay, okay I will…but after I’ve let you suffer for a good long moment.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about it anymore…our future doesn’t have any guns in it, love.”
“Thank god. I probably should’ve taken yours from you a long time ago – it would have prevented a lot of disasters.” Sean said nothing than, he only squeezed Trevor’s hand tighter and glanced over at Ellie who was receiving hugs and kisses from Kevin.
“Well at least I picked a good person to look after her…that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. She’s better off with him then me any day…he’ll give her what I can’t.”
“I love you Sean,” Trevor told him quietly when he couldn’t think of what else to say. “If I have it my way I’m going to fix you.”
“You’ve been trying to fix me my whole life and it hasn’t happened yet…don’t you think you ought to give up now?”
“Who says it hasn’t happened yet?” Trevor demanded. “On the contrary love, I’m just getting started. You just don’t see it.” Sean shrugged his shoulders. “I just need more time…the wonders I could do if they grant me just that.”
“Give up Trev…I have.”
“Never. It was a goal I set myself when we were just little boys, and it’s a goal I will take to my grave…maybe literally.” Sean said nothing and the two of them sat there in silence, just waiting, Trevor ignoring the thoughtful stares of the Judge though feeling highly annoyed with it. He is probably sitting there impatiently waiting for the moment where he can finally announce their death sentence. And why wouldn’t he be? He and Sean deserve it after all he knows that. The judge knows that. Everybody in the room knows that, so why are they even waiting on the Jury? Letting the doubt sink into him for the first time all morning he was beginning to feel as impatient with the Jury as Ellie is. Why won’t they hurry up? As soon as that question entered his mind, the door that they disappeared into an hour earlier opened up and they all walked out. He, Sean, and the Carter Clan watched eagerly as they made their way back to their seats and sat down. As soon as they were, the Judge called the court back to order, and then looked at the Jury expectantly.
“Has the Jury reached their verdict?” The head Juror rose to his feet then and spoke.
"Yes, we have your Honour."
"How do u find the defendants in murder of 1st degree?"
“Guilty.”
“How do you find the defendants in child abuse?”
“Guilty.”
“Rape?”
“Guilty.”
“Statutory rape?”
“Guilty.”
“Illegal possession of a weapon?”
“Guilty.”
“And attempted murder three times?”
“Guilty, your Honour.”
“NO!!!!!” A little voice suddenly cried out in the room and all eyes flew to Ellie who immediately broke down into sobs at hearing the heart breaking verdict from the Jury, all hope she’d held onto lost now. How could anything good come from such a bad verdict? “YOU WILL NOTS KILL MY DADDY, YOU WON’TS!!!!” she shouted, and then squirmed from Kevin’s arms and before he was able to grab her she darted for Sean across the room. She flew into his lap and before anybody in the room even had the time to blink she had herself handcuffed to the man forgetting the well-known fact that they could get her un-handcuffed. Nothing mattered to her right then, except making her statement loud and clear as she was in panic mode. She turned and looked at the judge who was banging his gavel on his desk trying to control everyone in the room and glared at him with angry tears as Sean just sat there shocked into silence. When the Judge had order again he looked at Ellie calmly though the annoyance was evident on his face.
“I haven’t even had my say, child why are you panicking?”
“Because…” Ellie whimpered and sniffled. “They found him guilty for everything…how could anything good comes from such a bad verdict?”
“Well their say isn’t the final say in this courtroom my dear, the cool thing about being the Judge is that I run things around here. Let’s not panic until we’ve heard it all okay?” Ellie nodded and sniffled and the Judge spoke up again. “Un-handcuff yourself from him and I will continue.” Ellie thought about that for a moment.
“I left the key at home by accident…sir….” She hiccupped. Detective Stabler shook his head and got to his feet.
“I will get her un-handcuffed your Honour,” He said while walking over to them and Ellie reluctantly held hers and Sean’s hands out and allowed him to do just that with his own pair of keys.
“Future reference kiddo…a good cop doesn’t forget their handcuff keys – ever.” He told her quietly and when he managed to get them undone, he took her cuffs from her. She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off.
“I’ll give them to you when the trial is over,” he promised, and then walked back to his seat. Ellie scowled at him tearfully. What is with Uncles and Detectives taking her police equipment from her these days? The Judge banged his gavel and got everyone’s attention again and he spoke, now looking at Trevor who looked almost as pale as a ghost sitting there waiting on their sentence.
“You could do wonders if we granted you more time, you say?” he asked. Trevor blinked in surprise at this question. He’d known the Judge had been watching them, maybe even been listening but he didn’t know he’d really been listening to that much extent.
“Yes…sir. I could…”
“How so? Explain it to me. We’ve listened to everybody else say why you two should live…tell me how you could make a difference to the man sitting next to you if I should decide to let you.” Trevor sat there in silence for a moment, just thinking about his question as he was thrown completely off guard. He’d never expected to be given the opportunity to give his opinion – this is definitely a very unique trial.
“I’ve made it my personal goal to try and save Sean when I was just a little boy your Honour,” he began, trying his very best to sound respectful in hopes that it works in their favor. “It’s been a very long road of struggles all of these years…especially since I got caught up in a lot of bad habits myself when I lost my father. But a terrifying event happened and forced me to really open my eyes and remember what really matters the most…him.”
“And what was that?”
“Almost losing him to a bullet wound in the waist. Something like that can really change a person your Honour.” The Judge remained silent, knowing he wasn’t finished. “Like I said, it was a long road of struggles…I had to completely sober myself up, and then sober him up too and get him off the drugs…and when I managed to do that there was definitely a huge change in him. He was still angry all the time of course and violent, unpredictable, temperamental, and he didn’t know how to deal with his emotions at all. But I continued to love him and be as patient as I could. Though he was violent to everybody else, he was very affectionate toward me…so I used that to my advantage and he fought it. Sometimes he succeeded and sometimes he didn’t. It was like living with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…and as you can probably imagine…it was crazy all the time. But then something wonderful happened…” He looked at Ellie then. “Ellie suddenly decided that she was going to love him no matter what he did and how much he hurt her and try to get him to see reason. He fought against her love too, and sometimes ignored her letters all together but she pushed and eventually managed to find her way to his heart somehow. He has a heart…and with a large amount of love and patience, and time I could get him to show it. And Ellie’s letters and occasional visits could do wonders as well.”
“I cannot ignore all of the bad things that the two of you have done,” The Judge insisted while looking over at Ashley who looked almost fearful that Trevor was going to talk his way out of being punished somehow. “Murder, attempted murder three times, rape, statutory rape…the list goes on, Mr. Adams.”
“I know and I’m not asking you to ignore it your Honour. I’ve fully accepted that Sean and I are going to be punished.” Ellie turned in Sean’s lap and slid her arms around him in one of her Velcro-hugs.
“And Prison is obviously not a good place for a little girl to be visiting her father in either,” he added while eyeing Sean.
“No it’s not your Honour,” Trevor agreed. The Judge turned his attention back on Ashley then who was holding Nick’s hand tightly.
“What do you suggest I do if I were to grant Ellie her wish, Ashley? He was your attacker, these men put you through so much I think some of the decision should be up to you too not just me.” Ashley thought about this for a moment. She’d wanted them to rot in a jail cell for the rest of their lives. If she had to do the right thing and be Ellie’s advocate she at least wanted that much. But the Judge is right – Ellie will want to visit, and surely that is no place for her to visit him in.
“I would want them to be in a very secure place – a place where I could feel confident that they wouldn’t get away,” Ashley insisted softly as Nick sat there gently rubbing circles over the back of her hand. “I want to feel safe all the time. I want to get my life back on track and not have to worry about them coming after me and I don’t want them to be living the good life either – I want them to have some sort of punishment out of this.” She wants them to suffer, dammit! But she can’t say that with Ellie in the room…but she said it in so many words that the Judge would surely get the picture. The Judge nodded at this, taking her opinion into great consideration as Sean and Trevor sat there practically holding their breaths while waiting. Though Ellie was holding onto Sean so tightly that the lack of his breathing could be from that too.
“Would house arrest suffice, Miss Mortenson?” he asked.
“That would depend on the security.”
“They would have ankle bracelets, there would be lots of officers living with them, and they wouldn’t be able to leave the house at all unless granted extra, extra permission. The house would be kind of out in the middle of nowhere and have a playground for when Ellie comes to visit. There would be a fence much like the prison yard here surrounding the place, and if they should try to step one foot outside it, not only will the ankle bracelets alert us but the fence will too. And there will be cameras everywhere. It will be just like prison…but in a house without the brutal fellow inmates.” Ashley considered this carefully for a couple of moments, and then looked at Nick and Nick gently squeezed her hand.
“It’s still a punishment baby,” he told her quietly in her ear. “They will make it extremely impossible for them to escape. You will never see them again and will be completely free…and Ellie would be happy which is what you wanted.” After a long moment of looking into Nick’s eyes, the pair of blue eyes that she could trust most in the whole world, she looked at the Judge and nodded her permission.
“I don’t want them to escape, and I never want to see them again. I want to be free to recreate my life.”
“Done,” The Judge said and he looked at Sean and Trevor. “I hear by sentence Sean Ellerbee and Trevor Adams to House Arrest for the rest of their life,” He announced, and then banged his gavel on his desk to finalize the hearing and Ellie squealed happily and threw her arms about Sean and Trevor hugging them each very tightly before getting up and running over to Ashley and hugging her and thanking her.
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