Chapter 11 - Hear Their Cries

She laid there with his head on her belly, running her fingers through his hair.  This was a moment that she hated, she knows it has to end, but they needed to get to court.  "We have to get ready to go.  We're going to be late as it is." she tells him, dragging her fingernails up his back. 

He looks at his watch, "Shit.  We better."  he sits up and looks at her. 

She looks at him and she knows that he wants to say something, "Let's just get dressed."  She gets up and starts to gather her clothes.  They didn't have time to shower, they didn't even eat breakfast.  When room service came, they ignored the knock on the door and stayed lost within each other.  She scurries around trying to pull on clothes while she brushes her teeth.  When she finishes that, she tries to zip her boots while putting on her jewelry. 

Jon watches her and laughs, "Slow down, they aren't going to start without us or even on time."

"Hurry up, do you want to take that chance?"  She walks up to him, "You should shave."

He walks to the mirror as he buttons his shirt, "Nah, I'm good."

"You look homeless.  Hurry, go shave." she orders him as she gathers what she needs for her matching purse.

"I'm good." he sprays himself with some cologne and says, "Let's go, we can catch a cab."

"Jon you need to shave."

"Babe, I don't have time.  Come on."  He walks toward the door and waits for her to catch up.  When they both are at the door, he leans over and kisses her forehead, "You're beautiful."

She smiles and fights the burn of the tears in her eyes.  "Thank you."

"I missed you." he admits, as he opens the door for her.  He can see that she's nervous. She withdraws when she is on the edge of losing it - and that's right where she was at.  One push in either direction could be good, or it could be bad.  He was going to leave her where she was.  As they walked down the hallway to the elevator, he kept his hand on the small of her back.  She missed him too.  More than she even wanted to admit to herself.

In the back of the cab, she can't contain herself anymore.  She has to say what she's been thinking since they laid in bed and missed breakfast.  "Jon..."

"Don't say it." he pleads with, "please, not now."

"I..." he puts a finger to her lips.  She rolls her eyes, changing her mind on what she was goingto say, "All I wanted to say was your shirt isn't buttoned right.  It's crooked." she can't help but laugh.  She knows what he thought she was going to say and she would say it - after the hearing. 

The cab pulls up to the front of the psychiatric hospital and they are greeted by the press.  "Who called them?" he fires off at the mouth.  Pissed that anyone knows about it, but he really shouldn't be surprised.  They were relieved when they seen a couple of New York's finest dressed in blue walking to get them out of the car. 

They made their way through the paparazzi and went in to find Peter.  When they did, they all sat together in the first row in the gallery, waiting for Melissa to be brought in.  They all want to see her face when she sees that Beth is there and that her and Jon are there together.  Jon sat next to Beth and put his arm around her, pulling her just a little closer.  He kisses the side of her head, "Are you okay?"

She nods her head, "Yeah.  As good as I can be."

"We got this, you know that.  She isn't going anywhere, but back to her padded cell."

"I hope you're right, becasue I really don't want to go into hiding."  she feels what she's saying, she leans on Jon's shoulder.  "I want all of this to be over."

 

On the left side of the room, a heavy metal door opens and at first they see a female corrections officer.  She holds the door and then Melissa walks out, with hands cuffs and leg chains on. Melissa scans the room with her eyes, stopping at Jon and Beth.  Beth can't look at her.  Just the slight glimpse of her makes Beth sick to her stomach.  Jon keeps his eyes focused on her with a "We got you bitch" look on his face.  Melissa smiles and blows him a kiss. 

She sits with her court appointed attorney at a table across the room from Jon and Beth.  When the judge enters the informal court room, everyone stands as they should and then sit when they are told.  The judge states for the record the reason that they are all there, who is present in the room, affiming the date and time.  The state gets to make it's case first as to why they feel that Melissa is rehabilitated and recommend that she be set free.  They feel that she is ready to rejoin society and get on with life.  She has paid her debt to society.

The day drags on as they listen to person after person talk.  The state thought that they would be cute and use pictures that were taken of Melissa when she lived at the Red Bank house.  When she was with the kids.  They even introduced into 'evidence' pictures of just Jon and Melissa, stating that Jon and Melissa were in a secret love affair.  And that Jon told her that he couldn't leave Beth becasue of McKenna, giving Melissa the impression that if McKenna were gone, he would leave Beth and they could be together.

The state has rested, with the option for rebuttal if necessary.  It was now time for those opposed to her early release get their turn to state their case.  The first to talk was Peter.  He states Jon and Beth's case for them and then asks them specific questions.  It was the 3 of them trying to keep her in and only 1 trying to get her released, Peter was confident.

"Jon, has there ever been a romantic relationship between you and the patient?" Peter asks Jon, starting off to the point and very direct.

"Never."

"Then please explain to your honor, how you and Miss Adams know the patient, Melissa."

 

"I met Melissa a few years back at a photpo shoot.  She was a photographer hired to take pictures of me and my band.  On the day of the shoot, I stayed after the guys left and we had a few glasses of wine.  One thing led to another and we had sex."

 

"That one night, or were there other occasions?"

 

"That night is the only time I have ever seen her."

 

"That is until you met her at the cemetery, under false pretenses and an altered appearance."

 

"That's correct."  Jon says, as a matter of fact.  Her ellaborates very little, as Peter instructed them to do.

 

"Was there ever any other communication between the two of you?  Phone calls, text meassages or emails?"

 

"I recieved one voicemail that I can't say for sure was her."

 

"What did the voicemail say?" Peter asks, unaware of the voicemail.  He was caught off guard, but didn't let on to anyone that he was.

 

Jon wiggles in his seat, knowing that he's going to catch hell for this, from Peter and from Beth.  "It said, Call me when your baby dies, you'll need a shoulder to cry on."

 

"And you thought it was Melissa?"

 

"I never gave it another thought until she killed my daughter."

 

Jon's eyes are fixed on Beth.  He sees her expression go from one of heart ache and despair to one of being really confused.  She knows nothing of that voicemail, he never mentioned it to her before right now.

 

"Was that then the only communication that you had with her, or from her?" Peter asks him, already knowing the answer becasue he handled the matter that Jon is going to discuss now.

 

"I received a call from her and she told me that she was pregnant.  This was weeks after the one night that we were together."

 

"How did you handle that?  What did you do?"

 

Wiggling again in his chair, "I didn't believe her, I told her to never call again."  Jon confesses to treating the subject too lightly, pausing to think that maybe if he handled that differently, maybe they wouldn't be sitting in this very room.

 

"And then what?" Peter questions, agaon knowing what the answer would be.

 

"She called again and I referred her to you."

 

"That's right.  You're honor, I have no more questions for Mr. Bongiovi at this time.  However, I would like to reserve the opportunity for direct later, if I may?"

 

"Noted." the judge says and Jon goes back to his seat.  Beth takes his hand for the 5 seconds that they were together.

 

"Your honor, I now call Beth Adams to testify."  Beth gets up and takes her seat next to the judge, making no eye contact with Melissa.  She takes her oath and Peter starts to ask her questions. 

 

Peter asks Beth about how she met Melissa and the relationship that had developed before McKenna had been killed.  There were no detail to small and nothing left unturned.  One of his last questions to her was, "Do you think she should be released from here?"

 

Shaking her head no, wiping tears from her eyes sha says, "NO.  If she gets set free, I have no doubt that she will come after me, Jon and his family."

 

"What do you think she was trying to do, do you think that she was trying to take your place?"

 

"I have no doubt that is what she was hoping she could do."

 

"And you fear for your safety, should she get out?" Peter states more as a fact, not really a question.

 

"I fear more for Jon and his children than I do for myself."

 

"Why's that?" Peter puts it out there, there is no hiding the facts.

 

"I'm already out of the picture.  I live thousands of miles away, I am no longer in her way or a threat to her.  Why would she come after me?" Beth looks at Melissa and says, "She's already killed my spirit and broke my heart.  All that's left is the shell of the mess that she made."

 

Peter was surprised by that response.  That's not one that they rehearsed or one that she needed to say, but there was nothing she could do about it now.  "I have no more questions for Miss Adams."

 

Beth looks at Melissa's council and he waves his hand, "I have nothing for Miss Adams at this time."

 

Peter stops at the table before he sits down and tells the judge, "We have nothing further, your honor."  He then sits down.  The judge looks at Melissa lawyer.

 

He stands, "Your honor, we would like to call Dalton Patterson."

Beth jumped to her feet without even thinking and yells, "I OBJECT!"