Life... Really Part 25
In the private lounge that had been set aside for them, Danielle was slouched in her chair at the small round table in the center of the room. Her face in her hands, the cross-examination of the Vice Foreign Minister replayed through her mind.
The images of her worried son holding his tearful boyfriend, their saddened friends surrounding them after recess had been called, filled the young woman's vision. She thought of how Noin and Zechs put on brave faces for their son in his time of fear and loss. It was breaking her heart all over again just thinking of it again.
Mister Darlian was dismissed from having to testify again after the break. Knowing that they would not be able to recover from the devastating blow to their case with his witness, it was agreed that the young man was excused from the stand for the remainder of the trial.
Lowering her hands from her face, her weary gaze fell on the young man sitting across from her. "What the hell just happened?" she asked weakly. "How did we not know that Darlian signed that bill?"
With a heavy sigh, Trent lowered his head with a shake as he replied faintly, "I don't know, Danielle. I do believe him when he told us just now that he truly did not know what he was signing years ago. He was just starting to grieve. Emotions are one of the easy tools that politicians play on to get what they want, even if they are the emotions of another politician."
Danielle frowned deeply, "I just can't believe that Septum caught us off guard like this. We should have known about this before putting so much stock into Darlian's testimony. Duo's testimony that we had counted on before coming is no longer going to take place. What else do we have?"
For a long moment, silence just hung in the air as the two lawyers considered the question. They didn't have anything else to help their case. They both knew it, but neither would actually say it. In the end, they could not have found themselves in a grimmer situation.
As he sat up in his chair, Trent leafed through his paperwork that had been spread across the table. "I suggest that we just keep on as planned," he spoke up at last. "We still have some of Heero's classmates who met Duo on several occasions, who knew nothing of his secret. If anything it will buy us time."
With a snort, Danielle repeated bitterly, "Buy us time? For what?"
A small smile tugged the corner of the brunette lawyer's face as he commented, "I've come to learn that even miracles need time. Let's just try to bide it as much as we can." At the sentiment, the young woman's cobalt eyes widened. Slowly, her face eased and she couldn't help but smile.
* * * * * *
The next three witnesses called to the stand did very little to change the predestined ruling of the case. Trent took over the questioning of those witnesses, acquaintances of Duo who had been oblivious to the fact that he was unlit any other normal teenager.
When it was her time on the stand, Hilde won over some laughter from the crowd with their light-hearted humor. Her boldness when cross-examined by Septum also won a few nods of respect from the Supreme Justices when she was excused after her testimony.
Heero and his friends were kept away from the stand, Danielle and Trent knowing that Septum would rip into them in his turn to question them. They would be labeled as being too naïve because of their closeness to the braided teenager. And so, two more teenagers who met Duo in passing on a couple occasions followed Hilde on the stand.
Sally was called upon next. Having treated Duo on several occasions, she had relayed her findings to the court. While Trent emphasized her points of little to no difference between his client's body and the body of a normal teenage boy, a few heads leaned forward in interest from the Justice podiums.
Just when it seemed that the defense regained some ground, once again, Septum came to discredit everything that they had built in their case. Sally ended up having to admit that the toxins that had been used on Duo's body, at the level they were administered, would have killed a normal youth his age.
Pacing before the witness stand with his hands folded behind his back, Septum continued on in his questioning, "So really, the defendant is in no means normal. Is he, Miss Po?"
"That all depends on what you consider normal," the braided young woman answered. She won a few chuckled from the audience. "There is no true, scientific, definition of normal. It's all a matter of opinion."
By this time, Danielle's head was lowered as she slowly leafed through her papers. After Sally, there would be no other witness for them to call. Calling upon anyone at this point would be plainly shown as just trying to prolong the inevitable. More than half of the Supreme Justices were looking irritable that this case was still going on.
To the red-haired woman's right, Duo turned to her with a concerned look. Gazing up from the papers before her, Danielle met his violet eyes and gave a small smile that she hoped was comforting. It took everything in her to offer it, knowing how much of a lie it was.
In truth, the hard reality of it all was that this case was lost to them. And this poor, braided teenager before her would be condemned to a shortened life of torment. It took everything in her not to allow the threatening tears to fill her eyes. Her smile must have been convincing enough as Duo returned it before looking back to the witness stand.
Swallowing hard, Danielle turned back to the papers of Dekim's medical reports that had been handed over when she had taken Duo from the clutches of the cruel scientist. It was the last of the stack of papers that she had.
As the interrogation continued, the voices of Sally and Septum faded into the background while the red-haired lawyer's eyes skipped over the pages she turned. Trent watched the exchange closely as the presiding attorney at this stage of the game.
"And you are here to say that your opinion," Septum smirked, "that the opinion of a nurse intern is practiced enough to prove that the defendant is normal, then? If I were to tell a surgeon, or a seasoned doctor the defendant's abilities to overcome the toxins injected into him, would they tell me that he was normal? That his body was of a normal human being?"
With a soft gasp, Danielle's cobalt eyes widened on the page she fell on. "My God," she whispered to herself. Sitting up, she quickly turned to the next page, skimming it. Blinking his violet eyes, Duo watched Heero's mother feverishly went through the report with a highlighter.
On the stand, Sally swallowed hard with a deep frown. His eyes narrowing, Septum turned to her and asked, "Well? Would they, Miss Po?" Biting her lip, the braided nurse lowered her head and shook her head. "I can't hear you," the dark-haired prosecutor hissed.
Peering up at him, Sally growled deeply, "No."
At that, Septum smirked arrogantly and nodded, "Thank you for your honesty." Gazing up at the Supreme Justices, he announced, "No further questions." He turned on his heels to return to his desk, taking a moment to nod to his smug clients.
Justice Harris turned to the defense table and sighed deeply. At this point, even he could not hide the fact that he was growing tired of this game to change the verdict. With a firm nod, he addressed Trent, "You may reexamine the witness, council."
Returning the nod, the brunette lawyer began to rise to his feet. "No further questions," Danielle whispered urgently as she turned to her partner before he straightened. His cat ears perking, Duo gazed on her in surprise.
Trent was no less shocked. His own eyes wide, he strained to keep his voice quiet, "What! Danielle, this is our last witness. We have to try to regain some ground before we make our closing statements." The crowd behind them began talking amongst themselves in the hesitance to respond to the presiding Justice.
"No further questions," Danielle ground out quietly, her cobalt eyes narrowing.
At the fierce determination in her eyes, Trent gave pause. Clearing his throat, he turned to the scrutiny of the Justices. "No further questions, your honor." A few surprised whispers and gasps filled the air at the unexpected announcement. There were several wide eyes amongst the ensemble of judges as well.
Turning to the braided woman, Justice Harris said, "You may step down, Miss Po." With a nod, Sally rose to her feet. On her way past the defense table, she cast a confused glance to the two lawyers.
As he ran a hand through his white hair, Justice Harris began, "Seeing as how there are no further witnesses-"
Danielle rose to her feet, cutting him off as she stated, "Pardon me, your honor, but we do have one last witness to call." A few eyes rolled amongst the council of judges.
One of the few Justices who seemed to come alive with their interest in the proclamation, Harris replied, "Oh? Very well then. You may call your last witness." Danielle did not so much as bat an eye at the stress placed on the word 'last'.
"The defense calls Dekim Barton to the stand," the redheaded lawyer smiled.
Instantly, voices rose in the crowd, every Supreme Justice straightened and sat on the edge of their seats in attention. Their eyes wide in disbelief, Trent and Duo watched Danielle with ashen faces. Heero and his friends all blinked in shock, whispering amongst themselves. Amongst all of this, none looked more stunned at the announcement than Dekim Barton, his back straight and looking around as though he did not believe he had heard correctly.
Just as the voices began to rise, Justice Harris slammed his gavel as he shouted, "Order!" When calm fell over the court, the white-haired man nodded to the scientist, "The defense is entitled to call upon anyone that they so wish in trials such as this. Mister Barton, please come to the witness stand."
A smug grin fell on Dekim's face as he gave a firm nod. Without further hesitation, he rose to his feet and made his way past the gate leading to the front of the courtroom. Duo lowered his head just as the scientist turned his head in the boy's direction.
Sensing the braided teenager's unease, Danielle placed a hand on his back, lightly rubbing small circles to relax his tense muscles. When Trent turned to her with a concerned look, she just gave a firm nod before rising from her seat.
Once the old scientist was sworn in and his name was given for the record, the redheaded lawyer folded her hands behind her back as she approached the witness stand. The Justices remained at the edges of their seats while they peered down over their podiums.
With a polite smile, Danielle bowed her head slightly and began, "Doctor Barton, as much as everyone here would like for this case to end, I will not make any move to make a dramatic build up to why I have called you to the stand." She cast a bold glare to the Justices, catching them off-guard and wide-eyed at her all but calling the fact that several of them seemed to be near falling asleep.
Trent made a small, undetermined sound at the exchange. "I hope that she knows what she's doing," he muttered under his breath. Beside him, Duo swallowed hard as he raised his head to watch the scene.
Gazing back to the witness, the lawyer grinned, "Instead, let's simply get to the point of why we are here." Dekim gave a firm nod, his smile of amusement ever present. As she pointed to the braided teenager at the defense table, Danielle asked, "Mister Barton, in your own words, define my client."
The question did not faze the scientist in the slightest. Without missing a beat, Dekim replied, "Your 'client' is nothing more than a mass of cells merged together by human hands and technology. 'It' is no more than a creation configured to benefit the human race. Our scientific term for it is a neko." Duo couldn't help the wince at perspective at what he was. Being called 'it' only reminded him of how Heero's mother had referred to him for a time. His cat ears drooped as he bit his lip.
Behind his lover, Heero's eyes narrowed heatedly on the old man. Frowning deeply in concern, Noin placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in support. "Steady," she whispered in his ear. Taking a deep breath, the Japanese teenager gave a terse nod while his fists clenched.
"Ah," Danielle replied, his smile growing. "So in your mind, as the person who created him-"
His voice sharp, Dekim corrected, "It."
Clearing her throat, the redheaded lawyer nodded, "Very well, as you are the creator, I will use your term for my client. Let's just say that you are correct in your perspective of 'it.'" She made certain to stress the last word with such a harsh tone that a couple of the Supreme Justices flinched. "You have no reason to believe that 'it' has the right to be considered a normal human being, then?"
Without waiting for a breath, the scientist answered firmly, "No. My team and I had created it as a tool to benefit our kind. Our findings have proven that we can create countless others like it to built massive armies, sending them off to fight wars instead of our parents, our friends, our children, our grandchildren, nieces, nephews."
As he cast glare to the braided teenager, he commented, "It was simply made to serve our needs to live on. I have never once thought of it as a human. God created man. And man created it." Small gasps of held breaths filled the air at the statement. Septum gave his client a subtle smile and nod when the scientist briefly looked over at him.
Tilting her head, Danielle frowned, "Never once considered it human? Really?" She turned on her heels to retrieve the report that she had left out. Holding up the papers, she stated, "I have here a list of medical reports that had been handed over when my client was brought into safe protection prior to this trial."
Dekim nodded, "Yes, I remember. I have nothing to hide."
"Not even this?" Danielle smirked as she held up the last two pages in the stack. "It appears that while working over these medical reports, you also were going over one of your personal journals of your research. If you were not really looking, it would be ready to mistake them for the rest of the report."
Dekim's jaw began to fall slack in recognizing the pages that had disappeared from his records. In his haste while helping Jacob stabilize the braided neko, several pages of his journal mixed with the reports. His eyes filling wit intrigue, Trent sat up, leaning forward as he continued to watch the exchange.
Quickly rising to his feet, Septum yelled, "Objection! That journal was not handed over willingly by my client! It should not be used in this trial on the grounds that it was not meant to be handed over with those medical files."
Peering up to the presiding Justice, Danielle countered, "Your honor, we are here in this courthouse, today, to deliberate over the identity of my client. Who better to tell us just what he is than the man who created him? Doctor Barton, himself, stated just now that he has nothing to hide. He shouldn't be concerned over a couple pages in his own writing, whether they were unknowingly handed over or not."
Justice Harries sat back in his seat a moment, rubbing his chin with a hand in quiet consideration. "I am going to allow the use of those journal entries," he said at last.
With a small sigh of relief, Danielle nodded her appreciation. She raised the two papers again and turned back to the witness, his face ashen and dampening with sweat. "My question to you, Mister Barton," she began smoothly, "is that how can you sit here, under oath, and claim that my client has not one grain of human make-up when you wrote, 'My goal has been reached. As of today, I am one with God. I have created the perfect human being.'"
The sound of cries and gasps filled the air as some members of the gathered crowd rose to their feet. Amongst the Supreme Justices, there was not one who did not show some state of absolute disbelief and shock in their eyes and on their faces. Trent and Duo stared with slackened jaws along with their friends sitting behind them. Septum and Jacob's shoulders fell along with their own jaws at the revelation. For what seemed an eternity, it seemed no one could find their breath.
Locking his lips, Dekim cleared his throat at finally finding his voice. "Just an oversight of mine," he commented with a wave of his hand.
"An oversight?" Danielle laughed. "My dear Doctor Barton, I have found that you used the term 'human' in reference to my client more than sixteen times in these two pages alone." Voices filled the air as people began to react to the startling news.
She questioned with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, "As intelligent a man as you are, could you really have made such an oversight sixteen times?" Dekim's mouth worked in vain of finding anything to say at that moment. Septum's hands rose to cover his face.
With a deep sigh, the redheaded lawyer spoke up, "So really, aside from the medical advances, the only real difference between my client and any other human is mere appearance. Just as there is no difference between a white person and a black person, a tall person and a short person, an old person and a young person, the differences are only on the surface."
The scientist swallowed hard and looked away. Taking a deep breath, Danielle nodded to the presiding Justice and announced quietly, "No further question." At that, she turned to head back to her table.
Her braided client had tears running down his cheeks when she returned. Trying to contain her own emotions, Danielle just smiled warmly with a small nod. Trent reached behind Duo to squeeze his partner's hands tightly. Meeting the young man's smiling eyes, his statement earlier that afternoon came back to her. They had pulled off a miracle.
Silence had hung in the air once more and Septum rose to his feet at last to say quietly, "No questions, your honor." Danielle squeezed Trent's hand in hers in hearing that their competitor could not recover from what they hoped to be a fatal blow to his case. Dekim was excused from the stand. Walking as if in a daze, the old scientist returned to his bench.
"Any further witnesses?" Justice Harris asked the defense team. When they both replied none, the white-haired man nodded and spoke amongst his fellow Justices.
There was a long discussion between the fifteen judges, everyone of them having a chance to peak quietly amongst themselves. Finally, Harris stated, "Given the circumstances, we have decided that there will be no need for closing statements at this point." Concern flashed in the defense team's eyes in hearing that. "The decision is unanimous."
All of their eyes wide, Heero and his friends' hands all searched the hand of the person next to them. With a small whimper, Duo closed his shimmering eyes, lowering his braided head. Danielle bit her lip as her own eyes closed as she spoke a quiet prayer. Trent just held his breath as everyone else gathered in waiting.
With a deep breath, Justice Harris announced, "We side with the defendant."
Instantly, cheers, applause and screams of elation went up in the crowd as they jumped to their feet. Unable to contain their excitement, Danielle and Trent slammed their fists on the table as they rose to their feet, laughing in relief as they embraced tightly. Septum, Dekim and Jacob sank in their seats with loss on their expressions.
His violet eyes wide, Duo remained frozen in his chair as the words of the ruling rang through his head. Sitting beside him, Danielle smiled warmly with tears in her own cobalt eyes as she cupped the sides of his face, turning it to face her. "We won, Duo," she whispered as she ran a hand through his bangs.
Swallowing hard, the braided teenager turned to see his friends, the remainder of his family still celebrating and not a dry eye amongst them. Heero walked up to the railing with a loving smile, tear streaks dampening his cheeks as his gaze met his lover's. As he shakily rose to his feet, Duo closed the distance between them, throwing his arms around the other boy in a fierce embrace that was met with equal ferocity and need.
At the slamming of the gavel and Justice Harris's calling for order, Heero pulled back enough to kiss the trembling braided teenager's forehead. With a whispered, "I love you," he gently urged Duo to return to the defense table.
When everyone returned to their seats, Harris smirked to the defense team, "My compliments to you, Miss Yuy and Mister Clark. You certainly pulled off what we had thought would be an impossible victory."
The two lawyers nodded their thanks with grins from ear-to-ear. The white-haired man turned his attention to the cat-eared youth clutching at his tail. "And as for you, Mister Maxwell," he grinned kindly, "From this day forward, you will be known by your given name. Zechs and Noin are given full guardianship. You are granted the same rights, and are to be treated no differently than any other person." With a wink, he concluded, "Congratulations, young man."
On cue, the bailiff ordered for all to rise as the Justices stepped out of the courtroom. When the doors closed behind them, the room erupted into cheers and applause again. Cameras flashed and an onslaught of reporters ran towards Duo with video cameras and questions. Danielle and Trent gently ushered their client from the room with his lover and friends close behind.
* * * * * *
At the sound of the knock on her door Dorothy looked up from her work and called, "Come in." A wide smile spread on her face when her visitor entered. "Well this is a pleasant surprise," she greeted.
Returning the smile, Heero replied with a nod, "I was hoping that I would get to deliver this to you in person. I just finished." At the questioning look on the young woman's face, the Japanese teenager held up a few sheets of paper stapled together. "Here is the assignment that you had given to me last year."
Her blue eyes widening, Dorothy glanced at her calendar. "But that wasn't due until July 14th. That is a couple weeks off yet." She took up the report that she had required of the young man as he handed it over. Gazing to the cover sheer, she smiled at the title in bold letters centered on the page and read aloud, "Life... Really."
With a shrug, Heero took a seat and commented, "I didn't need that much time to finish it." He sat patiently as the young director read through his paper. He smiled to himself as he watched her eyebrows raise as she continued on in the paper.
Dorothy chuckled deeply when she finished the report. Placing it on her desk, she smirked, "I see that you found the purpose of my assignment."
"My life is my own to live," Heero answered with a grin. A pleased smile tugged at the blonde young woman's lips. "You knew that I was never meant to become a law student," he stated more than asked.
Shaking her head, Dorothy smiled, "Why do you think I set the due date for before Wayne's enrollment date?" As she sat back in her chair, she inquired, "So, what does life have in store for you now, Heero?"
His smile growing a bit, the Japanese teenager answered, "I'll be attending the University of Visual Arts on a full scholarship that I won from a contest."
At that, Dorothy's eyes widened, "That's wonderful, Heero. It's quite the prestigious college, I understand." Her smile grew wistful, "I certainly look forward to seeing your work." He gave a nod of appreciation. The two young adults rose to their feet and exchanged a firm handshake. "I wish you all the best, Heero," the blonde director said sincerely.
"Thank you for all of your help, Dorothy," Heero replied just as earnestly. As he turned towards the door, he asked, "So will we be seeing you at dinner tonight?"
With a hearty laugh, Dorothy answered, "I wouldn't miss it. Wufei promised to show me some pretty... interesting photos of my boyfriend." The fond memories that he got to share with Trowa, Quatre and Wufei flooded back and Heero couldn't help but chuckle deeply.
Stepping outside, Heero smiled at the sight of his braided lover waiting by their bikes. Duo's cat ears and tail twitched in his approach. Smiling brightly when the Japanese teenager kissed him, he asked, "Ready?"
"Ready," Heero grinned.
Together, they took to their bikes and pedaled off... to whatever life had in store for them.
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page