"How are you feeling?" I asked gently. I hugged her against me tightly.

"Sick. I really hate this." She said honestly. I kissed her hair and walked her to the car. She was so brave, my beautiful sweet girlfriend. I had just sat and watched her lawyers preparing her for the trial ahead and it made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to shout and defend her, but I was told that if I couldn't just sit by and let them do their job then I couldn't even go to support her. It was going to be hard.

"Do you want to grab a bite? See a movie?" I asked as we got in the car and drove away. I wanted to get her mind off things for a while.

"Can we just make popcorn and watch something at your place?" She looked over and I was already nodding and smiling. It was a little sad, but she smiled back.

"Do you see your doctor soon?" I asked quietly, my eyes on the road. She was silent for a few minutes, thinking and I didn't push it.

"Yeah, I see him next week before the trial. We are going to talk about all this beforehand, then I will see him again afterwards." I reached out and squeezed her hand briefly.

"You know; I think you are the bravest woman I know." It sounded awkward but it was the truth. I admired her so much for doing this. She was silent, not responsive to my words, just staring out the window thoughtfully. I got an idea and pulled into the grocery store.

"What are we doing here?" She asked distractedly.

"I forgot to pick something up, give me a minute." I got out and ran in to the store with a big grin on my face. It took a few minutes to track down all the ingredients, and I double bagged it so she couldn't peek at the contents. I could tell she was burning with curiosity now. I pushed her towards the bedroom to change into something comfortable, as great as her skirt looked I thought movies called for pajamas.

"What do you want to watch?" She yelled from the hall, I hid my purchases and followed her to get on some flannels.

"I don't know... why don't you pick something? I think a comedy would be nice though." I pulled on a pair of dark grey flannel pants and turned to see her sliding a t-shirt over her stomach. She nodded and left the room, I waited to hear her steps descend the stairs as I stood in the kitchen again. Once I heard the television kick on, I began getting our treat ready. It only took a minute or two to get both all set up and then I carefully walked down the stairs to hand it to her.

"Oh my god, root beer float! I love you so much!" I wasn't sure if the words were directed at me or the drink because I was being ignored and the float was being devoured. I smiled at the sight and collapsed into the seat next to her. It was hard to ignore the slurping sounds beside me as the movie started. Hell, it was hard to ignore Erin at any time when she was around me. Her giggles made me smile and I was glad I had suggested a comedy.

When this was all over then I could move forward with her. I didn't want to overstress her with everything that was happening in her life. She needed time to get through this and get back to life as usual before I dumped a whole lot more on her. I wanted her to move in with me, I was going to ask her to marry me, and I thought we should both take a vacation. I wasn't really sure what order it was all going to go in but I looked forward to doing it all.

All that was left was getting through the next two weeks, or however long this was going to take.

*****

Author's Note: I understand that lawyers have a bad rep, but having been the child of one gave me a different perspective than most people get. You see, as a good lawyer you must be prepared for any angle. You have to think about every aspect of a case and how it could play out. You have to consider any and every question that might come up, no matter how rude or prejudiced it may be. If you don't, and your client is unprepared to face the ugliness of the world outside their bubble, there is a good chance of disaster.

The other side is trying to defend their position with everything they have, including the opinions of their clients instead of facts. They will try to twist answers to make the victim look like the bad guy if they can. So each lawyer is trying to use language to see where the truth lies, to catch someone trying to play the system in their favour, and trying not to lose their own values in the process. We should be glad that some people are strong enough to take on these difficult tasks, and less quick to judge them for doing so.

With that in mind, let us bear witness to Erin under the microscope of the court...

Lawyer: "Tell me about Bill."

Erin: "Well, he was my boss as soon as I joined the company. I trained with an older woman, Peggy, who was in his department before I was allowed to work on my own. The harassment started after I was given my own desk. First it was limited to... over the top compliments. Then it progressed to asking me constantly for dates. Finally, he started invading my personal space and got physical. I went to Human Resources while this was ongoing and spoke to John about it all."

Lawyer: "Ok, we will go back to that later. When you say over the top compliments, what do you mean by that? Can you give us an example?"

Erin: "Uh, sure. He told me my ass looked amazing in the pants I was wearing that day. It made me uncomfortable and I told him so."

Lawyer: "How did you tell him?"

Erin: "I said Could you not say things like that? It makes me uncomfortable."

Lawyer: "Okay, when you say he constantly asked for dates... approximately how often is that?"

Erin: "He would ask me in the morning when I first got there, if I ran into him in the breakroom he would ask me, he asked nearly everyday before lunch and once or twice he tried to follow me to my car at the end of the day. Always more than once a day."

Lawyer: "What was your response?"

Erin: "No thank you. No I am not interested. Always no."

Lawyer: "So you never told him maybe? You do not feel you gave him hope that you might change your mind?"

Erin: "I was very clear. Unless the meaning of the word has changed, no means no."

Lawyer: "When did you go to Human Resources? Was it before or after it got physical as you say?"

Erin: "It was before. I had written down the time, day and what was said a few times so I could give them specifics of what was making me uncomfortable. They put that on file and said they would speak to him. After that was when he began asking me out instead of complimenting me. I went back to Human Resources after he had followed me out to my car twice. I gave them the times and dates of the occurrences. I was told that company policy dictated that they give him a second warning before anything else could be done."

Lawyer: "Is that when it got physical?"

Erin: "No, that was when he started invading my personal space. He began being rather rude to me, accusing me of playing hard to get and standing too close when I was working. John in Human Resources gave me a tape recorder to capture some of things he was saying for the record to expedite Bill's dismissal."

Lawyer: "How long did you have the tape recorder for?"

Erin: "I had it for two days before he attacked me at work."

Lawyer: "And did you use it in that time?"

Erin: "Yes, I used it when I came in mornings and left in the evenings. I kept it in my purse."

Lawyer: "So you had your purse on you when you went down the stairs that day."

Erin: "Yes, I had a bad feeling. I grabbed my purse, with the turned on recorder and tried to leave. I wanted to diffuse the situation by removing myself from his presence."

Lawyer: "So what happened."

Erin: "He swore at me, grabbed my arm, hit my face and pushed me. That caused me to fall down some stairs."

Lawyer: "Then you went to Human Resources to report to John?"

Erin: "Yes, I went straight there. I gave him the recorder and was given some first aid."

Lawyer: "Ok. Tell me about Damien."

Erin: "He was hired to replace Bill as manager of our department."

Lawyer: "You did not replace Bill's position?"

Erin: "No."

Lawyer: "Did you date Damien?"

Erin: "Not at first. I agreed to date him after I was promoted to manager of another department."

Lawyer: "So you did not date him while he was your boss?"

Erin: "No."

Lawyer: "Did you tell Damien about your sex?"

Erin: "Yes."

Lawyer: "And how did he feel about it?"

Erin: "Well, we are currently dating so I am guessing he is fine with it."

Lawyer: "You guess he is fine with it?"

Erin: "He is fine with it."

Lawyer: "Did you tell Bill about your sex?"

Erin: "No."

Lawyer: "Why not? Wouldn't it have cleared things up with him?"

Erin: "Why should I? I had no intention of dating Bill. It wasn't any of his business. I shouldn't have to tell anyone if I don't wish to."

Lawyer: "But didn't you misrepresent yourself to him?"

Erin: "How? I wasn't interested in having an outside relationship with him. I was his employee. The only people who needed to know, knew."

Lawyer: "And who do you feel needed to know?"

Erin: "My employer, so they knew my credentials were legitimate upon hiring. John in Human Resources was aware, as were the Executives in charge of hiring me, since they were privy to my personal information collected and looking into my work history. Other than that, there was no one else who should have access to my information at work."

Lawyer: "What about your previous employer? Did you tell them?"

Erin: "Yes."

Lawyer: "It says you were fired from your previous job, and there are notes about an altercation?"

Erin: "I worked for a temp agency. They had set me up with a company on contract. Another employee and I were set up on a blind date which ended rather badly. He went to upper management and I was fired from the contract job. The temp agency did not fire me, they arranged the interview with my current company. I was headhunted after a contract in the secretarial pool to full-time sales."

Lawyer: "What do you mean the date ended badly? What happened?"

Erin: "I was punched in the face. He gave me a black eye. He also said some very rude things. Apparently he was related to a member of upper management."

Lawyer: "But you didn't go after him or your previous employer through the legal system?"

Erin: "I reported their actions to the government, the temp agency was granted wrongful dismissal and they were awarded damages. I did not go after him personally though, no."

Lawyer: "Why not?"

Erin: "I wasn't hurt very badly. I didn't think I would see him again, so I wasn't worried about a repeat of his actions. It was a one-time meeting, with a one-time negative result. I felt that by avoiding him and the company in question there would be no further problems."

Lawyer: "But you don't feel that way with Bill?"

Erin: "No."

Lawyer: "Do you think he is a danger to you?"

Erin: "Yes, I know he is. He has proven it by his actions."

Lawyer: "Are you afraid of him?"

Erin: "Yes. I don't want to be but I am."

Lawyer: "Can you tell me about the attack?"

Erin: "Umm..."

Lawyer: "Maybe start from the beginning of your day?"

Erin: "I went for coffee with my best friend Max and Damien. We planned to go shopping, and spent most of the day at the mall. Max drove me home, I had maybe half a dozen bags to take in with me and I was tired. I struggled with the doors, took the elevator up to my apartment..." Long pause.

Lawyer: "Are you okay to continue?"

Erin: "Yes. He must have come from the stairwell, because I didn't see him before he grabbed me and threw me against the wall."

Lawyer: "You didn't see him coming?"

Erin: "No. I didn't even know who it was until I was being held against the wall. I think I dropped my bags, I ...tried pushing him away."

Lawyer: "So you struggled?"

Erin: "Yes. I tried shouting, but he put his hand over my mouth. I couldn't breathe very well because he was smothering me."

Lawyer: "Did you get any of the other residences attention? Did anyone come out of their apartments?"

Erin: "No. He said he was going to... he told me what he wanted to do to me and touched me."

Lawyer: "What did he want to do to you?"

Erin: "He wanted to have sex with me. He described it. Until he touched my... my penis."

Lawyer: "Then what did he do?"

Erin: "He squeezed it really hard, kneed me in the groin, started screaming at me. That was what finally alerted the neighbours, I think. He started kicking and stomping on me."

Lawyer: "You were on the floor?"

Erin: "Yes, I was on the floor then. He ran off when my neighbours came out into the hall towards us."

Lawyer: "Did you pass out?"

Erin: "No. I was conscious."

Lawyer: "Could you get up?"

Erin: "No. I couldn't get up. I was in a lot of pain. My neighbour called for an ambulance."

Lawyer: "Were you hospitalized?"

Erin: "I was there overnight for testing, had my arm casted and was given prescriptions before being sent home."

Lawyer: "Did they tell you what the damage was?"

Erin: "Yes, I don't remember all of it."

Lawyer: "What do you remember?"

Erin: "A broken wrist, severe bruising, groin injury."

Lawyer: "How long did it take to recover from this?"

Erin: "My wrist took a little over four weeks after physiotherapy, my bruises took a few weeks to completely fade and my groin injury took a few months with physiotherapy. I am still recovering though."

Lawyer: "Why do you say that?"

Erin: "I can't use the elevator in my apartment without high anxiety. I am nervous to go out by myself. I have nightmares. Sometimes I feel dirty."

Lawyer: "This is all since the attack? You didn't feel like this before?"

Erin: "No I didn't feel like this before the attack. Just now."

Lawyer: "Thank you Ms. Bates, no further questions at this time."

Not sure about accuracy, but take from it what you will... Let's skip to the good stuff, right?

Wattpad, save my changes please??