sweetserenity

'Til Death Do Us Part

The judge frowned at the defendant's pleadings. Clearly, as shown by the tone of his voice and the way he had been acting, he was mentally insane to some degree. His word could no longer be taken as truth despite the oath he was forced to take prior to the trial. "Very well, Mr. Hanson," the judge finally said. The trial then continued with Harvey glaring at his son virtually the whole time. Whenever he wasn't looking at Sam, he would be looking at the judge; who wasn't planning to let him off the hook easily.

---

Naturally, the eyewitness accounts and other evidence was presented during the trial. As the prosecutors described what they collected about the night of December eighteenth, Brooklyn could only cuddle up against an unknowing Sam for comfort. Her screams that night, the blood dripping from her cuts, and the burning smell of smoke rushed into her memories. The prosecutors left no words unsaid. The worst part, however, was when they presented images of the busted car with Brooklyn's newly deceased body crumpled in it. That made her look away immediately, burying her face into Sam's arm instead of staring at the photo. She wanted to leave the trial more than anything. For some reason, she felt as if she should stay, though. As if something dramatic was about to happen.

---

Three hours later, the judge had heard enough. "Mr. Hanson, please stand," he declared authoritatively. Harvey, still sitting, drew his eyes away from his son and towards the judge. His gaze was bitter, as if daring the judge to find him guilty of any of the three charges. "I repeat, Mr. Hanson, please stand." With that, Harvey finally complied.

"On the account of assault to Ella Smith, you are found guilty. For child endangerment to Louis Hanson, you have also been found guilty. As for the murder of Brooklyn Jones..." The judge sent a brief glance Sam's way. "...not guilty."

'Til Death Do Us Part

Soon, Harvey entered the interview room. He was being escorted by an officer who kept a close eye on him as he sat down across from Officer Collins.

"Are you comfortable?" Collins inquired, eyeing the handcuffed man.

"Depends on your definition of 'comfortable'," came the grumbled reply.

"Would you like some water?"

"I'm not thirsty."

Officer Collins looked down at a file. "Well then, let's start talking business. Where were you on the night of December eighteenth, and what were you doing?" Harvey remained silent. Clearing his throat, Collins repeated, "December eighteenth, Mr. Hanson. Where were you and what were you doing?"

Finally, Harvey said, "I was in a car. Driving."

"Is that all you would like to share?"

"Yes."

Officer Collins scribbled down a couple notes. "Well then... what kind of car were you driving? Was it one that you owned?"

"That's a dumb question. I don't remember the car's type. Yes, it was mine."

"What color was the car?"

"What color is your car?" Harvey retorted.

The officer rolled his eyes and wrote down more notes. "So you said you were driving. Where to?"

"Out of town."

"Why?"

Huffing, Harvey replied, "To get out of here."

Officer Collins tapped his chin with the pen. "Alright. Where were you going, exactly?"

"Anywhere."

"Why would you want to leave this town without a destination?"

"Don't act like this town is so damn special," Harvey snapped. "Let a man travel."

More notes were written down. "Being specific, can you describe your drive?"

"It was fine."

"That's not specific, Mr. Hanson."

Harvey groaned and tugged at his handcuffs. In response, the supervising officer reached for his pistol. Glaring at him, Harvey relaxed once more. "Ugh. It was dark outside and the crickets were chirping. Happy now?"

"Better."

The interview carried on for another hour. Harvey repeatedly dodged the questions aimed at him or answered them vaguely. In the end, he never pled guilt nor innocence during that time. No sufficient evidence was gained against him.

Days went by and no more news was provided to Sam. Louis had been given back to him and Brooklyn almost always stayed by Sam's side. The family was together again. Eventually, they received word about a trial being held against Harvey that they desired Sam to be at. It was scheduled for March 17: the day before Brooklyn would be granted life once more. She still didn't know what would happen once her time was up. With every moment that passed by, she grew more and more anxious about what fate awaited her. She prayed that Dog would still be able to bring her back in some way, even though her body had been reduced to ashes. No matter what happened, she would continue to love her family.

The day of the trial arrived quickly. At the courthouse, when the trial was about to start, Harvey was resisting heavily. "Unhand me! None of you were around me nor that girl on that one night! You all know nothing! NOTHING!"

'Til Death Do Us Part

Heavy footsteps circled around the deranged man's cell. He was pacing; a habit which he always succumbed to while lost in thought. His mind was racing a million miles a minute. The previous goal he had- to abduct Louis- crashed and burned. That had been embarrassing, for it should have been an easy task. He had successfully accomplished much worse in the past. Also, who the hell was that one girl he knocked out? It certainly wasn't Brooklyn; he had killed her ages ago. Harvey frowned. How could he redeem himself after this?

It was nearing midnight, although he remained restless. He had heard his son's previous yell directed towards him. At the time, Harvey smirked at it. Father and son: hand in hand, walking into the firey depths of hell. That was a pleasant thought. It would certainly devastate Autumn more if she were aware, because Harvey knew her well enough to know that she doesn't hate Sam despite his blood. She was far too naive for that.

Presently, Harvey sat down on the edge of his cot. Damn that Autumn. All he did was have some harmless fun with her, but she had to get all whiny and tell the university about it anyways. He didn't even get her pregnant or transfer an STD, so what was the big deal? Why couldn't she just get over it? After getting kicked out of the school, no other university accepted him, so he ended up as a fucking janitor. A janitor. He remained one until he obtained his next job at a damn haulage firm. Autumn ruined his life by telling people about the intercourse. Now, he was ruining hers.



Harvey leaned back on the cot and crossed his hands over his chest. His mind wandered to his ex-wife, Patty. She was the only one who knew how to keep her mouth shut. He respected her for that, and also for her generosity. Every day after work, he would come home to find that she had prepared a delicious dinner. The two of them and their kids would enjoy dinner together. Then the children would run off to play and the adults would have some fun time of their own. During moments like this, when he was all alone, he missed her. But he had no chance of getting back with her after all of this. She was too good for him.

In a cell not far away, Brooklyn sat on the cot as Sam slept on the floor. He had been through so much today, and she pitied him for it. She wished she could take away some of his pain. Even as he slept, he appeared to be in distress. He didn't deserve to feel that way. Sliding off the bed to crouch down next to him, she gently placed a hand on his head. Part of the contract had been the ability to send thoughts and ideas into people's minds. She prayed that dreams were included in that. Silently, she willed Sam to have a dream about that one Valentine's Day. The day that he and Brooklyn started the beginning of their future together.

Evening came, and morning followed. Harvey had only slept for two hours. As a passing officer made his rounds, Harvey walked up to the gate of the cell. "Hey, do me a favor," he insisted. The officer looked at him impassively. "Tell my son this message: 'I'll meet you there'."



"Meet him where?" The officer asked.

"Oh, he'll know," Harvey replied, "He'll know."

'Til Death Do Us Part

Never before had Brooklyn felt so much pain. Once the news reached her about Harvey raping Autumn many years ago, she immediately felt sick. It was horrible to know that her poor, sweet mother who only wanted the best for everybody else had endured such a tragic thing. It was cursed upon her by her future daughter's father-in-law, no less.

Brooklyn stood behind Autumn with her arms wrapped around her. The elderly woman was sandwiched between her family. For now, Brooklyn did not care what Sam was up to. He likely wouldn't be able to commit a mortal sin as long as he was in handcuffs. "I'm so sorry mom," the devastated daughter spoke in a soft whisper. "To know that all this time, I was planning to marry your rapist's son..."

That title failed to do Sam any justice. He was so much more than that, and Brooklyn knew it. But it was still part of who he was. His father left an irreversible scar on Autumn's life. Brooklyn didn't know what to think about Sam anymore.

Looking over, the criminal was being shoved into another police car. He appeared to be resisting the two officers who were trying to force him in, saying, "You can't make me go back. Do you hear me? You can't make me go back!"

You better go back, Brooklyn thought, With all the things you've done, you deserve to stay locked up forever.

The hugging family of three pulled away from each other. The officer who had been consoling Louis handed him over to Rick, adivising, "Make sure he gets some good rest tonight. The poor boy has worn himself out. Also, nobody's being allowed back into the house right now because it's being taped off as a crime scene. Clear? We'll keep you and your wife updated on the situation."

"Okay, thank you officer," Rick replied. Louis was quietly cooing to himself as his maternal grandfather held him protectively in his arms. "Ella... will she be alright?"

"Yes, praise the Lord. Anyways, thanks for keeping Harvey contained until we could get here. You saved the day, Mr. Jones."

"It was no trouble at all," Rick spoke, managing a little smile. Then he glanced over at the cop car Sam was in. "...maybe tell Sam to not reach out to us for a while. We'll need some time to recover from this."

"Sure thing, Mr. Jones."

'Til Death Do Us Part

Brooklyn wasn't around to watch Sam's reaction to all of this.

She had left the moment it was announced that their son was in danger.

The scene at the house was a mess. Autumn was holding back more tears, Rick was attempting to soothe her, Ella lay on the grass, and police officers inside the house were trying to get Harvey to stand down. The cops held up their pistols, aiming towards the man's face to avoid potentially shooting the child. It appeared that Harvey didn't want Louis to get killed, either, despite the threat of claiming his life. The knife was still wielded but no longer held against the baby's neck. Also, he hadn't attempted breaking through a window to make their escape. He desired to exit in a manner that ideally wouldn't injure Louis.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn had no clue what to do. This was a moment where she cursed the fact that she could not reveal herself. If it came down to it, she would sacrifice herself for her son, but it wasn't looking like she would have to do that. She watched the officers as they tried convincing Harvey, "Sir, hand over the child or we will shoot. Do not try anything irrational, or we will shoot. You know what the right thing to do is. Do it."

"Oh, but officers," Harvey cooed, "This is my grandson. I have more right to him than you do."

"No. You are a threat to him."

"So are you, as long as you're pointing those guns towards us."

The officers exchanged glances. They didn't have to utter a word to come to an agreement: they would not back down. Their guns remained in the air.

---

Outside, Ella's eyes finally opened. Her head was throbbing and she had a bruise on her cheek from being kicked to the side, but it could have been much worse. The officer who had tended to her helped her stand up.

"What happened...?" Ella inquired. A hand then shot up to her head, for even speaking caused more pain. But she wanted- no, needed to know. Seeing Autumn looking traumatized and relying on Rick for comfort as a police car was parked on the street made the woman very confused. She could not remember anything that happened after Sam and Chad left.

The police officer spoke, "Sam's father, Harvey Hanson, somehow broke into the house and rendered ya unconscious. He's currently in the house holding Louis hostage. Two officers are trying to get 'em back."

"Only two?!"

---

Harvey's back was to a wall. Cornered. "It's useless trying to escape," one of the officers reasoned, "there's no way out."

"There's always a way out if you try hard enough."

The aging man was causing the officers to lose their patience. They had been taught that killing was always to be used as a last resort... would this qualify? There was still the risk of accidentally shooting Louis. The screeching boy was being held at the bottom of Harvey's ribcage. No matter how many tears he shed, he still seemed to have more. That didn't assist the officers' patience levels at all.

For the next handful of minutes, the three adults remained silent. Harvey had a playful smirk on his face as the officers tried staring him down. The man's smirk was perceived as obnoxious. Finally, one of the officers got fed up. They quickly marched over to Harvey and forcefully ripped the knife from his hand, slicing the older man's hand in the process. He let out a yelp. The other officer rushed to take Louis from him in his time of weakness. "Handcuff him!" They ordered before they got to work on soothing the baby.

Within seconds, they were all walking outside to meet up with the others. Blood seeped from one of Harvey's handcuffed hands as Louis' cries died down.

'Til Death Do Us Part

"My name is Autumn Jones. I can't talk to my husband right now, officer, without entering the scene. I'm so scared. Has anybody left yet? Please tell me they have." As the distressed woman stood on the front lawn, the dispute between Rick and Harvey carried on in the house.

For the sake of his grandson, Rick did not try to advance towards the other man. What he didn't realize was that the other man was also Louis' grandfather- Sam's dad. "Please," Rick begged, "Just hand me the boy. I have my wallet in the car. If money is what you want, I can give you some. No- I'll give you all of it, if that's what it takes."

"Money is worthless," Harvey sneered, "Now get outta here before I kill you."

Rick extended his hands towards the screaming baby. "Louis-"

"I SAID GET OUTTA HERE!"

Startled, Rick jumped back. He nearly tripped over Ella's body as he did so. Harvey turned away with Louis in his arms, so Rick figured it would be safe to carry Ella with him. However, after trying to hoist her up to no avail, he had to settle for dragging her along. "I'm so sorry, Ella," he whispered as the woman's face dragged along the unwashed floor.

Autumn was off the phone by the time Rick came out with Ella. She couldn't help crying with relief when she saw him. "Oh, Rick!" She exclaimed, flinging herself towards him. He comfortingly rubbed her back. "I can't believe Harvey-"

"-Harvey?" Rick intervened.

Cautiously, Autumn pulled back from him. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hands as she nodded. "Harvey Hanson."

Rick's face immediately went pale. "No. Could he be...?"

"He is."

"How do you... how do you know him?"

Right then, a police car showed up. Three officers stepped out. One administered to Ella while the other two, wielding their pistols, went into the house. Autumn watched them enter the house before turning back to Rick. "We were acquaintances in university. He was a friend of a friend. Everything was fine, until he got drunk at a party we were both at and... and..." More tears started flooding out of her eyes. "It was so terrible."

"He raped you," Rick spoke breathlessly. His hands then curled into fists. "That BASTARD!"

Autumn nodded. "It took a long time for me to have the strength to tell the university. They kicked him out immediately. He wanted revenge, Rick. I ruined his whole life by getting him kicked out of school. Since I first saw Sam, I knew he was Harvey's boy. But Sam spoke about not really having a father, so I thought Harvey was dead. This is all so terrible and it's all my fault."

Rick brought her in for a hug again, continuing to rub her back in a comforting manner. The officer who had been caring for Ella looked up at Autumn. "That story is pitiful, Ma'am. What's your name again?"

She sniffed. "Autumn Jones."

The officer stood up and scribbled that in his notepad. "If this 'Harvey Hanson' fella wanted revenge on you... do you think he could be the one who killed your daughter?"

At this, Autumn's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of that possibility before. Up until now, she was convinced that Harvey was dead. "I.... I think so."

"Excuse me for a second," the officer spoke, taking out his phone. "I have a call to make."

'Til Death Do Us Part

The house had been fairly quiet since Ella finally got Louis to stop wailing. Even though Chad hadn't contacted her since he and Sam arrived at the police station, she wasn't very worried. She had great trust that things would turn out eventually. Her husband was a great lawyer and he wouldn't let Sam be wrongly convicted of such a terrible crime. The road to the destination may be bumpy but it wouldn't blow their tires.

The blonde woman set Louis down in his crib for a nap. In her ears were some earbuds which blasted one of her favorite songs. Walking to the beat, she strolled over to the fridge to pull out a snack. After her best friend died, it took until recently for her to have any appetite. Chad would have to beg her to eat during those first two weeks. Calmly, she opened the doors to the fridge.

But suddenly,

a metal object

rendered her

unconscious.

Her body collapsed on the floor, leaving the doors of the fridge hanging wide open. The metal object- a baseball bat- was being wielded by a large man with a malicious look in his eyes. Menacingly, he then strutted over to the crib. Elsewhere in this house was a broken window which he had shattered to break in. Since Ella's music had been playing so loudly, she failed to hear it. Things would currently be very different if she had heard it.

Ruthlessly, the man ripped the sleeping child from his crib.

The baby awoke with a scream and a cry.

That was the man's

grandson.

---

Sam's foul language was shocking to Brooklyn. Never before had she seen him cuss so much. It hadn't even started today- ever since her death, he had been seemingly careless about swearing... even around his son. Brooklyn wasn't a prude, per se, when it came to language; but she certainly didn't condemn it around sweet baby Louie. Everywhere Sam and Chad went while in the police station, she followed. Everything was on the line. If she never got her body back and Sam was jailed, Louis could live the first ten or so years of his life without knowing either of his parents. The mere thought of that sent shivers down Brooklyn's spine.

---

Before the house was broken into, Ella texted Brooklyn's parents to inform them of Sam's arrest. They were horrified- because same as everybody else, they knew Sam was innocent. They immediately jumped into the car to drive over to the house. Upon arrival, the plan was that they would tend to Louis as Ella drove to the police station.

Life doesn't always go according to plan. When they finally arrived, they could sense that something was off before they even entered the house. Rick even insisted on entering the house before his wife. The front door was opened with a spare key that they had previously been given before he stepped in. Autumn followed. Traveling over to the living room, only their footsteps made a sound.

Poor Autumn Jones nearly had a heart attack once she saw the scene.

There was a familiar man from her past quickly exiting the room, wielding Louis in his arms. "Stop!" Rick shouted without hesitation, running after the man. "Autumn, call the police! Call the police right now!"

Autumn did as she was told. Meanwhile, Rick chased the man throughout the house. They were roughly the same age but both had a surprising amount of speed. As they ran, they would jump over or dodge hazardous baby toys which could cause them to fall. "Set my grandson down and get hell out of here!" Rick exclaimed. Eventually, the kidnapper circled around to the kitchen and Ella's unconscious body was harshly kicked to the side. The large man tore open a drawer and whipped out a butcher knife.

No longer running, he turned to face Rick. Rick halted immediately once he saw what the kidnapper was doing.

He was holding the knife against the screaming baby's throat.

"What a shame," the kidnapper purred in an eerily calm voice, "I didn't want it to come to this but... you made me do it. Don't take another step forward, or I'll kill the boy."

'Til Death Do Us Part

No. It wasn't him.

This was the most terrible thing that could ever happen. Watching with wide eyes as steel handcuffs were put around Sam's wrists, Brooklyn began to doubt that anything would ever work in their favor. Louis started to cry in the other room, his wails echoing throughout the whole house. Brooklyn was caught between going to him or staying with Sam. Nobody else seemed to know what to do about it, either- Ella was sobbing as well and Chad was repeatedly opening and closing his hands into fists in frustration. Everybody except the law knew that Sam was innocent.

Eventually, one of the officers snapped, "For Christ's Sake, can somebody please shut him up?" Which caused Ella to give a little shriek and race over to the baby. However, she failed to make him stop crying by the time the officers and Sam left.

Brooklyn decided to go with Sam, at least for the time being. She flew alongside the cop car. This was the first time she had ever used her wings except while practicing. She had to remember everything that Sawyer had taught her as the trip to the station was made. Although it was only five minutes, it felt like it took an eternity.

'Til Death Do Us Part

What a day.

It was the first time Brooklyn saw Ella since her death, aside from the funeral. It was exciting to finally see her again. Unfortunately, it appeared that she was feeling some underlying guilt about the whole situation. The way she held herself, communicated with Sam, and looked around the house screamed guilt. Brooklyn despised the fact that her friend was upset. It wasn't Ella's fault, Sam's fault, or even Brooklyn's own fault- it was the killer's fault. However, at this rate, she doubted they would ever be found.

...But then the police officer said a lead was discovered.

Brooklyn was standing in the office right next to Sam's chair when the news was broken. Her fiancé's reaction shocked her. It was so bluntly morbid... she didn't know what to think. All she knew was that she was grateful when Chad intervened to calm him down. Chad was somebody that Brooklyn never really knew until he started dated Ella, and even then the two of them never went out of their way to chat with one another. That was a shame because he truly was a nice guy. Even now, he stood by his wife's best friend's fiancé to console him. Not many people would do that in this day and age. It would be so much easier to just send a 'sorry for your loss' card.

The meeting went on. As Sam brought up the possibility that it wasn't an accident, a baby from the other side of the door let out a cry. Brooklyn placed a hand on her stomach as she remembered what it was like to have Louis. It was nice to find a distraction during this harrowing conference.

~

They'd always known they wanted to be parents someday.

It was initially brought up fairly early in their official relationship- "Want to have a family someday?" "Yeah." It was always a topic which made them blush, but a very important topic nonetheless. When they moved in together was when it became so much more real. No longer constrained by living separately, they were finally able to take things to the next level. They weren't trying to have a kid at this point. After all, they were still quite young and just finished moving into a new house. It was just something that happened.

Initially, Brooklyn was extremely frightened. She knew what was likely going on when she missed a period and started feeling nauseous in the mornings. Despite how much she knew Sam loved her, she was still nervous to tell him. There was always the possibility that he wouldn't be ready to be a father and he would make her abort the child or put it up for adoption. Not to mention that childbirth was extremely painful- that also made her worry. Every day Brooklyn would act like everything was fine while mentally freaking out. She was happy to possibly be a mother, she really was, but she was also scared. Sometimes she would cry about it while in the shower. Sam would knock on the door to see why she had been in there for so long.

She never told him the truth. Every answer to his questioning would be a lie until she finally realized she couldn't hide it from him anymore. Because of this, she decided to find out once and for all if she really was pregnant. If so, she would tell him right away. She didn't want to be dishonest with him anymore. One morning she snuck a pregnancy test into the bathroom with her. The five minutes of waiting for it's response were dreadful although she already had a strong guess on what the result would be. Sam was in the other room, presumably unaware of what was going on.

When the results came, the stick was washed off. It showed positive. Brooklyn's hands were trembling- she would finally be a mother and it would be with the love of her life! But at the same time... were they ready? How would Sam react? There was only one way to find out. Teary-eyed, she stepped out with the test in her hand. No words needed to be spoken for him to know what the result was. There was a long silence until she finally whispered, "We're going to have a baby." That triggered the rejoicing. All of Brooklyn's worries went down the drain as Sam assured her of how thrilled he was to be a dad.

~

Now, 16 months later, the baby was there but the mother was gone.

'Til Death Do Us Part

Brooklyn now felt like she was intruding on their father and son time, so she respectively walked away. She went into her son's room rather than her own room, for a change. It was cluttered with baby toys, although not as terribly as it could be. Sam was doing a good job of keeping the whole house relatively clean despite how often he was prone to depressed episodes. He was a natural caregiver. Always giving, no matter the circumstances. It was something his fiancée adored about him. Even when they were young, she would notice as he would be the first one scoot over (typically closer to Brooklyn) to make room for someone who was approaching. Other times he would immediately be willing to lend a pencil to someone or show a new student the way to their classroom if they were lost.

Sometimes, he could give so much that he would forget to take care of himself.

Brooklyn touched one of the drawings on Louis' wall. The elephant portrayed in it was the same one from a successful children's book she had gotten the honor of illustrating. It was about a young elephant who got separated from their herd. While trying to find their family, they get help from a variety of other creatures along the way. Brooklyn couldn't help but feel like that resembled her current situation. She got separated from her family when she died and was now trying to reunite with them. Along the way thus far, she had gotten help from two 'creatures', Dog and Sawyer.

She slowly strolled over to another drawing. Unlike the previous drawing, there wasn't a story behind it. It was simply that she had been running out of ideas and 'Giraffes' had been Sam's answer when she asked him about it. At the time, she regretted not reserving space for two parent giraffes. There was only one, and it was unclear if that was the mommy or the daddy. Things were different now. It could be presumed that it was now the daddy since there was no longer a mommy to compete for it. Brooklyn looked at the drawing for a moment longer before deciding to walk out and check on her family again.