The Devil and Brian Kinney

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

Setting: : The Devil's Courtroom.

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With a puff of the now familiar smoke, Michael appeared in the witness box positioned between the judge and the jury box. He was wearing worn blue jeans and his favorite Captain Astro T-shirt. He looked around the room, somewhat disoriented, until he saw Brian and Melanie, and waved to them happily. Before he could step down to go over to them, the Sergeant at Arms cleared his throat warningly.

"Mr. Novotny, this is a Court of Law. You have been summoned to testify in the matter of De'Ville v. Kinney, the Honorable Hiram T. Stonewall, presiding. Do you hereby swear that the testimony you give in this matter will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or may you rot in Hell?"

Mikey gulped at the altered oath, but answered audibly, "Sure." He settled back down in the chair with a confused look over at Brian, who nodded at him reassuringly. Brian was trying to send him the message to answer the questions and get done with this as quickly as possible by acting as normal as he could. Thus, he made his demeanor as relaxed and comforting as he could for Mikey's sake; on the inside, he was a wreck. He didn't want this mess of his to hurt his best friend in any way and he had no confidence in his buddy's ability to handle this situation. He wrote another note to Mel.

"First sign that De'Ville is after Mikey, we fold."

"He can't do that," Mel wrote back. "Against the rules to threaten friends and family in this situation, but he can bluff you so hang tight and see where this goes. It's you he wants, not Michael." Mel hoped she was right on that point. Now, not only was her son's father's soul on the line, but also her daughter's father could be at risk if she made a mistake. Law school didn't prepare her for this type of case, she thought. She straightened her shoulders and sat tall her seat as she reminded herself that while law school's curriculum might not have prepared her for this; life as a Jewish, lesbian lawyer in a male-dominated society sure did.

De'Ville smiled warmly at Michael, who grinned back at the handsome, well-built man.

"Good morning, Mr. Novotny, or may I call you Michael?"

"Michael is fine." Mikey appeared flattered.

"We are here on a small matter, a little contract dispute between Mr. Kinney and myself, in which you've been called as a witness. Nothing to be worried about, it doesn't concern you, but you may have background knowledge that is pertinent to the case. Can you tell us, Michael, how long you have known Brian Kinney?"

"Well, I've known Brian over twenty years; we're best friends!"

"Ah, so I would suppose you know him better than anyone, wouldn't you say?"

"Well, yeah! Like I said, we've been best friends since we were kids! I would do anything for him."

"And time after time, you've been there for him, haven't you? Sacrificing your own interests for his, waiting to drive him home when he's been too drunk or too high to drive himself …."

"Objection, Your Honor!" Mel was on her feet. "Counsel is not only leading his own witness, but…."

Stonewall interrupted her. "This certainly sounds like leading to me, Counselor De'Ville?" He looked at the plaintiff for his counter-argument.

"Given this witness' admitted bias in favor of the defendant, Your Honor, I request leave to treat Mr. Novotny as a hostile witness, which of course gives me the right to question him as though on cross examination." De'Ville assumed the innocent mien of a choirboy. Mikey looked confused. Mel gritted her teeth.

"Agreed, objection overruled," Stonewall pronounced.

De'Ville repeated the question.

"Well sure, but that was just Brian, I really didn't mind. I was used to it, he did it so often, you see," Michael rambled a bit as he tried to explain.

"No, no," De'Ville said soothingly. "No one is suggesting that such a good friend as you ever complained! And no doubt he was doing something important all those times he kept you waiting outside in the cold to drive him home … that is something else he did, isn't it?"

Michael paused. De'Ville chuckled warmly and said encouragingly, as though he were Emmett sharing Brian stories with him at the diner:

"Oh, don't worry, Michael, we're all men here, well, close enough; and I'm sure that Attorney Marcus has heard it all before. This is just for the record. What was so important that justified the defendant keeping you, his good and faithful friend waiting out in the cold at night? No, make that keeping his best friend waiting so you could drive him home when he was too drunk and or high to drive himself?"

Mel was up again.

"Objection, Your Honor, this line of questioning is completely irrelevant!"

"Overruled. Counselor Marcus, I will not look kindly upon any more unwarranted objections." The little judge looked sternly over his glasses at Mel. She sat down.

Mel had hoped to keep the revelation of Brian's homosexuality as long as possible from the judge, or at least to alert Michael as to what was at stake, but he still seemed clueless. His knowledge of literature outside D.C. and Marvel comics was fairly limited so she doubted he knew of Steven Vincent Benet and his famous record of the battle between the Devil and Daniel Webster.

"Michael, I am sorry for these continuing interruptions, do you remember the question?" De'Ville smiled charmingly at the dark-haired man.

"Uh, sure. Well, usually Brian would be getting his dick sucked one last time in the back room of Babylon, so we'd wait until he was done. By we, I mean the gang, Ted, Emmett and me. When he was done, we would head home, or to the diner." Mikey smiled back at the pleased looking Devil, like a child who had performed well for his parent.

The Judge looked at him intently. "This Babylon? Attorney Marcus mentioned it previously. It's a type of whorehouse you frequent?"

Michael laughed. "Well, I guess you could call it that. It's a club, a place for dancing, drinking, and yes, to put it bluntly, a place for sex."

The Judge nodded, satisfied. Mel let out her breath.

"You are a good friend to the defendant," Stonewall noted. Mikey beamed.

"Well, Brian has always looked out for me, too."

"Is that right?" De'Ville purred. "So I guess he was looking out for you when he threw you a wonderful thirtieth birthday party and gave you a special first edition, Volume One, Captain Astro Comic Book that you had always wanted?"

Michael looked uncomfortable. "Uh, sure."

"And Brian was being a really great friend when unbeknownst to you, he invited to the party a female friend from your place of work, the one who had a sweet little crush on you, the one who had no idea that Brian and you, and all your 'gang' were homosexuals, and he not only introduced her to all of your gay friends, but also to your gay lover at that party; isn't that what your best friend did? Isn't it? I do have that right, don't I, Mikey?"

"Yes…no...I mean…that is…I don't know what your question is." Michael floundered miserably as the jury reacted with varying degrees of shock and disgust. Outing someone without his permission was taboo. To do it to a friend was really low. The Judge took a few moments to absorb what he had just heard and then thundered:

"Counsel, approach the bench, NOW!"

"Shit," Mel muttered under her breath.

"Buck up, at least he can't castrate you!" Brian whispered, as she left the counsel table to face the irate judge.

"Counselor, am I to understand that your client is a Pederast?" Judge Stonewall whispered fiercely, beady eyes glaring at Mel.

Mel calmly replied, "my client is a homosexual, Your Honor, as is, to my knowledge, every member of the jury, the first witness, and probably several more of the witnesses to be called in this case. Moreover, if I am not mistaken, the plaintiff and at least one of the court attendants are, if not homosexual, at the very least, bi-sexual. Since sexual orientation is no longer against the law as it was during your tenure on Earth, Your Honor, you are no longer obligated to enforce any prohibition against such activities as the defendant may have engaged in as a homosexual man. On the contrary, to do so, or to in any way allow your personal feelings or the laws of a by-gone era to in any way affect this contract action would be violative of Mr. Kinney's rights and invalidate this trial. If you cannot set aside your personal beliefs, if any, regarding homosexuality, defendant must ask that you recuse yourself, or a mistrial be declared."

Mel gave him an icy stare and waited. The Judge looked nonplussed.

"You're a female, aren't you?" Stonewall asked, squinting his beady eyes at her.

"Never said I wasn't," she coolly replied.

Stonewall slumped a bit in his seat. He looked at De'Ville.

"Well, what is your position on this?"

Satan twisted his mouth sourly. He certainly did not want a mistrial, nor did he want Stonewall to recuse himself, for all that Mel had seemingly cut the balls off the Great Castrator. Damn dyke. Still, he should be able to get some leeway from a pissed off judge during the rest of the trial, he reasoned. He forced himself to smile.

"I must reluctantly agree with Attorney Marcus, Your Honor."

"You are reluctant that the trial must be fair, Counselor De'Ville? Duly noted. Proceed," growled Stonewall.

Mel walked back to the waiting Brian, who cocked an inquiring eyebrow. "Score one for the Bulldyke," she scribbled, " but the home team is still trailing, I'll see what I can do on cross."

"No cross," Brian scribbled back.

"Brian, we have to undo the damage done, I can fix this by explaining why you did what you did, Michael can explain," she whispered urgently.

"No cross of Mikey, I want him the fuck out of here and safe as soon as possible," he whispered back.

Mel chewed her bottom lip. All things considered, maybe Brian was right. Michael had a knack for saying the wrong thing no matter how well intentioned he was.

De'Ville had only a few more questions for his first witness.

"Time after time, didn't you put your life on hold for Brian Kinney?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so."

"Like when you were supposed to start a new life on the West Coast with your boyfriend, a doctor, didn't Brian demand that you rush to his side at the last minute as you were boarding the plane?"

"Yes, but…."

"Just answer the question. And despite your loving him all those years, and his sharing his body with thousands of men, he's never consummated his so-called love for you, has he?"

"No, but…." Michael looked miserable.

"Just a few more. You're doing just fine. We all know how difficult this is for you and we appreciate your honesty. Now, wasn't there a time when your so-called best friend put your adoptive son, Hunter, at extreme risk by involving him in his personal vendetta against a local politician?"

"Shit," Mel thought, "look at the jury, Michael, look at Rikert!" The stone-faced former cop was glaring, his normally cold visage burning with hatred as he looked toward Brian.

"Oh my God, yes! He had the kid go trick with a known murderer, just to get evidence! Hunter could have been killed ... I was so mad. We're lucky he wasn't…" Michael gulped, almost sobbing at the memory.

Mel almost snorted. As usual, Michael wasn't recalling anything other than his version of events. No one, not Justin, Brian, Hunter, or even Ben, could get him to be rational about that night.

Michael rambled on, "the guy was a maniac and Brian let Hunter go with him! A murderer! Brian treated the whole thing like a joke! I couldn't believe him! Yet, that was so like him, he never takes things seriously."

Brian clenched the underside of the table. Mikey knew that wasn't what happened, or at least, what was supposed to happen. All Hunter was supposed to do was point the cop out to him. Still, Brian felt guilty over that incident; he should have guessed that cocky foundling of the happy couple would go off on his own and do something stupid. Kids always did stupid things because they thought they were invincible; besides, he knew that Hunter wanted to impress him. To Brian's way of thinking, that made him responsible.

"No further questions, Michael."

"Counselor Marcus?" Stonewall was waiting for Mel. She looked over at Brian. He just tapped his earlier note with his index finger.

"Your Honor, I respectfully request a five minute recess in which to confer privately with my client."

"Very well. Mr. Novotny, you are reminded that you remain under oath. You will be sequestered until the recess is over."

With that, the Judge, jury, and Michael all puffed away. Mel quickly dragged Brian away from De'Ville's side of the courtroom.

"Brian, we have to cross now. Did you get a look at Rikert? We have to let him know that you didn't set Hunter on him! He and the rest of the jury have to be told that you didn't send a kid after a killer! Otherwise, they'll be convinced you gave the devil your soul! I can handle Michael. The birthday party fiasco was bad enough, but all of that extra shit was presented in the worst possible light. I can change that, it's what I do, dammit!"

Brian covered her mouth with his hand. "Shh, we only have a couple of minutes, don't waste them. My mind is made up. You know Mikey, nothing is ever going to change his mind, just as no amount of words will ever get him to hear once he stops listening. Why do you think Deb slaps him upside the head so much? Unless you think the judge will let you slap him one?" He looked at her hopefully, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Good, now listen. Are you listening?"

"Yeah, I'm listening, fuck you."

"De'Ville is clearly playing a smart game and I want you to tell me what his plan is. Why did he call my best friend as his first witness and what do you think we can expect next, so we can counter it?"

"Well, I would expect him to continue to use your friends against you. He clearly is very familiar with them and your history with them. It serves him well in a couple of ways. One, the fact that they are your friends makes every negative thing they say all the more damaging than if they were people known to dislike you. Two, because of your role in our little family, it is a habit to, well, speak harshly of you, and present you in the worst possible light, as a kind of joke. Thus, since we didn't prep them, they won't know this is neither the time nor the place for that type of 'joke.' Three, you haven't exactly helped your own case, since even the good you do you tend to hide and present in a fuck the world way whenever possible. Last, but not least, the mere fact that they are your friends gives him the right to lead the questions and present them in the most misleading fashion, not giving the witness the chance to explain. Which is why we need to give them that chance via cross examination."

"But, he is counting on us to cross then, isn't he?" Brian asked, thoughtfully.

"Probably," Mel answered slowly, thinking.

"What advantage to us if we don't? I already understand the problems, tell me some plusses."

"If nothing else, it will throw him off his game, he won't be expecting it." Warming to the idea, Mel continued, "also, sometimes you leave certain things out on direct, counting on them to come in on cross where it has even more impact since it is coming in as part of the other side's presentation. Also, he gets another crack at the witness then through re-direct after we cross, which he doesn't get if we don't cross! So if he forgets something, he can't get to it if we don't cross examine."

"Now assuming he continues to call my friends, effectively ruling them out for us, how do we counter if we don't call any witnesses and we don't cross?" Brian asked. They sat down at their table as only thirty seconds remained of the recess.

"Oh, we're going to call witnesses. In fact, he's just given me a far bigger pool to work with, Kinney! We're going to call from your enemies-no shortage there." Mel smirked at him.

Brian laughed. "See, Mel, that is why you and I get along so well---we both do our best work under pressure."

Their brief moment of high spirits had long since faded by the time De'Ville reached his final witness. Mel was sure a few of the questions and responses were burned into her memory, if not the jury's. Debbie had to have been the worst.

"So, Mrs. Novotny, you've testified that you've known the defendant for a long time?"

"Since he was just a little smart-ass of fourteen and not the big smart-ass he is today!" Debbie cracked her gum. "Smart as a whip he was too, determined to get ahead no matter what the cost."

De'Ville smiled. "No matter what the cost? I see." He shot a meaningful look at the jury. "And would you say that sex was something that was important to Brian Kinney?"

Debbie looked at him with an incredulous face, and then laughed raucously. "Important? Brian would sell his soul for a good fuck! I used to say he would give his left nut, but seeing as how he only has the one now…." She winked at Brian, who smiled painfully back at her.

Suddenly, it seemed to strike Debbie that there was something odd about the proceeding, for what had been described as an ordinary contract case. She looked at Mel's set face, and the Devil's triumphant one, and paled beneath her red wig. Too late, she tried to repair the damage of her careless words.

"Well, you know, I kid all the boys, and Brian more than most, but beneath it all, he's got a good heart and…."

"Well, that's very charitable of you, Mrs. Novotny, and since no one here is interested in his heart, he's welcome to keep it; no question is pending, my good woman." Debbie looked ready to cry.

"This witness is excused, your Honor."

Jennifer Taylor told of her dismay in learning that her baby boy not only was gay, but that he had become sexually involved with a much older man, and how that man's appearance at her son's prom was, in her mind, the direct cause of her Justin's bashing. There was nothing in her testimony about how Brian took her son in at her request, how he cared for her son, paid for his schooling, helped him to be able to trust again. Ted told of the many times Brian mocked him, how he fucked the male nurse in the next bed while he was in a coma (but not how much Ted liked that); there was nothing about how Brian gave him a job or helped him find his pride again when that man Troy trashed it. Ben told of the many times Brian interfered with his relationship with Michael, but not how he saved their wedding reception, nor how he saved the Liberty Ride and made Liberty House the Vic Grassi house. There was certainly nothing in his testimony about how Brian was the first person to introduce honesty into the advertising for HIV medicine, something Ben had been calling for, but how he didn't think anyone would ever listen to him, or if they did, that they would never have the balls to do what he felt needed to be done.

After each witness, Mel's answer to the Judge's question was the same. "No questions, Your Honor."

Emmett was one of the last witnesses for the plaintiff. By that point, De'Ville was practically licking his lips. He began with his usual spiel.

"Emmett Honeycutt, you've been friends with the defendant for a long time, haven't you?"

"Some would say too long," Emmett smiled. "But yes, I guess you could say I've been part of the mighty Kinney's inner circle for a while now, although we're not really close. That's probably because I call him on his shit more than the rest of them do, but yes, I would say we're friends. I'm certainly one of the closest things he has to a friend, although we do not share a similar fashion sense." Emmett tossed his head.

Brian laughed. The Judge looked as though he were seeing a sideshow exhibit, while De'Ville and not a few of the jurors could not help but look perplexed as they looked between the Armani clad defendant and the smugly satisfied, gaudily garbed witness.

"Yes, well, to each his own," De'Ville responded with a smile. "Now, Mr. Honeycutt…."

"Oh please, call me Em, sugar, Mr. Honeycutt was my grandpappy, well, on my daddy's side that is, now on my mother's side, it was…."

"Yes, Em, dear, that is all very interesting but I want to ask you a few questions," De'Ville interrupted desperately. For the first time all day, he was having trouble maintaining complete control over a witness. There was a twinkle in Em's eye that was mirrored suddenly in Brian's; that clever Queen, he thought, he was the only one to have Old Scratch's number from the beginning!

"About your friend, Brian," De'Ville continued.

"Yes, with his dull suits, we've been chatting about them, haven't we?" Emmett looked at Brian sorrowfully. A few jurors laughed. Even Stonewall smiled; it was particularly funny since De'Ville was dressed in almost the same suit.

"No, we were not," De'Ville snapped, "Would you please wait for the question?"

"I'm sorry," Emmett looked over at the judge. "Just a little chatterbox, that's me."

"Emmett, wasn't there a time when you asked your friend Brian to help your mutual friend, Ted Schmidt, to simply put in a good word with the police commissioner, who was a client and close personal friend of Brian's?"

"I didn't just ask him! I barged into his office without an appointment and begged him! I practically got down onto my knees, something that does not come easily to me. Well, it does come easily to me, to be honest, and you want me to be honest, don't you? But not to a bastard like Brian, that I can say was a first." Again, some of the jurors laughed, more than did the first time Emmett digressed from the devil's line of questioning. Brian carefully hid his own amusement.

"And what did the bastard tell you?" De'Ville's smooth manner had completely deserted him; the Judge looked sharply at his choice of words, but De'Ville was beyond noticing, his frustration was so great.

"He said no, that he wasn't going to risk a business relationship for Ted who…."

"Ted, who was another one of Mr. Kinney's good friends?" Em stared at De'Ville, then turned and stared closely at the jury, examining each one.

"Yes," he replied shortly.

"So he refused to help."

"What I said was, Brian said he wasn't going to risk his business relationship over the matter, it was a matter of what was proper in his eyes, from a business ethics point of view, so in a way, he said no. What Brian says and what he means are often two different things," Emmett corrected him gently.

De'Ville bit his lip, then moved on, "so are you saying he lies?"

"Oh no!" Emmett replied brightly. "Brian never lies. He just may not tell you all that he means; he prefers to speak through his actions. My Aunt Eulabelle, she used to say…."

"Yes, thank you, but we don't have time for any more forays down the branches of your family tree. Wasn't there another time, Em, when Brian did use words to hurt you very badly?"

Emmett laughed. "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that! Brian has a very sharp tongue and it gets a daily workout. And I don't mean just in doing what you boys might be thinking." Emmett winked at the tricks on the jury at that bon mot. A few of them actually winked back. "But I like to think I give as good as I get so I don't take anything he says to heart. We're both big boys, Mister…was it Devil?" Brian couldn't help snickering, and Mel poked him with her elbow to keep him quiet.

"De'Ville. "

"Sorry, my bad. That's right, De'Ville, like Glenn Close in that adorable Disney movie with all the dogs. I just loved her in that!" Emmett clapped his hands gleefully, but quickly sobered before the judge could reprimand him. In truth, Stonewall looked too fascinated by his antics to even think of restraining him.

"Anyway, as I was saying, some can't take it as well as I can, like Ted, but I don't hold anything Brian says against him. I find him pretty funny, actually."

Mel swore she could see faint tendrils of smoke rising from De'Ville's well-coifed head.

"How about when Ted was going through a tough time, with drugs, and you needed the understanding of your friends? Didn't Brian pull you out onto the middle of the dance floor at Babylon to watch Ted cavort with his drug buddies? And while you were suffering the pain of seeing someone you loved destroying himself, didn't Brian force you to entertain him by dancing with him instead of allowing you to leave? In fact, in his colossal conceit, didn't Brian Kinney even go so far as to tell you to consider Ted dead? Didn't he? Didn't he?"

Tears were falling down Emmett's face at this heartless barrage. "Yes," he whispered.

"That is a painful memory, even now, even for a big boy such as yourself, Emmett, isn't it, and it was a pain inflicted by your friend Brian Kinney?" All pretense at urbanity was gone from De'Ville's manner. The gloves were off with a vengeance.

"Yes, I mean, no," Emmett stammered, as the tears still fell down his cheeks..

"You tried to walk away, didn't you? But he made you keep dancing, didn't he?" De'Ville kept hammering at the weeping man, whose eyes reflected the pain of one of the darkest times of his life.

"Yes." The tears were falling freely down Emmett's face, as he made no attempt to wipe them away. He was looking steadily over at Brian, who wasn't meeting his eyes.

"No further questions, Your Honor. Your witness, Counselor," gloated De'Ville, looking over at Melanie. She looked down at the tablet on which Brian had written a note, which he had since crossed out. His head was bowed and he was squeezing the bridge of his nose.

"Pass," Brian whispered.

Mel looked up, and met Emmett's now tearless gaze. "Cross examine me," he mouthed to her. She grabbed her notes from the table and jumped up, dodging Brian's restraining arm. She strode over to the spot between the jury box and De'Ville's table, squarely in front of Emmett.

"Emmett, you told this jury about asking Brian for help with Ted's case. What happened after he turned you down?"

"The next thing you know, a plea bargain was offered! Suddenly, the police commissioner, who was all gung ho to make an example out of poor Teddy, did a complete turn around and was telling the press he doesn't pick on little guys."

"Was that Brian's doing?"

"Well it had Brian written all over it. I know for a fact that Brian spent the day before the decision "bonding" with his buddy Stockwell, because Justin, that's Brian's boyfriend, pardon the expression, sweetie," that last bit was directed to Brian with a smirk, "told me that Brian had been playing racquetball and sitting in the hot tub with Stockwell; plus the exact expression used, I forget it now, but something about not going after little guys, was something I remember Brian saying his Dad used to say. Next thing we know there is Stockwell sounding like Jack Kinney to the press? Something was up. But that's Brian, he never admits to doing a good deed."

"Objection, your Honor, move to strike, speculation." DeVille was on his feet.

"Granted, the jury is instructed to ignore the last exchange as speculation, counsel move on." Mel grit her teeth, the Judge didn't even give her a chance to respond to the objection! Still, every lawyer knew that jurors paid more attention to testimony they were told to ignore than the rest of the evidence. Being told to ignore the man behind the curtain just made him all the more interesting! Every good Wizard of Oz fan knew that, and there would never be a jury more loaded with Wizard of Oz fans than this one, Mel thought with an inward smile.

"Em, I hate to bring this up again, because I know it is painful, but I think we all want the record to be accurate. Is there anything you feel you want to explain about the incident at Babylon, when you and Brian danced, about which Attorney De'Ville questioned you so forcefully?"

"Yes," Emmett said, thankfully. "I do want to explain that to the jury." He looked at them, one by one, even Ethan and Rikert, forcing each of them to make eye contact with him. "I would like to say that what Mr. De'Ville implied is not the truth. Now I am the last person to defend Brian when he's been a jerk, but he wasn't being a jerk to me that night. He was being a friend, a good friend. One of Brian's best qualities is you can count on him to make you face the truth, even when you don't want to face it yourself. What he told me that night was that as long as Teddy was a crystal addict, I should look at him as dead to me, because…because that is what he soon would be. I came to the same conclusion myself, but it took me a lot more pain and time to get there. Maybe if I had listened to Brian sooner, been more honest with Teddy and myself sooner, I could have helped Teddy before things got so bad. But you know what, another thing Brian always says is that regrets are bullshit and so is sorry, and what ifs. So I have to just accept that I wasn't able to see the reality as early as Brian was. He tried to help me, though. And when Teddy got better, Brian was one of the first to see that too, and give him a second chance; again, sooner than I did." Emmett paused here to dab at his eyes.

"And on the dance floor," Mel prompted gently.

"Well, to tell you the truth, that was pretty smart of him." Em smiled. "He said to keep dancing, and my body just went on auto-pilot. If I'd stayed at the bar, I would have kept on drinking, so of the two, dancing was a hell of a lot better for me. I love to dance. And after a while, I don't know what it is, you start to feel better despite yourself, even with a lousy dancer like Brian." Again he winked at the jurors and some of them laughed back; Brian's bad dancing was legendary at Babylon. It didn't stop anyone from wanting to dance with him though, as Emmett pointed out, in a confidential tone, "the thing is, despite his complete inability to dance, when you're a bottom and you are seen dancing with Brian Kinney, your fuckability quotient goes up exponentially. I was so busy for the next few weeks, the worst of the pain over Teddy was over by the time life settled down to normal. So the truth is, Brian, in his weird Brian way, was doing me a favor. I may not have appreciated it at the time, but I do now."

Mel smiled. "No further questions."

"No questions," De'Ville growled. Emmett poofed away, but not before blowing a kiss to the Judge. To Mel's amazement, Stonewall smiled.

De'Ville sat motionless for a moment, then smiled a most evil smile.

"The plaintiff has just one more witness, Your Honor. I would like to thank this fine jury for its patience this morning. Plaintiff summons Justin Taylor to the stand."

Brian turned white. Mel put her hand on his arm to comfort him. How the hell did Satan expect to get anywhere with Justin?

"You are not quitting," Melanie gritted out to her client from between closed teeth, reading his mind as he started to scribble furiously, "What if it's Justin he's been after all along?" The scrawled words appeared as the cargo pants and T-shirt clad blond appeared in the witness box.

Mel whispered low, having learned by now that Stonewall was as hearing-impaired as he was near-sighted, "Calm down. We expected Justin to have to testify, the only difference is that it is in plaintiff's case. Ever since he called Michael, you knew this could be coming. The fact that he is called last just means he is desperate. He got nowhere with Emmett and doesn't want to end on that note. Satan could just be trying to panic you into conceding, so don't play into his hands now for fuck's sake when Em finally got back some of the ground we lost. Justin is just as smart as Em, he'll be fine." She glared at him.

"You're not putting him at risk," Brian hissed.

"For you?" Mel raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Not a snowball's chance." Brian smiled back at her and tried to relax.

During this exchange, Justin had been sworn in and the customary instructions given.

"Justin Taylor, it is quite a pleasure to finally meet you." De'Ville gave a big smile.

"Uh, thanks," Justin replied cautiously, looking around the room, taking particular note of the jurors. His eyes flared in recognition at some of them, especially the last two. Ethan smiled back broadly. Justin hesitated and then beamed back his best "Sunshine" smile, not just at Ethan, but also at the whole jury. Good boy, thought Mel.

"Now, you understand that you've been sworn in and must tell the truth, the whole truth, no matter how painful it might be, correct?"

"Yes, of course," Justin answered confidently. Mel groaned inwardly; Justin appeared a little too confident. She hoped he was not going to try to "save" Brian. All that was needed was for Justin to get off that witness stand as quickly as possible; any effort by him to save Brian, as he had so often done in the past, would backfire here. Unfortunately, Justin had no way of knowing that De'Ville would know Justin's habit of rushing to his lover's rescue. The boy was simply incapable of seeing Brian in danger and not trying to help. All that bravery and love was going to play right into the Devil's hands. Justin may have scored almost perfect SATs and had the benefit of the best education his WASP country club upbringing could buy, but Mel feared that when it came to beating the devil, he had no clue how dirty this adversary would fight.

"You met the defendant when you were just seventeen and he was what, twenty-nine, isn't that right?"

"Yes, it was love at first sight, we met…."

"Thank you Justin, but it has been a long morning and I am afraid I will have to ask you to simply answer the question you are asked. A simple yes or no will do. You do understand, don't you?" De'Ville smiled pleasantly.

Justin flushed. "Yes."

"Good. I don't mean to seem rude, why if this were a TV series, I am sure your adventures with Mr. Kinney would fill several seasons…though perhaps we'd have to put it on cable now, wouldn't we, eh?" De'Ville chuckled warmly. Ethan glared as several jurors snickered.

Justin grinned, "I guess." Brian was looking intently at De'Ville, trying to read his mind.

"Now you say love at first sight. The defendant took your virginity the night you met, are you telling this jury that he told you he loved you that night he picked you up, a seventeen year old boy?"

"Yes, he did," Justin answered defiantly. Again, a few on the jury gasped in surprise, while others simply looked skeptical. One or two grinned knowingly. Brian's face was expressionless, Mel noted.

De'Ville pressed him, "so, Mr. Kinney has told you often that he loves you, starting with that first night?"

Justin looked uncomfortable. "Not exactly. He said it the first night when he was cumming." The jury laughed. Justin turned bright red. Brian gripped the underside of the table.

"But he was very caring and gentle, his actions were loving," Justin insisted, his voice rising.

"Ahh, I see." De'Ville looked over at the grinning jury of tricks. Only Rikert and Ethan weren't amused; the former was impassive and the latter was glaring. "Were his actions loving and caring in the days to follow… did he repeat that he loved you? When he wasn't having an orgasm, that is?"

"No," Justin mumbled.

"Well what words of love did Mr. Kinney share with your newly deflowered self? And please, let's not drag this out, why don't you tell the jury exactly what it was that the defendant really said to explain the nature of what transpired between the two of you that night?"

"He told me that it was just fucking, that he didn't do repeats and that he didn't believe in love, okay? Is that what you want to hear?" Justin was breathing hard and clenching his bad hand. Brian started to get up but Mel pulled him down. "Wait," she whispered. "Justin is strong, he can take this."

"How did that make you feel?

Justin was quiet.

"Mr. Taylor, I asked, how did that make you feel?"

"It made me determined to show him he was wrong, that we were made to be together."

De"Ville frowned as he saw that none of the jurors were grinning any longer.

"I didn't ask what it made you do, Justin, I asked how did it made you feel?" De'Ville looked at him sternly.

Justin looked at Brian apologetically.

"It made me feel like shit, like a stupid kid, which is exactly what I was back then."

"Brian Kinney outed you to your whole High School by driving you there in a jeep with the word Faggot written on the side of it for all the see, yes?"

"Yes, but…."

"Brian Kinney threw you out of his loft after taking you from your home, leaving you nowhere to go, causing you to run away to New York, yes?"

"Yes, but…."

"Brian Kinney danced provocatively with you at your Prom in front of a homophobic classmate, causing that boy to attack you, which left you in a coma…."

"Yes, we danced, but…."

"Objection, Your Honor, Counsel is not giving the witness the chance to finish any of his answers!"

"You can deal with that on cross, Attorney Marcus, now that you seem to have overcome your distaste for cross-examination, proceed Counselor." De'Ville smirked as Stonewall made his ruling dryly. Mel sat back down. She wasn't sure how much more of this Brian could take, but as long as the attack stayed on him, he seemed to be okay. Justin was growing visibly more frazzled as the questioning continued, however, as he knew he was hurting Brian's case with his testimony. Just wait, baby, she tried willing to him, just wait.

"And isn't it true, Justin, that one terrible night, your lover, Brian Kinney, in a jealous rage, literally pissed all over your artwork, artwork that you struggled to create with your damaged hand?"

"Yes," Justin whispered. He had no "but" to add to that charge.

"He repeatedly brought men home and fucked them in front of you?"

"He stopped doing that at home."

"Oh, he only fucked other men in front of you in other places, is that it?" De'Ville sneered.

"Yes," Justin said miserably.

"He still hasn't made a commitment to be with only you, make love only to you, has he?"

"No." Justin hung his head, looking defeated. Mel felt as though she could weep for him. She would kill Brian right then and there, if it weren't for the fact that she could feel the pain radiating from him next to her like a physical force.

"And despite all this, you love him, don't you?" De'Ville spoke gently.

"Yes." Justin looked up at De'Ville, and then over at the jury, his voice clear and firm.

"I bet you would do anything for him, wouldn't you, Justin?" De'Ville's voice was like silk.

"Yes," Justin answered, just as firmly.

"NO!" Brian shouted. He stood up. "That's it, no way, De'Ville!"

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