Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“…For the foregoing reasons, Defendant Realty Corporation respectfully requests that this Court dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims in their entirety and with prejudice.” Addy leaned back in her chair to review what she had typed. Tucking her blonde hair behind her ear, she nodded and closed the document with a flourish.

Addy looked over at Cat, her office mate and best friend, and grinned. “There. Done. Just need to get it filed and we’ve got this one in the bag.” She gave a sigh of satisfaction as she considered all the hard work that went into the massive court brief she just finished. Weeks of research, meticulous fact-checking, and painstakingly cross-referenced citations culminated in this document. The one that would end the case and make her name at Howard Ortlieb.

Cat smirked, leaned back in her own chair, and ran a hand through her perpetually unruly, short, black hair. “You make it look so easy, Addy. But then, I taught you everything you know.”

Addy snorted and tossed a wadded up paper at her friend. “Uh huh. You taught me everything YOU know. Which took all of about a minute.”

Cat laughed, caught the paper in the air, and batted it back at Addy. “Brat.”

“Jerk.”

“Brown noser.”

“Slacker.”

“Speaking of …gotta jet. Have a hot date tonight.” Cat wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Already? It’s only six. I don’t want to hear you whining about having to catch up on your billables the end of the month. Remember January? How you didn’t come home for three days?”

“Yeah, well….that was January. But tonight, duty calls. And who am I to refuse its siren song?” Cat powered off her computer and grabbed her leather satchel. “Don’t stay too late, huh, princess? And cover for me if you see the boss.”

“You know I will. And do. NOT. call. me. that. AGAIN!”

“Whatever, princess.” Cat grinned. “Don’t wait up!”

Addy rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics and tried to return her focus to her work. In truth, Addy never worried about Cat’s ability to get her hours in. Somehow, her tall, roguish best friend always managed to get her work done, and still have plenty of time left over for her active social life. In the three years they had been associates at Howard, Ortlieb, Reed, Dickerson & Edelman, LLP, Cat and Addy had engaged in a friendly – though no less competitive for being so – rivalry over who would advance quicker in the firm, and Addy couldn’t resist giving her friend a little prod. They had been on the same path for so long, Addy couldn’t remember a time when they hadn’t pushed each other to be better. To be the best.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she put her mind back on her work.

“Only two more hours until I can think about leaving….” she murmured to herself.

****************************

Addy stumbled her way to the kitchen early the next morning. She hadn’t gotten home until ten the night before, trying to catch up on the cases she had neglected while preparing the brief in the Realty Corp. case. Now, she needed coffee. And badly.

So badly, she didn’t see the strange woman in her kitchen until she’d almost tripped over her.

“Whooreyou?” She blearily blurted at the stranger.

“I’m leaving,” the woman said coldly. “Tell your roommate it’s rude to leave without even saying goodbye.” This she tossed over her shoulder as she walked out the door with a slam.

Wincing at the noise, Addy made her way to the coffee pot and silently blessed her best friend for having brewed a pot before she left. Addy got her favorite mug and mercifully found the note tucked inside before it became part of her drink.

“Good morning, sunshine!” the note read. “Yes, I stuck you with last night’s leftovers, but I made you coffee, so…. we’re even? The date went really well (obviously) right up until it didn’t. Darla was getting a little too clingy, so I had to bail. See you at the office! Cat”

“Nice.” Addy grimaced at her coffee. This was the third time this month she’d awoken – in one way or another – to one of Cat’s conquests. With her tomboyish good looks and bad-girl charm, Cat made getting women into her bed look effortless. Addy tried, with varying levels of success, not to let it bother her. It was Cat’s life, after all. She was free to make her own choices. And boy, did she. She hadn’t seen Cat go on a girl-bender like this one since they were in high school.

“But that was different,” she thought. “Cat was so hurt then. We both were….”

The day had been perfect. For once, Addy didn’t have to share Cat with anyone. Not her classmates. Not the advisors. Not the other girls in the home. It was just the two of them in a way it hadn’t been for ages.

To celebrate Cat’s seventeenth birthday, Addy had worked extra shifts at the diner for weeks to save up for a special present for her best friend: a day at the paintball range. She couldn’t have given her present to a more enthusiastic and ecstatic recipient. Cat was diving and flipping and racing around like a maniac, taking out everyone in sight and leaving more than a few egos bruised. She crowed of her victory and couldn’t stop hugging Addy in gratitude.

And now, in the hush of evening, they sat quietly side by side on the lawn outside the home. Their shoulders barely touched. Neither wanted to move away, but neither was brave enough to move closer. That tension had been building for weeks until Addy thought she might go mad.

Cat tucked her knees up and hugged them. “Hey Addy…?”

“Hmm?” Addy looked over to see Cat intently watching her. The moon was so bright, she could count the freckles on Cat’s nose and see its reflection sparkling in her eyes.

“I can’t believe you did all this. It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Everything was so perfect.” She paused. “And there’s no one else I would want to share it with.” Her small grin was filled with such joy and warmth, Addy almost cried.

“You’re my best friend, Cat. I’d do anything for you.”

“Anything?” Cat’s hoarse whisper barely reached her ears. Without realizing, they had leaned into each other and were only a breath apart. When their foreheads touched, Addy thought she might pass out from the pounding in her heart.

Almost as if by its own volition, her hand came up to cup Cat’s cheek. She drew back only long enough to look in Cat’s eyes and say,

“Yes. Anything.”

And then nothing could have stopped the kiss that followed. It was all unrestrained passion finally bursting out, new connections searing two hearts together, the wild and youthful love emerging whole and unafraid after months of growing. Their lips met and met and Addy wanted the world to stop so it never had to end. The world had stopped for her; nothing existed but her and Cat and this perfect moment.

Which is why she didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind them….

Chapter Text

A few weeks later, Addy almost bounced down the courthouse steps. Her brief in the Realty Corp. case had been well-received by the Court, but she had absolutely demolished the other side with her razor-sharp oral argument. The order granting dismissal with prejudice tucked safely in her briefcase, Addy daydreamed Cat’s reaction to her good news, Mr. Howard’s praise for her accomplishment, and the party that inevitably would follow. She took a deep breath of the morning air, sighed, and smiled in contentment.

“Are you really that evil?”

Startled out of her reverie, Addy stopped short before the irate woman who suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Wh-what?”

The woman’s cold eyes drilled into Addy.

“You just made sure my family was evicted from the only home they’ve ever known, and you’re out here smiling in the sunshine like you’ve just done the Lord’s work?!?” The woman’s voice rose in pitch and volume with her outrage.

“I don’t understand how you people can sleep at night! You use the talents God gave you to make the world an uglier place. Do you hear what I’m saying? You make the world worse.” Addy flinched at the terrible emphasis placed on that last word.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry you feel that way,” she began sincerely. “It’s my job to make sure my client’s interests are looked after, and…”

“Your client’s interests?!” the woman fairly spat. “I’ve had enough of your client’s interests. Everyone looks after your client’s interests! Who looks after me and my kids? What are we supposed to do now that your client’s interests have won? Again!”

Addy felt completely off-balance. To her, law was a bloodless, intellectual match of wits. She and her classmates in law school, and now the other young associates in her firm, had taken zealously to the instruction that they should be able to argue both sides with equal vigor. She had never considered that one side might have greater moral value than another or that there were real consequences for either side. To her, law was about winning. It was about working harder, preparing better, being smarter, and winning. And winning meant success. Success meant security. Something she hadn’t had as a child, and craved as an adult. So single-minded was she in her pursuit to build a safe life for herself, it truly never occurred to her that her success might be built on another’s pain and loss.

Addy’s whole world shifted in that moment. Trying to reframe the situation in terms she could understand, she shakily said, “Your lawyers looked after your interests. They did a good job too, but the law just wasn’t with them.”

“Then the law is wrong!” The woman was screaming now. Addy found herself backing up as the woman was almost nose-to-nose with her. “Don’t you get it? Because of you, I don’t know where my children will sleep tonight! That is not justice! That is plain wrong!”

From the corner of her eye, Addy saw two figures hurrying over. Glancing quickly, she recognized them as the two plaintiffs’ lawyers who had opposed her in this case.

The tall, striking black man with warm brown eyes gently placed a restraining hand on his furious client. “Hope, I know you’re angry. We all are. And venting rage on her feels like the only outlet right now. But it’s not the only way. We’re going to keep fighting for you. So use that anger to keep fighting with us. We’re with you the whole way, Hope. Don’t give up yet.”

His warm yet determined demeanor broke through the woman’s rage and she began visibly to calm. He continued, “I know you’re worried about Luna and Ben, but please don’t think for a second that you’re alone. We’ll figure out a way to find housing for you while we sort this out. In the mean time, you’re all welcome to stay with me and Gloria.”

The woman fairly threw herself at him in a huge hug that he returned with equal intensity. Addy gaped at them. She hardly could imagine getting a hug like that from her brusque and dismissive client. She never had even gotten a handshake from the demanding CEO.

The man’s partner, a more diminutive but no less striking white woman, took Addy’s arm and began to lead her away.

“Ms. Carmen, we haven’t met in person, but we’ve spoken several times over the phone. I’m Gloria Bright, and that’s my partner, Beau Archer.”

Addy began recovering her wits. As they walked, she looked at the stocky, sharply-dressed white woman with a hint of humor.

“Beau … Archer?” She asked with a small smirk.

Gloria rolled her eyes and glared at her. “His parents thought it was funny. I think his sister, Diana, got off easier, but he thinks he’s just lucky he’s not St. Louis or Sagittarius.”

Addy snorted a laugh. For a moment, Gloria tensed, taking a sharp breath. Then, seeing Addy meant no harm, she relaxed and smiled herself. The effect was transformative. Her violet eyes continued to reflect her clear strength and intellect, but softened to show the warmth that also seemed to define her. Addy considered the shrewd woman she had sparred with several times over the phone, and knew she never would have recognized her in the person she now accompanied.

They continued walking slowly along in silence. Soon, footfalls behind them announced the arrival of Beau.

“Hope’s ok now. She’s going to meet us back at the office later to discuss next steps.” Carefully, he turned his attention on Addy. “Hello, I’m Beau Archer. You must be Addy Carmen.” He took a calming breath. “I feel I should apologize for my client, but I can’t bring myself to. The truth is, we’ve all been infuriated by your firm’s handling of this case.”

Addy looked sharply at Beau. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. My handling of this case has been above-board from day one.”

Beau’s handsome face darkened as he considered her. “I’m not talking about your handling of the case. I’m talking about your firm’s. You know…the ‘misplaced’ documents, the witnesses who disappeared, the bribes? Don’t play the innocent here. You’re not one of the good guys.”

Addy’s eyebrows shot through her hairline as Beau spoke. “What are you talking about? My firm…we did no such thing! I can tell you’re mad, but this is sour grapes at losing a fair fight.”

“Sour grapes?!?” Gloria flared up. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that you had no idea of your firm’s underhanded and unlawful tactics? Bull. Howard Ortlieb is one of the worst firms in the country for hiring and retaining win-at-all-costs cheaters. Terrible people hire them to evade responsibility for serious crimes, like the ones committed against our clients. And you sit there making doe eyes in horror at the thought and pretend it doesn’t happen on your watch. That’s a crock and you know it!”

But Addy didn’t know it. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Without realizing it, she had stopped walking and stood rooted to the sidewalk in shock. These people…they couldn’t be telling the truth. They didn’t seem disingenuous, but they couldn’t be right. Maybe they really believed what they were saying, but really were incorrect. That must be it.

Beau came up to her and studied her face. “Look at me,” he said seriously but gently. “Maybe you really didn’t know how your firm wins cases. And you have no reason to take our word for it. We’re the enemy. I can see that in your face. But if you care at all about doing the right thing, we can show you what you’re a part of. You owe it to yourself to know for sure, don’t you think?”

******************************

It was after midnight when Cat heard the key in the door. She had just been getting her coat and bag to go out looking for Addy. With a huff, she slammed her bag back down and stalked angrily to the door.

“Where the hell have you been!” she shouted before Addy made it entirely through the door. “I’ve been calling and texting for hours. You leave for your hearing this morning and then disappear! We called the Court to see if you’d made it there and found out you’d won? What the hell, Addy! Everyone was waiting to celebrate with you and you blow everything off? Since when do you do that?”

So intent was Cat on her tirade that she didn’t notice Addy going through the motions of entering the house as if in a dream. It was only when Cat poked her shoulder for emphasis that Addy seemed to come back into herself.

“I’m sorry, Cat,” she said slowly. “I…I had some things I needed to look into.”

“Some things you needed to look into?” Cat responded incredulously. “Addy, what is wrong with you?” Cat stopped abruptly and seemed to notice her appearance for the first time. “Seriously, Addy…is something wrong? What happened?”

Cat took Addy gently by the shoulders and looked at her closely, concern etched across her face. Cat’s hazel eyes met Addy’s blue ones in a dance as old as their friendship. Addy couldn’t remember the number of times Cat seemed to read her mind in the nuances of her face. Cat’s deep and thoughtful frown told Addy that this form of communication – so essential in the past – wasn’t working for them this time.

“Cat…I have something I need to tell you. It’s important.”

A brief pause, then “Oh my god, you’re pregnant!” Cat blurted out in mock horror.

Startled out of her introspection, Addy laughed out loud. “Yep, that’s it,” she chuckled. “Didn’t you hear? Science has made it possible for involuntarily celibate lesbians to get knocked up. I was the test subject.”

Cat laughed in relief. “There she is. All right, princess. I’m getting wine. Meet me on the couch and get ready to spill.”

Addy took a breath and struggled to organize her whirling thoughts. She had no clue how to explain her revelations to her best friend. She couldn’t even explain it to herself. Not in words. Something deep at her core simply told her inexorably that she was right, but for once, she wasn’t confident her abilities with persuasion were enough to make the most important argument of her life.

Cat came back with two glasses and a bottle, and curled her legs under her next to Addy on their couch. She gazed at Addy calmly and her mouth twisted into a half-grin. “I was worried about you, Addy. Clearly, something big happened. Talk to me.”

Addy took a deep breath and let the words flow…

She told Cat everything. She told of her encounter with the angry plaintiff in front of the court, of her rescue by and meeting with Beau and Gloria, and of the hours she spent with them afterward reviewing her case from their perspective. She told of document after document that she read – documents that she had never seen – demonstrating beyond a doubt that there were players at their firm acting outside the law to undercut and cheat their opposition. She told how the facts of her case were manipulated by these players through secreting away essential witnesses, destroying documents, and barring access to building sites. How she herself was unwittingly complicit in their underhanded actions by using these doctored facts to warp the law in her client’s favor.

She went on to describe how Beau and Gloria drove her to the apartment blocks her client owned and where the plaintiffs in her case had lived. She described her horror at the conditions they were forced to live in, the conditions that they protested by withholding rent, and the soul-deep sickness she felt when she realized that her client’s victory – her victory – had ensured that those deplorable conditions were now court-sanctioned.

Cat let her speak without interruption for nearly an hour. Neither of them touched the wine that sat between them. When Addy finally related the whole of her story, she poured them both a glass and sat back, mentally and physically drained.

Cat mused for a moment in silence. “So, the problem is what exactly?” She looked at Addy calmly but with a hint of challenge.

Incredulously, Addy gaped at her friend. “What is the problem? The problem, Cat, is that we’re on the wrong side! This whole time, all through our internships and now as associates, what we’re doing is wrong.”

“Addy, this can’t be news to you. Please tell me you haven’t gotten this far in life without having figured that out. You’re way too smart for that to be true.” Cat sent the same incredulous look back at her friend.

Addy shook her head in mute dismay.

“Addy, seriously! You didn’t actually believe all that bull they were slinging about helping the community and promoting justice? They only said that for good PR in front of the newbies. All they care about is making money. And tell me, why is that wrong?”

Cat’s hazel eyes flashed in real challenge this time. She leaned toward Addy, her expression deadly serious. “Look, we grew up with nothing. With no one but each other. And look at us now. We’re two scruffy foster kids who made it huge! We work for one of the top firms in the country. We started out making well over six figures right out of school, and that’s without bonuses. The firm covered our tuition our last two years and we have no debt. We owe everything to these people! And you’re spitting all over it for what? Because some bleeding heart lost his case? Cry me a freaking river! So someone lost their apartment. Life is hard. You need to be on the right side of it, or it’ll only be hard for you too. And I, for one, have had enough of that.”

“You can’t mean that, Cat,” Addy said quietly. “Those people who lost their homes…they were us. I remember how it felt to get jerked around inside a huge system with no one to help me. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, but I see it now. And I can’t un-see it. I can’t go back to what I was doing knowing the consequences of my work.”

“What do you mean, you can’t go back?” Cat studied her friend, warily. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Cat…I already sent Mr. Howard my resignation letter.”

Cat reeled back and gasped. In the stunned silence that followed, Addy saw the myriad emotions racing one after the other over the face she knew better than anyone’s. Betrayal. Loss. Rage. She prayed silently that she could find a way to ease her best friend’s suffering, to make her see.

Cat pressed her fingers to her eyes, and they slid down in a gesture almost of supplication over her mouth. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”

The raw and open anguish on Cat’s face broke Addy’s heart. For a moment, Addy was reminded of the young girl Cat once had been. The girl who let only Addy see her heart and the pain she bore. Addy had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around Cat and hold her like she used to when they were young. She knew that girl was gone and the old closeness wouldn’t be welcomed now.

“Cat…”

“My god, you are serious. You have thrown away your entire career.” Cat looked at Addy as if a stranger had suddenly appeared where her friend had sat. “How could you possibly do this?”

“I’m sorry, Cat. After what I saw, I couldn’t go back to Howard Ortlieb. I couldn’t keep doing the work I was doing. I have to help these people.”

“Damn it, Addy! You help people by writing checks to the goodie-goodies. You help people by doing your 50 hours a year of pro bono work. You don’t help people by throwing away all your power and influence to go tilting at windmills! You are one person. What can you possibly hope to accomplish?”

“Maybe not much. But at least I’ll be able to sleep at night.”

“I sleep just fine, thank you, on my comfortable mattress in my big apartment that I can afford with my very large paycheck. Or do you forget where we came from? Do you really want to go back to living that way? To being one sick day away from not eating or not making rent?”

“Cat, those aren’t are only options! It’s not like I have to choose between extreme poverty and huge piles of blood money.”

“Blood money? Seriously?! Is that how you think of me? Grow up, Addy. The world isn’t broken up into plaintiff’s lawyers and terrible people.”

“Of course I don’t think of you that way! Why are you making this about you? How about being supportive of a new path I’m taking in life?”

“Because it’s foolish!! And you’re a fool for acting like this! You promised me years ago that you never again would make a decision that affected both of us without at least talking to me first. And now here you go again. Trying to play the hero and not thinking about how it affects the people you claim to care about.”

Addy flinched as if slapped. In a low voice, she responded, “I can’t believe you’d throw that in my face. You know I was only trying to protect you.”

“Well, maybe I didn’t want to be protected. Maybe, for once, it would have been nice to have some say in what was right for me. But you took all my options away because you just had to do the right thing. You had to be the hero and look where it got us! And you’re doing the same damn thing again! But this time, you can’t pretend you’re walking away to protect me. You’re just walking away.”

Something broke in Cat’s eyes with those last words. She didn’t seem to realize that tears had begun streaming down her cheeks.

“We were supposed to stick together, Addy. We were supposed to have each other’s backs. So, you didn’t just throw your career away. You threw me away too. I’m not going through this again. I hope it’s all worth it for you in the end.”

With that, Cat rose suddenly from the couch, drained her glass, and hurled it at the wall with a howl of rage.

“Cat, wait…” But Cat slammed out the door before Addy could do more than get the words out.

Chapter Text

The next few days passed in a blur for Addy. Cat hadn’t been back to the apartment since that awful night, and Addy tried not to think too hard about where she might have been spending her nights and how. Although she didn’t regret her decision, she was plagued with guilt over how she’d hurt her best friend and with memories of another time her decisions had almost ripped them apart.

“Addy,” the low voice crooned from across the desk, “what am I to do with you?”

Dr. Samantha Weaver gazed serenely at Addy from behind her large oak desk. The tall, bronze-complexioned woman was the picture of elegance and class. No one knew how she could afford her expensive, tailored suits, her perfectly styled and colored hair, and the stylish car she drove, but neither had anyone overcome her intimidation to find out. Such was her presence that though neither Dr. Weaver’s tone nor expression were angry, Addy felt a thrill of fear run up her spine. Dr. Weaver could be mercurial, and her fits of temper were legendary among the girls in the Transition to Adulthood program.

“You’re a smart girl and you know the rules: no…romances…are allowed among the girls in this home. Now tell me. Why did I find you and Cat showing…mmm, physical affection on the lawn right outside our door?”

Addy felt the hairs on the nape of her neck rise. Dr. Weaver hadn’t so much as raised her voice, but the threat was implicit. Even if she hadn’t heard Dr. Weaver screaming threats at Cat not fifteen minutes before, Addy knew that kissing Cat was grounds for expulsion from the program. Although it was not a zero-tolerance policy, Dr. Weaver would be within her rights to send one or both of them out of the relative freedom and safety of the program that housed and economically supported them, and back into the tumult and uncertainty of foster care.

Addy knew she must choose her words carefully. “We were only playing around, Dr. Weaver. It’s Cat’s birthday, you know, and things just got a little out of hand. It won’t happen again.”

Dr. Weaver stood suddenly and came around to sit on the corner of her desk. Thus looming over Addy, she pursed her mouth thoughtfully. “But, the problem is, Addy, that I don’t believe you. I think it will happen again. You show so much promise. And as your guardian and someone with your best interests at heart, I can’t let you throw away that promise on the first piece of trash who makes you hot.”

Addy gaped up at her in astonishment at her coarseness.

“Oh, I know you think me cold, but I remember what it is to be young. To have my blood boil with want. But what you don’t understand yet is that these feelings pass. That if you’re strong, and don’t act on them, you can maintain focus and stay on the path to success. Someone like Cat will only distract you and keep you from fulfilling your promise.” Her voice was smooth and soothing, like a snake-charmer tempting a serpent out of its basket.

“Please stop talking that way about Cat. She’s my best friend, and a good person.”

“She’s nothing,” Dr. Weaver snapped. “She’s a troublemaker and a truant and I’ll be shocked if she isn’t in jail or dead of an overdose before she’s twenty.”

Addy had to sit on her hands to keep them from clenching in rage. She knew any display of emotion would only incite the administrator, and that her best chance of escaping punishment was to keep a cool façade. Keeping Cat foremost in her mind, Addy forced herself to relax.

“I hope not, Dr. Weaver,” Addy replied calmly. “I’d hate to see that happen to any of the girls here.” Addy crossed her fingers that her effort to remind the administrator that she had a duty to Cat too wasn’t overly heavy-handed.

“No, I should think not.” Dr. Weaver brushed her sleek, black hair off her face with a long, elegant hand. She considered Addy carefully for a long moment, then seemed to reach a decision. “But let me counsel you not to confuse your sympathy for those less-fortunate with…other feelings.”

Dr. Weaver walked back around her desk, sat down, and removed a file from her desk drawer. “Do you know what this is?”

Addy shook her head.

“This is Catrina Rogers’ file. If I choose, I could place a recommendation in it right now that she be evicted from the Transitions program and returned to foster care. You know that, don’t you.”

Though Dr. Weaver didn’t seem to need an answer, Addy nodded.

“I will not make that recommendation, but on one condition. I know you are an honorable girl who values integrity. If you give me your word, I will respect that. So, you must give me your word of honor that you will refrain from any further romantic or physical encounters with Ms. Rogers. Nothing at all, in thought, word, or deed. If I even suspect that you have broken your word, she – not you – will be sent away to the furthest corner of the state and I will make sure you will never see or hear from her again. Do you understand completely what I’m saying?”

In shock, Addy nodded again.

“I’m not a monster, Addy. I only want what’s best for you. I can see that, although you could have chosen better, you benefit from having a good friend. I will not prohibit friendship with Cat. But if you make this bargain with me, do not doubt that I will be watching you closely and monitoring your interactions to ensure compliance. My dedication to your future demands nothing less.”

Addy thought a moment. Then she asked quietly, not daring to look at Dr. Weaver, “And if I cannot make that promise?”

In the frozen silence that followed, Addy read her fate clearly. If she did not give her word to end things with Cat, one or both of them would lose their place in the program and they would be separated. She knew neither of them would let that happen. But their only other choice would be to run away and live on the streets. Addy had already been there. She knew the physical, mental, and emotional toll it took to survive, and knew that she would do anything to keep Cat from having to suffer it too. She would do anything to protect her, to give Cat a chance at the future she knew she could achieve. And if she had to bury her feelings for the next few years to keep Cat safe, then so be it.

Addy finally looked up and met Dr. Weaver squarely in the eye. “I give you my word of honor.”

****************************

The following Monday, Addy nervously walked up the neat brick path to the small building that housed Archer and Bright, LLP. Taking calming breaths and wiping her sweaty palm on her freshly cleaned suit, she carefully opened the front door and stepped somewhat gingerly inside…

…into a scene of complete chaos. A tall, curvy woman who looked like the physical embodiment of the color lavender swerved through a field of paper stacks covering the floor. Gloria and a dark-skinned woman with short, silver hair furiously sorted documents on a long table. Beau was shouting something frantic into the phone by the reception desk. And a little terrier whose hair had been dyed rainbow colored yipped furiously and danced through everyone’s feet.

Suddenly, all motion in the room stopped and every eye turned on Addy, who realized she was standing in the open doorway with her mouth hanging wide open. She closed her mouth with an audible click.

Clearing her throat, she cautiously entered the room. “Um…hi, good morning. I’m Addy Carmen, and I’m …um…supposed to be starting here today?” She unintentionally made the statement a question, suddenly unsure if the events of the last week had been one big hallucination and she’d made a horrible mistake.

Beau was the first to recover.

“Gosh, so sorry. Welcome, Addy!” He gingerly tiptoed through the paper stack minefield, narrowly missing stepping on the yelping dog, and reached out to shake her hand. “As you can see, we had a bit of an emergency. One of our clients got an eviction notice on Friday night and we’ve been racing all weekend to prepare a motion to prevent that from proceeding.”

He gave Addy a sheepish look that Addy found completely endearing. “I’m so sorry, but we’ve done nothing to get ready for your first day. Like I said, this caught us by surprise. We don’t have an office or a computer or anything for you, and we’ve got to get this motion out the door by two o’clock. Do you want to come back tomorrow? Things should be calmer then.”

Addy did not want to come back tomorrow. She was anxious to take the first steps into her new life, and wanted to get started right away.

Squaring her shoulders and feeling her confidence surge back, she smiled at Beau and at the others in the room. “If you can use me, I’m ready to jump in and help. I brought my laptop, and am happy to work anywhere there’s space. What do you need me to do?”

Gloria’s warm smile lit up the room. She looked as if she was about to walk over to Addy, then considering the carefully laid out mess in her way, thought the better of it and called over, “If you can find a way here, you can swap out with me and help Nettie get these exhibits in order.”

Addy sketched a casual salute and offered a warm smile to Nettie. “Done,” she called out and began plotting her course through the paper maze.

***************************************

“So…” Nettie began after having gotten Addy settled in and oriented to her first task, “what’s your story? The bosses mentioned we were getting a new associate, but didn’t give much background.”

Probably just as well, Addy thought. Unsure how her history would be received, she gave a quick sketch of her education and the types of cases she had worked on, and hoped that would be enough to assuage their curiosity until they got to know her better first.

She saw quickly that her plan was doomed to failure under the onslaught of Nettie’s thorough and insightful questioning. None of Addy’s training had prepared her for the barrage of carefully worded queries and follow-ups. Whenever she tried to be evasive or redirect the topic of conversation, Nettie quickly homed in on the salient aspect of her answer and drilled down further in pursuit. The one time she tried stating bluntly that she didn’t want to talk about something, Nettie fixed her with a stare until she gave in and answered anyway.

They were just diving into the finer points of her relationship with Cat when Addy suddenly burst out laughing. “How is it you’re not a lawyer?” she gasped between chuckles. “And thank god I am because I’d make a terrible witness. You’d have me confessing to the Lindbergh kidnapping!”

Nettie laughed. “Nah, that’s not the life for me. Don’t need all that stress. But they do make sure and bring me along to depositions. You know, to ‘take notes’”, she said making air quotes. “But don’t try and distract me. I want to hear more about this girlfriend of yours.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Addy said quickly.

“Riiiigghhhhttt…” Nettie drawled. “Sorry, your ‘best friend’.” Addy didn’t need to see the air quotes to hear them in Nettie’s skeptical tone.

“No, really. We’re just friends. I mean, we may have once…started to maybe have a thing, but that was a long time ago and we’re over it and we’ve been friends for so long I can’t even imagine anything romantic anyway and she’s always out with other people so I know she doesn’t think of me that way anymore and I’m so into work I don’t really have time for relationships anyway and oh my god why am I babbling all of a sudden.” Addy slapped her hand to her forehead and glanced sideways at Nettie, who merely favored her with an elegantly raised eyebrow.

“Oh be quiet…” Addy grumbled.

“So you two met in a group home when you were twelve…?” Nettie prompted, grinning.

“Thirteen.” Addy grunted, her head firmly down over her work. Maybe she would tragically smother to death under an unbalanced wall of paperwork. Maybe a stray lightening bolt would shoot through the roof directly on her. She didn’t think she was that lucky.

“And it was love at first sight.” Nettie sighed dramatically. “How romantic.”

“Oh, for god’s sake. It wasn’t like that!” Addy replied exasperatedly. She paused, thinking back on that awful rainy day all those years ago. “I’d already been in foster care for six years by then. My mom had us living on the streets after we’d been kicked out of some squat. When she overdosed, I landed in the system and never saw her again. I bounced around a bunch of years with a few different families. Some of them were ok, but I never could trust that they wouldn’t turn on me all of a sudden or that I’d get yanked out and moved for some reason. So when I heard of this program – Transitions to Adulthood – where they’d give you a space of your own and a job and skills training, I jumped all over it. I wanted to control my own future, you know.”

Beau strode quickly over, interrupting Addy’s story.

“Hey, quick status check. Gloria and I are done with the brief, Cindy’s finished with the witness statements, and all that’s left is you guys collating the exhibits. We’ve got about 45 minutes left before it’s got to be out the door. How’s it looking here?”

“Almost done, boss,” Nettie answered smoothly. “Give us another 10 minutes and we’ll be ready to put everything together.”

“Great, thanks!” Beau flashed them a quick smile and bolted off into the back office.

“Saved by the bell,” Nettie grinned at Addy. “Don’t think you’re off the hook, lady. I smell a story here, and I will get it.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” said Addy chagrinned.

**********************************

Addy finally got to meet the other member of the team over a very late lunch that afternoon. Beau and Gloria had ordered pizza for the group to thank them for their hard work getting the important motion out the door on time. Grabbing a few slices, Addy veered around Nettie and made a point of sitting next to the Lavender Lady, as Addy had thought of her all morning. Nettie merely looked at her with a smirk and winked.

“Hi, I’m Addy. In all the chaos, we didn’t get a chance to be introduced.”

Lavender Lady wiped her hands on a napkin before shaking Addy’s hand. “So nice to meet you! I’m Cindy. In theory, I’m the receptionist here, but really I’m sort of the Jill of All Trades.”

“And master of all,” said Gloria warmly. “We couldn’t get along without Cindy. She takes care of everything around here. I’m so sorry I forgot to introduce you earlier.”

“That’s all right,” Addy replied. “How long have you been with the firm?”

“Gosh, it’s been about two years now. Crazy how fast time passes, isn’t it sweetheart?”

Addy was startled for a moment, then realized Cindy had addressed the term of endearment toward Nettie. She looked at the two of them in confusion.

Cindy laughed out loud. “You did it again, didn’t you?” Nettie’s eyes twinkled, but she merely shrugged her shoulders and continued eating. Cindy turned back to Addy.

“See, she has this game she likes to play with new people. She likes to see how much information she can get out of them without giving any away herself. So, I bet she got your entire life history and failed to mention basic facts about her. Like, oh, that we’re married.”

“What?” Addy yelped. Shaking her head, she laughed. “Yeah, she forgot to mention that.”

“Aw, c’mon honey! Don’t give the game away!” Nettie called out from across the room.

Cindy smilingly shook her head at her wife. “Don’t worry. She does this all the time. So don’t worry that she’ll write your tell-all biography or anything.”

“I mean, there’s so much more information I’d have to get first. We haven’t even touched on her bank account numbers.” The completely serious tone was undone by the teasing gleam in her eye, and Addy rolled her eyes. “Though I do have a pretty solid guess as to her PIN…” She turned to grin evilly at Addy, who opened her mouth as if to protest, then thought the better of it and took a bite of pizza instead.

“Mmm, she catches on fast. Smart girl.” Nattie said smugly as she continued with her own lunch.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks saw Addy settle into a routine at Archer and Bright. Beau and Gloria carefully carved out a case load that avoided anything to do with her old clients, and she happily set to work going after employers who had discriminated against and harassed female workers, attacking real estate holding companies who had unlawfully evicted families, and stopping big business from dumping toxins on impoverished communities.

Always competitive by nature, Addy enjoyed the thrill of pitting her skills against an opponent in the courtroom. But something shifted for her in these first weeks of her new life. She felt a sense of purpose larger than herself that she never had before. Previously, she never had felt a win or loss as anything beyond herself. Her clients had been corporations, and she hardly ever saw the people behind them, so her work felt like a game – a game she needed to win to get ahead at her job. But now, she met and spoke with her clients almost daily. She got to know them and their families and came to care deeply for them. She surprised herself one day when she realized that she had developed a strong protective urge, like a mother bear looking after her cubs.

Or like a warrior princess doing battle for her people in the arena, she thought wryly. One afternoon, she shared this thought with Cindy, who came in the next day bearing a hand-drawn cartoon of Addy dressed in fabulous white and gold armor, her flowing blonde hair held back in a sparkling tiara, with a pen/sword held aloft in one hand and a law book/shield in the other. Addy was tickled, and hung it on the wall of her office – much to the delight of her new colleagues.

Late one Friday afternoon saw her sitting quietly at rest after having finished a long and exhausting phone conference with opposing counsel in a sexual harassment case. Swifty, the little rainbow terrier, snored on her lap and Addy gently stroked his head. She looked at the little dog and smirked.

Of course there’s a rainbow-colored dog here, she thought fondly. Nettie had explained that her seven-year-old niece had gotten hold of the dog and some hair dye while she and Cindy had been babysitting one weekend. When they had investigated why it suddenly (and suspiciously) became so quiet, they found both girl and dog covered in indelible colors and both grinning wildly. Repeated baths for both colorful critters failed to wash the dye off. Thankfully, Nettie’s sister had laughed at her child’s new look. And when Nettie and Cindy noticed that Swifty seemed to prance around even more proudly than usual with his new vibrant self, and seemed to droop when the colors began to wear off, they decided they’d go through the trouble of maintaining his fabulousness.

“Because really,” Nettie had told Addy, “the poor little guy must have been feeling left out in our house,” referencing her wife’s lavender coif and her own silver locks.

As satisfying and energizing as Addy’s new work was, she also continually fought against a heavy, dull pain in her heart. Addy hadn’t seen Cat since their fight the night she’d quit Howard Ortlieb. Recently, having done the math with her new paycheck, Addy realized that she couldn’t afford her half of their apartment and was forced to start looking for a new living situation. She had tried reaching out to her best friend several times – even mailing her a letter at the firm – but with no response. Addy was afraid she would have to move out before she had a chance to make things right with Cat.

Contemplating this situation elicited a sigh from the otherwise cheerful lawyer. One that Gloria overheard as she walked past Addy’s open office door. She poked her head in.

“Hey, lady. How’d your call go?”

Addy wrestled her thoughts away from the maudlin and forced a smile. “No worse than usual. I always feel like I need a shower after talking to that man, but otherwise, we got some important concessions.”

“Ok, you’re not talking to the boss right now. How’re you doing? You almost took out a wall with that sigh just now.” Gloria leaned her compact form on the doorframe and gave Addy an open and compassionate look. “Look, I don’t want to get into your personal business, but we do really care about you here. All of us. And you sometimes seem…down, I guess. Do you want to talk about it?”

Addy sighed again. “It’s my friend, Cat. We had a huge falling out when I left Howard Ortlieb, and she’s been avoiding me since. I just…I don’t know. I keep going back over how I handled things. How I could have done things differently to keep us from getting to this place. From hurting her so badly. I can’t stop thinking that if I’d done it better, if I’d found the right way to say things, that she wouldn’t have gotten so hurt and we’d be ok.” She paused and looked out the window, still stroking the sleeping dog. Then, so quietly that Gloria barely could make it out, “I miss her so much.”

Gloria knew something of Addy’s relationship with Cat, having heard the story in bits and pieces from Nettie and from Addy herself. But she hadn’t realized how deeply connected the two women were, and what Cat might mean to her new associate. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “How long have you been friends?”

“More than ten years.” Addy smiled in sudden remembrance. “The first time I saw her, I was this scruffy, bedraggled mess literally coming in from the pouring rain with everything I owned crammed into one garbage bag. And there she was, all bad attitude and a black eye, sizing me up with that cocky grin of hers. I have no idea what she saw right then that made her come over, but she did and we were inseparable after that.”

Addy closed her eyes and leaned her head back in her chair with another sigh. “Something about her always felt like…like home. It’s like some part of my heart would resonate when she was around, and everything felt better. Life felt possible, you know? The program we were in wasn’t the safest place, but we always looked out for each other. We always had each other’s backs. We had this whole plan worked out where we’d finish high school together and go to college together and then law school. We mapped out our classes and got jobs to save up for school and pushed each other to get good grades for scholarships. Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be right now if it weren’t for her.”

Addy realized with intense shame that she wasn’t going to be able to stop the tears from leaking out, and quickly turned toward the window. Gloria came in and sat down.

“I’m so glad Swifty came and found you. He always seems to know when I’m feeling down, and will come in my office for some snuggles.” Addy glanced over to see Gloria’s gaze fixed on the little dog. She sniffed quietly, and discreetly brushed away her tears.

Having regained her composure, she gave her boss a small, bashful smile. “Thanks for listening, Gloria. I don’t think I knew I needed to get all that out.”

“Any time, my friend.” She paused and met Addy’s eyes directly. “And I hope you know you are. My friend, that is. Mine and Beau’s both. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first. It seemed too good to be true that the bulldog I dealt with in the Realty Corp. case could magically transform into this mighty force for good.” She gave her best radio announcer voice and laughed. “But you really did. We love having you here. Aside from your work being excellent, you bring laughter and energy into the office, and we all just adore you.”

Tears once again threatened to fall, but Addy made no effort to hide them this time. “The feeling is very mutual. My friend.”

***************************************

The following Monday morning, Addy arrived at the courthouse for an oral argument in one of her toxic tort cases. Although generally a punctual person, Addy made a point of being extra early because it was her first against her old firm, and she wanted to shake off any jitters before the hearing started. She knew by reputation the senior associate responsible for the case, and though she didn’t expect much blowback, she had to make sure her personal decisions didn’t have any effect on her clients.

She opened the door to the courtroom and almost dropped her briefcase in shock. There, lounging insouciantly on a bench in the middle of the gallery, her arm draped coolly over the back, was Cat. Struggling to regain some semblance of composure, Addy had to walk right past her friend to check in with the court clerk, but couldn’t bring herself even to look at Cat on her way by.

Squaring her shoulders, she turned and faced her friend. Meeting Cat’s insolent gaze squarely, Addy feigned confidence she did not feel and sat down next to her.

“Hey, Addy,” Cat drawled. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Trying to play it cool, she replied, “Hey, stranger. How’ve you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been just fine. How’s life saving the world with your new best friends?” Cat’s smirk suddenly held a hint of malice.

Addy sighed. “Cat, you know it’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it though?” Cat straightened her posture and rested her chin on her fist in an aggressive pose. “But what I wonder is has it been worth it? I mean, how many orphans and lost kittens will you have to rescue to make up for walking out on the closest thing you have to family?” Although Cat’s voice was calm and measured, her words cut Addy to the core.

“Jesus, Cat… It’s just a job. I didn’t walk out on you! You’re the one who’s refused to return my calls and texts, who’s been avoiding me for months now.”

“Keep telling yourself that, princess. I hope you can convince yourself that you didn’t take a giant dump all over our plans together, and that you didn’t leave me with no one to watch my back in that place…because you’ll never convince me.”

Addy’s eyes snapped up in sudden concern. “Has someone been giving you a hard time? They didn’t blame you for my leaving, did they?”

Cat laughed. “No, princess. Actually, no one cared that you left. Mr. Howard – well, Adam, as he likes me to call him now – didn’t even know who it was who sent him the crazy email resigning in the middle of the night.” Her tone took on a mocking quality. “All those long, lonely nights with just you and your computer. For nothing. You made exactly zero impression on these people. You’re just another disposable associate who couldn’t hack it.”

Much as Addy hated to admit it, that hurt. She had given her best to Howard Ortlieb, and had thought that she was valued. Well, I’ll add that to the reasons why I’m better off where I am now, she thought wryly. Though, wisely, she chose to keep that thought to herself.

Deciding that a change of subject was essential to keep the exchange civil, Addy simply nodded in response and asked, “So, what are you working on that has you here today?”

“A case I inherited from one of the senior associates. Seems he wanted to take paternity leave,” Cat said this in the same tone she might have used if the associate had taken time off to wander the countryside spreading organic wildflower seeds to find himself. “Consensus is, no way they’ll let this guy come back, so I just scored a chance to sit second chair on a case that Adam is lead on.”

Addy’s eyebrows went up in astonishment. Junior associates like Cat at her old firm never got the chance to work directly under the big boss. And never, ever got the chance to be the boss’ right hand during a trial. Scoring this position was a huge coup for her friend.

“Wow, Cat! That’s fantastic! What a great opportunity for you.” Addy grinned at Cat in sincere happiness for her accomplishment.

Cat narrowed her eyes and smirked back. “Yes, Addy. It is.”

Before Addy had a chance to register any confusion at Cat’s seemingly incongruous response, the clerk was announcing that all present must rise for the Honorable Rachel Brandeis. Addy had never appeared before Judge Brandeis before, but by all accounts, the tall, imposing jurist was a stickler for procedure and intolerant of underprepared attorneys. This caused Addy no concern as she ever arrived for a hearing anything but overprepared, and today was no exception.

Several other cases were scheduled for a hearing before her, so she was content to let the proceedings wash over her as she mentally reviewed her strategy for her own argument. As the time passed, though, and cases continued to be called, she realized that Cat hadn’t been up to argue yet. Inexplicably, Addy felt a sudden nervousness wash over her at the thought that her case might get called first and Cat would be there to watch her performance. Normally, she would be happy to have her friend present to watch her work, but she suspected that instead of encouragement and solidarity, Cat would bring nothing but scorn and contempt.

Just then, she heard the clerk call her case. “In the matter of Anderson v. Interstate Chemical, the Court will now hear arguments regarding Defendant’s Motion to Quash. Will the parties please come forward and state their appearances for the record.” Looking around to see if her opponent was present, Addy rose and approached the plaintiff’s table.

“Addy Carmen for Plaintiffs, your honor.”

Not seeing her former co-worker, she had assumed that he would make his appearance by telephone. Then, from behind her, she heard the voice she knew as well as her own. “May it please the Court, Catrina Rogers for Defendant Interstate Chemical.” Looking over, Addy saw Cat standing behind the defense table.

It took all of Addy’s considerable training to maintain her outward composure while her heart and mind roiled in shock. Cat was her opposing counsel in this case? Inwardly, she reeled as she considered the implications.

As she gathered herself, she noted that several of the remaining lawyers in the courtroom had snickered at Cat’s use of the outdated method for stating her appearance, believing it to be a rookie mistake. Addy knew better than to believe Cat would make such a naïve misstep. She inwardly grimaced when she saw the judge’s stern appearance soften slightly as she gave a small nod of approval, knowing that Cat subtly had just scored the first point with the traditional-minded jurist.

“Counsel, you are here on Defendant’s Motion to Quash Plaintiffs’ subpoena of documents from a third party.” The judge glanced down at the papers before her as she stated the matter for the court transcriptionist to record. Her voice was low and gravelly, and she clearly tolerated no nonsense. She continued, “As an initial matter, the Court notes that the counsel appearing here today is not counsel of record, nor has she appeared in this matter previously. What is the explanation for this, Ms. Rogers?”

Cat remained outwardly unfazed by the piercing gaze directed at her from over the judge’s eyeglasses.

“Your honor, my apologies for the irregularity. My colleague, Charles Dunmore, who previously has appeared in this matter, has taken an extended leave of absence and I only very recently substituted in. Although I did not draft the motion, I am fully prepared to represent Defendant’s position today.”

With no change of expression, Judge Brandeis continued, “On the papers, I’m inclined to side with Plaintiffs and allow the subpoena to stand because all of the documents they requested seem relevant to the claims in the pleadings, and there is no case law supporting Defendant’s argument that it has the right to assert a confidentiality objection based on a protected trade secret. Ms. Rogers, I sincerely hope you do not intend to attempt changing my mind simply by reciting Defendant’s brief out loud. Is there anything new you want to add to Defendant’s position?”

Without hesitating, Cat confidently began, “Yes, your honor, there is. As I stated, I did not prepare the brief nor did I assist with the research. However, in preparing for today’s argument, I found a case that Defendant had not included in its motion that the Court may find persuasive on these issues.”

Addy immediately began, “Your honor, I object to Defendant’s introduction of a new case at this time. The motion has been fully briefed.”

Now it was Addy’s turn to be fixed in the judge’s piercing glare. “Ms. Carmen, you will speak to this Court only when you have been given permission to do so. It is Defendant’s time to be heard. You may state your objection when I grant leave for Plaintiffs’ response. Understood?”

Dismayed by her own lapse in judgment, Addy quietly responded, “Yes, your honor.”

The judge turned her attention back to Cat. “Please continue, counsel.”

“Thank you, your honor.” Smoothly, Cat removed a folder from her briefcase and removed several copies. She handed one to Addy and one to the bailiff to give to the judge. “Your honor, the court in the case of Dorian v. Chem Co. addressed the same situation as the one before this Court, and found that that defendant could assert a viable trade secret privilege objection.”

The judge looked at the copy of the case in front of her and frowned deeply. “I have two problems with this case,” she began. “First, it was not raised as authority in Defendant’s brief and thus Plaintiffs have not had the chance to address it, and second, it is not of our jurisdiction. Why should I even consider it?”

Confidently, Cat answered, “Your honor, I don’t know why Mr. Dunmore did not choose to rely upon this case in Defendant’s brief, but he did raise it as authority in a meet and confer letter to Plaintiffs prior to bringing this motion. Plaintiffs’ counsel responded to the letter and addressed this case specifically, so counsel is fully aware of this case and its potential ramifications on the motion.”

At this, Cat turned slightly and gave Addy an arrogant glance. Quickly looking over the case, Addy remembered both it and the letter Cat referenced. She had been surprised that Charlie hadn’t used it in the brief, as she thought it would have strengthened his argument, but she was not one to question an unearned advantage for her clients. She opened her mouth, then quickly shut it again remembering the judge’s admonition to wait her turn. While the judge’s attention was still on the document, Cat risked a smirk at Addy. Fuming, Addy waited for the judge to finish reading.

“Ms. Carmen…” the judge paused and looked sharply at Addy. “Is this true? Did Defendant’s counsel introduce this case in earlier correspondence?”

“Yes, your honor, but…” The judge cut her off with a wave of her hand and turned back to Cat. “Ms. Rogers, what do you have to say to my second concern? That this case is from outside our jurisdiction, and thus this Court is not required to follow it?”

“Your honor, although this case is persuasive and not mandatory, the court in Dorian was faced with facts almost identical to ours, and gave a detailed, lengthy analysis of why it found in that Defendant’s favor. Also, that court relied on in part authority that is mandatory in our jurisdiction, and so its conclusion need not be so different from one that this Court could reach. Defendant respectfully submits that Your Honor consider the careful analysis of in the Dorian case and reach the same conclusion.”

The judge put her hand to her brow in thought, then turned to Addy.

“Do you have anything to add other than what is contained in Plaintiffs’ opposition brief?”

“Not on the substance of the motion at this time, your honor. However, Plaintiffs do oppose Defendant’s efforts to include new authority at this point in the motion. Defendant had ample opportunity to include Dorian in its motion and in its reply and chose not to do so. To rely on it now is unfairly prejudicial to Plaintiffs and procedurally incorrect.” Addy somehow managed to keep the shaking out of her voice. The whole morning had thrown her completely off-kilter and she prayed that the wits she had remaining were enough for a win.

The judge stared thoughtfully at the ceiling for a few moments, then removed her glasses and cleaned them on her robe hem.

“Ms. Rogers,” Judge Brandeis began in a stern voice, “generally, I do not tolerate procedural violations in my courtroom. However, only because you are new to the case and perhaps unfamiliar with the strategy your colleague intended to employ, and also because Plaintiffs’ counsel is familiar with it, I will take the Dorian case under consideration. Because Plaintiffs have not had a chance to brief its position regarding the Dorian case, Ms. Carmen will have three court days to submit a short reply brief. I will rule on Defendant’s motion at that time. Thank you, counsel.”

“Thank you, your honor,” Cat and Addy both replied, and both turned to leave as the next case was being called.

Fuming from Cat’s underhanded machinations, Addy managed to keep her temper until they cleared the courthouse door, then turned furiously on Cat. “What the hell was that? You give me no heads-up you’re appearing and then spring that crap case when you know damn well Charlie didn’t include it because it’s garbage?!? What happened to professional courtesy? How about letting opposing counsel – you know, ME! Your friend! – know that we were going to be adversaries? Damn it, Cat!”

“Oh, Addy,” Cat began in the sing-song malicious tone she knew Addy hated, “why would I tell you and spoil the surprise? The look on your face was priceless!” She laughed cuttingly.

“And as for the case, well…the judge seemed to like it. I had a feeling she would since she went to law school with the judge who wrote it. Maybe you and dear old Charlie should have looked into that a little closer before you decided it was worthless. Ta ta for now, princess!”

But as she walked away, Cat turned to release one parting volley. “Oh, and I’m pretty sure we’re not friends anymore.” With that she smiled thinly, and left Addy standing speechless in shock on the courthouse steps.

Chapter Text

For the rest of the day, Addy felt like she was watching herself acting in a movie that was her life. Time warped and twisted and sped, and she could hardly remember what she had done from one moment to the next. She related the events of the morning to Beau and Gloria, but felt nothing in response to their compassion and outrage on her behalf. A loop played in her mind all day of the shock of finding Cat opposing her, her terrible performance in court, and Cat’s parting shot ending their friendship. Toward the end of the day, she realized that she had been staring vacantly at the same document on her computer for an hour.

Nettie poked her head in to Addy’s office at closing time. “Hey, lady. Heard you had a tough day. C’mon. Drinks are on me.”

Addy slowly looked over in a daze. “Oh, um…no thanks, Nettie.” She shook her head trying to clear it of the cobwebs. “I…um….I have a lot to get done before I can go.”

Nettie fixed her with a kind though slightly amused look. “Not an option, girlfriend. We’re going to Slim’s, I’m buying two drinks, and you’re having one of them. Capiche?”

Addy sighed. “Nettie, I appreciate the offer. Truly. But I’m really bad company right now, and don’t think I can handle having to be social.”

Nettie came into the office and sat down. Cocking her head, she considered Addy, then smiled. “I know,” she said gently. “That’s why I’m asking. I just think you need to know you’re not alone, and that your friends don’t expect you to be perfect and entertaining all the time. We still care even when you’re down.”

Addy felt tears prick her eyes. “I’ve only been here a few weeks and I’ve already screwed everything up and I’m a total, emotional mess and I’ve lost my best friend and I don’t know what to do.” She put her head in her hands and pressed hard into her eyes to keep the tears from falling freely. “Damn it, I’ve cried more in this office than the past ten years of my life!”

Nettie nodded, then stood suddenly and grabbed Addy’s coat and satchel from the hook. “Well then. Let’s go cry somewhere better.”

**************************************

An hour later saw them sitting side-by-side at Slim’s, the local dive. Addy already had polished off one gin and tonic in near total silence, and was working on her second, when Nettie finally spoke.

“So…what are you going to do about this girlfriend of yours?”

Addy looked sharply at her. “How many times do I have to say this. She’s not my girlfriend!”

Nettie merely continued looking thoughtfully into her drink. “Seems like a lot of drama for just a friend.”

Addy fumed and struggled to keep her voice even. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

In the same calm tone, Nettie replied, “Then enlighten me. See, what I don’t get is how a smart, centered, focused woman like you gets so rattled by someone who’s so clearly out to push your buttons. I’d figure that you would see right through that and laugh in her face, but here you are sucking down T and Ts, looking like your dog just died, and insisting that you and this gal are nothing more than the grown-up versions of the kids who used to do each other’s nails and giggle over boys.”

Addy glared at her. “We never giggled.”

Nettie snorted a laugh. “Noted.”

Addy sat back and ran her hands through her hair in a gesture of frustration. “We…damn. It’s complicated.”

“Mmmhmmmm…” Nettie drawled in a “tell me something I don’t know” tone.

“We…well…we sort of had a thing once, but it was a long time ago.” Addy purposefully averted her gaze from Nettie to avoid seeing the “I knew it” smirk she knew would be there. “We were in high school, and it was very brief and very intense, and I hurt her pretty badly. It took us a while to come back from that, but we did and it was a long time ago.”

She chanced a look a Nettie and found her mostly expressionless, but with the barest hint of a twinkle in her eyes. Nettie nodded slowly, then said, “You hurt her. Huh. I would’ve thought it was the other way around.”

Addy sighed. “I was trying to protect her, but…it was awful.”

“What happened?”

Briefly, Addy related the events and fall-out from Cat’s beautiful and disastrous seventeenth birthday. As she related what happened next, Addy felt herself slipping into the memory and reliving the feelings as if she still were in the middle of that chaotic time.

Addy walked slowly down the hallway at school the next day with dread. She had been able to avoid seeing Cat after her talk with Weaver by camping out in the basement supply closet for the night and then leaving early for school. But she knew she couldn’t avoid her forever. And she had no idea how to tell the girl she loved more than anything that they couldn’t be together.

Addy turned the corner toward her locker, and saw Cat leaning against it looking right at her. Wearing her favorite sleeveless black NIN t-shirt, her form-fitting jeans with the blown-out knees, scuffed Doc Martin’s and with a cigarette tucked behind her ear, Cat looked every inch a mother’s nightmare. Addy suspected she was the only one who could look past the edgy façade to see the warmth, caring, and deep joy shining in her eyes. Addy thought she had known sorrow before this. But never before had she felt the guts-deep wrenching as her heart broke in her chest.

Cat straightened off the locker as Addy approached. “Hey, Addy.” Her usually gruff voice was soft and surprisingly gentle. She gave Addy a crooked grin and scratched the back of her head. “I was worried about you last night. I thought Weaver might have gone off the deep end and found a literal doghouse to lock you in.”

“No, it’s ok. I’m fine,” Addy said in a small voice not her own. She found she could hardly speak past the tightness in her chest.

Cat cocked her head and looked at her carefully. “No, you’re not. Come on.” She took Addy’s hand and led her down a little-used corridor and toward an empty music room. Quickly, she looked around, took a small pick tool out of her back pocket, and within seconds had the door open. Grinning, she hustled Addy inside and shut the door behind them.

Addy couldn’t help but grin back as she shook her head. “Do I want to know where you learned to do that?”

In response, Cat began humming Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” as she locked the door. Addy chuckled, and then choked back a sob. How on earth was she going to do this?

Cat slowly turned and walked toward her. “I come here sometimes when I need to be alone. No one ever uses this room. It’s very…” she smirked, “private.”

Addy’s heart began to race as Cat was suddenly much too close. “Cat…” she could only whisper before Cat’s hands were in her hair and their mouths fused together. Addy’s blood throbbed and her skin felt like molten fire as she pulled Cat closer to her. She lost track of everything but Cat until she felt the wall against her back and Cat’s long, warm body pressed tightly to her. She gasped as Cat left her mouth and began kissing along her neck.

She grabbed Cat by the hips, and pushed her back against a nearby cabinet. Addy gently grasped Cat’s face in both hands and kissed her long and deep. Cat ran her hands up Addy’s sides and gently brushed against the sides of her breasts. Addy’s control fractured completely and all she knew at that moment was the purity and joy of having Cat in her arms. While part of her mind struggled to bring her back to reality, another, more fundamental part gently allowed her the space to feel the perfection of that moment and the realization that she had found her home.

Then all too suddenly, Addy’s focus snapped back to the present and she was jolted with the remembrance of what she needed to do. She broke their kiss and jerked her head back with a strangled cry. “No…no, we have to stop.”

Cat’s opened her eyes with a glazed look. “Wh-what?” Her face was flushed, her hair completely disheveled, and Addy thought she had never looked more beautiful. A spasm of pain wracked her chest and she forced herself to hold Cat at arm’s length while she tried to catch her breath.

“Cat, we can’t do this.” Each word felt like a chip of ice falling from her mouth.

Cat stared at her. “Wait, what? What are you talking about?”

Addy let go Cat’s shoulders and turned away, hugging herself. “Last night, Weaver threatened to separate us if we…kept on…as…more than friends.” Addy uncharacteristically stumbled over each word, trying desperately not to assume too much about what Cat may want while also searching for the words that might soften the blow.

Cat tensed and her eyes narrowed dangerously. “What do you mean – Weaver threatened to separate us?” she growled.

Still turned away, Addy continued, “She said that if we…carried on…she’d kick you out of Transitions, and would keep us from seeing or contacting each other again.” Cat breathed heavily through her nose and clenched her fists, but Addy forced herself to tell her everything. “The only way I could keep that from happening was to promise that we’d only be friends, and nothing else.” A pause, then, “So I did.”

Cat’s sudden bark of laughter startled Addy. “Oh, is that it? Damn, Addy, I thought it was something bad.” She continued chuckling, and walked over to Addy. Addy raised her hand to keep their distance.

“Cat, I promised.”

Cat looked at her confused. “So? You said what you needed to to a manipulative crazy-person who gets off on threatening vulnerable teenagers. That’s not the kind of promise you have to keep, Addy!”

Addy wrapped her arms more tightly around herself. “Cat, she said she’d be watching us. I can’t risk losing you. I can’t risk you getting sent off to God knows where to some random place with people who don’t care about you. We’re better off together! You know that! And if this is how it has to be…look, it’s only for now.” Her voice took on a pleading tone. “We have two more years and we’re free of her and this place and we can go off to college like we planned and do whatever we want. So, please…PLEASE understand. This is how it has to be, but only for now.”

“Let me get this straight.” Cat’s fists clenched again. “We have, what seems to me, this magical thing happening between us, but Weaver doesn’t like it, so you’re bailing. Please tell me I’m getting this wrong, Addy!”

“No, it’s not like that! Cat, please! You know I have no poker face. She’ll see right through me if we keep on like this and God knows what will happen to you. It makes me sick to even think about it. At least this way, we can still be together.”

“Except that we can’t, Addy! Not in any way that really matters.”

“Our friendship doesn’t matter?” Addy shouted incredulously.

“Not compared with how I feel right now,” Cat shouted back, and then deflated as if suddenly realizing what she just said. “Addy, I l-…” Cat stopped abruptly, ran a hand over her face, and stood with her hand covering her mouth, her face crumpled in pain.

She met Addy’s eyes again, and Addy saw something Cat very rarely let her see: the naked vulnerability underneath the layers of bravado, arrogance, and downright aggression she used to keep herself safe. This was her friend laying her heart bare to her, asking without words for Addy to see her soul and hold it gently. To shelter it from the world.

Hardly able to breathe, Addy listened as Cat gave voice to the truths hidden deep in the catacombs of her heart. “All my life, people have taken everything that was important to me. I got taken from my parents. I got shuffled around from home to home, always wondering if the new one would be safe or if I’d be hit or worse. I wasn’t allowed to have anything of my own – no toys or pictures or favorite stuffed animal – or anything. And I never had a choice. Never. I’d get yanked from one place to the next, never knowing when it would happen or why, or where I was going. It didn’t take long for me to stop caring about anyone around me.

“And then I met this girl in a group home. She was a total mess, dripping wet, all her stuff in a trash bag…and I knew. Somehow, I just knew right then that she would become everything to me.”

Cat slowly moved toward Addy and cupped her face gently. “And you are, Addy. So please, please don’t take this away from me too. Please don’t take…us…away from me.”

Tears ran unchecked down Addy’s face. She longed to take Cat in her arms and take all her pain away. All she wanted was to lose herself in Cat and pretend that it all would be okay in the end. That they could be together and happy and love each other as deeply as they could ever dare. But she knew the world didn’t work like that. Not for them. So she did the only thing she could. She told Cat her own truth – one that she’d buried so deep in her heart, she never shared it even with her best friend.

“When I was four, my mom was kicked out of our squat and we had to live on the street. From then until I got taken from her, I never knew when I would eat, where I would sleep, or who I could trust. I was dirty and cold and hungry all the time, and I had no one to protect me from the wolves pretending to be men. Cat, you’re asking me to risk that fate for you, and I can’t do it. Because I know you. I know you’ll never put up with being moved again and you’ll come back and find me, and then what? You’ll be out there with the wolves, and I can’t protect you. And if we try to be together, I’ll be out there again too. I’ve seen what happens to girls who live that life. I’d rather die myself, or even lose you entirely, than to watch everything that is beautiful about you be killed by that miserable world. Please don’t ask it of me, Cat. I can’t.”

As they looked at each other, Addy could see something break behind Cat’s eyes and it was like the earth had split between them. She wanted to cry out and reach for her, but she knew it already was too late.

Cat’s face hardened, and her body stiffened into an aggressive posture Addy knew too well. “So, that’s it, then. Weaver tells you to bend over, and all you do is ask how far. Great. Thanks, Addy. Thanks for clarifying how I rate with you. For showing me that I’m not worth fighting for. We could have figured this out together, but you had to be the good girl and the hero and the martyr and that was more important to you than me.” Despite her desperate anger, Cat’s voice broke on that last word.

She shook her head angrily at her own weakness, shoved her hands in her back pockets, and started backing toward the door.

Addy made one last desperate effort to keep Cat with her, to make her understand. “Cat, this is me fighting for you. You think this doesn’t kill me too? It’s only two years, and I’m not going anywhere. I want us to be together, but we just can’t right now.”

“Addy, what happens the next time Weaver wants to manipulate you? Huh? What happens when Weaver thinks her precious little protégé would be better off with some asshole jock boyfriend? Is that how you want to spend the next two years? Or if she decides that you shouldn’t have some delinquent punk as your friend at all? By giving in on this, she’ll know she can dangle me over your head to get you to dance to her tune. You have to decide that what you want is more important than whatever she’s willing to do to you!”

In that moment, Addy saw that Cat wouldn’t ever understand or accept her decision, and would keep pushing, or worse, do something stupid that would get her kicked out. The only way to protect her would be to hit her where she was weakest. Addy closed her eyes and pushed every warm feeling she had, every spark of love she ever had felt, deep into an icy pit in her heart. Only then did she meet Cat’s anger with bitter coldness, knowing she was breaking both their hearts and numbing herself to the pain of it.

“I guess I don’t want it that badly then.”

Cat made a strangled cry and reeled back as if punched in the chest. When she finally straightened, all trace of the warm, vulnerable girl was gone, replaced by bitter, sneering anger.

“Good to know.”

With that, she turned and left the room, slamming the door so hard the glass cracked. Addy slumped to the floor and sobbed until she was too exhausted to keep crying. Then she sat on the floor and rocked herself slowly until the bell chimed the end of the day.

Now working on her third drink by the time she finished, Addy was quite buzzed but feeling a bit better in part because of the alcohol and in part for having gotten the whole story off her chest. Addy realized that she never had told anyone the full story of what had happened with Cat, and she was curious to hear an outside perspective.

Nettie had resumed staring thoughtfully into her glass, but turned to Addy with a curious expression on her handsome face. “So, what happened? How did you get back to being friends? It sounds like Cat was pretty hurt.”

Addy snorted cheerlessly. “Well, she was hurt and angry, but she seemed to shake it off quick enough. Right after she left the room, she picked a fight with the school’s tough girl, got suspended for two weeks, and then disappeared for days. When she came back, she and said tough girl were dating and she spent the next few weeks sucking face with her all over the house.” Addy sighed. “It was hard at first, but we gradually began spending time together again and decided that we’d keep on with our plans for school. We stuck together and got back to being best friends. End of story.”

Nettie looked at her sympathetically. “You really think she got over it just like that? Oh, honey…she was trying to make you jealous.”

Addy shook her head, “No, she really wasn’t. She told me later that ending it was the best thing that could have happened. She was able to go out and have fun and not be tied down to any one person. And for growing up where we did, she did really well with the girls in our school. For a while, it seemed she had someone new over every other week. No, I don’t think it mattered that much to her in the end. In a way, it kind of made me feel better. I thought I’d broken her heart, but looking back, I guess it was just teenage angst blowing things out of proportion.”

“But thinking that broke your heart, didn’t it.”

After a long pause, “It was a long time ago.”

They sat there again in silence. Then, never taking her eyes off her drink, Nettie began to talk. “When I first met Cindy, she couldn’t stand me. I’d dated one of her friends and it had ended badly. To her, I was the selfish, cold-hearted, arrogant player who hurt her friend. She couldn’t see that I’d been hurt too, and although maybe I hadn’t…acted as my best self during the break-up, I wasn’t the villain her friend made me out to be. But something about Cindy…ok, this is going to sound all new-age-squishy-let’s-hug-it-out, so no judging…but something about her called to me. And I couldn’t shrug off her dislike and move on to someone else.

“So I started acting like an ass around her, just to piss her off. I knew what I was doing, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I felt like that ten year-old boy pulling the cute girl’s pigtails because he likes her. I guess some part of me figured that at least she knew I was around, you know?” She sighed, and shook her head with a small smile.

“Finally, one night, we were both drunk at the same party and found ourselves alone on the back porch. And she turned to me…I’ll never forget this…and asked why I was always such a jerk to her when I was so great with everyone else. And, because I was drunk, I told her that it was because she’s the most amazing woman I’d ever met and I hated it that she didn’t like me. Then, she kissed me.”

Nettie spent a moment smiling gently reliving that memory, and gave a small chuckle. “Turns out she liked me after all. With time, she saw that there was another side to the break-up, and she could still be a good friend without taking on my ex’s animosity as her own. In short, she grew up. And so did I. And when we did…well…here we are.”

Addy sat a moment absorbing this. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked finally.

Nettie drained her drink and rose from the bar stool. “Just food for thought, my friend. And now, I must away home or my lovely and compassionate wife will have my hide for a wall hanging. Get good rest, my dear, and I’ll see you in the morning.” She squeezed Addy’s shoulder and put on her jacket.

As Nettie turned to go, Addy took her arm with a thoughtful smirk. “You know,” she began, “I think I’ve learned more about you tonight than in all the weeks of working together.” She stroked her chin playfully as if in thought. “Seems like all I have to do is start crying in my office, and you become a regular chatterbox about yourself. Hmmm….”

Nettie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. Nice try, junior league. I’ll let you know when you’re ready for the big time.”

Chapter Text

The next few months flew by for Addy. Beau and Gloria had friends with a studio for rent over their garage, and so with their help, Addy was able to secure this small space that was within her budget. She was thankful and relieved that moving out of her apartment with Cat had been free of drama, her former friend being notably absent the whole day. She never had lived alone before, but once she settled in, found that she enjoyed it immensely. She was surprised to discover how much better coffee tasted when you drank it sprawled naked on your own couch in the sunshine. She even hosted her new friends, and one rainbow dog, for her very first dinner party.

Work continued to be challenging, especially as the Anderson v. Interstate Chemical case started gearing up for trial. Addy found herself buried in details as she worked feverishly to prepare her clients for the upcoming court battle. The case involved the release of a toxin into one rural neighborhood’s well water, and twelve families – including several small children – suffered on-going health problems as a result. The problem the Archer and Bright lawyers faced was linking Interstate Chemical to the actual release of the toxin, and Beau, Gloria, and Addy fought battle after battle with Howard Ortlieb to secure the documents and witnesses necessary to make their case.

Several times, Addy faced off against Cat in Judge Brandeis’ courtroom with mixed results. Addy always had appreciated her former friend’s intellect, but developed a new respect for her cunning and strategic thinking as she struggled to counter Cat’s well thought-out and clever arguments. Always, she left these hearings feeling like she’d gone several rounds in a bloody cage match free-for-all, and savored every victory she secured for her clients. Though she had worried early on that Cat might engage in the unsavory tactics for which her firm was known, so far, while Cat had been vicious and cutthroat, she remained just inside legal bounds.

One afternoon, Beau poked his head into her office. “Hey, Addy! Want to walk with me to get a coffee?”

Suspecting that Beau really wanted an excuse for a private conversation, Addy immediately accepted and grabbed her coat and wallet. Walking in comfortable silence, Addy realized that up to now she hadn’t spent any time with her boss just the two of them. Instead of being intimidated, she found that Beau exuded warmth and calm in a way she found soothing. Rather than feeling the need to jump in and break the silence, Addy decided to wait to see what was on his mind. She didn’t end up having to wait long.

“Addy, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you become a lawyer?”

She thought carefully before answering. She wasn’t sure why, but she could tell that this was not an idle question.

“Well, you know I was raised in the foster system. I wish I could tell you that I got into law to help save the children or something, but honestly, it was more self-serving than that.” She sighed, a troubled look on her face. But deciding that she needed to be honest with this man who welcomed her into his practice, his livelihood only on the faith of what she might become, she continued. “I chose law because I thought I’d be good at it and could make a lot of money. It was a bonus that the job came with a certain cachet that would give me the power necessary to keep from having choices taken away from me.”

She paused. “Maybe this is more of an answer than you wanted. And maybe you think less of me for it. I can only hope that you don’t judge me on the path I took to get here. Only that I’m trying to get it right in the end.”

Beau looked at her seriously. “I respect your willingness to rethink your assumptions and open your heart to changing your career trajectory. Sometimes, I’ve found that people who make decisions in reaction to something, rather than as a result of personal growth, can’t stick with their new reality. I’d hate to see that happen to you.”

“You’re concerned I may give up on you?” Addy felt a tug of anxiety in her chest. She hadn’t realized that her boss might question her resolve, and suddenly she was faced with a problem she might not be able to reason her way out of.

Beau suddenly smiled at her. The compassion in his eyes releasing all the tension she felt. “No, I don’t get that sense from you. But what does concern me sometimes is that you may not have spent enough time examining your heart to articulate the reasons why you made your decision. I don’t think it was a reaction necessarily – I think you’ve always had it in you to fight for the underdog. However, you should think about why you’re here and what you’re fighting for to help keep you focused in the Anderson trial. I don’t want my second chair getting distracted by…mmm, personal concerns.

“I see what you mean. Of course, I…wait, what?” Addy gasped. “Did you say second chair?”

Beau’s eye’s twinkled. “Yep, that’s what I said.”

“No, you can’t…but how? I thought you and Gloria tried cases together!”

“Turns out we have a scheduling conflict with this one – Gloria will be wrapping up a different trial as this one is starting – and we need someone who knows the case to be my right hand. You in?”

Addy’s mind whirled. To be given this opportunity as a junior lawyer was very rare, and a huge honor. “Of course! I’d love to!”

“Now hold on,” the senior attorney cautioned. “Remember, this will be against your old firm and former colleagues, not to mention a friend.”

“She’s not my friend anymore,” Addy quickly put in.

Beau’s eyes narrowed. “See, that’s what I’m worried about. I have to make sure this ex-friend won’t put my star associate off her game. I need you at your best, Addy. This isn’t going to be an easy road. And I’ve seen how off-balance you can get after you tangle with her. Please think carefully about this. I don’t need an answer now, and I won’t think any less of you if you don’t think you can put personal feelings aside for this one. There’ll be other opportunities, I’m sure.” His smile left Addy in no doubt that he was entirely sincere.

They arrived at the coffee shop, and Beau courteously opened the door for Addy. Normally, Addy would be irritated by what she thought of as chauvinism, but Beau managed to carry it off without a hint of condescension.

Huh, a gentleman of the old school, Addy thought to herself. She smiled and thanked him graciously as they entered the establishment.

He gestured for her to order first, saying, “I’ve got this one. Seems only fair as I’ve put you through the wringer getting here.” He smiled with a hint of mischief.

Addy narrowed her eyes in playful challenge. “Tell you what. Let me get this one, and I can put you through the wringer on the way back.”

Beau laughed, a rich, golden sound that seemed to bring sunlight to every corner of the space. “All right, counsel. That sounds fair.”

Having gotten their drinks, they started to walk slowly back to the office. Addy gazed thoughtfully at her boss, and asked, “So, why did you become a lawyer?”

Beau chuckled. “Fair’s fair, I guess.” He paused. “Actually, it’s not a very nice story. My brother was killed by the police when I was a teenager, and I was filled with rage for a long time. Damn the man, and all that. Long story short, I realized as I got older that I could let that rage and hatred eat me up inside, or I could turn it on its head and instead of hating my enemy, could love my neighbor that much more.”

He shook his head ruefully and looked at Addy. “It was a long process to get where I am, but worth it in the end because when it’s my time to meet my Maker, I can look back on my life and know with pride that I did my best to make things better.”

Addy smiled at him and nodded. “I think that’s a great way of looking at it. I see what you mean now about putting the work in to be deliberate about your choices.”

Beau smiled back at her. “I thought you might.”

“How did you get from there to you and Gloria owning your own firm?”

He threw back his head and laughed out loud. “Dang, lady! It was only one coffee! And that’s a pretty long story!”

Addy joined him in laughter. “Sorry! I have to admit I’m a little curious, though. And I’m not as good at the stealth fact-gathering as Nettie is.”

“She tells me you’re getting better at it though!” he said with eyes twinkling.

“She did? Yes!” Addy gave a small fist pump, eliciting more laughter from her companion.

“Well, I’m not as good at telling the story as Gloria is, so you’ll have to get the details from her. Suffice it to say, I was toiling as an anonymous peon in a churn-and-burn plaintiff’s side associate factory downtown. I became good friends with Nettie, who was one of our paralegals there, and she invited me to her wedding. Turns out, her then-fiancée invited her ex, Gloria, and the two of us – being the only two vaguely hetero folks in the joint – kind of gravitated toward each other. Fast forward a few years, we’re now married and both unsatisfied with our jobs and the way we see young lawyers getting taken advantage of at some plaintiff’s firms. So, rather than bitch about it, we started our own. The end, roll credits.”

Addy couldn’t muffle the huge grin plastered on her face, so didn’t bother trying. This story warmed her heart thoroughly, and in so many different ways. She again thanked whatever fairy godmother was looking out for her that she found her way to these amazing people.

“Ok. Now that we’ve sung our kumbayas for the day…” he gave a small wink and a grin to let her know the comment was lighthearted, “let’s get down to some important strategy consulting. So…what are you going to focus on when you write our Motion for Summary Judgment, and what do you think they’re going to focus on in theirs?”

“Well, I… wait, what?” For the second time that day, Addy felt wrong-footed by a major announcement given casually. “I’m writing the MSJ?” This motion was a huge document, sometimes comprised of stacks of paper reaching more than two feet, arguing to the Court that their side should win without the case ever going to a jury. It was the culmination of all the legal arguments they’ve made to this point and all the fact-gathering that had been done. And she never had had the chance to write one before.

“Mmmhmm.” Beau gave her a congenial bump with his shoulder. “Your writing is superb, and you have a better handle on the facts than anyone. So, you’re going to write it and give me draft sections to review as you write them. Nettie can help with the procedural stuff – she’s done this a lot. You’ll keep me posted on any problems you’re hitting and if you’re unsure about a strategy question. But yes, you’re writing the thing.”

Again, she didn’t bother trying to hide her huge grin and little fist pump of victory.

***********************************

Despite the long, exhausting hours she spent over the next few weeks preparing the Motion for Summary Judgment in the Anderson case, Addy felt an exhilaration she never experienced before. Beau and Gloria made it clear that although she had been with them for less than a year, she already was an asset to the firm and they valued her work and judgment. No longer did Addy feel like one more indistinguishable ant on a hill having to claw her way to prominence. She felt appreciated in a way she rarely had up to then.

Her months at Archer and Bright also taught her to let down her hair a little with her colleagues. One afternoon, she was determined to put her burgeoning sleuthing skills to the test. Beau had let drop a little nugget of information that had intrigued her, and Addy decided to try out her subtle investigative arts to gather more intel.

Strolling nonchalantly up to the receptionist desk, she leaned casually on the edge. “So, Cindy,” she began in a decidedly offhand voice, “you dated Gloria, huh?”

From her nearby office, Nettie snorted and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “yeah, slick” under her breath. Cindy was unphased by the abrupt interrogation.

“Oh, well, yeah…we dated briefly ages ago.” The lavender-haired woman smiled kindly at Addy, barely holding back a small laugh at her new co-worker’s awkward efforts at subterfuge.

Still leaning, Addy tapped one hand on her leg while examining the nails on the other hand in seeming disinterest. “Interesting. Well, I guess that…didn’t go so well then, huh?”

Cindy swallowed a chuckle with great difficulty and put a hand to her mouth to hide the amusement on her face. “Well, I don’t know. I think it worked out pretty well considering I ended up finding the love of my life.”

They could hear Nettie’s muttered, “Ha! Good answer, babe” from her office and grinned at each other.

Clearing her throat and suddenly going back to feigning disinterest, Addy stood to look out the window with her back to Cindy. “And, wow. You invited her to your wedding? That’s something…” Addy gave an exaggerated yawn and stretched her arms over her head.

Cindy, having lived with Nettie for years, was no novice at being grilled for information, and was a mistress in the finer points of playful concealment. Her eyes twinkling with amusement, she replied in a blasé tone, “I suppose,” and returned to her typing.

Addy snuck a glance over her shoulder at her target, who she could tell was trying not to laugh while focusing intently on her computer screen. Finding no opening for continuing the conversation, Addy was chagrinned and stymied. Rather than continue fighting a losing battle, Addy decided a strategic retreat was in order. “Well, I guess I’ll be getting back to my office then,” she offered rather sheepishly and started heading back down the hallway to her own office.

From behind her, Nettie’s sing-song voice floated out from her office. “Check and mate, junior league! Better luck next time.” And the sounds of both women laughing accompanied her back to her office.

Chapter Text

The sun at their backs, Addy and Beau strode confidently up the walk to the courthouse. Shoulders set and briefcase at the ready, Addy felt like an old-time gunslinging lawman walking out to meet destiny at high noon. Approaching from her left, Cat and her old boss, Adam Howard, arrogantly strolled toward the courthouse door. Addy imagined them both in black hats and dusters, fresh from a stagecoach robbery, and suddenly had to fight off a fit of nervous giggles. Cat’s eyes narrowed and her lip curled sneeringly as she spotted her one-time friend.

The pairs of opponents timed their steps to meet at the courthouse door. The junior associates knew to let their bosses do the talking, so contented themselves with shooting dirty looks at each other.

Adam Howard, a large, older pale white man with the build of a former football player and a shock of pure white hair combed severely back, gazed with ill-disguised contempt at the two plaintiff’s lawyers. Turning his attention to Beau, he opened the engagement with, “I suspect this will be a short day. Don’t you agree, counsel?”

Beau bore a harder expression than Addy ever had seen on him, and focused his ice-cold eyes like lasers on his frequent opponent. “I suspect you’re right. And likely, that’s the last thing we’ll agree on. Shall we?” He gestured toward the door in a “let’s get this over will” sweep of his arm. Neither he nor Addy had any faith that the settlement conference they were attending would yield any fruit, but as it was court-mandated, they all must go through the motions.

Adam inclined his head in a sneering mockery of civility. “Ladies first. Ms. Rogers, Ms. …ah, Carmichael.”

Addy let the weak attempt to belittle her slide right past, and merely nodded her head in return. She turned and led the way through the door, transforming Adam’s sexist disparagement into an opportunity to lead. Beau’s eyes twinkled proudly at his young associate, and he followed behind her, leaving the two defense attorneys standing on the sidewalk.

**************************

It had been an unproductive afternoon. The joint session with the mediator had devolved quickly into a near shouting match between the senior lawyers. Once they relocated to separate rooms, the mediator’s efforts at “shuttle diplomacy” between the two parties did little to bridge the divide. Beau did not want to waste their time, but also was determined to make a reasonable effort to spare his clients the stress, anxiety, and pain of what would be a lengthy trial. Having brought her laptop, Addy made use of the significant down-time between mediator visits to continue her work on the Motion for Summary Judgment.

All the coffee had gotten to her, though, and she had to excuse herself to use the restroom. Her heart sank when she entered and saw Cat washing her hands. Steeling herself for what she knew would be an unpleasant encounter, Addy let the door close behind her and walked toward her former friend.

“Hey, Addy.” Cat’s sneering tone grated on Addy’s nerves.

“Cat.” Addy acknowledged and went to move past her.

“Doesn’t look like settlement today. Too bad. For you guys, that is.” Cat directed a smirk in Addy’s direction through the mirror. She turned and leaned back with arms crossed against the sink. “Personally, I’m glad we’re going to trial. I so look forward ripping you up one side and down the other in front of a jury.”

Addy crossed her arms and faced her defiantly. “Well, you certainly can try. But I like our odds.”

Cat snorted derisively. “You would. Listen, princess, there’s a reason you people are called underdogs. It’s because you tend to lose.”

“And there’s a reason you people are called assholes,” Addy shot back. “It’s because you tend to have to cheat to win.”

Cat smiled broadly, but with no hint of humor. “Well, a win’s a win. At least I can get my clients what they want.”

Addy fumed, and then took a deep breath remembering what Beau had said to her earlier. She wasn’t here to scrap with Cat. It gained her and her clients nothing. She needed to stay focused on the bigger picture.

“I guess I’ll see you in court then.” Turning her back on her nemesis, she entered one of the stalls, expecting to hear Cat make her way out. When she didn’t, she began cursing softly to herself. Cat knew she didn’t like people listening to her pee, and was staying in the restroom to intimidate her. Deciding right then that she had no reason to care, she let her bladder go – Cat’s presence be damned.

Realizing that she had lost that round to Addy, Cat spoke up again. “Damn, Addy. How much coffee did you have?”

“Quite a bit,” Addy answered smoothly. “It was hard to stay awake through all your blathering.”

Addy smirked into the deadly silence that followed. Finishing up, she exited the stall to wash her hands and found Cat standing right in front of her. Startled, she pulled up abruptly, and met Cat’s angry glare head-on.

“What?” She demanded. She resisted the urge to step back as the taller women advanced into her space menacingly.

Addy recoiled inwardly at the anger and hatred she saw in Cat’s eyes. Despite all the ways Cat had pushed her away, had tried to tear her down, had lashed out at her in anger, she had been the only constant in Addy’s life for years. The only person she had been able to count on and turn to when life got overwhelming. For the first time, Addy realized that the pain she felt in seeing how much Cat resented her was…mourning. Up to then, she hadn’t been able fully to let go of the hope that this person who she had built so much of her life around could find a way to understand why their paths had diverged and see that it didn’t have to mean the end of their friendship. But now…Addy didn’t see a way back to anything resembling the life they’d had before, and knew she had to stop denying reality, stop hoping for something better, and accept that her choice had caused a breach between them that couldn’t be bridged.

She knew that accepting that reality, accepting her role in their rift, would be the hardest path she ever had to walk.

Cat glared at her a moment longer, then cocked her head. “See ya ‘round, princess,” she sneered, and stalked off.

****************************

To the surprise of no one, the case did not settle that afternoon. The mediator gave it her best effort, but even she could not convince the defense lawyers to put a reasonable offer on the table. Or offer anything at all, Addy thought with a roll of her eyes. The most the intractable Howard Ortlieb attorneys would offer was to forgo the right to seek recovery for the costs they incurred in defending the lawsuit if the plaintiffs agreed to dismiss the case without getting anything. It was, as Beau put it later, the defense version of a double middle finger.

Mentally shrugging off the wasted afternoon, Addy, Beau, and the rest of the Archer and Bright team got back to working feverishly to file the Anderson Motion for Summary Judgment and to help Gloria prepare for her upcoming trial. The day the motion was filed, Nettie and Cindy took Addy out for celebratory drinks at Slim’s, but the next day, everyone was back to running at full speed.

Beau and Gloria ran out of superlatives – an impressive feat for any lawyer – in describing Addy’s work on the MSJ. Wanting to give her a test-run in this important case before the downright warfare of the trial, Beau decided to let her argue the motion at the hearing. The hearing was crucial because, even if neither side won outright, it could decide important issues before they ever got before the jury, thus providing a huge advantage to one side as they went into the trial phase. Never having made such an important argument, Addy prepared studiously and mentally reviewed every defense argument she could anticipate and her best possible counterattacks.

She hardly slept the night before the hearing before finally giving up and making herself several strong coffees hours before she was due at the courthouse. Donning her fiercest power suit and tucking the crucial documents in her briefcase, she decided that since she had so much extra time and was so jittery from all the coffee, she would walk to the courthouse to clear her head.

The sky was a brilliant blue and the early morning birds chirped gaily as she walked. Addy felt peaceful for the first time in days, taking deep breaths of the crisp, cool air and smiling into the sunshine.

She was so wrapped up in enjoying her walk that she failed to notice the footsteps slowly gaining ground behind her.

She had reached the outskirts of the downtown and marveled at how devoid of humanity the area was so early. Probably because nothing is open yet, she mused idly.

She was just passing in front of a bakery she frequented when she finally heard the footsteps behind her as they got louder and faster. She barely had time to turn when the person charged into her shoulder, grabbing her purse, and running off with it. Addy hesitated only an instant, quickly deciding whether it was wise to pursue a criminal through empty streets, until she noticed that the thief was a young girl. Addy tucked her briefcase under her arm and took off running after her assailant shouting after her to stop.

The girl took a quick turn into an alley, and Addy followed, gaining ground. Looking up, Addy realized the girl had taken a dead end and had turned to face her. She can’t be more than fifteen, Addy thought with compassion. Though taller than Addy, they shared the same blonde hair and blue eyes. She could be me, Addy thought as she slowed to a walk and raised her hands in a placating manner. Then calmly she said, “Hey, look. I’m not out to get you in trouble, ok? I want my bag back, but I get that you might have taken it for a good reason. How about you talk to me, and we’ll see if we can work something out?”

The girl’s panic-stricken eyes darted back and forth across the alley looking for an escape, and she kept backing up until she hit the brick wall that ended the alley. “Listen,” Addy said softly, “I’ve been where you are. Let me help you.”

The girl’s wild eyes lit on Addy’s briefly before focusing over her shoulder. The girl’s demeanor changed instantly from cornered animal to hunting predator. She straightened up, suddenly seeming years older, cocked her head at Addy, and smirked. “Nah, bitch. I got all the help I need.”

With that she laughed and started to walk past Addy. Addy angrily reached out to stop her when a meaty hand grabbed her arm, swung her around, and pushed her into the wall. Addy gasped, her breath freezing in her chest at what she saw. In focusing on the girl, Addy hadn’t heard the two large men enter the alley behind her, blocking her exit.

“Hey, cupcake. What’s your hurry?” the man who grabbed her sneered. Addy looked quickly at each of their waistbands, but didn’t see any weapons. Not that they need any, she thought angrily. Each of the two men were twice her size and the girl had moved behind them to guard against any escape. Addy had been in tight corners before, and knew that panic wouldn’t help. Trying to keep a calm head, she hoped to keep them talking long enough for someone to come along. Though who that might be at that hour of the morning, she didn’t know.

“What is it you want?” she asked brusquely, trying to hide the shaking in her voice. “Your pal over there already has my purse. There’s nothing of value in my briefcase.”

The second man answered in a surprisingly nasally, high-pitched voice. “What do we want? Fred, she wants to know what we want.” His cold laugh made Addy shiver involuntarily. “Honey, we want to see your pretty face smeared all over that wall.” He cracked his knuckles – which would have been funny, Addy thought, under less dire circumstances – and advanced toward her.

Trying to back up, Addy asked the only question she could think of. “Why?”

“Cupcake, that is not a concern of yours right now.” The two man had backed Addy into the corner and came within striking range.

Addy knew that she was out of options and hadn’t a hope in hell of getting out of this unbloodied. But she would be damned if she went down without a fight. She waited until the closer of the two brought back his fist, then took a quick step into his body and drove her knee up. The man’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell to the ground clutching his wounded anatomy.

Before she even had a chance to smirk over this small victory, a plate-sized fist smashed the side of her face, flinging her into the wall and making her see stars. Her fists were up in a defensive posture before she could even see straight, and she managed to block the follow-up blow. She couldn’t manage to locate the remaining attacker, but threw a counter-punch anyway, hoping at least to drive him back. But the shot went wide and, off balance, she stumbled past him. The man kicked her in the back and knocked her to the ground. On her knees, she saw his foot coming, but had no way to dodge the kick to her ribs. She let the blow roll her over and used the momentum to stagger back to her feet, clutching her side.

The nasally man laughed again. “Oh, a tough gal, huh? Didn’t think you white collar types had it in you. Well, let’s see how tough you really are.”

Addy fixed a cold stare on her face, turned sideways to shield her injured ribs and raised both fists. She summoned every ounce of courage and defiance, spat a bloody wad at his feet, and with a guttural yell roared, “COME AT ME, BITCH!”

The man only smirked and advanced toward the battered attorney. Suddenly, she heard a crack and then a thump. She glanced quickly at the sound and found her attention completely diverted by the sight of the girl lying prone on the alley pavement. Another crack drew her gaze back to the nasally man in front of her who looked at her for a moment, stunned, and then fell face-first at her feet. As he fell, Addy saw another form behind him holding a baton.

“Cat…?” was all she managed to get out before she too collapsed.

Chapter Text

As she slowly became aware of her surroundings, the incessant blinking of red and blue lights demanded her limited attention. Knowing better than to open her eyes, she next became aware of a searing pain in her side and a lesser, though more annoying, pain in her butt. Rather than wake fully up or to think too hard about her side, Addy tried to figure out what the butt pain was. She had just arrived at the conclusion that she was lying on the ground on top of an overturned bottlecap, when someone yanked her eyelid open and flashed a sharp beam directly into her eye.

“Ow,” she muttered blinking and tried to turn her head away. Upon finding she couldn’t, she tried to raise an arm to shield her eyes and found she couldn’t do that either. Strange voices were shouting medical-sounding mumbo-jumbo and Addy could sense movement all around her. When she heard the voice of her nasally-voiced assailant, though, she found herself snapping fully awake and aware and in a panic.

“I didn’t do nothin’! I was trying to help her and that broad laid me out! With a billy club! Isn’t that illegal or somethin’? I wanna press charges…” Nasal Man kept bleating his innocence and victimhood loudly as Addy struggled to sit up or move or…anything. Hands held her wrists down and someone knelt on her legs as she thrashed around trying to get away.

Then, a different, more gentle hand lay on her shoulder and the voice she knew as well as her own said softly, “Easy there, tiger.” Addy stilled, though tense and breathing heavily.

“Cat?”

“And everyone said you were the dumb one.”

Addy relaxed fully and let out a shaky breath. “Cat, what’s happening to me?” She could just make out her friend’s shape in the corner of her eyes, but it hurt to try, so she closed them again.

She felt a soft squeeze on her shoulder. “You’re ok, Addy. You’re safe. The people who did this are getting arrested and can’t hurt you anymore. You got knocked in the head pretty good, though, so these folks are making sure your brain’s still attached and all that.”

Addy gave the ghost of a smile. Despite everything that had happened between them, Addy knew deep in her bones that she was safe with Cat looking after her. The thought brought unexpected tears to her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Do you need something?” The genuine concern in Cat’s voice caused another flood of tears to well up, but she composed herself enough to say, “No. No, I’m ok. Just been a tough morning….You didn’t bring any coffee, didja?”

Another gentle squeeze and a soft chuckle let her know that Cat heard in Addy’s callback to their days as roommates the unspoken assurance that Addy really was ok.

Just then, a crisp male voice broke in. “We need to take her in for a few more tests. It looks like she has a slight concussion and might have broken a rib or two. We’ll have her strapped up and ready to roll in a few, but you can ride with her if you want.”

Panic rolled over Addy again, and she reached out to clutch at Cat. “Don’t let them. I don’t want to go. Please, don’t let them.” She started to thrash around as hands again attempted to restrain her.

Cat’s sharp voice snapped through the air at the EMTs. “All right, enough! Stop! You heard her.”

“Ma’am, you need to step back. She needs to go to the hospital.” The EMT’s voice took on an authoritative tone that Addy suspected might work with other patients. She smirked at the man’s impending introduction to the force of nature that was her friend.

Addy could almost hear Cat’s eyes narrowing as she growled and stood to her full height. “What she needs is to have her wishes respected. Unless the law was changed without anybody hearing about it, she has the right to refuse treatment. And that’s what she’s doing. So back off!”

Hands were suddenly removed from Addy’s arms, and she immediately used her freedom to remove the collar restricting her neck. Another, female voice said quickly, “Ma’am, I wouldn’t do that! We don’t know if you have a neck injury.”

Addy very gingerly rolled on her uninjured side and attempted to sit up. Immediately, she felt Cat’s hands supporting her and with her help was able to sit upright.

She took a breath to steady her spinning head and managed to look at the medical professionals for the first time. She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. “I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But really, I’m ok. You can’t do anything for broken ribs, and my neck feels fine. If my head starts feeling worse later, I’ll go straight to the ER, I promise. But I really hate hospitals and would rather wait and see if I really need to go. I’ll sign whatever you like.”

The two EMTs looked at each other, then at Addy, then at Cat, then back at each other. Addy chuckled a little at this unspoken communication between the two. The female EMT spoke up. “Ok, if that’s what you want to do, we need you to sign a form stating that you understand you’re taking this action against medical advice.” Then, turning to Cat, she continued, “Someone needs to stay with her for the rest of the day and overnight to keep an eye on that head injury.”

Cat hesitated. “I…uh…I’ll make sure that happens.” For the first time, she sounded uncertain, and Addy feared for their fragile new truce. Knowing that any kind of reassurance wouldn’t be well-received, she took a different tack.

Grimacing theatrically, she shifted her weight to one side, reached under her seat, picked out the bottlecap that had been irritating her since the beginning, and flicked it at Cat. “Some friend you are,” she grumbled. “Don’t even have the courtesy to remove the literal pain in my ass.”

Cat laughed out loud and turned to the EMTs. “She’ll be all right.”

*****

Fifteen minutes later, Addy found herself seated on a public bench near the entrance to the alley, the police and ambulance having gone their separate ways, watching Cat pace back and forth while shouting into her phone.

Wait, that’s not right, Addy thought. “Hey, is that…is that my phone? How did you get my phone?”

Cat stopped suddenly and looked at Addy like a deer in the headlights. Abruptly, her attention shifted back to the phone and she snapped, “I’ll call you back,” and hung up.

“Gloria’s coming to pick you up and drive home. She can fill you in on what’s been going on on their end. I have to swing down to the police station and take care of a few things, so I’m gonna take off when Gloria gets here. How’s your head feeling?”

“It’d be better if you’d stop talking so fast,” Addy grumbled. She sighed. “Sorry. It’s fine. I’m fine. Now, is that my phone?”

Cat gave a small, mischievous grin. “Well…yeah. I needed to get hold of your bosses, but didn’t know their cell numbers, and I figured you did.”

Addy blinked her eyes, trying to follow along through her pounding head and exhaustion. “Ok, but why did you need to talk to Beau and Gloria? And…hang on…how did you unlock my phone? Did you use my thumb while I was unconscious or something?”

Cat gave a larger mischievous grin at that. “Nope. I guessed your passcode.”

“You guessed…oh.” Addy blushed a deep, crimson red. Too late, she remembered that she had used Cat’s birthday as her passcode and forgot to change it after their falling out. Cat snickered and handed back the phone.

“Didn’t know you still cared, princess.” Cat’s teasing tone had an undertone of hurt and bitterness to it.

“I never stopped caring, Cat,” Addy said softly, but without being able to meet her eyes. She fidgeted with her phone for a few seconds before she finally was able to look up. Cat met her gaze with a half-pained, half-fearful expression that was more open and expressive than Addy had seen in her since she left Howard Ortlieb almost a year before.

A car door slammed nearby, and they both jumped, breaking the moment. They turned to see Gloria jogging toward them looking horrified. Addy glanced back to Cat whose impenetrable mask had snapped back up at her boss’ arrival.

“Oh my God, Addy, are you all right?” Gloria rushed straight up to Addy and gathered her into a deep but gentle hug that Addy returned gratefully.

“I’m fine. I’m ok.” She let out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding and relaxed into the embrace. “I wouldn’t have been without Cat though.” She felt Gloria stiffen, and Addy pulled away gently.

“What?”

Gloria was glaring at Cat who was returning the look with interest as she dug her keys out of her pocket and backed away. “See ya ‘round, princess,” Cat said coldly, her eyes never leaving Gloria’s. “Try to keep that head away from any more brick walls, ‘kay?”

Gloria straightened into an aggressive stance and pointed a finger sharply at Cat. “You stay the hell away from her, you got me? You’ve done enough damage.” Cat merely curled her lip at the smaller lawyer and turned to walk toward her car.

Confused, Addy put a hand on her boss’ arm. “Gloria, what…?”

Gloria looked back at her young associate and all anger melted from her face. She sat next to Addy on the bench and took both of Addy’s hands in hers. “Addy…do you know what happened?” she asked carefully.

Quizzically, Addy answered, “Well, I was mugged. What do you mean?”

Gloria sighed and dropped her head. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. “Oh, Addy. I’m so sorry.” Her voice caught and she had to take a moment to compose herself before continuing.
“This wasn’t a mugging. Howard Ortlieb hired those thugs to…to keep you from arguing at the Anderson MSJ hearing. They tried to do the same to Beau.”

Addy gasped in horror. “No…” she breathed. “Please. Is Beau ok? What…?” She started breathing heavily and began seeing stars.

“He’s fine, Addy. He’s fine,” Gloria said quickly. She put an arm around Addy’s shoulders and gave a quick squeeze. “Everyone is ok.” She waited until Addy’s breathing slowed before continuing. Then, speaking slowly and calmly, she continued.

“Beau got a call about thirty minutes ago from your phone. He thought it was you with some question about the hearing, but it was Cat telling him not to leave the house and that you were injured. At first, he thought it was some sick ploy to throw him off in the case, but…” She paused, seeming to steel herself.

“But apparently Cat knew that her boss had arranged for some people to attack you and Beau and got cold feet at the last minute. She went to find you first, and that’s how she got Beau’s number. When Beau and I looked out the window, we could see a car with two men in it parked down the street, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure she was telling the truth until I saw you sitting here. My God, Addy.” Wincing, Gloria reached out toward the huge swollen bruise decorating the left side of Addy’s face.

Addy flinched back, less in fear for her injury but from shock and dismay. That can’t be right, she thought wildly. Her mind whirled and twisted and she started breathing heavily again in her panic. Then reason started setting back in. No, that couldn’t be right. Cat liked to win, but Addy never had seen her do anything truly vicious to give herself an advantage. Underhanded, yes, but nothing like this. And not because she was secretly peace-loving at heart. Addy had seen Cat solve more than one problem with her fists. But Cat wanted to…no, needed to win on her terms. She needed to prove to herself and everyone else that she could beat everybody at their own game.

Addy stared into the distance and slowly shook her head. “No,” she said softly. “I can’t believe that.”

Gloria looked at her closely. “Can’t believe what, honey?”

Addy’s focus returned to her friend and mentor, and her voice gained strength. “Cat wasn’t behind this. I just don’t believe that.”

Gloria’s look turned to compassion. “I know she was your friend and this is hard to hear, but honey…she said she knew about the attacks.”

“Did she say she knew all along? Because really, it’s unlikely that Adam Howard would confide in some baby lawyer – second chair or not – about something like this. And, even more, I know her. Even if we were her bitterest enemies and she didn’t care if we lived or died, that’s still not something she would do. Or even abide happening.”

Addy spoke with such conviction, Gloria seemed to lose heart in trying to convince her otherwise. She opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again and looked away.

“Gloria, I know you think I’m blinded by my history with her, but you have to trust me on this. She put herself in danger to fight my attackers off. She called to warn Beau even though she had no reason to. I understand why you think the way you do, and why you think I’m crazy or deluded or whatever for disagreeing, but until I hear it from her mouth that she knew all along what was going down, I’m not going to believe the worst of her. I’m not going to believe that on some level she let this happen to me.” Tears started rolling down her cheeks and Addy felt her headache start to throb again.

As Addy put her fingers to her throbbing temples, Gloria switched back into concerned and competent caregiver mode. “Ok, that’s enough of sitting here. I’m getting you home. You, missy, are going straight to bed and I’m going to work remote from your place.”

Addy gave her boss an amused look. “Um, Gloria? I live in a studio.”

“So?” Gloria gave her a puzzled look.

“I snore.”

“Oh…” Giving herself a little shake, Gloria continued, “Well, we’ll figure it out. C’mon, champ. Off we go.”

***********************************

On the way to Addy’s apartment, Gloria called Beau on speaker phone for a status update. Beau related that he had called the Court to explain what happened, and although Judge Brandeis expressed concern for Addy’s well-being, gave little leeway regarding postponing the hearing.

“Apparently, if two attorneys are working on a case, either one of them should be able to argue the motion,” Beau said in annoyance. “But she did agree to push it back a few hours, so I’m heading over to the Court later this morning. I’ll be prepping for the hearing in the meantime.”

Addy spoke up. “Beau, I can go if you need me there. I can rest for a little bit and…”

“Absolutely not,” he cut her off. “No way. I’ve been around the block a few times, my friend. I’ve got this. You go home and rest.”

“All right, chief,” Addy replied with a grin. “Give ‘em hell.”

“You can count on it. And Gloria?”

Gloria’s face had become set and tense during this exchange, and Addy realized that she was afraid for her husband. She placed her hand over Gloria’s in support.

“Honey, don’t worry,” Beau continued. “I called some very large, rather intimidating friends from the old crowd and they’ll be accompanying me to the hearing and back. Ok?”

Gloria sniffed, and replied shakily, “Ok. Please be careful, love.” Addy looked out the window to give them the small semblance of privacy she could in those circumstances.

“You know I always am. Love you.”

“Love you too. Call me if you need anything.”

****************************

Addy lay awake that night staring at her ceiling, thoughts flitting through her mind but her restlessness not allowing her to settle on one. Though she hadn’t slept well the night before and her body still ached from the morning, she had been dozing off and on all day and now she couldn’t sleep. She had promised Gloria when she left that she would call a friend to come stay with her that night because of her possible concussion, but found that after all the day's upheavals, she just wanted to be alone.

As she lay there, images from the attack flashed through her mind. She could still feel viscerally each blow as it landed, and she grew afraid even to close her eyes. She tried desperately not to blame herself for her naiveté in chasing the girl down the alley, but found herself losing that battle. How could I have been so stupid? she berated herself. How could I not have seen that coming? And worse, it didn't help that on top of everything else, her thoughts kept returning to the one question she couldn’t answer: how much did Cat know about what the firm had planned for Addy?

As deeply as she believed in her friend, she feared deep down that Cat had grown too far away from her to be certain of anything. Her heart had to believe that Cat was not involved in her former firm's vicious machinations, that she couldn't have known what Adam Howard had planned. But her mind kept returning to the thought that if she was wrong about Cat, she would never be able to have faith in anything or anyone again.

She had to know.

Getting up decisively, she looked speculatively at her phone, but then dismissed the thought. This was a conversation she needed to have in person. Screwing up her courage, she got dressed and called a cab. She was going to get her answers.

Chapter Text

“If this is a prank, I’m coming down there to kick your ass.” Addy felt a flutter of something she couldn’t quite identify – tension? relief? nausea? – at the sound of Cat’s voice through the scratchy intercom of the door buzzer.

“Cat, it’s me.”

Addy waited in tense silence for long moments, having second and then third thoughts about showing up unannounced at Cat’s doorstep well past respectable visiting hours. Finally, the door buzzed without further comment and Addy returned to the building she had lived in for so many years. She made the trek up to Cat’s apartment by rote, her heart pounding uncontrollably. Too soon, she was in front of her former front door. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she knocked.

“It’s open,” she heard from deep within the apartment.

She let herself in, closing the door gently behind her.

“Grab a drink if you want. I’m in the living room.”

Having only recently rid herself of a brutal headache, Addy decided to forgo the drink and face her friend without the benefit of liquid courage. She walked slowly down the hallway and found Cat with her back to the room looking out the picture window at the expansive view of the city. Cat had left the lights off, and Addy could only just see her friend’s reflection in the glass from the ambient street light.

She walked up and stood beside her without speaking, unconsciously mirroring her stance at the window. Cat took a drink of an amber liquid from a glass tumbler but didn’t speak. For the moment, Addy was content simply to stand beside her friend without animosity. She found the familiarity soothing. She realized right then that she had all the answers she needed without having to say a thing. All her doubts dissolved into the ether, and she knew without question that her friend would never betray her.

Quietly, Addy finally broke the silence. “In all the confusion earlier, I never got to say thank you.”

“For what?” Cat took another drink and kept looking out the window.

“For putting yourself in danger to help me. For saving my life.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Addy. They weren’t going to kill you.”

“Cat, we both know pthere are worse things that someone can do than kill you.” Cat met her gaze for the first time with an unreadable expression. “Who knows what could have happened. Can you say for certain what they would have done?”

Cat’s gaze hardened. “If you want to know if I had something to do with this, come out and say it,” she growled.

Addy hesitated, confused, then hastened to clarify, “No! God, no. I know you didn’t. That was rhetorical.”

Cat relaxed only slightly. “Your boss thinks I set the whole thing up and then couldn’t stomach going through with it.”

“I know what she thinks.” Addy returned to looking out the window. “You wouldn’t do that,” she said with assurance.

“Are you so sure? After everything that’s happened? I mean, I kicked you out of your house, threw you out of my life, treated you like garbage, and used every dickhead move I could think of against you in court. Are you really so certain that I wouldn’t take the logical next step and have you physically assaulted?” Cat’s eyes held an angry challenge. For the first time, though, Addy could see that the anger wasn’t at her. Cat raged at all the ways the world had let her down. All the times she had been denied the basic security of knowing she was seen and wanted. All the ways she was alone. And Addy could see that underneath it all was a hurt and distrustful person who desperately wanted to believe again. So Addy gave the only answer she could.

“Yes. I am sure.”

Cat turned back to the window.

“Then you’re more foolish than I thought.”

Ignoring this, Addy tried a different approach. “How did you find out about what Adam was planning?”

Cat glanced sharply at her, but seeing no guile in Addy’s eyes, she took another drink and answered slowly, “I got in early this morning to prep for the hearing. Adam’s secretary – you remember, Ivan the Imp? the gross guy who hit on you all the time? – came into my office and started shooting his mouth off about how I shouldn’t worry so much. That Adam had this one locked up.” She paused and ran a hand over her face. “When I asked what he was talking about, that’s when he told me – ‘in the strictest confidence, of course’ wink wink – that Adam had sent men after you and your boss. Ivan happily had made the arrangements himself. Apparently, Adam didn’t share this information with just anybody, but Ivan thought it was ok to tell ‘the newest star in the Howard Ortlieb firmament’.” She said this last with a grimace of disgust.

“I didn’t know how to reach Beau, and your phone went right to voice mail, so I drove over to your house. When you weren’t there, I was driving to your firm hoping to catch you there when I saw movement down that alley and decided to stop and look.”

They stood in silence a few moments, each lost in the memories of that fateful alley. Addy gave voice to a thought that had been plaguing her all day.

“What happened when you got back to the office? I mean, Adam can’t have been happy that his goon squad got arrested and Beau showed up to the hearing. How did you manage to sneak under the radar?”

Cat gave a wry grin. “What makes you think I did?”

Addy’s brow furrowed in concern. “What…what do you mean?”

Cat rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Addy! You left that place for a reason, remember? They’re the folks with all the money and no rules who chew people up and throw them out. Of course Adam found out I was involved! I was lucky I only got fired, and not arrested by one of the cops on his payroll.”

Addy gasped. “Jesus, you got fired?”

Cat shook her head and looked away. “Of course I did, princess. I signed my own termination papers the second I walked out the door.”

“But how could they have known where you were going?”

“Oh, they didn’t. At first. But they did know I broke Ivan’s jaw on my way out. They found the rest out later.” She smirked in vague triumph and downed the rest of her tumbler.

Addy was too shocked to share in Cat’s Pyrrhic victory. She berated herself for not having considered before the possible consequences to Cat for having acted as she had. Shamed, she silently added it to the list of times she hadn’t considered Cat’s welfare enough because of some threat to her own. A weakness that Cat apparently didn’t share.

Addy sat down on the couch hunched forward with her elbows on her knees. “I’m sorry, Cat.”

“Whatever. It’s not like I did it for you. Appearances to the contrary, I never liked a bully. Frankly, if someone has to kick your ass, I would want to be the one to do it. And not physically either because clearly that’s way too easy.” She turned her back to Addy and poured herself another tumblerful.

Addy felt a searing fury build in her chest. “Seriously, Cat? That’s how you’re going to play this?” Addy walked over to stand toe to toe with Cat and poked an angry finger in her chest. “Is it really that hard to admit that maybe you give a damn? Why does it have to be this way with you?”

“Why do you think this changes anything?” Cat shouted back. Neither of them had backed down an inch. “Busting a few heads doesn’t change the fact that you’ve made a habit of walking out on me when it suits you. Why the hell should I care? You’ll only throw it right back in my face the instant it’s convenient!”

“God damn it, Cat! You were the one who walked away from me! Yes, I left my job, but there’s no reason we couldn’t still be friends. YOU are the one who freaked out and YOU were the one who smashed things and left and YOU are the one who still can’t stop feeling sorry for herself. YOU!! Stop blaming me for your own decisions!”

“You still don’t get it, do you? Every time it matters, you push me aside for something you want more. You did it in high school and you’re doing it now. Well fine. Maybe I need to believe that I’m worth something to the people around me. Maybe I need to find real friends who give a damn about me!”

“Cat, I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Addy pressed her hands to her forehead, trying to calm her ragged breathing. “You were everything to me in high school. You mattered so much I was willing to wait for you…for years! But no, your fragile little ego couldn’t handle the idea of anyone putting you off, so you just skipped off to the next conquest. And really, why do you keep throwing that in my face? It’s not like you ever gave a damn! You were pissed off for all of ten minutes before you moved on to Cooper. I was only one in a long line, and don’t think I didn’t feel that every day I saw you groping her all over the house. And at night when I could hear the two of you! So stop with the crybaby bullshit and let it go!” Addy had tried to maintain a hold on her composure up to this point, but Cat had pushed all of her buttons and she ended her outburst in a guttural roar, her voice breaking on the last words. She couldn’t continue for sobbing.

Cat stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock. She put her tumbler on the sideboard and went back to staring out the window.

“Addy…” she began quietly, “you told me it didn’t matter to you. You said that you didn’t care that much.”

“I didn’t mean it, Cat!” Addy was finding it hard to catch her breath and felt like she was hyperventilating. She sat back down on the couch. “I only said that because it didn’t seem like you were going to let it go and I was afraid you’d do something crazy, like burn down Weaver’s office.”

“Jesus, Addy! I wouldn’t’ve…” Cat started to object, paused, then tilted her head side to side as if considering. “Ok,” she said rolling her eyes. “Maybe you have a point,” she said grudgingly with the smallest hint of a smile.

“I hated saying that because I never wanted to hurt you, but I thought I had to. And then later, you didn’t seem to care that much. I never bothered telling you the truth because I felt so stupid for having believed…whatever.” She wiped her eyes.

“Whatever, what?” Cat said softly.

Addy bit her cheek trying to keep the tears from falling. “For believing that you felt what I did. You broke my heart, Cat.”

The words had the effect of a gunshot inside the apartment. Both Cat and Addy flinched as she said them, and then stared at each other in shock. The echo of Addy’s admission reverberated through the space, and each of them felt the force of the words roll over them in waves as they absorbed the ramifications.

Cat returned to staring out the window, and Addy remained slumped on the couch. She felt both relieved and ashamed at her outburst, and wished she could have the words back. She never meant for Cat to know how deeply hurt she had been by the events that happened ten years before. She had no idea what to do now that she had.

Then, without looking at Addy, Cat began to speak. Hesitantly at first, quietly, slowly.

“I know I had a reputation as a player back then, but I got way less action than people said. I’d kissed a few people, and suddenly everyone had some story about all these dirty things I’d done. I didn’t care much because it’s not a bad rep to have, you know? But when you and I…had our…thing, I hadn’t been with anybody.”

Addy, startled, broke in here. “What? I thought you and Woody…?”

Cat made a face. “That jerk? I didn’t even like kissing him. But yeah, I know he bragged to all his buddies that he scored with me.”

Addy’s face tensed in anger. “I’m sorry, Cat. I figured it was true because you didn’t deny it, but I should’ve known better.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t bother denying it because who’d believe me?”

“I would’ve,” Addy said quietly.

Cat let out a small sigh. “Yeah. I know.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Well, anyway. It doesn’t matter now.”

She seemed lost in thought staring out the window. Addy, sensing there was more to the story, gently prompted, “I interrupted you though. Please, can you finish what you were saying?”

Cat remained quiet for so long, Addy thought she might not continue. But then Cat started again in the same quiet, halting voice. “Anyway, I hadn’t been with anyone then. It was so stupid, you know? It’s not like I hadn’t had chances. But I was waiting. Because deep down, I wanted my first…to be you.”

Cat said this so softly, Addy could barely hear her. She put a shaking hand over her mouth to keep from making any sound. She knew that any interruption now would end Cat’s story forever.

“When…my birthday…happened, I felt like I was living someone else’s life. I couldn’t sleep that night, living it over and over in my mind. I mean, things like that didn’t happen to me. Being happy with the girl you…you wanted, that was for other people. But it seemed that this thing I had barely dared to hope for for so long was about to be real for me. And I was so giddy with it, I felt like I would explode.

“So when you said Weaver wanted you to end it, and that it never meant that much to you, it felt like the one good thing that ever happened to me got smashed to pieces. Like, of course this beautiful thing couldn’t possibly be for me. The world was just showing me what other people got to have before snatching it away again.

“Nothing really mattered after that. I figured it didn’t matter who I was with or what I did because getting to be happy with someone wasn’t meant for me. So when Cooper told me she liked me, it was like, why not? It didn’t matter that I couldn’t stand her because I’d gone completely numb. And one night when she started doing things to me, I just…didn’t stop her. And that was that.”

Addy could barely breathe from the ache in her chest. She felt like a spiked iron band had wrapped itself around her heart and squeezed. The thought of Cat throwing away the last of her innocence on someone she didn’t even like because she thought she didn’t deserve better made her physically ill. She had no idea what to say that wouldn’t come across as some trite platitude. She felt desperate to come up with something, anything to ease Cat’s pain, but words hardly seemed sufficient. Rather than speaking, she stood and went next to Cat at the window. She knew better than to touch her friend, but hoped that her proximity would offer some comfort.

Cat’s voice had turned hollow as she continued. “It’s funny how easy it is to have sex when you don’t care who you’re with. I hear people going on about wanting to get laid and how hard it is, and it makes me laugh. Because their problem is so simple: they want someone specific. If it doesn’t matter who you’re with, it’s no problem finding someone to go home with.

“I’ve been with a lot of people. You know this. But it’s always been a little like eating a pizza. When it’s bad, it’s still better than nothing. But the other side of it is, even when it’s spectacular and mind-blowing, it’s still just pizza. I’ve never had more than that. In all these years, I have no idea what it’s like to be with someone I actually care for. Crazy, huh.”

“Neither have I.” Addy let the words slip before she could stop to consider them.

Cat looked at her with a frown. “Weren’t you with Dana for like two years? I thought you guys were happy.”

“I was with Dana because she liked me and I was tired of being alone. For years, I’d seen you going out with all these different people and having a great time playing the field, and every night I went home alone. I felt so stupid for how badly I hurt and so lonely that when Dana came along…it just felt nice to be wanted and to have someone hold me at night. But honestly, when she told me she was dropping out to go join whatever protest movement, she was sobbing but it hardly bothered me.”

Cat sniffed in disdain. “Yeah, well, I never liked her.”

“She wasn’t a huge fan of yours either,” Addy chuckled.

“She was jealous.”

“Yep, she was that.” She had reason to be, Addy thought. Despite the openness that the evening had yielded, Addy felt too raw to share that thought with Cat.

With all the tension and high emotion combined with the late hour, Addy started feeling the aches of the day begin piling up again. She stifled a yawn, but winced as the effort caused a twinge in her bruised ribs. This did not escape Cat’s attention.

She looked at Addy closely and frowned. “All right, princess. Bed time. You’ve had a long day.”

Addy didn’t bother trying to hide the next yawn. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I should head home.”

Cat snorted. “The hell you are! You’re staying here tonight. Aren’t you supposed to have someone keep an eye on you or something? Unless…I mean…” Cat hesitated suddenly. “I mean, unless you have someone waiting for you…you know…at home.” Cat ran a hand through her hair somewhat nervously.

“No, there’s no one.” Addy looked out the window feeling suddenly self-conscious. Why should it matter that I don’t have a girlfriend, she thought.

“All right, then. It’s settled. Give me a minute to change my sheets and get you a tee shirt, and…”

“No way!” Addy interrupted. “Just give me a blanket or something for the couch. I’ll be fine.”

“Addy, you have a head injury and seriously bruised ribs. You’re getting the bed. No arguments.” Addy opened her mouth to do just that, but Cat cut her off. “Please. Let me take care of you.” Her voice became thick with emotion as tension crept up into her shoulders. “God knows I couldn’t do it earlier.”

“Cat, what are you talking about? You saved me.”

“I wasn’t fast enough, Addy. I couldn’t stop them from hurting you. I’m so sorry.” Cat turned her back and put her hands over her face. Addy could see from the set of her shoulders that she was trying hard not to cry.

Addy turned Cat around to face her with a deadly serious expression. “Cat, do not ever think like that again. None of this was your fault. No, look at me.” Addy gently put a hand to Cat’s cheek to turn her face to meet her eyes. “You risked everything to protect me. Just like when we were kids. You always have.” Cat covered Addy’s hand with hers and leaned into the touch. She looked at Addy with a pained expression that softened when she saw the smile on Addy’s face.

“That’s better. Now, just for the record, in the future, I have to believe there’s an easier way to get me into your bed than sacrificing your career and risking severe bodily injury to rescue me from a band of miscreants. I mean, it’s a nice gesture and all, but a bit much.”

Cat laughed out loud, and with a final sweep of her hand through her hair, shaking her head, she turned toward her room to get it prepared for her unexpected guest. Addy couldn’t swear to it, but as she walked away, she thought she heard Cat mutter, “Good to know.”

Chapter Text

Addy woke up slowly and a little gingerly the next morning, confused initially at waking in a strange bed. She was pleased to find that her head finally had stopped spinning and aching, and her ribs felt much better.

She startled when she looked at the bedside clock and realized that she had slept in well past nine. Horrified that she already was late for work, she immediately reached for her phone to call Archer and Bright and saw that she had several text messages.

From Beau: Do not even think of coming to work today! Let me know if you need anything, but I do not want to see your face anywhere near the office. Feel better, Addy!

From Gloria: What Beau said. We know you’re crazy enough to want to come in today. DON’T! We miss you, feel better!

From Cindy: Sending good energy for a quick return to health! Swifty will be around for doggie snuggles when you come back.

From Nettie: Girlfriend, next time someone takes a swing at you, duck! Have I taught you nothing?? Glad you have a hard head, junior league!

Addy laughed out loud at that one and scrolled to the next message, which was from Cat: I tried to say goodbye before I left this morning, but apparently, you let a snoring rhino into my room last night and I was too terrified. Not sure how you slept thru that. I’ll be gone for a few hours, so help yourself to whatever you want for breakfast. Except coffee. I ran out yesterday.

Addy gasped in horror and prepared herself mentally for the slog down the street to get her morning brew before she truly was alert. She considered how to reply to all the kind messages, then gave it up as a lost cause before caffeine. She had managed to get her shoes on the right feet, and was starting out the door, when she saw a thermos sitting prominently on the kitchen counter with a note taped to it. It read, “Just kidding!” and when she unscrewed the thermos top, she smelled the rich, earthy aroma of her favorite beverage.

“Brat,” she muttered with a small grin.

With an almost indecent sigh of delight, Addy doctored her morning elixir. She started to feel almost human again after her first cup, and could kick-start her brain into something approaching productiveness as she drank her second. She sent non-committal replies to Beau and Gloria about coming into the office – she was too antsy to find out what happened at the MSJ hearing to stay gone for too long – and thanked Cindy kindly for the warm thoughts. To Nettie, she wrote, “Must’ve skipped that day in badass school. Can I get your notes from the ‘When To Duck’ lecture before the final? The midterm was a bitch. P.S. You should see the other guy.”

When she turned to Cat’s text, she found herself at a loss for words. She considered and rejected a few different approaches (“I’m surprised, thought you were used to crazy noises coming out of your room” and “Sorry for trashing your living room before I found the coffee”, for example, hit the cutting room floor) before she realized that she truly had no idea what to say to her best friend. She still hadn’t completely absorbed all the revelations from the night before and felt off-kilter from the realization that she had mistaken the one bedrock truth on which she had based years of their relationship.

She had thought that Cat never cared.

Now what on earth do I do with that? she mused to herself. For years, Addy had built up walls against Cat that effectively kept out everybody else too. She had reasoned that if she could be so wrong about the one person she thought she knew best in the world, she couldn’t possibly trust her own instincts about anyone. She always had had a difficult time trusting in the sincerity of people’s declarations of love, caring, friendship… but after the disastrous falling out with Cat, she lost all faith entirely. She held herself aloof from anyone who wanted to get close because she knew in her gut that no matter what they said or what she believed about them, it only would be a matter of time before they left her behind.

But now, if she was right about Cat…if she had read the feeling she was getting from her correctly, then her own instincts weren’t as flawed as she thought. Maybe someday she could hope to trust what she felt, and even more difficult, trust what someone else said they felt, and really have faith in the solidity of a bond she shared with someone.

She shrugged her shoulders at herself. Who am I kidding? she thought. The “someone” never was a nameless, faceless stranger in a crowd she had yet to meet. It was Cat. It always was Cat. She felt alternately hot and cold at the thought that she never had put the feelings from years before entirely behind her. She didn’t know what that said about her, that she never had gotten over a high school crush she had kissed all of twice.

“Well, now’s not the time to find out,” she muttered to herself as she finished the last of the coffee. She still had no idea what to say to Cat so, in the classic strategy of overachieving procrastinators everywhere, decided to be productive in another direction to avoid having to think about it. She’d go to work, consequences be damned, and figure out what to say later.

**********************

The cab let her out outside Archer and Bright an hour later. Addy knew her bosses may not be happy that she chose to come in the day after her attack, but it made her too anxious to stay away and not know what had been happening in the past 24 hours. She had tried asking them about her case’s status, but was told point blank that she should focus on recovery and not worry about it. However, asking Addy not to worry about a case was equivalent of asking her not to breathe regularly, and she reasoned that she would rest better once she knew how the hearing went and if anything had shaken down as a result of Adam Howard's disgusting actions.

As she walked in, she immediately saw Cindy working diligently at the reception desk.

“Hi, Cindy! How’re you doing?” she said with a sheepish smile from near the door.

Cindy’s eyes went wide upon seeing her. “Oh, honey! What are you doing here? Your poor face! Can I give you a hug?” She immediately came around the desk and, on seeing Addy’s nod and outstretched arms, immediately wrapped her up in a warm, gentle hug that felt both protective and soothing to the battered lawyer.

“My face isn’t that bad, is it?” Addy said a little ruefully as she spotted Nettie emerging from her office.

“Normally, I’d say it’s an improvement, but damn, girl. That’s no joke,” Nettie said with uncharacteristic seriousness. She looked at Addy with such compassion and concern, it almost brought Addy to tears. Nettie reached out and gently touched the massive and ugly black eye, and then gathered Addy in for her own hug.

“I’m ok,” Addy said softly.

“Maybe so, but you don’t have to be.” Cindy came up to the still-hugging pair and rested a hand on Addy’s shoulder. “You’re allowed to take some time to let everything settle in before trying to bounce back. You don’t have to be a hero about this. We’ve got your back, you know?”

“I do. I really do. And I’m so grateful,” Addy said warmly, facing both women. “It’s not that I’m trying to avoid thinking about it or anything. I just really need to stay in the loop or I won’t be able to relax.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Nettie offered. “I’m the same way. But really, today may not be the best day to be here,” she said looking over her shoulder. “If you like, I can get the run-down from the boss and call you later with details. Can I run you home?”

“Why? What’s going on?” Addy’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Cindy and Nettie exchanged a look, and Cindy sighed. “Kind of a long story. Gloria and Beau are having a high-level meeting right now and I think they may need some time to think over some…ahh…new information before talking with you.” Cindy looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Nettie looked plain angry.

“What do you mean, new information?” Addy looked quizzically down the hallway toward the partners’ offices as if she could pierce the walls with the force of her gaze. “Did something happen with the goons that attacked me?”

“No, it’s not that,” Nettie said tensely. “We really shouldn’t discuss it until…”

WHAM.

The trio jumped at the sound of a door slamming down the hallway and angry voices echoed through the building.

“NO! I will not have that woman in this space! We have no idea what she’s up to and –” Gloria’s strident voice rang furiously from inside the conference room. Addy rarely had heard her boss lose her cool like this, Gloria’s preference being to lower her voice in a conflict. (“It completely screws ‘em up,” Gloria had confided once with a wicked grin.)

“Lady, I’m giving you a damn gift! What is your problem?”

Addy was stunned to hear Cat’s voice coming from down the hallway.

“The problem is, Rogers, that your resume’ has exactly one firm on it, which happens to be the very firm that hired criminals to physically assault our associate! We have exactly zero reasons to trust you!”

Addy felt herself moving down the hallway as if pulled by an invisible cord. Peripherally, she saw Cindy make a move toward her as if perhaps to keep her from following the voices, but Nettie’s gentle hand on her arm restrained her. Addy came to the threshold of the conference room and saw Gloria and Cat standing, leaning aggressively toward each other from across the conference table, and glaring daggers. Beau, though still seated, was no less tense. His eyes flicked to Addy in the doorway and widened in surprise.

Immediately getting up, he walked over to her, drawing the attention of the two combatants to the new figure in the room. Gloria’s expression shifted from anger to concern with a hint of annoyance, while Cat became – if possible – more guarded. Addy didn’t know what to make of any of this.

“What’s going on here?” Addy looked from face to face trying to make sense of this inexplicable and unprecedented meeting of the wildly disparate parts of her life.

Silence.

She raised her eyebrows and looked the question again at Cat. Cat took a breath to answer but was cut off by Beau.

“Addy, we got a call from Ms. Rogers this morning to request this meeting. It appears that she lost her job at Howard Ortlieb because of her…actions yesterday and wants to offer us her services as a consultant for the Anderson trial.”

Addy gaped at her friend in astonishment. Cat met her look with a small smirk and a wicked twinkle in her eyes. Addy couldn’t grasp what would motivate Cat to come forward with such an extraordinary proposal. The primary duty a lawyer owes to her client is that of confidentiality. Clients have to know they can speak freely and openly with their lawyer without the risk that the lawyer will disclose what they say to anyone. Ever. Equally important is the duty of loyalty. A lawyer always must act in the client’s best interests, even to the extent that she must refuse work that even vaguely may hurt those interests.

These are inviolable rules that first year law students know, and they form the basis of every attorney-client interaction. A breach of either of these duties – even if unintentional – can get a lawyer disbarred. And yet, Cat came to Archer and Bright proposing to disclose confidential information about her former client and also to strategize against them for the trial? Addy was flabbergasted at the thought.

Gloria burst out with, “Which, of course, is completely unethical, not to mention underhanded and wrong! On top of which, this is the same person who has demonstrated that she will do whatever she can to win FOR THE OTHER SIDE – including just happening to know exactly when and where Addy would get attacked. How do we know this isn’t a set-up to feed us bad information to screw up our trial strategy? We know this is exactly the kind of thing the H.O.R.D.E. would do!”

Addy blinked at Gloria’s use of the unfamiliar term. “Wait, back up…horde?”

Cat laughed humorlessly. “Addy, sometimes I wonder if you ever left the office. You seriously never heard opposing counsel call us that?”

“Uh…no,” Addy closed her eyes in annoyance. This day was turning out to be more than she had bargained for, and she felt the beginnings of a headache start to form again.

Beau looked at her fondly. “No, I wouldn’t think you would have. Some of us call Howard Ortlieb attorneys the evil H.O.R.D.E. because of the firm’s full name. You’d think someone would have thought that through a little more….” He looked at his young associate waiting for the penny to drop.

“The firm name? Howard, Ortlieb, Reed, Dickerson & Edelman. How does…?” Recognition of the acronym finally dawned, and Addy rolled her eyes and covered her face with a snort of laughter. “Ok, that’s pretty funny. I can’t believe Adam didn’t catch that.”

Cat looked at her with wry amusement. “Honestly, I think he did. I’ll bet he likes it. Bastard.” She spat the expletive out as if clearing her mouth of something vile.

“You’re not fooling anyone with this little act, Rogers.” Gloria returned to glaring at Cat with her hands on her hips. “Go back and tell your boss that we’ll flay his sorry ass in court, and then you can go straight to hell!”

Both Cat and Beau were drawing breath to respond – Cat in fury and Beau in mollification – when Addy calmly stepped into the breach and held up a hand to stop Gloria and Beau from intervening.

“Cat, I know you’re not here because of Adam. But why are you here?” Addy was careful to ask in a way that conveyed sincere curiosity and not veiled challenge. She did not want the situation to devolve into a shouting match again, nor did she want to alienate Gloria, but she truly wanted to understand what was motivating her friend to offer to risk her entire professional future and her livelihood.

She continued, “You never cared about people like our clients before. Why now?”

Cat looked at her intently but without anger. The whole room seemed to hold its breath, and even Gloria held her silence waiting for Cat’s answer. Finally, Cat seemed to reach a decision and began to speak.

“You’re right. I don’t care about your clients.” At this Gloria drew a furious breath, but Beau placed a hand on her arm and encouraged her with a look to let Cat finish.

“I’m not going to pretend that I do, or that I’m doing this for some noble reason. What I do care about is you.” The room became electric with this pronouncement and every eye fixed on Cat, though she seemed not to notice. Her attention remained fixed solely on Addy.

“We may have had our differences, but what has never changed is that anyone who wants to get to you has to go through me first. That will always be true. The instant that son of a bitch tried to hurt you, he lost me forever. And I will make sure he lives to regret it, no matter what it may cost me.”

Cat’s eyes became diamond hard, and her lip curled unconsciously in fury as she spoke. Addy could read the sincerity and depth of feeling all through Cat’s bearing and expression, and she knew Cat spoke the absolute truth. She blinked and took a deep breath to keep her emotions in check, and then, keeping her eyes locked on her friend’s, nodded to show all the faith and gratitude in her heart. At this, Cat relaxed, held her head up proudly, and nodded back.

Gloria and Beau looked back and forth between the two women, aware that they had witnessed something profound pass between them. The two partners then looked at each other. They needed no words to speak freely to their soul’s perfect match. Back and forth in an instant, these lovers, best friends, partners, and teammates spoke of their hesitation, their fear, and their distrust, and then of their hope, their faith, and the courage they would need to place their clients’ fates in the hands of their former enemy. They silently acknowledged the leap of faith they had taken with Addy, and how their decision at that moment hinged on how much they trusted their own decision to place their trust in her.

Together, they nodded and reached out to hold each other’s hand. Gloria spoke for them both.

“All right, Rogers. It’s your funeral if this goes south. I don’t know what you have for us, but it’d better be good. When you’re here, you’ll share an office with Nettie, and she’ll be keeping an eye out that you don’t snoop anywhere you shouldn’t. Addy, my office please.”

With that, Gloria gave Beau’s hand a squeeze and left the conference room. Addy shot Beau a slightly panicked look that he returned with a reassuring wink. Addy followed Gloria to her office and shut the door softly.

“What on earth are you doing here?” Gloria demanded with amused exasperation.

Wrong-footed, Addy found herself struggling to come up with an answer. “I…uh…well…”

“Never mind,” Gloria interrupted briskly. “You shouldn’t be here. You should be at home resting and not getting in the middle of firm drama. Understood, missy?” She shook a good-natured finger at her associate, who felt the need to explain nonetheless.

“I was! …resting, that is, but it’s hard to relax when I don’t know what’s going on. And apparently, there’s even more going on than what I thought I didn’t know about but I didn’t even know about it! Or something…” She put her hands in her head. “That is…”

“I think I know what you’re getting at. Maybe.” Gloria grinned. “You wanted to know about the Anderson hearing, and didn’t know Rogers would be here. Right?”

“Yes! That’s it exactly. If I’d known that there was more I didn’t know than what I thought I didn’t –“

“Nope! No thank you! Not going down that road again. Understood. You wouldn’t have come if you’d known Rogers was here. Just nod or something.” Laughing, Addy nodded. “Ok, scrambled brains. I get you. You know, I should be mad because everyone told you to stay home, even before we knew Rogers was coming, but it seems that maybe it was good that you came anyway. I was ready to throw her out on her ear. And I still reserve the right to do that later,” she growled.

“But we saw something in you that made us take a chance, and that’s paid huge dividends. We believe in you, Addy. And if you believe in her, that’s good enough for us.”

Addy knew a moment of panic at the recognition that her bosses had potentially risked the entire firm’s well-being on her judgment. The moment passed when she thought of the years she had known Cat, even at her worst, and knew that she was not mistaken to trust her now. Gloria saw those thoughts pass behind her eyes, and smiled when her young associate’s assurance shone through.

“Good. Now. Let me fill you in on Anderson so you can get back to lounging and eating bon-bons or whatever one does after a head injury.” Addy snickered, and settled into the chair across from her boss. She had a warm glow in her chest at the thought of working with Cat again, but decided that this was not the time for thinking too hard about why that might be.

Chapter Text

The days following the attack turned into weeks and life at Archer and Bright settled into a new normal. Cat settled into her new role as unofficial advisor in the Anderson case fairly easily: participating eagerly in strategy meetings, offering suggestions about how to strengthen the case, and even helping out with the document preparation. Because everyone agreed it likely that Howard Ortlieb might have surveillance on Archer and Bright, Cat only spent about half her time in the office and the other, working remote.

However, the transition was not without its difficulties. Although Gloria and Cat quickly seemed to reach a kind of unspoken détente, Cat and Nettie’s adjustment to sharing space hit some entirely foreseeable hurdles.

Early on in the new arrangement, Addy was getting some pens from the supply closet when she heard raised voices from Nettie’s office. Looking at Cindy, she saw the receptionist had gotten out her noise-cancelling earphones.

Tapping her on the shoulder, she asked, “They at it again?”

Sighing and shaking her head, Cindy smirked and said, “They’re like two cats locked in a room dividing up territory. I can’t wait until they figure out who the alpha is and be done with it.”

From inside the office, the volume had risen such that Addy could make out Cat shouting, “Well, if you didn’t sound like a whale with sleep apnea we wouldn’t have this problem!”

Addy rolled her eyes. “Do I want to know what they’re fighting about?"

Cindy chuckled. “Apparently, Nettie breathes too loudly.”

Addy managed a noise that crossed a groan with a guffaw as she clapped a hand to her forehead. Over the past several days, the two had bickered about the orientation of Cat’s desk, the location of Nettie’s paperclips, the exact placement of the recycling bin, whether and how far the door should be opened, and the origin of a pungent smell of pickles – each claiming the other’s bag was the culprit. The lawyers didn’t mind so much as their offices were down the hallway, but Addy felt for Cindy who had a ringside seat to the near-daily snark-fests, whether she wanted one or not.

The volume from Nettie’s office reached a near roar. Addy heard Nettie shout, “Well, if you would just leave the door open, your delicate little ears wouldn’t be bothered.” With that, the door flew open to reveal Nettie standing in the threshold gesturing angrily at the reception area while Cat stood, leaning in aggressively with her hands on her desk. Cat had run her hands through her hair so much it stood nearly on end, and Nettie’s eyes fairly popped out of her head in fury.

“I told you,” Cat shouted back, “you’re not leaving that door open when I can’t see who’s coming in!”

“And I told you that if you moved your damn desk around, you would see whatever you damn well pleased!”

Pressing her hands to her temples, Addy loudly (and perhaps unwisely) interrupted the two bickering women with a loud, “CHILDREN, PLEASE!”

Instantly there was silence. Addy gulped when she realized they both were now looking at her with the same furiously aggrieved expressions they previously had been directing at each other.

She cleared her throat nervously. “Um…would you mind keeping it down? Just a bit?” She smiled hesitantly, and added, “Please?”

Cat’s eyes flicked to Nettie’s and they shared an annoyed look. Nettie put her hands on her hips and faced Addy, taking a deep breath through her nose that caused Addy’s insides to shrivel. However, as Nettie opened her mouth to speak, she glanced over at Cindy and froze. Confused, Addy also looked at Cindy to find the receptionist fixing her wife with an icy and reproving stare that suggested dire consequences if Nettie vented her pique at the young attorney. Nettie closed her mouth again and seemed to deflate in chagrin before her wife’s silent onslaught.

Not at all intimidated by the little drama playing out before her, Cat snorted and curled her lip at Addy. “What, can’t handle a little conflict? Thought you were some big, scary lawyer, princess!”

Addy immediately felt her hackles rise. “I don’t care if you two tear each other to shreds in there! But some of us have work to do, and you’re loud enough to rupture eardrums. So knock it off! And stop calling me princess!”

Immediately, Nettie’s head perked up like a hunting dog who’d just caught a highly delectable scent and took on a quizzical expression. “Wait. Why does she keep calling you ‘princess’? You’re the least princess-ie gal I know.”

Cat snickered. “Well now, that’s a story, isn’t it. She hasn’t told you?”

Addy’s nostrils flared in anger and horror. She gave Cat a look that would freeze lava, and said in her most ominous voice, “Don’t. You. Dare.”

Nettie’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and she went to lean on Cat’s desk. “Ooh…do tell!” She and Cat exchanged matching wicked grins.

Infuriated, Addy marched over to Cat’s desk and poked a furious finger at her. “You promised.”

Nonchalantly, Cat leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head. “Well…technically, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone what your real name is. I never promised I wouldn’t explain your nickname.”

Cindy joined in at that revelation. “What’s wrong with Addison? Isn’t that your full name?” Addy tensed and shook her head negatively.

Nettie guessed, “Adeline?” Cat started chuckling as Addy again answered in the negative. Addy wanted to grab Cat by the feet and flip her over the chair, but decided she’d wait until there weren’t witnesses.

Tersely, she stated, “Addy is my full name. My real name. It’s on my birth certificate. End of story.”

“True, that was the end of the story,” Cat drawled. “But the story begins by having your name changed when you were eighteen. See, I call her ‘princess’ because her mom was a huge fan of this cartoon in the ‘80s and named her after – ”

“ENOUGH!” Addy roared at Cat, completely exasperated. “If you say one more word about this, I’ll put that picture of you after Gabby swapped your conditioner for Nair up on Tinder. And don’t think I won’t do it!”

Cat’s eyes widened and her chair legs hit the floor with a bang. “You still have that?” she gasped.

Now it was Addy’s turn to look smug. “Oh yeah. Several copies in various secure locations.”

Addy could tell from Cat’s darting eyes that her friend was thinking desperately of a way around this dilemma. If Cat let Addy know the picture still bothered her, Addy now had an ace up her sleeve whenever Cat got too unruly. But if she played it that she didn’t care, she could find her mottled, mangy, highly recognizable teenage self in a place where she was very well known. So therefore… Addy could almost see the conclusion forming on Cat’s face and smirked in victory.

“Fine,” Cat huffed. “But that was low!”

“Hey, live by the sword, die by the sword,” Addy trilled at her friend with a mocking grin.

“Hang on now. Cat, did you say it was an ‘80s cartoon?” Addy’s eyes widened as she turned to find Nettie back at her desk typing furiously.

“What? No!” Addy went around Nettie’s desk and saw her running several Google searches at once with combinations the terms “’80s cartoon”, “princess”, and “Addy”. Addy covered her face with her hands, and heard both Nettie and Cat laughing and what sounded like a high-five.

She went back over to Cindy’s desk looking shell-shocked. Cindy patted her arm sympathetically. “Well, at least they’re not fighting anymore.”

“Wonderful,” Addy muttered.

*****

The Anderson case crept nearer and nearer to the trial date as Addy and the Archer and Bright crew worked feverishly to prepare. With only a week left until the pre-trial motions hearing, and two weeks until jury selection, Addy found herself working at a grueling pace she never had encountered before. Arriving at 6 am, she and Beau hit the ground running: preparing the seemingly endless stream of motions and court documents; scouring deposition transcripts to make lists of possible sources for impeachment of Interstate Chemical’s witnesses; preparing fat exhibit binders for the judge, jury, and everyone else involved containing every piece of paper on which their case would potentially rely; putting together outlines of questions for each and every witness; calling their clients to double- and triple- check details; and a dizzying amount of other tasks on a seemingly endless list. At one point, Addy looked at the running list of items to complete before trial started and found that it ran to eight full-sized pages. Only when she barely could keep her eyes open – usually around midnight – did she stumble home, crawl straight into bed, and set her alarm for 5 am when she would get up and start it all again.

And again. And again. Every single day. The one exception to the grind was Sundays - which Addy considered her “day off” - when she only had to work ten hours instead of the usual eighteen.

Each day, Cat met with Beau and Addy to discuss their trial strategy and download information she had gleaned about their clients and Howard Ortlieb’s strategy. This proved invaluable. Of their thirty-five individual clients, Howard Ortlieb’s investigators had dug up something unsavory about nineteen of them, including two of the children. Despite their own background search, Archer and Bright had not uncovered this information through their extensive, though more traditional, means.

“How on earth did they find out Dan McFarland had gotten suspended? He’s a minor! They can’t just get that information.” Addy grasped the hair on the sides of her head in frustration. “Why didn’t he tell us? And what was he suspended for, for god’s sake?!?” She was nearing the end of a long afternoon and hadn’t yet managed to shake off fatigue to face the evening’s work. She looked bug-eyed at Beau who was gazing solemnly down at the conference table where they all sat.

Cat took on a calm, professional demeanor and recited the facts almost clinically. “One of Adam’s investigators broke into McFarland’s school and looked at his records. He was suspended for using a homophobic slur against one of his teachers about a year ago. Adam didn’t want to tip you off, so he didn’t ask about it in deposition. Adam’s waiting for you to make your case at trial about what a great kid McFarland is and how his bright future was destroyed by the brain damage caused by Interstate’s chemical dumping. And then he’ll destroy the kid on the stand with this suspension and make him out to be some truant bigot, and there go your damages.”

Beau and Addy exchanged a bleak glance, and Addy stared at the ceiling to try and clear her head. Beau was the first to recover.

“Ok. So, obviously we need to talk with Dan and his family about this and see what they have to say. Based on that, we’ll come up with a strategy for getting out in front of it, or possibly letting Adam bring it up during cross and then let Dan explain on re-direct.

“Addy, have Cindy schedule a call with the McFarlands. Once we get their side of it, take a look at his witness outline and come up with some ways we can address this on direct and/or redirect. Then come talk to me about strategy.”

Addy nodded, adding to her already-extensive list. “Sure thing, boss.”

Beau looked to Cat and let out a breath. “Ok. What’ve you got next?”

Cat smiled humorlessly. “Before we continue, I’m going to grab your associate some coffee. She looks a little past her expiration date.”

Startled at Cat’s perceptiveness, she met her friend’s concerned look with bloodshot eyes. “Oh…I’m fine. Just…um…” Addy rubbed her eyes and shook her head to clear out the cobwebs. “…just waiting for my second wind.”

Cat pursed her lips. “Right.” Then, to Beau, “I’ll be right back.” She stood decisively from the conference table and headed toward the kitchen. Addy let out a breath and started flipping through her list.

“Addy,” Beau began gently, “how’re you holding up?”

“I’m good, Beau. It’s just been a long couple weeks, you know? The coffee will help. I’m good for another few hours.”

Beau smiled and shook his head at her. “What did I tell you, Addy? This is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve been working crazy hours – and don’t think for a minute I don’t appreciate it! – but you’ve got to take care of yourself too. I can’t have you getting sick or something in the middle of trial. Look, skip the coffee and knock off early tonight. We’ll hit it again first thing tomorrow.”

“No! Really, I’m ok! And I can’t leave early. There’s too much I need to take care of before tomorrow. Besides…” she sighed. “You’ve been working just as hard. I feel like a slacker if I can’t keep up.”

Beau laughed. “Addy, you’re amazing! What would we do without you?” Smiling, he continued, “You forget that while we’re getting here at the same time, I’m exercising the partner’s privilege and leaving an hour or two before you every night. And, I have help getting things like shopping and laundry done, so I’m able to relax when I do get home. Don’t be so hard on yourself! You’re doing the work of several people, and we’re going to be fine come trial time.”

“But – ” she began.

“No buts. Go home. Eat a good dinner and go to bed early. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Addy bit her lip and looked again at her list. Then she looked up and saw Cat standing in the doorway with a steaming coffee mug in her hand. Smirking fondly at Addy, she slowly raised the mug and drank the coffee with a sigh. “Guess this is for me, then.”

Addy gave a small, tired grin and closed her notebook. “Looks like I’m outnumbered, huh.”

“Yup,” Cat chimed in cheerfully. “No sense in fighting it. Don’t worry about your list. You tap out for the night and I’ll see what I can take care of for you.”

Without stopping to think about it, Addy exhaustedly answered, “Thank you, my friend.”

Seemingly forgetting Beau’s presence, Cat’s smile was warm and intimate, meant only for her. She tipped Addy a wink and replied, “You know it.”

Chapter Text

Sunday. Days to go until the pre-trial motions hearing. Cat and Addy had completely taken over Nettie’s office. At Cat’s own desk, she was preparing, labelling, and organizing six copies each of the nearly 100 documents filed between them and Howard Ortlieb. Carefully organized stacks of paper covered every horizontal surface, and Cat was in the process of putting each stack into its own labelled folder and organizing the folders in bankers’ boxes for transport to the court.

Near Cat’s jungle of paper stacks, Addy sat at Neddie’s desk hunched over a foot-tall stack of deposition transcripts working on updating the cross-examination outlines for Interstate Chemical’s witnesses based on the new information Cat had provided. She and Beau already had finished re-doing their direct examination outlines for their own clients. At first, she had been shocked at the list of low-level misdeeds and bad behavior Cat disclosed about the people she had gotten to know well over the previous year: an arrest for sale of alcohol to minors, a job termination for sexual harassment, a domestic abuse complaint, infidelity, petty theft, unpaid debt…the list ran on.

But, as Beau explained in his matter-of-fact way, “every dog has fleas.” Their job was to take these mistakes and show the jury the good people behind the actions. So long as they could stay in front of the information, they – and not Adam Howard – would control it.

Now, Addy had moved on to incorporate the dirt Cat provided about her former client. She currently was working on the outline for Doug McHugh, Interstate’s mid-level factory manager who oversaw the disposal of the toxin that had poisoned the plaintiffs. To make it easy for Beau during the cross, she wrote the suggested wording of the question along with the accurate answer and the location of the corroborating evidence. Her eyes starting to lose focus with fatigue, she put in the final touches:

Q: In your written interrogatory answers, you stated that you never have had any felony convictions. Is that correct?
[A: Yes. (Form Rog 2.8)]

Q: When you had your deposition taken, you confirmed under oath that you never had any felony convictions?
[A: Yes. (Depo pg. 24:13-16)]

Q: However, in 2016, you pleaded no contest to a felony battery. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 192 - Court record from Muir County Sup. Ct.)]

Q: You admitted under oath in that proceeding that you committed an assault with a deadly weapon – namely, your fists – and battery upon one James Faulkner, an Interstate employee, who recently had reported unlawful activities at the factory to OSHA. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 192)]

Q: You further admitted that you inflicted serious bodily injury upon Mr. Faulkner, specifically, that he needed to be admitted to a hospital with numerous fractures and internal bleeding. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 192 and 193 - Faulkner medical records)]

Q: As a result of your plea bargain, you spent six months in jail. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 192)]

Q: When you were released from jail, you returned to work at Interstate in your same capacity as a manager. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 72 – employee file)]

Q: On or around that same time, you received a “bonus” of several thousand dollars, purportedly based on the factory’s yearly performance. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 72 – employee file)] . . .

Addy rubbed her eyes, tired but so much that she couldn’t take a moment to enjoy the anticipation of nailing this slimy liar. In a moment, she found herself gazing at the back of Cat’s head with a goofy smile. Startled (and a little panicked) at how quickly her thoughts turned in a very unhelpful, extremely unlawyerly direction, she quickly moved on to the next outline:

Q: You have been admitted as an expert witness in this case by defendant. Correct?
[A: Yes.]

Q: You testified that your sampling and calculations show that the toxin did not come from Interstate’s upstream factory. Correct?
[A: Yes.]

Q: In 2019, you were disclosed as an expert witness for the defendant in the case of Doyle et al. v. Megachem, Inc. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 215 – Court records from Newsom Cty Sup. Ct.)]

Q: The Court in that case granted the plaintiffs’ motion to exclude your testimony because of a previously undisclosed addiction to cocaine that had a demonstrable effect on your data collection, analysis, and conclusions. Correct?
[A: Yes. (Exhibit 215)]

Addy chuckled in wry amusement at that one. She had thought the guy was a little off during his deposition, and it turns out he probably was high off his gourd. With any luck, he’d show up to court as glassy-eyed, twitchy, and motor-mouthed as when she’d first met him months before.

Cat looked up at the sudden noise. “What’re you snickering at over there?” Her back cracked as she straightened up from where she’d been piling folders in a circle around her swivel chair.

“Just remembering my quality time with Snorty McPowdernose. I thought the poor transcriptionist would rupture a tendon trying to keep up with him at his depo.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Oh, that guy. Yeah, it was a real hoot having to roust him out of his cozy hooker love nest to get him there on time too.”

Addy gaped at her, shaking her head in amazement. “Ew. That’s wrong on so many different levels….”

“Yeah, well,” Cat drawled, “his testimony was important and all that. Gotta have someone up there saying that the toxin couldn’t possibly have come from our factory. Even though it’s a mile and a half away from the plaintiffs’ neighborhood. And no one else within 100 miles uses the stuff.”

“Beau’s going to have a field day with this guy. But the bigger problem is going to be convincing the jury that the only logical way the stuff could’ve gotten in the ground in those levels was by dumping.” Addy’s brows contracted in concern. “We don’t have an eyewitness or video or anything. It could be a tough sell getting them to make that leap. We’re pretty solid on proximity, but the jury will have to see that McHugh is slime and credit our expert over Interstate’s regarding causation.”

“It’ll help if Beau can track down that Sellers lady. That’ll definitely put a thumb on the scales for your expert. Have you heard anything?”

“Not yet, but he was supposed to meet with her this morning. I hope he can convince her to testify voluntarily. It wouldn’t look good to drag her in from out of state and examine her as a hostile witness.” Addy yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Ok. I need some coffee. You want anything?”

Cat leaned back in her chair with an unreadable smile on her face. “No, I’m good.”

Addy shook her head at Cat’s strange look. “Right. Be right back.”

A few minutes later, Addy returned freshly caffeinated and with a renewed gleam of fighting spirit in her eyes. She returned to her desk, ready to begin again combing through transcripts, but frowned, puzzled, when she couldn’t find her highlighter.

“I could’ve sworn I left it right here,” she muttered to herself. She looked on the floor, under the desk, next to the stacks of paper…nothing.

“Hey, Cat? Have you seen my…” she stopped as she turned and saw her erstwhile highlighter being used by her temporary office mate. Cat purposefully avoided looking her direction, but ostentatiously brandished the highlighter to mark one of the folders she was organizing.

“Hey!” she protested. “I was using that!”

“Were you?” Somehow Cat was able to look both wicked and innocent at the same time. “Well, I needed it. I’ll give it back in a sec.” She turned with a gleam of sly mischief sparkling across her face, and again began to brandish the contraband highlighter with flourishes that would make an orchestra conductor proud.

Addy gave a half-grimace, half-smile and shook her head remembering a similar episode from their sophomore year in college…

“Give it back!” Addy stuck out her hand to demand the return of her favorite pen.

“Whaaaat…?” Cat stretched the word coyly from her study nest across the room. “I’m just going to borrow it for a second.” She sniffed in mock high-brow annoyance and returned to making notes in the margins of her textbook.

“You said that five minutes ago. I need it!” Addy stared at her in semi-amused frustration.

“You don’t reaaalllly need it. You left it lying around for like, an hour. I’m using it now.” Cat yawned and scratched behind her ear with the ill-gotten writing implement.

“I did not leave it lying around. I went to the bathroom! You have two seconds to give it back, or I’m coming over there to get it.”

Cat eyed her narrowly. “Oh yeah?”

“One…”

Cat stuffed the pen down her shirt and struck a ridiculous faux kung fu stance while still on her knees on her bed.

“Two…oh you’re so dead!” And Addy charged over to tackle her friend. Laughing and screeching a flaming death at each other, they vented their pent-up finals stress in a riot of flailing limbs as they grappled first on Cat’s bed and then after they toppled onto the floor. Holding nothing back, they rolled and grunted and grasped with all their strength, each trying to subdue the other.

Finally, Addy – with a series of well-placed tickles and a clever twist of her hips – managed to pin Cat’s arms to her sides with her knees and one arm, leaving one hand free but with her head resting on the floor near the top of Cat’s head. Realizing she’d won, Addy shouted in triumph and said into Cat’s temple, “Now, loser, give me the pen!”

Cat squirmed harder, but Addy put all her weight into pinning down her friend, and Cat grunted in annoyance. Then, her body suddenly relaxed and she chuckled.

“What?” Addy demanded, having to snort out Cat’s short hair from her nose.

“Seems like we’re at an impasse, princess.” Addy could hear the smirk in Cat’s voice.

“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously.

“Well, I’m not going to give it to you. So I guess you’ll have to come get it.”

Addy suddenly remembered where Cat had stuck the pen and turned beet red. She made a half-hearted attempt to locate the pen using her free hand, but froze when she inadvertently met the curve of a breast.

Jerking her head up and snatching her hand away, she realized where her adrenaline-fueled had landed her: directly on top of Cat, face-to-face, with her hand twitching precariously over her cleavage. Addy never would forget the look on Cat’s face in that moment. Equal parts wistful nostalgia, a hint of longing, fear, and guardedness. Confused at what she was seeing, and terrified that she was getting it wrong again, she quickly popped to her feet. So quickly, she didn’t see the walls slam up over Cat’s eyes as she more slowly followed Addy off the floor.

Not sure what to say, Addy’s eyes found the safest place in the room: Cat’s desk. There, she spotted the tiny Xena figurine that had lived next to Cat’s bed for years. Grabbing quickly at this lucky charm of Cat’s, she stuffed it in her back pocket and adopted a defensive stance.

“Gimme the pen, or the lady gets it,” she growled in a horrific imitation of a hard-boiled gangster.

Cat’s eyes widened slightly. “You wouldn’t.”

Addy quirked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t I? It’ll get pretty stuffy back there, sitting on poor Xena for hours. Wonder if her sword would pop off if I farted too hard?”

“Fine,” Cat snarled as she picked the pen out of her bra and shoved it back at Addy.

Grinning in triumph, Addy plucked her hostage out of her pocket and handed it back. Their fingers touched gently, briefly as they made the exchange and their eyes met in a single, breathless moment, and then simultaneously, they turned away, each to her own bed. The rest of the night was spent in oppressively silent study.

Addy crossed her arms, and gave Cat a withering look. “This didn’t end well for you last time. You sure you want to play it this way?”

Cat made a disinterested moue with her lips and turned back to her document, spinning the highlighter tantalizingly through her fingers.

“One…” Cat couldn’t suppress the grin lurking at the corners of her mouth as she theatrically tucked the highlighter inside her shirt.

Addy rolled her eyes and chuckled. “All right, you brat. Two. You asked for it!” As Addy charged toward her friend, Cat pushed away from her desk and darted toward the door, shouting behind her as she ran, “Don’t mess up my piles!”

“I’ll give you piles, you rampaging noodlehead!” Addy shouted after her as they raced around the office.

“Hey, watch your language!” Cat laughingly called over her shoulder. This ended up being a mistake, as she stumbled over a bunched-up carpet and crashed to the floor, Addy hot on her heels. Addy tackled her as she tried to get her legs back under her, and Cat let out a loud “oof” as Addy’s full weight landed on her back.

Cat tried pushing herself to her knees with Addy’s weight on top of her, but Addy grabbed both her arms and they tumbled down again. “Oh, it’s so on, princess!” Cat growled into the carpet.

With a tremendous heave, Cat flung Addy off her back and quickly pounced on as much of her as she could reach. Addy got one hand around Cat’s wrist and tried prying her off, but Cat managed to flip the rest of herself around and pin down Addy’s legs.

“Ha!” Cat shouted as she managed to pin both of Addy’s hands with one of hers, and clamped her knees together over both Addy’s legs. “Looks like the tables have turned this time, my dear!”

Addy struggled and thrashed for a few more moments and then huffed in annoyance. “Whatever! You can’t keep me like this forever, and the second you let me go, you’re going down, Rogers!”

“Oh, am I?” Cat purred in Addy’s ear. “Promises, promises.”

Addy breath froze for an instant. Teetering on the edge of throwing all caution and sanity to the wind, Addy pulled herself back from the brink of taking Cat right then and there and took a different tack.

“Don’t think you can distract me with your deviant, prurient propositions, you thieving rogue! I’m on a mission to regain my wrongfully misappropriated office supplies and will not be diverted!”

“Ooh, say more big words, princess. It makes me so hot…” and the tip of Cat’s tongue darted out to punctuate the taunt with a quick swipe up Addy’s temple.

“Ew, did you just lick me? Gross!” Addy wiped her face off on Cat’s shoulder as Cat roared with laughter above her.

Wiping away tears with her free hand, Cat continued chuckling as Addy squirmed under her. “Well, it does seem we’re at an impasse. I have something you want, and you are in no position to get it. How are we to resolve this conundrum?” She tapped her chin thoughtfully and smirked.

“Well now…that depends on what you think I want.” Addy’s voice became deep and breathy, and she made her body relax as she donned the most wanton, seductive look she ever had given.

Cat’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. Her breath came out in one gasp and all her muscles went slack. This was the opening Addy had been hoping for. She pushed up hard to one side with her legs and hips and flipped Cat onto her back. Cat put up no struggle as Addy pinned her shoulders. Cat’s face still slack and slightly stunned, she turned away from Addy.

“Let me up. Please.” Cat’s expression was so serious that Addy knew the game was over and quickly sat back on her knees to let her friend sit up. Still kneeling astride Cat's legs, she opened her mouth to apologize, but Cat held up a hand.

“It’s ok. Just. Here,” she said quietly. Still not looking at Addy, she reached into her shirt to pull out the highlighter and held it out for Addy to take.

Addy just looked at it, then back to her friend. Cat finally turned to face Addy, and the look of longing tore the last of Addy’s resolve to shreds. She plucked the highlighter from Cat’s fingers, flung it down the hallway, took Cat’s face in both hands, and kissed her.

For a single instant, Cat didn’t respond, and Addy thought she’d made a terrible mistake. Then all of a sudden, Cat’s hands were everywhere and she couldn’t seem to get enough of Addy’s mouth. They gasped and breathed together as lips and tongues met and explored with an urgency Addy never had felt before.

Breathless, she explored the inside of Cat’s mouth. She wrapped both arms around Cat’s head and shoulders, running her fingers through the soft hair and then clenching it in spasmed fists as Cat’s searching hands hit a sensitive spot on her sides. Cat’s warm hands cupped her backside and pulled Addy more tightly against her belly. Addy moaned into Cat’s mouth at the overwhelming onslaught of sensations and rested her forehead gently to Cat’s.

Shaking, the two clung to each other and laid gentle kisses around each other’s mouths, cheeks, and eyes.

“So that highlighter…I think I’ll have it bronzed,” Cat muttered into Addy’s hair.

Addy chuckled as she cupped Cat’s face and leaned in for another kiss. Then, suddenly, she froze in horror at the sound of a key scraping the front door lock.

“Hello! Anybody here?” Beau’s voice called out from the entry hall.

Panicked, Addy leaped off Cat’s lap and started smoothing out her rumpled clothing. “Ah…uh huh! Welcome back, boss!” Knowing they had only seconds before Beau rounded the corner and saw them, Addy hauled Cat to her feet and started shooing her off toward the bathroom.

“He can’t find us like this!” she whispered urgently.

Cat, completely unperturbed, sauntered carelessly toward the door. “I mean, not like he’s my boss…” She smirked, put her hands in her pockets, and shrugged nonchalantly.

“Will you GO!” she hissed. And with a final innocent grin, Cat closed the door behind her.

Addy darted into the kitchen and hastily began gathering up supplies for a cup of coffee. She forced herself to slow down and take deep breaths as she heard Beau making his way down the hallway. Even so, she almost jumped out of her skin when he poked his head through the door.

“Hey there! Here’s my hard-working lawyer!” Beau gave Addy a mega-watt grin that Addy somewhat dazedly returned.

“Hey, Beau. Glad you’re back.” Liar, she thought to herself. “How’d the meeting go?”

“Fantastic! She was pretty hesitant at first, but I got her to come around to our way of thinking in the end. Here, finish getting your coffee and meet me in my office. I’ll catch you up.” He started to withdraw, then poked his head back in, making Addy jump again.

“By the way, is Cat here?”

“Yeah. Um, yeah. She’s here. She’s been working all morning on the exhibits. I mean, we’ve both been working. All morning.” Addy felt at that moment like she had been replaced by a jabbering, flittery little bird. “But I think she’s in the bathroom now. At least, that’s what she said. I don’t know for sure. Why do you ask?” Addy mentally slapped herself and forced her brain to stop her mouth from continuing to make words.

Beau stared at her in amazement, then shook his head to collect himself. “Ummmm… just wondering. I saw her coat in the hall. You ok?”

“Oh, totally. Totally great. Just, you know…too much coffee. You know me!” Laughing nervously, she inwardly groaned at herself and vowed to stomp the jabbering bird into a senseless pile of feathers.

“Okaaay…maybe you should switch to decaf, all right?” Beau met her eyes carefully and spoke slower than usual, clearly a little concerned for his associate’s mental stability.

“Right,” she let out a long breath. “Good idea.”

Nodding once more, Beau left the kitchen. Addy slumped against the countertop in relief and covered her face with her hands.

Pull it together, Carmen, she thought to herself. Running the sink, she cupped the water in both hands and splashed it on her face. Patting herself dry with a paper towel, she took deep breaths to try and calm the last of her jitters.

Figuring she needed to continue the ruse, she finished making the coffee she didn’t want – and certainly didn’t need – and forced herself to stroll casually down the hall to Beau’s office. Cat already was there, leaning in the doorframe with her arms crossed, and chatting relaxedly with Beau. Addy schooled her face to stillness, but couldn’t help the small smile that twitched the corner of her mouth when Cat glanced over at her.

Cat tipped her a very subtle wink, and continued talking with her boss.

This afternoon is going to suck, Addy thought to herself with an inward sigh.

"Oh, by the way, did one of you lose a highlighter? I found one in the middle of the hallway. Thought maybe someone dropped-"

"It's mine," Addy broke in, quickly jumping forward to snatch the marker out of Beau's hand. Beau, mouth hanging open, blinked once at her, then shifted his attention slowly back to Cat, and continued where he had left off in their conversation. Cat was biting her lip to keep the laughter in her eyes from coming out her mouth, and Beau kept glancing at Addy as if checking to make sure his young associate hadn't lost her mind entirely.

Completely and totally going to suck....

Chapter Text

“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Beau said wryly as he and Addy exited the courthouse. After two days, they finally had gone through all their pre-trial motions and had gotten only a small portion of the rulings they had hoped for.

Addy grimaced and shook her head. “I can’t believe she’s letting in all that crap about our clients’ bank records. As if their net worth has anything to do with how sick they all got. Or Interstate’s culpability. That’s such garbage.”

Beau sighed. “I know that, and you know that, and by the time we’re done, the jury will know that too. Brandeis is one of those ‘throw everything at the jury and let them figure it out’ types. You can’t let her rulings get to you. We have to take what we’re given and figure out how to work with it. At least she’s letting us put Ellen Sellers on the witness list late. That was a huge win.”

Addy had to agree there. Adam Howard almost popped a vein in his head arguing against their post-deadline addition of a new witness. While technically it was true that Archer and Bright should have disclosed Ellen Sellers much sooner, they were successfully able to argue that the reason they hadn’t was because the H.O.R.D.E. scum (as Addy had taken to thinking of them) had failed to turn over the emails that would have identified her as a potential witness in the first place. Brandeis nearly lost her temper entirely when she learned of that little “oversight” – as Adam had termed it – and eventually, the argument turned from whether to keep Ms. Sellers out to how much Howard Ortlieb should be sanctioned for their discovery abuses.

“We’re sure she’s going to cooperate?” Addy had heard too much about the elusive Ellen Sellers to take that for granted, despite having spoken to her several times and having overseen her travel arrangements.

“Well, we can’t know for sure until she gets up there, but it’s going well so far. She’s being remarkably brave about the whole thing, even if we didn’t get off to a great start.” Ellen Sellers had not to subtly pushed Beau in their initial meeting to give her an under-the-table “witness stipend” for her testimony, which she claimed was necessary to offset the costs of childcare. Considering the firm was paying her travel and lodging expenses, and she admitted her son could stay with his grandparents while she was gone, Beau wisely refused to offer any such stipend. Adam Howard would tear her to shreds on the stand when he inevitably found out about such an arrangement.

Ms. Sellers had worked at Interstate Chemical as an environmental compliance officer, which meant that she was responsible for monitoring and documenting the disposal of the toxic chemicals in use at the factory. Part of that job required her to collect and analyze soil samples from the factory’s physical plant to ensure against undetected leaks. About a year and a half before the Archer and Bright clients started showing symptoms of exposure to the toxin, Ms. Sellers’ soil testing had shown higher and higher concentrations of the toxin around the plant. Emails and internal memoranda documented her efforts to locate what she thought was a leak, and her growing suspicion that the high levels of toxin were the result of intentional dumping.

The situation came to a head after about six months when Ms. Sellers sent a memorandum via email to the factory heads as well as Interstate Chemical’s vice president of operations and others at corporate headquarters. The memorandum gave the raw data and Ms. Sellers’ analysis to the high-level executives as well as her suspicion that someone at the factory was dumping the toxin on factory property rather than paying to have it disposed of properly.

Although the Archer and Bright lawyers were unable to get a hold of any “smoking gun” documents showing that Ms. Sellers intentionally was silenced – because, as they found out from Cat, Howard Ortlieb had destroyed them – Ms. Sellers told them that a few weeks after the memorandum was circulated, she was offered a job at a higher level, but out of state, at one of Interstate’s corporate partners. However, the job was conditioned on her acceptance of a non-disclosure agreement banning her from speaking about anything she had seen, heard, or done at Interstate Chemical.

All in all, it was a minor miracle that they had managed to secure her testimony at all. She was extremely hesitant to testify against her former employer, concerned about how it would affect her standing in her field. She also was worried about being sued or losing her job for breaching the NDA. Even though Beau had reassured her that testifying about illegal conduct wouldn’t be a breach of the non-disclosure agreement, he had to admit that she was right to be concerned about possible consequences. In the end, it took Beau showing her pictures of the neighborhood kids in the hospital from exposure to the toxin to sway Ms. Sellers’ opinion. She told Beau that her own son had diabetes and so she could imagine the agony the other parents had suffered watching their own children fight for health.

And it’s all down to Cat, Addy thought to herself. If Cat hadn’t changed teams, they never would have found out about Ellen Sellers, she wouldn’t have been able to provide the testimony linking the factory’s wrong-doing to corporate headquarters, and their clients’ case would be significantly worse off for it. In fact, everything about their case was stronger for Cat’s change of heart.
But that thought brought Addy no joy. She hadn’t spoken to Cat directly since the evening of The Highlighter Incident, as she had taken to thinking of it, and she had to work very hard to keep the distance from weighing on her. Especially now.

Catching something in her look, Beau looked at her thoughtfully. “We should give Cat a call when we get back to the office. Tell her about the hearing results.”

Startled out of her reverie, Addy pulled her thoughts back to the present. “Yeah, good idea, boss.” And then she relapsed into silence.

“Have you heard from her lately?” he asked gently. “Things have seemed a little strained between you two.”

Addy sighed. “We’ve been keeping each other up-to-date by email.” She purposefully avoided addressing the second comment. She wasn’t ready to think about that yet.

Beau just nodded. “I see.” And Addy was grateful that he chose not to pursue the subject further.

*****

The next morning, Addy arrived promptly at 6 am as usual to get ready for the first day of jury selection. Knowing it was an important day, she dressed especially carefully knowing that her appearance would give the jury that crucial first impression of both her and her clients. Feeling confident, she strode up the sidewalk to Archer and Bright, but stopped short on seeing Cat’s car parked in the street out front.

Her heart seized up in her chest and anxiety tensed all her limbs knowing she was about to see her friend for the first time in days. I can’t handle this, she thought to herself, and found herself gasping for air. She closed her eyes and tried to keep the images from days before from flashing through her mind, but to no avail.

Addy’s anxiety hadn’t lessened as the day went on. At first, she thought her jitters were from Beau’s sudden intrusion on her and Cat’s intimate moment, but as the hours went on, she realized it was something else.

When she wasn’t focused entirely on her work, her mind kept wandering to that moment not with any sense of joy, but with apprehension. By the end of the day, she was totally frazzled, exhausted, and completely ready for some quiet alone time. It wasn’t to be.

“Hey, Addy.” Cat’s low voice drifted in from where she was standing in Addy’s open door. “I’m ready to head out for the day. Want a ride home?”

“Um…no.” Addy frowned and rubbed her eyes.

Startled at Addy’s abrupt refusal, Cat narrowed her eyes in confusion. “It’s ok. I can wait for you to finish up.”

“No, you go ahead.”

Cat stood thoughtfully for a moment, then went into Addy’s office and closed the door. “Ok. Talk to me. What’s been eating you all day?”

“Nothing. I’m just tired and have a lot on my plate. As you should know,” she snapped sharply, her nerves finally getting the better of her. She scowled, knowing that Cat never would let it go and they were very likely in for a fight. One she did not need right then.

Cat’s eyes narrowed further, this time in anger, but she took a breath before answering.. “I do know. And I’m trying to help. You’ve been acting weird ever since this morning, and you need to snap out of it. So your boss almost walked in on us kissing. You don’t need to have a panic attack about it. I think they’d be kinda psyched actually…this place is weird like that.”

“It’s not that. It’s just… I can’t be doing this right now.” Addy realized her hands had clenched into fists on her desk, and her heart had started pounding erratically.

“Can’t be doing what exactly?” Cat’s expression had turned to stone.

“I don’t know!” Addy almost shouted. “Can’t be doing anything with you. I know how you are with your…conquests, and I don’t want to be one of them. I’m sorry, I should’ve put a lid on it before things happened. I have to focus on the trial and I just can’t deal with this right now.

Cat was silent and still as a hunter before the kill. Addy waited tensely for her to say anything or do something, but long moments passed before Cat looked up and met her eyes with a deathly dark expression.

“I understand why someone else might have that impression of me, but you should know better. I’m not even asking anything of you because God knows I know how important this trial is. But don’t push me away again because something else is more important. Because something else will always be more important. At some point, you have to decide what you want and accept that having it means making sacrifices. And that making those sacrifices doesn’t make you a bad person, or even any less of a good person. Don’t do this again.”

“Cat, you don’t get it. It’s not about the trial. It’s about you. You told me that for you, everyone you’ve ever been with has been like pizza – forgettable, interchangeable, ultimately unsatisfying. Everyone! That is the last thing I ever would want to be. To anybody. How can I possibly know that I’d be any different from the countless women who’ve shared your bed over all these years?”

Cat ran her hand through her hair and blew out a sharp breath. Her head bowed and her eyes closed, she said quietly, “I see.” Without looking up, she turned and opened Addy’s door and started to leave. Halfway into the hallway, she spoke over her shoulder almost in a whisper.

“You could never be that for me, Addy. Never.”

And she left.

Addy took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and marched up the walk to Archer and Bright. As she walked in, she saw the whole firm gathered in the reception area around the stacks of boxes accompanying Beau and Addy to court that morning. Beau and Cindy were laughing quietly over some shared joke, while Gloria, Nettie, and Cat – as improbable a group as Addy ever had imagined – were engrossed in flipping through what seemed to be a trashy supermarket magazine. And Swifty – fabulous as ever – trotted jauntily among them like a proud party host.

For a moment, Addy felt as flabbergasted as when she walked in on her very first day, but then her heart swelled with joy as she looked on this group of people whom she’d come to regard as family. And Cat, who always had been. She stood in the entryway and smiled, enjoying the scene and the moment of peace before the chaos she knew was coming.

Seemingly at once, everyone looked up and saw her standing there grinning, and without saying a word, Beau, Gloria, Cindy, Nettie, and Cat all grinned right back.

“Glad you could join us, princess,” Cat welcomed her.

“Now, about that,” Nettie began with a teasing grin, “I’ve hit some roadblocks in my research, but I had some thoughts…”

Addy laughed out loud and joined her team. “Nope, not going there today! What are you all doing here at oh-dark thirty anyway? It’s usually so quiet and peaceful this time of day.”

Cindy answered, “We’re here to see you guys off, of course! This is a big day for the firm, and for you. Nettie and I wanted to make sure you and Beau had everything you needed before heading to court this morning.”

“And I’m off to my own pre-trial hearings later, but I came in early to give you both my best wishes,” Gloria chimed in.

It was quiet for a moment as all eyes fell on Cat. She suddenly looked around at all of them, feigning startlement. “Whaaaat? Why are you all looking at me?” Everyone chuckled, and Cat walked over to Addy.

“Today’s your first day ever in front of a jury. You’ve been working for this your whole life. Of course I’m going to be here to see you off. And I wanted to give you something for luck, though you won’t need it. You’re the smartest gal I know. Besides me.” She grinned, and Addy gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder.

Cat reached into her pocket and pulled out her lucky Xena figurine that had lived on her desk for as long as Addy had known her, and pressed it into Addy’s hand. “I can’t be there with you, but Xena’ll keep an eye on things for me. I know you’ll be great.”

Addy found her chest tightening and tears starting to well up as she took the small toy. After everything, Cat still found a way to come through for her when it mattered. “Thank you,” she said quietly with a small smile, not quite able to meet Cat’s eyes.

“All right, kids! We’ve got lots to do and daylight’s burning,” Beau energetically broke up what quickly was becoming a sap-fest with a brisk clap of his hands. “Addy, let’s touch base in my office to go over last minute issues. Cat, you’re welcome to join in. Always appreciate your insight.” He gave his one-time enemy a warm smile.

“I’ll be on phone stand-by if you need me. You guys got this.” Cat gave a half grin, shoved her hands into her pockets, and started backing toward the front door.

Addy, still clutching the figurine, took a step toward her, started to reach out a hand, then thought better of it. Her eyes finally meet Cat’s, and a flash of understanding passed between them. Addy feels all the tension she hadn’t been aware she was carrying leave her body, to be replaced by a thrill of resolve.

“Thank you,” she said again. Cat just gave Addy a gentle smile and a wink before heading out the door.

Chapter Text

“Don’t worry, they’re with us.” Addy glances at Beau, a little startled at his nonchalance and perceptiveness. She nervously had been glancing over her shoulder at the two very large men who had been following them at a distance since they left the office.

“I probably should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to worry you” he continued. “Some of my…let’s say, more physically-minded former clients have been keeping an eye on us heading to and from the courthouse in case Howard has a mind to try something again.”

Addy took a shaky breath and nodded. “Thanks for that. That thought had occurred to me too. I’m just glad to know those guys are on our side.”

“Damn.” Beau grimaced in chagrin. “I didn’t think of that. I’m so sorry, Addy. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“It’s all right. It’s good you’ve got us covered, boss. The way things have been going, I’ve been wondering when Howard Ortlieb would start pulling out all the stops to get their case back on track. I can’t believe Interstate Chemical is happy right now.”

Beau chuckles and nods. “The way you shredded their expert yesterday was beautiful to watch. By the end, the poor guy – what did you call him?”

Addy grinned. “Twitchy McCokehead.”

Beau laughed out loud at that. “Dang, he wore a hole in his trousers squirming and by the end would’ve admitted to anything to get out of there.”

Addy had watched the man nervously fidgeting in his seat and sweating during his direct examination and noticed that Adam Howard seemed to rush through the questioning. So, when it was time for their cross-examination, she laid a hand on Beau’s arm and said simply, “I got this.”

Barely needing to consult her notes and outline, Addy asked question after question at a snail’s pace, slowing down even more when the witness’ answers started coming at an even faster clip than previously – sometimes even cutting off the end of her question. The jury, at first a little annoyed with the pace of the examination, began to notice the witness’ odd behavior as he practically was crawling out of his seat and mopping his brow with a handkerchief. His eyes darting continuously around the room, his machine-gun answers seemed to get more and more non-sensical the longer the questioning continued until the jury was practically glued to his every word and gesture with slack-jawed disbelief. This culminated in the man admitting that he hadn’t run any tests himself, that he hadn’t read the other experts’ reports, and that he had paid someone else to write his own report.

When he was excused from the witness box, he practically sprinted out the door and toward the men’s room. Addy and Beau saw him later, glassy eyed, being berated by Adam Howard in the courtroom hallway.

Addy grinned at the memory. “Is it wrong to admit that was kinda fun?”

Beau snorted. “Hell, no! Days like that are catnip for lawyers!”

Addy laughed. “I hope the next two days go a smoothly. Two more witnesses, closing arguments, then it’s out of our hands.” They walked up the courthouse steps, and Addy glanced behind them one last time before she got to the door.

“Should we wave or thank them or something?”

Beau smirked. “This isn’t like waiting for your date to get in her front door before driving off, Addy. They know we’re grateful, don’t worry.” Addy chuckled, then put on her game face and entered the arena.

*****

That night, as had become routine, she was typing furiously on her laptop on Cat’s couch while Cat made them a late dinner. They hadn’t spoken any further about The Highlighter Incident, and things seemed to go back to normal except…

…except that Cat oh-so-casually suggested that Addy might be more comfortable working at Cat’s apartment instead of the office, which Addy somewhat suspiciously agreed to. And when literally all they did was work and talk casually over aspects of the case, Addy began to relax and it became a regular thing during the trial.

…except that Cat, without a word of warning, began cooking dinner for the two of them after a few nights of ordering take-out. She claimed that she was getting sick of the restaurants in her area, but Addy noticed that she so happened to be cooking all Addy’s favorite dinners.

…except that one night, Addy was suffering from a tension headache, and Cat off-handedly offered to give her a neck tub “just so she would stop whining about it.” When the rub stayed strictly platonic, Addy felt relieved but also strangely disappointed. After that, Addy found herself unable to stop from touching Cat whenever possible. A quick hug here. A shoulder pat there. But always something.

Addy knew what Cat was doing, but couldn’t decide whether to run away screaming or melt in a mush puddle on the floor. All Addy’s fears about being Cat’s snack du jour were still alive and well, but… Cat was wooing her. Honest-to-God, old-school, can-I-carry-your-books-home-type courtship with no expectations. Rather than run off and find someone new to bed at Addy's display of hesitation and fear, Cat had kept coming around and being a steady, consistent presence all through the weeks of trial. She had never seen Cat do this for anyone, and she suspected that was why Cat was doing it. To make her feel special. To put her at ease. To make her feel safe.

And, so help her, Addy did.

“Hey, if you’re near a good stopping place, dinner’s almost ready,” Cat called from the kitchen. It felt so domestic, Addy couldn’t help the warm smile that spread across her face.

Stretching and closing her laptop, she wandered into the kitchen. She had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh when she saw Cat, her back to the door and EarPods in, with a towel flipped over her shoulder shimmying in front of the stove softly singing what Addy recognized as Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. As she watched her friend bouncing and mashing potatoes in time to the lyrics, her heart became a huge, glowing ball in her chest and a single thought raced through her brain popping like an exclamation point out the top of her head.

I’m completely in love with her.

“Duh.”

Addy’s jaw dropped at Cat’s response to her internal self-revelation. Then she almost laughed out loud again as she realized Cat hadn’t read her mind, but was still singing along. Not wanting to overthink the moment and ruin it, she decided to break in on Cat’s solo dance party.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, she pulled out one of the EarPods and started to say, “Hey, can I –” when Cat yelped, jumped about a foot in the air, and somehow managed to fling burning hot potatoes onto her own face.

“Jesus, Addy! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Cat managed to wipe the potatoes off with her towel, and stuck her head in the kitchen sink trying to run her entire face under cold water.

Torn between laughter and concern, Addy managed a strangled, “Give me that, you dork,” as she took the towel from Cat and ran it under the water. She pulled Cat’s head out of the sink, turned her around, and held the cold cloth to the small red patch on Cat’s cheek.

Shaking her head fondly, Addy reached up to touch Cat’s other cheek. “What would you do without me?”

“Make dinner without inflicting serious injury on myself, apparently,” Cat grumbled, the rest of her face red with embarrassment.

“You were the one who said dinner was almost ready,” Addy reminded her with a teasing grin.

“Yeah, well…I wasn’t expecting you to come in that quickly.” Cat’s eyes narrowed suddenly. “How long were you standing there exactly?”

Addy smirked. “Long enough.” She quickly bust out with a goofy, hip shaking dance while singing her own made-up lyrics loudly and off-key.

“I’m a bad guy, something something sad guy, I’m going to Verseille, you live in a pig sty….I’m a baaaaaaad guy. Duh.”

Addy could tell that Cat was trying not to laugh as she mock glared at her through narrow eyes. “Are you done?”

Addy considered playfully for a moment, then kept dancing around Cat’s kitchen while singing the instrumental hook of the song. “Doo dwee, do do dee do dee, doo dwee…” while Cat hung her head and chuckled.

“All right, you.” Cat finally reached out and caught Addy’s wrist when she bounced into range and pulled her to where Cat was leaning against the counter. Suddenly, Addy found herself pressed against the length of Cat’s body with her hands on Cat’s hips. She took a quick breath at the unexpected nearness and Cat quickly let go of her arm.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to –” but Addy cut her off with a gentle, shy kiss. Addy looked up to find Cat’s eyes still closed and her lips slightly parted. It was the most beautiful, most erotic thing Addy had ever seen. She bit her lip against the stir of desire, gave Cat a chaste kiss on her cheek, and slowly disentangled herself.

“We should…” Addy gestured at the stove where their dinner still awaited them in pans.

“Yeah,” Cat blinked slowly at her with a breathless smile, and turned to start dishing up their meal.

The rest of the evening passed quietly. They enjoyed dinner in companionable silence punctuated by soft remarks about the quality of the meal and shy grins at each other. Afterward, Addy continued to prepare for the last day of testimony with Cat offering suggestions and looking over Addy’s work from time to time. Around eleven, Addy started yawning and said it was time to call it a night.

She quietly packed up her things and Cat walked her to the door. Cat faced her with a little smile on her face, but made no move to initiate any contact. Addy knew she wouldn't; that Cat was leaving whatever happened or didn't happen up to her. Addy realized that she was tired of fighting against what she knew she wanted, needed. She needed to be close to Cat. She could only pray that when the fall came – when Cat inevitably got bored with her and moved on – that it would kill every nerve ending in her heart so she wouldn’t have to feel anything anymore. Because she knew she could never love anyone else. Not like this. And she knew the pain of it could kill her.

Until then, though…she stepped up to Cat and put her arms around her, looking up at the warmth in her eyes. The kiss, when it came, filled Addy down to her toes. It was slow and hot, passionate, and both lost themselves in it. Cat sucked on Addy’s tongue and slowly ran her own along the underside. Addy moaned and pressed their mouths together harder. She slid her hands under Cat’s untucked shirt and felt the soft, strong lines of her belly, stroking her thumbs around Cat’s belly button and up the center of her abdomen.

Cat’s breathing came in gasps and her body pulsed under Addy’s hands. Addy could feel Cat’s damp heat against her leg where it pressed against the vee of Cat’s jeans, and she slowly slid Cat’s shirt up until both hands were cupping her breasts through her thin bra. Cat groaned and threw her head back as Addy leaned down to take one of Cat’s taut nipples in her teeth.

Addy felt drunk with desire and powerful in the effect she was having on Cat. She longed to run her hands, her mouth, her teeth, her tongue everywhere on Cat’s body and feel her tense and writhe against her. But slowly and gently, she felt Cat’s hands caressing her own and bringing them together between them as she eased away from their kiss.

When Addy realized what was happening, she stiffened and tried to pull away at what she saw as rejection. Cat kept her arms wrapped around her, keeping her gently but firmly from going anywhere.

“I hope you know how much I want this to happen, Addy.” Addy looked at her skeptically, but saw only openness and desire.

“Then, why…?” was her confused response.

“Because you have a full day in court starting first thing tomorrow and I don’t want our first time to be rushed. I’ve waited too long for this. For you.” Addy’s breath caught in her throat at the sincerity in Cat’s low voice. She nestled her head on Cat’s shoulder and let herself be held.

Cat continued, murmuring into Addy’s hair, “I want to take my time. Get to know every inch of you until all you feel is wanted and cherished. And when we’re done, start all over again. We don’t have time for that tonight and it’s what you deserve. What we deserve. It’s been ten years. You can be patient for a few more days, right?”

Addy chuckled into Cat’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “Maybe, but I don’t want to.” She lifted her head to meet Cat’s eyes. Cat tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and kissed the tip of her nose.

“I don’t want to either, as I hope you can tell,” Cat said with a grin, squirming a little. “I think we’ll be glad we did in the long run, though.”

The long run? Addy let those words echo through her mind. The long run. Cat wants there to be a long run. Addy couldn’t decide what to make of that. Maybe it was just a figure of speech? Maybe she meant they’d still be friends in the long run no matter what? Or maybe, her heart whispered, maybe…

Chapter Text

Addy arrived at the office early the next morning to find a hollow-eyed and somber Beau on the phone in the reception area.

“If you hear from her, would you please have her call me as soon as possible?” she overheard as she headed past him toward her office. At those words, though, she stopped dead and looked at Beau in horror. He met her gaze with a look that promised nothing good.

“Thank you. And again, my apologies for calling so early. Good bye.” He hung up and stood with his head bowed and his hand still on the phone. Without looking up, he addressed Addy.

“Ellen Sellers is gone.”

Addy felt like all the air had been sucked from the room.

“What?” she gasped in shock. “No.” Addy had picked Ellen up from the airport two nights before and had spent several hours with her yesterday preparing her to testify. They were due to court in a few short hours and Ellen’s testimony was crucial. She could tie everything together for their clients – the toxic dumping, the cover-up, the environmental and health damage – and her words would have been fresh in the jury’s mind while deliberating.

“I was supposed to meet with her over breakfast, but she didn’t show. I drove to her hotel, but the clerk said she checked out late last night. Apparently, she was accompanied by a man in a suit. I called her parents and her mother claims they haven’t heard from her, but I’m not convinced.”

Beau picked up a stapler from Cindy’s desk and hurled it at the wall. “God damn it! God damn them all!” he roared.

Addy had never seen Beau lose his cool before, and for the first time got a glimpse of the passion and rage that must have driven him as a younger man. As Beau visibly tried to collect himself, Addy stared at the large new hole in the plaster and immediately slipped into problem-solving mode.

“Ok. She’s not at the hotel, but it’s possible she hasn’t left the state yet. Have you called the sheriff’s department? I mean, she’s been subpoenaed. Can we get their help in enforcing it? Or could we call the airlines? The taxi companies to see where she might have gone?”

Beau shook his head, his jaw still clenched in anger. “No, she’s gone. It’s clear Howard’s goons found her somehow and got to her. There’s no way we’ll find her now, certainly not in time to testify.”

“What if we asked for a continuance? Give us some time to hunt her down?”

“Think about it, Addy,” he snapped, “we never took her depo, so there’s no record of what she told us. Even if we found her, we couldn’t force her to say in court what she told us off the record. Hell, she could get up there and lie and we’d have no way of proving it.”

His shoulders slumped. “This is all my fault. I should have had her stay with me and Gloria, or with Cat, but I was so worried at what Adam Howard could make of it that I forgot what he could do if we left her alone. Damn it.”

“Beau, this isn’t the time for that,” Addy said seriously. Beau looked up at her in surprise, but Addy’s expression brooked no argument. “We can beat ourselves up for this later. Right now, we have to lock it in and figure out a plan for where we are.”

He closed his eyes and took one more steadying breath. “Right. Ok. We’ve got a full day’s testimony blocked out and no witness. If we close our evidence, Judge Brandeis will want to start right in with closing statements. She won’t want to waste the jury’s time. Howard will hem and haw about going a day early, but you know he’s got his closing ready. His will probably take the better part of the day, and we’ll go tomorrow.

“So here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll go to court and deal with that end of it while you stay here and work on our closing. Don’t be too fancy with it. Just start making bullet points of the highlights of each witness’ testimony and we can work on pulling it all together tonight and tomorrow morning. See if you can get Cat in to help you.”

“Will do, boss.” Addy was already starting down the hallway toward her office and pulling out her phone to call Cat when the office phone rang. Normally, at this hour, they’d let it go to voicemail, but considering the circumstances, Addy wasn’t surprised when Beau answered. She stopped and turned back to listen.

“Good morning, Archer and Bright….Slow down, Ellen.” Beau and Addy exchanged looks of shock. “Wait, what happened? Never mind, where are you?...I can be there in fifteen minutes. Do not go anywhere, ok?...All right, I’ll see you in fifteen.”

Beau hung up and ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. “That was Ellen. Apparently, she’s had a change of heart and wants to testify. I’m going to go pick her up at the airport. We have to be to court in a little over an hour, but even with morning traffic, I should be ok getting back in time.” He put on his coat and started rifling around for his keys.

“Hang on, why don’t I go? You’re lead trial counsel. If I’m running late, it’s not as big a deal as if you are.”

“No, we really should be okay time-wise. And I want a chance to talk with Sellers before she gets on the stand. I don’t trust this at all, and I’m going to want some serious reassurance before I let her testify.”

“Ok. I’ll call Cat and give her a heads up in case things go sideways.

“Good idea. All right. See you in about half an hour.”

“Give her a kick in the shins from me when you see her, ok?” Beau chuckled, sketched a quick wave, and headed out the door.

Addy immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Cat. “Hey. You won’t believe what’s been going on…”

*****

An hour later, a highly-agitated Addy paced around the reception area of Archer and Bright as she tried again to reach Beau on his cell. Cat, who came down as soon as Addy filled her in, also was making calls from the reception desk as two to-go coffees cooled in their cups. They both hung up at the same time and looked at each other anxiously.

Right then, the sound of a key being inserted caused both of their heads to whip around and laser focus on the front door. When Cindy and Nettie opened it, they both let out the breath they were holding and looked at each other in dismay. Immediately sensing that something was very wrong, Nettie snapped into business mode.

“What’s happening? What do you need?” She and Nettie quickly took off their coats and set their bags down, ready to hit the ground running.

Addy suddenly felt dazed and exhausted from the stress and anxiety of the morning. She ran a hand down her face and took a quick breath to steady herself. “Ellen Sellers disappeared last night only to call us from the airport about an hour ago. Beau went off to get her and they should have been back thirty minutes ago. He’s not answering his cell, neither is Ellen, and we have to leave for court, like, now.” She looked at Cat, shell-shocked. Cat moved around the reception desk to perch on the corner and take her hand. Soothed by the simple contact, Addy collected herself again and continued.

“I’m probably being paranoid, but now I’m worried that something may have happened.” Cat gave her hand a squeeze, and Addy willed the tears not to fall. “Can one of you get a hold of Gloria and let her know what’s going on? And please keep trying to reach Beau. I’ll head to court to brief the judge, so please tell Beau to head straight there when you get hold of him.”

Nettie and Cindy stood silently in shock for a moment absorbing the news Addy related. Then Nettie spoke up. “Do you want me to come with you to court? I can take care of the documents and such while you focus on keeping the judge happy. Cindy and Cat can handle the phone calls and keeping everything locked down here.”

Addy smiled at her gratefully. “That’s a really great idea. I think I’ll take you up on it.” Addy didn’t want to admit it, but having a friendly face with her would make her first appearance as lead trial counsel – however brief it would be – significantly less intimidating.

Cat grabbed her coat. “I’ll give you two a ride. You won’t get there in time if you walk. Cindy, give a shout if Beau turns up, ok?”

“Of course. Nettie will let me know what I can do from here to help.” She took her wife in a quick, intense hug and kissed her. “Be careful, love.”

Addy and Cat met each other’s gaze seriously. Their unease and fear had been growing steadily over the past half-hour and Cindy’s comment drove home for both of them the possibility of a threat to all of them.

Cat stepped closer to Addy and cupped her cheek. “He’ll be ok. And I won’t let anything happen to you.” Addy leaned into the touch and covered Cat’s hand with her own, grateful for Cat’s presence and strength.

“We should get going,” Addy said as she turned from Cat, still holding her hand. Despite the gravity of the situation, Cindy gave them a sappy smile, and Nettie, a gloating smirk. Addy couldn’t help a small grin, and rolled her eyes at them.

“All right, we can do the ‘I told you so’s later, you two. Let’s get going.”

*****

Judge Brandeis was not happy. Taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose, the judge fixed Addy with a thoroughly annoyed glare.

“So what you’re telling me is that your witness went missing, and that your lead trial counsel is inexplicably late and possibly also went missing. Am I hearing you correctly, Ms. Carmen?”

“Yes, your honor.”

The lawyers from both sides were meeting with the judge in her chambers before the jury arrived. They were supposed to have been working out details regarding the scope of Ellen Sellers’ expected testimony before the day’s trial calendar started, but Addy’s news left those issues in limbo.

Addy snuck a glance at Adam Howard and his trial team. She noted that none of them seemed surprised at Beau’s absence. This sent a chill up her spine. Saying a quick prayer for Beau’s safety to whatever gods were listening, she refocused her attention back on the irritated jurist. But Adam chose this moment to speak up.

“Well, your honor, my client shouldn’t be punished for plaintiff’s counsel’s inability to get to court on time. I move that we bar the witness from testifying and proceed directly to closing statements.”

Judge Brandeis fixed him with an arctic glare. “Mr. Howard, when I’m interested in your opinion, I will ask you for it.”

“Does that mean the motion is denied, then?” Howard responded smoothly. Interesting, Addy thought. He’s trying to lay the groundwork for an appeal, cover all his bases. Snake.

“It means,” the judge shot back, “that I am not entertaining motions at this time. You will remain silent, or you will be asked to leave my chambers. Understood?”

“Of course, ma’am.” He fairly dripped oil from all his pores, and Addy suppressed a shudder with difficulty. She inwardly was disgusted with herself that she ever could have courted this slime’s good opinion.

The judge stared thoughtfully down at her desk for a moment, tapping her fingers, then looked up at Addy. “Ms. Carmen, what time did Mr. Archer leave your office?”

“Around 6:45, your honor.”

“And it’s now just about 8:15.” Her fingers resumed tapping. “You’ve tried calling his cell phone?”

“Yes, of course, your honor.”

“What about his home phone? His law partner’s? His wife’s? The witness’ phone?”

“Several times each, ma’am. We have been calling every phone where he might be reached and anyone who may have seen either of them for over an hour now. Our secretary knows to call me immediately if anyone hears from him.”

“Ms. Carmen, I hate to say this, but has anyone thought to call hospitals or the police to make sure he wasn’t in an accident or misfortune of some kind?”

Addy paused before answering to ensure that her voice wouldn’t betray the wave of fear that washed over her at the judge’s suggestion. Not that she hadn’t thought of it herself, but hearing it said aloud made the possibility more real and left her feeling sick with dread.

“No, your honor, we haven’t pursued those avenues yet.”

Judge Brandeis took a breath and held it a moment before letting it out. “Counsel, I’m torn here. While I have had Mr. Archer in my courtroom several times over the years, and know him to be a responsible and dependable officer of the court, I have nothing before me but unusual circumstances and speculation to account for his absence. On the other hand, I have a jury of everyday citizens who are giving up time at work or with their families to be here performing their civic duty. I cannot ask them to give any more from their lives without some reasonable justification.

“So, Ms. Carmen, I will give you until noon today to produce your witness, or your clients will forfeit the opportunity to have her testify and we will proceed with closing statements. You also have until noon today to account for the whereabouts of Mr. Archer or your firm may face sanctions for his failure to appear timely in court. Am I clear?”

“Yes, your honor. Thank you.”

“Ms. Carmen, I find this truly worrying, and I sincerely hope that Mr. Archer turns up safely and soon. But since I hate worrying, he’d better have a very good reason for his absence, or I won’t be gentle.” She gave Addy a troubled look over her glasses. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a good result. All parties are excused, and we will meet back here at noon today.”

As soon as she cleared the chambers door, Addy walked over to where Nettie had been waiting in the hallway. Before she could ask the paralegal for an update, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Ms. Carmen…may I call you Addy?...I’m so sorry to hear of your…ah, misfortune.” Adam Howard’s cold tone washed over her like a North Sea whitecap, and it was all she could do not to shudder. Turning to face him, she removed his hand from her arm.

“What do you want?” she demanded coldly. She felt rather than saw Nettie step up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her against the Howard Ortlieb attorneys.

“It’s a shame that your star witness has abandoned you and you seem to have…hmm, misplaced your lead counsel. One can only wonder the effect this will have on your clients’ case. I have to believe that it means nothing good for any of you.”

Addy didn’t respond. She couldn’t believe the man had the gall to talk to her in this way. As if he didn’t know exactly why their witness had fled. As if he hadn’t been the cause of it. Addy clenched her jaw and willed her hands to remain open at her sides.

“Get to the point, Adam.”

“The point, Addy, is that your case is falling apart around your ears. Your witness is gone. The ink is barely dry on your bar card and you’re in the position of having to close out the case by yourself. Potentially, of course. And let’s not forget that you’ve only gotten this far because Ms. Rogers chose to violate every oath we currently have a law for. I would think that you should be thinking seriously about how to get out of this situation with any benefit at all to your clients. Not to mention with your reputation and Ms. Rogers’ professional future intact.”

Addy froze, steeling her face against any movement that might give away any of the turmoil and terror in her heart. He knew about Cat. She berated herself internally for not having foreseen this. Of course he did. They had tried to be careful about Cat’s participation in their trial prep, but as Cat had warned her, these were people with unlimited resources and no rules. He clearly also knew something about Beau, and she couldn’t bear to think of what that might mean. She knew she was in no state of mind to make any decisions right then, and needed to get away to regroup.

“If you have a settlement offer to make, then do it. I have things to do.”

“Charming. We try to instill in our colleagues a sense of propriety and decorum, but apparently these lessons are lost on some.” He stepped forward into her personal space, towering over her. “$250,000, inclusive of costs. Non-negotiable. You have until Brandeis’ noon deadline to accept or the offer’s off the table.” He put a single finger under her chin and dragged it up. “Choose wisely.”

Addy’s phone began buzzing in her briefcase, but she chose to ignore it in favor of not breaking eye contact with her opponent. Adam smirked. “Shouldn’t you get that? It might be your boss after all.” With that, he snapped his fingers and walked away, leaving his entourage of lawyers to follow along in his wake. Addy gritted her teeth and reached for her phone, but it had already gone to voicemail. Then Nettie’s phone started buzzing. They looked at each other, and Nettie looked down at her phone.

“It’s Cindy.” She slowly brought the device to her ear. “Honey, what’s happening? ...Oh, God.” Nettie’s hand flew to her mouth and she crumpled in on herself. Addy immediately grasped both her shoulders in support and guided her to the nearby bench. “Ok…Ok, I’ll tell her….We’ll be there as soon as we can. I love you too.” She hung up, tears already rolling slowly down her cheeks.

“Nettie…?” Addy couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice. She felt as if every string in her body was pulled taut to a breaking point, and the slightest twist would cause her to snap.

“They found Beau,” Nettie began in a choked voice. “He’s in the hospital."

Chapter Text

Addy stood outside the doors of Saint Fabiola’s Medical Center and watched hospital workers in scrubs, families with balloons and flowers, and elderly couples with canes and walkers going in and out the sliding doors. Cat had let her and Nettie off by the visitors’ entrance, and while Nettie raced inside to find Gloria and Cindy, Addy stood frozen, unable to move from the sidewalk. She felt a warm hand slip into hers as Cat came to stand beside her.

“You ok?” Cat asked softly.

Addy’s eyes stayed riveted to the door. “I don’t know if I can go in there.” She felt the beginnings of a panic attack at the mere thought.

“Breathe, Addy.” Cat came around to stand in front of Addy and held her in a loose embrace. Addy rested her head on Cat’s shoulder and let the tears flow. “This isn’t like before. If you want to go in, I’ll be with you the whole time. But it’s also ok if you want to wait outside. I can call you when I find Gloria, and everyone will understand.”

Addy held Cat closer a moment, feeling her warmth and letting Cat’s reassurance soothe her. The memories of those sixteen terrible hours threatened to overwhelm her, and she shuddered as the terror, isolation, pain, and shock she had felt more than fifteen years before raced through her again, just as real and present as when she was the young girl experiencing them. She turned her face into Cat’s neck, and Cat held the back of her head and stroked her hair.

“I can do this. I need to be there for Beau and everyone.”

Cat gently pulled her chin up to look her right in the eyes. “You can be there for Beau from outside too. You don’t literally need to be physically right there.”

“I know. But I want to. Just…just stay with me, ok?”

“Always.”

*****

After several wrong turns and frequent stops for directions, Addy and Cat made their way to the surgical waiting room. Gloria, sitting in a corner with her head in her hands, was bookended by Cindy on one side and two men and a younger woman Addy didn’t know on the other. Nettie stood staring out the window at the cloudy, darkening sky. Cat gave Addy’s hand a squeeze and went to stand with the stoic woman. Addy immediately went to Gloria and knelt in front of her to pull her into an awkward hug.

“I’m so sorry. How are you holding up? Have you heard anything?”

Without looking up, Gloria shook her head. Addy could see splashes of water on the floor from her tears. One of the men stood up and held out a hand.

“You must be Addy. We haven’t met yet, but I’m Lance, Beau’s dad. This is my husband, George, and Beau’s sister, Diana. We’ve heard so much about you, of course.” Addy shook his hand warmly, feeling the gentle strength in his grip. Addy wouldn’t have needed Beau to tell her that his dad was retired military to see it in his bearing and feel it in the calm he exuded in this stressful situation.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you all. I’d been looking forward to it. But not like this.” Addy’s voice cracked and tears again threatened to fall. George stood up, in tears himself, and enfolded Addy in a warm hug. Addy rarely had been hugged by a parent, and the caring and support she felt in the simple gesture almost broke her.

Still enfolding Addy in a hug, George spoke. “We haven’t heard anything for a while now, but the doctors were cautiously optimistic. He’s still in surgery and they said it could be a few hours until they know more.” The classics professor disengaged from the hug, but kept a hand on Addy’s shoulder. “He hasn’t regained consciousness since they…found him, but he had some facial fractures and internal injuries. From what we could gather, someone ran him off the road and into a tree on his way to the airport.”

Addy gasped in horror, and covered her mouth with her hands. “Have the police been by?” Every member of Beau’s family became stony-faced, and Addy winced, remembering too late that Beau’s brother had been killed by an officer.

“Yes, they were here when we got here,” Diana spoke for the first time. “That was…” As she trailed off, Lance sat next to her and draped an arm over her shoulder.

“Our eldest son, Fletcher, was brought here after he was shot,” he said to the room. “It has been…difficult…going through this again.”

Gloria sat up slightly and reached out to take Lance’s hand. Remembering the pain of her fathers-in-law seemed to bring her out of herself. “Beau’s going to be ok. He’s a tough cookie.”

George gave a tired smile. “He gets that from Lance.” He gazed fondly at his husband, who returned the look.

“If anything, he gets it from both of us. But honestly, I think it’s all him. He’s always been his own man.” The two fathers’ eyes glistened with unshed tears thinking of their little boy and the proud man he’d become.

Addy’s heart ached for all of them: for Lance and George, for Diana, for Gloria…Gloria. She cringed, remembering she had a deadline to meet. “Gloria, I’m sorry, but I have to talk to you about something that can’t wait. It has to do with the trial.”

Gloria looked up at her with deadened eyes and nodded. “Let’s go talk in the hall.”

Addy looked at Cat who raised a questioning eyebrow. At Addy’s nod, the three of them left the room. Addy didn’t waste any time with preliminaries. “Howard made us an offer that expires at noon. $250,000 for all thirty-five plaintiffs, inclusive of costs. He knew…that bastard knew…” Addy choked up and couldn’t continue. Cat laid a reassuring hand on her arm, a gesture that wasn’t lost on Gloria, and Addy wiped away the tears and continued talking. “Sorry. Honestly, Gloria, I don’t know what to do. When you subtract out our costs, what with all the depos, medical exams, and expert reports, and then take out our fees, it would leave our clients with next to nothing. But, if we go forward, one of us will have to give the closing statement and it’s going to be tough now that we lost Sellers. If we lose, our clients will get nothing, we’ll have lost our costs, and the firm will have to pay for Interstate Chemical’s costs too. I’m not a partner, and I don’t know what that would do to the firm, but I’m guessing that would be tough to absorb.”

Gloria hadn’t been able to focus on Addy the entire time she’d been talking, and Addy wasn’t entirely sure she’d been paying attention. Cat noticed this and spoke up, trying to draw Gloria’s attention back into the conversation. “I called around earlier and my sources tell me Howard Ortlieb is having cash-flow problems. Recently, they lost a few high-profile clients and Interstate Chemical is threatening to drop them if this case goes badly. Could be why… all this is happening.”

Gloria sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m so sorry. I…I just can’t wrap my mind around this right now. We haven’t wanted to say anything because it’s so early, but we just found out…I’m pregnant.” Addy gaped at her boss, her face lighting up with joy and excitement. “I can’t think of anything else right now than what I’ll do if…” Gloria’s face crumpled in pain and she wrapped her arms around herself.

“Don’t even think like that, Gloria. You and Beau are going to have the luckiest, most beautiful baby in the world who’ll be surrounded by all the love the two of you have to give. There is no way Beau would leave without meeting his child. Not the Beau I know. He’s in there fighting, for both of you, and your only job right now is to stay calm and strong to let the little one know that their papa is going to be just fine. Ok?”

Gloria kept sniffling, but nodded her head. Addy rubbed Gloria’s arms encouragingly, and gave her a warm, gentle smile. “I’m so happy for you, Gloria. So go in there and be with your family. I’ll take care of everything, ok?” Gloria took a deep breath, nodded again, and made her way back into the waiting room.

Once she was out of sight, Addy crumpled against a nearby wall with a bleak expression dropping over her face. She started breathing heavily, panted out, “I have to get out of here,” and bolted for the staircase.

*****

Addy didn’t remember her frantic trip down the stairs, didn’t hear Cat calling after her, was aware of nothing until after she’d made it out the sliding doors. She didn’t even realize it had started raining until after she’d taken several lungfuls of air unpolluted by sickness and disinfectant. She finally stopped running and gripped her hands into her wet hair, nearly doubled over by the panic that constricted her chest like a vice.

Cat caught up to her moments later, but approached her slowly, not wanting to startle her into further anxiety. “Hey, Addy,” she said gently. “Kinda wet out here, huh?”

Addy could hardly catch her breath. The weight of her past and of all her friends’ lives crushed down on her chest. Being at the hospital made her feel as small and powerless as she did as a little girl who dared to complain of her foster brother’s abuse, and wound up being invasively examined by cold, unfriendly medical staff and questioned in a sterile room by herself by bored police officers and county officials.

And now, the enormous responsibility of choosing whether and how to proceed with a major trial unexpectedly got dropped solely on her shoulders. If they lost the Anderson trial, those families would get no justice, no recompense for the losses they suffered and continued to suffer. It could break the firm financially if they had to pay Howard Ortlieb’s fees, which would cost all of them their livelihoods, and with Gloria pregnant… Not to mention Adam Howard’s threat to expose Cat’s participation in Archer and Bright’s trial prep and destroy her future. All these thoughts swirled through Addy’s brain driven by the hurricane winds of panic with herself at the center unable to catch at any of them.

“Addy…” Cat’s voice floated through the maelstrom and into her consciousness. “Addy, you’re ok. No one is going to hurt you. Try to relax and take deep breaths. You’re not a little girl anymore. You’re a strong and capable woman and no one will touch you without your consent – ”

“It’s not just that,” she managed to gasp out. “I can’t – I can’t do this. It’s too much. I can’t do this all alone.”

“You’re not alone, Addy. You’ll never be alone. I’m here with you no matter what happens. We’ll figure out what to do together.” Cat took Addy’s shoulders and slowly rubbed her upper arms. Although she had to have been cold and worried, Cat radiated calm and assurance, projecting serenity even as the driving rain ran rivulets down her face and plastered her short hair to her scalp.

“Cat, you don’t understand. Everything…everything comes down to what I’m able to do. They’re my clients. My firm, my friends will suffer if I don’t do it exactly right. I’m the only one who can give a closing statement, and I’m the one who has to decide whether to settle, and it’ll be on me if anything goes wrong. And I don’t – I just don’t think I’m strong enough, good enough, whatever enough. I’m not enough!” Addy’s breaths started coming in gasps again.

Cat bend her head down slightly to look Addy directly in the eyes. “Addy, you are the strongest person I have ever known. If I had to choose a champion, someone to go into the arena and fight for me, I would choose you every time. I would bet on you over anything the world could throw at you. Even at your worst.”

“Cat, I don’t think I can do this.” Addy started shaking uncontrollably, whether from nerves or cold she couldn’t tell.

“You can.” Cat held Addy’s gaze with tender steadiness. Slowly, Cat pulled her into a loose embrace, pushing the wet hair out of her face. Addy longed to feel the security of Cat’s unwavering faith in her, to believe herself as possessing the limitless expanse of capability she saw shining from Cat’s eyes. But, having only rarely known any kind of security, she felt rudderless in a storm with no pole star by which to orient herself.

“How can you possibly know that?” Addy whispered desperately.

“Because I love you. I always have.”

The words ripped the air out of Addy’s lungs. Her universe contracted to the twin points of Cat’s eyes and the rest of reality faded from her consciousness. The tiny, flickering morsel of hope inside her that never had completely extinguished despite the years of misunderstandings, that had slowly, timidly grown brighter over the past several months, suddenly exploded in a riot of warmth and blazing colorful light in her heart. Finally, she had come home.

Her face a mixture of stunned realization, awe, and elation, she returned Cat’s embrace and pulled her closer. “You…you love me?”

Cat shook her head faintly and chuckled. “You are such a dork. Of course I do.”

“I love you too.”

Cat’s face glowed with astonishment that faded into pure elation. Addy bit her lower lip and grinned at her, giving her a little nudge with her hip. Time slowed as Cat closed her eyes and rested her forehead on Addy’s. Addy never wanted that moment to end, wanted to fix it in her memory forever so that she would be able to recall it with perfect clarity even to the last days of her life. Her heart swelled to near bursting when Cat’s powerful, passionate kiss fused them together in perfect understanding for the first time. She felt reborn.

As the kiss slowly ended and Addy came back into herself, she realized two things: she was incredibly cold and she knew exactly how she was going to win the Anderson case.

*****

From inside the hospital vestibule, Nettie looked out on her two friends with a happy grin. She pulled out her phone and quickly placed a call.

“Hey, found them….They’re outside…. Oh, yeah, they look very ok….Nope, no umbrellas, but I doubt they even noticed it’s raining….I’ll tell you when I come back up. I love you.”

Tucking her phone away, Nettie gave the two a last, fond look and turned to head back upstairs. “’Bout damn time,” she muttered with a grin.