Chapter Text
Rhett looks out at the expanse of ornate wood and polished marble all around him. He always loved the stern beauty that a courthouse held and a slight smile creeps over his face as he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He listens to the bustle all around him, the rush of footsteps, the clattering of briefcases being swung about, and a sense of peace washes over him. Suddenly, a loud agitated voice breaks through his zen.
“What are you THINKIN’?” The voice echoes through the open lobby, causing several people to stop and stare.
Rhett peers over the thick wood railings of the second floor balcony to see a tall, brunette man waving a hand in the face of another man much thicker than him. The stockier one seems to be apologizing profusely despite the size difference but the lean body of the brunette is still shaking violently in anger. Rhett then notices a delicate blonde woman standing slightly behind the thin man yelling and he has a protective arm up, shielding her from the other man in front of them. The stockier man apologizes once more, hands held up defensively, then turns and quickly walks away as the brunette hurls insults to his hulking back.
Rhett chuckles at the brunette’s tenacity and the man’s head whips up to glare at him from the ground floor. Rhett stops laughing and begins to blush at the intensity of the man’s stare behind his dark-rimmed glasses. Rhett looks away for a full minute then looks back briefly to see the brunette sympathetically caressing the woman’s face and cooing what Rhett is sure are gentle reassurances in the woman’s ear. As the man bends down to kiss the small blonde, she tilts her head away from him and walks out of the building. Rhett turns away in embarrassment at the realization that he’d been unintentionally spying on an intimate moment between this man and his wife.
As Rhett takes a seat in the back of the crowded waiting area with a fresh cup of coffee, he sees the tall brunette walk up to the check-in desk. The man isn’t as tall as Rhett but not many people are considering Rhett is a whopping 6’7. He has on a tan cardigan and up close, Rhett can see a silver streak in the man’s perfectly coifed hair. As the man takes out his wallet to hand the clerk his ID, he surveys the busy room around him until he catches Rhett’s eye once again. Rhett quickly looks down at the phone in his hand and pretends like he hadn’t been staring.
After a couple of minutes scrolling through Twitter, Rhett feels the cushion on the bench he’s sitting on give way to the weight of somebody sitting next to him. Rhett quickly looks up to meet the gaze of the person he had been watching most of the morning. The man’s brilliant blue eyes burn into his for what feels like an eternity and there is something deeply unsettling in his sinister smirk. The bench is fairly small which causes the man to sit a little too close to him and their knees bump together in an almost familiar way. Rhett’s about to introduce himself when the man cuts him off.
“You think it’s funny to see my wife get knocked to the ground?” The man’s voice is calm but there is unmistakeable hostility running through it.
“Wha... What?” This was not how Rhett expected this conversation to start. Rhett was normally very good at avoiding confrontation but the accusatory tone immediately brings a fire to Rhett’s cheeks.
“I said, do you think it’s funny seeing my wife get knocked to the ground?” The man says painfully slow.
“No!” Rhett declares a little too loudly, causing those around them to turn their heads. Rhett lowers his voice and continues, “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t even see what happened. I just... I thought it was...”
“You thought it was what?” The man says with a heat that is not dying down.
Rhett looks down in embarrassment before looking up to meet the man’s eyes once more. Rhett feels paralyzed beneath his harsh scrutiny and he can’t bring himself to speak. Something about the intense discomfort is slightly exciting to Rhett though and he finds himself licking his lips as his eyes roam the brunette’s face. The man swallows and Rhett’s eyes track the path of his large adam’s apple.
“Well?” The man questions impatiently, breaking Rhett from his spell.
“Look man, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s just start over, okay? My name is Rhett.” He holds out his hand and hopes this is enough to get the other man to back down a little bit. The brunette stares at him unmoving for a minute before pushing himself up from the small bench. He looks down at Rhett once more and Rhett can see that the small smirk has come back to his full lips.
“Whatever, man. You’re not worth it.” He says as he walks away with Rhett frowning behind him.
Rhett tries to focus on the mundane tasks of checking his email and organizing his calendar but every time he looks up, he sees the other man scowling at him from across the room. Rhett avoids eye contact for the first hour but eventually he realizes that the other man doesn’t look angry anymore and seems to be gazing at him in genuine interest. Rhett takes a chance and meets his eyes with a polite smile but the brunette frowns at him and quickly looks away. Rhett continues to stare in the hopes of catching the man’s attention but the clerk finally stands and addresses the room.
“Okay, if you hear your name called, please report to courtroom four on the third floor. I repeat, please report to courtroom FOUR on the THIRD floor.” The woman calls out through the microphone in obvious disinterest. The room perks up at the first sign of activity in over two hours. The lady then starts rattling off names and several people from all over the room eagerly stand up and exit the small waiting area.
“... L. Bassett, B. Canote, E. Coleman, M. Criscimagna, M. Dwyer, B. Eck, M. Feldman, M. Gordon, C. Hilt, J. Inman, K. Kostelnick, S. Levine, M. Locke, J. Matichuk, E. McElvain, R. McLaughlin, C. Neal, C. Nimmer, A. Punch, J. Sherer, J. Warder...”
As soon as Rhett hears McLaughlin being called, he promptly stands then notices the brunette stand immediately afterwards and Rhett curses his luck. Of course they would be called to jury together. It’s not enough that he unintentionally offended the man, now he gets to be stuck in an even smaller room with even less people to buffer between them. Most of the group is able to pile into the large elevator together but Rhett and the other man are left to wait for the next one. Rhett clears his throat and tries again.
“Hey, I really am sorry about earlier. I swear I wouldn’t have laughed if I had known about your wife.” Rhett gazes apologetically down at the other man and his lips quirk back in spite of himself. The brunette looks down and shakes his head before looking back at the closed elevator doors in front of them.
“It’s alright, man, I have a bit of a temper issue. So yeah, sorry for snapping at you. My name is Charles, by the way.” The brunette holds out a slim hand.
“Charles.” Rhett doesn’t seem to notice the hand held out to him as he frowns down at his feet. The brunette gives him a little nudge and Rhett’s head snaps up as he is ripped from his thoughts, “Oh, uh, Sorry. You just don’t look like a Charles, I guess.”
The man laughs high and bright as Rhett takes the other man’s hand in his own, “What do you mean? If I don’t look like a Charles, what do I look like?”
Rhett notices that they are holding hands more than they are shaking hands and he immediately loosens his grip and lets his arm fall to his side. Rhett perceives a playful glint in the brunette’s blue eyes and he starts to feel that excitement from earlier flair up in his belly. He blushes and shifts his attention back to the elevator.
“Oh, I don’t know. Something much less common, I suppose.” Rhett tries to sound casual and the other man beams at the unintended compliment.
The elevator dings and the doors slide open in front of them. Once the group that has formed all file in and take their place in the crowded box, the brunette leans up and whispers to Rhett, “When I was a kid, everyone called me Link.”
Rhett smiles down at him and whispers back, “Now, that fits you perfectly... Link.”
There are over twenty people filling up the small courtroom and the two attorneys start the arduous task of weeding out the overflow. Another hour easily passes as both attorneys take their turn interviewing each and every one of the potential jurors. Rhett knows what to say to get out of jury duty but he has always felt like it was a dishonor to his country to take the easy way out. When it’s finally his turn, he decides to answer the questions honestly and openly and both attorneys quickly agree that he is a perfect candidate. Rhett briefly catches Link’s eye as he stands and takes his seat in chair number nine.
Rhett realizes that Link must be ‘C. Neal’ because the attorneys immediately question him next. Rhett is excited to learn more about this intriguing man and he listens in earnest as they start getting into specifics. Rhett quickly notices that Link is answering how Rhett would have answered if he didn’t want to be there and he feels a sense of disappointment wash over him. The attorneys must notice as well because the prosecutor gently reminds Link that, although he isn’t currently under oath, it is still unlawful to answer dishonestly. Link’s brow furrows at that and a serious look crosses over his face.
“I’ll ask you again, Mr. Neal. Do you actually have any negative thoughts or feelings about the law or law enforcement?”
Link is silent for a moment before quietly responding, “No, ma’am.”
“Mr. Neal, will you please take seat number ten in the jury box?” Link reluctantly gets up and stalks to the seat next to Rhett. His jaw is clenched and he glares at Rhett for a moment when Rhett nudges his knee in attempted solidarity. Rhett was relieved at first to have a friendly face but quickly realizes that Link’s temper must be back in full force so he shifts forward and turns his attention back to the remaining jurors.
After another two hours, people have been swapped in and out and the leftovers have been dismissed for the day. Once the twelve jurors and two alternates are finalized, the attorneys stand solemnly in front of them for a short orientation. Rhett is excited for what is about to come next but the excitement quickly fades as the attorneys spell out the long road they are all about to face. They can’t give out too many details yet but it becomes clear that this will be a very long, publicized trial. The attorneys explain that each juror will have to spend the next 90-120 days in a court appointed hotel with minimal contact to the outside world. Due to the nature of the trial they are about to take part in, the court cannot risk any exposure to the media. They are notified that they have the night to pack what belongings they wish to bring and say their temporary goodbyes to their families. Link is infuriated but when he glances over at Rhett, Link sees that Rhett is on the verge of tears. He wants to comfort him but his rage takes over and he leans to whisper in Rhett’s ear.
“Pull yourself together, man.” Rhett looks over in shock but his expression quickly steels and anger fills his eyes as he stares back at Link.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rhett whispers back.
“Gentleman.” Rhett and Link look up to see the prosecutor looking pointedly at them. “As I was saying, each person will have to share a room. We’ve found that it is usually easiest to just pair everyone up in groups of two. For example, juror one and two, three and four, five and six, et cetera will now all be roommates.” Rhett quickly looks over at Link and then back at the attorney, “It will be in your best interest to get to know this person well because you will now be spending a lot of time with each other. All expenses will be taken care of and you will be able to see your families, in a controlled setting, once a month. Please report back here at exactly 8 a.m. with anything you wish to bring with you. That is all for the day.” The prosecutor wraps up.
The jurors all start filing out of the box and Rhett quickly approaches the two attorneys gathering up their belongings, “I’m sorry but I can’t be away from my family for the next three months, you have to find someone else.” Rhett simply states. The defense attorney looks at him with sympathy but the prosecutor immediately shuts him down.
“I’m sorry, Mr. McLaughlin, but the decision is final. We asked in the voir dire if you would be available for the foreseeable future and you said yes.” Tears spring back to Rhett’s eyes once again but he knows there is no hope getting out of it at this point.
“At least don’t make me room with him. I’ll room with anyone else.” Rhett pleads. Link was waiting behind to apologize to Rhett for his insensitivity but, upon hearing that last statement, Link changes his mind and storms out of the courtroom.
“Mr. McLaughlin, we sat everyone in the exact order needed to ensure that everyone can room with someone of the same sex. We cannot swap you at this point. I’m sorry but Mr. Neal will be your roommate for the duration of the trial. I expect you both to remain mature adults and handle your disagreements accordingly.” Rhett is looking back and forth between the two attorneys but he can see that neither one of them has any intention of budging. Rhett squeezes his eyes shut in resignation before dejectedly making his way out of the courtroom without further complaint.
Rhett doesn’t necessarily consider himself a religious man very much these days but he sends a silent prayer up to the heavens that his family can make it through the next few months still in tact. He thinks about leaving his wife alone during the hardest time of the year for them and he does his best not to breakdown as he crawls into his silver cruiser. As soon as he shuts the door behind him, he rests his head on the steering wheel and cries harder than he has since the day his beautiful little boy left this merciless world. He just hopes Jessie will be able to forgive him for not being there.