Guilty of Innocence (Chapter -16)

Parker paced outside the OR of Seattle Grace Hospital, praying that Chad would be alright. He blamed himself for not getting there sooner. For not realizing that he was in trouble when he was leaning over his twin on the railing. He had watched from inside the observation hall as he was slammed against the partition, but by the time he’d moved it was too late. The bastard had stabbed Chad and Parker had to maneuver through a panicking crowd when Chad shot him.He sat on a bench sitting against the wall, sighing as he leaned his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees but frowned in wonder when his cell phone went off. He quickly pulled it from his pocket to see Kat calling him and answered it.

“Nicky can’t get a hold of Chad, Sir,” Kat instantly explained when he answered his phone. “Is everything alright?”

“Where are you?” Parker asked first.

“I’m with her and Chad’s uncle at his house,” Kat replied. “She wouldn’t go home, but I told her parents she was safe and what’s happened.”

“Don’t let her hear me, Kat,” he requested. “Go into the other room or something.”

He waited as he heard her excuse herself from their presence and heard faint footsteps on the phone before she replied, “Alright, Sir. I’m in the kitchen.”

“What I’m about to tell you is not to be told to his uncle, or her, or the other kid…Jared, understand?” he ordered and she gave him an affirmative answer. He explained everything that had happened that day from the time he found Chad until now. He sighed when he was finished, running a hand through his hair as he said, “I need you to get statements from Nicky and Jared. When Chad gets out of surgery I’ll call you, but don’t tell them anything until I get confirmation of his condition. The last thing we need is anyone flying out here just yet.”

“Yes, Sir,” Kat replied, then said, “What should I tell Nicky, though? She’s going to ask me why Chad isn’t answering his phone.”

“Tell her he’ll call her when he can,” he replied. “It’s the truth, anyway.”

“Do you need anything else, Sir?”

“No. There’s nothing to be done until we get back to California anyway. We’ll be bringing Nemo’s body with us, and hopefully that’ll be the only body I bring with me.”

“I hope so too, Sir.”

Parker looked up to see a doctor coming through the doors of the OR and stood, telling Kat he had to go and hanging up as the doctor stopped in front of him.

“Well, doctor?” he began. “How bad is it?”

“We managed to stop the bleeding and stitch him up quickly,” the doctor explained. “Thankfully the knife didn’t pierce any of his vital organs, and though it’s a little too soon to tell, we’re confident he’ll pull through this. You got to him just in time, officer.”

“Yeah…” Parker nodded.

“We’re moving him to a room now,” the doctor continued. “He’s still asleep from the anesthetic, but you can sit with him if you’d like.”

“Thanks doctor,” Parker nodded and the doctor turned to head back into the room as he pulled his phone again and decided to text Kat instead f call her.

Tell them Chad’s gonna be fine.

He sighed as he sat back on the bench again, leaning his head back against the wall, a slight smile on his face as he thanked God he would be alright.

Chad’s gaze darted around the darkness.

“Hello?!” he called, desperately. “Jared?! Nicky?!”

He swallowed in panic before hesitantly calling, “Mom? Dad?”

A scream erupted from him when Dax’s pale and pained face came into view in the darkness.

“You…killed me…” Dax groaned. “You’re no better…than me.”

“That…That’s not true!” Chad replied. “I was defending myself!”

“And you enjoyed it…just like me.”

“No!”

Chad’s eyes shot open, only to be shut again to shield them against the harsh lights of the hospital room. He gave a groan from the pain in his head, turning his head to the side on his pillow and keeping his eyes closed.

“Chad?”

A frown wrinkled his brow before he slowly opened his eyes to find wide, emerald greens staring at him in wonder.

“Nicky?” he replied in a raw voice, his frown deepening as he lifted his head a little more to get a better look at her. “W-Wha…?”

“You’re in the hospital in Seattle,” Nicky murmured, not wanting to overwhelm him as she shifted closer to him in the chair she was sitting in. “Brandon’s here, too. He went to get something to drink. You’ve been asleep for a while.”

“How long?” Chad asked.

“Your surgery was a few days ago,” Nicky smiled warmly as she leaned forward to brush some of his hair from his face. “The doctor said it was normal after what you’d been through. You have no idea how happy I am to see you open your eyes.”

“Why did you come?”

Nicky’s eyes went wide as her hand fell from his face and he only frowned up at her, waiting for the answer to his question.

“Chad…you got stabbed and shot somebody. Why wouldn’t I come back? I came because I wanted to be the first one you saw when you woke up. To tell you that everything was gonna be ok. To get you through this. But if you don’t want me here then I guess I’ll leave. Maybe Brandon will be more of a comfort to you than me.”

She moved to stand but a hand clamped down on her wrist and she froze, looking to Chad in wonder as he only stared back at her.

“Got that out of your system?” he asked, letting go of her wrist with a wince at having to move and nodded to her seat. “Sit down, Liza.”

Nicky swallowed and sat as she still stared at him and placed her hands in her lap, pouting only slightly.

“What did Villa say about the case?” he questioned, making her give a frown of wonder, but he continued. “My parents’ murder case, I mean. Am I fully cleared?”

“Brandon asked,” she nodded. “He said now that they have Nemo’s…Dax’s recorded confession, you’re no longer a suspect. There may be a trial for Dax’s murder, but the detective is confident you’ll get off.”

“So I have to stand trial anyway,” Chad sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Well, at least it’s for something I know I did. I’ll just have to plead guilty I guess. No other way around it. Maybe I can plead insanity.”

“Brandon called his lawyer,” Nicky reported. “He stepped outside, but I heard him. He asked if he could represent you in the trial when you get well enough. Detective Villa said you’d probably be tried here, but there’s a good possibility they could try you back home.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered and Nicky frowned but felt her heart clench when she saw a tear roll down the side of his face before he turned his head to look at her again. “I killed someone, Nicky. I’m no better than him, am I?”

Her eyes widened before she stood from her chair and turned to sit next to him on the edge of the bed, taking his hands.

“If you weren’t lying in a hospital bed I would slap you for saying that,” she shot back. “I told you before, you are nothing like him. You defended yourself. End of story. A jury will believe it, and so will a judge. You know why? Because it’s the truth. The police have the murder weapon, Dax’s body and his recorded confession that he gave to you. Not to mention, Jared’s testimony. We’re gonna show them that Dax was a sick son of a bitch and you’re not.” She leaned toward him and he saw tears welling in her own eyes. “You’re my knight in shining armor. No matter what happens, I’ll be here to remind you of that, got it?”

Chad could only nod as the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him speak and Nicky pressed her lips to his before carefully hugging him as he lifted his hands to settle them on her waist. Nicky sniffled as Chad shut his eyes tightly, trying to stop more tears from falling.

“Look who’s awake.”

Nicky pulled back at the sound of Brandon’s voice and she quickly lifted the sleeve of her sweater to wipe away Chad’s tears before wiping hers away as Brandon approached.

“Oh,” he blurted, stopping in his tracks with two cans of soda in his hands. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No,” Nicky replied, quickly standing from the bed to face him with a grin and a sniffle that made him frown. “Tears of joy Brandon. Chad’s awake!”

“So I see,” Brandon smiled, handing her soda to her as he approached again and sat in the chair she’d been sitting in. “How ya feelin’?”

“Like shit,” Chad groaned and winced when he tried to sit up. “Nicky filled me in about the murder case and the trial for Dax’s murder.”

“Chad, don’t strain yourself,” Nicky scolded, gently as she moved to help him sit up and helped him get comfortable.

“Call your lawyer back and tell him I don’t want anybody brought in for my defense as witnesses, and if anyone’s gonna be testifying, it’s gonna be me alone,” Chad ordered, making Brandon’s and Nicky’s eyes widen at him in disbelief. “Jared doesn’t need to live through it again, neither does Nicky. If the two detectives wanna go up there it’s their decision, but I don’t want you guys apart of it.”

“That’s our decision, Chad,” Nicky reminded him. “You can’t expect us to not help you.”

“Let me tell you what’s gonna happen, Nicky,” Chad shot back, looking back at her as she stared at him in shock at his tone. “You’re gonna get up there and do just fine when my lawyer asks you questions, you might cry a bit, but not much, at first. Then they’re gonna go to cross examination and they’re gonna rip you apart. I don’t wanna see you like that, Nicole! It’s not worth it!”

Chad gave a growl of pain and gripped his wound, making Brandon jump up to see what he could do and Chad shook his head.

“I told you not to strain him when he woke up,” one of the nurses scolded as she walked in, having caught the sight before passing the door.

“He riled himself up,” Brandon defended as the nurse saw to Chad and tried to make him comfortable. “Chad, we’ll talk about this later. I’m gonna make that call though. Nicky, why don’t you come with me?”

“I’m not leaving Chad,” she replied and he pressed his lips to the side before shrugging and heading out of the room as he pulled out his cell phone.

“If he needs anything else, call me,” the nurse informed Nicky as she started toward the door as well. “The doctor will be in to see you in a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” Nicky called before looking at Chad as he only glared up at her, the painkillers the nurse had put into his IV kicking in immediately. “Look, Chad, I’m your girlfriend, not your wife. You don’t tell me what to do like that. If I can handle what we’ve already been through, I think I can handle a little cross-examination in a courtroom.”

“Nicole, I love you, but you can be really stupid sometimes.”

Nicky’s eyes widened in disbelief, but she was speechless.

“I tell you not to do something because you’re gonna be hurt or possibly killed, and you do it anyway. What’s it gonna take for you to see that I’m only ever trying to protect you, huh? Do you have to lose an arm? A leg? Get stabbed?”

“Chad, stop it.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll pop a stitch and I don’t want that nurse coming back in to scold me over your attitude.”

“You deserve it.”

“Go to sleep. You’re slurring your words.”

“This not…over.”

Nicky only smiled and leaned over to stroke his hair, soothingly as his eyes started closing and when his head fell slightly to the side, her smile widened. She realized he was right, but even if she balled on the witness stand, she didn’t care. She was going to help him win his case, whether he liked it or not.

Back in California...

Kat hurried into Parker’s open office door and he looked up from his paperwork over his desk as she shut the door behind her.

“Please let it be good news,” he thought out loud.

“The Stiles kid is awake, and he’s ok,” she grinned, making Parker grin as well as he sighed and lean back in his chair.

“That is good news,” he nodded.

“There’s…more news,” Kat continued, hesitantly as she stepped forward to lean on his desk. “Not so good. The state’s pressing charges.”

“Of course they are,” Parker sighed, leaning forward again to grab his hard line phone and dial a number. “I’ll take care of it.”

Kat leaned forward and held the hang-up button on the phone, making him look up at her with a frown.

“The state of Washington is pressing charges,” she explained, not sure if he understood and her assumption was right because he instantly settled the phone back into its cradle. “Chad’s uncle called his lawyer to represent the kid and he’s gonna go there to try to smooth things over. Make a deal or…something.”

“What did Chad say to all this?” Parker asked. “Have they talked to him about it yet?”

“First thing,” Kat nodded. “He’s expecting a trial. He plans to plead guilty but doesn’t want his friends to testify. Just you and me if we’re asked.”

“We’ll see what happens with the lawyer first,” he mused. “Then we’ll go from there.”