| A Matter of Trust |
| �The defense calls Steven Knight to the stand.�
That was the name on the defense's witness list that had stumped them. They couldn't find any connection between him and Blaise, and Jack didn't recognize the name either. But as the short, blond man came forward to take the stand, Jack felt a chill of fear run down his spine. He'd been so focused on his testimony, he hadn't noticed the familiar face enter the courtroom. Knight was sworn in. Donaldson began the questioning. "Mr. Knight. Thank you for coming in this afternoon. Please tell us about the events of July 10th." Blondie looked decidedly uncomfortable. These people had come with a subpoena; he'd had no choice but to testify. But like everybody else at the Jade Palace, he'd been following the case. He really didn't want to testify. But he couldn't lie, either. "It was a Wednesday evening. I had the next day off, so I went out to the Jade Palace to have a little fun." "And what kind of fun were you looking for?" "I prefer older men." It was the truth without saying too much. For the moment, Donaldson let it slide. "And the man you picked up that evening; is he here in this courtroom?" "Yes he is." "Can you point to him?" He pointed to Jack. "Let the record show he is pointing to Mr. McCoy. Mr. Knight, please tell us about your � encounter." The young man reluctantly told the story. "I asked him if he was looking for some company, he said yes, his place was nearby. I left the bar with him." Donaldson interrupted. "Did you discuss any sort of sex game scenario with him?" The kid hesitated. "Your Honor, permission to treat this witness as hostile?" Feldman nodded. "Answer the question, Mr. Knight." "When he mentioned his place, I said "Ooh, Daddy's house." "What does that mean?" "When a younger man calls his older partner Daddy, he's implying that he wants his Daddy to � discipline him." "So you were asking him to play a rough game with you?" "Yeah, I guess so." "What did he say?" "He didn't say anything, just paid his bar tab and we left. We rode his motorcycle to an apartment, I guess it was his. Nice place, ritzy neighborhood. When we got there, he slammed me into the wall and bit at my neck." When he stopped, Donaldson again prompted him. "Go on, Mr. Knight." Blondie continued. "He seemed to be getting into the game. I asked him if he was going to spank me. He got into it big time, pulled my clothes off as well as his, and bent me over his lap. He gave me a good spanking, and started playing with my ass. I was so turned on I asked him to f �. " Remembering the Judge's earlier warning, he quickly changed his words. "uh, penetrate me. He had me stand up and bend over a low backed chair, and he � did it, until he came. When he was done, I still hadn't come, so he finished me off with his hand. I � uh, cleaned up, got dressed, and went home." Donaldson nodded. "Did he ever ask your name?" "Nope, and neither did I." "Did he ask you for your safe word?" "No, but �" "Thank you, Mr. Knight, that will be all." Jack had been hastily conferring with Donnelly. She approached the witness stand. "Mr. Knight, when Mr. McCoy � penetrated you, did he use lube and a condom?" "Of course. Gotta be safe these days." "Yes, you do. You were just going to say something else about the safe word?" Blondie gave her a grateful smile. "Just that this wasn't the kind of game where that would be necessary. Daddy games are mild stuff compared to what some guys do out there." Donnelly smiled back at him. "Thank you, Mr. Knight." Feldman excused Knight and called a recess until the following morning. Lennie looked at his wristwatch � he couldn't believe it was already 4:30. As they left the courtroom, they found Blondie waiting for them in the hall. He came up to Jack. "I � I'm sorry about that. If I'd have known what was going on I never would have talked to them. They had a subpoena �" Jack just nodded. "I know. You did what you had to do � Steven. I'm sorry I never even asked your name." The kid shrugged. "Hey, it's the scene, man. I got no complaints." Jack didn't know what else to say. After an awkward moment, Lennie pulled him down the hall. Jack looked at him, embarrassed. �I wish you hadn�t had to hear that.� Lennie shrugged. �Jack, you�ve got nothing to apologize for.� �Then why do I feel like I do?� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The team retired to the conference room again to recap the day's testimony. "Jack, how are you holding up?" Jamie asked, concerned. He shrugged. "I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be." Donnelly nodded. "The jury was definitely sympathetic this morning. But all the talk about rough sex this afternoon definitely spooked some of them. During the cross I could see some of the sympathy slipping away. What the 'wild side' considers tame the average Joe considers almost beyond comprehension. But we knew that would happen. Good end, focusing on the safe sex and clearing up the safe word thing. But I think they may have planted reasonable doubt with their redefinition of top and bottom �" She sighed. Jack said what everybody was thinking. "And reasonable doubt is all they need to refuse to convict." "I wish we had some hard evidence. This one is going to come down to the jury, unless I can trip Blaise up on the stand tomorrow. OK, let's call it a day, people." As everybody was leaving, Adam Schiff emerged from his office and pulled Jack aside. "You ok?" Jack sighed and nodded. "I guess." "You know I'd be there if I could." "I know, Adam. It's ok, really." Schiff grunted. "No, it's not. But it's political reality. I hear you did well in there." "Hear from who?" Jamie and Liz hadn't had time to brief the old man. Schiff smirked. "I've got my sources �" Jack laughed, which was exactly what Adam wanted. "Almost over, Jack. Then we can get the office back to normal �" Schiff patted his back and headed back to his own office. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They left together in Lennie's car. "You want to stop and get something to eat, Jack?" He shook his head. "I still don't think I could eat anything, Lennie." Lennie shrugged and headed to his apartment. Jack seemed to be focused inward; he didn't even realize they were going to Lennie's place until the car stopped. Surprised, he followed Lennie up the stairs to his door on the second floor. Lennie stopped to pick up the pile of mail that had been pushed through the slot. Flipping through it, he found a couple of bills, some junk mail, and something hand addressed. Curious, he opened it. Inside was a newspaper clipping from yesterday's paper, dealing with his testimony last week. A post-it note was attached. "No room for faggots in the NYPD." He quickly stuffed it back into the envelope before Jack could see it; he had enough on his mind right now, he didn't need this. Lennie buried the envelope with the bills and turned around to find Jack standing there, looking lost. He pulled his friend into an embrace and held tight for a few minutes. Eventually he let go and they sat down on the couch. "What is it, Jack? I know today was hard, but you look � I don't know, shaken." Jack sighed. "They painted an ugly picture for the jury, didn't they? The amoral faggot, promiscuous, just wanting to get laid. I used to think there was something liberating in that. Today I just can't see it." Lennie took his hand. �That�s good, Jack. IF that's really what you were, it's not what you are now." Jack managed a soft smile. "Thanks to you, Lennie. I just wish I could be worthy of your loyalty, your friendship � your ... love." He averted his eyes as he said it. Lennie reached out and captured his face, turning it to face him. "I do, you know. Love you." Jack had no choice but to gaze into Lennie' eyes, so full of his love that they shone. It all but broke his heart. A choked sob pushed through his throat as Lennie pulled him close. "Shh � it's ok, Jack. We've done all we can; now we just have to trust Liz and Jamie. So relax. Let it go. Whatever happens, happens. No matter how this turns out, we'll be together. I promise." He placed a gentle kiss on Jack's cheek. They sat there for a long time, Jack's whole body shaking with the stress of the day. Lennie held him, comforting him, protecting him. Finally, Jack looked up, his eyes locking with Lennie's. He leaned in and Lennie met him halfway. The kiss was like a chemical reaction, setting both their bodies on fire. By the time they separated, both were gasping for air. Jack stood up and pulled Lennie up beside him. �Come on �� They headed back toward the bedroom. But before Jack could once again 'take over,' Lennie did. Slowly, tenderly, he removed Jack's shirt and tie, then pulling the undershirt over his head. He eased Jack down onto the bed and bent to kiss his neck, slowly working his way down to one nipple. With teeth and tongue he teased it until it was hard. Then he pulled away slightly to blow across it, making Jack shiver with the sensation, before moving to the other. Jack laid there, his body alive with pleasure for the first time since the rape. His heart was pounding as Lennie's hands and mouth caressed his body. He felt almost paralyzed, unable to move, unable to resist the sweet warmth that was Lennie. Suddenly, there was a warm pressure over his groin, caressing gently. He trembled at that touch. But it was so soft, so gentle, so PLEASURABLE that his fear melted away. He didn't know when Lennie had started talking to him, even his voice becoming a caress. "That's it, Jack. You just relax and let me make it good for you. Just like you did when I was afraid. Yeah, that feels good, doesn't it?" "God, yes!" he sighed softly. Lennie smiled and continued his gentle caresses. With his other hand, he undid Jack's belt and unhooked the waistband of the dress slacks. Finally, the zipper came down and he slid his hand inside. Jack's cock was hard, throbbing visibly through his shorts. Lennie bent down and tenderly kissed it through the fabric before pulling slacks and shorts downward. Almost instinctively, Jack lifted his hips to free the interfering fabric. Lennie moved backward, pulling everything away, eventually even removing Jack's shoes to send it all off to the side. Before getting back to business, he quickly tossed aside his own clothing. Then he climbed back into the bed, laying beside Jack, pulling him close, pressing their whole bodies together. Their lips connected again as their bodies twined, trying to get as much contact as humanly possible. Again, Lennie broke the kiss and settled Jack onto his back. He reached to the nightstand and retrieved a condom. With slightly unsteady fingers, he slipped it over Jack's erection. When he realized what was happening, Jack tried to sit up, to stop him. "Lennie, no! The virus �" Lennie bent down and kissed him to silence him. "It's ok, Jack. I told you, that's what condoms are for." "But �" Lennie placed a finger over his lips. "No buts. The risk is minimal, and in any event, you're worth any risk." Jack's eyes went wide as Lennie's words sank in. But shortly, he wasn't thinking any more, as the warmth of Lennie's mouth enveloped him. His whole body � except for his cock � went limp as he surrendered to the pleasure. Lennie worked him with mouth and hands, gently caressing his balls while sucking on his cock. But he very carefully avoided going behind � there was plenty of time for that in the future. Right now he just wanted Jack to feel so good he'd forget his fear. Lovingly, he sucked Jack into a thrashing frenzy, inarticulate cries coming from his throat until the final explosion turned them into a scream. Lennie gently slipped the condom off and tossed it into the trash before coming to lay beside Jack again. He pulled his lover close and held him as he learned to breathe again. "You ok, Jack?" "Oh, Lennie �" Jack's voice was almost a sob. Lennie gently stroked his hair, holding him close. "Shh � it's all right." His feelings overwhelmed him. How could he possibly deserve this love? He couldn't even say the word. But he knew now that he wouldn't trade what they had found this second time around for anything in the world. He held on as if his very life depended on it. Lennie held him until the trembling body was still. He pulled back and looked into Jack's eyes, one hand caressing his face, brushing away a few stray tears. "Feel better?" Jack just nodded. Lennie kissed his forehead. Jack finally found his voice. "Lennie? You want me to �?" Lennie kissed him again. He'd lost his erection in his concern to comfort Jack at the end. "Not right now. Besides, I'm up two on you from the weekend." "You sure?" "Absolutely. And right now, I'm more interested in dinner. You want Chinese or pizza?" Jack laughed. If there was one thing predictable about Lennie Briscoe, it was food. He never went long without it. "Chinese, I think." Jack's laughter was music to Lennie's ears. "Chinese it is." Continue on to Chapter 33 Send me some Feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 32 |