Still Burning

13- The Court Case

4 MONTHS LATER
* * *

Nathan straightened his tie. He glanced around the room. This was it. Andy walked up to him and smiled. He reached out for her cheek and leaned down to kiss her.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too." She pulled him into a hug, sighing as his tensed arms slowly wrapped around her. "It's all gonna be over today, okay?"

For the last week, all they had been doing was coming to court and giving their testimony. Esposito had come first, alongside Jessica. Mo and Carr had gone next. Each firefighter of firehouse 87 had given their testimony and the only remaining was the chief and Nathan.

Andy kissed his cheek again before letting him go. She put a hand on his cheek and like always, he put his hand over hers before kissing her palm.

"Thank you so much," he whispered. "For being-"

"I'm your wife," was all she said. "Listen, be calm, answer their questions and please don't get too mad."

"I promise..." She raised an eyebrow, knowing he was going to say next. "To try my best."

"Nathan."

"Alright guys," the lawyer said. "Time to take your seats." Nathan sighed. He took her hand in his and made their way to the room. With every step, his legs grew heavier to the point where he stopped walking. Andy gently tugged on his arm.

His gaze settled on the nuns and priests who sat with their lips pursed. They held no emotion in their eyes but then again they never did. With a heavy sigh, he forced his legs forward and took his seat, gripping tightly onto Andy's hand.

Chief went up first, going through the questions. Andy could tell he was getting annoyed. They asked about the cause of the fire several times.

"The fire had started on the ground floor. They poured an accelerant, most likely spirit and they ran it across the ground floor, all around the children's room. Same with the first floor."

"So, if I'm hearing right, Chief Bruce, if they were to set fire to the orphanage, wouldn't they start on the loft? And then make their way down?"

"No," he said with a groan. "They had limited spirit, you can tell. It was only used to start it as the furniture was flammable."

"And you never entered the building?"

"Not whilst it was on fire, no. I did after the fire had ended and went in with the arson team."

"Okay," the lawyer said. "Can I call Nathan Carter to the stand please?"

Nathan felt Andy kiss his cheek. She gave him a nod and he nodded back. With a final glance, he made his way to the stand. Right foot, left foot. He could do this.

His hand gripped onto the side of the stand before going around and sitting down. His vision blurred and he had to blink his eyes to focus then again.

"Can you hear me Mr Carter? Is it okay if I call you Lieutenant Carter?"

"That should be fine."

"Very well," the lawyer said as she walked back to her desk. "Over your career- well service of ten years, have you ever come across a fire quite like this?"

"No, Ma'am I haven't."

"What about children?"

"In many cases, yes. But they weren't intentional." He heard the jury murmur for a few seconds. The lawyer pursed her lips together.