Long Time Coming... father

[Jenny Night]

Alexa Collins
I knew as we all met outside the court room that my father would already be inside waiting to see what the court would do to him. I knew as well that the despicable man was certain that I was not going to win here. He had been plotting against my story with his own lawyer. This was something that I was certainly expecting.

I headed in with my own lawyer while the rest of my family sat down in the other seats, where they would not be called on at all. Though I kept moving towards the place I would sit in plain sight of the judge and jury. This was going to be a long hard day but I knew that. There was no doubt in my mind though that I would deal with him and this time there was no chance that he was going to get away with the things that he had done to me.

Sighing I took my seat, aware that my father was glaring at me, with no remorse in his eyes. He still did not care that I was about to make his own life hell. He probably believed that it would be my life that would be made hell. Maybe that was a possible outcome but then again maybe it would not be. I had to trust that what I said would be enough proof that I was going to be the victorious one.

[Kanchana]

Kayson kissed her cheek lightly, wishing her luck for he could not sit with her. Such was the way of the court, but at least he could sit with Lily in the front row. Sara sat with them, quiet and watching. Maybe she didnt understand much of it, but she had wanted to be there for Alexa in her time of need.
"You okay?" he asked Alexa quietly and Lily blew her a kiss as they entered.

He sat, Lily on his lap, on the cold, hard bench. Sara snuggled into his warm side, eyes wide as they watched and waited.

[Jenny Night]

Alexa Collins
"I'll be fine," i told him as he sat down somewhere behind me. I knew this was goign to be no easy day.

Certainly I loathed my father and that made it all the more easier for me to look at him with narrowed eyes as I knew that he would be looking at me the same way. Neither of us wanted to lose this fight for true justice. I was doing this so that I could see him brought to the judge and dealt with in a manner he should have been years ago. I had been too much of a coward back then though and nothing had been done at the time.

Well, coward I was no longer. I did not care that people would be seeing this in the public eye either. I was more than used to the media skulking around seeing what I was up to and annoying the hell out of me. This was nothing now for me. The media would get nothing from me; they would have to go elsewhere if they wanted information from me. I was the star of the Sunshine Coast and nothing was going to diminish that for me. Not even a trial that I wished my father never had to cause.

But I was in the right of it here. I knew that what my father had done was the guilty one this time. Of that there was no doubt in my mind. I cared naught if he wanted me gone from his life after this. He meant nothing to me. Hell I knew that was not such a nice thing to think about ones own father, but I did not really care. Too much had he done to me for me to be able to forgive and forget.

Everyone stood up as the judge came in, a female one too. Hmm this could get interesting for me.

I only sat when we were told we could. I was no fool and I knew how this would work, thanks to my lawyer explaining everything to me that I needed to know.

"Mr Collins, you have been accused of several different things. The first being having sex with a minor which you know is called rape. The second, causing the said minor, who happens to be your oldest child to have a baby and threatening to kill the infant. The third is abuse of your said daughter as well. What do you plead to this?"

"Not guilty," my father declared.

I sighed. How on earth had I known he would say that. My father was the person you could count on to try and escape from anything that might not go his way. I knew though that he might use his influence as a former government official against me. Then again he had only lasted a month. He has not been there to see me off of the plane either when it landed. That really sucked for me. He cared very little for me these days. Was not really that much of a surprise though.

Who would have thought anything else as the possible answer for that particular crime? Certainly I had known he would do this to me. There was nothing but hatred between father and daughter. It had always been that way. Ever since the day my mother died. Which was a sad thing, that was for sure.

Once I had looked up to my father but now nothing but contempt did I have for the man who had helped my mother bring me into the world.

This was going to be interesting for me. Lily sat behind me, as did all the others in my family. None of my family sat near my father at the moment, they were all appalled by what this man put me through. I was clearly the leader of the family at the moment, not my father.We were all of the same mind against him at the moment. There was no denying that. No one liked someone who did such things to their daughter. Though having all the reporters hanging about outside had not been the easiest of things to have to deal with, I was used to it now. I cared for all of my family, and having to have them listen to and put up with all those media people was something I was not too pleased about.

There was nothing in me that was in any way mean like my father. I could not be that way, but what he had done to me had made things harder for me in my life. Now though I seemed to be completely healed.

I sighed though, glaring at my father. Then I looked up as the judge asked me a question.

"I'm sorry your honour, but could you repeat that?"


OOC: looks like you got the judge and Kayson...

[Kanchana]

The judge cleared his throat, peering down at Alexa over his glasses.
"I said Miss Collins," he said gruffly "why is it that you are here."
He sighed quietly, smiling slightly at the young woman. He had the papers in front of him, but he wanted to hear the whole story from her mouth.

[Jenny Night]

She sighed looking up at him with bright eyes. "A few years back, maybe three, possibly four, my mum died. Well it has not been an easy thing to do. The day my mum died, dad forgot I was his daughter, and not my mum. I was forced into that place, what my mum was to him. Only I think he knew I was not her, because if I did not get him or do do something he wanted, no matter how bad, and some of it was bad, he would hurt me. Sometimes he even did things that would not be right for an adult to do to a minor."

She paused. "A few months after the day my mum died was the first time. It was not the last. If my memory is correct he did that inappropriate thing about five times. He hit me many a time. I think even for a time he forgot it was his daughter he was hurting and not his dead wife."

She paused a second time thinking back again. "I also figured out that he is connected to the death of my mother, one of the best female jockeys a few years ago."

[Kanchana]

The judge nodded, understanding her words.
"I see, but do you have evidence?" he asked, knowing there needed to be evidence to prove such things.
He took off his glasses, rubbing them against his robe before looking down at her with a motion to continue.

Kayson shifted where he sat, suddenly wondering if this was the rightful place for the children to be. They shouldn't hear of this at such a young age. Smiling down at a almost asleep Lily and hugged Sara closer to his side, waiting.

[Jenny Night]

I knew that though this was going to be very hard for me to prove I thought for a moment. "Yes, and there are several people who will back me up about the things I have spoken about. But one of the most solid bits of proof I have is my daughter, Lily. The police checked her DNA against mine and against my fathers... It matches us both."

My father shot me a murderous glare. "That's a lie!" he snarled.

I ignored him. And looked up at the judge, waiting.

[Kanchana]

The aged judge bobbed his head, muttering quietly to himself as he noted things down before him.
"Okay then, who is being called first to the stand?" he asked looking at the people who were going to speak.

[Jenny Night]

This time i could not help but look at my father for a second. He knew that i was not going to let him win easily. I did not intend to have things get out of hand this time. It was his side I would allow to ask the questions first, not mine. I knew that I had the truth on my side. I doubted that he would be able to do much to get out of this without being punished.

[Kanchana]

"Kayson James King," called a voice and his head shot up, startled and then relaxed, knowing that he was being called to talk.
Moving a sleeping Lily to sit on Sara's lap, he stood and moved his way to the stand, speaking the vows of truth and looked to the judge to begin questioning.
"How do you know Miss Collins?" came the first question.
"She's my wife."
"How long have you known her?"
"Around 6 months."
"Had what she said true?"
"Yes."
"Have you had anything to do with her father?"
"Yes?"
"Like what?"
"He kidnapped Alexa's brother, who is living with us..." Kayson said and sighed quietly "he wanted a randsome, but the police became involved and we got him before handing the money over."
"Are those children yours?"
"Not by genes, but we adpoted them."
"Are either Miss Collins's?"
"Yes."
"Are either of them Miss Collin's and Mr Collins?"
"Yes."
"Which child?"
"The sleeping one."

The questioning continued for ages, but finally it was coming to a end.
"Do you believe that Mr Collins raped his daughter and killed his wife?"
Kayson sighed, looking at Alexa and gave her a small smile before nodding.
"Yes. I think he did."
"Thank you Mr King, that is all."
Kayson stood with a sigh of relief, standing and hurried to sit back down with the children and gently took the sleeping Lily from Sara's arm.
"Thanks Sara," he whispered, kssing her forehead.

"Sally Leons, please come to the stand."

[Jenny Night]

Sally sighed, getting back to her feet knowing that this was the time when she had to report to the judge what she had seen and what she had not seen. She would make sure that she told the truth and nothing but that.

Though she knew that she had been here before. She spoke the normal words saying she would not say anything but the truth and waited.

"How do you know Mirs King?"

"I was freinds with her mother, and am now her mentor and sponsor for her chosen sport."

"How long have you known her?"

"Nearly ten years."

"Had what she said true?"

"Yes."

"Have you had anything to do with her father?"

"No. Only her mother, before she passed away."

"Have you ever noticed anything odd about Alexa that could have been to do with the things her father has done to her?"

"There were times when she came to her riding classes when I was teaching her that I noticed that there were bruises on her arms and face. Also some of the time when i talked to her about her life at home, because i was a little concerned about her, she seemed really tense and stressed about that subject, a thing that was not normal when before her mother died she was happy about talkign about such things."

"Thank you Mr King, that is all."

Kayson stood with a sigh of relief, standing and hurried to sit back down with the children and gently took the sleeping Lily from Sara's arm.

"Thanks Sara," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Sally Leons, please come to the stand."

Sally sighed, getting back to her feet knowing that this was the time when she had to report to the judge what she had seen and what she had not seen. She would make sure that she told the truth and nothing but that.

Though she knew that she had been here before. She spoke the normal words saying she would not say anything but the truth and waited.

"How do you know Mirs King?"

"I was freinds with her mother, and am now her mentor and sponsor for her chosen sport."

"How long have you known her?"

"Nearly ten years."

"And what she has said is true?"

"Yes."

"Have you had anything to do with her father?"

"No. Only her mother, before she passed away."

"Have you ever noticed anything odd about Alexa that could have been to do with the things her father has done to her?"

"There were times when she came to her riding classes when I was teaching her that I noticed that there were bruises on her arms and face. Also some of the time when i talked to her about her life at home, because I was a little concerned about her, she seemed really tense and stressed about that subject, a thing that was not normal when before her mother died she was happy about talking about such things."

“Is that all you can tell us, Ms. Leons?”

“Yes.”

"Alexa King, you're turn."

I gulped getting up and walking over to sit down. My father galred at me, continuosly.

"According to Sally, often when you came to riding class you were bruised. Why were you bruised?"

"When I did something, even something minor that my father did not like, though once when my motehr was still alive he did not mind me doing, he would beat me as soon as he found me."

"Alright. You often looked stressed in class. Why were you stressed?"

"Because I was worried about heading home to face my father again. There were days then, that I wanted to die at times. But that was not something that happened, and now that I look back on it, I'm glad I didn't die."

"My sympathies. Your doctor told us that you were stressed when he had to do a body examination of you, why were you stressed then?"

"Some of the places that my doctor had to touch were places that were improperly touched by father. It was hard to let anyone even do anything at the time when he was hurting me in sch a ludicrous manner. I still hate him for it."

"I sighed, thinking back over the years. There had been so many times. "More times than I can count since my mother died." I was the one who knew the most about those days.

"Did he give you any particular reason for it? Did he do it out of anger, pleasure etc? "

"Some of it was in anger, but other times no, he simply thought I was my deceased mother, Rose Collins." My eyes gave my father a warning look. All his glaring was starting to get to me. I knew what he was trying to tell me. To shut my big mouth.

"What will he do if we were to release him today?"

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I don't think my father is still there in him. Not long ago I got told I had cancer, though I've managed to beat that, and he seemed disgusted in me for getting it. Not like you can blame someone for getting something like that. I don't think he recognises me as his daughter any more. All I know is that to him... I'm his wife."

I paused.

"I really don't want him to try and get to me again, seeing as I have an easier life now, with my husband who I love dearly."

"Alrighty. What caused you to break your leg? An accident or was it your dad?"

"I fell off my horse once. But that only sprained it. My dad hurt me for it. So I blame him."

"Do you hold even the tiniest amount of love for your father anymore?"

"Once, yes I might have been able to forgive him. But now... Johnan Collins is just a name. A dirty stain in my past. There will never be anything between him and I. Especially since he once threatened to kill my own daughter, when he clearly is the father."

I was glad when that was the last of the questions. Everyone knew now that I hated my father, and though I knew that if this got spread as things like this were known to be by the media it would not matter for me.

I moved back to my seat.

It was then that my doctor was called up to the stand. This was one of the things that was going to be something for the others to deal with. My father would not be able to get him.

"Where were the bruises that you saw on Alexa?"

"Her arms, legs, a few on her face. And a couple in more inconspicous places, on her torso and waist."

"In the report, you mentioned you had seen cases like this before. Describe some of them for us."

"What good will that do her? nothing like this is ever the same." My fathers voice rang out.

"Sir, it is our court room. Either shut up or consult the back door."

He snorted.

"Well, I had a couple of girls, younger than Alexa was at the time. Both came to see me when they found out they were pregnant. They did not want the children growing in them. So I helped them. It was difficult to do, because they did not want me to touch them. It took a lot fo explaining and patience on my part for themt o finally let me touch them."

"What happened when Alexa had the flue? Anything remarkable?"

"She was more nervous than normal and she actually told me that she had feared it was something else completely."

"Did she specifically say what "something else" was?"

"She told me, what her father had been doing to her. This was well and truly after her leg was broken. She asked if I could find out for her. Which I did. I then had the hard task of telling her she was pregnant."

"Did Alexa ever tell you the story behind her broken leg? And how was she if she did?"

"She actually came in that time with her father. I couldn't confront him or anything at the time and she did not say much except for the usual anxiety about me touching her. He told her to be quiet in a lnaguage which would not be polite for me to say when she protested against me. I have enough evidence to suspect he was the cause, there were bruises the exact shape of his hands on that articular legs, though I couldn't say anything at the time."

"Interesting, interesting. Do you feel confident that if we were to release him today, he would proceed to harm Alexa? "

He looked over at the man that they were here because of in the first place. "After my breif meeting with him, I don't doubt he would try to hurt her again. He does not belong... on our streets."

"That's all the questions I have. Thank you for your time."

The last pair to be questioned were the police officers that I had told first about what my father had done. Now was the time for them to tell what they had heard first hand from me.

“According to the report, both of you heard the story from Alexa herself. Tell us how Alexa seemed when she was describing it? Was she scared, traumatised, angry?”

“Alexa seemed a little agitated, but there was was fear as well. We could also hear the trauma going on for her, it was easy to hear from her voice. She did not really seem to know how to describe things to us,” the younger policeman replied.

“She seemed to settle down though fairly easy, with Kayson sitting beside her. I think having him around when she told us made things all the more easier,” replied the older one.

“Interesting, interesting. Now also in the report is the fact that the story is written down on paper. Why paper?”

“"For legal reasons, we all have to carry a notebook with us of some description when such things happen. I was the one who did most of the talking with her, seeing as my collegue here is only new to the force." Morris sighed. "Everything we do has to be documented, when its a serious issue like this one."

“Ah. Thank you for explaining that. Now give us your opinion: If we were to release this man onto your streets, what do you think would happen?”

“After talking to him myself, I know that he was lying to us that he would never do such things. Usually if someone gets the fright of their lives when we're on their doorstep they know that they have done something wrong. It only continued that way when I spoke with him.”

Morris coughed. “I do not think this will be the last time I have to deal with him personally.”

“Ah. That's all the questions we have, officers. You may return to your seats.”

It soon came to be that there were other questions to be answered about the other two charges. And it was thus, that I was called forwards again for more questions.

“What did you actually see before your mother died?”

“I actually saw my father at the racetrack which was an odd thing in itself. Never prior to that had I ever even seen him there. He was talking to one of the other jockeys in what seemed a very quiet voice.”

My father glared at me. He clearly did not want to have to deal with this, though I was not about to let him get his way at the moment. There was no chance I was going to allow him to get away with any of the things he had done.

“Can you describe the jockey for us?”

“The rider of Protocol's Ending. Slightly shorter than me, black hair, muscular. Distinct Italian accent.”

“Thank you, you may take a seat once more, Mrs. King.”

I nodded and walked back to sit in front of Kayson again. I knew that it was a good thing that we had chosen to bring this up as well. Made my father's chances of walking away free very reduced.

“Kayson, I'd like to ask you a few more questions, if you would.”