Life Renewed Ch. 04-05

"If your wife had been attacked, wouldn't you want to see her?" John pointed out. The guard pushed John into a wall with a growl.
"Is that a threat Hall?" the guard asked, his voice low, dangerous.
"Back off Jerkins, he was making a hypothetical point," Officer Park intervened. Reluctantly, Jerkins backed away from John who turned to Officer Park. "Please let me see Mia," John said softly. Officer Parks shook his head with a sigh.
"It's up to the warden," Officer Parks told John. "I'll speak with him about it later," he added. John nodded and waited to be escorted back to his cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Months later-

"How's Mia?" John asked Greg as he appeared next to him at the defendant's table.
"She's doing as well as can be expected. She wanted to be here, but wouldn't tell me why she wouldn't be," Greg answered.
"I told her to stay away," John said, his voice full of pain. "I haven't seen Mia or Angel in three weeks," he added. Greg patted the younger man on the shoulder.
"Mia loves you John," Greg said gently.
"I know." Greg stopped talking as the district attorney stepped up to them.
"Last chance for a deal; plead guilty and you'll only get two more years of prison time," the D.A. offered.
"I never raped anyone," John said firmly.
"Enough." Greg stepped in front of John. "No deal Landers," he added. The D.A. shrugged and walked over to his table; Greg turned back to John. "It's a relatively good deal," Greg said quietly.
John looked up wearily at his wife's grandfather. "I'm not going to prison longer for something I did not do," John grumbled.
"I know you didn't rape anyone, and so does anyone who really knows you. The only problem is unless you have an evil twin brother out there, the fact that they have your DNA is very suspicious," Greg said.
"I don't know how they got my DNA. I didn't ..." Greg looked up as John trailed off and turned to see what John was staring at; smiled when he saw Mia standing behind him.
"Can you give us a few minutes grandpa?" Mia asked softly. Greg nodded and gave her a tight hug and as he walked away, he sighed at all the girl had been through; it was too much for one person to endure and yet she persevered and got through it with the strength of an Amazon warrior.

"I know you told me not to come, but I couldn't stay away," Mia said softly. John gave an awkward smile as he tried to swallow over the lump in his throat. "I love you John," she whispered.
"I love you too," John said as he wrapped his arms around the two most important women in his life. "My God, she's so big," he breathed when he pulled away. Angel studied her father carefully for a moment, before her eyes lit up and she held her arms out towards him.
"Dada!" Angel announced. John gave a strangled laugh as he took Angel from Mia's arms.
"How long as she been talking?" John wanted to know.
"She's been saying mama for a almost a month now, but Dada is new, only about two weeks. We've been practicing," Mia answered.
"How?" John asked.
"I showed her your picture and repeated the word 'Dada' over and over again until she could say it on her own," Mia murmured. John laughed; his laugh turned to a sigh as Angel struggled to get down. "She has another surprise for you, let her down and stand back a little, maybe to just past the table," Mia told him. John set Angel down on the floor and took a few steps back; his eyes widened as he watched his daughter grab hold of the table and used it to take a few steady steps. He moved to take a step towards her but Mia shook her head. To John's amazement, Angel let go of the table and took the three steps on unsteady and wobbly legs before coming to a stop to just in front of John who had knelt down to be at Angel's level. Angel gave a smile and drool spilled down her chin. John gave Angel a gentle hug and lifted her into his arms as he stood back up.

"Amazing isn't it?" Tyler asked, making both Mia and John jump. John nodded. "I missed Mia's firsts too," he said quietly. John nodded again and passed Angel back to her mother.
"I've been keeping something from Mia," John said after Mia had gone. Tyler's eyes narrowed. "No, I didn't rape anyone, but I know who is accusing me. I kept it from Mia to keep from hurting her more, and to keep from pissing her off," he added.
"Who accused you? Tyler wanted to know.
"Charlotte Wright," John answered.
"The fucking little bitch!" Tyler shouted.
"Calm down," John pleaded.
"Calm down!? The little bitch ruined Mia's career and now she's trying to fuck with her life with you and you want me to calm down?! Are you fucking insane!?" Tyler roared. John winced and gave a sigh of relief when Greg returned to the table.
"Tyler, you need to pull it together. This is why we haven't said anything sooner," Greg told his son. Tyler took a deep breath as Lily and Mia returned to the court room, this time without Angel who had been picked up by Catie.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Mia snapped when she saw Charlotte walk into the courtroom.
"That is the woman John was accused of raping," Greg said gently. John watched worriedly as all the color drained from Mia's face.
"Of all of the absurdity!" Mia exclaimed.
"That's enough ma'am. If you do not settle down, I will have you removed," the judge announced from the bench. Tyler grabbed Mia's arm and turned her towards him.
"Mia, sweetie, I know this is hard on you, but you need to stay calm. I know John didn't do this, you know John didn't do this and for John and for Angel, you need to calm down," Tyler said gently. Mia took a deep breath and took her seat behind John, placed her hands on his shoulder.
"I love you Mia," John murmured before the judge called the court to order.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How's Mia?" Luke asked when Catie sat down in the booth across from him.
"Exhausted," Catie answered. She took a sip of her water and sighed deeply.
"They'll find him innocent," Luke said, reaching his hand across the table.
Catie nodded. "Especially since the person accusing him of rape is Charlotte Wright, the woman that ruined Mia's career as a professional ballet dancer," Catie said with a groan. Luke frowned at that.
"Did she think he would be attracted to her?" Luke wanted to know.
"She thinks all men should be attracted to her," Catie groaned.
"That's because I am beautiful and one hell of a dancer!" a voice snapped. Catie looked up, hoping a bored expression was on her face.
"Did you do a lot of dancing for the women in prison then Charlotte? Did you like being their bitch?" Catie asked sweetly.
"Your sister thought she was the best dancer in the world, she needed to be taken down a peg or two," Charlotte said smugly.
"You didn't just destroy her career Charlotte. You killed someone," Catie retorted.
"What? Who?" Charlotte asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
"My unborn child," Mia said from behind her nemesis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mr. Hall, if you weren't the one who raped Ms. Wright, how do you suppose they got your DNA?" the D.A. inquired.
"I don't know, but I have never touched a woman who did not want to be touched and even if I were some sick rapist, Charlotte Wright is the last woman on Earth that I would touch, no matter the circumstances," John said, a harshness in his voice that made him sound dangerous.
"Why do you say that? You sound as if you do not like Ms. Wright," the D.A. asked. Greg objected and the judge told the D.A. to find another line of questioning.

John swallowed hard as he watched Mia take the stand, her face pale, her eyes flashing with fury as she stared at the woman that had ruined her dreams. "Mia, you don't have to do this," John said. Greg put a hand John's arm and the Judge gave John a warning. Mia turned her gaze to John and gave a small smile.
"Yes John, I do have to do this," Mia said softly.

John sat there, helpless as the D.A. asked question after question, making Mia relive the events that ended her ballet career and worse, caused her to miscarry. He clenched his hands and shot daggers at Charlotte with his eyes. The D.A. glanced at John and smirked at the look on John's face; the D.A. was certain that he was winning. "No further questions," the D.A. announced. Greg stood up. "Did you know that you had gotten pregnant before you were pushed from the stage?" he asked.
"The doctors told me that had Charlotte not pushed me off the state, I most likely wouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place, let alone had a miscarriage," Mia answered.
"How so?" Greg asked. He hated having to reveal his grand-daughter's tragedy to people who had no business knowing it, but the D.A. had opened up the past to paint John's character; that he was angry at the young woman who said that John had raped him; the D.A. was trying to paint the alleged rape as payback for all that had been done to Mia.
"I was taking birth control pills and John used condoms, well, most of the time. I never, never forgot to take a pill until I was hospitalized. By the time I woke up from my coma, I had already missed two days of the pill and the doctor said that they needed to make sure that I wasn't pregnant before they could put me back on the pill. When the first test taken a few days later was inconclusive, I had to wait another three weeks for another one," Mia answered, her voice was shaking and her face was pale and pained, as if talking about the past was physically hurting her.
"Then what happened?" Greg asked gently. Mia glanced towards John who met her gaze and gave her an encouraging smile.
"The day before I was scheduled to retest, John was helping me walk through the halls as part of my physical therapy and my abdomen started cramping really badly. John helped me back to my room and as he did, I started hemorrhaging. The ultra sound revealed that the bleeding was because of the fetus and part of the placenta detaching from my uterus and that I had just had a miscarriage," Mia said shakily. There were tears in her eyes now that spilled over, down her cheeks.
John started to stand up, desperate to go to Mia, to comfort her but the bailiff placed his hand on his gun; Greg turned back to the man his granddaughter had chosen to spend her life with. "Sit down John," Greg commanded. John hesitated for a moment, his eyes locked on Mia.
"John, sit down, I-I'm okay," Mia said, her voice was quiet, strained. John refused to sit however until the Judge recessed the court and Mia made her way back to him.
"I'm sorry," John whispered as he pulled Mia to him and hugged her close.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Mia said firmly, her voice still shaking.
"I wish I could spare you the pain of having to remember this," John murmured, his hands stroked the back of her hair soothingly
"It hurts you too," Mia reminded him. John sighed and wished he was better at hiding his pain. "Don't shut yourself away John, please," Mia whispered. John hugged her again and lowered his lips to her.
"I love you Mia, so much. You've endured so much and still landed on top. I am so glad that I found you," John's voice was low and it sent a shiver down Mia's spine.
"I love you too," Mia murmured, closing her eyes as she tried to block out the truth of where they were.

The Judge watched from the doorway of his chamber as John and Mia comforted each other, his eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed in contemplation. He had seen many rapists and murders in his career and John displayed none of the characteristics nor arrogance that he normally saw and it made him stop, think and consider the looks he had seen on the victim's face; Charlotte Wright. The girl was a convicted felon; attempted murder and her jealously of Mia and all she had showed in Charlotte's eyes. The Judge shook his head and said something quietly to the bailiff who nodded and walked over to just behind the bench that the D.A. sat at, spoke softly to Charlotte and led her to the Judge's chambers.

John looked up as the bailiff stopped in front of the defense table. "His honor would like to speak with you and your lawyer," the bailiff told John. John glanced at Mia, kissed her and reluctantly pulled away from the only woman he had ever loved. He swallowed nervously as he followed Greg into the Judge's chambers, leaving Mia in Catie and Luke's care.

Mia shrieked in surprise as John grabbed her and swung her around. "John? What the hell is going on?" Mia asked as he lowered her to the ground before lowering his lips to hers and kissing her until she was breathless.
"Wait just a little while longer love," John promised, turning back towards the bench as the Judge called the court back into session.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your service, you are free to go." Mia's eyes widened in alarm and she glanced at John who smiled slightly and squeezed her hand.
"Grandpa, what is going on?" Mia whispered. Greg smiled and shushed his granddaughter as the Judge turned his hardening gaze to Charlotte.
"Ms. Wright, you admitted just a few moments ago in my chambers that Mr Hall never touched you, let alone rape you, is that correct?" the judge asked. Charlotte nodded and glanced at Mia whose look of alarm turned to surprise. "Before I pass sentence on you, would you like to give an explanation?" the judge wanted to know. Mia looked behind her shoulder as her parents came up behind her.
"I was angry with Mia. Despite me ruining her career as a professional dancer, she still has someone that loves her, a family, a home, a job. I'm unbelievably jealous, and one day, just over a year ago, I met a man who came into the hospital that I work in; he said that he had been screwed over by Mia's family and that he had heard about what I had done to Mia in New York. He said he wanted to get back at Mia's mother," Charlotte said haltingly.
"Who is this man?" the judge inquired. Charlotte looked around.
"Him," Charlotte answered, pointing to a man in the crowd. The entire court room followed Charlotte's finger and Lily gasped and paled as she recognized the man who stood up, looking for a way out. Two officers grabbed him.
"Mr. Hall, you are free to go, all charges have been dropped and your record will be expunged." John's arm tightened around Mia's waist as she felt her go limp in his arms. The judge turned his expression back to Charlotte. "As for you Ms. Wright, filing a false police report is against the law, stealing someone's blood that has been donated to the Red Cross is against the law. You are remanded into custody without bail until your trial begins at a date that will be set at a later date," the judge announced before banging the gavel. John finally turned back towards Mia. His eyes closed as she threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.
"I love you," John whispered. Mia smiled and without any regard for the people around her, kissed him. John groaned and pulled away reluctantly. "Mia love, not here. For God's sake, your parents are right behind you!" John reminded her.
Mia blushed as she shifted her feet until she was standing on the very tips of her toes and her mouth was next to his ear. "Take me to bed," she murmured. John groaned again and moved away only long enough to give his in-law's an apologetic glance before following Mia from the courtroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mia gasped as her back hit the wall and giggled as John pushed the door closed and locked it. "If you like that dress love, I suggest you take it off," John managed to say as he tugged his pants and boxers down his legs. He stepped out of them and kicked them away. Mia quickly dispensed with the buttons on the back of the dress and let it fall away. John moaned and Mia giggled. "You are such a tease Mia," he groaned before lowering his head to kiss her. Mia moaned and her breath hitched as John lifted her off of her feet; she wrapped her legs around his waist as he plunged into her.
"John, harder," Mia moaned as her body bucked against his. John closed his eyes as he pounded in and out of her. After making sure he had a firm arm around her, John slid a hand and pinched a nipple. Mia moaned loudly as electric shocks went down her spine. "I love you John!" Mia wailed as her climax hit her like a freight train.
"I love you too!" John exclaimed, his voice hoarse as his seed thundered into her.


Mia's eyes snapped open when she heard childish giggling coming from the living room. She glanced at the clock and gasped in surprise; the red numbers glared 12:45p angrily at her. Mia sighed, a depression falling over her at the fact that the side that John usually slept in was cold again. Had she dreamed the whole thing? Was John home or was he still in jail? Mia stretched and winced at the soreness in her legs and thighs but she forced herself to get out of bed and walked into the master bathroom to relieve herself. "I guess it wasn't a dream," she murmured to herself when she saw the love bites on her neck. Mia washed her hands and pulled her robe on over her naked flesh before heading for the living room.
"Morning love," John said, looking up from the blocks that Angel kept trying to knock over.
"Hi," Mia murmured, a soft smile appearing on her face as she watched father and child play together. "When did Aunt Grace bring Angel home?" she asked.
"About an hour ago. I was going to wake you up but you looked so peaceful and I know you haven't been sleeping well," John answered. "Are you hungry?" he wanted to know. Mia nodded. "Angel, I'll be right back okay? I'm going to make some lunch," John said, turning his attention back to his daughter who nodded, as if she knew what her father was saying.
Angel turned her attention to her mother, pushed herself off of the floor, stretched her arms into the air and exclaimed, "Up!" Mia laughed and lifted her daughter into the air.
"Morning princess," Mia murmured, giving her daughter a hug. She carried Angel into the kitchen and set her down in her high chair. "I can't believe you're here," Mia murmured, walking up to John and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"I'm here love and I'm not going anywhere," John said, turning back towards her and folding his arms around her. John glanced at Angel before pressing a kiss to Mia's cheek.
"The soup is burning," Mia said softly. John turned around and lowered the heat of the burner as Mia dished out a small portion of the tomato soup. He watched as Mia crumpled up a few crackers into the bowl and sat down to feed Angel her lunch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mia?" John asked later that night as he held Mia in his arms after another night of intense lovemaking.
"Hmm?" Mia murmured, snuggling closer to her husband, glad to be back in his arms.
"I was wondering; how likely is it that we just made another baby?" John asked hesitantly.
Mia glanced at him curiously before sighing deeply. "I had Mirena inserted after Angel was born, hoping that you'd come home a lot sooner than you did," Mia answered. John gave a small sigh of relief.
"I want more children with you Mia, especially if they are as beautiful as Angel is, but right now, I just need to get used to being back with you and with Angel," John told her. Mia smiled and nodded.
"I'm glad you're home," Mia murmured. John grinned.
"Show me," he challenged.