Weak in the Knees Ch. 05

Zach was up early with everyone else a few weeks later, dressing in a suit to head to the courthouse. Reese Morgan and his accomplices were going to be before the judge first thing and Zach had to be there for it. Zach was standing in front of the mirror in the living room tying his tie, and both Zayne and Diego noticed the way his hands shook as he tied it, though Zach was trying not to show it.

Diego shared some side-eye with Zayne, who shook his head to indicate that they should leave it alone for now.

Zayne cleared his throat, which caused his twin to look over at him. "Are you sure you should go by yourself? Someone can go with you, you know."

Zach pursed his lips together. "I'm fine, Zayne. It's just the official hearing where they will be pleading guilty and the judge will decide sentencing. I can handle it. I'd be grateful if you all make sure Nadya is taken care of. There might be paparazzi that come to the house to try and talk to you or see Nadya. Just keep her inside and occupied, okay?"

Diego nodded wordlessly, his opinion that Zach was being stupid plain on his face as he picked Nadya up from where she was playing and brought her over to Zach for goodbyes. Zach frowned at Diego but when he turned his attention to Nadya, he was all smiles as he gave her kisses all over her cheek and neck, making her giggle.

"You be good baby for Diego, okay?" Zach told her. Then he kissed Diego on the cheek. "You be good too. No matter how annoyed you are with me."

"I refuse," Diego said with a pout, which Nadya promptly mimicked. When Diego saw it he couldn't help but laugh, causing her to giggle again.

Zach couldn't help but smile at them both. He kissed Diego again, too briefly for either of their liking, before he walked out of the house and got into his car. Zayne sighed and picked up his phone, deciding that even if Zach didn't want support at the courthouse, they could at least have everyone come over that evening afterwards.

The courthouse was a somber place to Zach, and he walked through security before being given directions to which room he was supposed to go to. He shook hands with the DA who was the one who was bringing the charges against them.

"Mr. Morgan asked to speak with you before everything begins," the DA said. "Are you comfortable with that?"

Zach looked over at where Reese was sitting, his eyes on Zach. Zach finally nodded his head and the DA led him over to where Reese was sitting. Zach took the seat next to him. More people were coming in but they were kind of sitting in their own little bubble right then.

"You had to know I never would have hurt her, Zach," Reese said after a long awkward silence between them.

Zach gave an incredulous look at Reese. "Reese, they shot off a gun right next to her. It's amazing it didn't damage her hearing."

"They weren't supposed to do that," Reese commented.

"But they did," Zach pointed out. "On top of that, she now has pretty bad separation anxiety. I'm getting her into play therapy to help with it, though she is now allowing us to go places without her. She's very uneasy whenever she isn't with someone who lives at our house though. And what about me, Reese? What about hurting me? Because having her where I didn't know what was happening to her, or could happen to her, caused so much damage to me. Does that not matter?"

Reese stared at Zach like he hadn't considered any of that. Eventually he looked away from Zach, still silent as he mulled that over. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"If only sorry fixed it," Zach replied. Reese didn't reply, because he knew Zach was right. Saying sorry didn't fix any of it.

Zach went back over to sit behind the DA for court. The judge had the DA read off what the defendants were pleading guilty too, and then got verbal confirmation that they all agreed with that. The judge then went over what each sentence would be. Reese himself, as the mastermind of the whole thing, ended up with at least fifteen years in prison. Zach did feel a little sorry for him, because he looked so lost and upset at that, but then he remembered Nadya's scream of terror and his heart hardened against the pity he felt.

Afterward, Zach sat down for a little bit on one of the benches outside the court, taking a moment to let the emotions of this all wash over him before he let them wash away and then got up and went home. He was greeted with all of their friends there, including Aspen, his sister.

Zach looked between Zayne and Diego, like he clearly thought they were behind getting them there. He didn't say anything, though, just went around giving everyone a hug and thanking them for being there. He did not hug Daniel, though. Just gave him a fist bump before he sat down on the couch like he was exhausted. His hands were shaking again as he undid his tie.

Diego sat down next to him, holding a sleepy Nadya. "There is someone here who will gladly help you undress, you know," Diego said conspiratorially to Zach in a quiet tone before telling him in a normal voice, "She refused her nap today. She kept asking for you. I managed to keep her distracted and happy for the most part but I suspect if you hold her she'll be out."

Zach smiled and held out his arms for her, and she quickly jumped at him and snuggled in at his side. Diego was right that it didn't take her long to fall asleep once she was with Zach. He snuggled with her while the others got lunch set up. Zach eventually stood up with Nadya's head on his shoulder as he took her up to her crib and settled her down for her nap, then snuck back downstairs. He didn't have a huge appetite right then, but he appreciated what they were trying to do so he took a little bit of food and ate what he could force himself to.

"So, how was court?" Zayne asked.

Zach let out a huff that was half laugh, half annoyance. "Reese wanted to talk, told me that he was never going to hurt her and he wanted to make sure I knew that."

"Reese is a sad, desperate man," Daniel said. "His promises mean nothing."

Brinxton eyed Daniel meaningfully from outside of Daniel's sightline but didn't say anything. Diego noticed it, though and the look further confirmed his judgment that Daniel was not well-liked among his friend group right now. Zach narrowed his eyes at Daniel, which Daniel did catch, but neither said anything. Brielle had frowned but just ate her salad.

"Either way, he's getting at least fifteen years in prison," Zach finally broke the awkward silence. "That's a lengthy amount of time for that. I feel some pity for him, but..."

"Of all of the people to have sympathy for the man, I wouldn't have figured it'd be you," Elias pointed out.

That got some of them to start joking about Zach's righteous fury, which Zach took graciously by laughing at them. It wasn't like they were wrong. Zach could have a temper though it rarely flared up at people he cared for. It usually flared up when someone he loved was threatened or hurt. Though now he worried that Diego would think it was an issue Zach couldn't handle.

When they finished with lunch, everyone helped clean up and then they ended up in the living room talking about everything they had all been going through. Talking about it like this made Zach realize he'd been dealing with a lot: from Kali's death and Nadya's birth, to his MS diagnosis, the kidnapping, and his symptoms getting worse.

It made him emotionally exhausted just thinking about it. Of course, he wasn't the only one with issues. Aspen and Elias were in limbo on whether they were miscarrying a baby right then, Zayne and Brinxton were talking about whether they could handle a baby of their own on top of everything and unsure at the moment, and Brielle and Daniel were having some marital problems, which Zach was mostly staying out of.

And thanks to the kidnapping, Zach also knew Diego was having issues with his school funding. He didn't think Diego would let Zach just fix it for him though. Diego was blissfully unaware of some of the issues plaguing the rest of the family, though he would have welcomed the knowledge if it had been offered. He knew from simply living in a house with them that Brinxton and Zayne were trying to figure out whether they wanted to be parents.

They had asked to babysit Nadya a few times to see if they could handle it with Diego still in the house just in case. That was before the kidnapping, of course. She was just starting to accept being watched for a little bit without Diego or Zach around, but it was touch and go some days.

At some point they got to talking about the surprise of the pregnancy with Nadya and Zach changing around his priorities, which some of them never thought would happen.

"You jumped into daddy role so fast though," Aspen said with a smile. "It's like, as soon as you knew Kali was keeping the pregnancy, you wanted nothing more than to be a good dad."

"Who knew you had it in you to be a dad and not 'Oh spank me, daddy'," Zayne added.

"Hey now, I can still do both roles," Zach argued.

"Can he?" Brielle asked Diego.

"No," Diego answered seriously but with a smile on his face, "it squicks him out for me to call him that."

That wasn't untrue so Zach just shrugged his shoulders to show Diego was telling the truth.

"You should call him Papi then," Zayne added, and then the others joined in with other versions of Daddy Diego could use to much eye rolling from Zach.

"Still, the whole baby thing really puts a damper on your social life," Daniel said. "The minute Kali ended up pregnant, you were only focused on the baby and have been since then. You've changed a lot."

Zach looked confused as he stared at Daniel for a moment. "Well, I mean, I had to. I'm her whole word. It's starting to expand now, but she needs me. That will probably change a lot as she gets older, but for now she has to be my world too."

Diego also looked confused. "Why would such an important event like fatherhood not change someone's approach to the world?" he asked incredulously.

"Not everyone changes their entire life for children," Daniel said. "I'll still be working just as many hours as I am now if I have children, and I will still get my time away, just like Brielle will get her me time as well."

"Oh, 'me time', huh?" Elias asked. "Is that what you call the dicking days?"

Brielle rolled her eyes at that but stayed silent. Zach shook his head at his friend but the next time he spoke was to Daniel. "I know that a lot of friends and friends-with-benefits dropped me because I became a dad. I'm okay with my life not being as glamorous as you think it should. The reality is that I always kind of wanted this, you know? A family. I just didn't have a lot of good ways to get it that made sense. Of course, I should be doing this with Kali, but life doesn't always give us the easy path."

Daniel rolled his eyes at that while the others were somber and gave looks of sympathy to Zach. Zach narrowed his eyes at Daniel though. "What is that expression for?"

"You're just...such a fucking softie," Daniel replied with a shrug. "I never would have imagined it though, with that temper of yours. I knew Kali too, and I wouldn't put it past her to get pregnant on purpose to make sure she was always taken care of. Too bad for her that her gold digger ways caught up to her in the form of karma."

Diego's mouth gaped open in shock that Daniel would even say such a thing. Zach stood up from the seat he was in, moving closer to Daniel with his eyes like little slits now. Diego could see how pissed off he was, but Zach was trying to hold it back. "And just what does that mean, Danny?"

Brielle was looking up at Daniel from her seat, her expression saying that she was upset. "Daniel, don't."

"No, Brielle," Zach said, his stance casual but his tone anything but. "Don't stop him now. Let's hear it. You've been dying to tell me for a while, haven't you?"

"Zach," Brielle pleaded, but Daniel cut her off.

"Oh stop," Daniel spat. "Brielle seems to think you're this sensitive, caring man who is deeply mourning Kali's death and we have to tiptoe around your emotions and trauma."

"Are you kidding me?" Zach asked. "I watched her die, Daniel! I spent almost every bit of time by her bedside while she was dying as I could while nurses did most of the work with Nadya in the NICU! Just because we weren't romantic didn't mean I didn't love her!"

"You want me to be honest?" Daniel asked, and Zach nodded his head. "Kali dying was the best thing for you. The only thing that would have been better is if the eighteen-year baggage upstairs had died with her too."

Diego gasped in revulsion at what he was hearing, standing up himself and only stopping his advance toward Daniel because Zach was in his way. Zach took a step back, his eyes wide as he took that in. He looked like he had been slapped in the face by the information, but it didn't take too long for his eyes to turn calculating. Zayne moved his wheelchair forward, but he didn't have time to do much before Zach went after Daniel, punching him hard in the cheek, which grazed off him and to the side. Daniel staggered back slightly before gritting his teeth and attacking Zach back.

"Zachariah!" Zayne called out while the others tried to tell them to stop as well, but neither of them were listening. Eventually, Elias and Diego managed to pull Zach away, but while Brielle tried to pull Daniel away, a punch meant for Zach strayed and hit Brielle in the lip, sending her tumbling to the ground. All movement stopped once she landed on her ass, with Elias and Diego able to loosen their grip on Zach because he was staring at Brielle in horror.

Brielle brought her hand up to her lip and when she brought it away, she could see blood on her hand. Diego still clung to Zach, more for support as the adrenaline began to wear off. Diego assumed that Zach would need the help and would also be too proud to ask for it.

"It was an accident," Daniel said as Aspen helped Brielle get to her feet.

"Uh huh, and was Zach's face an accident too?" Brielle asked, which caused Zach to touch his face where wounds were already bleeding freely.

Brinxton stepped forward, addressing Brielle, "Do you want him out of here? Just say the word."

"Zach started the fight!" Daniel cried, but Brielle ignored him and just nodded her head to her brother to say she wanted him out.

"No, you knew his buttons and you pushed them," Zayne pointed out to Daniel angrily. "You knew what you were doing!"

Brinxton didn't waste any effort on talking to Daniel, he simply walked up to him and took a firm grasp on his bicep and began to propel him toward the door, pausing briefly by the coat rack to shove Daniel's coat into his free hand before pulling open the door and practically launching the man out of the house. The softness with which Brinxton closed the door afterward was a stark contrast to the business-like and almost angry way he had manhandled Daniel.

He could hear Daniel yelling from the other side of the door that Brielle had the keys to the car and smiled smugly on his way back to the table. Aspen had already gotten Brielle sitting down, while Elias and Diego got Zach into one of the chairs as well. Brielle only had a split lip, but Zach's face was a different story. One of his eyes would definitely turn black, his lip was split in two different places, his chin was bruised, as was his cheek, and he had bleeding wounds on most of those areas as well as his nose was bleeding.

Aspen handed an ice pack to Brielle while Elias grabbed the first aid kit to start working on Zach. Diego assessed the damage to his boyfriend judiciously and suggested that they get him to a doctor and possibly even file a report with the police.

"You're an idiot," Elias said to Zach as he grabbed two tampons from Aspen's purse and stuck them up Zach's nose where he deposited them to stop the bleeding.

"You heard what he said!" Zach cried.

"Right, and I also know he was goading you," Elias added. "And you took the bait like you always do. He could try to go to the police and say you started it. You technically threw the first punch. And he's right, you need a doctor, mostly to make sure nothing got broken."

Zach let out a huff and looked away, but Zayne was looking off at the wall, though not really seeing it when he asked, "Was he always like this and I was just blind, or did he get worse over the years or something? I'm not going to pretend he was perfect when we were together, but it's like I don't even recognize him now."

"Sometimes I think you three were his conscience," Brielle admitted. "He seemed better when he was around you three, regularly, as friends. He didn't fall into a great crowd after you, and that's eaten away at him. Plus, I think he's bitter over everything that's happened, especially since you two got married."

"What do you want to do?" Aspen asked Brielle. "I know some real shark divorce attorneys."

Elias gave her a look but she just smiled at him. Brielle, though, nodded her head slowly. "Get me those names. That's not who I want to have children with."

Brinxton, standing behind his sister and out of her sight, pumped his closed fist in a gesture that clearly demonstrated his feelings on the matter. Elias couldn't help but smirk at him, though he tried to hide it from Brielle by focusing on Zach again.

Brielle looked over at where Zach was, the hard expression on her face softening. "Go to the hospital, you oaf. And make a report. He said something so inflammatory towards your daughter, who just got kidnapped recently, and it is normal to have responded the way you did. You both went into the fight knowing that he knows how to press your buttons and that you aren't as strong as him now."

That last part made Zach look over at where she was. Most of the time, Zach was trying to pretend that nothing had really changed with his health, but hearing it that starkly put made him look down at his hands, which were shaking slightly again. Zach's eyes went out of focus and he finally just nodded his head.

Diego was already over by the coat tree gathering his and Zach's jackets and grabbing the keys to Zach's car off the wall. He brought Zach his coat and basically bundled him up in it while asking Zayne and Brinxton to listen for Nadya. "If she wakes up, just sit with her in her room until she goes back to sleep. She doesn't usually want anything but some companionship."

Zayne nodded his head and motioned for them to go. They could handle their niece while Zach got medical help. It was good practice for them in case they had their own baby someday. Zach let Diego drive to the hospital since his contacts were bothering him now, especially in his injured eye. Zach took his contacts out on the way to the ER and threw them away.

The doctor looked over the wounds, and laughed at the tampons Elias had used to stop the bleeding in the nose. They took those out and one side was still bleeding a little bit. He sent Zach off for x-rays for the nose and then they took photos of his wounds, cleaned him up, and stitched up a few of the cuts they didn't think would heal well without it.

He did have a broken nose so the doctor had to reset it before putting a cast on the nose to keep it in place. Diego hated hearing the way Zach cried out in pain when the doctor reset it.

It was after all of that happened that the cops came in to speak with Zach. They went through everything and took photos of the wounds after being treated, and accepted the photos from before that the nurses took.

"Do you want to press charges, Mr. Lennox?" one of the cops asked.

Diego, who had remained quiet through all of this, looked Zach in the eye and said, "Yes, he would."

Zach looked at Diego, and Diego could see some slight hesitation before he finally nodded his head. The cops accepted that as an answer and left them alone in the room. Once they had left, Zach sighed and laid his head back on the pillow.