Doc followed the receptionist to the Crown Attorney’s office and wheeled me into the room before helping me into a chair. He set the wheelchair aside, then sat in the seat beside me. “I’m Max Carlson”, the man behind the desk introduced himself as he stood up and came around the desk to shake hands with us. We said hello and he sat back down.

“I asked you to come in today to go over what will happen during the preliminary hearing. As you know, Jane Patton’s hearing starts tomorrow morning. Have you ever been to one before?” I shook my head.

“I haven’t either”, Doc replied.

“It’s a little different from a trial in that only the Crown presents evidence, as the purpose of the preliminary is for a judge to determine if we have enough to go to trial with. However, the defence can and most likely will cross examine the witnesses. We have 10 days set aside for it, it may not take that long. If we need more time, then more days will be scheduled at a later date.”

“How much later?” I asked.

“It depends on how many days we need and what days are available.” Oh great, I thought. I hope it doesn’t delay the trial. I want that over and done with before the wedding.

“When will we be testifying?”

“After the police officers and detectives, who will testify first. Then you, Meredith, and then Julian. After that, specialists such as lab experts, will testify about the physical evidence. I don’t think the police will take less than two days. So probably starting on Day 3. I presume you will still be in the wheelchair, Meredith?”

“Yes, she will be”, Doc answered.

“We’ll have a court officer wheel you up to the witness stand and help you into the chair.”

“I can do that.”

“You can’t be in the courtroom until you have testified, Julian.”

My heart sunk. Me testify in front of Jane without Doc in there for moral support? No. Can’t do it. “Max, I can’t….I can’t testify without Julian there with me.”

“It has to be this way, Meredith. We can’t have witnesses being influenced by the testimony of people before them.”

“Can I testify first?” Doc asked.

“Well…..I suppose you could, though we usually have the victim testify right after the police.”

“I’m a victim, too. Jane was after both of us.”

“Yes, this is true. I don’t see why you can’t testify first, then. But a court officer will have to wheel her into the room and up to the stand. Only court staff, lawyers and those who are currently testifying can get that close to the judge. Just general security precautions.”

Doc looked at me. “I’m fine with that”, I said.

The CA went over some more things with us before we left. “There’s really no point in you coming to court tomorrow”, he said as we got ready to leave. “Neither of you will be testifying until at least Thursday. I’ll see you at that time.”

Doc took me to Rick’s for lunch. He had worn a suit to our appointment with the crown attorney and I’d worn a skirt and blouse, so we were dressed appropriately to dine there.

Rick saw us as we came through the door, Doc pushing my wheelchair. “Oh my, Meredith, what happened to you?” I wasn’t wearing shoes as both feet were wrapped and I didn’t have dress shoes that I could get on over the wrappings, except for the stilleto heels. Fortunately, stockings were able to stretch enough to go over the wraps. Doc reassured me that Rick wouldn’t mind, given the circumstances. Julian may be cultured and refined, but medical need comes before that.

“I fell out of a tree and sprained my left ankle, and I was running barefoot outside and stepped on broken glass and got a hairline fracture in my right foot”, I explained.

“You are having a bunch of bad luck, my dear”, the restaurant owner said.

“These ones are my fault, Rick”, Doc said. “I startled her while she was in the tree and we were playing around at a cabin we were trying out and I chased her around.”

Rick looked shocked. “I can’t see you running, Julian.”

Doc laughed. “I hate running, as you know. But Meredith has a strange effect on me.”

“It’s love”, Rick told him.

“Must be!”

“Let me find you a good table. Follow me.”

A good table. All of Rick’s tables are good. He seated us at a window table and got menus for us. “Would you like wine? Or another drink?”

“Just coffee for me”, I replied.

“Same”, Doc said. “It’s a bit early in the day for wine.”

We had a lovely lunch. When we were finished eating, Rick came and sat down with us and we discussed the wedding reception before heading home.

Doc picked up some things at the supermarket before we left the city. “I’m relieved that we don’t have to go to court until Thursday”, he said on the way to the farm. “Sitting around a courthouse doing nothing all day really doesn’t appeal to me.”

“Same here, Doc. And we‘ll have the whole day to ourselves at home since Alex and Deanna will be at work.”

When we got home, Scott and Will, the detectives, were on the porch talking to the cop standing guard. We said hello and invited them in. Deanna was home as she only worked part time. The detectives weren’t sure about her sitting in, but I gave my consent. “Her and her husband are very good friends of ours”, I told them. “They helped me a lot on Saturday when I was so upset. I’d like her to stay in the room, as long as she wants to.”

“I’m sorry it’s taken so long to let you know what was going on”, Will apologized, “but I wanted to be able to bring you some good news, so I waited until we had it all figured out. First, I want to assure you that you do not need to worry anymore. You are not in any more danger.

“The gentlemen - and I use the term loosely - that tried to kidnap you, Meredith, as Julian suspected, are dead. They died in that crash that he stopped at. We had detectives in their home city search their apartments. They found emails to each other on their computers. The computers were password protected, but the passwords were weak and the computer expert in that police dept. was in in no time. The men were hired by a gentleman who knows Jane, and wanted to eliminate Meredith as a witness. He wasn’t very smart and hired amateurs, which is why they did not have guns and why you scared them off so easily.

“We arrested the man that hired them and he’s facing charges. He swears that Jane didn’t know what he was doing. We interviewed her and she denied any knowledge of it. We believe her. She passed a lie detector test.”

“People can beat that test”, I said.

“True, but she failed the one that she took when she was first arrested so I don’t think she’s one of them. Besides, we cops are trained to read people and to know when they are lying to us.”

“I hope you are right, Will. I’m so ready for all of this to end.”

“I know and it will end.”

“I imagine you will pull the cops guarding the house?”

“Yes, at the end of the current shift. You have my number and the emergency number to call if you need it. Your address is flagged in our system so that if there are any calls regarding it, we will give it top priority.”

“Scott, do you know if Jane has access to news at the detention centre?”

“I don’t think so, Meredith. Her privileges have been very restricted since the spring. Why?”

“I was worried that she’d find out the kidnapping had failed, but if she didn’t set it up, I guess it’s moot. I just hope she isn‘t planning on something at the prelim.”

“Security is going to be heavy.”

“Will she be at her lawyer’s table or in the prisoner’s dock?”

“I don’t know. That would have been something to ask the Crown Attorney when you saw him this morning.”

“I was going to but forgot.”

“Don’t worry about it, Meredith. If she even tries to make a lunge at you, the officers of the court will be on her and then she *will* be in the secure prisoner’s dock.”

After Will left, I told Doc I was going upstairs to lie down for a while. It had been a long day so far and it was only mid afternoon. Upstairs in the bedroom, I took my clothes off and let them fall on the floor. After going to the bathroom, I crawled under the covers naked. I didn’t even have the energy to get a nightgown or nightshirt out of my dresser and put it on.

A few minutes later, Doc opened the door and came in. “Meredith…” he said with a bit of exasperation as he bent over to pick my clothes up.

“Leave them, Doc. I’ll put them away when I get up.”

“I’m not ‘leaving’ them, Meredith. I will not have our bedroom turned into a pig sty.”

I sighed and threw the covers off me. Standing up, I said “Doc, a few clothes on the floor for an hour or so doesn’t turn a room into a ‘pig sty’.”

“Back in bed, hon. I’ll get them.”

“They are my clothes, Julian.”

“I know, but I want you off your feet.” He set the garments over the chair and returned to the bed. I had sat down on the edge. “In you get.” He held the covers as I swung my legs onto the bed and lay down on his side. He sat down and rubbed my leg.

“I need a hug, Doc.”

“Come here, hon.” I sat up and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“I’m just sore, Doc. And a little nervous about the preliminary starting.”

“Let’s deal with one thing at a time. What is hurting? Your feet?”

“Yes, mostly my right. The left is pretty good.”

“You need to stay off them as much as possible tomorrow. Do you have pain anywhere else?”

“My back, knees and hips.”

“Your arthritis.”

“Yes.”

“I want you take your medication.”

“Okay, Doc.” He reached into his nightstand and brought the bottle of pills out. We keep a bottle upstairs and one downstairs. “I’ll get you some fresh water.” He got up and went around to my side of the bed and took the glass off the nightstand, going into the bathroom with it. He came out with it full of water and handed it to me, then shook two pills into my other hand. I took them and set the glass on his nightstand.

“One of these days I’m going to get us one of those water stands”, he said to me. “So we won’t be drinking water from the bathroom.”

“Doc, it’s the same water as that which comes out of the kitchen tap.”

“I know, but it just seems icky.”

“You going to carry those huge water bottles up the stairs?”

“I’ll bring them up in that elevator we’re going to have installed.” I couldn’t argue with that.

“Now”, he said, sitting down on the bed again. “What is worrying you about the preliminary?”’

“Hey, that’s my job to ask those questions”, Alex said, peeking his head into the room.

“You’re home early”, Doc said to him. I pulled the covers up over my bare chest as fast as I could. Damn, I’d forgotten we had guests. I should have asked Doc to shut the door.

“I was just doing paperwork for the rest of the day and I wanted to see how this morning went. I had a feeling Meredith might be feeling stressed.”

“She is. She’s also in a lot of pain from her arthritis and her broken foot.”

“Has she had anything for it?”

“I just gave her her pills.”

“Good. Can I bring that chair over here?” He gestured toward the chair with my clothes hanging over the back.

“Sure. Let me get Meredith’s clothes off it.”

“Doc, can you get me a nightshirt out of my dresser please?” He brought one to me and Alex turned around while I put it on. Then he brought the chair up to the bed and sat on it.

“Do you want me to leave the room, hon?” Doc asked me.

“No, please stay.” He sat on the bed again.

“Meredith, what is worrying you about the preliminary?” our therapist asked the question Doc had asked me.

“I think it’s seeing Jane”, I replied. “I know there will be police there and court officers, but if she’s not in the prisoner’s dock, I’m afraid she’ll try to get at me. Part of me wants to tell her to bring it on and face her woman to woman, but with these feet, there’s no way I could keep up my own in a fight.”

“I don’t know about that, hon”, Doc said. “You fought her at the apartment on a sprained ankle and you wanted to fight her at the hospital near Vancouver after you’d been hit by a car and had a ruptured spleen and torn bladder. Not to mention a broken ankle and a cracked knee.”

“Yeah, but I’m older now.” We all laughed.

Alex talked to me for a bit, then Doc and I lay down for a nap before supper. Deanna had insisted on cooking. Much as Doc loves cooking, I think he was relieved to be waited on this night.

The next day, Julian and I spent a relaxing day with the house to ourselves. He asked me to stay upstairs for the morning. “Hon”, he said to me, “I would like you to do as I say today - in all aspects. I know you are a bit anxious about court and I will take your mind off of it, at least for part of the day. But I need you to trust me and not give me attitude, okay?

“Okay, Doc”, I agreed.

“Good. I’ll bring breakfast up in a few minutes.” He insisted on serving me breakfast in bed. When we were finished, he said “I’m going to go downstairs and clean up, then I will be back up to give you a shower. You are to stay in bed unless you have to go to the bathroom. Understand?”

“Yes, Doc.”

“Good girl, Meredith.” He gave me a kiss before he took our breakfast dishes downstairs. I turned on the tv and found a movie to watch for a while.

After he finished the clean-up, we had a shower together. He took the wraps off my feet and helped me in, then so carefully and gently bathed me before bathing himself. He dried us off and carried me back to the bed. I dozed off for a while before lunch.

Karen came upstairs and had lunch with us. When she'd left, Doc went into our walk in closet and came out with the school girl uniform I’d worn for him on his birthday. “Put this on, hon”, he said.

“Ooooooh, Doc - getting your kink on today!” He blushed.

I got dressed and Julian brought the wheelchair upstairs. I sat in it and he wheeled me down the hall to our exam room. He wheeled me in and gave me an exam. When he got to the bi manual and was feeling my left ovary from both inside and outside, I grimaced.

“Does that hurt, hon?” He asked.

“No, not really.”

“No, not really? Why did you grimace?” I was silent. “Meredith, I need you to tell me if it hurts. It's very important.”

“Doc, it's okay.”

He took his fingers out of me, removed his glove and discarded it. Then he walked around the table to my head. “What is it, hon?” he asked as he brushed some hair out of my face.

I looked him in the eye. “I'm scared, Doc.”

“What of? The possibility of a cyst?” I nodded. My eyes were welling up with tears. “I can't deal with that right now!” I blurted out. “I can't and I won't!” I took my feet out of the knee crutches and sat up. Doc helped me up and wrapped his arms around me. “First, let's find out what we're dealing with, okay? I didn't feel anything with the external palpation. If there's a cyst, it might not be big enough to worry about.”

“Yet.” I said into his chest.

Julian pushed me away from him and put his right hand under my chin. He lifted it up, forcing me to look at him. “Hon, we'll deal with it if it is a cyst and does get bigger. But let's not worry about things that haven't happened yet. We don't know if there's a cyst there. I need to finish the bi manual and I'll order an ultrasound. We'll know more when I get the results of that.”

“You said there was a bump there last time that could be the beginnings of a cyst.”

“Yes, I did. That wasn't very long ago, I'd be surprised if one grew that fast. Let's get you back into position and I'll finish the exam, okay sweetie?” I nodded. He gave me a kiss. “I know this is rotten timing, with everything we have coming up. Unfortunately, neither one of us can control it. We'll find out what we're dealing with, then make a plan. And look at it this way – you haven't had any pain until I pushed down on it with one hand and up with my fingers from inside. I love you, Meredith.”

“I love you, too, Doc. I just hope it doesn't interfere with the wedding.”

“If it does, we'll deal with it. But I'm marrying you on Dec. 7, come hell or high water. If that has to be in a hospital room, so be it.”

It won't be in a hospital room, I said to myself. Over my dead body, it will.

Doc finished the internal exam and took his gloves off (he had re-gloved). He leaned over the table and began kissing me. I was already getting horny and I could see he was. Poor men, they can't hide it like we can!

When we were finished, he cleaned me up and helped me off the table. I sat in the wheelchair while he cleaned the table up and put the speculums in the sink. He said he'd autoclave them the next chance he got. He pushed me out of the room and locked the door after turning off the light. We had just got to the bedroom when we heard the front door open.