I walked through the giant wooden doors of courtroom 116 carrying Regina Evans' case folder. I'd dawned a light grey pantsuit with black trim on the pockets and sleeves that I thought looked exquisitely professional. The room was filled with people who were here for the same reason Regina and I were. It was May twenty-second, just a few minutes before nine.

Yesterday Regina had come to my office to refresh our minds on her case and prepare for today's hearing. She'd been nervous about the possibility of Jared showing up and having to be in the same room with him. I assured her everything would be fine but she still begged the court clerk to bring another bailiff in just in case.

There were several attorneys present and I didn't recognize any of them except a man I'd graduated law school with. I couldn't remember his name. He appeared to be representing an older woman with short blonde hair and too much hot pink in her wardrobe. She reminded me of Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. Regina kept nervously glancing around the room to see if Jared had shown up yet. As far as I could tell, he hadn't.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Humphries," the bailiff said loudly, ceasing all conversation.

Everyone shut up immediately and stood in respect of Judge Humphries and her too-short new haircut entering the room. Her previously shoulder length brown hair now barely came passed her chin and it just didn't look right.

Judge Humphries took her seat with a loud flop. "You may be seated."

The sound of about thirty asses hitting our seats in unison echoed through the courtroom as the judge was handed all the paperwork for each plaintiff present.

"I'm going to call out names and if you're here, say present or here," she announced, flipping through the papers. "Miranda Vinson versus John Hayworth."

A short brunette in the row behind us held up her hand. "Here!"

"Hayworth?" the judge asked, scanning the room. "Is John Hayworth present?"

No one answered. Judge Humphries wrote something on the paper she was holding.

"Miss Vinson, since Mr. Hayworth has failed to appear, I'm going to grant this protective order. It is good for five years. Ashley in the back will instruct you as to what to do next," Judge Humphries said, scribbling her signature and handing the paperwork to the clerk beside her.

"Michael Favre versus Timothy Hammond."

"Present, Your Honor," a tall man in a bright purple t-shirt called from the back row. "I'm Michael."

"Timothy Hammond," the judge called again, waiting for another man to speak but no one did. "Alright then. Same thing as Miss Vinson, Mr. Favre. I'm granting this and it will be good for five years. Go talk to Ashley behind you."

I was anxiously waiting for her to call Regina's name. I hated waiting, especially when there were so many other people in the courtroom. It was exasperating if you weren't one of the first people called and had to sit there and wait on all these other plaintiffs, listening to about half of them argue with defendants. I wasn't interested in hearing everyone else's problems. I wanted to get in and get out with a granted protective order and no hassles.

"Regina Evans versus Jared Kraft," Judge Humphries said.

"Here," Regina answered, giving an awkward wave.

"Is Jared Kraft present?"

I crossed my fingers that Jared hadn't shown up when I wasn't looking. I wasn't in the mood to put up with his argument and I knew Regina was at her wits end. She was terrified of the guy and I didn't want her to have to face him either.

"We're here, Your Honor," came an unfamiliar voice as the courtroom doors opened behind us.

In walked Jared with a man in his mid-thirties who carried a folder similar to mine and I knew he was an attorney. I rolled my eyes, knowing it was going to be a bitch to argue with a defense attorney. I didn't like most defense attorneys because it seemed like all they did was help the bad guys get away with everything. I wasn't going to allow Jared Kraft to get away with this just so he could go right back to harassing Regina and probably several other women.

"And you are?" Judge Humphries questioned the man standing beside Jared.

Jared was dressed abnormally well for the occasion, probably only because his attorney had told him that the judge might buy his side of the story better if he didn't look like shit. That was pretty much true though. He had a better chance of winning if he appeared professional and didn't look like someone who went around terrorizing women.

"Joe Rollins," the man answered, setting his folder on the long wooden table in front of the bench. "Mr. Kraft's attorney."

"Mr. Rollins, what is your bar number?" Judge Humphries asked.

Joe rattled off a number and the court clerk typed up something. Regina began to fidget in her seat. Across the aisle from us, Jared was glaring and tapping his fingers on his slacks.

The judge spoke up again. "Mr. Kraft, do you accept the allegations against you by Miss Evans, or do you want a hearing?"

In my mind I was begging over and over, crossing my fingers that they would just let us have the protective order without a fight.

"We want a hearing," Joe said, patting Jared on the back as if to tell him they were about to win.

I groaned, standing up with Regina. We walked to the opposite side of the table Joe and Jared stood at. I took my place beside Joe, keeping Regina as far from Jared as possible.

"Alright, Miss Evans, are the claims made here true and correct to the best of your knowledge?" Judge Humphries asked.

Regina nodded, trying to still her shaking hands. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Mr. Kraft, Miss Evans claims you have both attempted and executed physical harm against her on multiple occasions-"

"That is false, Your Honor," Joe interrupted. "Mr. Kraft has not seen Miss Evans since the day he broke off their engagement due to her cheating on him for three months. Mr. Kraft has no interest in seeing Miss Evans, much less harming her."

Judge Humphries frowned in suspicion, glancing from Joe to Jared to Regina to me.

"Your Honor," I spoke up. "If I may be so bold as to destroy the defense's argument here."

"Be my guest," she said sarcastically, cocking an eyebrow.

I opened my evidence file, allowing Joe to scan over the papers I was about to present the judge with. Half the time it pissed me off that the opposing party had to see the evidence before it was presented. Joe started to say something but I continued with my argument.

"Your Honor, everything Mr. Rollins just said is a lie," I began, kicking Joe in the skin under the table when he started to protest. "Jared and Regina were never engaged and it was Regina who ended the relationship due to Jared abusing her. Regina's sister, Beverly, was supposed to be here today but since she was unable to make it, she wrote a statement that says she witnessed on several occasions Jared physically harming Regina, and she was present when Regina told him to never contact her again."

"That's bullsh-" Jared started to say but Joe elbowed him in the side, interrupting him.

"A written statement is not admissible in this setting," Joe said, looking from the judge to me with a smirk that told me he thought he had the upper hand.

"Miss Donovan, you're going to have to do better than that," Judge Humphries said, clasping her hands together.

"Since the last time we saw you in April," I said, deciding now was a good time to tell the judge about Jared breaking into Regina's house. "Mr. Kraft broke into Regina's house, trashed the place, and attempted to do her bodily harm. This resulted in Regina locking herself in her bathroom until he left. I have a copy of the police report here-"

"This is all completely false," Joe snapped. A disgusted look dawned his face.

"Actually." I turned back to point out Officer Tristan Haines sitting in the back of the courtroom. I'd subpoenaed him for the event. "The officer who took Miss Evans' statement is here and ready to recount the story, as he was first on the scene. I also would like to admit these photos from the scene as evidence."

I handed the clerk photographs of the damage in Regina's house which were then handed to Judge Humphries who raised her eyebrows, eyes widening as she looked through them.

"Your Honor, there's no evidence that-"

"Oh, there is," I interrupted Joe, grinning with confidence. "More than enough. And Your Honor, I have in my possession multiple warrants out of Madison, Lake and Kendall Counties for Jared Michael Kraft, two of which have to do with two other women he's assaulted. The third is for assaulting a Madison County deputy. And Officer Haines here..."

The man strode toward the front of the courtroom. "Your Honor, I'm Officer Haines with the Chicago Police Department," he said. "When I took Miss Evans' statement on April twenty-fourth, she decided to press charges. Chicago PD has been looking for Jared Kraft since then, unable to find him until now. What I have here is a warrant out of Cook County for the arrest of Mr. Kraft in relation to his crimes against Miss Evans."

The many people sitting behind all of us who had been intently listening started to whisper, a few gasps and "oh my god's" filling the air.

"Silence in my courtroom!" Judge Humphries slammed the gavel. "Let me see those."

The warrants were shown to Joe, then given to the clerk, who handed them to the judge. We all waited anxiously in silence, watching her glance over the papers in her hands. Regina was nervously patting her thigh with her hand and running her other hand through her hair.

Judge Humphries sighed, shaking her head. "Mr. Kraft, you're either really stupid or you think you can get away with everything, because you aren't leaving this courtroom the way you came in."

Jared made an attempt to slip passed Joe but Joe grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving. Officer Haines stepped behind Regina and I, blocking Jared's path in case he broke free from Joe's grasp.

"Bailiff, get Mr. Kraft out of my sight," Judge Humphries barked, pointing at Jared. "Miss Evans, I'm granting this protective order for five years. If in five years you have reason to believe I should extend this, come back and see me."

As the bailiff was walking Jared out of the courtroom in handcuffs, Joe stood there dumbfounded. He glanced back and forth between Regina and I, thoroughly surprised by what had happened. I couldn't be happier with the result. Regina was starting to relax now that Jared was no longer in the room.

"Miss Evans, he's not going to be bothering you or anyone else for a long time," the judge said, signing some papers and handing them to the clerk. "Take your protective order to the second floor to get it filed."

We followed behind another bailiff leaving the courtroom. Behind us, whispers sounded from people who'd witnessed the ordeal. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face when we stepped into the hallway.

"Thank you so much. Oh my god," Regina said, hugging me enthusiastically while we waited on the elevator. "I can't believe that just happened."

Even the bailiff cracked a slight smile watching us.

"You don't need me anymore," I said. "Just go get your PO filed and call me if you ever need anything else."

"I will," she smiled, hugging me again.

As I turned to leave I heard Officer Haines tell Regina he'd be happy to escort her. I exited the courthouse, instantly bombarded by the thunderstorm that had developed while we'd been inside. Having not paid any attention to the forecast, I didn't have an umbrella with me. I jogged across the road to the parking lot, holding a folder over my head in attempts to keep my hair somewhat dry. When I reached my car I recognized Nick's Audi parked beside me. He got out, smiling and pulling me into a warm embrace.

"I can tell by the smile that you won." His voice was muffled in my hair.

I wrapped my arms around his midsection. It had been about three weeks since the night Nick had told me he wanted to try a relationship with me. So far, everything had been going pretty great. Of course, we argued about what groceries to get sometimes, and he hated when I made him watch chick flicks and TV shows he wasn't interested in, but I made sacrifices too, watching every damn baseball game that he wanted to see.

The sex only got better. Way better. Out-of-this-world better. I really loved that I could talk to him about anything. He'd basically become my other best friend and Monica was even a little jealous.

Monica had started dating Monty again. I couldn't stop laughing every time she told me what they'd been up to. I couldn't picture them together. No one could. They just didn't look right. But if she was happy, that's all I cared about. Nick had nicknamed them Mon and Mon, which annoyed them both and cracked me up.

I hadn't heard a peep out of Derek since the last time I saw him at Hampton, Burns and Hampton. From what I'd heard, he and Christine were still together and going strong. Nick was still in the evidence gathering process and I couldn't wait to see Derek put in his place. Nick told me it would be any day now that a warrant would be issued for Derek's arrest. I looked forward to being in the courtroom when Derek's world and all his schemes came crashing down.

"How should we celebrate?" Nick asked, kissing my cheek and opening the car door for me.

I shook my head, my wet hair slapping me. "I have to get back to the office but I expect to see you at my house when I get done with work."

"Actually," he said as I sat down behind the wheel. "I was thinking you could come to mine. There's some stuff I want to talk to you about."

"I hope it's nothing bad."

"It's not," he assured me, patting my car and walking to his.

The rest of my workday seemed to drag on forever. I constantly glanced at the clock to see the hands had barely moved each time. I was anxious to finish my work for the day so I could head over to Nick's. Really, I could leave anytime I wanted but I had been trying extra hard to impress Claire lately, and that meant working until the last minute of the workday.

Finally, it was five and I was out the door and on the way to Nick's. Naturally, the traffic was backed up for miles with it being rush hour. I drummed on the steering wheel, waiting to take my exit. Once I reached Nick's house, I grinned, seeing him sitting on the porch with a beer in his hand and a raspberry lemonade waiting for me on the wrought iron table beside him.

"Hey," I smiled, making my way toward him.

He relaxed back in his chair. "Hi. I have a question for you."