I woke up to sunlight streaming into my eyes. I groaned at the brightness, squinting as my eyes started to adjust. Had I forgotten to close the curtains last night? I tried to sit up to look, but a slight pressure across my waist stopped me. Startled, I turned my head and saw Thor's sleeping face on the other pillow, his long arm resting on me and at the sight of him, my earlier confusion melted away. Smiling to myself, I closed my eyes again not intending to sleep but rather to enjoy the warmth of the bed and the company it kept, at least for another minute more.

"Hey," his groggy voice caught my attention instantly and I opened my eyes to see Thor's sleepy smile. "Good morning."

"Morning." I replied, smiling myself as I moved onto my other side to look at the clock.

"Have somewhere you need to be?"

"I'll be starting the second trial at ten," I replied as I threw the covers back. "Need to start getting ready."

Thor laughed softly and pulled the blankets more securely around his shoulders. "Give me five more minutes," he yawned and I shook my head. He sounded exactly like Sif.

I rolled my eyes and slipped into the bathroom, ran the tap and splashed some warm water on my face, a giddy warmth blooming in my chest as our conversation from last night and our subsequent kiss and falling asleep together. It had been one of the more intense conversations we'd had but I was thrilled we had it. Now I was sure my affection for Thor were returned; he cared about me just as I cared about him. There were few better things in the world than knowing your feelings were returned. All the anxiety and angst evaporated the moment you had the assurance that your gamble had payed off.

I patted my face dry with a towel and made my way out of the bedroom where Thor snored on. I knew with enough time, his snoring would drive me crazy but now I found it charming. A small tidbit about him that I hadn't known before that made me feel much closer to him. I briefly wondered how many others things I'd learn the next time he slept over. The thought of the future, however small made me smile again as I peeled the foil off a yogurt and dug in. The sweet taste of vanilla reminded me of home and added to my joy.

"Suzume? You awake?" Sif's voice cut through the quiet in my little kitchen and my joy turned cold as a stone of anxiety dropped into my stomach. Sif being here meant that my trial was starting now. If I failed this, whatever Thor and I felt wouldn't matter; I'd be gone.

I swallowed my yogurt which now felt like a mass of glue and called, "I'll be right there!"  I hurried to the door and Sif beamed, flashing me a smile as she popped the collar of her army green jacket.

"You ready to rock this?" she demanded in a loud voice as she came inside and I cringed at the noise.

"Keep your voice down," I hissed as I tossed the rest of my breakfast away. I wasn't so hungry anymore.

"Don't tell me you're hungover?"

Now it was my turn to shout. "No!"

"Then what's with the shushing?"

I sighed. "Thor slept over and like you, he isn't fond of mornings."

Sif's eyes grew wide like a cat that had discovered it's favorite toy. "Oh?" Her sly tone made me wince. "So the foolish boy took my advice? Excellent!"

I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Yes, he did. We had a really good talk-."

"No details!" Sif threw up a hand in a clear 'stop' gesture. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Really?" Sif had usually been quite invested in my growing relationship with Thor.

"I have no desire to hear about your sex life if Thor's involved. "Sif shuddered. "Gross!"

I was enjoying the flustered expression on her face way too much to tell her that we actually hadn't slept together. "So, do I need to get dressed up for this trial?"

"Not yet," Sif reached into her pocket and held out a shiny metal disk and set it on the table. Without speaking, she tapped the center of the disk and with a whirring noise it came to life. Light flickered at the center, solidifying into images like a projector. Curious, I watched the scene play out. It appeared to be a government building where two guards were stationed inside, the black and white marble floor shining under the overhead lights. The guards were talking though I couldn't hear their words. I imagined it was some friendly ribbing-the same thing Matthew and I had shared on many a slow night on patrol, their smiles were certainly telling.  However, the guard on the right turned rigid, frozen in shock and I watched, my good mood dissipating as I watched blood spurt from their neck and soak the pristine floor.

My stomach twisted into painful knots as I looked away from the blurring video. "When did this happen?"

"Three months ago," Sif tapped the disc again. "This man," a young man with a broad face and a nasty scar down his pale face filled the screen. "Rangar broke into the royal treasury and killed one of the guards there. He injured two others who have since recovered and he's awaiting trial."

"Why has it taken so long?" I asked. "Seems like an open and shut case."

"Rangar claims that he's with the Brigade and he and his legal team have been negotiating a plea deal. Things fell onto a standstill for a while, but with this trial, they thought this case would be perfect to use."

"No pressure," I said, trying to speak past the lump in my throat as the guard's face came back to me. I didn't even know if they were a man or a woman. They could've been hundreds of years old for all I knew but I knew that face. I'd seen it once as I watched a woman get shot by her abusive husband. The shock at the sudden pain combined with the fast fading of life as she bled out. The same way I'd imagined my father's face when his routine traffic stop turned fatal.

"You have today to review the file, and three days to come to a verdict that you'll present to the court."

"Shouldn't I hear the arrangements of the lawyers?" I hadn't been called to testify in a trial yet, but I'd seen enough episodes of Law and Order.

Sif shook her head and ran a hand through her short hair. "No, the transcripts are included in the file. There's no point in you having to hear them. The lawyers on each side probably have them memorized by now."

"Why?"

"Read the file," Sif advised as she gave me a weary smile, almost like she knew the battle that was starting to rage in my head. She sighed and stuck her hands in her pockets. "I'll leave you to it, good luck." I didn't even wave goodbye as the disc clicked again, spitting out a folder that grew to normal size the moment it touched the counter. A shrinking spell, I was sure of it.

I touched the edge of the file carefully, like it could combust at any second and a part of me knew I should drag it toward me and start reading. Learn the facts of the case and start working on my verdict but I was frozen. Far away, on a mental railroad through time, going back eleven years ago to the night that changed my family forever. My father laying still and cold in a coffin filled my memory as an old wound opened in my heart.

Like my father, this guard had been murdered while on the job. A simple night had turned deadly. Like my father, this guard probably had a family who would mourn them for the rest of their lives. And just like my father, the killer supposedly had information that could stop another, more dangerous criminal but the information would come at a cost. If I sentenced him on full charges, the guard would get some justice and his family might get some sleep again. If I sentenced him and ignored the possible information he had and there was another Brigade attack, it would be on me. If I offered a plea deal, I'd get information that would possibly bring in a bigger boss, but the cost would be the family's pain, knowing their loved one's killer walked free after destroying their family forever. I knew that pain; I lived with it for years.

How could I put someone else through that when I knew how it felt? How could I risk locking him up when a more deadly threat lurked inside Asgard?

*************************************

New chapter! Second trial is underway and it's not gonna be easy; yay for painful pasts cropping up again in the present right?  As always, please COMMENT and VOTE if you have the time!

Oh and Happy early Independence Day to my fellow Americans! Enjoy the burgers and fireworks!

Write on! :)