Clarice jumped as Asa grabbed her shoulder. She could see the sense of urgency in his voice and movements. She didn't understand the meaning of this word to him.

"Whale?" She asked him.

He looked at her with the brightest eyes she had ever seen. His mind went back and forth with the word. He wasn't sure what to do, but he had to know for sure. If what Clarice had just told him is true, it could change everything.

"Thank you!" He kissed her on the cheek and ran out of his house as fast as he could.

Clarice had no time to ask him what he was doing, he just left.

The court house, just happened to be right next to city hall and Asa knew exactly where it was. He ran past his school and down the road that would take him directly to the centre of town.

Briar sat in her seat beside her lawyer. Asa's parents and their team sat ten feet to the left of her. When the hearing started, her lawyer gave as best of a speech as she could. Everything she said, was what Briar expected of her. Then, of course, the Parks family lawyer swept every thing that could have possibly saved her. She knew that she just had to keep going.

When Briar was finally called to the stand, she answered every question in full truth. Even when the others twisted her words against her, she still kept calm. She just wanted it to be over. She had the biggest gut feeling that nothing could stop them from throwing her in jail now. She hopped that she would at least be allowed to say goodbye to her father before they wisked her off to the cage known as prison.

"Miss Cole?" The Parks lawyer asked. "Did you plan this kiddnapping in advance?"

"No... and I didn't kidnap Asa. I asked him if he wanted to come." She awnsered.

"But you packed a bag."She pointed to a picture projected on a screen.

She looked at it briefly. "I packed my stuff in a matter of minutes."

"Can you prove this theory of yours?" She pushed on.

"My best friend, Chris, was outside my house the whole time I packed my stuff." Briar wasn't going to give them the guilt they were trying to get her to confess.

The lawyer took a breath to review what Briar had told her, then she proceeded. "So, he didn't see you pack your bag?"

"No he didn't."

"That bag could have already been made up."She smirked forcefully. "And what about all these absences from school? It would have given you enough time to plan this whole goose chase."

"That's enough. I've heard enough of these questions." The judge cut in. "Miss Cole, please return to your seat."

Briar got up and went back behind the table with her lawyer and sat down. For another hour they just kept talking. She didn't seem to have to answer more questions, but both sides were fighting the case. Briar found it rather boring.

More time went by and she hopped that it was coming to an end. The stuffy room made Briar feel like she could just throw up at any second, but she had to hold it in.

Asa found himself at the foot of the building. He pushed the doors open and felt the air-conditioning fill his lungs. The security line-up was long and he was getting restless. He just kept waiting.

Briar was just ready to give in and give them what they wanted at this point. She just wanted to take whatever they would give her and hopefully it would mean that she could get back to Asa as soon as they let her out.

"Miss Cole do you have anything that you would like to tell us before we wrap this all up." The judge spoke directly to her.

Briar was playing with her ring. She would never forget the moments she spent with Asa, but she knew that she couldn't win this fight. "Yes, I do have something that I would like to say."

"Ok then." The judge nodded. "Please tell us."

Just as Briar was going to start, the whole court room turned to the sound of the doors bursting open. Asa stood there. He looked so worried. Briar stood up and made sure that he could see her.

"I'm pregnant!" She said proudly.

Asa smiled and Briar returned it. He ran to her, pushing past the security guards at the gate. He kissed her right in that moment. He was filled with joy, he had missed her so much and he knew that he couldn't let her do this on her own.

Jill couldn't believe it and Dill was outraged, but the judge made them all shut up. Briar saw her dad in disbelief, but not the bad kind. It was like he was saying that he was going to be okay with all of this. Her mother was nowhere. She suspected that she was done with this family for a second time.

"Quiet!" The judge yelled to everyone who was still upset. They all stopped. She turned to Asa, "I don't believe we were expecting you, but since you are here now, please tell us your side of the story Mister Parks."

"Of course." He oblidged. "Briar never kidnapped me. I ran away with her, because I wanted too and I married her--"

"Married her!" His mother cut him off, inraged. "You married this girl?! She took you from us, Asa!"

"That's enough Miss Parks." The judge told her.

Asa looked at Briar and smiled, "I got the wedding bands from this nice old lady named Marybeth. She gifted them to me when we got off the bus. I knew that I was going to marry Briar the second I jumped out my window. She stole my heart and I'm glad she did, because I love her."

"Well thank you Mister Parks, I believe you have cleared everything up for us." The judge slammed the gavel. "Case dismissed!"

Briar ran and hugged Asa. She was determined to never let go of him again. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head lightly, he had done it so much before, but it had been so long since they had last seen each other.

"I need to go sort things out with my parents." He told her.

She turned and looked up at him, "Please don't go. I haven't seen you in so long."

Asa held her hands, "I promise it wont be long. They just need to hear everything. I didn't tell them anything in the last two months."

"I love you." She met with his lips softly.

When they parted, he gave her a small smile. "Go home with your dad, I'll be over as soon as possible and then we can stay in each others arms forever."

She nodded and turned to find her father. They walked out the doors.