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Arden darted from of his seat and out the door before anybody had a chance to say a single word. He had to find Mark. Tilting his head up, the young otter sniffed the air carefully for any signs of his boyfriend's scent. Sadly, his sense of smell just wasn't sharp enough to discern Mark's musk among the plethora of other scents that hung thick in the air of the courthouse. He wished badly that they could switch places; the wolf would have found him easily. After briefly consulting a floor-plan that hung by the the front door, Arden decided to start his search with the bathroom. Once there, he followed the muted sounds of sobbing to the last stall on the right.

"Mark." He approached the stall carefully, as if any sudden movement would spook his boyfriend and cause him to run off again. "It's me."

"I'm sorry." Mark's voice emanated from behind the locked door. "But I can't do it."

"Hon." Arden rested his paw against the lacquered wood. "There's nothing you can do for your mom. Your dad's testimony, my parents' testimony and the physical evidence is enough to put her away for good. Whether you testify or not won't make much of a difference."

"So why should I even do it, then?"

"Because." Arden wished Mark would unlock the door so he could look him in the eyes. "Because this is your chance to stand up to her and show her that you are not afraid. To make her realize that you do not believe as she does. You need to do this for yourself, Mark; for us."

He stood there for several minutes, his paws on the door, waiting and hoping that Mark understood.

Finally, the lock clicked open.

"Just give me a sec to wash up." Mark came out and headed to the sink; his eyes were mostly dry and his voice was completely steady. He washed his muzzle with some cold water from the faucet, dried off and firmly grasped Arden's paw. "Let's go."

The courtroom was alive with chatter when the two boys approached it, but they'd hardly passed through the door when everyone fell silent and turned to look at them. Some appeared relieved while others were definitely quite angry.

"Ah, you found him; good!" The bailiff looked the most relieved of all. "We were going to send an escort to look for you. Missing witnesses are a pretty serious thing, you know."

"Sorry," Arden said. "He just needed some time to himself."

He kissed Mark on the cheek -- the wolf didn't even flinch -- and went to take his seat.

"Mr. Heeley, please approach the bench," the judge said, his voice perfectly level and his eyes as unmoving as before.

As the wolf came forward, the Bailiff produced a bible and held it out in front of him. "Please place your left paw on the bible," The Bailiff said. Mark did as he was bidden. "Do you, Mark Robert Heeley, solemnly swear or solemnly and sincerely affirm as the case may be, that the testimony you shall give concerning this case shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God or upon penalty of perjury?"

Mark nodded. "I do." His voice remained strong and assured.

"Very well, Mr. Heeley, please have a seat." The Bailiff put the bible away and took his place at the bench.

The judge nodded to Sam's father. "Mr. Fradin, you may begin when ready." He directed his attention to a piece of paper lying in front of him.

Dennis stood up and went to stand by Mark. "Mr. Heeley, you missed the opening statement. So, with the court's permission, I will read it back to you."

"Permission granted." The judge passed him part of the transcript.

"Your mother, Mrs. Donnah Heeley, submitted a plea of 'not guilty by reason of insanity.'" He leafed through the transcript. "Her lawyer, Mr. Varminn, claims that her actions were done strictly in good intention in order to protect you from your sexuality. Would you agree with that statement?"

"No." Mark's eyes grew wide in amazement; did his mother really think that?

Dennis nodded. "Please describe to us what happened that night, Mr. Heeley."

After composing himself for a few moments, the wolf spoke. He told the story just as it happened -- returning from the theme park to find Katelyn, Mrs. Heeley's reaction, their impending flight, and her attempt to break into Arden's home. Not once did he sound unsure. Arden saw a cold determination in his eyes; his mother's claims exposed her true nature. She was no longer the saint he was afraid to destroy; she was a demon that needed to be dealt with.

"No further questions, Your Honor," Dennis nodded, satisfied.

The judge turned to Donnah's lawyer. "Mr. Varminn, would you like to cross-examine the witness?"

"I would, Your Honor." Varminn got out of his chair and walked slowly over to the witness stand. "Mr. Heeley." The rat moved quite close to Mark. Arden wasn't sure if there was some sort of personal space law; if there was, Mr. Varminn had to have been violating it. "I only have one question for you. Is it true that you're gay?"

"Objection!" Sam's father sprang out of his seat. "Your Honor, that is information that in no way pertains to the case."

"Oh, but it does." Varminn smiled wickedly. "I am simply trying to establish possible motives."

"Sustained," The judge said. "Please answer the question, Mr. Heeley."

"I'm gay." Mark looked straight at his mother as he spoke. It was like coming out to her all over again.

"Thank you, Mr. Heeley, that will be all."

"Why did he do it?" Arden whispered to Mr. Fradin when the otter sat back down.

"He wants to generate sympathy," Fradin answered. "Homophobia, while far less common than before, is still quite rampant. This is their only hope for leniency. At the very least, they'll deem her insane and put her into an institution." He got out of his seat and approached the witness stand. "For my next witness, I would like to call Mr. James Heeley to the stand."

Mr. Heeley rose from his seat and walked over to the bench. Arden noticed then how badly he was limping. If it were anyone else, he would have been sure that the limp was badly exaggerated.

Mr. Heeley, however, was not one for exaggerations. He wore the same look as his son -- cold determination.

The Bailiff swore him in, and he took the witness stand.

Fradin stood by his side. "Now Mr. Heeley, please describe the events that took place on the aforementioned night."

James's story began the same way as Mark's. It ran longer, however, when he went on to describe what happened when the boys fled.

"I tried to pin her down." His voice remained steady. "She's much bigger than I am, of course, so she threw me off pretty easily. I must have landed on my wrist somehow because I heard a crunch and then felt a good deal of pain." His other paw touched the cast gently, as if recalling the pain at its very source. "She went over to me and stomped on my paw. She said something akin to, 'Don't you dare follow me, or you'll burn in hell with the rest of them.' I blacked out from the pain at that point."

Arden was listening the entire time with rapt attention. Only when Mr. Heeley stopped did he realize that he had tears in his eyes. The events of the night were so draining that he never even stopped to think about what the wolf had to go through to protect them.

He looked over at Mark; the wolf's eyes were shut and he squeezed Arden's paw tighter, clearly doing his best not to snap and say something detrimental.

Mr. Fradin also seemed quite shocked by the story. "That will be all, Mr. Heeley. Thank you."

Mr. Heeley stood up and limped quietly to his seat. He looked tired; more tired than Arden had seen him in days. He felt the same forces that Mark had to contend with doing battle inside the wolf's father.

"If it pleases the court," Fradin's voice brought Arden out of his daze, "I would like to present some evidence to further clarify the events of that night."

Dawfrin nodded. "You may proceed, Mr. Fradin."

Sam's father went to his table and opened his briefcase.

"These are photographs of both crime scenes." He passed a set of pictures around to the judge and jury.

Arden couldn't see the pictures, but he didn't have to. He knew the remains of the coffee table and the scratch marks on his door were among them.

He watched the jury as they looked at the pictures; some couldn't restrain a small gasp or a widening of the eyes. They clearly weren't as adept at disguising their emotions as the judge was.

"Very good, Mr. Fradin." The judge handed him back the pictures. "Is there anything else you would like to present?"

"No." Dennis put the pictures back into his briefcase. "I don't believe any more is necessary."

The judge turned his attention to Varminn. "Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness?"

Varminn glanced over at Donnah and then back at the judge. "No, Your Honor, that won't be necessary."

"Very well. We will begin with the closing statements, then." The judge looked over at Dennis. "You may close first, Mr. Fradin."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Dennis stood up and padded over to the bench. "I don't have much to say. All the evidence and testimony of my witnesses speaks for itself. Mrs. Donnah Heeley is a danger to her family and others. I trust that the jury will agree with me and take the necessary actions. Thank you."

"Thank you, Mr. Fradin." The judge turned to the rat. "Mr. Varminn?"

"No comments, Your Honor." He was still wearing a sly grin, but it was obvious he knew he'd lost.

"Very well, then. The jury will now retire to a private room for deliberation. We will convene once they have reached a decision." Dawfrin banged the gavel. "Court is adjourned."

After exiting the courtroom, everyone (who didn't want Arden and Mark to burn in hell) decided to go down to the cafeteria to grab some lunch.

"Easy one." Mr. Fradin bit into his tuna sandwich and chewed it methodically. "I honestly thought they'd line up at least some sort of defense. Although I guess there isn't much they could have said. We have witness testimony, evidence; they have nothing."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't take the jurors too long," Mr. Heeley ate his roast-beef sub with considerably less relish. "I wanted to take you all out to dinner tonight. I could never thank you enough for all your help."

"Oh, it was our pleasure." Mrs. Halinen embraced him. "With our boys together, we're like one big family."

"And as a friend of the family," Mr. Fradin added, "I'm always there to help."

"So, how bad do you think she'll get it?" Mark spoke up for the first time since the trial.

"Hard to say." Mr. Fradin scratched his chin. "I'm about ninety-nine percent sure she'll be found guilty... but whether the jury decides to stick with the charges we set or come up with their own is a tossup."

An hour later, they were summoned back into the courtroom.

Once everyone was seated, the judge began. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honor." The clerk -- a short, stout beaver -- stood up.

"Please read it out loud."

"We hereby find the defendant guilty of two counts of aggravated assault, break-in, and child-abuse."

"Thank you; you are dismissed." The judge waited for the jury to file out before continuing. "Will the defendant please rise to face charges?"

Donnah stood up, avoiding Dawfrin's eyes.

"In accordance with state laws, I sentence you to five years in psychiatric penitentiary with up to ten years parole, depending on behavior; you are also ordered to pay a fine of thirty thousand dollars; your parental rights are hereby permanently revoked, and you are to be forcibly separated from your husband, James Heeley. Case closed." He banged his gavel twice and, just like that, it was over.

Everyone filed out of the courthouse and stood on the steps breathing the cool evening air.

Arden expected another bite from the Clawells, but the couple rushed out as quickly as they could, the mother sobbing brokenly into a handkerchief, and they were never seen again.

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Sam hugged them as soon as they were outside. "Justice prevailed, and so did love!"

"Thanks." Mark's voice was chipper and relaxed. He was smiling.

"So, you're okay?" Arden whispered after Sam went over to talk to his father.

"Yeah." Mark looked into empty space and sighed. "I guess I am. I'm just really disillusioned, is all. I thought my mother loved me. Until I heard her make these stupid claims, I continued to believe she was good... I see her for what she is now."

"How about some dinner, boys?" Mr. Heeley limped over, smiling. "Palazzo's has their Summer Slam pizzas 'til the end of August!"

"Sounds awesome!" Arden's stomach growled in agreement.

"Well, let's get a move-on, then." Mr. Heeley winked and limped off towards the car. "If we get there quick, we'll have over an hour to eat before they close."

The drive over to Palazzo's was lively and animated. Everyone was chatting, clearly relieved that such a daunting task was finally behind them.

The place was packed when they got there, but Mr. Heeley had made reservations in advance, so the hostess seated them right away.

They all ordered pizzas -- the otters chose calamari while the wolves went for sausage.

"I would like to propose a toast." Mr. Heeley lifted his glass. "Let us do our best to make sure our children grow up in a happy, friendly environment, and should they decide to have children," he said as he winked at Mark, "may their children be born into a world that, while not without hatred, is better off than the world we live in today."

"Hear, hear!" Everybody chorused.

They only stopped talking when the pizzas arrived.

An hour later (when the waiters started staring at them and wiping down tables in their line of sight), they left the restaurant and headed home.

Mark tapped his father on the shoulder. "Hey Dad, can Arden sleep over tonight?"

Mr. Heeley Shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Mr. Halinen dropped the three of them off at Mark's home and bid them good night.

"I'm not gonna say not to stay up too late," he said to the boys, "but don't wake Mr. Heeley. He needs his sleep."

Arden embraced the otter. "We won't, Dad."

They waved to him until the car disappeared from view and headed inside.

"So..." Arden closed the bedroom door and went to sit next to Mark. "How about a little something to unwind?" He unbuckled the wolf's pants and slid them off.

Mark was already getting hard. "Sounds good to me." He lay back on the bed and put his arms behind his head.

Arden tried to remember what he'd done that day at the beach; it felt so much more simple and instinctual in the water.

Taking Mark's throbbing member in his paw, he slowly moved his muzzle up to it and gave it a teasing lick.

Mark squirmed and moaned softly.

'So far, so good,' Arden said to himself. He continued to lick the shaft until it started to leak. Eagerly, he lapped up the familiar salty liquid; it didn't taste too bad. The overpowering musk made him forget about the taste as he took as much of the member as he could fit and slid it into his short muzzle.

He licked the underside while keeping one paw on the wolf's growing knot. His free paw found its way to Mark's sac; he caressed it slowly, feeling his lover's every joyful reaction.

Mark's moans grew louder as he drew closer and closer to release. He put his paws on Arden's head, stroking the otter's ears lightly with the tips of his claws.

It didn't take long after that; Arden squeezed the knot one last time, Mark arched his head and gave a muted howl, climaxing freely into the otter's waiting muzzle. It tasted surprisingly good. Arden licked up all the remains and gave Mark's shrinking member one last lick, making the wolf shudder.

"Wow." Mark rested his head on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. "I really don't know what else to say."

They stripped off their clothes and got into bed together, no longer afraid of being caught. Mark put his arms around Arden and brushed the otter's ear with his muzzle. Arden felt the happy energy return to his boyfriend -- something he was consistently being robbed of. It seemed, however, that every time that energy returned, it was stronger than before. Each trial they went through brought the boys closer and closer together; each trial made them harder and harder to separate. They were both far past the stage where they questioned their feelings for each other; at this point, they just knew.

"We're one step closer," Arden whispered, relaxing happily in the wolf's strong arms.

Mark didn't hear him; he was already sound asleep.

Arden gave him a kiss on the nose, snuggled in and fell asleep, too.