The mirrors in the courthouse bathroom were enormous. The woman on the other side of the glass seemed to tower over her. Pam stood mesmerized, studying the other woman, taking in the gaunt, sallow complexion and sunken cheeks with red tear tracks that she had hoped to never see again.

Why don't you do something with that face of yours, you look like death.

The voice haunted back to her once more, bitter words she had heard many times in different variations, wrapped in the same mocking tone that aimed right for her self esteem. And here she was, back again. And there he was, his seat in the courtroom not twenty feet away from hers. Her mind, the mind of the woman in the mirror – whipped back to the young girl in the Scranton times that morning. This girl – a lovely young woman by accounts of all who had known her, had a history strikingly similar to her own, with one fatal distinction. This lovely young woman had not survived. She had not escaped her abuser.

The story was so familiar it was almost indistinguishable from her own, excepting the outcome. Pam had felt a deep kinship, solidarity with the unknown – to her, anyway – woman. This woman would forever be defined by her abusers actions, labelled as a victim. She would never outrun her tormentor. And that would be her identity from that point on. Murder victim first; domestic violence victim, and lovely young girl last of all.

She had seen her own face superimpose over the murdered womans. Perhaps her own story would have had slightly different facts, but the salient, same facts would be there in both stories. Maybe it would have been a stormy night, Roy staggering in from a bar, hot with beer, fuelled with some misdemeanor or other she had achieved in his eyes. Perhaps he would not have intended to kill her, perhaps his hands, strengthened with alcohol would have squeezed her neck a little too hard, or maybe she would have fallen after a particularly well aimed punch and fractured her skull or snapped her neck.

That could well have been her own photo in the Scranton times. It could have been her own mother, crying over her daughter, gone forever.

Pam had no illusions about the fact of this. She ran the faucet, letting the cold water numb her fingertips before she and the other woman ran their hands over their face. The cold water was soothing and awoke her senses a little. The other woman studied her back, worried lines creasing through her forehead. Her eyes held a dazed, lost stare, set back in her ghostly skin.

A wave of unexpected pity for the woman in the mirror overwhelmed her. Reaching into her purse she lifted out a small compact and a mini mascara tube. Beginning with the powder she began to add colour to the pale face.

"Need some help with that?"

Pam turned gratefully away from the mirror, handing the compact over with a shaking hand.

"You definitely need color. This is gonna look so good." Penny said jauntily, carefully gliding the brush over Pam's cheekbones. "Oh yeah. This color is perfect for you." She said. After a minute or two, she stepped back. "Good thing this stuff is waterproof, right?"

Pam simply nodded. Penny smiled at her and tilted her head. "You know… what.." she said thoughtfully, delving into her purse. "You need some blush. Melba." She pulled out another compact.

"Penny…." she said. It was the other womans voice.

"Hold still."

"I should have listened to you. I mean," she said, an eyebrow raising, her eyes moving to the left thoughtfully. After a second they shifted back and her head dropped slightly, eyes lidding. "You were the only one who didn't like him – you were trying to warn me." Her eyebrows drew together. "You were just a kid when he and I met. You knew, even then didn't you?"

"Yeah I guess I did." Penny nodded gently.

"I'm sorry," Pam's eyes slowly rose up to meet her sisters. "I didn't listen."

"Me too." She replied softly. There was an awkward silence before Penny turned Pam back to the mirror and waved dramatically. "Well… here goes. All done."

Pam was surprised by the transformation. Very little evidence remained of her earlier crying jag, Penny had indeed managed to make her look somewhat human; somewhat recognizable. She hoped Jim noticed it when they were back in the courtroom. She had to look the part. She couldn't fall to pieces like that while he was on the stand – it wasn't fair to him and it was the reason for the recess as it was. She owed it to him to be composed, strong.

"You're really special, you know that?" Pam told her sister. It was her own voice again.

"Okay." Penny laughed. "Just so you know I totally love Jim. Love him for you."

Pam smiled and moved forward, hugging her sister gratefully. Then with a swarm of hornets flying in her stomach, they reluctantly made their way out of the bathroom to head back to the courtroom.

"Hey!"

Pam automatically spun round at the angry tone, groaning internally. As she expected, Roy's mother was stalking down the thin corridor towards her, angry jaw set, teeth clenched.

"How long do you expect to get away with this?" she snapped. "Putting my son through this, it's –"

"Oh, shut it." Penny said rudely, gently herding Pam into the courtroom and out of her sight.

- TO -

Once again back in the courtroom, Pam immediately sought out Jim, studying his eyes as he looked back at her – searching for the same reassurance in each other; that she was okay, that he was doing okay.

"Thank you, once more for taking the stand today. I'd like to take you back again to the night Ms Beesly came to you for help after the attack." Murphy had picked up again, his arms once more clasped behind his back.

"Yes, sir."

"On this night, you stated for the court that she had a number of injuries to her head and body, including her neck area. She was petrified. She had been beaten severely. You retrieved a blanket for her, ice for her cheek, water. Did either yourself or Ms Beesly call for a doctor – or an ambulance?"

Jim bit down on his lip hard, shaking his head. "She went to the hospital first thing the next morning, then the hospital alerted the police and she made a statement to them."

Murphy walked back to his lectern, picking up a sheaf of paper. "Forgive me for asking, but why did she wait until morning before seeking medical attention?"

"Because she begged me not to call anyone." he said, head lowered. "She was broken, confused. She got really upset when I asked her about going to the hospital or getting police, it terrified her. She said she couldn't take any more. She was pretty exhausted and she fell asleep very quickly after that."

"She became distraught at the idea of going to the police or hospital?"

"Both."

"So you accompanied her to the hospital the next morning?"

"That's right."

Murphy waved the papers in his hand. "I have here medical reports from that examination, and subsequent treatments she underwent. How was she affected by the injuries she suffered that night?"

Jim drew in a breath. "Um… well physically she had problems moving around, it was hard for her to lift her arms because of her ribs and her shoulder, she couldn't brush her hair herself for example. Her nose would bleed sometimes on its own. They gave her some pretty strong pain medication, which kind of made her sleepy but she said she couldn't sleep well because of the discomfort and pain in her side. She coughed a lot, which really hurt her."

"She had physical limitations, she couldn't move around well, the attack had taken quite a toll on her?" Murphy asked.

"Yes, definitely."

"So, following the hospital examination and the successive days after, how did she react to the trauma of this? For example, did she leave the house at all, go to work, go anywhere?"

"No… she didn't leave the house at all, she didn't go to the office or anywhere." Jim replied quietly. "She was… different. She was very quiet and emotional. Started sleeping a lot. As I said she was terrified of Roy coming there and finding her. She had nightmares, a couple of times she actually screamed in her sleep. She was confused, jumpy. She would say she didn't want to talk about Roy, and the things she did say were… well you wouldn't forget."

"Could you elaborate on that?" Murphy said. He was holding on to the papers in a tight grip, but he wasn't looking at them.

"Uh… she had this idea that no one would believe her, not the police or anyone. I mean, she really believed this- said Roy had been telling her no one would ever think it was the truth that he hit her." Jim continued, his voice dropping in level. "Something that she said really stuck with me, she said that it was the worst thing to not be able to feel safe in your own home. That really got to me, it's the truth and she said he took that feeling of security away from her. I couldn't imagine how terrifying it must be to feel like you don't have a safe place anywhere in the world to go."

There came a rush of whispering from the gallery and some unintelligible muttering. Murphy look genuinely saddened. He spoke carefully, slowly pronouncing each word. "Going back a little further – during the years you have known Ms Beesly, had you ever seen Mr Anderson hit her?"

"No." Jim slowly shook his head.

"Other than the incident at lunch you described, you also described for the court how Mr Anderson violently threw her down at their home on the day that she left him. Did you ever witness any other violent incidents between them?"

"No, I didn't."

"What about other fights or arguments between them that you were witness to?"

Jim considered his answer. "There were typically things with Roy, he's kind of aggressive on a normal day. He'd say things to her like 'do it my way or you'll be sleeping in the car tonight' that kind of thing. Sometimes on staff events after work Roy would complain a lot about being there, and then after about half an hour he'd stand up and tell Pam they were leaving. He never asked her anything, he made all the decisions."

To Pam, watching the exchange, it was surreal. Her emotions were circling from minute to the next. Jim was doing well up there, she thought. She guessed that he was being tactful for her benefit and she was grateful for this. She felt very lucky that he was on her side, very blessed to have him in her life. Somehow her own turn in the witness box seemed less daunting to her – so far – after seeing Jim go through it first. For her.

She sat, estimating that the witness box distance from her seat was probably only marginally larger than the distance from Jim's desk to hers in the office. That somehow made her feel a little better also. As Murphy was finishing up his examination, Pam marvelled at his competent, unruffled mannerisms. She didn't think she could have handled an excitable or impulsive attorney working for her.

Her reprieve was brief though, as the time came for the cross examination by Roy's attorney. She knew the easier part was over now. People were drawn to people with qualities similar to their own – as much as her own attorney was calm, sympathetic and controlled – just as Jim was – she knew Roy had managed to obtain an attorney who was the opposite; bold, impetuous and brash – much like Roy himself.

- TO -

Roy's attorney -Mr Thorne – swaggered along the way to the witness box, buttoning up the front of his jacket as he did so. The man cleared his throat theatrically, leaving the room in silence for a moment before he opened his mouth.

"Mr Halpert. Jim." He began in a smooth voice. "Thank you for being here today. I have some follow up questions for you regarding your friendship with Pam Beesly. Generally what I ask you will call for yes or no answers, okay?"

"Yes, Sir." Jim replied, looking somewhat amused at the man.

"You have testified that you have had a close friendship with Pam for many years. You spend a lot of time with her, you confide in each other. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Now, during this period of friendship, which endured over five years, Pam alleges she was being abused by Mr Anderson. Up until the events of her leaving the relationship, you were not aware of this?"

"No."

Mr Thorne pounced. "Ah, but you were, to use your own words, her go to guy for advice for problems. Why is it that she never said anything, never asked you for help for over five years?"

"I don't-" Jim started, but the clatter of Murphy climbing to his feet cut him off.

"Your honor, objection. Mr Thorne is asking for speculation here – the witness cannot speak for Ms Beesly." Murphy pointed out.

The judge sustained this, thankfully. Pam was sure it was a question that Jim should not have to answer to – after all it had been her secret – her reasons, not his.

Thorne was off again. "So, Mr Halpert – you have also stated that you became concerned about Pam's welfare following an incident in the lunch room at your office – an incident that you did not see clearly, of course. Let me clarify – you had no concerns before this incident, this incident that you cannot be sure actually happened?"

"Yes, I said something did happen, and no, as I said earlier, I always felt something was wrong."

"But you didn't see anything wrong and she never admitted anything to you for five years? Never said to you, my boyfriend caused this broken finger, or my boyfriend hits me?"

"No, she didn't."

"Isn't it true that, as you testified that you and Mr Anderson never became friends, that it would be fair to say there was a certain sense of rivalry between you?"

"Some I guess." Jim shrugged nonchalantly.

"You spent time with his fiancee, she confided in you – about some things anyway, you were the person she talked her problems through with. Both your human resources rep, and your colleague, as well as yourself have testified that Mr Anderson made accusations that your interest in Pam went beyond the boundaries of friendship. Is this an accurate picture?"

"Roy thought so, yes." Jim replied. Pam squinted her eyes, tilted her head, watching Jim carefully.

"And did you?" the attorney continued. "Did you harbor feelings for Pam while she was engaged to Mr Anderson?"

"Yes." Jim said honestly. Pam blinked, reddening a little. There was no guilt or remorse in his words, and somehow Pam felt a little warmth in thinking there might have been someone looking out for her all those years, unbeknownst to her.

"And Pam, was she aware of these feelings you had for her?" the attorney was saying. Jim's expression – neutral, calm – did not change.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" The attorney repeated, his words laced with slight mockery.

"We never talked about it." Jim said evenly.

"But you are in fact, in a relationship with her now, isn't that the truth?"

The man was persistent. Pam's breath caught in her throat, remembering Murphy's advice.

However, before Jim could answer, Murphy was on his feet again. "Objection. Irrelevant, your honor."

Judge Summers thought for a moment. "I'll allow. But be brief, Mr Thorne. Answer the question please, Mr Halpert."

"Yes." Jim said simply.

The attorney nodded smugly. "Were the two of you seeing each other behind her fiancee's back?"

"No."

"Mr Anderson had a right to be jealous, didn't he? He was aware that you were maintaining a friendship with his fiancee, under false pretenses."

"Ah, Your honor?" Murphy was up again.

"Not true at all. I did-"

"Isn't it true that you are in love with Ms Beesly?" the attorney pressed.

"Yes. Very much so." Jim answered, without a second of hesitation.

"Your honor, this is totally irrelevant. Jim is not on trial here – this is nothing but badgering." Murphy tapped his hand pointedly on the table as he spoke.

Fortunately this time Judge Summers sustained in agreement. Mr Thorne looked vexed, and carefully pulled at his tie, straightening up and turning back to the witness box with overstated confidence.

"Mr Halpert," he said loudly. "Jim – that day that Pam left Mr Anderson and came to you – you stated that you visited her at her home earlier that day. What time did you arrive?"

"It was around 8.30 in the morning."

"And Mr Anderson was not there?"

"He'd left for work. I saw him leave."

"Did you make a habit of visiting Pam so early in the morning?" he said with a deliberate air of patience.

Jim started to roll his eyes, but seemed to stop himself. "No. I wanted to check she was okay."

"You wanted to make sure Mr Anderson was out of the way first, didn't you?" the attorney pushed.

"That's right."

He folded his arms, looking down at Jim seated in the box. "Why was that? Why would you sneak into her home, behind her fiancee's back a half hour before you both were due for work?"

"I wanted to make sure she was okay." Jim repeated. "No sneaking around, I knocked on the door and she let me in."

"You waited for Mr Anderson to leave, you knocked on the door, she opened it. Was she injured in any way at the time?"

"Not that I could see, but-"

"-In fact, she was physically fine, wasn't she?"

"Not at all."

"But not injured?" Mr Thorne contested.

"That I could see."

"And during that day you spent how long in her house with her?"

"Just the morning, until Roy came home for lunch."

Straightening up, the attorney fired back hotly. "And you stated that Mr Anderson was angry – furious to see you there, and pushed her, in which she fell back-"

"No, he threw her down."

"Ah, but isn't it true that it was you and not Mr Anderson who reacted violently that afternoon?"

A strong, metallic taste flooded into Pam's mouth. She ran her tongue over the inside of her cheek, feeling the warm blood pooling around her gums. She hated this man – almost as much as she hated Roy at that moment. She could feel the tense eyes of every single person in the room, eyes burning into her, into Jim.

"Not exactly." Jim said uneasily. Pam was rigid in her seat.

"Well, how exactly do you mean?" Mr Thorne said with a belligerent manner. "You did assault Mr Anderson, is that not a fact? You did punch him to the floor in his own home that afternoon?"

"I did."

"Well, is this how you would normally act in another mans home? You sneak around with his fiancee, you punch him out?"

Once more Murphy clambered to his feet in the small space beside Pam and objected. Jim continued on, in a battle of wills with the attorney. Judge Summers leaned forward; Pam prayed she was going to intervene.

"No, not at all. I hit him because-"

"-You were jealous, weren't you? Jealous of their engagement, jealous of Mr Anderson." Thorne challenged.

"That's not why I hit him, it-"

"He came home and found you, another man in the house with his fiancee. He was angry."

"Because-"

"Objection, objection, objection. " Murphy called firmly, still in control. "Argumentative – your honor not to mention shockingly unprofessional. He is putting words into the witness' mouth."

Judge Summers to her credit looked appalled at the exchange. "Agreed. Do not try and lead the witness. Dial it down counsel, and take this as a warning."

"Most apologies, your honor." Mr Thorne said glibly, brushing off the warning like a speck of lint on his jacket.. "Jim – what happened after you punched Mr Anderson?"

"Roy and I argued some more and Pam left the house."

"Did he attempt to hit you back?"

"No, he didn't."

It was curiously at this moment Roy chose to start muttering angrily from his seat, throwing the attorney off course. Thorne swaggered back to Roy and the men whispered aggressively between them. In a flurry of moving hands and angry lips, the discussion stopped and Thorne was back in front of Jim.

"And then what happened?"

"I left to try to find Pam. I can't say what Roy did then." Jim answered.

Thorne looked at him accusingly. "So, let me recap this. Jim, we know later that day Pam turned up at your home injured. Where were you when the alleged assault occurred?"

"I was out looking for Pam."

"How long did that take you?"

"A couple hours I think."

"Did you search on foot, or by car?" The man was stubborn, firing rapid questions at Jim.

"I drove."

"Were you alone or with anyone?"

"Alone."

Thorne seemed disappointed with Jim's responses. "So she came to your home, you stated she was in a bad way, bleeding, she didn't look like herself." he said flatly.

"Yes."

"And she came to you first. Not the police or hospital, not a shelter for abused women, not her family; she came to you, that's the truth isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, what was she expecting you to do for her that the police, the hospital, a shelter or her family couldn't, or wouldn't do?"

Jim looked genuinely unsure of the question. "Understand, I guess." he said thoughtfully.

"Understand?" Thorne barked; no longer bothering to disguise the condescension in his voice. The room around them was absolutely silent, not a sound or breath could be heard from the spectators, the jury or the judge. It was just the two mens voices slashing through the silence like the clashing of duelling swords.

"Yes." Jim said. "I knew the situation. I had told her I would help her if she needed it. She didn't have to explain anything to me. It took a long time for her to admit even just to me that Roy was abusing her, I think it was a relief to her that she had told someone and that's partly why she came to me first."

"So, she came to you for help after allegedly being attacked, and you've told the court that she came in, you helped her to the couch, helped her get cleaned up a bit, got her a blanket. What exactly did you do to help her get cleaned up?"

"I got her ice for her cheek and helped wash some of the blood off her face."

"So right away, you began to help her remove the blood from her face, helping her clean up. Rather than take her to a hospital, or call the proper authorities, you helped her remove the evidence from her person-"

Pam jolted suddenly. She hadn't thought of it that way. But what was happening that night? She had little memory of it and what she did have was hazy, foggy.

Murphy was also not impressed. "Objection-"

"Washed away blood from injuries-" Thorne steamrolled on. Jim glared at him.

"No I didn't. She was in pain. She h-"

"-Objection! Argumentative." The man's expression was stony, tapping his hand on the table once more to get the judge's – and gallery's - attention.

"She was in pain, but you didn't take her to hospital that night, did you?" Thorne challenged Jim.

"She didn't –"

"-Objection, your honor!" Murphy said, his voice rising.

"Overruled."

"This woman, who you had been friends with for years, who you secretly had feelings for, came to you for help, allegedly injured and distressed, but you didn't take her to the hospital right away?"

"No, in the morning, as I said." Jim said. His face remained impassive but Pam saw the muscles moving and tightening about his forehead and jawline.

"You said-" Thorne cleared his throat impatiently. "That Pam was terrified – terrified- that Mr Anderson was going to show up and find her at your home. But what did you both do that night? Did you seek help? Protection? No, you cleaned up and went to sleep for the night, isn't that the truth?"

"Yes."

"Well we seem to be miscommunicating here, don't we – after all, what do you do when you've been attacked, excuse me, beaten severely – do you go to the home of your best friend for bed and breakfast, have a nice sleep while fearing for your life?"

"Objection! This is outrageous!" Murphy stood up once more. A second later he laid a compassionate hand on Pam's shoulder.

Thorne folded his hands in front of him, in a sickening ingratiating manner. "I do apologize, your honor."

"Mr Thorne – this style of interrogation will not be tolerated in my courtroom. Do you understand? This is the last warning." She said sharply.

"Yes, your honor, I do understand." Thorne said, appearing unfazed by the rebuke.

"Also step back from the witness." the judge added, her expression hard.

"Jim," Thorne said stepping backwards. "You stated she that Pam fell asleep very quickly that night. What room in your house did she sleep?"

"On the couch, where she crashed out. I put a blanket on her." Jim replied, looking slightly puzzled.

"And you, where did you sleep that night?"

Jim hesitated. "Downstairs as well."

Thorne's mouth lit up at this. "Why was that? Why not go to your own room?"

"She was scared enough that Roy would come looking for her, as I said." Jim fired back. "I didn't want her to wake up on her own in the room and think I'd just left her alone."

"How noble." Thorne said. "According to your statements, Pam fought with Mr Anderson because she wanted to leave him. Earlier that day, they fought over you, as in other occasions. Is it fair to say you were the cause of some of the problems in their relationship?"

"I don't know. It wasn't a three person relationship, so I really can't say."

"But you did counsel her to leave him, a couple of days before she actually did leave him?"

"Yes, I did."

"And indeed after she had come to your home, you advised her not to go back to him, that's the truth isn't it?"

"Yes."

Thorne was relentless. "Was this because you were in love with her?"

"No, it was because she was sitting on my couch, with half her face swollen out and huge fingermarks around her neck, telling me that Roy literally tried to kill her and yet she was still saying it was her fault and that she deserved it. Let me tell you, nobody deserves that, nobody." Jim said fiercely, looking not at the attorney, but at Pam.

She looked back at him with pleading eyes, her head aching and her heart pounding as the attorney continued on. With her moms continuing crying from behind her and her dads regular snorts of exasperation and grunts of fury and Jim being attacked by the slimy attorney, she had fought so hard to maintain her own composure but as a wetness appeared on her cheeks she began to lose her battle.

"But, you have only her word for it that it was Mr Anderson who caused these injuries, correct?"

"Well she certainly didn't do it to herself." Jim fired back at the man.

Pam leaned to her left, whispering quietly to her own attorney. The man listened attentively, and nodded at her with an expression of understanding and, patting her shoulder kindly, he rose to his feet.

"Permission to approach the bench, your honor?"

Pam had had more than she could take watching this, watching Jim get dissected like that, treated like a criminal, Jim, who had managed to somehow remain cool and dignified under duress. She watched blurrily as Murphy and the Judge spoke quietly together. Then Murphy turned and thanked the judge, returning to his seat beside Pam, giving her a reassuring nod.

Judge Summers called for adjournment until the next day. Pam smiled wearily at Murphy, then at Jim, who looked incredibly relieved to be released from the stand.

"Mr Thorne?" the judge beckoned him.

"No further questions, your honor." the attorney said. Pam breathed outward a heavy sigh.

"See me in my chambers please." Judge Summers said sternly, standing up. The officers on the other side of the room moved forward to the defense area to escort Roy back to prison.

"Thank you." Pam turned to Murphy, taking his hand. "Thank you. I couldn't…." she mumbled, lowering her head with emotion.

"I know." he said sympathetically, picking up his paperwork.

"Couldn't take seeing him go through that any longer." she finished, her voice shaky.

"You're welcome. We'll reconvene in the morning. Try to get some rest tonight." With that he headed off out of the room.

Pam didn't wait around for anyone – she headed straight out of the courtroom and to the waiting area. Somewhere behind her in a fading voice Helene was calling to her, but her mind was in one place. She waited, dully aware of her family filing into the room behind her, but took no notice, until she saw the familiar messy head through the corridor full of people. Instinctively she moved straight out of the room, nervously approaching him.

Although he looked tired and drained; his face weary and pale, he broke into a smile on seeing her. This was enough for her and she moved forward quickly, seizing him a desperate hug.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled against his neck. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this."

"Hey now." was all he said as he returned the hug.

Pam felt lightheaded with exhaustion. "You were great in there, I'm so proud of you." she said, emotion heavily lacing her voice.

"So were you." he replied softly, turning his head and kissing her cheek.

In the waiting area, Helene stood against the doorway, watching the scene between her daughter and Jim thoughtfully. Penny sidled up beside her, following her moms gaze.

"Think I'll find a guy like that Mom?" she said.

Helene turned to look at her youngest daughter. "I do hope so, honey." She shifted her eyes back to the corridor, watching the pair talk quietly together. Her sharp eyes observed Pam's hands, now pressing gently against Jim's chest as she smoothed out his shirt, observed his bent head as he put his forehead to hers, winding an arm around her back. Most of all, she did not fail to see the look of adoration that adorned both faces. A heartfelt smile spread across her face.

"That's my future son in law." she mused quietly.

"What's that?" William enquired, craning his neck towards her.

"Oh, nothing." Helene said airily. "How about we give those two a moment and wait for them outside?"

The family filed outside into the rain and huddled under the shelter of the courthouse front.

Inside, neither Pam nor Jim noticed them leave, their shared relief that one of them had made it through interrogation was overwhelming, and the immense comfort they both felt at having each other close by again drowned everything and everyone else out until they forgot where they were and a court employee asked them to leave the building for the day.