Verdict

"Come on, Katie." Wyatt puts a gentle arm around her shoulders, sheltering her from the chaos to make their way out of the room. "It'll be alright. Don't worry."

He spots his father and Lockheart down the hall, but turns for the parking lot instead. Katie didn't need this crowd around her. He directs her slowly outside and to his vehicle. Turning, he takes Katie by the shoulders, so he can see her face. Her tears...tears of shear anguish, tore at his heart. "We'll get him out. Don't give up yet. This is far from over."

Wyatt releases her and goes for his cell phone as they wait for Reese and Lockheart. "Yeah, Susanne, let me talk to Laura... Hey, Laura, it's Wyatt."

Laura is on the edge of her seat. "What happened? What was the verdict?"

Wyatt grits his teeth. He knew what close friends Laura was to Jason. But there was no skirting around the truth. "Not good, Laura. They found him guilty. Sentenced to forty years."

Laura's breath catches in her throat and she sinks back in her chair, shocked. "Oh, no."

"It's a madhouse in here right now." Wyatt glances to Katie as he takes a couple steps away, lowering his voice. "Katie's not taking it well. I don't know if we're gonna bring her back to TJY for a while or not, but whatever we do, you're gonna have to keep an eye on her."

Tears spring into Laura's eyes. "Alright. I will."

Wyatt can hear her emotions, and tries to suppress his own. "We'll talk more later."

"Okay."

"Bye." Wyatt hangs up and goes back to Katie, still waiting for the others.


Laura sets her desk phone back in its cradle, feeling a tear trickle down her cheek. Her mind automatically reverted to the past...all the time she and Con and Jason had spent together...the fun they'd had. She couldn't imagine Jason having to spend the better part of his life behind bars...it wasn't fair...it wasn't right.

Biting her lip and swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, Laura stands up and slowly goes to Nate's cubicle. She taps quietly, waiting for him to turn around, her eyes expressing her shock...sorrow...fear. "They found him guilty, Nate...forty years in prison...Jason's not coming back..." Her lip starts to quiver again, despite her efforts to stay strong.


Reese sees Lockheart approaching, and gives her a nod as he finishes up his conversation. "Yeah, just get me all you can on those cases. We're not going to take this one lying down." Ending the call, he turns to Lockheart grimly. "If you're even tempted to blame yourself for this, don't you dare. This is the Agency's doing. There's no way Jason should have been found guilty - just no way. There was outside influence, I guarantee it. They wanted this whole court case over with so fast so Jason would be put in prison all the more sooner." He searches Lockheart's eyes. "We've got to find proof so we can appeal to the courts again. I can't let Jason spend his life in prison because he saved someone's life."