Triton [hs au | completed]

52) Five to One

"It's going to be okay. We'll figure this out." I assure her.

"Hey," Isaac starts, walking into the room. "Mom needs you to come sign your bail paperwork."

I rise from the table and follow him down the hall to the counter Vera is standing at. We go over the small stack of paperwork in front of her. Basically, I'm a free man until I'm convicted as long as I show up for my court dates. I also can't leave the state for the time being. 

After signing what feels like the hundredth document, we walk outside to the waiting cabs. There are a few photographers waiting outside that keep yelling Vera's name. It's hard to find my way to the cab with the cameras flashing. I finally slide into the seat between Arden and Lucy and shield my eyes from the flashes.

"The W." Lucy tells the driver once we're all inside. 

"The W? Wow." I comment to Arden. That's a far cry from the dingy motels we had been staying before.

"I heard the news, by the way." Lucy starts. "Congratulations, despite the awful circumstances." We both nod. "And as your lawyer, I recommend you get married sooner rather than later. You're going to want spousal privilege before you start dealing with the district attorney."

"Do you know how much my bail was?" I ask her. Vera had already paid it when I made it to the counter. 

"Ten thousand." Lucy answers while shuffling through the paperwork in her lap. I gape at her.

"Ten THOUSAND?"

"That's average for your charges." she tells me looking up.

"I'm still only being charged with possession and robbery, correct?" I ask thinking to the laundry list Agent Logan kept reading off. 

"Yes. Did you she tell you something else?"

"She had a whole list."

"The DEA are real assholes. I hate them more than I hate police. Why the government is funding an entire branch of law enforcement to police what consenting adults can do with their bodies while they are kids out there who are starving, I will never know." She shakes her head. 

"Anyway, enough with my soapbox. I'll call the district attorney tomorrow morning and see where we are with cutting a deal. This mishap may have altered what they're willing to offer us; we had the upper hand before."

We spend the rest of the ride in silence. The sun is just starting to come up; traffic on the sidewalks and roads are starting to become more congested. Once we make it to the hotel, we're greeted once again by flashing cameras. I wrap my arm around Arden's shoulders and try to guide us both to the doors. Vera, Owen and Isaac are all waiting inside the lobby for us. We all cram into a single elevator. 

"Thank you." I say turning to Vera. "I'll pay you back. I have some cash and I'll get-"

"It's fine." she interrupts. "I owe you. I will never be able to repay you for bringing my daughter back to me."

"Ten thousand is a lot." I protest. 

"If you want to get technical, there is a twenty thousand dollar reward fund for her safe return. So once again, I still owe you." 

She's starting to feel like mother too.

We file out into the hallway and Isaac passes out keycards. Arden and I are in a room, Owen and Vera in a room and Lucy and Isaac each have their own. I follow Arden down the hall to our room, walking into the expansive suite after she unlocks the door with the keycard. 

"Wow." she states taking it in. 

"This is weird." I state, sitting down on the bed to take my boots off. 

"Being here?"

"Having people spend money on me, I'm not used to it." 

"You know that they care about you too, right?" 

"I don't know." I mutter as pull the covers back on the bed.

"They do. They're not just humoring you for my sake." she replies getting into the bed. 

"Do you want to get married?" I ask, sliding into bed beside her.

"I thought I already answered that question." 

"No, I meant now. Like Lucy suggested."

"I'm fine with that. Are you?"

"I don't like the idea of marrying you and then going to jail, but I understand the benefits of doing it now. You don't want a big, traditional wedding?" 

"It's not like we've done anything else traditionally. As long as you're there, I don't care." she answers.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." she confirms as she leans over to turn out the lamp. "You need to sleep."

I hope I haven't ruined everything. I was so relieved to hear I would be serving two years and the thought of that being taken away is suffocating. I know I shouldn't have left the house, but I wanted to something special for her. I just hope we'll be able to get through this.

A.N. Just a quick update before I head to work.
This is short, but I didn't want to leave you hanging for too long.
A friend of mine made the mugshot for me yesterday