When they landed in Sydney Kate couldn't wait to get to the car and take Tom home. Him accompanying her wasn't public knowledge and the court didn't want fans turning up to the hearing so it had been kept very quiet. When they arrived they were last off the plane and escorted straight to the car where their luggage was waiting. Kate had chosen an XR6 Turbo for the duration of their stay, it was a far cry from Tom's jag or the R8. She surprised him by going straight for the driver's seat without asking. "You're on my turf now, Hiddleston." She said as she started the car.
It was almost a 2 hour drive from the airport to Newcastle and Tom enjoyed the scenery as they got closer, looking in awe as the coastline went by outside. "You've seen Aussie beaches before haven't you?" Kate asked.
"Not really. I saw Bondi once, from the road. But that's it. Most of what I've seen is the inside of vehicles, hotels and studios."
"You're in for a treat then. You can almost fall in to the ocean from our house." Tom's eyes widened. Kate had taken care of all the arrangements and she hadn't been very forthcoming with the details, wanting to give him a few surprises.
When she turned in to a drive way he looked at her incredulously. "No," he said. "This is it?"
"Sure is." Kate said, switching off the engine. The house was 5 houses up from Kate's parents and shared the same amazing beachfront view. The exterior was all modern white, with huge windows on both storeys, a huge deck on the bottom floor and a balcony off the main bedroom. Kate knew it well, she knew the owners and family had stayed there for holidays at Christmas.
They got inside and unpacked a little. Kate was thankful her mother had stocked the pantry and fridge for them so she wouldn't have to go shopping straight away.
They spent a couple of hours together alone before walking the short distance to Nerida and Jeremy's house, where they were waiting with Lizzie and Jake. Everyone warmed to Tom immediately, as Kate had expected. While Jake and Tom talked on the deck, Lizzie and Nerida pulled Kate aside.
"I just can't believe he could do this to you without any of us knowing. Why didn't you tell someone?"
"It's not that simple mum." Kate sighed, knowing she'd have to go through the whole story again. "He made me think it was my fault and I deserved it."
"Oh sweetheart,"
"I know now that I didn't, but at the time... it doesn't matter now. We're here to make sure he is punished and can't do this to anyone else."
"We will all be there to support you," Lizzie said.
"No. I won't have you in the court room. You don't need to hear the details."
"Kate,"
"I insist mum. I will make sure you're not allowed in if I have to. If you're there I'll be worried about you, and I don't have the energy. I'll answer anything you want to know here, but I will not have any of you at the hearing." Kate was firm and they knew there was no point in arguing.
"OK," Nerida said finally. "Is Tom going in with you?"
"For some of it, yes. I've told him not to stay if it's too much though."
"He's a wonderful man, Kate. The way he looks at you like you're his whole world... he'll look after you, I'm sure of it."
"So Liz, how's bub?" Asked Kate.
"Cooking away, craving everything greasy and sugary. I was waiting to tell you, it's a boy!"
"Oh, congratulations! How exciting! I'm going to have a nephew!"
"We're over the moon, can't wait to meet him. I think we're going to name him William."
"Gorgeous, I love it." Kate saw Tom watching her and he winked when she caught his eye.
"You are a lucky woman Kate. He is just..."
"Prince charming? Almost frustratingly perfect? Yes, he is. And I think I need to rescue him from dad." She laughed, and they went to the deck.
"You're not giving him the 'what are your intentions with my daughter' interrogation are you?" Kate smiled.
"I was just about to," Jeremy said.
"Spoil her rotten and make her deliriously happy. Just like she deserves." Tom pulled her to him and grinned.
"Good grief Kate marry him before he changes his mind!"
"Elizabeth!" Kate, Jake and Nerida shouted in unison.
"On that note, we actually need to get going, Naomi is coming over in a little while."
"Oh I feel awful about the way we treated her. Could you tell her how sorry we are?" Nerida looked solemnly at Kate.
"I will. I hope we might be friends again one day."
On the walk home Tom looked down at Kate, taking her hand. "You have a gorgeous family."
"Ha! They have their moments. You do too. Maybe when this is over we can actually spend some time with them."
"Yeah they'd love that. I'd love that. You and Emma are quite similar. And I'd love for you to meet my dad, he was so disappointed he couldn't make the show when you were there. I'll organise it for when we get back." Kate opened the door and put her bag down on the table. "Speaking of organising, I need to talk some things over with Luke. Is it ok if I do that while Naomi is here or would you rather I stayed with you."
"That's completely fine. Naomi and I were friends for a long time before Dean went after her. In fact I think that's one of the reasons he did it."
There was a knock at the door and Kate opened it to see Naomi and a box of cupcakes. "Hi hon, come in."
"Naomi, this is Tom." He shook her hand and smiled.
"It's so lovely to meet you. I'll leave you two to catch up." He went upstairs and Kate soon heard his voice talking to Luke.
Kate and Naomi talked for a long time, mostly about things that had happened while they were friends. Parsons was joining them in an hour so they decided to save details about Dean until then. By the time he arrived they were quite comfortable together and there was a lot of laughter issuing from the deck when Parsons arrived and Tom opened the door for him.
"Katherine," he said warmly, extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you in person. Good to see you again Naomi."
"Oh, Kate please. You've met Tom?"
"I have." He cleared his throat. "I actually have a son who is a bit Marvel mad so I've heard aaalllllll about Tom. If only he knew you were right here."
Tom laughed. "I'm sure we can arrange something when the hearing is done."
Parsons sat down and Tom went to the kitchen to make tea and coffee. "Oh he is such a keeper, Kate." Naomi smirked.
"So you two were friends?" Parsons asked, taking out a notepad.
"Yeah, we met at university and hit it off straight away. We were part of a pretty large group of friends but the two of us were really close." Kate replied.
"We might start with Kate, can you give me a quick run down of your relationship with Dean?"
"Well, we met and started dating in high school. We were typical high school sweethearts, although I didn't realise at the time that it wasn't normal for your boyfriend to constantly compare you to other girls. He was always reminding me he could have anyone he wanted. Anyway, he cheated on me a couple of times, always apologised profusely and then turned it back on me. If I hadn't left the party early, if I'd done what he asked, once it was if I wore shorter skirts." She laughed. "And then of course if I did wear a short skirt for anyone but him I was a whore. You get the idea."
"Was he physically abusive then?"
"No. Not until we were at uni and I started to make more friends. I was excelling and really happy, and I guess he didn't like it. It started as pushing me around in a sexual way and when I told him I didn't like it got more forceful. The more I tried to stand up for myself the more he hurt me, so I learned to just give in and get it over with." Kate could see Tom cringing. "The first time he did anything purely violent was when I'd been out drinking with some friends and didn't tell him until I came home. He held me against the wall and when I yelled back at him he slammed my head in to the bricks. It was a few days before I realised I probably wasn't so much hungover as concussed. A few weeks later I was at the bar at uni and he dragged me out by my hair. I was so embarrassed I never went back. After that I was only allowed to drink if he controlled it and he started to do the same with food, telling me if I got any fatter he'd leave and no one else would want me." Kate's breath caught in her throat and she took a sip of her tea.
"I tried not to give him an excuse, I did what he said when he said, I went to uni and work and then came straight home. I played happy families and lied to everyone who cared about me. Then an agent signed me up to do some work that meant travelling and he told me to go for it, I thought maybe we'd turned a corner. He was actually cheating on me every time I was away, and then making it my fault. If I said anything he'd hurt me. This went on for a couple of years until I got the Disney job and after a year of travelling back and forth I surprised him and found him in bed with Naomi. That was the most violent he had ever been and I never went back. I flew back to LA a few days later and got an apartment in a different area because I thought he'd find me and kill me."
Kate felt Tom's hands squeezing her shoulders gently and he bent to kiss the top of her head and whisper "I'll be right back," before going inside.
"Were you too scared to report it?"
"It wasn't that I was scared so much as I honestly thought I deserved it. I was so... fucked up... by that time that I thought the police would just say 'well what do you expect?' I knew it wasn't normal, but I didn't think I was normal, that I deserved normal."
"But you're coming forward now because you found out he did the same to Naomi?"
"Yes, as I said I thought I deserved it. It never occurred to me he would do it to her too, I just assumed she was better than me and he would treat her accordingly. If I'd known, I never would have kept quiet and I certainly would have warned her. I'm so sorry Nay,"
"Kate we've been over this. You didn't do anything wrong. We didn't do anything wrong."
"She's right, Kate. We have evidence from x rays, for both of you, and a statement from the doctor in the US who queried your x rays there. I think we've got a good case, but I think they will do their best to attack you and you need to be prepared." Tom sat back down next to Kate and she saw his eyes were a bit pink. She took his hand and squeezed it. "They're going to say you fabricated the story to make money, to make yourself more famous, sell the victim story, whatever else they can come up with. Answer their questions truthfully, don't get angry or defensive. You're not being charged, he is. We're also going to push to have it resolved quickly so that you can get back to work. I know his lawyer and they're usually fairly reasonable."
When Parsons was ready to leave, Tom walked him out, telling Kate he'd leave her and Naomi to talk. When Naomi finally went home, Tom was nowhere to be found. She found a note on the table, saying he'd needed a walk but wouldn't be long. Kate guessed where he would be and wandered down to the sandy beach.