Elizabeth had nearly lost her mind to stress when the hearing re-adjourned. Then the young prosecutor with his dark brown slicked-back hair stood to his feet and called upon Warden McNeill to take the stand. The dark angel was suddenly very aware of her situation.

With a reassuring squeeze of his hand the Warden stood from his chair and walked over to the witness box, swearing in to the Almighty with his hand on the bible before taking his seat.

The prosecutor stood before the witness box and looked McNeill up and down with scrutinizing eyes as he crossed his arms tightly across his chest. "Mr. McNeill, how long have you been working at Alcatraz Island penitentiary?"

"Approximately seven years," McNeill answered calmly looking the young man directly in the eyes and praying to any God in the heavens above that he wouldn't accidentally say anything damning about Elizabeth.

"And in those seven years, have you ever had an inmate like Ms. Oldin here?" as he spoke her name the prosecutor gestured to Elizabeth who still flinched at the term Ms.

"No," McNeill replied curtly without taking his steely blue-gray eyes off the man. "And she has made it quite clear to me on several occasions that she prefers Mrs. Oldin rather than Ms. Sir."

"Of course any married woman would, but she only had that right before she killed her husband and child."

"Objection!" Nigel yelled out standing abruptly to his feet in anger at the statement that had just been made about his client.

"Sustained." With a menacing look the Judge warned the young man questioning the Warden. "Prosecutor watch yourself, you know the rules."

"Sorry your honour, withdrawn." With a smirk of disobedience the prosecutor began pacing up and down the length of the witness box, drumming his fingers on the front of his gray suit. "Warden McNeill, from your experience with prisoners, how is Ms. Oldin different to the other inmates being held within Alcatraz prison?"

"Well, besides being the only woman in there of course, what sets Oldin apart from the other inmates is mainly the fact that she acts completely differently to most of them. The murderers are usually more obscured, anti-social if you will, they like to be alone and generally have no problem sticking to the rules we lay down in Alcatraz. Mrs. Oldin likes to have company and likes to, let's say, bend those rules that we enforce."

Elizabeth smiled to herself as she thought about the relationship she was sharing with the Warden and how many rules they were 'bending' every night they spent together in her confined little cell.

"Oldin still has fire deep within her belly. People that have killed, murdered in cold blood or even crimes of passion, when these inmates are in Alcatraz and subjected to our confined conditions and strict rules, they aren't as keen on life and living as she is."

"So Warden McNeill, what you're saying is that she's, feisty?" the young man asked with a cocked eyebrow as he ran a sun tanned hand over his slicked-back hair.

"You could say that," the Warden replied with a nod of his head.

"And how long has Ms. Oldin been like that?"

"Oldin has been feisty and full of life since she arrived with us on Alcatraz Island." McNeill allowed himself a slight smile at these words. "There hasn't been many days thus far where she hasn't talked back to a guard or pushed her luck just that little bit further just to see how far she can take it and get away with it."

"You were there to greet Ms. Oldin when she arrived on Alcatraz Island were you?" The prosecutor had stopped pacing and was now leaning against the witness box talking directly to McNeill.

"Yes, I was waiting in the main hallway for the guards to bring her down, same as I always do when a new inmate arrives on the Island."

"Aha." The prosecution ran a finger over his lips as he nodded his head and thought about what the Warden had just said. "I would assume Warden McNeill that you would not usually pursue any sort of relationship with an inmate, is that correct?"

McNeill's piercing blue-gray eyes narrowed at the malicious intent of the accusation that could damn both him and Elizabeth. "Of course."

"Objection your honour," Nigel quickly interjected in an almost exasperated voice as he looked at the prosecutor incredulously. "He has no evidence towards that allegation."

The Judge leant forward upon his throne and looked over to the young man with a deadly stare that could make any new lawyer shake in his perfectly pressed suit and shiny little shoes. "What you are saying prosecutor is very serious, do you have any evidence to back this claim up?"

"Yes your honour I do." The young man smiled almost conceitedly as he spoke to the Judge then turned to address the rest of the room. "Mr. McNeill here has been holding Ms. Oldin's hand since the moment they walked in and sat down together two days ago. Tell me Warden, why were you holding Ms. Oldin's hand?"

McNeill sat there in the witness box completely taken aback by the comment made by the prosecutor, trying to think of what lie to make up off the top of his head. He knew full well what it would mean for him and his career if he decided to lie whilst under oath if indeed he still had one after all this ended. On the other hand the Warden knew just as well what it would mean for Elizabeth if he actually told the prosecutor the truth about what their relationship had turned into. "I was comforting her," McNeill answered with a note of finality in his voice.

"Maybe so Warden, maybe so, but if you were in fact having a relationship with Ms. Oldin here, it would give you the only motive you would need to say the things you have just said within this court in order to protect her from being sent back to prison, would it not?"

"Yes it would but-"

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury." With an almost theatrical wave of his hand the young prosecutor cut off McNeill as he attempted an explanation and turned towards the jury. "I myself have worked with all sorts of different murderers on numerous occasions and most of them are just as Warden McNeill describes the defendant Ms. Elizabeth Oldin. Now I will openly admit that I have never been to Alcatraz Island myself or experienced what the 'confining conditions' may be like, but I have been to many other maximum security prisons on the mainland here and the murderers there are also as Warden McNeill portrays Ms. Elizabeth Oldin. I ask you to consider this question, are women just the same as men?"

"Objection your honour," Nigel yelled out once again jumping to his feet and rubbing his hand through his brown hair in irritation. "When did this become a gender bash?"

"Overruled, go on with your questioning prosecutor," Judge Lucas replied almost immediately without a hint of remorse and only the slightest glimpse at Nigel who was literally about to pull his hair out.

"I have no more questions for Warden McNeill your honour." With a curt nod to the Judge and smug look upon his face the young man walked back to his bench and took a seat in the wooden chair, whispering something quietly to Brian as he did so.

"Defense." The Judge finally directed his attention to Nigel, looking intently at Elizabeth's attorney through his light blue eyes. "Do you wish to question the witness?"

Nigel scribbled a few things down on a piece of paper as the Judge talked then crossed them out again with a quick scribble.

"Defense?"

Snapping back to reality Nigel looked up at the man sitting so regally upon his podium overlooking the room. "Yes, yes your honour, the defense will question."

He stood slowly to his feet and buttoned the coat of his suit, slightly covering the bright green tie covered in little cartoon looking creatures. Thinking intently, Nigel drummed the fingers of his right hand against his chin while his left was tucked neatly behind his back and started slowly pacing up and down in front of the witness box where the Warden was patiently waiting. "Warden McNeill, explain to the court in detail if you can, the personality of one of your inmates within Alcatraz penitentiary that you have worked with for some time. One that murdered someone close to him if at all possible."

"David Rizzoli," McNeill said confidently, knowing that he could trust Nigel to ask the questions that could save the woman he now so deeply loved. "He sits on his own without fail every breakfast, lunch and dinner time day in and day out. He does kitchen duties which most of the inmates only get transferred to when they have been misbehaving. Rizzoli is what we call a model inmate within Alcatraz. Never stepped a single toe out of line, never talks back to the guards and follows the rules without a worry in the world. Yet he brutally murdered his wife of fifteen years and two young children that he always cherished, their British housemaid and his own mother and admitted to all five of them."

Nigel stopped pacing and smiled at the Warden, knowing exactly where he had to go with this testimony to sway just a few of the members of the jury. "Now will you explain to me Mrs. Elizabeth Oldin's personality?"

"Oldin always sits in the middle of a crowded table at breakfast, lunch and dinner times and is surrounded by other inmates that seem to have quickly and easily befriended her whenever possible. We had her in the clothing department but on her first day in Alcatraz at the first possible moment she asked for a transfer out to the yard duties. Oldin claimed she would prefer physical work with the men she was obviously stuck with. She constantly broke the rules that most of the other inmates had no problem following and found herself in solitary more than once a week at nighttime for the first couple of months. I strongly believe Elizabeth Oldin didn't murder anyone because of these points of fact." McNeill smiled to himself, knowing not only that it was exactly what Nigel wanted to hear, but because the Warden himself truly believed it.

"So ladies and gentlemen," Nigel said as he turned and slowly walked across the court to address the jury. "You have just heard a perfectly detailed description of a known and self-confessed murderer, and then one of my client Elizabeth Oldin. Absolutely nothing between these two descriptions coincide with one another except for the fact that they are both being held within Alcatraz Island prison. You sit there in your seats and go ahead and do the math for yourselves; you might not like what you come up with. Thank you your honour, no more questions."

With raised bushy eyebrows Judge Lucas turned to the two men sitting at the wooden table opposite the defense. "Prosecutor, do you wish to cross examine the witness?"

"Yes I do," the young man replied to the Judge almost carelessly, not moving from where he sat with one of his long legs folded over the other one and looked towards the Warden. "Mr. McNeill, are you currently in a relationship with the defendant Elizabeth Oldin?"

McNeill hesitated for a moment, directing his gaze to Elizabeth who was watching him intently with her big beautiful green eyes then turned back to the prosecutor and opened his mouth to speak.

"Might I remind you Mr. McNeill that you are under oath?" With a damning smile the prosecutor looked at Brian then back to McNeill.

Warden McNeill paused for a moment again and thought about what he could say that wouldn't condemn either of them, knowing well enough that the truth would damn him and Elizabeth, and so could a lie. "No. Mrs. Oldin and I are not currently in a relationship, my career wouldn't allow it." McNeill had decided to lie.

"The fact that you are the Warden of the prison Ms. Oldin is being rightfully held in might stop you from having any physical relationship with this woman, but it wouldn't be able to stop you from having an emotional attachment for her. Do you have an emotional attachment to Elizabeth Oldin?"

"Objection your honour, what does that have to do with anything?" Nigel asked with a confused look towards the prosecutor and pleading with the Judge to sustain the objection.

"Overruled," almost immediately the Judge knocked Nigel's objection back and turned towards McNeill. "Answer the question Warden."

"Yes," in a voice only just above a whisper McNeill turned towards Elizabeth and answered the question. "I do have an emotional attachment for the defendant."

"No more questions your honour."

"Thank you Warden McNeill, you may step down now," Judge Lucas informed the Warden as he scribbled a note down on the paper sitting on the desktop in front of him.

McNeill rose from the witness box and sat back in his seat on the defense table beside the dark angel. Despite the risk that was now so obviously involved he grabbed Elizabeth's hand within his own and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Any more witnesses from the defense?" with a glance towards Nigel, Judge Lucas quickly asked the question, his deep voice ringing out through the courtroom.

"No your honour." Nigel flicked through his mountain of papers and shook his head; he had now run out of people that could testify for Elizabeth, and with the final cross examination from the prosecution, he had almost run out of hope of the salvation of Elizabeth.

"Prosecutor, any more witnesses from you?"

"No your honour."

"Very well. Prosecutor, you may present your closing statement to the members of the jury."

The prosecutor stood to his feet with a serious look upon his face, buttoned his black coat and ran his hand over his brown hair again.

"Ladies and gentlemen. The woman of whom you are deciding the fate of here today has already been found guilty of these charges once before. Now here today you have heard a detailed description of Ms. Oldin's behavior while in Alcatraz and you heard that from the Warden of this prison. I have personally worked with murderers all over this fair country and they are all different I will admit, but I have seen a lot of them show the same characteristics that Ms. Oldin has shown whilst in prison.

"Can Alcatraz change a person that much that murderers will fall into line? We have heard today that yes it most certainly can. So why hasn't Ms. Oldin fallen into line behind them? We have to question this Warden McNeill. If he indeed is in a relationship, or at least was at some point in a relationship with the defendant, that would give him more than enough motive to commit perjury here today and lie for her. Can we really trust his judgment on Oldin and other prisoners?"

With an intense look of concentration the Judge watched as the prosecutor walked back to his chair and sat down. Judge Lucas then turned his attention to Nigel. "Defense, you may present your closing statement."

Also fixing the buttons on his coat Nigel slowly stood to his feet and started pacing up and down before the members of the jury, thinking about what he could say to make these people believe in Elizabeth's innocence as much as he did.

"Can Alcatraz change a person? Can Alcatraz change a murderer to being a law-abiding citizen? Can it damn the innocent into being changed also? Well let's stop for a minute or two shall we and just think about that. If you were secluded from all the people on earth that you knew, all the people that you loved, would you be changed into someone else? Someone that you never before thought you could be? Would it kill your spirit like the Warden of this prison claims it can do to these murderers? Of course it would! Without a hint of a shadow of doubt. Unless of course you had something to live for, something that the entire world needed to know and believe. Elizabeth Oldin has the cold hard fact that she is innocent in these accusations to live for. She is a fighter. Elizabeth wants the world to know that she is innocent. If you send her back to Alcatraz, you will be killing an innocent woman and condemning her to this life of unneeded and meaningless change, for the worst."

"Thank you Defense." the Judge again watched intently as Nigel walked to his chair and took a seat. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you may now retire to the jury room and decide on your verdict."

As instructed the members of the jury filed out of the courtroom into their small room to contemplate the fate of the dark angel who sat before them so quietly and anxiously.

Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes slowly passed by as the people in the courtroom patiently sat and waited for the jury to come to their verdict. Elizabeth's grip tightened on the Warden's hand as nerves got the better of her and a cold sweat started running down her back. Three days in a row she had been out of Alcatraz, and it felt like she would be going back for the rest of her life.

McNeill looked at Elizabeth lovingly and squeezed her hand, wishing he could reach over and kiss her, hold the beautiful angel in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay.

With a brief nod the Judge gave the courts man his signal and the now weary looking man straightened his uniform and walked obediently into the small jury room to see what was happening.

No more than seconds later he walked back out into the courtroom, alone. Approaching the Judge they conversed in hushed whispers before Lucas nodded and the officer walked back to his place.

"I call for a recess, we will re-adjourn at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning the fifth of April." Judge Lucas slammed his gavel down on its thick wooden base and walked out of the courtroom, his thick black robes fluttering almost ominously behind him.

The witnesses who had been patiently waiting stood to their feet with instant noises of chatter between them as they exited the courtroom.

With a smile to each other and talking about how the Judge would send Elizabeth back to prison for life, Brian and the young prosecutor stood and also left the courtroom.

"Well," McNeill said as he stood out of the hard wooden chair and helped Elizabeth to her feet also, holding her arms tightly and hugging her quickly while Nigel wasn't looking. "At least we get out of the prison tomorrow as well right?"

Elizabeth's stomach felt like it had fallen to the floor when the judge spoke tomorrows date. She looked up at the Warden with worried eyes, somehow holding back all the panic and tears that wanted nothing more than to erupt.

"Like my Mother always says, 'just look at the bright side,'" Nigel stated with a smile he hoped would be enlightening. He felt like the absolute scum of the earth as he also stood up. He had fought so hard for this appeal, knowing deep in his heart that Elizabeth was innocent, and now it could all have been for nothing. He finished packing his briefcase and together the three of them headed for the large wooden doors.

"What would be 'the bright side' of this exactly Nigel?" Elizabeth asked with fire, fighting to contain herself as they exited the courtroom.

"Well some of the people are voting for you back there."

"Yeah, sure." Not quite hearing the explanation from her attorney and much less caring, Elizabeth walked along with the men and wished she was somewhere very far away from all this. She wondered if she could just run away right now.

They were expecting yet another barrage of microphones and cameras as they walked through the large front doors, but only a small congregation of members of the press were waiting for them. People who left the courthouse earlier must have copped the brunt of the onslaught.

"What time does the ferry leave?" Nigel asked McNeill as they pressed through the