** DECEMBER 12TH **

*** OUTSIDE THE COURT - 9:45 AM ***

Daniel, Anne, Polly, Ian, Viv, June and Hilary are standing in a small huddle outside the doors to the courtroom. Daniel is discussing what they should expect to see happen in court today.

Daniel Harker:

Well, all that they did yesterday was swear in the jury and get the articles of evidence logged. Today the trial really begins.

Polly looks up at her lawyer curiously.

Polly Page:

You mean today's the day that I have to tell them what Gweg did?

Daniel thinks carefully before replying.

Daniel Harker:

Well, it depends Polly. We will be calling up a lot of people before you so you probably won't be required to give evidence until tomorrow. I think you can relax for now.

Anne Page:

Is there a chance that Ian will be called today? Or me?

Daniel nods.

Daniel Harker:

I'll call you two straight after I've called the medical witnesses for the maximum possible emotional impact on the jury.

WPC Martella:

We're just going to get some coffee inside us before the trial starts.

Daniel Harker:

Good idea.

Viv, June and Hilary walk away towards the coffee machine.

Anne Page:

So this trial could drag out over several days?

Daniel Harker:

Unfortunately, yes. I'd estimate at least four more days taking into account the number of witnesses being called by both sides.

Anne Page:

I see. To be honest, I'm not sure if I can take four more days of this.

Anne, Daniel and the children make their way into the main corridor.

Daniel Harker:

Cases like this have a habit of going on for a long time, I'm afraid. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow.

Anne Page:

I need a coffee.

Anne sighs and turns towards the children.

Anne Page:

Right you two, I'm going up to that machine to buy a coffee. You both sit

down on that bench and don't move an inch. Okay?

Ian Page:

Aww, but Mum!

Ian pouts. Daniel smiles at the small boy.

Daniel Harker:

I'm sure we can trust them to behave themselves. I know a boy as grown up and important-looking as Ian would never misbehave.

Ian puffs up with pride.

Ian Page:

Oh yes sir, 'course sir. I'll be as good as gold.

Ian straightens himself up and tries to look serious and dignified. He fails miserably.

Daniel Harker:

You see, Ms Page? A veritable angel. Let's go and get something to drink before the trial starts.

Anne rolls her eyes and heads off down the corridor with Daniel. As soon as they are out of sight, Ian becomes distracted and starts kicking the side of the bench.

Ian Page:

I wanna play aeroplanes, Polly!

Polly groans.

Polly Page:

Look, just sit still will ya? You pwomised that you'd behave.

Ian Page:

No! I wanna play aeroplanes! I wanna be an F-One-Eleven!

Polly Page:

Ian, sit still and shut up. You can play aeroplanes when Mum gets back.

Ian is oblivious to Polly's words.

Ian Page:

Come on Polly! I'm bored, let's play aeroplanes!

Ian gets up off the bench and holds his arms out, as if ready for take-off.

Polly Page:

Why won't you do as you're told for once? Get back up here.

Ian Page:

No! Come on, Polly. You can be a fighter and I'll be a bomber!

Ian grabs Polly's arm and pulls hard. Polly reluctantly drags herself to her feet.

Polly Page:

Okay, but if Mum catches us it's all your fault.

Ian Page:

She won't catch us! I'll blow you up before she gets back! Come on Polly, you've got to dodge my bombs!

Ian starts running around in circles making silly noises.

Ian Page:

Pow! Pow-Pow-Pow!

Polly giggles and darts away from her brother.

Polly Page:

You ain't gonna catch me! I'm a lot faster than you are!

Ian Page:

I'm bombing ya! Pow-Pow!

Ian dashes madly towards his sister. Polly side-steps him.

Ian Page:

Whooooosh!

Polly Page:

Ha ha! You can't get me!

Ian turns around and quickly wraps his arms around Polly.

Ian Page:

Ka-boom! I win! Now it's your turn!

Ian runs off with his arms held out sideways. Polly sighs.

Polly Page:

Wait up! You can't go outside! Mum will kill ya!

Ian Page:

Yes I can! And you can't catch me!

Ian pokes his tongue out at Polly and runs outside.

Polly Page:

Oi, Mum said we had to stay here!

Polly chases after her brother. She is getting mad.

Ian Page:

Hahaha! Polly can't catch me! She's big and fat like an elephant and she can't catch me!

Polly Page:

Ian, stop it! Get back here you silly boy!

Ian Page:

Nyah nyah!

Ian dashes out of the courtroom door. Polly runs after him, skipping down the steps in front of the courthouse. A reporter sitting on the steps looks up as Ian almost collides with him.

Reporter:

Look! It's the Page kids!

The reporters rush over and quickly surround the children. Polly manages to grab hold of Ian, but she is somewhat out of breath.

Polly Page:

You're in a lot of trouble now!

Reporter:

Miss Page, isn't it? Polly Page?

Polly looks up at the man after hearing her name.

Reporter:

We'd like to ask you a few questions. If that's okay with you?

Ian notices the crowd of reporters for the first time.

Ian Page:

Yeah, that's Polly. She's my sister! Come on, tell him Polly!

Reporter:

You must be Ian Page. Can you tell us how you feel about all this, Ian?

Ian looks very self-important.

Ian Page:

Polly and I were playing aeroplanes and I bombed her and blew her up! Then it was her turn but she can't beat me, coz she's too fat!

Polly glares at her brother.

Polly Page:

I am not fat!

The reporter senses an opening and points his microphone towards Polly.

Reporter:

So how do you feel about your pregnancy, Polly? Oh, can you look up into the camera while you speak?

Polly looks up nervously, realising that she's not supposed to talk with the reporters. Nevertheless, she is too frightened to disobey. Ian is thriving in all the attention.

Ian Page:

She didn't want to kill the baby so Mum said she has it give it away! Polly didn't like that but she thought it was better than letting the baby die.

Polly wraps her arms around her stomach. She is feeling very uncomfortable and is beginning to have some difficulty breathing.

Reporter:

Can you tell us a bit about your stepfather, Polly? How does it feel to be facing your stepfather across a courtroom?

The reporters begin to crowd around Polly and Ian, hemming them inside a tight circle as they jostle for the best positions. Lights go off and cameras flash as the reporters swarm towards their prey. Polly starts to sob and tears trickle down her cheeks. She is feeling very distressed and disoriented so she sits down awkwardly on the steps with her face in her hands, crying her eyes out.

Reporter:

Well what do you think about him, Ian?

Ian is silent, for once, as he watches his sister crying. He looks up at the flashing lights and cameras.

Reporter:

Was your stepfather really horrible to you? Did he ever beat you up?

Ian shakes his head seriously.

Ian Page:

He used to be heaps cool to me. He was my football coach and he was gonna let me be the goalie. But I didn't get to, coz of her!

Ian points accusingly at his sister.

Reporter:

Your sister? What did she do?

Ian Page:

She ran off to the police and two policewomen had to look after us so I never got to play the game!

The reporter senses that he is not making headway.

Reporter:

That's awful. Now Ian, did your stepdad ever touch you? Sexually?

Ian gives the reporter a wide-eyed look.

Ian Page:

What does "sexually" mean?

The reporter looks flummoxed. Another reporter takes his place and asks another question.

Reporter:

Did you ever see you stepfather hurt Polly? Or do things to her?

Ian nods proudly.

Ian Page:

When Polly yelled at him that she was gonna tell the police woman about him hitting her, he got really angry. Then he broke her arm! I saw him do it! It went "snap".

Reporter:

He broke it deliberately? He just grabbed her arm and snapped it?

Ian Page:

Yup! He grabbed her and pushed her up against the cupboard and twisted it behind her back! Snap! Crack! Then she was screaming on the ground but Polly does that a lot so it was no big deal.

Polly keeps making small sobbing noises as hundreds of cameras flash and click close to her head. Another reporter steps forward.

Reporter:

What about the baby? Is it true he made her pregnant?

Ian thinks carefully before replying.

Ian Page:

Yeah, Greg used to hit her and now she's gonna have a baby coz of it! It's heaps cool now coz the baby means that I get to see myself on the TV. But before all this it was horrible coz she used to throw up all the time! Morning noon and night, Polly would be spewing up her guts.

Reporter:

Did you ever see your stepfather holding Polly down? Or forcing her to do anything for him?

Ian Page:

Only a few times, when I woke up during the night. He was always in Polly's bed, which was silly coz his is heaps bigger plus he gets the TV in his room! I really don't see why anyone would want to sleep in the same bed as Polly. He used to make these funny noises and I could sometimes hear Polly grunting as well. I know coz I used to tease her in the morning about how she sounded like a pig.

The reporters turn their attention back to Polly as their attention span wanes. They start bombarding her with questions: "What did it feel like to have your stepfather touch you, Polly?", "Where did he touch you?", "What did he make you do?", "Do you hate your stepfather for what he did to you?", "How do you feel about giving evidence, Polly?", "You'll be testifying against your stepfather, won't you?", "How do you think your family will cope with this?". Polly covers her ears with her hands and buries her head in her lap.

Polly Page:

Stop! Stop yelling at me! Leave me alone!

The reporters crowd in on Polly, continuing to hound her with questions. Suddenly, Viv and June rush out of the courthouse, alerted by all the commotion outside. Polly is crying hysterically but the reporters are not letting up. Ian is having the time of his life and he is happily running around in circles pretending to be an aeroplane for the cameras. June spots the children in the midst of the reporters and rushes towards them.

WPC Ackland:

Viv! This way! They're over here!

Viv runs over and the two women push their way through the crowd of reporters to get to Polly and Ian. The reporters grudgingly give way to allow the officers through. Polly hears a familiar voice and looks up.

WPC Martella:

Polly!

Polly Page:

Viv?

Viv grabs Polly and June hoists Ian onto her shoulders. The two officers begin to thrash their way back through the crowd of journalists.

WPC Martella:

She's pregnant, you bastards! Why can't you just leave her alone?

Viv emerges from the throng and the two women head towards the courtroom with the children.

WPC Martella:

Are you all right Polly? What on earth possessed you to go out there?

Polly sobs slowly.

Polly Page:

I didn't want to� Ian ran away and I had to get him back.

WPC Martella:

What were they doing? Did they ask you any questions?

June and Viv manage to get the children inside. Viv lays Polly down on a bench and Ian sits down next to his sister.

Ian Page:

They asked heaps and heaps of questions! But Polly wouldn't talk to 'em, so I did instead!

WPC Martella:

Are you feeling okay Polly? You look a bit pale.

Polly clutches her stomach and lets out a small gasp.

Polly Page:

It's funny� I think I can�

Polly stares wide-eyed up at Viv.

Polly Page:

I can feel her.

WPC Martella:

The baby?

Polly nods, her hand still resting on her stomach.

Polly Page:

I thought it would hurt, but it doesn't. It just feels a bit strange.

Polly takes Viv's hand and places it on her abdomen.

WPC Martella:

I can feel her kicking! Are you in any pain?

Polly shakes her head. Even so, she looks a little bit uncomfortable.

Ian Page:

What is it? What's happening to Polly?

Ian is interested in the proceedings. June chuckles.

WPC Ackland:

The baby's kicking, Ian. She's a lively little thing.

Ian's gawks at Polly, not really understanding the situation.

Ian Page:

Can I feel it?

Polly Page:

Sure.

Ian places his hand on Polly's stomach. He looks extremely sceptical. Suddenly, Ian pulls his hand away with a yelp. He is very shocked.

Ian Page:

It kicked me! The baby inside Polly kicked me!

Polly Page:

Yeah. I don't blame her.

Polly grins at her brother.

Ian Page:

The baby in your tummy� It's moving around! It must be running around inside your tummy! Why don't you let it out?

June faces Ian and tries to explain.

WPC Ackland:

It's not ready to come out for a long time yet.

Ian Page:

Why not? It's kicking, isn't it? It just kicked me! It must be real angry! I know I would be if I was trapped in Polly's tummy all day long!

WPC Martella:

Yes but she can't come out yet, Ian. She's connected to Polly with a little tube right now and she has to live inside your sister to feed.

Ian Page:

Yuck, that sounds really gross!

Ian backs away from Polly, a scared look on his face. Polly hides a smile.

WPC Martella:

It's nothing to be scared of, Ian. It's like eating a hamburger. The baby uses the food in Polly's body to fill herself up.

Ian looks even more terrified after the explanation than he did before it.

Ian Page:

It's eating Polly? That's just sick! I don't want nuffink to do with it!

Viv sighs. Anne appears in the distance, walking slowly along the corridor. She is sipping on her cup of coffee when she suddenly notices the two policewomen with the children.

Anne Page:

Viv? What's going on? What's the matter?

Anne walks over to the group, a concerned expression on her face. Viv glares at her angrily.

WPC Martella:

Oh, so you finally turn up do you? After abandoning your daughter and throwing her to the wolves?

Anne is very confused.

Anne Page:

What happened?

WPC Martella:

Why should you care? I mean, you were perfectly happy to leave Polly and Ian here, alone and unsupervised. At a time like this! You don't deserve to be a mother with an attitude like that.

Anne is outraged by Viv's remarks.

Anne Page:

You have no right to talk to me like that! The fact that you wear a uniform doesn't mean that you can walk around insulting people. What the hell actually happened?

WPC Martella:

You left Polly alone and the media packs outside got hold of her. They started asking Ian and Polly questions about the trial!

Anne quickly moves to Polly's side.

Anne Page:

Are you okay sweetie? What happened?

Polly takes her Mum's hand and places it on her stomach.

Polly Page:

Have a feel Mum. The baby's kicking!

Anne looks very uncomfortable. She gingerly removes her hand.

Anne Page:

Oh, I see. That's� lovely.

Ian Page:

It's sick, Mum! The baby's all tangled up in Polly's guts and it's trying to get out! Now it's eating its way out of her tummy. It's gonna burst out her sometime soon.

Anne turns slightly pale at her son's description. Viv turns back to Anne.

WPC Martella:

That almost happened before thanks to that mob of rats out there on the steps. What the hell possessed you to leave Polly and Ian alone with those vultures lurking round every corner?

Anne Page:

I don't understand it. Polly, I told you to sit with him and not move from the bench! Why did you go outside?

Ian steps forward. He is looking a bit shame-faced.

Ian Page:

It wasn't her fault, Mummy. We were playing aeroplanes and I ran outside. Polly followed me and we ran into one of those funny men out there. Then it was really cool, with all these lights and cameras and people asking me questions about Greg!

Polly looks miserable. She scolds her brother.

Polly Page:

It wasn't funny Ian! They crowded in on us and they were yelling at us and asking stupid questions. They were getting really worked up.

Ian Page:

That's only coz you wouldn't answer their questions! You were too busy doing disgusting things with the little man in your tummy!

Polly Page:

It's a girl, not a man! Mum told us that we're not allowed to talk to the men outside. Why'd ya have to go and tell 'em all that stuff?

Ian Page:

'Cause they asked me! They didn't ask you questions 'cause you're a silly girl! The monster inside you probably scared them away!

Viv tries break the argument up.

WPC Martella:

Be quiet you two! Put a sock in it. What's done is done.

Anne gets her back up.

Anne Page:

How dare you yell at my children!

Viv grits her teeth, stands up and escorts Anne away from the children.

Anne Page:

What do you think you're playing at?

WPC Martella:

Thanks to your negligence the press out there were hounding Polly to death. If you want to yell at someone go outside and yell at them 'cause I've just about had enough of you, Ms Page, and I can have a very unpleasant temper when pushed. I'm beginning to wonder whether you care more about your own stinking reputation than you do about Polly's welfare!

Anne is outraged.

Anne Page:

You've got some nerve. You don't have any idea what you're talking about. If I tell Polly to watch Ian then it's her responsibility to watch him. She knows that. It's not my fault if they decide to run away and I don't think you can blame me for my kids doing something that I specifically told them not to do. I'm not having some brunette in a uniform preaching at me and telling me how to raise my kids!

WPC Martella:

Well you haven't raised them very well, have you? All things considered?

June intervenes before things get too personal.

WPC Ackland:

Look, this isn't the time or the place for this. Take a deep breath, count to ten and calm down. Both of you.

Anne and Viv inhale deeply. They become calmer.

WPC Ackland:

Now why don't you pop outside for a minute and see if you can do something to remove that horde of journalists? The mood they're in, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to storm the courtroom.

WPC Martella:

Journalists can be real pigs, can't they?

Anne nods.

Anne Page:

Let's go.

Anne heads for the doorway and Viv follows. The two women stand side-by-side in front of the crowd of noisy journalists. Viv ignores their many questions and raises her hand for silence. The noise subsides.

WPC Martella:

I am going to say this once and only once.

The journalists wait expectantly, their microphones and tape recorders raised in the air.

WPC Martella:

I hope you're proud of yourselves. You've intimidated and harassed a twelve year old girl to the point where she almost had a miscarriage on these steps! If you don't clear off as of now and stay away for the rest of the day I'm going to arrest the lot of you for psychological ABH. Does anyone here fancy a night in a cell?

The reporters reluctantly shuffle off under Viv's stern gaze. They throw angry looks at her as they walk away. Viv nods at Anne and the two women walk back inside.

*** COURTROOM - 10:15 AM ***

Viv and Anne walk into the public gallery. They bow to the judge then make their way towards a pair of empty seats down the front of the gallery. Anne whispers to Viv as they sit down.

Anne Page:

Will the kids be okay with WPC Ackland?

WPC Martella:

They'll be fine. June's good with kids.

Court Usher:

Silence in the public gallery!

Both Viv and Anne lapse into silence.

Daniel Harker:

So, Doctor Harding, in your opinion were these injuries deliberately inflicted upon Polly Page?

Daniel holds up a photograph for Hilary's benefit.

Doctor Harding:

In my opinion, that is the case.

Daniel Harker:

No further questions, your Honour.

Daniel sits down. On the other side of the courtroom, Alison stands up and faces the witness box.

Alison Ashley:

Doctor Harding, we have seen the photographic evidence of the injuries suffered by Polly Page. Would you say that those injuries were severe injuries?

Hilary pauses, thinking about her answer.

Doctor Harding:

On an individual level, many of her injuries were not of great severity. It is the combination of these injuries and the aggravated vaginal trauma that makes them so extreme.

Alison Ashley:

So you thought that they were extreme? Have you ever dealt with injuries such as these before, Doctor Harding?

Doctor Harding:

I have, yes.

Alison Ashley:

Have you ever seen injuries like these before? This extreme?

Doctor Harding:

Never to this extent, no. I've seen several rape cases where the victim has suffered similar injuries but the injuries in this case would have to be the most severe in my experience. Polly has been through hell.

Alison Ashley:

So this would probably be the toughest case you've ever worked on?

Doctor Harding:

It medical terms, no. In emotional terms, perhaps. Polly's age does tend to heighten the overall difficulty.

Alison Ashley:

So you're finding this case difficult?

Doctor Harding:

No, I wouldn't say that.

Alison Ashley:

You just did, Doctor Harding. And you are obviously emotionally involved with the case. You called the girl 'Polly' before. Would you say that your professional judgement has been compromised by your involvement with the victim?

Doctor Harding:

Absolutely not. What I am saying is that the victim's age meant that the case required a heightened degree of tact and sensitivity. This made it more challenging for me professionally but I did not at any stage lose touch with my objectivity.

Alison Ashley:

No further questions, your Honour.

Alison sits down and Hilary is led out of the courtroom.

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