Title: Blame Author: tracy, Teetee1711@aol.com Author's Note: In my chronology, Try Again takes place first, thenLoser's Keepers (season 4 episode 3) and then this story, BLAME. Disclaimer: THESE CHARACTERS BELONG TO GENIUS DAVID E KELLEYAND 20TH CENTURY FOX. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ellenor Frutt sat in the courthouse conference room waiting for her partner Lindsay Dole. Ellenor had arrived almost an hour early. Sheneeded the time to herself to think. So much had happened in the past monthand she really hadn't had a chance to process it all. George, her friend, herclient whom she completely believed in, was a murderer. He tried to kill herand Helen and Lindsay and he probably even killed Susan Robin, the woman hewas acquitied of decapitating. The night he stabbed Lindsay, he had cometo kill her. When he found that Ellenor wasn't there, he nearly killed Lindsay instead. The idea that this person who she hd so much faith in hadpulled the wool over her eyes for so long was something she was having trouble dealilng with. Ellenor had always considered herself an excellent judge of character. Now she was beginning to think she was wrong. After all, he stabbed Lindsay three times just for the hell of it. That was the worst part for her. He almost killed her friend because she had lied to him. Lindsay didn'tblame Ellenor at all for what happened to her. Quite the opposite, Lindsayfelt terrible for Ellenor who was devastated by the revelation that Georgereally was the psycho the world had believed him to be. Ellenor was suddenly overwhelmed woth emotion and began to cry alone in the conference room. Lindsay came in the door and sat down at the table. "Hey Ellenor, what's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing." Ellenor responded, wiping tears from her cheeks. "talk to me Ellenor. What's going on?" "I was just thinking about George." she said. Lindsay sighed and walked around the table to sit next to Ellenor.She put her arm around her friend and laid her head on Ellenor's shoulder. "How could I have been so stupid?" she cried. "Ellenor come on." Lindsay said. "We all believed he ws innocent. Maybe at times I had my doubts, but on the whole I thoughe he was an ok guy." "After everything he put us through, what he put you through." Shebegan to sob. "I'm so sorry Lindsay. This is all my fault. Everything." "How many times do I have to tell you that you are wrong?" Lindsaysaid. "Ellenor, you didn't do any of this. He did. Lay the guilt where it belongs." A knock at the door interrupted the women's conversation. Bobbypeeked his head inside and smiled. He noticed something was going on and hewalked in the room. "Hey." Lindsay said. "Hi." Bobby answered. "What's going on?" "Nothing really." Ellenor, are you crying?" he asked. Ellenor looked at Lindsay. "Bobby, can you give us a minute?" Lindsay asked. "Just oneminute." He looked concerned, but nodded and stepped out of the room. "Thanks Lindsay." Ellenor said. "I don't want him to know howupset I am." "Ellenor, he cares about you. We all do. We love you and we wantto help you. Not only that, but I think you and me and Helen need tospend some time together and talk. Just the three of us. I know Helen is havinga hard time as well. The three of us need to stick together, don't youagree?" Ellenor nodded. "Ok. I'll call Helen and try to arrange something for tonight. Isthat ok with you?" Lindsay inquired. "That sounds good." Ellenor said. "Great. Here, why don't you freshen up and I'll go talk to Bobby." Lindsay said as she handed Ellenor a tissue. "Thanks." "Anytime." Lidnsay walked out of the conference room and joinedBobby who was sitting on a bench outside the door. He took her hand andlooked in her eyes. He could see she was upset, he only wished he knew why. "What's going on?" he asked. "Ellenor is just so completely devastated by everything that has happened. She is beating herself up about him being guilty all alongand everything we went through because of him." Lindsay paused. "She isbeside herself with grief and guilt, Bobby." "Doesn't she realize that he's the one to blame, not her?" "On some level, yes." Lindsay said. "But Bobby, she isn't thinking rationally right now. I mean, professionally she's ok, but emotionallyand personally, she is broken." "What can we do for her?" Bobby asked. "Well, I think Ellenor, Helen and I need to spend some timetogether, just the three of us, talking about what happened. I mean, Georgestabbed me, he tried to kill Ellenor and Helen killed him. We have a lot todeal with." "I know." Bobby responded. He released her hand and put his armaround her, drawing her close to him. Ellenor walked out of the conference room and looked at Bobby and Lindsay. Lindsay stood up and touched her friend's arm. "You ok?" she asked. "Yeah." Ellenor answered. "Bobby, sorry about before." "Not at all." He turns to Lindsay. "Well, I have to get going. I'll see the two of you back at the office." He leans over and kissesLindsay's cheek and then touches Ellenor's shoulder as he walks away. Lindsay and Ellenor meet their client outside the courtroom andwalk in to continue the trial. "Helen?" "Yeah. Hey Lindsay, what's going on?" Helen said. "Listen, do you have plans tonight?" Lindsay spoke into her cellphone. "No. Why?" "Well, I thought maybe you and Ellenor and me could have dinnertogether. Ellenor is still so upset and I thought it might help if the three ofus got together and talked about everything that happened." "I think that's a good idea." Helen told her friend. "Do you wantto go somewhere or come to our apartment?" "I was thinking it might be better if the two of you come to myplace." "You are probably right." Helen agreed. "Ok. How about 7:30? Is that ok?" "Sure. I'll see you tonight at 7:30. Bye Lindsay." "Bye." Lindsay pressed 'END' on her phone and looked over atEllenor who was sitting on the steps of the courthouse. She was completely lost inher thoughts, which made Lindsay nervous because she knew what she wasthinking. "Hey Ellenor!" Lindsay called. Ellenor looked up and smiledslightly at her. "Listen, I talked to Helen and she said that was a good idea. Itold her to come to my place at 7:30. Is that all right with you?" "Sure." Ellenor answered. "But what about Bobby?" "Don't worry about him. He'll find something to do. He knows thatwe need some time together." Lindsay assured her friend. "Ok then. I'm going home and then I'll see you later." Ellenorstood and started to walk toward her car. Lindsay followed. Once Ellenorhad pulled away, Lindsay went to her car and drove to the office. Lucy was pestering Rebecca about her new client when Lindsay walkedin the door. "Come on Rebecca, throw me a bone." Lucy cried. "Lucy, for the last time, drop it." Rebecca said. "Hi Lindsay." "Hey." Lindsay responded. "Is Bobby here?" "Yeah. He's with a client though." "Ok." Lindsay walked to her desk. She sat and began going throughher mail. "Lindsay," Lucy began, "is Ellenor coming back in today?" "No. Why?" "Oh, well I've just been concerned about her and I wanted to knowif she was ok." Lindsay smiled, surprised by Lucy's genuine concern. "She's all right, a little sad and shocked still, but she's going to be ok." "Good. You know, I kinda miss her getting mad at me." "Yeah, me too." Lindsay laughed. The door to Bobby's office opened and he walked out with a manLindsay had never seen before. The man smiled at her and she smiled back. "Ok, well I'll make a few phone calls and get back to you as soonas I find something." Bobby said to the man. "Thank you Mr. Donnell." The man left the office and Bobby walkedto Lindsay's desk. "Hey." she said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" "Yeah. Come in my office." Once inside Bobby's office, Lindsay sat on the couch. Bobby leanedup against his desk, anxious to hear what she would say. "bobby, I hope you don't mind, but I invited Helen and Ellenor overfor dinner tonight." "No, that's fine." he replied. "I suppose you want me to makemyself scarce?" "If you don't mind." she said. "I think it would be much easier for us if it was just the girls, you know. We've got so much to talk about." "I know. Don't worry. I have a lot of work to do. I'll just stayhere and catch up. Maybe I'll order takeout." Lindsay stood and walked to Bobby. She put her arms around him and kissed him. "Thank you." "Don't mention it." He wrapped his arms around her and held hertight. He kissed her and whispered "I love you." "I love you too." that's the end of part 1. part 2 will be posted by thursday. hopeyou enjoyed it. please email me with your thoughts and opinions at Teetee1711@aol.com Title: BLAME part two Author: tracy, Teetee1711@aol.com Author's Note: Disclaimer: THESE CHARACTERS BELONG TO DAVID E KELLEY AND 20THCENTURY FOX. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The doorbell rang and Lindsay opened the door to see Helen andEllenor standing there. "Hey, come in." she said and stepped aside as her friends walkedin. Helen looked around. "I see you have changed things here." she said referring to the apartment's decor. "Yeah, well Bobby wants me to feel like this is my home too."Lindsay responded. "Although I get the feeling he isn't too crazy about whatI've done with the place. But I think it looks better." "It definitely does. So, what's for dinner?" Helen asked. "I'm starving." Ellenor laughed. "Sure you are Helen. You'll probably eat a pieceof lettuce and be done." "Ha ha. Very funny. Ask Lindsay, I eat like a cow." Helen said. "You should know that by now too." "I was just kidding." "I know." Helen turned to Lindsay. "So, what's for dinner?" "I made a salad, Italian chicken breasts, broccoli, rice andcarrots." Lindsay told them. "Sounds delicious." Ellenor said. "Thanks, well we'll see." Lindsay said. "Come on in and sit down. Can I get you something to drink?" "I'll have a glass of white wine." Helen said. "Me too." added Ellenor. "All right, two white wines." LIndsay disappeared into the kitchenand returned a couple of minutes later with three wine glasses and abottle of wine. She sat down on the chair next to the couch where Helen andEllenor were sitting. Lindsay poured the wine and handed each a glass. "Thechicken is almost ready. Then we can eat." "Great." said Ellenor. "So, what did you do with Bobby tonight?" Helen asked. "Lock himin the bedroom?" "Actually, I did." Lindsay said with a straight face. "Sure you did." Helen shot back. "No, he's at the office. He had some work to catch up on." "He didn't mind us taking over his aprtment?" Ellenor wondered. "No. He knows that we need to talk and he was more than happy tohave the opportunity to finish some work he has been putting off." "That's good." said Helen. In the kitchen, the timer on the oven dinged and Lindsay stood and returned to the kitchen. She walked out a few minutes later and said"Why don't you two sit at the table? I'm just bringing the food into thedining room." "Need any help?" Ellenor asked. "No thanks." Lindsay replied. The three friends sat at the dining table enjoying their meal. When they were finished, Helen and Ellenor helped Lindsay bring the dishes intothe kitchen. "Do you want me to load the dishwasher?" Ellenor inquired. "No, leave it." Lindsay answered. "I'll make Bobby do it when hegets home." "Sure you will." Helen laughted. "Really, just leave it. Let's go sit down and relax." They walked into the living room with their wine glasses and thebottle of wine. Helen and Ellenor reclaimed their places on the couch andLindsay sat again on the chai. They didn't say anything at first, each oneafraid to bring up the subject that had brought them together that might. Finally, Lindsay decided to be the brave one and said, "Helen, I don't know if Itold you, but Ellenor and I were talking about George Vogelman today." "Really?" Helen asked. "How come?" "Well, I still can't believe that he was guilty. I can't believehe so thoroughly convinced me that he was a good guy. I thought I could tellwhen someone was lying to me, but he completely surprised me. I hadabsolutely no clue. I feel like such an idiot." Ellenor said. "I should havelistened to you Helen. You were right about him all along." "Ellenor, don't be so hard on yourself." Helen said. "He fooled alot of people, including everyone at your firm." "Yes Helen, but he did all of those terrible things because of me." "But you are not to blame for what he did." Lindsay chimed in. "Did you tell him to cut off Susan Robin's head? Did you tell him to stab me? Did you tell him to send us threats and attack Helen and you? NO. He didthose things because he was sick." "But I drove him to it. " Ellenor insisted. "I rejected him somany times." "You have that right." Helen said. "What, you are supposed tospend the rest of your life with a sick psycho because you are afraid of whathe'll do if you don't?" "That's not what I mean." Ellenor said. "I know, I was speaking for dramatic effect." Helen smiled. "I mean, Lindsay nearly died because I told him I was working lateand couldn't go out with him. He came there to kill me and stabbed Lindsayinstead." "No, I nearly died because George stabbed me three times, notbecause of anything you did." Lindsay stressed. "Either way, the result is the same." Ellenor said. "No, it isn't." Lindsay stated. "He was sick Ellenor. Mo matterwhat you would have said or done, he would have hurt someone." "Yeah, but it should have been me, not you and Helen." Ellenorsighed. "No. It shouldn't have been any of us. It shouldn't have beenSusan Robin, either. Mome of this should have happened, but it did. We weredoing our jobs and we believed the guy. We got him freed. He should havebeen in jail, but again, we were doing our job. No one is to blame here in anyof this except George Vogelman. he is the guilty one, not you or me orHelen or Susan Robin." "In my head, I know you're right." Ellenor said, holding back tears, "but in my heart, I think I will always blame myself for everything you and Helen and our firm went through." She began to cry and Helen leaned over and hugged her. Lindsay knelt next to her and rubbed her back. "Everything is going to be ok." Lindsay told her in her mostreassuring voice. "Hey, look at it this way" Helen said trying to lighten the mood, "if he hadn't stabbed Lindsay and attacked you and me, then i never would have killed him and saved your life. You do realize that if he had beenconvicted of killing Susan Robin, he would have received the death penalty. Well, he got it all right!" "Helen!" Lindsay snapped. "What? It's the truth. Things happen for a reason, even if youcan't explain why or how." "I'm just so sorry." Ellenor said as she started to cry again. Helen and Lindsay comforted their friend and began to cry alongwith her. They all needed this release. None of them heard the door open. Bobby stood just inside the door, silent, moved by what he saw. The threewomen were huddled on the couch, hugging and crying. He didn't want todisturb them, but he also didn't want them to think he was wavesdropping. Hecleared his throat loudly to get their attention. Lindsay looked up and sawBobby standing by the door. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't want to interrupt, but I alsodidn't want you to think I was being nosy." Lindsay wiped the tears from her facce and slowly stood up. Helenand Ellenor remained on the couch, gladly accepting tissue from Lindsay. She walked over to Bobby and kissed him. "Hi." she said. "Hi. Are you three all right?" he asked, concerned. "I think we are going to be ok." Helen said. "Yeah. I think so too." agreed Ellenor. THE END