It was a rather uncomfortable night in his cell, but Xander kept to himself and just tried his best to relax while waiting to be arraigned. He was unable to sleep but laid down in his cot and tried to get some shut eye, but it wasn’t meant to be. He spend most of the night looking up at the ceiling, ignoring the chatter and snores coming from other cells in his area. Some of the other people being held overnight tried to speak with him, but Xander ignored them and never responded. He was too paranoid about what was going on, assuming that anyone trying to talk to him was a plant or a cop pretending to get him to talk and give up something that could be used against him. Xander knew that might be weird to consider, but Russell told him to talk to no one so he was going to take his lawyers command quite literally. He never spoke a word to anyone, and when the officers came to escort him to court, he didn’t even speak then and just nodded to commands that were given to him. The ride to the court, even being sent up to the courtroom felt so surreal, everything was like a blur. He remember standing there in the middle of the courtroom, and really didn’t hear anything until he heard Russell arrive and speak on his behalf.

“Waive reading, your honor.” Russell said, “We plead not guilty to all charges and make motion to secure bail. Our client is an upstanding citizen who until now has never been charged with anything, not even a parking ticket.”

“We want the accused remanded, you’re honor.” Another man in the room replied, “He’s a clear flight risk, and we fear he might flee the country before suppertime.”

“We are willing to surrender his passport,” Russell countered, “And I can assure everyone here that my client is looking forward to fighting these ridiculous charges to the bitter end.”

“I like the sound of that,” the judge said, “If your client surrenders his passport, I will post bond of five hundred thousand.”

“Thank you, your honor.” Russell said.

“What’s going on?” Xander asked, still in a bit of a haze.

“This is typical, but we’ll have you out within the hour.” Russell said, “Jefferson is here with your Mom and Dad. They’ll post your bail and we’ll regroup later to prepare you for pre-trial.”

“Wait,” Xander interrupted, “My parents are here? Both of them?”

Xander turned around and noticed them both standing behind him and waving to him and smiling to show their support. They both walked up and hugged their boy.

“Are you alright?” His mother asked.

“I’m alright,” Xander answered, “A little confused, but I’m okay.”

“Don’t worry about bail,” his father said, “Jefferson is taking care of it right now.”

“Thank you,” Xander said, and then he noticed something else. Standing behind his parents was another person he never expected to see. Lauren Carter walked up and smiled at Xander as she got closer.

“Hey,” She said to him, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m better now,” He said, smiling back at her. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“You mean here in court?” She asked.

“I mean like ever,” Xander honestly answered, “Getting arrested for something bad during a first date usually isn’t a good way to end things.”

“You do realize we are in America, right?” She asked him.

“I realize that,” Xander said, “But what’s your point?”

“In this country,” Lauren continued, “People are innocent until proven guilty. I thought it would be best to at least wait and see what the truth is before making any judgements about you and your character.”

“Oh,” Xander said, rather surprised by her perspective. “I guess that’s more than what I currently deserve, so thank you.”

“Up to that point, I really liked hanging out with you,” Lauren confessed, “So if you didn’t do this, I wouldn’t mind picking up where we were so rudely interrupted.”

“I’d like that,” Xander said, “But I’ve got to be processed out. I’ll be a moment.”

“Fair enough,” Lauren said, “See you soon.”

Everyone watched as Xander was led out of the room by bailiffs to be processed out after making bail. Russell watched with everyone else and then turned to face the three people who were speaking with his client.

“This is pretty normal for someone’s first arrest,” Russell explained, “The fact that his seizure came right out of the blue didn’t help either. It will probably take him a day or two for this all to sink in. He shouldn’t be alone during any of that time.”

“We’re going to take him home with us,” Xander’s father replied, “We’ll make sure he’s taken care of at least for the first few days. He’ll eventually want to go back to his own place but we’ll cover the first few days.”

“Sounds good, and thanks for covering bail,” Russell added.

“It’s the least I can do,” the old man replied, “He’s my boy and he’s innocent. I don’t want him in there for another minute if I can help it.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Russell asked, turning to face Lauren.

“This is Lauren, she’s a friend.” Xander’s dad replied, “She was also present with me when Xander was arrested. I thought having her here would help.”

“I can tell that it did,” Russell said, “But I know you from somewhere.”

“You probably saw me in the video,” Lauren added, “The one where Xander saved the kid I was supposed to be watching.”

“Yes!” Russell said, “That was a close shave.”

“It was,” Lauren concurred, “But thankfully no one was hurt.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Russell said, “I’m going to join Jefferson and see if he needs any help.”

Lauren stayed at the court with Xander’s parents and waited in the hallway for Xander to be released on bail, which was mere moments away. Lauren couldn’t help but notice that Xander’s mom was looking at him a lot.

“Are you alright, Ms. Hopkins?” She asked.

“I’m sorry,” She said, smiling back at her. “You can call me Janet.”

“Thanks,” Lauren said, looking rather nervous. “Is it too much for me to be here, I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not doing that.” Janet replied, “Alex said you would help, and based on Xander’s reaction I think he was right.”

“I agree,” Alex said, as he walked back over to where they were sitting in the hallway. “I just spoke to Jefferson, he’ll be out very soon and we’ll take him home.”

“Then maybe I should be going,” Lauren said.

“No, that’s alright.” Alex said, interrupting her train of though. “I thought we’d invite you over to the house for dinner. We want Xander to feel as comfortable as possible and, well…”

“He’s afraid that without proper motivation,” Janet continued, “That Xander might just wander off and be on his own, which is not what his lawyer recommended.”

“I understand,” Lauren said, sitting back down. “I’ll do what I can to help.”

“I can see why he like her,” Janet said, gushing just a bit.

It was at this point where Xander came into the hallway with both of the lawyers. He walked up and hugged his mom again. He was about to say something but his mother held up a hand.

“You don’t have to say a word,” she told her son, “I never believed them for a moment and I never will. Your father might be a tight ass most of the time, but he’s says the same thing. You don’t need to explain it to any of us. We’re here for you and on your side.”

“Thank you,” Xander said, “So what happens now? Can I go home?”

“I don’t recommend it,” Russell said, stepping in. “Odds are there is going to be oodles of reporters camped outside your residence.”

“So a hotel, then?” Xander suggested.

“Absolutely not!” his mother said, “You can stay with us for a few days, until things settle down a bit. We can give your lawyers access to one of the dining rooms to gather and prepare for what’s next.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hopkins,” Russell said, despite the fact that it wasn’t necessary. He realized the lady was just saying it to appease his son and keep things calm.

“We can hassle over details later,” Alex said, putting hand on his son’s shoulder. “Let’s all head back to the house, and we can regroup there to figure things out.”

“All of us?” Xander asked, looking over Lauren.

“Of course,” Alex said, as he understood the question. “I’ve already invited Ms. Carter to join us.”

“Are you alright with that?” Lauren asked, not wanting to intrude.

“I am,” Xander said, smiling. “Thanks.”

“It’s not like I have anything else to do,” Lauren jokingly added.

“You don’t?” Russell said, “What about the kids you watch?”

“I’m going to get Jefferson to take care of that,” Xander’s father said, “You concentrate on Xander and these ridiculous charges.”

“Alright, I like the sound of that,” Russell said as he turned to face Xander, “I agree with your mom. Crash at their place and let things die down before coming back to the city. Take a few days off work and we’ll take care of the rest. We have a solid plan moving forward, but I’m not ready to discuss in public just yet. I’ll update you on it in a few days when I have more to work with. Sound good?”

“It does,” Xander confirmed, “Thank you.”

“The car’s out back,” Jefferson said as he arrived to speak with is clients. “Is everyone ready to go?”

Xander reached out and took Lauren’s hand in his. She happily accepted it with a smile on her face.

“We are,” Xander said, “Let’s head home.”