No plea bargain is struck. The jury is picked, and Lucinda asks a few random ones whether they have accepted bribes and sees who looks nervous: no one, as it turns out, so she strikes people who are too young to have children and one fellow who looks like he hates the entire world for her picks. Paul strikes a grandmotherly type and someone who admits when asked that they don't think much of rich people.

"All rise," comes the command as Judge Roberts walks in.

Author: self_composed	No plea bargain is struck. The jury is picked, and Lucinda asks a few random ones whether they have accepted bribes and sees who looks nervous: no one, as it turns out, so she strikes people who are too young to have children and one fellow who looks like he hates the entire world for her picks. Paul strikes a grandmotherly type and someone who admits when asked that they don't think much of rich people. "All rise," comes the command as Judge Roberts walks in.
Author: edgeofyourseat	It's the first test of Alice's ability to act like a normal human. He gets to his feet with everybody else and doesn't even look particularly itchy about it.
Author: self_composed	Bella's up too, in the pews behind the main part of the courtroom. Various formalities march along. And first, Lucinda calls up Alice.
Author: edgeofyourseat	He's wearing clothes he would clean an oven in. In fact, he has cleaned an oven in this shirt. You wouldn't know it to look at him, though. He goes where directed and sits as directed and repeats the appropriate oaths without rolling his eyes.
Author: self_composed	"Hello, Laney," says Lucinda, for all the world like they're having a friendly chat at her house over tea. "First of all, the jury members have their own copies of the notebook about the history of your abuse - alleged," she says, putting up a hand vaguely in Paul's direction before Paul can say anything. "I understand you have an eidetic memory, which let you remember that much detail to dictate to your friend; is that right?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Yeah," he says, soft in tone but projected to be easily heard. That much is probably safe without waiting for Bella's input.
Author: self_composed	"Would you mind demonstrating that for the jury?" Lucinda asks.
Author: edgeofyourseat	He shakes his head. "No, I wouldn't mind."
Author: self_composed	Lucinda turns to the jury and asks them to write their random letters and numbers on slips of paper she has prepared, plus their initials so she can return them to their original owners for checking. They all write gibberish down. Lucinda collects the papers and, holding them herself instead of handing them over, shows each one to Laney for a single second. Then she gives them all back. "Would you mind telling us what was on each paper, so the jurors can confirm that you really would have been able to remember all of those events?" she says.
Author: edgeofyourseat	He gazes thoughtfully into the distance and reads them all off in a clear voice, in order, initials included.
Author: self_composed	The jury murmurs to itself. "Thank you. However, it's a very long string of pieces of evidence, recording over two thousand incidents, the descriptions of which range from 'corporal punishment' - itself illegal both in the state of New York and Washington - to what would be classified as felony assault if the victim were anyone but the perpetrator's own dependent child. Let's talk about a few specific cases; Laney, would you care to describe the event that occurred on July 19, 2001?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"It was raining," he recalls, closing his eyes. "I was walking home from the park - he still let me go to the park in those days - and I went by one of those big puddles, you know, and a car ran through it, and soaked me up to here," he gestures at the middle of his chest. "So I knew Dad was gonna be really mad at me when I got home, so the minute I got in the door I bolted for my room, but I tripped on the stairs and fell flat on my face and got mud all over everywhere." He stops, rubbing his face for a moment; when he continues, his voice is a little rougher. "Dad heard me. He started yelling—said I was a filthy little demon child and did I know how much it was gonna cost to clean that carpet, and he came down the stairs still goin' on like that and he hit me with his belt," his lips move silently for a moment, like he's counting, "fifty-four times." It's one of the ones that left marks, although not obvious marks. In the right light, though, they show up fine. Lucinda has photos.
Author: self_composed	Lucinda does have photos. She gets them out. "That's the incident associated with the scars shown here," she says, offering the picture up to the jury. "The defendant's son is scarred for life, because a car splashed him and then he tripped." "Objec-" "Allegedly," says Lucinda, in a cold voice. [I'd pet you if I was there,] Bella informs Alice.
Author: edgeofyourseat	He closes his eyes again, briefly, but the fact that he is immensely comforted doesn't show at all. He was right: a pentagon would be redundant here. He is carrying this show just fine on natural talent.
Author: self_composed	Lucinda walks through most of the other scars and hospitalizations, and a handful of other choice incidents, before saying gravely, "And that's just a fraction of what the plaintiff has endured. The other couple thousand occasions he dictated to a friend, who wrote them down for him; the jury has copies of that document to read, but even one of the events he's just described would be staggering to any decent parent." Paul actually doesn't have a way to object to that one. "The defendant may try to convince you that these scars have some other source. I ask you - what source? New injuries have appeared in two different states of residence at a regular pace. Altercations outside of the home? That wouldn't account for the sheer scale, nor much of the timing, even if you're very generous with your estimates. "The defendant may try to convince you that the abuse was deserved. I ask you - how can that be? Even if corporal punishment of any severity were legal in either state - and it is not - the instigations that you've just heard about and will read more about before issuing a verdict are trivial. The defendant may try to convince you that the actions he wished to punish were more severe than described. I remind you that Laney has an eidetic memory and has, under oath, told us what caused each attack, but even so - I ask you - what can a twelve year old boy do, to which administering a cigarette burn is a measured and understandable response, but which also leaves the plaintiff with no criminal record whatsoever? What can a nine-year-old boy do, which leaves his parents feeling safe in their beds at night, but yet somehow deserves a bone-breaking, forty-five-minute beating? "No further questions," Lucinda says, and she nods to Paul.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Alice gets increasingly, visibly upset with each story—he even manages not to laugh at the one about the opera, which he finds hilarious in retrospect. But his voice remains steady enough to be heard, and he doesn't cry, although once or twice he looks like he might be about to. When Lucinda concludes her questioning, he sits and waits quietly to see what Paul has to say.
Author: self_composed	Bella burns a square to actually convey the sensation of petting him. [You're doing fine.] Paul does not look good. He has flecks of lint in his hair, what looks like it might be hastily-wiped-away bird crap on one of his shoulders, bags under his eyes, and a broken shoelace. He fumbles his notes as he takes a last quick look through them, and weaves not-quite-drunkenly when he approaches the witness stand. He obviously doesn't have the brainpower left for detailed eloquence. "So," he says to Alice. "If all that happened, why didn't you tell anyone until now? Hm?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	...He'll run this one by Bella first: He did, actually, a long time ago. There was a child psychologist, when he was eleven, to whom his parents sent him to (in his father's words) figure out what the hell was wrong with their devil child. After several months of sessions, he gained the courage to mention what was happening at home. The shrink turned around and reported this to Dad, who was less than pleased. Although the only direct punishment for that incident was being confined to his room for a month, his father was touchy for a long time afterward.
Author: self_composed	[I'mma curse that bastard too unless you have some objection,] Bella says. [I'd put it like this: "I did tell someone. When I was eleven, I went to a psychologist, and after a while I tried explaining to her what was going on, but it turned out she didn't care that much about patient confidentiality, and instead of helping me she just told my parents that I'd told her, and I got punished. I didn't try that again until now." All said subdued and not making eye contact and pausing between clauses.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	Alice does not particularly care what Bella does to the shrink. "I did," he says, mere seconds in total after Paul asked the question, and explains the circumstances according to Bella's template.
Author: self_composed	Bella puts a curse on the shrink. But she holds it down to a week because she's not going to have any chance to monitor how severe it is. "Oh," Paul says. "Uh, but why now?" He really hasn't slept much recently.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Yeah, okay. Does Bella have advice on how to present the narrative of... her?
Author: self_composed	["I made a friend,"] Bella says, [and you can point at me - "who only just moved here, and I found out her dad is the chief of police. I didn't want to risk it at first but she talked me around. Her dad's a decent guy."]
Author: edgeofyourseat	That one he repeats nearly verbatim. He doesn't sound like he's reading from a script, though; he sounds flawlessly authentic.
Author: self_composed	Paul just stands there for a few seconds. "Mr. Washington," says the judge. "Oh. Uh. No further questions." Paul sits down.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Alice's eyebrows lift slightly, a can-you-believe-this-dude? expression briefly overlaid on his general air of resigned misery.
Author: self_composed	[Very nice,] Bella approves. Alice is dismissed. Lucinda calls up Theo. Swearing in and the like happens. Lucinda stalks up to Theo like she's a tiger. "So," she says. "I understand you have been in the employ of the Hammonds for some time, is that right?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"...yes," says Theo, after turning the question over in his mind for a moment to see where the scary parts are.
Author: self_composed	"And do you remember driving Laney to the hospital in November of last year?" Lucinda continues.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Yes," just because no one would believe him if he said no.
Author: self_composed	"And where did you drive him from?" Lucinda asks. "I remind you that you are under oath."
Author: edgeofyourseat	Theo looks pained. "From the house."
Author: self_composed	"Have you ever heard or seen evidence that your employer was mistreating his son?" Lucinda continues, pacing a little.
Author: edgeofyourseat	You can almost see the gears turning in his head as he desperately tries to come up with the most lenient interpretation. "Nothing I was sure of," he says, eyes darting from side to side like a hunted creature.
Author: self_composed	"But you suspected?" presses Lucinda.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"I... didn't... really think he was doing anything like that," he says haltingly.
Author: self_composed	"You didn't think he was doing anything like that," Lucinda repeats, spacing out each word. "Why did you think Laney needed transportation to the hospital in November?" she asks, all innocent curiosity.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"I thought it was none of my business," Theo mumbles.
Author: self_composed	"I have a police report," Lucinda says, pulling it out of her files and waving it around slightly. "It says Officer Kerensky found the incident suspicious and asked several people - including you - where Laney had gotten hurt. And that you said..." She peers at the report, like she's never read this part before. "'Dunno'."
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Well, I didn't," says Theo, gaining mroe confidence as he repeats the old, well-worn justification. "I only knew where I was told to pick him up. He could've hurt himself anywhere."
Author: self_composed	"So," Lucinda says, "your explanation for events is that Laney broke his own ribs... somewhere... and was transported home, by someone other than you, even though you are the family's driver and were working that day... and even though an ambulance would have taken him directly to the hospital... and that none of these things struck you as potentially worth informing the police, so even when Officer Kerenksy sought you out specifically you only told him... 'dunno'. Is that right?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	He opens his mouth. He closes his mouth. "...yes?"
Author: self_composed	"That's very interesting," Lucinda says, narrowing her eyes. "I have an architectural plan here. It shows that the Hammond family's current residence was remodeled extensively before they moved in, and that among the renovations made was extensive soundproofing. In every room. This advertisement for the sale of their former residence in New York advertises similar amenities. Did you ever hear any very... very... quiet sounds - that could have been associated with violence occurring in the house, given that information?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"I have never made a habit of eavesdropping on my employers," he snaps.
Author: self_composed	"I didn't ask if you listened," Lucinda says softly. "I asked if you heard."
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Well, I didn't."
Author: self_composed	"You are still under oath," Lucinda points out. But if that doesn't shake anything loose, she moves on. "Assuming you were being entirely candid, would you describe Mr. Hammond, Sr., as having a temper?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Yes," he says, reluctantly.
Author: self_composed	"Have you ever heard him say, or imply, or suggest by way of demeanor, that he intended to strike his son or had done so in the past?" This is intentionally overbroad.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"...I don't remember?" he tries.
Author: self_composed	"Really," Lucinda says. "So you don't think that would have seemed remarkable to you, if your employer had announced that he was going to commit a violent crime? It could have slipped your mind?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"You didn't say announce, you said suggest by demeanour," he says. "How do I know what a man who's going to hit his son looks like? I've never seen anyone do it!"
Author: self_composed	"I also said say and imply," Lucinda says implacably. "I'm not expecting you to be a psychologist. So," she continues, "are you saying that you do not believe that your employer ever struck his son? That seems vanishingly unlikely to you, because most people don't hit their sons and you have never seen evidence otherwise, as you've explained?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"...yes?"
Author: self_composed	"You don't sound sure," Lucinda says. "Are you sure? It's all right - as long as you're sincerely sure, it's not perjury to say so."
Author: edgeofyourseat	Ohhhhh boy. "I'm... not sure... anymore," says Theo.
Author: self_composed	"No?" Lucinda asks, like she's surprised. "And why is that?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	He glances quickly over at Alice, who returns him an utterly flat look. "...I've never really... thought about it like this... before."
Author: self_composed	"Can you elaborate, please?" Lucinda says.
Author: edgeofyourseat	This would be so much easier if Theo did not consider himself a person of integrity. But he does. "...I tried not to think about it at all."
Author: self_composed	"Think about what?" Lucinda asks.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Things that are none of my business." He is aware as he says it how terrible it sounds.
Author: self_composed	"Well, now that you're thinking about it, please tell us about any evidence you may have seen regarding the allegations at hand," Lucinda says. [Is he always this cagey?] Bella asks Alice.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[He hates telling anybody anything about anybody else. I'm half sure he used to work for a family a lot shadier than mine.] "I didn't... notice anything," says Theo, with great difficulty. "Nothing specific. Nothing that stood out."
Author: self_composed	"Then why are you so unsure about whether your employer could have been abusing his son? Please, explain," Lucinda says. [She is being way more patient than I would,] Bella remarks.
Author: edgeofyourseat	This is the point at which Theo decides to cut the bullshit just to bring this torture to an end. "I never noticed anything that made me think, at the time, that my employer could have been abusing his son," he says. "But the general impression I've formed of his personality over the years makes it not that surprising to hear that he could've been." Alice is careful to only laugh on the inside.
Author: self_composed	"Thank you," says Lucinda, rewarding this sudden openness. "No further questions." Paul declines to question this one. Or maybe he's just hoping to doze a little longer.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Mr. Hammond is scowling thunderously; Theo flees back to his seat as soon as he is dismissed.
Author: self_composed	Lucinda calls up Mrs. Hammond. Swearing in yada yada. "Mrs. Hammond - I believe you are still technically Mrs. Hammond? Would you prefer Judith?" Lucinda says solicitously.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Yes I would," she says firmly.
Author: self_composed	"All right, Judith. Please describe for us the development of Mr. Hammond's... disciplinary measures, insofar as you were aware of them."
Author: edgeofyourseat	"It all started out very ordinary," she says. "Sending the boy to his room, that sort of thing. I didn't pay much attention; I didn't think there was any reason to worry. So while I don't think he was hiding it from me, exactly, I only knew well after the fact that he had started hitting him... I'm sorry, is there such a thing as a box of tissues in this courthouse?"
Author: self_composed	Lucinda gets a little packet of them out of her purse and hands them over.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Thank you," she says, and removes one, and holds it in her hand in case of tears. "Delaney has this way of being certain of things that makes him very hard to disagree with. He was certain that his way of handling his son's discipline was the best possible way, and nothing strange or unusual at all, and that is wasn't my place to have any kind of opinion on the subject. So I didn't. I convinced myself that it wasn't very bad and it wouldn't get any worse, and then of course it did, but slowly..." She dabs carefully at her eyes.
Author: self_composed	Lucinda nods. "The aforementioned documentations lists you as being present for the entirety or for part of forty-seven incidents. Would you like to review them and make a decision about whether you'd like to corroborate that part of the documentation, or do you already know?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"If Junior said I was there, then I was, and if Junior said it happened, then it did," she says.
Author: self_composed	"Thank you, Judith. No further questions." Paul lurches to his feet. "So if all this was happening," he says, "why didn't you go to the cops or something?" He might fall over at any moment, really. [I'm almost sorry for him.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	"My husband had already demonstrated that he was violent and controlling," she says. "I was afraid to do anything that contradicted his wishes." [I'm not,] says Alice. His mental voice is quite cheerful.
Author: self_composed	"Oh," says Paul. He closes his eyes for a moment. "And... no further questions." [He's probably going to get fired or something unless he's got one hell of a track record,] Bella says as Paul sits down.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Watch me care,] says Alice, not caring.
Author: self_composed	Lucinda calls up Bella, and Bella limps to the front of the room. Swearing in, blah, blah. "Please tell us about how you came to help Laney with the documentation," Lucinda invites. Bella says, "I suspected from only a day or two after I first met Laney [sorry, Alice] that at least one of his parents was hitting him - mostly just a hunch, I have pretty good instincts, and there wasn't any other obvious reason for him to have been in the hospital in November. I didn't know for sure if it was one or the other or both until I went over to his house and I met them, and watched how Laney was around them. After that he pretty much admitted it - he was covering for his dad, before. And after Laney met my dad, he was willing to trust that nothing awful would happen if he told - if he stopped covering for the abuse. So he rattled off everything that had ever happened - I didn't even know he had an eidetic memory before that. And I took it down for him while he dictated so he wouldn't have to. And so it'd be organized."
Author: edgeofyourseat	['Sokay,] he says fondly.
Author: self_composed	"Besides Laney's say-so, what led you to believe that his father was an abuser?" "Well," Bella says. "His entire demeanor is one of someone who might snap at any minute. He was constantly, relentlessly fault-finding, about everything from the fact that Laney had me over - with his mom's permission - to neglecting to put down the piano key cover."
Author: edgeofyourseat	Not gonna bring up the fornication, is she? Probably a good plan.
Author: self_composed	[Right. I don't see how that could possibly help.] Lucinda's done here. Paul wobbles up. "Why didn't you tell a father - your cop - your father who is a cop - as soon as you were sure?" he asks, waving a finger accusingly. "I didn't want to put Laney in danger," Bella says. "If Laney didn't want to risk testifying or something like that, and had to go home to his father, he could have ended up worse off than before. I did repeatedly try to convince him to cooperate with telling my dad, though."
Author: edgeofyourseat	[If I didn't know better I'd think he was drunk,] Alice marvels. [He's not drunk, is he?]
Author: self_composed	[I don't think so. I think he's just terribly sleep deprived. I may have been dwelling too much on that particular avenue of bad luck when I issued the curse,] Bella muses. "No questions," Paul says. "Further."
Author: edgeofyourseat	[I love you,] says Alice.
Author: self_composed	Bella doesn't smile, until she gets off the stand and makes it look like an encouraging face. Other minor witnesses, including a medical expert to explain Alice's medical records and Hilary who didn't see anything but can testify that Mr. Hammond is a jerk and so on, are marched by. Paul gets to call up Mr. Hammond, and does it. "Describe in words of your own how you disciplined your kid. And why," Paul instructs.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Appropriately," says Mr. Hammond, flatly. "Junior has been a nuisance since he was born and a menace since he was ten."
Author: self_composed	"A menace," says Paul. "How so?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"He breaks things. He gets in fights. He steals. He lies."
Author: self_composed	"And he didn't stop any of that when he was sent to her room, or whatever," Paul says. He's making sense at the moment, if not in any polished way.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Of course not."
Author: self_composed	"Did the things in the notebooks full of documents - documentation - happen the way they're written?" Paul asks next.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Well, I haven't read it," says Mr. Hammond, "but they came out of Junior's mouth, didn't they? So no."
Author: self_composed	Paul nods, more times than makes sense, and then turns him over to Lucinda. Lucinda's got her notes with her. "So," she says, "you're saying you deny the contents of the documentation - such as the incident of this past November, which put Laney in the hospital. What is your explanation for how his ribs were broken, Mr. Hammond?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"I don't want to know," he says contemptuously. "Wouldn't put it past him to have done it to himself."
Author: self_composed	"It is the opinion of the medical expert we've just heard from that some other party would have had to inflict the injuries, Mr. Hammond. Are you yourself an expert in medicine?" Lucinda asks sweetly.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"No."
Author: self_composed	"So, with that ruled out, can you think of any means other than an assault by you that could have produced that particular injury?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Have you met the boy?" he asks incredulously. "He hasn't gone a month without brawling in God knows how long."
Author: self_composed	"If that were the case, why would he name you as the perpetrator?" Lucinda asks with an expression of polite interest.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Because he's a liar and a troublemaker. If he's ever had another reason for doing something, I don't know about it."
Author: self_composed	"So in his entire life, those are the only motivations he's ever had for doing anything," Lucinda says, raising an eyebrow, "as far as his own father is aware? Don't you think you might be exaggerating?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Not by much. Those are definitely the only ones I can bring to mind."
Author: self_composed	"He doesn't, for example, eat because he is hungry, or sleep because he is tired, or testify honestly because he's under oath?" Lucinda suggests.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"The first two, sure," he acknowledges. "I don't know about the last. If he takes that oath as seriously as he takes every other rule he's met, not a chance."
Author: self_composed	"One more question," Lucinda says, looking deeply skeptical. "Do you claim to never have hit your son at all?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Not so that the law has any reason to take an interest."
Author: self_composed	"I think I've mentioned several times that corporal punishment of any kind is illegal in the states of New York and in Washington," Lucinda says. "So: Have you ever hit your son, Mr. Hammond?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Not so that the law should take an interest," he repeats testily.
Author: self_composed	"Please just answer the question, Mr. Hammond," says Judge Roberts.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"I answered the question as the question deserved to be answered."
Author: self_composed	"Mr. Hammond, the law has already taken an interest, or you would not be sitting here," Judge Roberts says. "Have you or have you not hit your son?"
Author: edgeofyourseat	"I dare say that boy's never met someone who didn't want to hit him," Mr. Hammond growls.
Author: self_composed	"Well, we could call up his mother, and his friend Bella, and so on, but I've met him and I don't want to hit him," Lucinda says. "But please just answer the question, Mr. Hammond, or we'll be here all day."
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Think it'd be worth making a smart remark just to see if he loses his shit and goes for me in front of the whole courtroom?] wonders Alice. Meanwhile, Mr. Hammond is looking increasingly likely to do something along those lines. "This whole trial's been a waste of my time; I might as well waste some of yours," he says, at perhaps an unnecessary volume. "But if you must know, yes, I have hit my lying, thieving, whoring, insolent weasel of a son. I took no joy in it. Any decent father would do the same."
Author: self_composed	[Hold it down to like two words, barely loud enough for him to hear, if you wanna do that,] Bella advises. [You don't want to be found in contempt of court.] "Whoring?" blinks Lucinda, caught off guard.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Oh yes!" spits Mr. Hammond. "He was selling himself on the streets of New York!" Alice decides he doesn't even need to say anything. He just catches his father's eye and slouches in his chair, tipping it back on its rear legs for a moment. Mr. Hammond rockets to his feet and slams his hands down on the surface in front of him.
Author: self_composed	"Mr. Hammond! Calm down at once!" exclaims Judge Roberts. Paul, surprisingly on the ball, says, "My client regrets any potentially slanderous allegations made in the heat of the moment..."
Author: edgeofyourseat	With his father still glaring venomously at him, Alice tosses a quick glance at someone who isn't looking and touches his tongue to his lips for a moment, tilting his head down and lifting his eyebrows slightly. It's hardly an overt or remarkable gesture, but it has the desired effect, which is to send his father into a frothing, spitting, incoherent rage and prevent him from coming to his senses and sitting down again.
Author: self_composed	A bailiff seizes Mr. Hammond before he can go anywhere. "No further questions," Lucinda says, looking with a vaguely pitying expression at Mr. Hammond. And that's it. Off the jury goes. [Nicely done,] Bella remarks to Alice.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Thank yooou,] he singsongs, looking mildly shaken for the benefit of any backward-glancing jurors.
Author: self_composed	The judge allows that everyone else may enjoy a recess - for fifteen minutes. He obviously doesn't expect it to take very long. [I think we're pretty safe,] Bella opines. [He did not play that well, even accounting for his poor lawyer.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Yup.] Nevertheless: does a recess mean Bella can hug him? Because he would kind of like Bella to hug him.
Author: self_composed	Bella's not sure, so she doesn't risk asking, just gets up and hobbles in his direction and flings her arms around his neck.
Author: edgeofyourseat	"Thanks," he murmurs aloud, leaning into her arms and closing his eyes. He doesn't need to say that he loves her. She's reading him; she knows.
Author: self_composed	Bella winds up hugging him for pretty much the entire recess, then limps back to her seat when it ends. The jury has already reached a verdict, apparently. [What do you want to bet they spent one minute going around the room announcing that yep, dude's guilty, and spent the rest of their deliberation exchanging phone numbers with any fellow jurors they find cute and talking about the weather?]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[No bet,] he says cheerfully. [Alternately: bet you a hex.]
Author: self_composed	[Pft.] "Has the jury reached a verdict?" "We have, your honor. We find the defendant guilty on all counts."
Author: edgeofyourseat	Alice lets out a breath, visibly relieved. There is still, however, the matter of the sentence.
Author: self_composed	The judge terminates all of Mr. Hammond's remaining parental rights, and gives him fifteen years in prison. Also, he awards three million dollars in damages to Alice.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Well, that's nice,] he says to Bella, idly wondering if she would like him to pay her way through college.
Author: self_composed	[That would be very kind of you, and under the circumstances not particularly suspicious,] Bella replies happily.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Awesome. Done deal.]
Author: self_composed	[Well, unless I get full-ride scholarships, but barring that.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Yeah.] So, does everybody clear out now? Because for once Alice has a very solid picture of his desired immediate future: he would like to be in Bella's room, sitting on the floor beside her bed, being petted.
Author: self_composed	"Dad, let's go home. Can we bring Alice?" Bella says. "Don't see why not," Charlie replies. The courtroom is emptying, slowly, and Bella files out with Alice as soon as Lucinda's done shaking his hand. After a drive in the cruiser (Bella's car is still in the shop; they have to order parts) Alice's vision comes to pass.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Yes. Perfect. [I love you,] he says happily. [Holy shit, we did it.]
Author: self_composed	[Congratulations,] Bella says, encountering a tangle in Alice's hair and picking at it absently. [What's next for you, d'you think?]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Might move back into the house,] he theorizes idly. [Some of the time, anyway.] His lair is spotless and beautiful and he intends to keep it that way, and he also loves spending time there; but, on the other hand, now he can hang out with Hilary doing domestic things whenever he wants. Awesome.
Author: self_composed	[So you expect your mom's going to keep Hilary on, then?]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Yeah, they get along pretty well. Dunno about Theo. Nobody really likes Theo.]
Author: self_composed	[I would be pretty surprised if Theo kept his job, at least presuming your mom knows how to drive.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Hell, Hilary can drive. And Mom can learn. Maybe I will, too.]
Author: self_composed	[Hilary had better get a raise,] Bella remarks. [If she's going to take Theo's job.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Well, if it doesn't happen, complain to Mom, not me. Unless you want me to start paying her, since I am now three millionaires.]
Author: self_composed	Bella snickers. [Millionairehood doesn't stack that way. You are one millionaire who could spend two million dollars without ceasing to be one. You're gonna need to set up a bank account and get a - well, maybe not a credit card, unless you want to commit to living somewhere where you'll reliably receive mail for the foreseeable future. A debit card.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	Alice immediately starts internally debating whether he would rather pentagon himself normal adult financial skills or dump the whole mess, three million dollars included, on Bella. It's a close race.
Author: self_composed	Bella decides not to have any input on this decision. She's finished picking the tangle loose and goes back to ordinary petting. Pet pet pet.
Author: edgeofyourseat	It's not like he actually needs three million dollars for anything. On the other hand, it's conceivable that someday he might. On the other other hand, his mom is still going to be mega rich, and maybe now she'll let him touch real money... but then he's back at square one with the needing a bank account. Screw it. He burns a pentagon.
Author: self_composed	Pat pat. [Any interesting magical insights into finance I should know about?]
Author: edgeofyourseat	He is momentarily distracted by petting. Mm, petting. [Not yet,] he says. [But now I know how bank accounts work, so that's handy.]
Author: self_composed	[While you seem unlikely to burn through three million dollars in a hurry in any of the usual ways - since magicking yourself up whatever you want is probably always going to be easier - I can also see you blowing most or all of it on some things, if you wanted to hire a bunch of people or do something else that had to involve actual money. Do you know something about how to lock it up in illiquid growing investments so that's harder to do, or did the pentagon just handle "this is how bank accounts work"?]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Nope, that was entirely comprehensible. But what if I really want to - you know what, I can't even think of anything I could use a million dollars for. Buy a really awesome house? I like my lair better.]
Author: self_composed	[You need money to be on the grid, basically. People can't visit your lair, besides me, without special invitation - you cannot receive mail there, it cannot appear as your address on paperwork. You need money to buy services, even if you can magic your way around the need for most of them. You need money to occupy any space that exists for other people - you could make a pocket dimension apartment-lair in the middle of New York City by hexing a thirteenth floor into existence in a building that doesn't have one or wherever, but for it to be safe secrecy-wise to have anyone over but me, you'd need to actually pay for an apartment. I don't know if that's ever going to be particularly important to you, but it could.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Guess so,] he muses. [Ooh, pocket dimensions. Hey, I wonder if I could make a lair that's, like, New York out one door and Forks out another? Anything in your book about stuff like that?]
Author: self_composed	[No, but that strikes me as probably within hex range, per door,] Bella remarks.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Cool,] he says cheerfully. [Maybe I'll do that.]
Author: self_composed	[New York was just an example. Although I could wind up going to Columbia,] Bella muses.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[You go wherever you wanna. I'll stick a door to my lair somewhere nearby.]
Author: self_composed	[Maybe it will normally open to, like, a broom closet, unless you think a certain password,] Bella suggests.
Author: edgeofyourseat	[Or it just won't exist for anybody but us.]
Author: self_composed	[I suppose. You'll still be off the grid. After a certain age landlords expect you to have renting history. I'm going to live on campus for at least the first couple of years in college - for the social life; I don't think I can network as effectively from farther away, I might even have to join a sorority. But after that you could be my roommate-on-paper, I guess.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[That'd be fun. I mean, I doubt I'll ever care, but it'd be fun.]
Author: self_composed	[So you'll never take it into your head to have a flat of live chicks delivered to your door just so you can make weird remarks that make the delivery person wonder what in God's name you're liable to do with them?] Bella inquires.
Author: edgeofyourseat	...He cracks up.
Author: self_composed	[Well, it seems like the kind of thing that might amuse you, and requires an address.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[It totally would! Maybe I'll have some delivered to you.]
Author: self_composed	[No sending weird purchases to my dorm,] Bella says. [I have no use for a few dozen baby chickens.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[What if I do it while you're not there and then I take them away and clean up after them?]
Author: self_composed	[Then my roommate or my sorority sisters or the RA or whoever will wonder why you are skulking about my room with infant birds, Alice, and then I have to explain you.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	He cracks up again. [This is looking more hilarious the more I think about it.]
Author: self_composed	[I'd really rather you didn't make me explain you too much. You're kind of inexplicable. If you're just around sometimes I can say "he's my friend from high school who visits a lot, he visited me when I was recuperating from being hit by a car, y'know" but if you're trying to use my room as a base of operations for on-grid pranks that's a slightly different matter.]
Author: edgeofyourseat	[I am very inexplicable,] he says happily. [But okay.] No baby bird deliveries to Bella's doorstep.
Author: self_composed	[Very inexplicable indeed,] Bella says fondly. Pet pet pet.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Awwwwww. Alice leans against the edge of her bed and indulges in some snuggly happy feelings.
Author: self_composed	It's been enough of a long day that Bella goes ahead and dives into that tempting feedback loop. Tomorrow there will be more things to do.
Author: edgeofyourseat	Yes. For today, there are feeeeeeeeeeeelings.