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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to anyone reading this story. I love writing it and it really can be a challenge.
I'm going to update this one and hopefully 'All Manner of Monsters' tonight.
Next, I'm trying for the epilogue to 'Dance of the Mates.'
All my love,
Spufette
JUSTICE FOR ALL


Episode 5: ‘Ode To Loretta Lynn’


A/N: I’m giving this episode a title, just because I love to drop hints and anvils!

Buffy presides over the Rosenberg vs. Harris case in this one. However, our Honorable Judge Summers is in a bit of a quandary herself at the present time. Please read and review.


“All rise, the Honorable Elizabeth Summers presiding,” Charles Gunn’s deep voice boomed out to the courtroom and cameras. “Please be seated,” the bailiff added quickly, “the plaintiff and defendant have been sworn in, Your Honor,” Gunn finished with an even voice.

“Thank you Charles,” Buffy quipped abruptly. Buffy did not feel good, in fact, she felt like shit and no amount of make-up, good camera angles or payola was going to alter her crappy mood today.

“What’s on the docket, Gunn,” Buffy nearly groaned aloud. She glanced over at her bailiff, Charles, who looked as if someone had told him there was no Santa Claus.

‘Now what’s his problem?’ Buffy asked herself with a grimace. ‘I’m the one that feels like crap and most likely looks like it too.’

“Uhm,” Gunn stammered with unusual meekness, an unsure look in his eyes. “It’s case #933, Judge,” he continued weakly, his dark eyes never meeting Buffy's. “In the case of Rosenberg vs. Harris, You’re Honor.”

Buffy looked over at the defendant, one Alexander Harris, and then eyed the plaintiff, Willow Rosenberg. Rosenberg, the plaintiff, certainly didn’t look very intimidating at the moment, but then again, neither did the defendant, Harris. The judge scanned over the case papers and tried not to groan, audibly again.

‘Oh, hey,’ Buffy muttered under her breath, ‘another case of the guy knocks up the girl and doesn’t do the right thing? Now, there’s a shocker, huh?’

Buffy was already disgusted with the whole situation, but she was being paid to hear this out and make a ruling so…

“Miss Rosenberg?” Buffy nodded to the red-headed plaintiff. “Let’s hear it,” she ordered the young woman.

‘Bored already,’ Buffy groaned inwardly.

“Mr. Harris and I were living together, for over three years, Your Honor,” Miss Rosenberg began with confidence. “We had a child together and of course, I thought this meant commitment and a future and…”

“Keep it brief, Ms. Rosenberg,” Buffy interjected impatiently. “This isn’t the Land of Oz and I don’t care to be led down the Yellow Brick Road. Exactly what do you feel Mr. Harris owes you, besides the court ordered child support? Which, I see is a very appropriate amount of money in this matter. Nice change, for once.” Buffy finished her vocal observation on a sarcastic note.

Willow Rosenberg flinched a bit and then glared over at Mr. Harris, angrily. This is when Buffy first really noticed the large, dark-haired young man that stood at the defendant’s podium. Even more noticeable, was the attractive young woman who sat on ‘his’ side of the courtroom.

“Who’s that?” Buffy asked suddenly, as she eyed the amicable looking young brunette woman with a wary eye.

‘Let me guess,’ Buffy began to answer her own question. ‘So, this is a new girlfriend Harris?’

“This is my fiancé,” Alexander Harris mumbled nervously with a nod at the woman. “Anya Jenkins is her name,” he added quickly with downcast eyes.

“I see,” Buffy sighed heavily. “Are you here to lend moral support to your fiancée, Ms. Jenkins?” Buffy asked the young woman impatiently.

“Yes, Maam,” Anya Jenkins replied with confidence. “My Xander needs all of the help he can get. He’s not very strong in the vocal sense, although he gives me great orgasms and…”

“Ms. Jenkins!” Buffy gasped loudly, almost shocked. “I’ll ask you not to bring your personal relationship, at least not in the physical manner, into this courtroom!” However, the defendant’s new fiancé ‘did’ bring a slight smile to Buffy’s face. She hid it quickly and motioned for Anya Jenkins to take her seat again.

“Yes Maam,” Anya mumbled in response and promptly sat back down on her chair provided.

“Spill,” Buffy ordered Willow, again, “and keep this brief, Ms. Rosenberg,” she reminded the red-head.

“I thought Xander might marry me, Your Honor,” Willow began with a sad sigh. “He chased after me for years, as teenagers, finally convinced me to move in with him. I did, sorry to say,” Willow pouted then shot Harris and Jenkins a sour look.

“Although Xander keeps a steady job,” the young woman continued quietly, “he always was asking to borrow money from me. I loved him, what was I going to do but give him the cash?”

‘Of course,’ Buffy snorted silently. ‘What else could you does but gives him the cash? They never learn.’

Willow’s gray eyes were wide and very innocent Buffy noted. They were the epitome of sympathy inducing and Buffy had to fight her inner mothering instinct. As far as this case went, anyway.

“I lent my Xander…” Willow began.

“My Xander!” Anya Jenkins hissed at the plaintiff with venom.

“He was mine first!” Willow countered angrily. Charles Gunn slipped in between the two podiums and gave all of them his ‘behave’ look.

“Oh for Heaven’s sake!” Buffy hissed at the two women in front of her. “Get hold of yourselves and your pride, will you?” Buffy shook her head in disgust at this female jealous show of possessiveness over Alexander Harris.

‘And for whom? A hulking jack ass of a man, like Mr. Harris here? Who can’t seem to commit to anyone or anything?’ Buffy was mortified at these two young women. She thought, briefly, about her life with William and their family.

‘Will’s always been there for me,’ Buffy thought warmly of her husband. ‘He’s always been the real ‘soul’ of our relationship,’ she reminded herself. This made Buffy even more disappointed in this Xander Harris and these two cupcakes of his.

“What do you think Mr. Harris owes you, Ms. Rosenberg? I mean besides child support, which is out of my jurisdiction and seems to have been well taken care of. What is it that Mr. Harris owes you and your son, Alder is it?” Buffy asked the question again as she tried to reign in her own growing impatience with this whole ridiculous affair.

‘Alder?’ Buffy wondered to herself, ‘interesting name for a child. ‘Why not Oaken or Elm(er) for that matter?’

“I mean, besides child support and his time and love for your shared son,” Buffy finished by shooting Harris a patronizing glance.

Mr. Alexander Harris, to his credit, appeared to be somewhat ashamed of him. For the moment, anyway.

“I co-signed for a new truck for Mr. Harris,” Willow stated evenly. “For him to use in his construction business, I mean. I have the papers and everything. We had a verbal and written contract and I want the down payment I helped with and I want him to take my name off of the loan agreement!” Rosenberg finished with a harsh ‘hmph’ and another glare at both Xander and Anya.

“Witch!” Xander hissed at his ex, nastily. If looks could kill, Willow Rosenberg would lay dead on Buffy’s courtroom floor, right at that moment.

“I won’t abide name calling, Mr. Harris! Not in my courtroom!” Buffy warned the defendant with a menacing grimace.

“She really is a witch,” Anya Jenkins piped in, matter-of-factly. “I believe she put a mojo hex on my Xander and made him lose his last two construction contracts. She’s a petty, evil and malicious bitch that…”

“Goodbye Ms. Jenkins,” Buffy waved smugly at the young woman. “Charles? Show Ms. Jenkins the door pleases,” she instructed her trusty bailiff.

Gunn motioned for Anya Jenkins to follow him out of the courtroom, which the woman did. Reluctantly that is and with a sour glare at both Buffy and Willow.

By this time, Xander Harris looked as if he’d lost his last friend, which indeed, he may have. He shuffled his paperwork on the podium, and his feet, heavily.

“Mr. Harris,” Buffy began in exasperation, “I’ve looked over Ms. Rosenberg’s paperwork and I must say that she seems to have an airtight case here. Why don’t you just pay her back the $1,950.00 down payment for your used truck and move on with your life? Sign off her name, on the papers and try to make some life for you with Ms. Jenkins?”

Buffy raised her fair brow at the young man, and then turned her attention to the plaintiff. “As for you, Ms. Rosenberg,” she continued, “I’m going to rule in your favor. However,” Buffy paused, dramatically, “I’m also going to give you a little advice that I hope you take. Put a great big period on this relationship with Mr. Harris.”

“I have,” Willow interjected, determined to the end.

“Have you?” Buffy questioned her. “That’s great if you have and I’m sure the wonderful Family Courts of California can work out child support and visitation rights for your child, however,” Buffy pursed her lips in thought. “I feel that you need to ‘hitch’ your wagon to another star, so to speak. Mr. Harris might be a heck of a construction worker? But he’s lacking in the basic ‘human’ skills to keep the kind of family relationship together, or so it seems to me, that you and your son might need. Kapish?”

“Yes Maam,” Willow mumbled with another bright red blush.

‘It clashes with her hair color,’ Buffy noted.

“I’m ruling in the favor of the plaintiff,” Buffy stated evenly. “A total of $1,950.00 for the down payment of the truck. Also, I’m decreeing that Ms. Willow Rosenberg’s name be taken off of the lien agreement with Mr. Harris.”

Buffy slammed the gavel down on her judge’s desk and stood up. She hurried out of the courtroom and into the interim office.

Before she could even make it to her personal restroom, Buffy scurried to find an empty waste basket. Without missing a beat, she threw up the entire contents of her still small tummy into the poor, lonely trash can.

For some sublime reason, all’s that Buffy could think about was the lyrics of Loretta Lynn’s ‘Pregnant Again.’

“Now, how does that go?” Buffy asked she as she picked up her office phone and dialed Will’s cell phone.

‘Down in Topeka, the world’s goin’ nowhere?
The corn’s growin’ higher and I should be somewhere?
The three youngest are fightin’ each other and
I’m getting nauseous
The mortgage payment’s late and my husband
Is between jobs and oh yeah…
I’m pregnant again’

“No, that’s not exactly the right words,” Buffy frowned impatiently when Will had not picked up the cell by the third ring. “All the lyrics are mucked up,” she reasoned. “And, where the hell is William!!!”

“What’s up, Princess,” came Buffy’s husband’s deep, wonderful voice, finally.

“What took?” Buffy snapped, her terse tone was truly unintentional.

“Actually, I was taking a piss, pet,” Spike chuckled into the phone. “I know how you hate that, when you catch me in the loo and…”

“Never mind!” Buffy hissed, but giggled anyway, despite herself.

“I’m finished, early, at the courtroom studio, Will,” Buffy began carefully. “I’d like to come to your office, like now, so we can have lunch together and ‘talk’ about something. It’s important Will.” Buffy felt like a complete moron, but she felt it best to inform her husband that she might be carrying another Giles in her presently flat tummy.

“Course baby,” Spike couldn’t hide the delight in the impromptu meeting with his beloved wife. He loved it when Buffy snuck away from the show to be with him, during the day. It always came as a rather wonderful surprise and highlighted his whole day.

“Kay, I’ll be there, in about twenty minutes. I’d like to go to The Lobster Pot, okay? For some reason I’m just craving Shrimp Louie, topped with a ton of thousand island dressing.” There, Buffy hoped that silly ‘craving’ remark might just ease the way for what she might have to tell her guy, later.


A/N: I’ve neglected any updates here for so long that I chose to end this episode of Justice for All on this cliffhanger of a note! I really need to update ‘All Manner of Monsters’ and write the epilogue of ‘Dance of the Mates.’

In the next episode, I intend on eavesdropping on Buffy and Spike’s intimate convo at The Lobster Pot. We will get all of the insight and inner feelings of the couple as to the possibility of a new Giles’ member!

Thanks for reading, please review. Luv, as always, Spuf





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