FicWad

AN Not sure where to go for a bit. Gonna wrap up some loose ends. Suggestions are welcome. They've lead to some really good ideas. And to my sweet, love you always.

The end of the day was nearing an end. Willow's lawyer had put on a good defense. There was still so much evidence against her. The blood stains that matched Mr. MaClay's DNA was the biggest strike against her. Faith had thought she had gotten rid of it all but there was one piece of clothing that she had missed. Though the murder weapon was in question as to who owned it or how she could have come across it, there were still too many nails in the coffin for her liking.
Under questioning from her own lawyer she was fuzzy on the details of the night. That hurt her case more then anything. When the prosecutor had gotten done with her, it was as if she had made up the entire story. There was doom in the pit of her stomach as her lawyer rested his case. What little he had to work with he had done well. Now it was in the hands of twelve of her peers. That scared her as well.
That was when there was a commotion in the hallway. It appeared that several were trying to get into the courtroom. The only problem was that the rules prohibited anyone from entering the courtroom after session had begun unless they were connected to the trial somehow. Those that were trying to get in were surely out of luck, especially with the strict judge that Willow had unfortunately drawn.
The commotion died down a bit when the one of the bailiffs made his way toward the bench. He handed the judge a note and waited for instructions while he read it. The judges eyes grew a bit wide when he read whatever was on the piece of paper. He whispered something to the court officer who in hurried back to the doors.
Willow was surprised and relieved to see that Buffy, Anya, Spike, and Xander were the ones to walk in. A security guard she, who's name she thought was Gunn, was with her friends. All she wanted to do was rush over to them and find out what had happened. But she felt that it would look bad. Not that things could get much worse for her.
"I understand that you people have some very interesting things to tell us regarding this case." The judge eyed each one of them. None of them looked like they were in the best of shape. The two young ladies seemed to be the worse for wear. "I have to say that this better. And I don't want any of you two lie. I know the connection that some of you have to the defendant. Therefore I'm going to have each of you sworn in."
Without waiting to be told, the head bailiff made her way to the group of young people. She made them each raise their right hand and to promise to tell the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth. All five of them recited her pledge. It was now up to them each to tell things like they had happened.
"Now then, this is highly unusual and before the prosecutor objects like I believe she will I want to say something." Everyone looked at the judge intently. "Some would say over the years that I've been a bit hard on defendants. Part of that is that I know a majority of the people that stand before me are guilty. Part of that is because I want to set an example for anyone that wants to think that they can skate around the law. That said, I also am a person that is sworn to uphold the law. And part of that is to seek out the truth so that no person is unjustly convicted and punished for a crime that they did not do. So, I've decided to let these young people speak. Usually I'd hear them privately in chambers but something tells me that I have no need to. Now, who wants to go first?"
The five looked at each other not sure who was going to. Buffy stepped forward when Gunn put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, definitely wondering what he was up to. "I've got this one. You save what you have to say for the police. It'll convict your father ten times over. What I have to say will ease conscience and set your friend free." The petit blond started to say something but Gunn shook his head and started talking over her. "Your honor, I'd like to make a confession."
The judge looked down at the young man. "I thought that you all had something to tell me about how you know that Willow Rosenberg is innocent of all crimes. And to do with something about crime here in Sunnydale and how it is connected to LA. Or did I read your note wrong?"
"You didn't." Gunn stepped two steps toward the bench. "That was written by these four. They are good friends who would do anything to help one another out. But what I have to say would not only clear Miss Rosenberg, it would put me in harms way."
"Is that so?" Gunn shook his head yes. "In that case I have to remind you that you don't have to incriminate yourself. And you have the right to seek legal advice. I'm sure Miss Rosenberg's lawyer wouldn't mind acting in that capacity. I would highly recommend that you take my advice."
"I appreciate that your honor." Gunn swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He held it for several minutes. "You see, no lawyer can help me out. I was the one that killed Henry MaClay." There was an outburst from the courtroom. It took several bangings from his gavel for the judge to recover some semblance of order. "I didn't do it out of self defense. I didn't do it because he had harmed anyone, though now I know he was not a good man. Still, I took a life. I was paid to do so by Ethan Rayne."
The court burst out in one big roar. Bang as he might, the judge just could not seem to get order restored. Ethan took off for the doors but before he could get anywhere, two bailiffs had him firmly in their grip. It was a good ten minutes before any kind of order could be restored. It had been like a riot was about to break out. Luckily, calmer heads prevailed.
The judge looked at Gunn squarely in the eye. "Is what you say true?" Gunn simply nodded his head. "I do have some questions for you. The first one would be why did it take you so long to come forward when an innocent young lady faced the death penalty?"
Gunn shrugged his shoulders. "A simple matter of greed on my part. Every time my conscience got the better of me, Mr. Rayne would find some way of pacifying my guilt. He gave me money. He got me a new apartment. He got me new wheels. All so that I could be at his beckon call. In fact, I was on my way to get these four young people so that he could use them to destroy Hank Summers, his rival in LA. I felt that it was fate when I drove up on them. Something finally telling me to be a man and do the right thing."
"I see." The judge sighed slightly. "And what about making all the evidence point to Miss Rosenberg? Was that something that Mr. Rayne Specifically told you to do? And if so, how did you manage to get her to forget that night?"
The young man sighed heavily. "It was Mr. Rayne's wishes that his niece be the one that took the fall. He really had nothing against her. He just knew that if he hurt her, he would hurt his brother Rupert Giles. Having spent a great deal of time in the military I learned how to cover my tracks. I also knew of a sleep agent that not only made the person groggy but also to forget about what they had seen and done. It worked perfectly on Miss Rosenberg."
The judge scratched his head. "I never saw this coming. We'll have to corroborate what your telling me before I can officially drop the charges against Willow Rosenberg. But in light of this new evidence, I have no choice but to release her from custody. Keeping in mind that she can't travel too far until I give her the say so. As far as you, young man, I'm afraid you're in a heap of trouble. Even with confessing and providing evidence against the mastermind of the crime, you face a rather lengthy prison term."
"I understand, your honor." Gunn simply bowed his head.
"All right." The judge looked around the courtroom. "This here is what we're going to do assuming that neither of you two object." The look that he shot both lawyers told them they had better not. "Like I said, I'm going to release Willow Rosenberg on the terms that she not leave the city of Sunnydale until I give her personal notification that she may. The police will further question Mr. Gunn here and will look into Mr. Rayne's activities over the past few months. I will be lenient during sentencing if facts turn out the way that Mr. Gunn says they are. However, I am bound by the law. And before I forget, let that Miss Windom-Pryce out of jail. So, until I hear back from the police after a thorough and lengthy investigation, court is hereby ajorned."
Willow instantly found Tara and had her in her arms. Giles, Dawn, and the others quickly gathered around her. She didn't want to tear herself away from her girl, but seeing Buffy and Anya alive was amazing. And she knew how worried that Tara had been about her sister. The two embraced as well.
"Hey Will." Buffy came up and hugged her friend. "Looks like the truth is finally out. You never did hurt anyone. None of us here ever believed that. Just glad that the world will finally be able to know that."
"Yeah." Willow hugged her back. "And what about you? What happened to you guys? I'm guessing that it had something to do with your father from what the judge said. Are you all right? I hate to say it, but you don't look so hot."
Buffy laughed. "Well, I've been through a lot." She looked at Anya who returned her smile. "We've both been through a lot. All because of our fathers. Kinda sad but it's the truth. Nothing but a little rest and relaxation and of course some TLC won't cure."
"Buffy!" Joyce finally managed to make her way through the crowd. "I was so worried about you. I hate to admit it but I was just about to give up hope that you were still alive. I didn't want to but it just had been so long."
"It's all right." Buffy held her mom tightly in her arms. "If it hadn't been for Anya I probably would have totally given up. Then Spike helped when I was weak again. I owe both of them my life. They are stronger then I was. But I hope to use their strength to get stronger myself. We have got to put Dad behind bars where he belongs."
"We will." Joyce kissed her daughter's forehead. "I should have a long time ago told the police my suspicions about him. I just never had any real proof. He's just too careful. Looks like he slipped up in a big way this time. Teach him to mess with my daughter."
"Can we get out of here?" Buffy felt the eyes of everyone on her and her friends. "We all so need to get out of here. It's like we're fish in a fish bowl." Everyone turned to see that she was speaking the truth. "But where can we go? No one's place is big enough."
"Mine is." Everyone turned to see a very familiar young lady standing before them. She was back in her usual leather outfit, this time it was a bright blue. Oz was holding her hand tightly. Faith smiled. "My parents have connections. They had me out before the judge could utter the word release. I feel a party is in order. Perhaps not a jive and drink to you pass out kind of party. But still, we so need to celebrate people!"
Willow watched her friend act as if nothing had happened. She knew that the time that her friend had spent in jail for her was the hardest times of her life. Not because Faith wasn't strong and independent. It was because she hated to be locked up. Her biggest fear was of being closed in with a lot of strangers. She was definitely claustrophobic. But she had still done it without a moment of hesitation just to help out her friend.

It wasn't long before the gang was gathered at Faith's. They were all paired off into their little groups. Buffy kept an eye on her mom and Giles. She still wasn't exactly thrilled with the two of them dating but she had learned that life was short and that you had to find happiness when you could. That was why she was holding tight to Spike.
Anya and Xander were of course inseparable. They were talking about the ski trip that they never got to take. And the fact that they were going to go somewhere as soon as he could talk his parents into letting him go. It was time that the two of them spent a bit of alone time together. It was well deserved.
Faith was definitely making the most of being with Oz once again. She was holding on to his hand or kissing him or holding him tight. She may be one that didn't normally like to be cooped up, but to be cooped up with Oz was sounding so good at the moment. They had a lot of lost time to make up for.
Dawn had invited her friend Sharron along. It seemed that the young couple were making progress in their relationship. Both had admitted their feelings for one another. Not that they loved one another as of yet. Just that there was a mutual attraction between the two young teens. Given the chance to get to know one another, who knows where it might lead.
Wesley was holding on to Fred like there was no tomorrow. His bout of cold feet had got him to thinking how stupid and silly people could be at times. They seemed to want to sabotage the little bit of happiness that they had managed to find. Whether that be with a lie or with just letting their insecurities get the better of them. He would not give up on his happiness. He'd seen what it was like to not have it.
Willow and Tara were literally hanging on to one another. So much had happened between the two of them. The redhead now knew that Tara would never have written a note to leave her. If that had ever happened, not that it was going to, it would have been face to face. Some may say that Tara was not the strongest of people, all because she was so shy and so unsure of herself at times.
But the redhead knew better. She knew what life had been like for her girlfriend before she moved to Sunnydale. And she knew what it was like for her just before her mother had died. She had to sneak to find what little happiness the two of them had shared. And she had been punished for it. But when she had finally decided that enough was enough, she had stood up for herself. And that made her love her even more.
"I'm sorry that I could ever believe that you wrote me that note." Willow had her head on Tara's shoulder. "I know we've kinda talked a bit about it but I want to say something. I was stupid. Stupid for believing something I knew in my heart could never be true. You are an amazing woman. You love with everything you have. You would fight for what you believed in before you let someone else take it from you. I almost caused you to lose that. For us to lose what we had fought so hard to get."
"You were scared." Tara stroked the soft silky red hair. "I would have been too. You were feeling like you were being betrayed by the world. Why not be betrayed by the one person that you loved and trusted the most? I think it was almost like a defense against the fact that you were sure that everyone, including me would turn our backs on you. But you know, that would never happen. Even while we were a part, I was still there for you."
"I know." Willow pulled back so that she could look into those wonderful ocean blue eyes. "And you always will be. Just give me a reminder if ever I doubt you again." So, Tara did by giving her one passionate kiss after another.