It's finally finished! Thank you for sticking with me through the long periods of no updates, I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten (and will absolutely appreciate some more ;])
Again, a lot of the dialogue in the courtroom is taken from the original comic book, so credit for that goes to Ed Brubaker :)
The words 'pissed off' did not do enough justice to how the judge was feeling. And, if the judge's anger had lit his fuse, then Bernie had already exploded. Alex hadn't been there when Bernie had been set loose on James the night before but, judging from her expression, she was less than sympathetic. Which was fair enough, really, Steve had been right. It didn't have to be James who'd gone after Alex, the others would have been able to handle it. But, naturally, Alex could easily see the argument from James' perspective as well. Had their roles been reversed, she would have done anything to save her fiancé.
She supposed that it had, ironically, been helpful of Sin to inform James of Alex's capture by, according to Sam, creating a stir in the centre of the courtroom. Apparently, James had saved the life of the prosecuting attorney when a gunman had entered the court, interrupting a display of the powers of mind control, and handing over a tape. A tape which contained both a message from Sin and footage of Alex, tied up and unconscious. As stupid a thought as it was, Alex couldn't help but be a little irritated that the entire courtroom had seen her bound and helpless. At least it demonstrated the exact reason that James had escaped the van taking him back to prison. Everyone had seen that it hadn't been for vengeance or anything else untoward, but to protect the woman he loved.
That had to help, didn't it?
Given that the judge's face looked like thunder, however, Alex wasn't sure how confident she was of this. There was no way that he would let it slide, even if he hadn't seemed furious. She could only hope and pray that it wouldn't take too much away from James' case. That she wouldn't be the reason he was sent to prison. James would forgive her, she knew he would. He probably wouldn't even blame her. But Alex would never forgive herself.
Whether to punish James already or to ensure that nothing was missed, the judge had lifted the ban on members of the press being inside the courtroom. The formerly spacious room was now crammed, not only with reporters and photographers, but also cameras, microphones, dictaphones, cell phones, pens, notepads, tablets… Not to mention all of the lights and flashes that the electronics emitted.
At least Peter and a few of her other friends from The Daily Bugle were there. Even Mr. Jameson managed a nod and a slight twitch of his mouth at her, the closest she had ever seen him get to a genuine smile. It might have been small, but it meant a lot. She probably owed him an interview after how accommodating he'd been.
"Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover it, Mr. Barnes." Definitely not a great start, then. "You were given strict instructions by myself and Commander Rogers to let others handle the situation. And, instead, you broke free of custody and went to play hero. And, while I understand that someone close to you was in danger, do not think those actions won't affect any sentence passed by this court."
A murmur went through the crowd, but Alex kept her eyes firmly on James.
"I know, Your Honour," was all he said. And, while most people wouldn't notice it, Alex could hear just how frightened he was. And who could blame him? Despite everything he'd seen, done, and been through, James was still only twenty two years old, and looking a potential life prison sentence. Emotion welled inside Alex, and she wished she could comfort him, that she could even just hold his hand.
But all she could do was sit and listen and wait.
"Let's move on to the closing statements."
Bernadette Rosenthal stood, letting the room settle before she began. And, however angry she must have been, she didn't let it show. "The defendant's case is a very simple one, Your Honour, which I believe we've more than proved." In fact, she uses the previous day's events to make her point. "Admonish him for his escape, but my client saved lives yesterday. And he turned himself back in. He's a good man who's been used by others against his will, and who's struggled to earn redemption for the things he was forced to do. The simple fact is that James Barnes is not guilty, certainly not beyond a reasonable doubt."
A smile – a small smile, but a smile nonetheless – came to Alex's face as Bernie finished her statement. Steve had certainly not been wrong in putting his faith in her, she was nothing short of brilliant.
But the smile instantly dropped away as Blake Tower stood up.
"So, James Buchanan Barnes escaped yesterday, but he should be forgiven because he turned himself back in? This gets to the root of why I asked to prosecute this case, Your Honour." He asked to prosecute James? Asked to potentially send her fiancé to prison? "When is anything ever their fault? By them, I mean the 'superhero' community, of course." Tower reached a hand behind him to indicate the gallery, where Steve, Sam, and probably many other known powered people were sitting. "When does the law apply to them? Or have we simply made so many concessions to them that it simply no longer does? Is it time to admit that?"
Tower turned, speaking now to the public. "How many times have our cities been attacked, our buildings blown up, and our citizens killed? And all we hear is: 'It wasn't me, it was a Skrull'. Or 'I was possessed by a demon from another dimension'. Or," and now he looked directly at James, "'I was under mind control'. So I ask you, Your Honour…" Alex was glad he was facing the bench again, so that Tower couldn't see the look of thunder in her eyes. "… When is one of these masked men ever to blame? When is-"
But Tower wasn't allowed to finish his argument. Because, to the shock of the entire room, James had stood up.
"He's right, Your Honour."
Alex didn't know who the cry of, "What?!" had come from; so many people in the room had uttered it. Steve, Sam, Sharon, Bernie, Betty, Peter, maybe even herself.
"Sit down!" Bernie hissed at him, tugging on his sleeve.
"No." James sounded so calm, so completely in control. The fear was still there, but it was masked by something else now. Conviction. Guilt. "No, I want to change my plea, Your Honour."
"James, no…" Alex didn't know when she'd gotten to her feet, but she was on them now, stepping as close to the divider as she could. "James…"
His brown eyes were shiny, glittering with unfallen tears. "He's right, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I'm doing this to you, and I-," his voice broke, "I hope you can forgive me. But Tower's right." James raised his voice, addressing the whole courtroom, although his attention stayed on Alex. "Someone has to take responsibility. The things I did, I wasn't in control. But they were done with my hands, and my skills. And the only honourable thing I should do," he managed a smile at Steve, "The only thing Captain America should do is plead guilty. So… Yeah. I plead guilty, Your Honour."
His eyes met Alex's again, and he took her hand, raising it to his lips and pressing a gently kiss to her palm. "I love you, Alex." His voice was much softer, and a tear escaped as his voice cracked again. "Come visit me, yeah?"
Alex nodded, trying and failing to smile for him as he let her hand go. Both Sam and Sharon had their arms around her before she'd even properly sat down, and Alex was sobbing silently into Sam's chest as Sharon rubbed her shoulder.
The judge seemed to expect uproar. But, aside from a few gaps and the continued camera shutters, there was almost no noise. "Very well, Mr. Barnes… Then… Then we'll proceed to sentencing."
Whether it was a few seconds, or a few hours, Alex could barely tell, but the judge looked over the whole courtroom, at James, at Bernie, at Steve, at her, at Tower… And then he spoke again.
"In looking at this case, I had to see a bigger picture. Not just the charges against you, but the circumstances around those acts, and the things you have done as Captain America. The display of mind control that we saw yesterday in addition to the testimonies we have heard gave me many doubts about where the fault lies here. And now, you step up and do something few men would do in your place." He swallowed. "So, I sentence you to twenty years."
Alex's body shuddered slightly. Twenty years. Twenty years without James. They would be in their forties when they got out. Their relationship, their marriage, their family would go on hold for two decades.
But at least it wasn't forever.
"But.."
But? Alex sat up, her eyes moving between James and the judge.
"I'm commuting the sentence to time served."
For a moment, the entire courtroom was quiet. Even the clicking of the cameras seemed to fade away into silence.
And it was Steve who broke it. "You lucky bastard!" he grinned at James.
And suddenly everyone was moving, reporters were trying to capture the moment that James realised he was free, trying to catch Bernie, trying to catch Alex, Steve, Tower, the judge.
And even the judge was smiling. "I can't say if you deserve to wear the Captain America uniform, son, but I know you don't belong in a jail cell."
And Alex was on her feet, the biggest smile on her face, laughing and crying at the same time as James turned to her, pushing his chair out of the way to get to her, to put his arms around her.
And suddenly he was lifting her over the barriers, and Alex's feet didn't touch the floor again as she held her legs either side of his, her knees resting against his thighs as her hands tangled up in his hair. She could feel James hand in her hair as well, and they were still smiling and laughing and crying as their lips met, their tears mixing together as they fell. Under normal circumstances, the two of them would have been mortified at all of the people watching them, but neither Alex or James cared about the photographers or the video cameras or the reporters.
He was free. He was a free man. They could go home together and never have to worry about the law coming after the Winter Soldier again.
Steve and Bernie were ushering them out of the room, and James finally set Alex down, holding onto her hand as if he would never let go. As they approached the car waiting to take them home, James briefly let go of her to throw his arms around Steve and Bernie in turn, thanking each of them with tears still streaming down his cheeks. Sharon and Sam got their own hugs as well, with James swearing to attend a party in the Tower at some point to celebrate his freedom.
Once in the car, James pulled Alex into his lap (seatbelts be damned) and just held her, her face resting in the crook of his neck, his fingers running through her hair, her hand curled up in his shirt, his cheek against hers.
They didn't speak. They didn't need to. They were silent until the car pulled up outside the apartment, just listening to each other's heartbeat and breathing.
But there was already a crowd of press outside their apartment building. James made a noise that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a laugh. "You reporters are insatiable," he smirked at Alex, lifting his hands to wipe away the smudges of makeup under her eyes.
Thanking the driver as he opened the door for them, James kept his arm around Alex as they dashed through the mob (who had, surprisingly considered enough to leave them a path to their door. Grinning still, James scooped Alex into his arms bridal style as the door closed, carrying her up the stairs to their home. He even managed to unlock the door with her still held, pulling a face at her as she laughed at his fumbling with the keys.
Crossing the threshold, he eventually put Alex down, put not before bringing his lips to hers in a much deeper kiss than the one they'd shared in the courtroom.
"I love you," they said at the same time, resting their foreheads together for a moment.
But the noise of the reporters could still be heard, and James peaked out the window, shook his head, and laughed. "I guess the entirety of the New York press knows where we live, then."
"We're going to need to move," Alex replied, but she was still smiling.
"Good," James said, pulling her back to him and kissing her deeply. "Let's go somewhere bigger, in some better neighbourhood. I'm thinking two, maybe three bedrooms, nice kitchen, big living room, hey, maybe even a roof garden. Safe neighbourhood, parks, coffee shops, the closest thing you can get to a suburb in Manhattan."
"You? Wanting a suburban life?" Alex giggled. "I never thought I'd see the day."
He grinned, lifting her left hand and pressing a kiss over her engagement ring. "Hey, I'm a free man." And he kissed her lips again, humming softly as he did so. "We've got a big life ahead of us, baby doll. And it starts right now."