They make their way down the courtroom. Serena smiles a little and waves to the girls cautiously. The girls smile lovingly and wave back.
"Your Honor?" asked Clark suspiciously.
"Mr. Turner?" asked the judge as he glared at him.
"Your Honor, I swear I did not know anything about this," replied Cole.
"That's right, he didn't," replied Mrs. Robinson.
Judge Barker's eyebrows frowned as he saw Mrs. Robinson approach. "Who are you?"
"I am Joanna Robinson, Serena's social worker," she said, still hand-in-hand with Serena.
"And why are you in my courtroom?" asked the judge a little perturbed.
"Sir, Serena insisted on coming to talk to you and we were going to wait for a recess and approach Mr. Turner. We just walked in and as I was about to talk to the bailiff, Serena just burst out with her comment," Mr. Cowan tried to explain.
"And who might you be?" Judge Barker suspiciously asked.
"Oh, pardon me your honor. Mr. Cowan, head of Social Services. Serena has my approval to be here, we were just going to see if it was ok with you, Mr. Turner and the D.A."
"I am sure you understand Mr. Cowan, that this is a private courtroom and you are disrupting it, wasting the court's time AND money!" Judge Barker pauses for a moment as he glances at Serena, who is starting to look a little scared. Barker looks back at them and then adds, "Although your relevance to the case MAY excuse you." He then turns to Darryl. "And Inspector Morris, may I ask why you are involved in this circus charade? You played your part already."
Darryl, looking a little ashamed, replies, "I was out in the hall on a phone call when I saw them come in."
"Mm…" the judge murmurs, although not quite happy.
"Uh, Your Honor, may I have a moment to speak to my clients and try to settle this?" asked Cole.
"Mm…I'll allow it, but quickly Mr. Turner. 5 minute recess and this matter better be settled by the time I return." And with that, he banged his mallet on the table and got up.
Cole nods and then walks over to Mrs. Robinson and Serena. Phoebe gets out of the witness chair and walks over to the crowd.
"I'm sorry Mr. Turner," apologizes Mrs. Robinson.
"It's my fault," interjected Serena. "I made them come," she said sadly as she hung her head.
Cole glances at the girls and then at Serena. "Let's go talk outside for a quick moment."
Once they were in the lobby, they sat themselves on the bench and Serena happily leapt into Phoebe's lap receiving a giant hug.
Mrs. Robinson tries to explain to Cole. "She insisted, and so I went to Mr. Cowan and asked him what he thought -"
"And I give my complete ok on this," interrupted Cowan. "That is, if you and the court will allow her to speak…"
Cole sighed. He then approached Serena who was still seated in Phoebe's lap. Bending down so he could be at eye level, he said gently, "Serena?" Serena looks up at him. "Serena, are you SURE you want to do this?"
Serena nods and says, "Mm hmm. Everybody else gets to talk to the judge. So why can't I?"
Phoebe gently says in a soft voice, "Sweetie…it could be very scary up there…they might ask you not so nice things."
Serena angles her head a little so she can see Phoebe. "I don't care. I wanna make them understand. And…I don't want them to say bad things about you…I have to fight so you can be my family. I have to tell the judge."
The girls smile at her persistence.
"Serena, are you absolutely sure?" Cole asked sweetly yet firmly.
"Absoposilutly!" replied Serena as she smiled a little.
Cole gets up and turns to Cowan. "You sure it's ok?"
Cowan chuckles and replies imitating Serena, "Absoposilutly!"
Cole sighs. "Ok, let's get back in there…"
They all make their way in and settle back in their seats. Judge Barker enters. "Mr. Turner, is everything cleared up?"
Cole rises and adjusts his tie. "Yes sir, Your Honor. With the court's permission, we'd like to ask young Serena to the stand."
Barker glances over at Clark. "Any objections council?"
Clark shakes his head. "No your honor."
"Very well." Barker then turns to Serena. And gently says, "Serena, I want you to come up here and take this big seat right next to me, ok?"
Serena takes a deep breath and slowly approaches. The bailiff helps her up and she sits down. Her boldness has diminished a little as her fear and nervousness elevates.
Judge Barker turns towards Serena. "Hey there Serena."
"Hi," she said very quietly.
"Are you nervous?"
Serena nods and looks a little scared.
"Well, you don't have to be scared of anything ok? All we're going to be doing is talking ok."
Serena nods. "Ok."
"Serena, if it's ok, before we start, I'd like to ask you a few questions." Serena nods. "Can you state your whole name for me?"
"Serena W." She pauses for a moment then adds, "e'cept I don't remember what the W is for…"
The judge chuckles a little. "That's quite alright. Do you know your birthday?"
Serena nods as she looks intently at the judge. "June 5th."
"And how old are you?"
"I'm seven and a half," Serena said a little quietly.
"Ok, I have one more question; it's a big one."
"Ok," Serena said getting a little nervous.
The judge squinted his eyes a little as he said, "Do you know the difference between telling the truth and lying?"
That was an easy question, thought Serena as she nodded. "Mm hmm."
"Could you tell me what that is?"
Becoming a little more comfortable, Serena began to tell her explanation. "Well, when you tell the truth, it's a good thing and you don't get in trouble. But when you pretend and tell a lie, it's bad and you get in trouble. Like when Melissa lied about eating her vegetables at dinner – she told Miss Jessel that she ate them but she really hid them in her napkin. She got in big trouble after that!"
Paige glances at the other two and smiles sweetly as they all chuckle. Cole smiles a little.
Smiling, the judge turns to Cole. "Ok, Mr. Turner. You may begin."