Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns Law and Order SVU and the characters. I only own the idea for the story and the new characters.

Chapter 104: Court

'All rise in court!'

As the judge entered the small room of the juvenile court, all the people assembled stood up. On the one side, Alexandra Cabot was positioned, calm and collected as always. As the Assistant District Attorney, she would speak for the people of New York and prosecute the defendant. In the back, people sat who had come to witness the sentencing hearing. Most of them were cops, which wasn't usually the case, but today it made sense. On the other side sat the defendant's loathed appointed attorney and the defendant herself: Hannah.

Hannah was the last one to rise from her seat. As she did, she turned around for a second, in search of Olivia. And there she was, which both comforted her and gave her anxiety at the same time.

'Case number 165d: the case of Miss Benson,' The judge read from the papers she had laid out in front of her, 'She was released on bail. Is that correct, counselor?'

'Yes, your honor,' Alex confirmed, 'She plead guilty at the bail hearing last week and was released into the custody of her mother, Detective Benson.'

For a moment, it looked like the judge smirked. Then she gazed upwards at the people attending, 'Who is here with us today?' And when she spotted Olivia, she added in a low voice, 'You must be so proud...'

Hannah could feel her blood starting to boil and the familiar feeling of losing control due to her temper started to set in, only she wasn't about to let it. Quietly, she imagined herself someplace else. Someplace quiet and safe, far away from the people judging her.

'What are the charges?' The judge asked.

'Graffiti, petty theft and resisting arrest.'

Hannah rolled her eyes before she could stop herself. As if she could smell it, the judge whipped her head around and looked the girl straight in the eye.

'Are we boring you, miss Benson?' She demanded.

Hannah could physically feel Olivia's eyes drilling holes in the back of her skull. So she said, 'No, your honor.'

'Good,' the woman snapped, 'Because I prepared for this case, thinking I was going to be dealing with a simple juvenile delinquency issue, only to end up with an entire book's worth of former charges, reports by CPS and your entire biography on top of that.'

'I'm sorry about that,' Hannah replied, knowing full well she wasn't supposed to speak, 'but trust me: this wasn't exactly what I wanted from life either.'

The judge frowned and Hannah's attorney quickly hushed her in less that subtle tones.

In the back, Elliot leaned over to Olivia, 'How was she? This morning, I mean.'

'Short.'

'I thought the two of you weren't fighting anymore?' Elliot frowned.

'We're not,' Olivia sighed, 'This is far worse: now we're not even speaking.'

The court case continued on and once again Hannah pleaded guilty, so there was very little need for any evidence to be brought forward. But when the judge asked Alex about the sentencing, things didn't go as expected.

'Your honor, the people ask you to make an example of this delinquent and this case.'

Fucking excuse me, Hannah thought incredulously. She looked over at Alex and felt the deepest betrayal she'd felt in the longest time.

'Are you suggesting juvenile hall, counselor?' The judge replied. Hannah's attorney started to protest and somewhere behind them one very concerned mother had stopped breathing for a few seconds.

'No,' Alex replied at once, much to the surprise of everyone there, 'you've read her file and she's well acquainted with the system, to say the least. Juvenile hall won't make a difference and the state has spent enough money one little girl, who obviously believes she's above the law.'

The judge now turned to Hannah, 'Miss Benson, you graffitied a wall. Care to tell the court why?'

'I was bored?' Because there were many things you could accuse Hannah of, but dishonesty wasn't one of them.

Alex immediately jumped on that, 'See? She has no regard for property, community or other people's possessions.'

'What was it she stole again?'

For the first time, Hannah's attorney spoke, 'Just a sandwich, your honor.'

'JUST a sandwich?' The woman repeated, obviously annoyed.

'Your honor,' Alex leaned forward and raised her voice, 'this is exactly what I mean. Not only has she no respect for property, she now believes she's entitled to whatever she pleases...'

'Alex, what is your fucking problem!?' Hannah could no longer contain herself, 'why are you coming after me like this?'

'Because you broke the law, sweetheart,' but the ADA refused to look Hannah in the eye, and added sharply, 'and even precious daughters of detectives are to be held responsible for their actions.'

'Oh, fuck you...' Hannah spit.

But the judge quickly held up a hand and stopped her there, 'One more word from you, and I will hold you in contempt of court and you'll go straight back to the holding cells.'

Hannah fell back in her chair and let her head drop back. As she studied the ceiling of the court, she suddenly felt tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. Angrily she blinked them away, but she couldn't help wondering: why is suddenly everyone against me? Why does everyone hate me now?

From very far away, she heard the judge ask, 'What do you suggest then, if not juvenile hall?'

'Fix the entitlement,' Alex replied shortly, 'Let her do the one thing she hates: work.'

Hannah frowned. She didn't hate work, not at all actually.

'Let her give back to the society she so easily takes from. The people ask for a sentence of community service, of at least 200 hours.'

If this had been a cartoon, three large question marks would have appeared above Hannah's head right now.

Hannah couldn't see him, but behind her, Elliot was trying to hide the biggest smirk ever, 'Oh, she's good.'

'She sure is,' Olivia confirmed, not quite daring to be optimistic just yet but nearly there.

After a long silence, the judge decided and turned to Hannah, 'Miss Benson, you are a menace to society. Maybe you think you're better than others now because you got adopted by a cop, maybe you think you're entitled to special treatment because of your past...'

Elliot heard Olivia distinctly whisper 'bitch' next to him and he smiled a little.

'...but the state will no longer put up with it, or pay for it,' the judge continued. 'Personally, I think you're getting off lightly without doing any time, but it seems the counselor either thinks community service will do you more good or she actually believes you can change...'

'Are you capable of change?' She suddenly asked Hannah, interrupting her sentencing monologue.

'I'm not sure,' Hannah replied honestly, suddenly sounding very young again, 'I want to change, and I keep changing, or everything around me keeps changing, but I'm not sure where I'll end up.'

And it was like that reply softened something in the judge. She looked at Hannah differently now and finally said, 'Alright, I won't send you to juvenile hall today. Consider yourself lucky and use this chance, because you're not getting another one! Instead, I order you to do 150 hours of community service at the shelter you graffitied. Use your time wisely there. You're free to go. Court is adjourned!' And she banged her hammer, and Hannah breathed again.

A little numb, Hannah turned around, while everyone around her started leaving the courtroom. Olivia took her hand and lead her out of the room, into the halls. There she hugged her, before Hannah could protest and either of them could go back to their sulking, and she didn't let go for a long time.

'No juvi,' Hannah finally mumbled.

'No juvi,' Olivia confirmed, 'better thank Alex.'

'Why?' Hannah sounded angry at once, 'She apparently thinks I'm disrespectful and entitled, and just generally a brat. Why the fuck...'

'I did what was necessary,' the blond commented from behind them, showing very little remorse, much to Hannah's chagrin.

'And it worked,' Captain Cragen said, sharing a look with the ADA.

'What worked?' But then Hannah was silent for a little while.'Oh...' she eventually said, 'that is smart...'

Olivia looked at her captain and narrowed her eyes, 'This was your idea. That's what you wanted to talk to Alex about.' It wasn't a question either.

'Yeah,' the old man nodded, 'surprised no one saw through our little plan.'

'Our plan?' Olivia repeated pointedly, 'You didn't think to ask me?'

'I talked to Alex, figured out a way to help Hannah best.'

'Without consulting me?' Elliot called out full of exasperation, 'I'm her..'

'Yeah, what are you exactly, Elliot?' Olivia turned to him with just a hint of amusement.

'I'm her...' he stumbled, 'person! Whatever, someone to consult!'

Cragen shrugged a little, 'It had to be done quickly and I knew Alex would be up to it. I realized this would be best.'

Hannah sighed and walked off. And when Olivia asked her where she was going, she just mumbled, 'I'll leave you people to talk about me like I'm not actually here, okay?'

'At least you're not going to juvi!' Olivia called after her, trying to cheer her up, 'Yay?'

'Yay!' Hannah repeated sarcastically, 'Now I'm just expected to work like a dog without pay. Hoorah.'

'Why?' Elliot simply demanded darkly.

'You weren't there,' Cragen explained, 'But I realized something when Hannah was going undercover and found Malik for us.'

'Did they find him?' Olivia interrupted.

'Yeah, Munch and Fin did. The kid led them straight to him. He's in the precinct right now.'

'You realized you could use her,' Elliot fumed, 'A fifteen-year-old girl.'

Cragen remained calm, 'Not use her, but she needs a purpose, Elliot. She needs to feel useful and she needs something to be proud of for once. If all she knows is getting in trouble and getting punished for it, nothing will ever change. She'll have to find her way in society somehow and even though she's only a kid now, she'll grow up.'

'He's right, Elliot,' Olivia nodded, 'She needs something good.'

'And doing community service is good for her?' he still didn't understand.

'It'll give her a chance to make a change and work with people she knows. She's better with the troubled kids than any of us are. Maybe, she'll realize this is what she wants to do with her life, but at the very least, it can be something she can be proud of.'

Olivia turned to Elliot, 'Like I am. You should've seen her, Elliot, she did so good. And she desperately needs you to be proud of her as well.'

Elliot sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. More than anything, he wanted to be proud of her. He wanted her to do good and wanted her to find her way in life, but this constant battle of keeping her out of danger was killing him. Worry kept him up at all hours, and she wasn't even his kid!

'Fine,' he finally gave in, 'Let's see how it goes.'

'I think she'll do great,' Hannah's adoptive grandfather concluded.

'Let's hope so,' Alex added dryly, 'Because if anyone finds out about my little trick, my job could be on the line. Once again, for Hannah's sake, I risked a perfectly good and flawless career.'

'Thanks, Alex.'

'Don't,' she replied, practically, 'Make sure she uses her time at the shelter. It's the least you can do.' And with that, she marched off.

Cragen smiled, 'And that's the most warmth we'll probably get from Alexandra Cabot.'

'She likes Hannah.'

The captain cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows in an almost cynical manner, 'What's not to like?'

I totally get that no one's reading this anymore, it's been way too long, but I was cleaning up my computer and found the rest of this story. So, I did finish writing it, I just never published it on here. Somehow, that didn't feel right. So here I am, uploading the rest of the chapters one by one. If anyone's still reading, please let me know, but I'm mainly doing this just because it feels right. All my love to all my supporters over the years!