A/N: I SWEAR its Friday that I posted this…in my time zone anyways. :D

In regards to Lucy's behavior last chapter, I'd like to think that Lucy's love for Ben has driven her mad with jealousy... and maybe just a bit plain mad really. Where she once lived in her own perfect little world, it's been turned upside down and she's fighting to get it back in whatever ways she can.

Special thanks to Artemis Vandelay for your help! I hope I did alright with my little rendition of the courts!

As the cell door shut loudly behind him, Benjamin Barker realized that he was scared, and more so than he had ever been before. It wasn't because he was in jail. No, it was because he had no idea why. If he had any inkling, he might feel more confident that he could get out of it alright, but he honestly couldn't remember anything he had done wrong. He paced the length of his cell, searching his memory for even the slightest misdeed, but nothing came to mind.

Nearly an hour had past when a guard came to him.

"Barker, your hearin' is in the mornin'. I'd get comfortable if I were you." His voice was gruff and his message terse and the guard walked away immediately.

Ben sighed and sat on the edge of his cot, head in hands. He wondered how his life had come to this. Four months ago he had been the happiest man on earth; he had a newborn baby, a beautiful wife, and a best friend who lived basically across the hall from him. Now, though he still had all that, he was trapped in a cell with no idea why or how long he was going to be in it.

He slowly laid down on the uncomfortable, creaky cot, deciding sleep would be the best way to calm his nerves. But this was not an easy feat. He found himself missing the soft cries of his baby girl, the painless kicks Lucy would send his way in her sleep, and even the light snores from across the hall. The only things he heard all night were various sounds made by other prisoners. He closed his eyes highly and willed for sleep to come and, though it took a while, he drifted off as the sun created a gliding shadow on floor of his cell.

The next morning, Ben was brutally awoken by a guard shaking the cage like metal bars. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a disgusting looking bowl of porridge being placed on the inside of his cell.

As a child, he had never really had an appetite for that particular food, but as he had not eaten supper the night before, he gladly accepted the meal to settle his rousing stomach.

The sunlight had come through a window and shone straight on his bed, leaving it as the only warm spot in his dark cell. When he finished his bowl, he placed it back where he found it and sat back on his bed, legs stretched out and back against the wall. IT was like this that a guard found him an hour and a half later, ready to escort Ben to his hearing.

The pie shop was set to open at one this day and Nellie was making sure everything was in motion to open in time. She had two dozen pies already cooling on the counter and two dozen more in the large oven downstairs in the basement, yet it was only half past eleven. The minutes ticked away as she made herself busy sweeping up the floors. As she swept, she heard an odd noise outside, but a peek out the window told her she must have imagined it.

At noon she took the baking pies out and sat them on the counter to cool as well, before putting another dozen in to bake. It was nearly 12:15 as she was about to start getting the plates ready to serve, when she heard the door from an upstairs bedroom open and shut, followed by footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Oh, 'ello, Lucy, 'ow are ya 'olding up today?" Nellie asked upon seeing the sight of her tenant.

"I've been better, thanks to you," Lucy stated simply, leaning against the door frame.

Nellie let out humorless laugh. "Wot do ya mean by that?"

"I mean, I've thought about it a lot, and I blame Ben bein' taken away on you, Mrs. Lovett." As Lucy advanced toward her, Nellie took a step back.

"W-Wot?"

"I told you ages ago, when I married Benny that you should stay away, but you didn't." the two women were now circling each other around the counter. Lucy had a murderous glint in her eye. "He started to realize that he had feelin's for you. He's always had feelin's for you." Nellie shook her head.

"No. No that ain't true! He loves you! You're the one 'e's married to. We're just friends! Always 'ave been! Love, you're jus' a bit emotional at the moment! So much 'as 'appened, you jus' need some time to calm down! Trus' me! Please, Lucy dear, don't do anythin' rash! Let's just talk this out." But Lucy wasn't listening to the words, just her own thoughts.

"Now that he's tried to protect you from the judge, the judge decided to get back at him for it. I may never see my Benny again." Tears welled in the blonde woman's eyes. "I told you—I TOLD YOU!" She lunged at the baker who ran to the door, only to find herself unable to open it. She tried the door to the patio as well, but it wouldn't open either. She ran in between the chairs she had stacked and the tables, but Lucy was following her closely. She bumped into a stack of chairs on her way, sending them clattering to the floor.

Nellie wanted to run into her parlor, but there was nowhere to go from there, so she quickly decided to make for a dash upstairs, but Lucy wasn't far behind and she grabbed Nellie's ankle, making the redhead fall hard and let out a yelp of pain as she slid back down towards her attacker.

"Benjamin Barker, you have been charged with misconduct with a married woman, how do you plead?"

"Misconduct?" Ben questioned from his place before the judge. "When? With who?"

"How do you plead, Mr. Barker?" Judge Mason asked from his high seat.

"Not guilty, my Lord," he said quickly, "But who-"

"Judge Turpin," the Judge interrupted, "could not make it in to bear witness against you-"

"But why Judge Turp-"

"Silence, Mr. Barker, or you will return to your cell and we will hold court in a month instead." This effectively shut Ben up. "Now, as I was saying, Judge Turpin was to be in charge of this case as he was the one who brought it to the courts attention, however, he has fallen ill as of last night and I shall take over for now. If you please, Mr. Barker, you may now explain to the court why you should be deemed innocent rather than guilty of misconduct with a Mrs. Nellie Lovett."

Nellie turned herself over quickly and aimed a kick at Lucy's stomach sending her backwards and giving Nellie enough time to get to her feet and make a run for the basement. Being careful not to trip over herself, she hurried, the echo of Lucy's footsteps haunting her as she went. With all the force she could muster, she pushed the heavy door open and closed it behind her quickly, and locked it. She heard Lucy's screams of frustration from the other side. Nellie could feel her heart hammering in her chest.

Benjamin launched into an explanation of how he and Nellie had been friends from childhood. He didn't think it would work at first, but as he continued, the stern judge's face grew kinder. He went on to say that after he married Lucy, he continued to be a friend and a tenant, nothing more.

"My Lord, 'aven't you ever had a best friend? Someone you care deeply for, unromantically?"

"Never a female, Mr. Barker."

"See, but when we were growing up, I never really saw her as a female, per se, jus' a sister. Like a sister I never 'ad." The judge's face became expressionless.

"Very well. Jury, your opinion? Those in favor of conviction?" Nearly half raised a hand. "And those against?" Again, it appeared as though half raised a hand.

"Well, Mr. Barker. I suppose it's down to my say."

Ben gulped.

About twenty minutes later, the relentless pound of Lucy's fists stopped. Instead, she heard a male voice call to her.

"Mrs. Lovett? It's alright. We've taken Mrs. Barker away. We just need to ask you a few questions."

Nellie slowly unlocked and opened the door. A policeman stood there and she let out a sigh of relief.

Alright! So how was that? Terribly awful? Not bad? Pretty decent? Let me know!

The next chapter may be up by, not this, but next Sunday. I have band camp all week this upcoming week and, well, I'll be fairly exhausted at the end of each day. Yaaaaaay go grizzlies! =p

But anyways, enough about me, how about you? Favorite color anyone? Mine's purple!