*Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. I went back and revised my older chapters from this story and For the Love of a Special Someone; I wanted to update them so that Chapters 9 and onwards of For the Love of a Special Someone follow the events in this story. This chapter will be about the trial between the Powers family and the Simpsons. And I said before, the Simpsons is property of Matt Groening.
Chapter Three: The Trial
The following day was big for the Powers family, because today was the trial between them and the Simpsons. Ruth woke up early so that she could prepare for the trial. She went into the living room where all the kids were sleeping and told all of them to wake up. The kids did so and headed for the kitchen to eat breakfast; Ruth bought doughnuts for that morning. Laura woke up after hearing her mother call her for breakfast and joined everyone in the kitchen. At the table, the kids were talking about the trial.
"So Lisa, you're accusing your old parents for abusing yourself and Bart?" asked Janey.
"Yes Janey," said Lisa, "And we have evidence to prove it, Bart's swollen bruise on his neck that he got from Homer strangling him."
"And what about your mother? What charges do you plan on accusing her of?" asked Janey.
"Well, Marge threatened Lisa by saying that she would have to eat meat for a week, but other than that, she didn't really commit any other crimes, so I might place her on a restraining order," said Ruth.
"Well, I've finished eating breakfast, so I'm going to get dressed," said Lisa.
"Make sure you dress nicer than you usually do, this is a trial," said Ruth, who then turned to Bart and Allison "The same goes for you two as well."
"Ok mom," said Bart, "I'll just wear my suit and tie that I wear to church."
"And I have a dress I can wear to the trial," said Allison, "And I also need my hair brushed, would you mind helping me with it Bart?"
"I will, after I get dressed Allison," said Bart.
"Thanks Bart," replied Allison
"And I'll just wear my church cloths to the trial as well," said Ruth before turning to Milhouse, Janey, and Ralph, "And you three can just wear what you usually wear and stay with us until the trial is over."
"Ok Mrs. Powers," said Janey.
When the conversation ended, Bart and Lisa's friends began to throw away their trash, and then made their way towards the bathroom to get dressed. Ruth, Lisa, Bart, and Laura headed to their rooms to get dressed for the trial. Allison didn't have all her belongings moved into the house, so Lisa offered her room to Allison so that she could get dressed in the meantime. Janey, Milhouse, and Ralph were fully dressed when Bart made his way to the bathroom to comb his hair and wait for Allison so that he could assist her with her hair. Allison finished getting dressed shortly after Bart finished brushing his teeth, and made her way to the bathroom to have her hair brushed. She was wearing a sea green dress with a matching skirt reaching down to her knees and a pair of high heels in the same color as her dress. She was wearing her usual necklace around her neck as well. When she entered, Bart led her to the mirror so that she could see how her hair looked while Bart began brushing it. After about a minute, her hair was straight and smooth, so she told Bart that he could stop brushing her as she placed on her usual hair band.
After brushing her teeth, Allison, along with Bart, exited the bathroom as Lisa was making her way to use it. She was wearing the same outfit she wore when Bart was trialed for pulling a prank at the Easter festival a year beforehand. She closed the door and spent about five minutes in the bathroom before she opened the door and joined up with her friends.
Next, Laura joined up with the friends when she was finished getting dressed. She was wearing her usual outfit that she usually wore.
After about ten minutes of waiting, Ruth exited from her room; got Maggie dressed, and joined up with her family and their friends in the living room. She was wearing a lavender dress shirt with a matching pair of pants and a blazer. Instead of sandals, she wore high heels in the same color as her outfit, and for once, she wasn't wearing her red bandana. She told everyone if they were ready, and when they all said that they were, they made their way into a minivan parked outside the house on the driveway.
Everyone got in and buckled up as Ruth started the engine. Soon, the minivan drove out of the driveway, and then Ruth turned it towards the direction of the courthouse, which took about fifteen minutes to reach. Once they were there, they had ten minutes to prepare for the trial.
As Ruth and the kids made their way inside the courthouse, they could see that many of the citizens were gathered in the hall outside the courtroom. Three of the citizens: Helen Lovejoy, Elizabeth Hoover, and Apu approached Ruth and her family.
"Ruth Powers, good to see you," said Helen Lovejoy, "Elizabeth, Apu, and I were summoned by the court for jury duty. We heard about the incident, and we agree that the Simpsons should be punished for their crime."
"That's great Helen," said Ruth, "At least you three are supporting us for the trial."
"So Ruth, I heard from a text Lisa sent me that Allison is your long-lost daughter," said Ms. Hoover, "I find that very interesting."
"It's true, Allison is my daughter," said Ruth, "And I was wondering how well are my daughters doing in school?"
"Both of them are doing very well, they both get A's and like to speak to their classmates on group projects," said Ms. Hoover, "I'm also starting to get used to Lisa blurting out the answer to questions I ask in class now a days."
Lisa turned to Ruth and began to speak, "Yeah, our relationship was very rough when we first met, but after Allison got hurt last week, she started to become much friendlier to me, and now we are friends."
"Well I'm glad my girls are doing well in your class, and I hope to see you again at parent-teacher conferences in the future," said Ruth.
"I hope so too," said Ms. Hoover, "And I thought it was very heroic of you to save the Simpsons kids from their parents."
"Thanks Ms. Hoover," said Ruth.
"Please, call me Elizabeth," said Ms. Hoover.
Ruth then turned to Apu after finishing her conversation with Ms. Hoover.
"I know you, you're the guy who runs the Kwik-E-Mart downtown," said Ruth.
"That's right," said Apu, "And after that incident, I will offer you and your family a discount on any Squishee you buy from the store from now on. Fill free to come to the Kwik-E-Mart anytime."
"Thanks Apu," said Ruth, "Oh and how's your wife?"
"You mean Manjula? Oh, she's doing well, she's further back in the crowd," said Apu.
"Oh okay," said Ruth, "Well the trial's about to begin, so we should get set up inside the courtroom, I'll talk to you later Apu."
"Thank you, and good luck," said Apu.
Ruth and her family said goodbye to the three adults and then walked into the courtroom, they set up on the table they were assigned to, and prepared for the trial, which was in five minutes.
Meanwhile, outside the courthouse, Homer and Marge pulled up to the building and headed inside for their trial. As they walked into the court room, they noticed that many familiar friends of theirs were giving them angry glares. Both Homer and Marge became nervous, seeing that a large portion of the town was now against them.
They continued walking and then sat down to prepare for the trial. Just after they sat down, Chief Wiggum began speaking.
"Everyone, you are now in the presence of honorable Judge Snyder," said Chief Wiggum.
Everyone in the courtroom stood up as the judge entered the courtroom and took a seat at his stand.
"You may now be seated," said Judge Snyder before turning to Homer and Marge Simpson, "Homer and Marge Simpson, you two are being accused of child abuse by your own children. Ruth Powers and her family are placing charges on both of you since each of you were involved with the incident. But before we determine your fate, I need to hear the story from a few different views."
"I call Ruth Powers to the stand," said the prosecutor.
Ruth got up from the table, handed Maggie to Laura, and walked to the stand. She was nervous, but not surprised that she was the first person to be called up. She took the oath and then the prosecutor spoke up again.
"Now Ms. Powers, can you tell me what exactly happened last Saturday?" he asked.
"Very well, it all started that afternoon," said Ruth, "Marge called and invited me and my daughter Laura for dinner later that evening."
"Go on," said the prosecutor.
"Well, we arrive at their house that evening, Marge welcomed us in, and then we were greeted by Bart," Ruth continued, "He greeted us and then Laura asked what had been going on since the last time we were with the Simpsons. Then, Bart made a joke about Homer, he had overheard the conversation and entered the room, he warned Bart not to insult him again or else he would face consequences."
"I see," said the prosecutor, "Would you continue the story please?"
"Next, Lisa greeted us before we were finally reacquainted with the Simpsons family. Marge then told us that dinner was ready and said to head into the dining room so that we could enjoy pizza, after that, Bart made another joke about Homer. Homer then got mad and grabbed Bart tightly around his neck," said Ruth.
"Ah, and what did you do about it?" asked the prosecutor.
"Well, I got concerned about Bart when I noticed him turning blue. After about thirty seconds of watching Homer strangling Bart, I couldn't take it anymore with watching him being choked to death by his father, so I pushed him aside so that I could free him from Homer's grasp, I noticed that Bart had a large bruise on his neck from where Homer grabbed him."
"So Homer strangled Bart huh?" said the prosecutor.
"Yes, but then Marge got mad at me for pushing her husband aside, and then Homer got back up and tried to grab me, but then Lisa jumped in front of me and pushed her father aside and onto the couch," said Ruth, "Then Marge got mad at Lisa and told her to go to her room and that she was grounded, then she told her that she would be serving her meat for the time being. Then Bart questioned his mother about why see never stopped Homer in the past. Marge then got mad with Bart warned him not to talk her that way. After that, Maggie got Marge's attention and gave her an angry glare for the attitude she had shown to her two siblings."
"So what did you do about it?" asked the prosecutor.
"Well, after watching Homer and Marge fight with their children, I told Marge that I'd had enough with the arguing, so I asked Bart and Lisa if they wanted to live with me from that point on and they willingly agreed," said Ruth, "So Laura picked up Maggie, and then all five of us left the household."
"That's all I need to know," said the prosecutor, "You may take your seat again."
The prosecutor then turned to the Simpsons and then spoke once again.
"I call Homer Simpson to the stand!" he said.
Homer stood up and looked at his wife, "Don't worry honey, I'll try to get our kids back to us." He then walked up to the stand and took a seat.
"Now Homer, why did you strangle Bart?" the prosecutor asked.
"Well, the boy made fun of me by saying that I would eat most of the pizza we had for dinner that night," Homer said, "So I decided to take matters and teach him why he shouldn't make fun of his old man!"
"And did Ruth attack you?" asked the prosecutor.
"Yes, she pushed me aside, causing me to let go of Bart," he replied.
"But did you try to attack her afterwards?" the prosecutor continued.
"Yes," Homer groaned, "But she deserved it, after attacking me!"
The audience gasped.
"And how long have you been strangling Bart?" said the prosecutor.
"Ugh…for a while now," Homer said.
"For a while huh? Then how come his bruise on his neck was swollen?" asked the prosecutor.
"Well I think that that was makeup," said Homer, "I think he was faking it!" Homer said, pointing at Bart.
"Homer, quiet down!" shouted Judge Snyder.
Homer then quickly sat down, obviously frightened by the judge's tone.
"Well Homer, thank you for telling me your side of the story, you may return back to your seat," said the prosecutor.
Homer got up and took a seat back at his table with his wife.
"Now, will Bart Simpson come up to the stand," said Judge Snyder.
Bart got up from his seat, hugged his mother, and walked up to the stand.
"Now Bart, would you mind telling me your side of the story?" the judge asked.
"Yes your honor, when Homer grabbed me, it was tighter than he had ever grabbed my neck before," said Bart.
"Tighter than ever huh?" said Judge Snyder,
"Yes your honor, and it gave me this huge swollen bruise on my neck," Bart replied.
The audience grasped upon seeing Bart's bruise. Judge Snyder even cringed at the sight of it.
"And has he strangled you before?"
"Yes, for a long time," Bart replied.
"So what you're telling me is that Homer has been strangling you for many years now?" asked Judge Snyder.
"Yes, since I was a baby in fact," said Bart.
"Objection!" Homer shouted.
"Overruled," Judge Snyder replied.
"D'oh!" replied Homer.
"Okay, thank you Bart for telling us your side of the story, you can take your seat again," Judge Snyder told Bart.
Bart got up and walked back to his seat with the rest of his family. Judge Snyder then began to speak up once Bart was seated.
"Now, since I heard from Bart's side of the story and about him receiving a swollen bruise from the incident, I think we should move onto the evidence," said Judge Snyder, "Dr. Hibbert would you come to the stand?"
Dr. Hibbert got up from the stands and walked in front of the Judge's stand. He then proceeded to speak.
"Well your honor, from the pictures that I took of Bart's neck, there is a large, swollen area all around it," said Dr. Hibbert, "Cause by…severe strangling!"
The audience gasped once again.
"I see," said Judge Snyder, "Now is there anything else you found?"
"Why yes your honor, in fact, when I examined the bruise even deeper, I noticed that Bart's neck has small remnants of scars and bruises from the past, proving the fact that Homer has in fact been strangling Bart for a long time now," said Dr. Hibbert.
"That's not true, the boy's faking it!" shouted Homer.
"Sit down Mr. Simpson," said Judge Snyder.
Homer became frightened by the Judge's tone once again and quickly sat back down to avoid getting into trouble.
"Thank you, Dr. Hibbert," said Judge Snyder, "You may sit down."
"You're welcome your honor," Dr. Hibbert replied.
Dr. Hibbert then collected the pictures and walked back to his seat, next to his wife, Judge Snyder began to speak once again after Dr. Hibbert had returned to his seat.
"Now that we have that covered, I think it's time for a break," said Judge Snyder, "Break for recess, meet back here in fifteen minutes."
The Judge slammed his gavel on the desk and everyone began dispersing out of the courtroom. Outside various citizens were speaking to Ruth about the incident.
"I can't believe my best friend would strangle his own son," Barney said to Ruth, "I've known him for a long time."
"I'm sorry Barney," Ruth apologized, "I don't mean to offend you."
"It's okay, I would understand why he would do that to Bart," said Barney, before letting out a burp.
"I never thought Homer would be so aggressive," said Lenny, "I mean, I've known him for years now, and I would have never thought Homer was doing that to Bart."
"Yeah, all of us are Homer's friends," said Carl, "But after hearing him tell us that he strangles Bart, I feel ashamed."
"Yeah, I feel the same with Marge," said Ruth.
"Yeah, well after hearing what Homer said, I think I'm going to banned him from my bar for a while now," said Moe, "And you're welcome to come to my tavern anytime you want to."
"Thanks Moe," said Ruth.
"Well good luck with the rest of the trial," Lenny told Ruth.
"Thanks guys, I'll see you later," Ruth said to Homer's former friends.
Meanwhile, at another part of the courthouse, Luanne Van Houten, Sarah Wiggum, Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon, and Bernice Hibbert were talking to Marge, they were obviously mad at how Marge treated her kids.
"I can believe you would let Homer strangle Bart like that," said Luanne, "I thought you were nicer than that."
"Well, Bart needs to learn what happens when he gets into trouble in the outside world," Marge replied, "And I can't stand Lisa's belief of Buddhism."
"Well I'm fine if Lisa being different," said Sarah, "And I think you should be ashamed of how you've treat your children."
All four of the women walked away from Marge and towards the courtroom again, the trial was about to resume.
"Alright, let the trial continue, I call Lisa Simpson to the stand," said Judge Snyder.
Lisa got up, hugged Ruth and her brother, and walked up to the stand.
"Now Lisa, how has Ruth been treating you and your siblings since you moved in with her?" asked Judge Snyder.
"Well Ruth
Has been treating us much better than our former parents have ever done," said Lisa.
"Is that so?" replied Judge Snyder, "Well what I remember Ruth telling me earlier that your former mother Marge doesn't approve of your beliefs."
"Well your honor, my former mother has rejected me being a Buddhist for a while now," said Lisa.
"Okay, and what about you being a vegetarian?" asked Judge Snyder.
"Well, she didn't really disapprove of it, but she has threatened me about having me eat meat on the night of the incident," said Lisa.
"Is this true Lisa?" Judge Snyder asked.
"Yes, and she has been trying to sneak meat into the tofu I eat for a while now," said Lisa.
"So what you're saying is that although Marge does not disapprove of you being vegetarian, she doesn't really approve of it either, is that right?" asked Judge Snyder.
"That would be correct, your honor," Lisa replied.
"Well then in that case, you can take your seat back at your table Lisa," said Judge Snyder.
Lisa got up from the stand and walked back to her table, the judge began to speak once she was seated.
"Now, if the story I heard from Lisa is true, then I call Marge Simpson to the stand," said Judge Snyder.
Marge kissed Homer before she walked to the stand.
"Now Marge," said the prosecutor, "Why didn't you rescue Bart when he was being strangled?"
"Well, Homer was just doing his job as a father," Marge replied.
"Okay, and why don't you accept Lisa's beliefs," asked the prosecutor.
"Well, I'm concerned with Lisa limiting her diet to only certain foods," said Marge, "And I don't accept her being a Buddhist."
"Marge, are you aware of the first amendment?" said Judge Snyder, "It states the Freedom of Religion."
"Yes," Marge groaned, "But I just don't want Lisa to be very different from the rest of my family."
"And Ruth, what do you say about Marge's thoughts?" the judge asked.
"Well your honor, all I can say is that these five children mean the world to me, and I would never harm them in anyway, no matter what beliefs they have," said Ruth.
All five of the kids smiled and hugged their mother; Judge Snyder even smiled as well. Marge could only groan in defeat. Suddenly Marge noticed Allison in the group with Ruth's family, she decided to speak about that to Judge Snyder.
"Um, excuse me your honor, who is that girl who's with Ruth and her family?" asked Marge.
"Hmm, now that you mention that Marge, I was wondering as well," said Judge Snyder, "Ruth, who is that young girl that is with your family?"
"Oh, your honor, this is Allison Taylor, she's my long-lost daughter that I found yesterday afternoon," said Ruth.
"Well in that case," Judge Snyder turned to Allison so that he could speak to her, "Allison, is it true that Ruth is your actual mother and not your former parents?"
"Yes your honor," Allison replied, "I found out that Ruth was my actual mother yesterday when Lisa invited me over to spend the night with her, Bart, and their friends. It's a long story,"
"Very well then," said Judge Snyder, "Thank you for telling me who you were Allison. Now, that I've heard the stories from both the Simpsons' and Ruth's views, has the jury reached a verdict?"
The jury, consisting of Helen Lovejoy, Ms. Hoover, Apu, Cletus, and eight other citizens stood up to answer Judge Snyder.
"We have your honor," said Helen Lovejoy, "After hearing the story Ruth, Bart, and Lisa told about the incident, and after seeing the images of Bart's severe bruise, we find Homer and Marge Simpson guilty of the crime of child abuse."
"Very well. As for that, Homer you are hereby sentenced to ten years in prison for your crime. And Marge, you are to be placed on a restraining order, violating it will result in serving time in prison for you as well," said Judge Snyder, "And as for you both, you will pay a $10,000 fine to Ruth and her family."
The judge turned to Ruth and her family.
"And as for you Ruth, you are now the legal guardian of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson," said the judge, "Case dismissed."
And with a bang of the gavel, everyone started to disperse. Homer was escorted by officers Lou and Eddie outside into a police cruiser, where he was to be transported to the Springfield Penitentiary. Marge was told by Judge Snyder to see him in his office where she received the restraining order, which prohibited her from talking to, or coming within 25 feet of Ruth or any member of her family.
As the Powers were leaving the courthouse, they were stopped by the Wiggums. Sarah Wiggum congratulated Ruth and hugged her son Ralph. Chief Wiggum also wanted to talk to Ruth.
"So Ruth, was my boy any trouble with your family?" Chief Wiggum asked.
"Not at all," said Ruth, "In fact, he was very well behaved."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," said the Chief, "But are you aware that Ralph is in a relationship with your daughter Allison?"
"Yes, Allison told me about it yesterday," Ruth said.
"And are you fine with your daughter dating my son?" asked the Chief.
"If Ralph likes Allison, then I'm fine with it," said Ruth, "He is a sweet little boy after all."
"Thanks," said the Chief, "Say I was wondering, would you and your family like to join my family for dinner at Luigi's tonight?"
"That would be wonderful," said Ruth.
"Great, be there at six o' clock," said the Chief.
"Got it," said Ruth.
And with that conversation over, Ruth and her family said their goodbyes to the Wiggums and their friends before heading back home, before they got there, they stopped at Allison's old house, where they began gathering her belongings onto a moving van Professor Taylor had called in and transported them to the Powers' house. They set up all of Allison's furniture in her new room and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, preparing for dinner that night.
Well that's it for this chapter, and again, I'm sorry it took so long to upload. Comment, Favorite, or Follow, I will post up another chapter in the future.