The Coffee Shop (Hamilton Lams Modern AU) **IN EDITING**

Chapter 26

Both POVs

The Next Morning

Why is it so bright? It's too early for this.. I thought as I opened my eyes. Sunlight was pouring in through the windows, and it was right in my eyes. I realized I was lying down on top of Alex, and remembered what had happened last night. I tried to lift my arms so I could push myself up, but they felt sore and heavy. It's like my arms have been replaced by lead weights. I shouldn't have gone that deep. I thought. Was I actually trying to-.. to... I don't think I was.. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, instead focusing on Alex's soft snoring. This is comfy. I could stay like this all day. But my eyes snapped open when I remembered what day today was. But I can't. Today's the trial. I hastily got up, ignoring the pain in my arms. I shook Alex awake. "Jackie..? What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, sitting up at once. I shook my head. I couldn't seem to get the words out. "I've never seen you look this nervous. Did something happen?" I shook my head again. I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat. "The trial.. it's today, isn't it?" I nodded. "Okay, so I know it doesn't start until 12, but we should get going. We need to make sure everything is in order, and that we have everything we need. Also, the drive from here to Albany is like two hours or something, so we have about an hour to get ready and two hours to drive. One more thing, let's hope for this to be quick. Trials can go on for days and days, but this should be fairly quick, probably only taking up a few hours for today. We should be home by.. well, if we finish around 6 or 7, we'd be home by 8 or 9. That's late, but it'll work. If I pull an all-nighter, I can finish up my coursework and..." Alex went on like this for about ten minutes. He's gonna do great.

2 ½ Hours Later

We'd arrived. The courtroom was huge, bigger than any place I'd ever been to. John was gripping my hand so tightly that I thought it would break. I didn't mind, though. I didn't want him to let go. "I'm scared, I'm scared. What if everything goes wrong? W-what if-?" I cut him off. "No. No more 'what ifs'. They only stress you out." And stress me out too. I'd gotten myself set up at one of the desks(?) and made sure I had everything for the millionth time. When is he going to get here? I can't exactly start prosecuting someone without someone to prosecute. The doors opened with a loud bang, and someone stepped in, followed by three other people. I knew that Mr. Laurens had arrived with the kids. They'd be helping us out, as Henry and James had worked together to get some extra evidence (more on that later). The kids ran over, looking excited. "John, the kids are here," I whispered to him. He'd been pacing for the past few minutes, mumbling 'what ifs' to himself. "Jackie!" Mary-Eleanor yelled, hugging John. "Hey, I missed you too. You've gotten so tall." There was a lot of talk about things like that, just Jack catching up with his siblings. It was cute to watch, but all the fluffiness was interrupted by the banging of a gavel.

5 1/2 Hours Later

I was exhausted. The trial had gone on for over five hours. Sure, I'd expected the trial to be long, but I didn't expect it to be such a workout. Well, what did you think, Hamilton? With those all-nighters you've been pulling, not to mention keeping yourself and Jack in check. You're running on a few hours of sleep and ten cups of black coffee. Of course this is hard. But, the good thing is that you're winning. Show the footage now, and the case is closed. "Your Honor, I have one last bit of evidence to show you. As some of his children stated earlier, Mr. Laurens had cameras installed all throughout his home. These were particularly useful, just not to him. You see, Your Honor, as he's stated before, Mr. Laurens kicked his eldest son out of his house when he was just seventeen years old. This was due to the fact that his son had come out to him, which had enraged Mr. Laurens, thus causing him to kick his son out. I have the footage from the security cameras in his own home that show him behaving incredibly cruelly towards his son. Play the footage." I don't want to describe the video in any sense, but by the time the clip had ended, I was shaken. "I think we've seen enough," the judge stated. She then did something I'd been hoping for the whole time. "Mr. Henry Laurens Sr., you have been sentenced to the rest of your life in prison for abusing your five children. Mr. John Laurens and Mr. Alexander Hamilton, you have been granted custody of the three minors who Mr. Laurens had previously been in custody of." Did I just-? I felt someone tackle me and kiss me. "Alex, I can't believe that you just did that!" Jackie and his siblings (mostly Jackie) went on and on about how grateful they were for this. "So, do I like, have to pay you anything or no?" he asked me. "Nothing at all," I told him. If this is what it takes to be a lawyer, then I'm 99.9% I chose the right job.