Chapter 13: The Verdict

Walking with Alex, outside at nine o'clock in the morning, Bart felt particularly good to what was about to come, later today.

The two of them had talked about it and despite the fact that Bart was confident in knowing he was going to win, he still was thinking about what he should do if the jury swings towards Jessica.

Bart smiled as the two of them sat down on a bench near the pier and watched the sunrise.

Now, is not the time to think such things. Bart thought to himself as he laid his head on top of Alex's.

Alex seemed to be humming and Bart, after realizing what song it was, joined in.

Almost everyone in Springfield was waiting outside of Barney's Bowl-o-Rama, eagerly awaiting the news as to the verdict to the case of Bart Simpson vs. Jessica Lovejoy.

Marge shook her head, as she drove by, seeing the people and a few reporters standing outside the bowling alley.

Marge, at one point, had hoped that the trial would never have come. That Jessica would apologize to her family and that everything would soon get back to normal. With the threats and everything, Marge realized that, in this town, that was impossible.

Pulling into the driveway, of the house, she was greeted by Maggie.

"Need help with any of the groceries, Mom?" She asked.

Marge smiled, "No dear, I think I can get them all."

Maggie still took some and the two of them headed in and put them away.

Homer was sitting on the couch flipping channels and finally stopped when he came to Kent Brockman standing outside of the Bowl-o-Rama.

This is Kent Brockman, coming to you live at Barney's Bowl-o-Rama, for Trial Watch 2007. We are but moments away from the verdict of a lifetime. Who will win? Our panelists have taken a tally of our online users and right now…it's dead even.

Homer thought for a moment, then called out to Marge, "Marge! Who did we vote for? Bart or the Christian chick?"

"Bart, Homer!" Marge called back.

Homer, After noticing a sound coming from outside the house, got up and went outside and watched a handful of cars parked themselves outside near the Simpson's home.

Moe and Barney came out and approached Homer.

"Say, Homer, we just want to tell you that we hope your boy wins today." Moe said.

"Thanks, guys. Say, why are you all dressed up in black? And what's with the hooks and ropes?" Homer asked seeing how Moe, Barney, and Ralph Wiggum, were dressed in black and had ropes and hooks slung over their shoulders.

"Uh, Homer, we need to ask you something." Moe said, and then led Homer over away from the house.

"Me and the guys were thinking that we should get a front row seat and find out whose going to win this? You in?"

Homer thought and then said finally, "I'll do it!"

Rod and Todd Flanders were watching Homer and the others from the window of their house.

"What do you think they're doing, Todd?" Rod asked.

Todd shrugged, "I don't know. Should we ask Daddy?"

The younger brother thought for a moment and then sighed, "I'm not sure he'll hear us, though."

Todd looked over at the urn that was sitting a top the fireplace along with the family pictures.

"I'll bet they're up to some unholy acts, don't you?" Todd asked.

Rod nodded, "Yeah. That Bart Simpson and his family are true spawns of the devil. Just like that nudist colony that was at the fairgrounds, that Daddy saw. If he hadn't had that heart-attack, at that time, and lived to see this, I'm sure he would have had one from seeing this."

Todd nodded, " I wish that Daddy hadn't had the urge for cotton candy that day."

Just then the phone rang and Todd answered it. After a minute or so, he hung up.

"Bad news, little brother. Our mail-order brides have already been taken."

"Aww, phooey." Exclaimed Rod.

Lisa Simpson, sitting at the Singing Sirloin, had never, in her life, imagined who'd be sitting across from her.

Nelson had arrived late and apologized and sat down as the two had ordered. As Lisa had expected, Nelson ordered a steak while Lisa had a Greek salad.

After the meal, Nelson snapped a finger to one of their servers.

"Hey, you, buddy, bring over the dessert cart, pronto!"

The server looked nervously at Nelson. "Uh, but sir. We don't serve desserts until dinner time."

Nelson glared at him. "What's your name?"

"C-C-Calvin, sir." He stuttered.

Nelson nodded.

Lisa sighed. She knew what was going to happen next. Once a bully, always a bully.

"Very well, Calvin. But, do you think you can make an exception this time."

Lisa opened her eyes wide and stared at Nelson.

The waiter seemed to do the same.

"Y-Y-Yes, sir. I'll see what I can do." He replied and then walked away."

Nelson held up his glass, "Gotta know how to talk to them."

Lisa did likewise with her glass and the two of them clinked.

Lisa was surprised, not only for the way Nelson had acted when refused something, but everything about him in general.

Their lunch together went off without a problem that Lisa could've foreseen.

The last thing Nelson did that surprised her was that he, not only paid for the dinner, but also tipped the server very generously.

"Nelson? How could you afford to tip him like that? Grant it, his service was better than others, but can you really afford to give what you gave?"

Nelson laid back in his chair and stretched.

"I have news for you, Simpson. That was chump change."

Lisa hooked an eyebrow as she struggled to think on what he meant by that.

Nelson could sense her confusion.

"Let me fill you in." He began.

Sitting at home with Marge and Alex, Bart went into the fridge and got out two Duffs and then sat at the table with the others.

Marge was knitting, while Alex was reading the paper, Bart smiled at the both of them as he handed Alex her beer.

"So, honey, do you think you'll win today?" Marge asked.

Bart sighed, "I hope so. If not, well, at least I went down fighting."

Alex shook her head, "Don't talk like that, Bart. Of course you'll win. Jessica doesn't have a case against you."

Bart shrugged, "I can bet, though, she's putting an awful lot of money in those jurors' pockets. With Dolph on the jury, he'll try to influence or threaten them into voting for her. I have my doubts."

Marge put away her knitting and walked over and hugged her son.

"They'll look past that, Bart. After all, what does Springfield have to gain, when my itty-bitty Bartty is put away in jail and no-ones left to defend them?"

Bart hugged her back.

When Marge left, Alex got up and put her hand on Bart's shoulder, and she kissed him on the top of his head.

"You'll prevail, Bart. I just know it."

Bart reached up and drew her down for a kiss.

"Thanks." He said.

The rest of the afternoon, Bart spent with Alex. The two of them went over to Alex's building, where, Alex gave Bart an in-depth preview of what the whole line of clothing was going to be like. From there, they went over to meet Laura Powers, who also wished Bart the best of luck.

"Thanks, Laura. I'm still not sure what my chances are, knowing Jessica's power to manipulate."

Laura sighed, "You're pretty manipulative yourself, Bart Simpson. Remember how you got Jimbo to wet his pants in the threat of Moe Syzlack?"

Bart looked at her with curiosity. "How did you know I did that?"

Laura laughed, "C'mon. It was pretty obvious by your smug expression, that evening, that you did it. Besides, I was grateful and didn't want to say anything."

Alex smiled and felt a little envious of the history, no matter brief, that these two shared.

After saying goodbye to Laura, the two then went over to Milhouse and Samantha's for coffee.

It was Alex's idea, to have Bart be distracted by his friends and not dwell so much on upcoming verdict.

While Samantha was showing Alex her sonogram pictures, Milhouse took Bart to his parlor room and the two sat down on Milhouse's stained couch and drank their coffee.

"So, when are you gonna pop the question, Bart?" Milhouse asked, looking over Bart's shoulder at his wife and Alex.

Bart nearly choked on his coffee.

"Excuse me?"

Milhouse smiled, "You KNOW what I mean."

Bart looked at his still-nerdish friend and laughed.

"You've got to be kidding. Propose? We've only been dating for two months! That's cutting it a little early, don'tcha think?"

Milhouse shrugged, "I guess. But, you never know if the right one's going to slip away. I consider myself lucky that Samantha came back into my life those years ago. Alex seems to be the best thing in your life. Don't you want to secure that thought?"

Bart shook his head; "I'm happy right now. Don't start making me chaotic by putting new worries into my head."

The two then went onto different topics, like maybe taking the girls with them to see an Isotopes game.

Sitting in the cramped, un-air conditioned, shoe-fitting room, of the bowling alley, the jurors sweated as they argued the points of the trial.

The jurors consisted of Seymour Skinner, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Otto, Edna Krabapple-Skinner, Roger Meyers Jr., and Dolph Emmerson. The other jurors had thrown in the towel because of the heat in the room.

Skinner was appointed as the lead Juror.

"So, we've all come to agreement that it's hot as hell in here?" Skinner asked.

"Aye!" Said everyone.

"Now then, in the matter of the trial, I still think that even despite her history, Jessica may not be in the fault, here."

Otto shook his head, "No way, Skinner-man! Little Bart-dude has said, like, that she totally was the bad-ass in this mess!"

Edna sighed, "Well, yes, Bart has accomplished much but I still think he's capable of those things described."

Skinner gave Edna a devious gaze, "You and I should do a little harassing ourselves later, huh?"

Edna laughed, "Ha! You'll still need your "pill", won't you, Seymour?"

Skinner, nervously, chuckled; "Yeah, well, um, never mind."

As the group bickered back and forth, outside, alongside the building, Moe, Homer, Barney, and Ralph, were arguing themselves on how to safely scale the building.

"But falling hurts my skin, mister." Ralph protested at Moe.

Moe shook his fist at Ralph, "I'll tell ya what'll also hurt if you don't get your ass down there!"

As Ralph started to cry, Barney, who had decided to bring a six pack of Duff and two whiskey bottles with them, passed out and fell over the ledge and landed with a thud into the bushes below.

"You see! Barn' s brave enough. C'mon Homer, talk to this kid, won'tcha?"

Homer sighed loudly and then walked over and put a hand on Ralph's shoulder.

"Look, I don't like you and you don't like me."

Ralph smiled, "I like you, Mister Lisa's daddy."

"You do?" Homer asked, surprised.

Ralph nodded.

Moe grunted in anger as Homer and Ralph hugged, and decided to go by himself.

However, once he was on the side of the building, his rope, which was broken and had been held together with scotch tape, broke, and Moe yelled in surprise as he fell down on top of Barney, who replied with a belch.

Looking over the ledge at the two, Barney still in a drunken slumber and Moe giving off pitiful cries of agony.

Homer cringed at the idea of himself taking the chance of scaling the building and decided to pass.

Turning back to the other reluctant participant, he and Ralph walked away.

Back inside, the matter of the trial soon turned into a debate between the prices at the Quick-E-Mart and the Gas-N-Gulp.

"But they never say "Thank You, come again!" there. Do you call that service!" Apu asked shaking his fist.

"Their prices are better, man. You can get preemo ice cream, with, like, fruit and stuff." Otto replied.

Dolph was getting angry. "Enough!" He yelled.

Skinner nodded. "Folks, we need to come to a decision. All of you who are in favor of Bart, raise your hand."

After seeing the number of hands, Skinner nodded.

"Ok, now Jessica."

Again, after counting the number of votes, Skinner nodded in confirmation.

Skinner sighed, "Alright, I'll write down the verdict. Now, Apu's ice cream tastes better, and here's why…"

The discussion reverted back to the heated, pointless, arguement.

The last place Bart wanted to go, he decided to go alone.

Walking towards the Springfield Super 8 Motel, Bart knocked on the door of room number 14.

The door opened, held back slightly by the chain lock, where Gina looked in surprise at seeing who it was that was visiting her.

"Bart? Hold on a sec'."

After jostling the lock away, Gina led him in.

Bart took notice how clean the place was still, even the bed looked made. He reminded himself, though, that Gina was a neat freak.

Sitting down on the bed, Gina sat down next to him.

"I'm wierded out. I though Maggie was here."

Bart shook his head, "She's working. She told me where you were at."

Gina nodded.

Bart sighed, "I want to say, thank you, Gina."

Gina looked at the floor and didn't respond.

"You not only helped me out at the trail, you also helped me and Alex out of the Maison Derriere."

Gina looked at him, in shock.

How did you know?" She asked.

Bart smiled, "Nelson told me."

Gina returned the smile, "Just like Nelson. Never to hold back anything, even when he's told to keep his damn mouth shut."

The two then sat there for a moment not saying anything.

Then, Gina chuckled.

"What?" Bart asked.

"Do you realize how long it's been since the two of us were near a bed, together?"

Bart soon laughed as well.

Gina then looked at Bart with curiosity.

"So tell me, Bart. When was it that you choose Fashion Queen over the other women?"

"Alex." Bart corrected.

Gina nodded.

Bart sighed, "I've been so tired of always being labeled as the "bad boy". Ever since I was fifteen everyone told me "If you and Gina don't work out you'll probably go over to the 'out' room at the Juvie, to get your next girlfriend." I've always questioned weather or not I'd be able to be with someone less chaotic than myself."

Gina laughed, " 'Less chaotic'? Bart, are you listening to yourself?"

Bart shrugged, "You've been the only girl I've ever dated until two months ago. Someone once told me that habits never die."

Gina shook her head. "Bart. I've got to tall ya, you're the sharpest square, I have ever met."

Bart looked at her with curiosity. "What does that mean?"

"After High School, you became so down in your books and ethics, that, you were no longer 'Bad, bad, Bart Simpson-man'. You became a normal, live-life-like-everybody-person. I was so shocked to see what you had become when I came back to you two years ago."

Bart stood up and walked to the window and sighed, deeply.

"I guess you're right."

Gina stood up and walked next to him; "I guess that's why you like Fashion… excuse me, Alex. Right?"

Bart nodded.

"Well, I can't blame her for liking you back. You do have that "charm"."

Bart looked at her with a cock-eyed expression, "Charm?"

She then slugged him in the shoulder, "Or, she's hopelessly dumb like I was."

Maggie lit a fresh cigarette as they came out of the car and headed towards the bowling alley.

"Margaret Simpson! Put that out right now! I will not have my family embarrass me while we sit down and be there for the other."

Maggie grunted a curse word as she extinguished her cigarette against her shoe.

Walking into Barney's Bowl-O-Rama, Homer was waiting for Marge, Lisa, Maggie, and Alex. He was waiving his arms, hysterically.

"Hey! Over here! I got us some kick-ass seats!"

Marge sighed in disapproval as others looked at Homer then at them.

Everyone was finally seated and talking amongst themselves until the door opened and Judge Snyder came in and took to his seat in the middle of the bowling lane.

"Bring in the jury." He announced.

The bailiff nodded and walked over to the shoe fitting room and held open the door.

The Jurors all filed in, and all of who had sweat stains all over their bodies.

Otto was wiping at the air in front of his face.

"Man! Just in time; it was beginning to smell fresh in there."

The judge shook his head in disapproval of Otto's loud comment. He then turned his attention to Skinner.

"Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?" Asked Judge Snyder.

Skinner wiped some sweat off his forehead as he nodded.

"Yes, your honor."

He then reached into breast shirt-pocket and unfolded the paper.

"We the jury here by declare that Quick-E-Mart's food is safer than the Gas-N-Gulp's. Oops! Sorry, your Honor, wrong one."

Skinner then fumbled all over his clothing trying to locate the verdict.

While Skinner was searching, Jessica glanced over at Bart and mouthed: "I Own You."

When Skinner, out of desperation, took off his pants, to search around, the Judge called an immediate recess.

Bart walked over to Jessica, where Mr. Gweeble looked apprehensive about him being there.

"I just want to say good luck, Jessica."

Jessica fluttered her eyelashes and gave a sneer, "Tell that to yourself, Bart. I don't need it."

Just then, Skinner gave a loud "Aha!" as he had found the verdict, which was surprisingly tucked away in his left sock.

As soon as everyone settled back down again, Skinner rose.

"We find, in the matter of Bart Simpson vs. Jessica Lovejoy…"

Everyone, in the room, held their breath.

Alex, Maggie, and Lisa gripped each other's hands, tightly.

Marge and Homer held eachother tightly.

Jessica leaned forward on the desk.

Bart gripped the table.

The birds outside ceased their singing.

Outside, in the bushes, Barney paused before taking another swig.

Skinner took a deep breath, before continuing.

"We find Bart Simpson…"

Bart closed his eyes.

"We find Bart Simpson not guilty of sexual harassment."

"What!" Yelled Jessica.

"We find Jessica Lovejoy…" Skinner began again. Bart reopened his eyes And look hopefully, at the jury.

"Guilty of kidnapping." Skinner announced.

Jessica flipped over her desk and started shrieking.

Judge Snyder pointed his gavel at Jessica.

"Bailiff, control Miss Lovejoy, won't you?"

The Bailiff hurried over and helped Mr. Gweeble hold down the snarling woman.

The Judge turned back to Skinner.

"Has the jury come up with a suitable punishment?"

Skinner nodded, again.

"Yes we have, your Honor. We hearby announce that Miss Jessica Lovejoy be exiled from Springfield and never to return."

Both Lisa and Maggie smiled at this.

Alex, on the other hand, was looking around. "Hey, I know this is sort of out there, but, where are Jessica's parents?"

Lisa sighed, "They've been at Martha's Vineyard for the past two years. I'm not sure that they even knew she came back to Springfield."

Alex shrugged, "Oh, well. I guess this won't bother them, either way."

Lisa nodded.

To the surprise of all of them, Maggie stood up and shouted, "That's right! Get the hell out of here, you home-wrecking, little, whore!"

Bart smiled at his sister's yelling, and at the day in general.

After the bailiff took the still-struggling Jessica away, the Judge announced the case was adjourned.

Alex rushed up and hugged Bart, knocking him off balance and sending the two of them to the floor.

"Told ya." She said grinning.

The rest of the family soon met them.

"We're proud of ya, boy." Homer said.

Lisa hugged Bart, "I'm so glad it's over."

Maggie, however, was by the entrance calling after Jessica.

"Ha! You lose, loser!"

While the others had left, Bart and Alex walked away from the bowling alley.

"So, what do you want to do, to celebrate?" Bart asked her.

Alex gave a mischvious grin and went to Lisa car and pulled out two baseball bats.

"Let's paint the town red, Simpson." She said handing him one of the bats.

Bart took a step back and looked at Alex with awe and shock.

"Alex? What are you…"

Alex shrugged, "C'mon, Bart. I know who you really are. I know I've probably come off like a little up tight loser. But, if you'd ask Lisa, you'll find out it's quite the opposite."

Bart looked at the bat and then back at Alex. "Are you sure you want me like this?"

Alex walked up to Bart and kissed him.

"Not always. Every girl needs her bad boy, but every girl also needs her sensible guy, too."

Just then a grin crept its was across Bart Simpson's face. He then tasseled up his hair and swung the bat at a near by, broken down, Oldsmobile.

The two then spent the night beating up wrecked cars on Bumsville and Cracktown.

They spent about two and half-hours causing damage before they called it quits.

Calling a cab, Bart and Alex rode the rest of the way back to his apartment.

They talked along the way, until Alex had fallen asleep.

Bart carried her up the stairs and was able to open his door without awakening her.

Placing her gently on his bed, Bart walked back to his kitchen and opened up the vegetable bin and bent down and took out a small black velvet shaped box.

Bart closed his eyes and made a small hope and prayer in his head as he walked back to the bedroom.

Looking down at Alex's sleeping form, Bart smiled.

This is the life, isn't it, Bart?

He then laid the box into her outstretched hand and closed her fingers on it.

Bart, then, laid down next to her and closed his eyes.

To be continued…