Epilogue
“The people request remand without bail, Your Honor,” Elizabeth announced in a crisp voice, sorting through the papers before her. “The defendant is a mob boss in the Wilkins crime syndicate. I’m sure I don’t need to remind the court that the last nine members of this organization who were granted bail promptly fled the country.”
“There’s no official evidence that such a syndicate even exists!” the defense attorney protested. “The prosecution can’t use criminal conspiracy theories and the behavior patterns of other individuals my client has never even met to-“
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Mister Carter,” Judge Weisman retorted, staring down at him under the rims of her glasses. “Ms. Albrook is right. The defendant is to be held without bail. Next docket.”
The corners of Elizabeth’s lips twitched upwards. Even after six months, the last name still sent a little tingle down her spine.
“Don’t smile yet, Elizabeth,” Carter informed her, dropping several papers in front of her. “Mister Fitch denies having even heard of Mister Trick. That, and all the evidence against him was obtained through an illegal search.”
“Warrants are illegal now, are they?” Elizabeth retorted sarcastically with a falsely cheerful smile.
“We’re contesting the validity of the warrant,” Carter instructed her, watching as his client was led off to the holding facility. “There’s no way you’re going to hold this indictment. Have a nice day.” He gave her an equally false smile before stalking off.
Elizabeth moved aside to allow the next docket to be called, arranging everything neatly before putting it all into her briefcase. The persistent smile that had threatened to overcome her all day finally broke, and she walked from the courtroom with a little swagger.
Robin Wood and Detective Finn met her outside. “Bail?” Wood asked anxiously.
“Remand,” Elizabeth assured him, handing over the motion she’d just received. “Carter wants to question the search warrant.”
“Typical,” Wood commented with a roll of his eyes.
“Everything’s clean on this one,” Riley assured them both. “All ‘I’s dotted and ‘T’s crossed.” He ventured a pleasant smile in Elizabeth’s direction. The fact that she’d broken the case against his partner had strained their friendship, but their working relationship was cordial again now, and perhaps all hard feelings would disappear with time. After all, not even loyal Riley Finn could deny that his partner had done some pretty nasty stuff.
“Good,” Wood agreed. “We’ll want to go over everything with a fine-toothed comb again just to make sure. You available Tuesday morning?”
“I’ll fit it in,” Riley answered.
“Have we gotten Trick to make a statement yet?” Elizabeth demanded information on the other end of the investigation.
“Sooner or later he’s bound to realize that Wilkins is slowly cutting him off,” Wood assured her. “It’s only a matter of time before he cracks on something.”
“All right, then,” Elizabeth concluded with a smile. “You don’t need me this afternoon?”
“So you can sleep with the enemy?” Wood teased.
“I’m not the one having the steamy affair with a certain brunette defense counsel,” Elizabeth shot right back.
Riley gave Wood a speculative look at that. “You’re sleeping with the enemy?” he joked.
Wood huffed. “None of your business, detective,” he countered.
“So I’m off?” Elizabeth persisted hopefully.
“You’ve got your half-day off,” Wood assured her. “I’m presuming it’s worth it?” He fixed her with a curious look.
“I’ll let you know tomorrow,” Elizabeth refused to let the cat out of the bag.
“We can’t push our luck?” Riley teased lightly, a bit of their old camaraderie coming through in his tone.
“You’re both lucky I convinced William not to indict you for malicious prosecution,” she joked right back.
“There’s no grounds-” Wood began automatically.
“He’s convinced that the fact that the two of you check out my butt is grounds enough,” Elizabeth retorted with a wink.
Riley blushed and looked pointedly away, while Wood chuckled. “You can tell your husband that my appreciation of your figure is completely respectful,” Wood shot back with a smile.
Elizabeth laughed as well and gave them a final wave before exiting the courthouse. It was a warm spring day outside, and Elizabeth wound her way slowly through the park, enjoying the feel of the sunshine upon her skin. She caught sight of a familiar platinum head and walked over to the park bench, sudden giddiness threatening to overtake her.
“Happy to see me, luv?” Spike asked in a husky voice, admiring her approach and rising to his feet to meet her.
She caught him in a passionate embrace and pressed her lips to his, her tongue sliding sensuously along the lines of his mouth, urging him to open up to her. He did so willingly, and soon their tongues were joined in a fierce dance, making love the only way they could in such a public setting.
Spike finally pulled back to gasp for air, resting his head atop hers as they remained locked in their embrace. “‘ll take that as a ‘yes’, then?” he said lightly, closing his eyes at the wonderful feel of her fingers twining through his hair.
“Very much yes,” she assured him, holding him tight. “I’ve got something I have to tell you, William.”
The seriousness of her tone caught him by surprise, and he pulled away slightly to look at her. “What?” he asked, somewhat anxiously.
“Well, I snuck in an appointment at the doctor’s this morning.” she began.
His hand instantly went to her forehead, concerned about some of the strange symptoms she’d been exhibiting lately. “‘S nothing, right?” he asked, worried.
Her face flushed. “Not exactly,” she corrected, taking hold of the hand at her forehead and guiding it to her still-flat stomach.
He blinked at her blankly a couple of times. “‘S not serious, is it?” he demanded, not catching the hint.
She rolled her eyes. “Remember how we’ve been trying?” she hinted, pressing his hand more firmly against her belly.
One really slow blink. And then his eyes widened. “You’re-” he managed to gasp out.
“William!” Elizabeth called out in alarm, catching him up against her for balance as he swayed on his feet.
He shook his head, getting over the momentary giddy dizziness. “You’re.” he said again, a grin slowly splitting his face as well. The hand on her stomach rubbed in an affectionate circle.
“Carrying a little William,” she agreed with a laugh.
“You mean a little Buffy,” he corrected automatically before leaning in and capturing her lips in another molten kiss, effectively preventing any further argument on the subject.
She melted into his embrace as they laughed between kisses, and even as the clouds burst into another of the day’s sporadic showers above them, a sense of completion settled over her like nothing she’d ever felt before.
“Better get you inside,” Spike insisted, sheltering her from the rain with his coat. “Don’t want you catchin’ cold in your condition.”
Elizabeth chose to remain charmed by the concern for the moment. She’d wait until he went overboard before bitching him out for over-protectiveness. And, given all her husband’s other tendencies, she had no doubt that he’d go Neanderthal with the best of them. For now, though, it was sweet.
“Let’s go home,” she agreed, lips whispering against his throat. “I’ve got the entire afternoon off, and I think the two of us deserve some time together to celebrate.”
“‘S only fair,” he agreed, pressing a tender kiss into the hair of the woman he loved and marveling that, after all that gone wrong in his life over the past years, everything was finally right.
The End.