There's Too Much Green To Feel Blue

"I think we've almost got this." Hurley said.
He and Peter were leaning closely to Sam behind them, "But we could do with at least one more witness."
"Who could we possibly get right now?" Peter asked.
"I know who!" Sam said.
Five minutes later, Brendon, wearing green scrubs, a white undershirt and a gray jacket, walked into the court room.
"What's up, guys?" he said plopping down next to Sam, "Sam, you're still here, what happened?"
"Peter came to his senses." Sam said, "Oh, I can't believe I almost left you behind, skinny weeny!" she hugged him tightly and snuggled into his chest.
"What's going on?" Brendon asked sliding an arm around Sam.
"We need you to take the stand to help Peter." Hurley said.
"Please, Brendon, we need you." Peter begged.
"I love you, Brendon." Sam said.
"All you need to do is answer questions and make Peter look good, while under oath." Hurley said and Sam giggled.
"Hash's lawyer might ask you questions too, but keep trying to make Pete look good." Hurley continued.
"Okay, I'll do it." Brendon said.
When court came back in session, Brendon was called to the stand.
Brendon sat calmly while Hurley placed the floor.
"Brendon, how do you know my client?"
"I know him from the hospital. He always visited Hash when she was in the coma and she was one of my patients." Brendon answered.
"So you know him pretty well?"
"Very well." Brendon said, "We became good friends over these two years."
"How long was Hash in her coma?"
"Two years."
"Did you ever get to know Hash?"
Brendon furrowed his brow, "I didn't get to know her, per say. I never even got to hear her normal voice! Every time I hear her she's yelling."
"That's so not true!" Hash screamed.
Brendon motioned to her to prove his point.
"Did you ever think that she would wake up?"
"In my proffesional opinion," Brendon placed a hand on his chest, "no. I never thought she'd wake up."
"Didn't you say you were a nurse?" Hurley inquired.
Brendon frowned and pouted, "Yes."
"How often did Peter visit Hash?"
"Two to three times a week." he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "But, when he met Sam, that turned to once a week." He gave a cute, small smirk and blushed slightly.
"Describe a normal visit to me before Sam came in the picture." Hurley said.
"Well, Pete and Lily would come and visit, then they'd stay and talk to her for a while."
"Peter would bring Lily?" Hurley asked.
"Yeah, Peter said that it was very important that Lily knew her mother."
"Now tell me a visit to Hash with Sam."
"It was about the same thing, except Sam tagged along.
"How would you describe Peter as a parent?"
"He took amazing care of Lily. As soon as Hash was admitted into the hospital, he knew Lily was his sole repsonsibility. She was only two years old then, she's flourished."
"Did you get to know Lily, as well?"
"Yes, I know that she likes red lollipop's." he grinned, "And so does Sam."
"So, who do you believe should have custody of Lily?"
"Peter. Lily is smart and happy. And not many men can raise a two year old by themselves and work like Peter did. He deserved her."
"No more questions, then." Hurley said. He turned and returned to his seat.
"Would you like to question him, D.C.?" Jersey asked.
"Yes, your honor, I would." D.C. said standing up.
"Brendon," D.C. said walking over to him, "how long have you been working at the hospital?"
"Almost five years."
"Have you seen alot of coma cases?"
"Yes, but Hash's was very different."
"Why is that?"
"Because I've never seen anyone last as long as she did. Usually, people would pull the plug."
"That always happened?"
"Yeah. Actually, I was trying to get Peter to pull the plug."
The entire court room, except Sam, gasped. Hash's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open and her hand flew to her heart.
"You see?" D.C. cried, "This is why I do it! They haven't found Tupac's killer, we don't know why Casey Calvert died, Paris Hilton gets paid to do nothing and Ashlee Simpson can't sing, I want justice!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jersey said holding up his hands, "Hold on, Peter, is this true?"
"Yes." Peter nodded, "It's not too late, is it?"
"Why didn't Peter pull the plug?" D.C. asked.
Brendon shrugged, "He had hope. He didn't want to leave Lily without a mother."
"Daddy, I really need to go to the bathroom!" Lily cried suddenly.
"Sam?" Jersey said.
Sam rose from her seat, "Yo?"
"Please escort Miss Lily to the bathroom." Jersey said.
"Sure." Sam held out her hand, "Come on, Lily."
Lily ran to Sam and they walked out of the room.
"So, you never saw Hash's behavior toward Lily?"
"Never." Brendon said shaking his head.
"And did you ever see Peter mistreat Lily?"
"I wouldn't even dream of Peter doing that."
"What makes you think that Hash wouldn't be a good mother?"
"Well, I don't know her! And, like I said, every time I see her she's screaming. Maybe she could be a great mother, but she's got a mouth on her--"
"What the hell? You don't even know me--" Hash began.
"Stop yelling at me!" Brendon cried leaning back and raising up his hands as if in surrender, "See?" he pointed at her, "That's exactly it! Peter should be the sole parent because he wouldn't keep yelling at Lily! Damn. What's wrong with you, woman?"
"D.C., do something!" Hash cried.
"What? He has every right to say you're a loud mouth." D.C. shrugged.
Hash gave an indignant shriek.
"Ha!" Mike cried.
Hash whirled around, "Shut up, Mike!
In the back of the courtroom, William made a loud whipping noise.
"Hey!" Mike snapped.
William responded by pretending to brandish a whip and making the noise again. Mike mimicked him and made the noise back. William responded the same. Mike did it again. Then William did it again. Hurley chuckled and Max laughed loudly and clapped.
"What are they doing?" Peter asked as the men continued to make noises. "They're whipping each other." Hurley said and Peter laughed.
"Stop it!" Hash yelled.
William and Mike looked at her and did the whipping noise. Brendon covered his mouth and snickered.
The back doors of the court room opened and Sam and Lily walked in. Sam frowned at the scene before her while Lily watched in awe.
"What in the name of all that is gangsta is going on?" Sam cried, "I leave for five minutes and when I come back you all are whipping each other?" she placed her hands on her hips, "Judge Jersey, I am surprised at you."
"I'm sorry, it was funny." Jersey said chuckling. He banged his gavel three times, "Knock it off, boys."
William and Mike stopped.
Sam led Lily into the courtroom, "Go to your mother, Lily."
"No, I'm going to sit with you." Lily said.
Sam stared down at her, "Okay." she said.
Lily pretended to brandish a whip and made the lashing sound at Sam. The courtroom laughed.
"Come on, Lily." Sam smiled. They sat back down.
"Will you please questioning the witness any further?" Jersey asked D.C..
"No, your honor, that'll be all." D.C. said taking a seat.
"Will there be anymore witnesses?" Jersey asked.
Sam groaned, "No more witnesses, no more questions and no more lawyers! I hate lawyers! Except for Harvey Levin."
"Will you shut up about Harvey Levin?" Hash asked.
"Never." Sam swore.
"Anymore witnesses." Jersey asked.
"Say no." Sam whispered to Hurley.
"It wouldn't hurt for one more person--" Hurley began.
"Who are we going to get? There's no one left--"
One of the back doors suddenly banged open and Gabe peered in holding up his cell phone.
"Ashlee Simpson is on Melrose Place!" he cried.
The entire courtroom gasped at once. Sam stood up with a hand on her mouth.
"How does that woman keep finding work?"
Peter stood up, "Sam, are you okay?"
"No, actually, I feel like I'm going to faint." Sam said moving her hand on her forehead.
Within 3 minutes, Gabe was sitting in front of the courtroom. He wore his famous purple jacket, jeans and a black shirt.
"I don't know why you put me here. I don't know this guy. You're dating Sam, aren't you?"
"Yes." Peter said.
Gabe's face suddenly turned into a menacing scowl, "If you hurt her again, I'll cut you to pieces with my hot white dance moves!"
"Gabe, you shut your filthy little mouth!" Sam said.
"What's so bad about Ashlee Simpson?" D.C. asked.
"I beg your pardon?" Sam asked, completely stunned as she stood up.
"She's not so bad, right?" D.C. said.
"I don't care who you are or what you are, you are never going to heaven!" Sam cried.
"Wait, was she the one who came out on Married With Children?"
"That was Christina Applegate." Sam said.
"Did she come out in that movie with Dane Cooke?"
"That was Jessica Simpson."
"Is she that lady with the green dress and the blue hair?"
"That's Marge Simpson." Sam answered.
"Then I have no idea who Ashlee is."
"That sound right." Sam said satisfied. She sat down.
"Okay, this is enough!" Jersey called spreading his arms out, "This guy clearly doesn't know what he's doing here." he gestured to Gabe.
"Thank you." Gabe said.
"And I think I've heard from enough witnesses. I'd like to take the little darling for questioning." Jersey said standing up.
Peter got up and went to Lily. He got to his knees in front of where Lily sat, "Baby, they're going to take you to a room and ask you questions. You tell them the truth."
"Okay, daddy." Lily nodded.
Peter stood up, "I don't know if I should just let her go in by herself."
"I'll be going with them, sir." the security guard said, suddenly behind them.
"Okay." Peter said, slightly at ease.
"Follow him, Lily." Sam ushered her gently and stood up.
Peter slid an arm around Sam as they watched Judge Jersey, Lily and the security go through a door on the right. Pete sighed as they disappeared. They sat back down.
"So nervous." Peter said.
"Dont' worry, Lily will do you proud." Sam said.
"Ya'll are crazy." a voice said.
They looked up. Gabe was walking toward them.
"You know she's coming to you." he said.
"Oh, my God, Gabe." Sam stood up, "Why'd you come?"
"It's not like I have any where else to be anymore." Gabe shrugged.
"Gabe, I am so sorry." Sam said apologetically.
Gabe shook his head, "Worry about one problem first, then, we'll talk."
She smiled up at him gratefully, "Thanks, Gabe." She stood up, hugged him and pulled him forward, "This is Peter."
Peter stuck out his hand, "I'm the, uh, guy you'll cut to pieces."
Gabe grinned, "Sorry about that." he said shaking his head.
Gabe was suddenly shoved aside as Hash made way for herself.
"Where did you get that gorgeous white dress?" Hash demanded.
"At the all white store, Light." Sam said.
Hash's face instantly showed her jealousy. So she turned to the only one she could push over.
"Start saying good bye to your daughter." she taunted.
"Don't make me kick your ass in front of all these people." Sam threatened.
"There's only one way to settle this. Dance-off! Ready?" Gabe placed a hand in between them, "Go!" He raised up a hand.
"I'll mess you up with a shake of him hips!" Sam said.
Mike suddenly appeared and pulled Hash back, "Come on, Hash, there's no reason for you to be here." He ushered her back to their side. Mike turned and winked at them.
Gabe's phone suddenly played a techno song. He pulled it out. "Ugh, it's my dad, I better take this." He walked out of the courtroom.
Brendon, who had been sitting behind Pete and Sam, leaned forward.
"How long will you have to wait?" he asked with a worried look.
Sam and Peter sat and turned to look at him.
"I don't know." Peter said.
"Wow, you're really worried about this." Sam said slightly concerned.
"Well, yeah." Brendon said, "I don't want that sweet little girl with that banshee!"
"Ooh, nice one." Sam said approvingly.
"Besides, if she gets her, I'll never see Lily again." Brendon said, "She hates me and I kept her stable for two years! I am soo mad at you," Brendon shoved Peter, "for not listening to me when I told you to pull the plug! If you had, we wouldn't be here!"
"Yeah, but then I probably would've never never met Sam." Peter said.
Brendon's face turned thoughful, "So the price to pay for Sam being blessed upon us is Hash?"
They turned to the other side of the court room and saw Hash slap Mike's cheek. Mike clapped his hands and threw back his head and laughed.
"What an idiot." William said sliding down next to Brendon. William turned to look at Brendon, "Yo, nancy boy." he nodded at Brendon.
Sam gripped Peter's hand and quickly kissed his cheek, "Try to be calm." she said soothingly.
"Psst, princess!" William called.
Sam turned.
"I'm mad at you, you know." he smiled.
Sam leaned forward, "Will you shut up? My boyfriend is here!" she hissed. She straightened up and giggled, "My boyfriend." she repeated and wrapped her arms around Peter.
Peter gripped her hand as she slid them off, "I think I might be sick."
"Oh, don't worry, Peter, it'll be okay." Sam cooed, coiling an arm around his.
"I am like so read to freakin' pass out." Peter said, "I just want to be zapped out of the universe."
"Peter, Hurley's the best and he put out a great defense for you." Sam said soothingly, "I'm sure everything will be okay."
"But what if it isn't?" Peter asked worriedly, "What if Hash ends up with my baby? She hates me, she'll never let me see Lily and I'll have to let her and Mike raise the child I worked so hard to raise by myself."
"Peter, why do you always doubt yourself?" Sam asked, "You're so great and I think sometimes you're scared to see how great you are. Besides, if anything unexpected happens, I'm sure Hurley can do something about it. But I just want you to know," she added seriously, "that no matter what happens, I'm not going anywhere."
Peter gave a small smile and placed a hand on Sam's, "Me neither." He gripped Sam's hand and stared straight ahead at the judge's bench.
He didn't know if he was as great as Sam made him out to be. He was no hero, he'd never saved anyone before, he didn't have much money to give, he wasn't, in his opinion, particularly handsome. He was just a hard working, sleep deprived, tired man who wanted his daughter at his side. Lily was what made up for all his faults. If he died now and God asked him if he did anything good, Lily would be his response.
He would not accept Hash and Mike raising her, feeding her, bathing her, playing with her, teaching her or taking her to her first day of school. Hash had made no effort to prove that she could be a good mother. All she had proven was that she was a purposefully malicious woman who wanted nothing more than to see him fail. He had already proven that he could lead a life without her, he had already proven that he could be successful without her, he had already proven that he could raise Lily by himself and he had already proven that he could have love without her. Now he would prove that he could win against her, if he hadn't already proven that yet.
He was grateful that Sam was at his side at a time like this. But all he could think about was Lily. He hoped the judge was able to understand Lily. Lily's vocabulary was just as confusing and quirky as Sam's. No matter what, he knew that Lily was doing her best, he couldn't ask for anything else.
He had done the best with Lily, now all he could do was sit here nervously and wait for her and Judge Jersey to seal his fate.
He quickly glanced at Hash on the other side. She had her arms crossed and was staring absolute daggers at him. Well, at least, he thought she was staring at him. Sam was in between her eye range of him. Sam didn't notice as he gave her a quick glance up and down. He wouldn't blame Hash for giving Sam the evil eye. Sam was about the closest humans got to being perfect. Pretty face, pretty body, pretty clothes, pretty hair, pretty personality....pretty lucky, that's what he was.
He squeezed Sam's hand tighter and silently prayed. He prayed that everything went well, that the ruling be just and that he would be able to take both of his girls home tonight. Now he knew that this was the very thing he wanted so much. All he really, really wanted was to take his girls home.