There's Too Much Green To Feel Blue

"Peter," Sam said gently, "you're hurting me."
"Oh, sorry." Peter said loosening his hold.
"It's okay, you're nervous." Sam said, "How long are they supposed to take?"
"I have no idea but this is torture." Peter said, "I just want us all to be together." He instinctively fiddled with his blue and yellow bracelet.
Sam saw him and smiled. She was happy to see him fiddle with the bracelet she gave him. She placed a hand on his left cheek and turned his face toward her, "You're so frazzled." she crooned.
"If Hash gets her, I'm done. That'll be the end of me." Peter said trying to keep his teeth from chattering.
"Come on, twinkle toes, just try to calm down until Jersey boy shows up." Sam said.
"What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do if it's just you and me?" Peter panicked.
"Look at yourself. You're worrying and nothing's happened yet. You can panick after you've heard the verdict." Sam said.
"You're right." Peter said taking a deep breath.
"Besides, you and I can do lots of things without Lily." she said with a smile.
Peter gave her a look.
"But it wouldn't be the same without Lily." Sam said quickly.
"Hey, Wentz," William called, "are you giving Hash anything of yours?"
Peter turned, "You mean besides my balls?"
William laughed and Sam gasped and hit Peter's arm, "Peter! Your balls are mine! I don't care what she says." Sam cried.
"I don't think she's getting anything of mine. My savings are gone, I lost the old house. What else does she want besides my soul?" Peter said.
"Nice, nice." William said. When Peter turned back, William leaned into Sam's unsuspecting ear, "Just so you know, my balls are yours too." he whispered.
Sam turned, "William, you're going crazy with histeria, let me give you a sedative." she raised her fist.
"Sam!" Brendon pushed her back.
Hurley turned in his seat, "Peter, you better sit up here."
Peter quickly went to Hurley's side. He scooted his chair back up against the banister and Sam scooted forward in her seat. She placed a hand on the banister and he placed his hand on hers.
"I'm scared." he whispered to her.
"Don't be, you don't know anything yet. If Jersey says you can't have her, then be scared."
"I'm a little worried that Jersey won't understand Lily." Peter said.
"How do you mean?" Sam asked, a little confused.
"Well, it's just, you and Lily speak the same way--"
"What, are you saying you don't understand me?" Sam asked, folding her arms.
William took the opportunity to lean forward again, "What was that?" he joked. Sam turned and pushed him back.
"Never mind." Peter said.
He sighed and held Sam's hand again. The small gesture made Sam smile. She snuggled closer to him.
"I love you, Peter." she murmured affectionately, "And Lily loves you, too. I'm super sure that she's in there telling that to Jersey."
"Thanks." Peter said appreciatively, "Love you, too."
"I know that." Sam smiled.
He squeezed her hand again, "My entire life is in that man's hands."
"It's going to be fine." Sam patted his hand, "It's going to be so fine, you'll want to take it home."
Sam's heart suddenly began to race, something was going to happen.
"God, I wish they'd hurry up." Peter said frustratedly.
Sam's eyes flickered to the right of the room and she gasped. Peter turned. Judge Jersey was exiting the room, Lily was holding his hand while the security was holding the door open for him.
'God, I take it back.' he thought nervously.
He gave Sam a quick kiss for luck and scooted his chair to the desk.
"All rise," the security announced, "for Judge Jersey."
The room got to it's feet while Jersey leaned down to Lily's height.
"Go sit with Sam, sweetie, okay?" he said.
Lily nodded and ran to Sam.
Sam quickly leaned forward, "Peter, no matter what, I'm right here with you." she quickly whispered.
"I love you, Sam." he whispered back.
Sam bent down, scooped Lily up as she ran up to her, told Lily to remain quiet and placed her on the seat. The room watched as Jersey walked to his bench.
"Wow, those judge's robes are nice. I wonder if he's naked under there." Sam whispered.
"Shh, Sam." Hurley whispered back.
"Sorry, I'm just nervous." Sam said.
"You may be seated. Clients, please remain standing to hear the verdict." the security said.
Sam sat along with everyone else, Lily crawled onto Sam's lap.
Jersey too his seat, "All right, before we begin, I'd just like to say that this has been the single most crazy custody case I've ever seen. Not even Anna Nicole's daughter had these kind of antics. And such colorful characters, too. There's Miss Coma Girl," he gestured at Hash, "the working man," he gestured at Peter, "the moron," he raised a hand to Mike.
Mikw guffawed and looked around, "Whos' the moron?"
"There's Sam," Jersey smiled down at her, "and then, of course, the sweet litle girl. I've reviewed this case carefully after questioning Lily. My decision was concluded on who I thought had the potential and nurturing to raise this resilient little girl."
"God, I hate suspense." Sam muttered.
Peter slowly moved his arm behind his back and waved his hand up at Sam. Gripping Lily tight, Sam scooted forward in her seat, as far as she could, and placed her hand on Peter's. Pete wrapped his fingers around hers tightly. Lily wrapped her arms around Sam's neck and leaned close to Sam's ear.
"Sam, can I tell you a secret?" she whispered.
"In the custody hearing of Hash vs. Wentz--" Jersey said raising his gavel.
"You wanna know who's name I told Jersey?" Lily whispered. She squeezed Sam's neck tighter, "You know."
"--the court finds in favor of--" Jersey said.
"It was daddy." Lily whispered.
Sam squeezed Lily tight and tried not to squeal.
"Mr. Wentz. You have full custody of this child." Jersey finished.
The reaction was instantaneous. The entire crowd behind Sam got to their feet and cheered just as Sam stood up and squeezed Lily hard while Peter and Hurley hugged. The uproar was so loud. Sam turned and nearly fell down. The entire benches behind her were completely packed with people. There wasn't any people on Hash's side anymore. Everyone was seated behind Sam and Peter. Even Mike had found his way there and was cheering alongside William, who was laughing hard. Ready to burst with hapiness, Peter gave Hurley a big smooch on the cheek and ran around to his two girls. Sam pressed Lily to his arms. Peter scooped her up and hugged her tightly with right arm, the other he wrapped around Sam.
"I love you, daddy." Lily said.
"Oh, my God, I love you soo much, honey." he squeezed her hard, "And I'm never, ever going to let you go." he swore.
He leaned to the side and kissed Sam's forehead while Lily buried her head into his shoulder. Sam happily threw herself at him, pulled his face closer and kissed him full on the lips.
Jersey had to yell to make himself heard, "The court also finds." he yelled amidst all the cheering, "that Hash pay child support. This case is dismissed." Jersey slammed down his gavel.
Peter pulled Sam by the waist and leaned his forehead against hers, "I love you." he said passionately, "Stay with me."
"I'm staying right here." Sam promised and she embraced him.
Brendon came by laughing joyously, "Let me hold the little one." he said reaching out for Lily.
Peter passed her over. Sam hugged him again.
As Peter held her, he caught sight of Hash. Her eyes weren't blinking and she was facing all the cheering people. He watched her for a few seconds. He knew exactly who she was staring at. Her neutral green eyes were following Lily. Pete's heavenly feelings suddenly burnt out and turned to remorse. He couldn't imagine being away from his one and only daughter. He may have raised her, but she gave birth to her. Hash hadn't shown the greatest parenting skills but he had to keep in mind that she was just starting out as a parent. He hated to admit it, but Lily needed Hash. He turned his head and saw Judge Jersey begin to climb down from his seat.
Peter removed his arms from Sam, "No, wait! Wait! Judge Jersey, I need to make a correction!"
Sam looked up at Pete curiously, Hash looked at him confused and Judge Jersey looked back at him.
"What is that?" Jersey asked as the courtroom quieted.
"I'd....like to grant Hash some right to Lily. She can have her every other weekend....starting two weeks from now." Peter said heavily.
"That's not what my client wanted--" D.C. began.
"I'll take it!" Hash said taken back.
"Okay." Jersey said slightly shocked. He turned back, grabbed his gavel and slammed it down to make it official.
Peter turned back around to face Sam.
"That was beautiful, you son of a bitch!" Sam gushed happily.
"Lily needs her." Peter explained, "I can't take my daughter's only mother away from her."
"How awesome are you!" Sam cried.
"How awesome am I? How awesome are you!"
"Me?" Sam asked.
"Yeah." Peter said, "Sam," he placed his hands on her arms, "all this happened because of you. You healed me, you helped me move on, you gave me love, you got the lawyer and you got me this nifty suit." he pulled at his jacket pocket, "Thank you, Sam."
"Wow, that was probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Sam said touched. She smiled, "Come on, we're so going out to celebrate." She grabbed his hand and they began to walk down the aisle as the crowd began to exit the courtroom.
Brendon came back to them with Lily in his arms, "Oh, my God, congrajulations, man."
"Thanks." Peter grinned.
Lily reached for Pete. Brendon handed her over to him.
"Daddy, I'm hungry." Lily said as soon as she was in his arms.
"I'm working on that, honey." Peter said rubbing her head.
"Come celebrate with us, Brendon." Sam said.
"Brendon!" Lily repeated.
"Sure, I'll wait for you guys outside." Brendon said before he turned and left.
Peter carried Lily with his left arm and grabbed Sam's hand with his right. They were almost out of the courtroom when Gabe appeared at the doorway.
"Hey, I'm happy for you guys." he smiled.
"Oh, my God, Gabe." Sam said suddenly saddened. She took a step forward and looked at Peter, "Peter, I'm sorry, I have to go. I love you, but I made a promise to my friend and I'm going to honor it."
Peter gripped her hand tighter, "No, I just got you back, don't leave me so soon." he whispered.
"No, Sam, it's okay." Gabe said raising his hands, "I've bought myself some time. We'll figure something out."
"You sure?" Sam asked worriedly.
"Yeah." he rubbed his hands together eagerly, "let's go eat."
"Oh, I like him." Lily commented.
"I'll go get a cab." Gabe said. He turned and left. They followed.
Sam and Peter had just barely exited the court room when Hash jumped out.
"Peter, can I talk to you?" she asked. She glanced at Sam, "Alone?" she added.
"Sure." Peter said, "Sam, take Lily please." He handed Lily to her.
"I'll be outside," Sam said, "In case you need...defense..or someone to identify your body."
Sam raised her eyebrows challengingly at Hash. Hash gave her an icy stare back. Sam turned to the right and walked out of the building.
"Why did you do that?" Hash said as soon as Sam was out of earshot.
"What? I thought you wanted Sam gone." Peter said.
"No, why did you tell Jersey to give me weekends?" Hash said almost angrily.
"I don't know." Peter said apprehensively, "Isn't that a good thing?"
"But, why?" Hash demanded.
"Because you and I both know that Lily needs you. She may not like you very much but that's up to you to work on."
Hash bit her lip and fidgeted. He'd never seen her do that before.
"But, why? Why? Why when you had it all? You could've walked out the winner but you had to give it up. Why?" she cried frustratedly.
"Because I can't be selfish with Lily. A child needs a mother and a father." Peter said.
Hash frowned up at him and thought for a minute, "You--" she began, "you are such a woman."
Peter was taken back, "What?"
"What kind of a man has everything and then just gives it all away?" Hash asked disgustedly.
"A real man...a father." Peter said, "I did you a favor, don't make me regret it." he said pointing at her.
The usual superior smirk returned to Hash's mouth as she crossed her arms, "Well," she turned and began to walk away, Peter walked alongside her, "we're divorced now."
"Which did you think you'd be first, a widow or a divorcee?" Peter asked.
"From you, divorcee." Hash said.
"Yeah and being Mike's widow is much more dignified." Peter said.
They emerged from the building and were bathed in the bright afternoon sun.
Hash snorted, "I'm not going to marry Mike." She climbed down two steps and stopped walking, "Are you going to marry her?"
Peter grinned at the thought as he climbed down the steps after her, "We've only been dating for a few weeks, Hash." he stepped next to her, "Hash, I'd really like it if we can behave like civilized adults and not fight in front of Lily."
Hash laughed a patronizing laugh, "I'm not going to fight with you today, Peter. I'm in a good mood. We're divorced," she smiled, turned and walked away, "Party."
Peter watched her walk down the courthouse steps for a few seconds. He turned to the right. Sam was on the sidewalk surrounded by friends and holding Lily's hand. Peter smiled and walked toward her. As he jumped off the steps, he noticed his parents hanging around beside the steps, in front of the building.
He walked quickly up to Sam. He kissed her on the cheek, "Stay calm."
"What?" Sam said instantly tensing up.
Peter turned, "Mom, come here." he called.
"What are you doing, you beautifully sculpted psycopath?" Sam hissed.
Peter didn't answer, he waited as his mother, closely followed by his father, walked over to them. When his mother was right in front of him, he turned, grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her next to him.
"This is Sam, you guys know her and I know you're not her biggest fan, mom. But I love her and you need to accept her because as long as she's here, I'm going to be right next to her." He tried to stare his mother down, "Lily loves her, too."
"It's true, I do!" Lily pulled her hand from Sam's and hugged her long legs.
Sam smiled her biggest, brightest smile.
His mother was stone faced. He didn't know if he had gotten through to her. But the moment his father had gotten close and saw Sam, he had grinned widely. He knew his father would talk to his mom.
"I'll call you later, mom." Peter said.
Hash was standing to the side by herself in front of the building, watching all of the people celebrate. She saw Peter's parents walk off. When they moved she saw Lily hugging Sam's legs. Then Lily suddenly cried out and ran to the man nurse. Then she saw Sam and Peter by themselves. Sam was facing Peter, who was holding her hand. Peter leaned in close to her and spoke, Hash was too far away to hear anything. Pete placed a hand on her cheek and Sam smiled. Even from far away, she could see the glitter in their eyes. Hash was suddenly overcome by despair. Her eyes watered over quickly. She didn't know why she was suddenly saddened. Widow or a divorcee, why did she suddenly feel like both?
Peter had never felt true bliss like this and he knew he never would again. These past few months had been the fastest, hardest, life altering months that hr had ever endured. He had never thought he'd ever have a happy ending but right now, everything seemed possible. He was so happy, he didn't feel the need to celebrate, this was the celebration. It really did seem like the celebration. The entire block, it seemed like, was celebrating. The street had suddenly turned to a celebratory parade. Everyone was cheering for the happiness he had long waited for.
All he really wanted to do was hug his daughter and kiss Sam, that was his celebration. But he respected Sam and he knew he had to wait 'til he got home and he'd be doing plenty of hugging with Lily in the weeks to come.
The people around them were excited and ready to start a party in the street. They wanted to celebrate. But all Peter had really wanted was to take his girls home.
In the end, they wound up going back to his apartment. They ate dinner on the counter, like they always did. All the while, Sam kept shooting looks at him. He knew what those looks meant.
In the end, it was perfect. He had his baby, he had his girl and he'd never eaten a better dinner. His smile would be permanent forever.
In the end, he was happy. And the refrigerator, it was happy, too.