In-Between Chapters 20 and 21 by Sofia Hammerstein

Cameron Sylvester has grown up always hoping he'll live up to the heritage of his mother's family height. She was a ten-foot-tall Big, after all, and his father was a tall Mid, which meant it shouldn't have been a question that he would grow out of the Little category of height early on. A bright student, he's been at the top of his class in science and math throughout his academic career! Looking toward his high school graduation and towards college, he's received scholarships to attend Emerson University. it's a question of inches if he'll be left to the fate of being a Little with a limited future or manage to make a future as a short 'Betweener.' Even as a Betweener, the question remains to be seen if he can be a normal adult or if he'll be left 'In-Between.'  (A Tale from the Diaper Dimension)

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The Legal Stuff: In-Between © 2020-2026 By Sofia Hammerstein
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
 

 
 

Chapter 20: Sizeism
 

OUR GROUP HAD become a close group of friends over our first two years at school, and we all worked together very well. Only Sam and I lived in the village, so we tended to get together a lot at my place to study since Sam was a little skittish about letting Big people inside her place. On those occasions, Edgar had to duck a little to come inside my apartment. He tended to bring his own folding chair, but it became customary for us all to hang out a few nights of the week.

One of the few times I had been inside Sam’s apartment, I had caught sight of a package of night-time protection that I guessed was why she didn’t want anyone over. She’d even been leery of me at first, but as we got to know each other, I told her more about my past and Beth. Consequently, we became good friends, and I helped her out in situations where even in this city, it wouldn’t be a good idea to go unescorted as a Little!

My time in law school was flying by unbelievably quickly! During my second year, I worked really hard to earn the recommendation of one of my professors to get an internship to clerk with the Chief Justice on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Ruth Jones was highly respected and had a reputation for being a no-nonsense juror, but understood applying the law accurately and reasonably.

After my finals ended in May, I’d made a quick trip home to grab my car - driving it first to New Haven. I’d taken a hurried day at Harlan to move much of my stuff out into storage and the needed things into the car to take with me. On the Saturday before I was set to begin interning, I had been on the road for two hours to get to Crescent City, the Capital of The State of Hartford. I was glad it was a city in the same state as Harlan just to feel safer about this move. Unfortunately, the move was pretty much sight unseen for me with the apartment. I had interviewed with Judge Jones via a video conference instead of being in person due to my classes. She completely understood my need for that and even complimented me on taking my coursework seriously. After she offered me the position, she was kind enough to send along a couple of recommendations of places to live that she knew were nice places close to the courthouse.

This apartment was in a high-rise building downtown, only two blocks from the courthouse. Luckily it also had access to a parking garage for my car, even though it looked to me on the surface to be possible to never have to leave the area for anything other than maybe groceries. I pulled into the garage as I’d been instructed by the manager, grabbed my briefcase, and walked down the tall stairs to exit the garage. At the bottom, I found a door leading to the apartments. I opened a large door and followed the arrows to the management’s office.

Surprisingly, it appeared to be a bigger office than I expected. A tall secretary looked up from her computer and said, “Well, hello there! Can I help you?” The problem wasn’t the words… the problem was the pitch was high, like you would use with a preschooler... or a baby. I hadn’t dealt with that much since I began studying at Harlan.

I braced myself for more but forced the smile I needed in the courtroom, “Yes, I’m Cameron Sylvester. I’m supposed to move into my apartment today?”

Her face looked inquisitive momentarily; she typed something into her computer and then looked back at me. “Umm… No one told us you were a Little?”

I bit my tongue, “I’m not a Little, I’m legally a Mid, but my size isn’t going to be a problem in renting? That would be discrimination, of course…?”

“Let me get my manager…” She stood up and walked away.

I pulled my phone out and placed it in a panic-mode to call Dad without being seen. I hadn’t felt the need to have a panic button ready to go in years, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say I would be treated as a Little by her. I also started a recording on the phone just in case I needed evidence of what I feared was coming.

Another tall woman made her way to where I was standing. “Mr. Sylvester?” she said.

“Yes, ma’am?” I said as I held my hand up to her.

“I’m Ryleigh Edger; I’m sorry about the confusion here. Judge Jones gave you a reference, but no one said you weren’t a Big.”

“I don’t see the relevance?”

“Well, we have an apartment furnished and ready to go for you, but it is, unfortunately, Big-sized.”

I shrugged, “I grew up in a Big-sized house; it won’t be an issue.”

“Well, maybe it wouldn’t for you… but we have an insurance company that doesn’t approve larger-sized rentals for lessees due to the safety risks. Concerns of people falling out of too tall beds… not being able to reach safety equipment.”

“So, what you’re telling me is that you will not rent to me? Based upon my size alone?”

“Well…”

“You realize I will be reporting your discrimination? I will have grounds to seek out a small claim suit against you all as well? Where am I supposed to rent an apartment on this short notice?”

“Sir…”

“Sir, what? You’ll rent to me?”

“No sir, I’m sorry, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Then I will do so,” I told her.

I turned and walked back to my car, getting inside, locking it, and shaking with nerves then. If she HAD called the cops, that would have been a way to manipulate an arrest and get me into the courts. I set my car to drive a safe distance away to a shopping center parking lot where I could try and figure out a plan. I had just left the parking garage when my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Sylvester?” I heard the voice of Judge Jones.

“Oh, hello, Judge Jones.”

“I wanted to see how you were doing? If you had made it to the city yet?”

I sighed, “Well… I made it to the city, but unfortunately, the apartment I had arranged to rent was in a building that apparently believes in discriminating against anyone who’s not a Big.”

“What?!?” She sounded genuinely unhappy. “They can’t do that! You told them that?”

“I have a recording too. The manager was trying to claim it was due to their insurance not being willing to insure the apartments against an injury if I fell…”

“Really?” She acted surprised, “I haven’t seen one of these cases in a couple of years here in this state. I want you to send me the audio recording when we hang up. I think I’ll get it to our local DA and let him go deal with them… I guess that means your place to stay has fallen through?”

I sighed, “Yeah, I was just getting ready to find a place to park and start calling around for other places.”

“Well…you know what… don’t bother.”

“Ma’am?” I said, nervous she was about to fire me.

“I mean, don’t bother. I have a room you can stay in at my house. I have had interns come before, but I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by suggesting it first.”

My stomach did flip-flops. For the second time in twenty minutes, I worried my maturity card could be in jeopardy! ‘She’s not one of those…’ I thought. I thought back to everything I’d researched about her. She had four kids – natural ones – who were all grown. The youngest son had just graduated college this spring, and as far as I knew, they had never had a Little, and her kids hadn’t either. Her record spoke really positively on the Little front, having decided against many Bigs trying to cruelly bypass the stringent adoption rules that the State of Hartford had in place.

“I’d expect to pay rent,” I found myself saying.

“Nonsense! You’re a student! You and I both know what it’s like to eat ramen and get by with the bare minimum on things. Save your money.”

“Well… I have to do something to make it up to you?”

“Nonsense, now, I’m going to text you our address, and I expect to see you soon!”

“Yes, Ma’am,” I found myself saying.

I got off the phone with her and messaged her a copy of the audio file from the apartment. I uploaded it somewhere safe before programming in her address and sending my car off to its new destination.

I called Dad then, “Cameron? Did you make it into your apartment already?”

“Hi, Dad… No. Things didn’t go as expected…” I filled him in. He seemed to have his own worries along my lines, but neither of us saw another solution. “I’ll be careful, Dad; I love you,” I told him.

“Love you too, Cameron,” he said to me.

I saw she must live a fair way out of town because it would still be another twenty minutes to get to her house. Right then, my phone lit up with Meg’s number. I pressed accept and said, “Hi Meg, how are you?”

“Hi Cameron, you moved into your new place yet?” She asked.

“Not exactly,” I told her.

“What’s wrong?”

I explained everything, “Cameron, that’s kind of scary. Are you sure it’s safe to go stay with her?”

“I hope so… all of my research tells me I should be safe…”

“Be careful!”

“I will… How’s everything going there?”

“Odd.”

“Odd?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah… You know, when Stacy left, some weird things happened.”

“Like?”

“Well… I don’t think I ever told you about my cousins, did I?”

I thought back to what Stacy had told me about them, “You didn’t, but Stacy told me they were all in the worst shape, no teeth, can’t walk, etcetera?”

“Yeah… they were.”

“Were?”

“A month after Stacy left, they healed suddenly. Grew teeth, slowly struggled to walk again, and could talk normally.”

“Uh-oh, what did your aunts do?”

“Nothing… Well… sort of nothing. Aunt Chloe and Cassie started turning up the affection levels… I haven’t seen them hit one of them since about a month after that. They’re even letting them eat regular food and changing their diapers when needed - like a normal parent should. Before, they were really abusive and neglectful. Still, now both treat their Littles like cuddly dolls that they actually love. Well enough, Neville told me he decided to not run away when he suddenly could again.”

“That is weird… You think Stacy?”

“Yeah… I do.”

“Well, at least it’s just them?”

“No… that’s the thing. In the last six months, I’ve noticed less and less abusive behavior when Megan takes me out. Then this week, a judge ruled that Littles have the same rights to safe homes as normal minor children.”

“You think she somehow hypnotized everyone?” I had to keep from her that I knew full well what had happened.

“No idea… but I’m guessing she had something to do with it.”

“Does that mean Littles aren’t being adopted now?”

“No… unfortunately, that hasn’t changed. If anything, I think I’m seeing more adoptions among Megan’s friends. Plenty of ‘adjustments’ are still happening too, but at least the beatings and such seem to be not as frequent…”

“Things still the same there with you?” I changed the subject.

“Pretty much. Megan’s thinking about switching jobs, though, so I may have to start going to daycare during the daytime…”

“Ouch… I hope not?”

“She’s promised she’ll make sure it’s a nice one if she does.”

I saw the car was three minutes from my destination, “Hey Meg, I want to talk to you some more, but I’m almost at her house. I need to let you go so I can keep track of which of these mansions is hers…”

“Big houses?”

“I have a feeling her house will be bigger than Amanda and Fred’s.”

“Ooh… Good luck, Cameron!”

“Talk to you later, Meg,” I told her and hung up.

The car brought me to a gated entrance, and I pressed the button at the gate, “Hello?” A voice asked.

“I’m here to see Judge Jones?”

“Is that you, Cameron?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” remembering my better manners now that I wasn’t so frustrated.

“I’m opening the gate up and the garage. Just park your car in the empty spot at the end.”

“Okay,” I found myself saying. The large gate was twice the height of my dad’s car and looked like it probably would stop a considerable vehicle from ramming through it. I saw it close behind me as I guided my car up the driveway to the house. I discovered they had five double garage doors lined up along the side of a large house finished with a stone façade. It looked to be three stories tall and probably had a basement, I guessed too. As I parked in the empty spot, I noted a large truck, two SUVs, a luxury sedan, and a small, modest classic sportscar in the other bays. It looked like a pretty good-sized shop was set up in one of the other bays to work on cars too.

I opened my door and looked at the tall figure of Judge Jones walking towards me with a man I guessed was her husband. Her hair was short and gray, while he lacked anything on top of his head, and the hair on his sides was white. “Hi, Judge Jones,” I said. “Thank you so much for helping me out here.”

“I’m Cameron,” I said to the tall man beside her. She was probably a little under eleven feet in height, while he was perhaps four inches taller than her.

“Nice to meet you, Cameron; I’m Doug,” he told me.

“So, you made it alright?” Judge Jones asked me.

“Yes, Your Honor,” I said.

“Oh, stop it with that. If you will be working and living with us, I can’t have you ‘Honoring’ me every two seconds. Call me Ruth, or if you really feel a need to be formal, Mrs. Jones will be just fine.”

“Umm… Thanks.”

“What all did you bring with you?” She looked inside the car as I opened the back.

“Well, I had thought I was moving into an apartment today, so I brought most of the things I needed from my on-campus apartment…”

“You won’t need a lot of that. Why don’t you bring in your clothes, computer, and anything like that and leave the rest of your things in your car for now? We can store the rest of the boxes next to your car in the garage or just leave them all in the car. If you’re living with me, we’ll commute into town together.”

“That’s very generous,” I said with a smile.

“Why don’t we go show you your room,” she said after I had taken a couple suitcases, my computer, and her husband had grabbed another bag. They led me up the steps of a large porch that wrapped around the house, and inside the entryway of the enormous home, I had to gasp. I’d been inside Addy’s house twice while we had dated, and while probably more expensive, this seemed more elegant.

“You have a beautiful home,” I told them.

“Thank you,” she said. She led me up tall steps that were definitely sized for Bigs. It was a big step up for each. Still, I balanced everything and made it to the second floor. Then the third floor, where she opened up a door, “I figured you’d probably appreciate the privacy the third floor will give you. This was my youngest daughters… so sorry about the colors in here. You can at least switch the sheets if you’ve got the right size with you.”

I looked at a room I was surprised suited for a shorter person. “She’s shorter?” I asked while looking at a bed sized for a Mid or a small Big child.

“Yes, she somehow ended up with a recessive gene. She’s only eight feet tall,” she told me. “Not that much taller than you, really.”

“No, that’s the height my dad is,” I said.

“Anyway, when we figured out that she would be shorter, we found appropriate-sized furniture. We also altered the bathroom to make it a bit more manageable.”

“Great!” I said with a smile. “I really do appreciate this!”

“Well, why don’t I let you get situated in here. I’ll have dinner ready in an hour – please come down and join us.”

“Are you sure I can’t pay you anything?”

“Help me with dishes after dinner each day; we’ll call that even,” she told me.

She gave me a look as I was about to argue more, so I smiled, “I’d be happy to do that.”

They left, and I took a look around the room. It was decorated for a teen girl with a definitely girlish scheme. Two walls, including one with a huge window seat, were painted white, while the opposite walls were painted a light purple. A bed that looked my size was covered in a very feminine white comforter, with the headboard backed up against one of the purple walls. On the wall above the bed were hundreds of stuck-on mirrored star shapes that were actually kind of cool. The opposite side of the room held a white vanity with a mirror that I assumed her daughter used to do her makeup with from the small dusty remnants that still remained. A reasonably sturdy white desk sat beside it with a nice computer chair.

I opened the closet and discovered it would have been a dream closet for most girls, with all the bars available to hang things. As I unpacked my clothing, I thought, “I sure hope she doesn’t want me to be a new daughter here…”

As I said that quietly aloud, I noticed my long hair in the reflection of the vanity would undoubtedly suit that look. ‘Why does Beth have to like it long, too…?’ I shook my head and made sure I promptly made it downstairs for dinner after putting all my things away.
 
 

Chapter 21: Introductions
 

MONDAY MORNING, I sat nervously as I rode in a worn booster seat in the back of Judge Jones’s car as she drove us towards the courthouse. I reflected on how lucky I seemed to have gotten! That weekend I learned that she and her husband were truly a sweet couple. He retired as a chief engineer from an aerospace company just last year. He now spent his time tinkering in the garage and tending to the large yard around their house. She was a total legal nerd, and I literally gasped aloud when she showed me her library Saturday evening - it was equal to most law schools!

That led to some interesting legal debates that I loved hearing her opinion on. Truthfully this short pseudo-clerkship was a dream come true for me as a law student!

“When we get to the courthouse, I’ll take you to get your credentials. This morning I’ll introduce you to my staff and a few other people around here; then, there are those three hearings that I told you about yesterday this afternoon. I’d like you to sit next to the court reporter and make notes on the proceedings. I’ll have you work on many things through your internship, but I think it’s invaluable that you get a good grasp of how the appellate level really works. Things never go exactly according to your classes,” she laughed.

I nodded, “I’m really looking forward to it!”

We pulled up to a security gate where a guard looked at Judge Jones and was about to motion her through before seeing me. “Take your kid to work day, Judge Jones?”

“No, this is my intern this summer. I’ll take him to the security desk to get his credentials.”

“Fair enough, go on in.”

She drove through a couple turns and parked in a parking space that had her name on a sign. ‘Judge Ruth Jones, Chief Justice 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.’

‘Must be nice to have your own parking space…’ I couldn’t help but think in my head.

She noticed my look, “It was not easy getting to this job; the little perks are really nice, though!” She laughed, and I joined in.

I fell in beside her as she walked to an elevator and soon found myself in a ground-level hallway where we stepped through a metal detector with a guard and then continued to navigate through a maze of corridors that led to a security office. “Good morning Judge Jones; what can we do for you today?” A polite older man with a darker skin complexion spoke to her.

“Good morning to you, too, Officer Branch! I need to get my intern, Mr. Sylvester, all credentialed for the courthouse.”

He looked down at me, and I was relieved to see a genuine smile rather than another Big like the apartment manager. “Certainly, Judge Jones! May I please see your ID, sir?”

“Hi,” I said politely, “Thanks for helping me with this.” I pulled out my wallet and handed him my driver’s license. He sat there momentarily, typing on a screen before saying, “You’re from Ames, huh? Don’t see many people from that way here.”

“I have one more year left in law school at Harlan. It’s home back there, but I like New Haven a lot better.”

“The State of Hartford is definitely a nicer place for shorter people,” he nodded. I figured he’d never had to deal with that since he looked to be eleven feet tall. As if he could read my mind, he said, “I’m tall, but my older sister wasn’t – she’s a bit shorter than you. She ended up moving out that way with her husband… a year later, she was the baby, complete with a new mommy. Took us years to find a way to get her back safely to here.”

My eyes shot up at that, “Is…”

“She’s fine, not a piece of padding in sight, except on the genuine grandbabies!”

I smiled, “That’s good!”

“The system shows we’ve already completed the background check on you, so if you can just stand over here, I’ll get your picture for your ID.”

I stood before a blue backdrop and smiled as best I could as he took the photo. “That’ll be a nice photo, actually…” he said with a smile. I waited a moment before he handed me a tablet, “Please sign where it tells you to.”

I signed my life away effectively with federal laws if I violated rules. It was many signatures and initials before I finished and handed it back to him over the counter. He traded me for an ID badge with a clip on it. “Here you go, Mr. Sylvester. Work hard for Judge Jones, and she’ll do good for you. She’s the best we have here!”

I smiled at him, “I plan to; thanks for your help!”

As we walked away, she said, “You’ll do well with me.”

“Huh?”

“I’d already had a good chance to judge your character this weekend, but I always find the true nature of people who work with me by how they treat people like Officer Branch there.”

“What do you mean?”

“You treated him with respect and were pleasant to him as he did his job. Many interns and clerks I’ve brought to him have disdainfully acted as if he was beneath them when he took care of the formalities.”

She stopped at the elevators and looked down at me, “The best lawyers and judges I know treat everyone like they’re the same as themselves. It’s easy in the law profession to feel like you are better than everyone else in the world. Don’t lose sight of the fact that you are no different than that officer, and you will go far.”

The elevator arrived, and we rode upstairs to her office on the sixth floor while I pondered what she said.
 

JUDGE JONES INTRODUCED me to her staff, some of the court staff, and some bailiffs that worked around her courtroom and showed me around the important places on her office floor like the break room, copy room, and bathrooms. She set me up at a large desk in the anteroom to her chambers and handed me three stacks of files that pertained to the three cases she would hear arguments about today.

“I know you don’t have nearly enough time to fully brief yourself, but see what you can get through in the next two hours. We’ll get a bite to eat, and then it’ll be time for the first hearing.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” I said with a smile.

I opened the first case and saw it was Robertson vs. the United States of Acirema. A man had killed another man and had argued it was self-defense, but the jury had ruled otherwise. The attorneys for the case were making a technicality argument that some of the evidence shouldn’t have been presented. Reading through the Appellant’s and the State’s briefs, I honestly didn’t think there was anything of value to the argument other than maybe making the man feel better with an appeal being made on his behalf.

I saw the second case was Kounze vs. the United States of Acirema. Their appeal alleged prosecutorial misconduct was at work during the trial of a man convicted of burning down a building and killing three people inside. In question was a video recording of the man doing what he was accused of. It was presented but not shared with the defense before its presentation at the trial as part of the discovery phase. That one was probably bound to be retried, I figured from looking at it, since that was a pretty big oversight. There was no doubt in my mind that the man was guilty…

The final case of the afternoon was Reinhardt and Dane vs. Tully (Dane). My eyes went wide as I read the briefs. Somehow, a Little had managed to escape out of Ames and made it to New Haven. Her ‘mommy’ had gotten desperate for her baby’s return and hired a bounty hunter to find her. The woman had managed to live independently for three years, was now married, and had two kids when the bounty hunter caught up to her. When he attempted to reclaim her to take her back to her mommy, the police officers of New Haven stopped him and allowed her to go home since it was clear she was a free Little right then. They took him into custody and charged him initially with attempted kidnapping. After a few days, they established that Tully was a runaway Little, and she had been collected by Little Protective Services to be cared for until her status could be determined. At question was whether they could legally deny Reinhardt the right to take Mrs. Tully back to Ames and interfere in her return.

I squirmed at that, knowing that technically the Constitution said that she had to be returned to her rightful guardian of Mrs. Dane. From what I could see, her only hope was that it was just Judge Jones hearing this case and not the full Appellate Court. Maybe there was some loophole I didn’t know about, but I certainly couldn’t think of one right then. Because of the nature of the case, it was automatically kicked up to the 3rd Circuit Court to decide since it involved a question of multiple state jurisdictions of Hartford and Ames.

I read both briefs as quickly as possible in all three cases and tried to memorize as many of the facts and arguments presented in writing as I could. When Judge Jones reappeared, she said, “Ready to get a bite to eat?”

“Sounds good!” I said with a smile and quickly organized my piles before following her down the elevator. We walked across the street and down the block to a small deli where she insisted on paying for my meal.

“So, what do you think so far of the briefs?” She asked me after making sure no one was nearby to listen.

“Well, the first case seems like a non-starter to me. The defendant’s counsel isn’t presenting any real procedural arguments in writing, at least? Seems more like an attempt to make a client pay more legal fees.”

“I’m curious to see if the attorney has anything more that he didn’t have in the briefs, but I would agree with your estimation of the case in writing that the arguments are slim.”

“The second case honestly looks like a valid concern on the face of things. The defendant was clearly guilty from that evidence. Still, discovery means the defense should have had access to all the evidence, including that video. Procedurally I think the prosecution has a lot to explain.”

She didn’t give me a clear answer, “That one will be interesting to hear the arguments. I think the guilt of the defendant is clear, but the rights of the defendant are important to the foundation of our judicial system. Would he have been convicted without that evidence? It should be interesting to hear both sides.” She smiled, “And the last case.”

My stomach churned, “The law is neither moral nor immoral… it’s the law.” I sighed, quoting a professor while debating about saying aloud what I actually thought. “I think it’s abhorrent that Mrs. Tully would be forced to leave her children and go back to Ames to be babied by her fake mommy for the rest of her life. According to the briefs, her two kids would get to stay with their father but never have their mother around as they grew up. I personally think the fact that she’s made a life for herself, and has a family of her own, shows that Maturosis is a lie of culture designed to enslave Littles like her.” I sighed, “That being said, the case law is clear that, legally, she should have to be returned to Ames. She could theoretically appeal there for a change in standing, but that won’t go anywhere within their courts. The 6th Circuit and all of the District Courts will agree that she had been adopted, and without a declaration of emancipation, she’s still her ‘baby.’”

I blushed, knowing I had spoken more passionately about this matter than may have been healthy.

She smiled at me, though, “You understand the law quite well, Cameron. One of the worst things about being a judge is that sometimes there are immoral laws you must uphold. You missed that the laws of New Haven are also quite strict on the procedures for being emancipated – it would seem that Mrs. Tully seemingly has met all of those criteria. Not having a willing mother to release her, though, means that’s an uphill battle.”

“I hate the system on that one,” I told her honestly.

She looked at the time and said, “I, too, hate the system sometimes; let’s go get to court.”

I walked with her back to the courthouse, and we found one of her long-term clerks, Kathy Stanford, waiting at her office. After introductions and some small talk, Judge Jones said, “Kathy, can you go ahead and head to the courtroom and show Cameron where he can set up next to you and the reporter?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” To her before smiling down at me, “Ready for the first day?”

I smiled up at the tall eleven-foot-tall Big, “Absolutely!”

She showed me a large table with chairs next to the court reporter. Someone had thoughtfully placed a thick pillow on one of the chairs for me. I clambered up and watched people move about the room for a few minutes before I heard, “All Rise!” as Judge Jones walked into the room, “Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye, The Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit Court is now open according to law.”

As I stood, I reflected on how I was always a bit bemused by how far our traditions went back with courts like this. Being present here was like a dream come true to me! “Thank you, you may be seated,” Judge Jones said to everyone once she sat down.

The bailiff stated, “The first case on today’s docket is Case number 5348203 Robertson vs. United States of Acirema. Mr. Tyrone Ashton.”

I watched as the man stepped to the large lectern. Atop the podium, I knew full well about the three lights representing his time and ability to make his case. A preset guideline of fifteen minutes had been set for both sides of arguments. When he was allowed to speak, a green light would be lit. There was a two-minute warning that the amber in the middle represented. When the red light showed at the end, he would be done unless Judge Jones asked him questions or gave him additional time to speak.

“Thank you, and may it please the court, I am Tyrone Slade representing Chris Robertson…” He presented an argument that I was almost surprised to even see him keep a straight face for.

I was still getting to know Judge Jones, so I observed her while also making notes about his case for appeal. Her face was set in a completely emotionless stare as she watched the attorney speak. The intensity of her eyes was very intimidating, and I’m certain the lawyer had to feel that stare burning into him. At the end of his time, she didn’t ask any questions of him, and the DA for the case came and had his own fifteen minutes.

I was curious to see how she would make her ruling known. From what I had studied, there was a lot of wiggle room for those decisions to be announced. Usually, this would be published on a website after the judge could render a written decision. In some cases, they might go ahead and state their opinion from the bench.

“Thank you both for your arguments. Normally I would tell you an opinion will be written and published by my office in about seven days, but I do not wish to waste additional time with this case. Mr. Ashton, I see no merit at all in the appeal you have filed before this court. The motion is denied with prejudice, and I highly suggest that if you come before this bench in the future, you have a more meaningful and substantial reason within the law to do so.”

With a strike of her gavel, the case was at a close. Next to me, Kathy said, “She was really annoyed at that one…”

“I kind of guessed. When I read the briefs, it sounded like a waste of time.”

During the following case, she asked a lot more questions of both the defense attorney and the prosecutor. It was clear to me that there was a genuine concern that the discovery of evidence wasn’t shared with the defendant. Some questions about if the evidence wasn’t there, would they still have convicted him? Ultimately, she stated that her opinion in the case would be rendered in seven to ten days. “Court is in recess for thirty minutes before the next case.”

“Good time to hit the restroom,” Kathy said, “I have a feeling this next case is going to go on longer.”

“Why?”

“Because… well, did you read the briefs?” She asked as she motioned with her head to move towards a hallway behind the courtroom. She led me towards one of the bathrooms meant for court staff, not the lawyers or the general public.

“I did… Unfortunately, isn’t the law unambiguous?”

“It is, which is why I think Judge Jones is going to figure out where she does have some wiggle room. I’ve been clerking for her for nine months, and her biggest pet peeve is when families are separated for no good reason.”

I nodded at that, “I agree with her there…”

I went inside the men’s, while she went in the women’s. I was back out quickly but decided to be polite and wait for her. I noticed a few looks from some Bigs walking around, but thanks to New Haven’s laws, I knew I was pretty much as safe as anyone could be as a Betweener. However, littles might still need to take more precautions with some of those looks!

When she reappeared, we walked back to the courtroom, and I talked with her about her schooling and past. She was doing a typical clerkship after finishing law school that was scheduled to last two years. When she finished, she planned on finding a firm somewhere to join up with. For now, she felt like learning everything she could about the Appellate Court was in her future client’s best interests.

I nodded, as that was kind of where I was leaning. The idea of finishing school and returning for a longer, more proper clerkship did seem appealing.

By the end of the recess, a new set of lawyers were set up at the two opposing counsel tables. I felt bile in my throat as another woman with an LPS badge held a tightly swaddled woman on her lap. A large locking pacifier was clearly hurting her from the winces of pain I could see. Through the blanket, I thought I could see signs of her having further restraints on her ankles and hands. Her face looked covered in sweat from being overheated by the tight blanket. ‘And she’s supposed to be the one protecting Littles…?’

The cry of All-Rise was repeated, and Judge Jones reappeared.

“The final case on today’s docket is Case number 534359342 Reinhardt and Dane vs. Tully(Dane).”

Before the bounty hunters’ lawyer could even begin to make his case, Judge Jones stated, “Ma’am, who are you, and why is Mrs. Tully being so aggressively restrained?”
 
 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you did so and press the Kudos button! I should be posting a few times a week until this is fully posted here on BC. The full novel is complete (65 chapters plus Epilogue) and published on Amazon if you wish to be impatient though!

All of my published works have AI read audiobooks available for them. I’ve spent some time tweaking pronunciations, and they’re pretty good when you can’t afford thousands to pay for audiobook creation! They’re a $1.99 addon to the $5.99 price on Kindle. If you’ve already purchase the book it should come up as only $1.99. They’re also available on Audible directly, but that’s $9.99 versus the cheaper price! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia