*James*

My stomach is tied in a tight knot. I feel like I could get sick right here and now as the judge sits down. He looks at both me and Nadine before speaking.

"This has been one of the most difficult cases for me, and I've been doing this for years." Judge Capriotti begins. "Miss Jones, I truly am sorry for your loss. This is an accident that very well could have been prevented, and Malcolm Jones would still be alive today."

Oh no.....

"Mr. Gallo. You made a decision. You got behind the wheel and drove when you were too tired. You ran a red light. You changed the lives of many with that one action."

I nod, accepting his words along with the hard lump in my throat and begin to cry silently.

"A choice was made. A life was taken. We can't change that. We can't do anything to bring Mr. Jones back, just like we can't magically heal Mr. Gallo's permanent disabilities. Miss. Jones, you deserve the justice you seek for your uncle."

My breath hitches, and every time I blink, another tear falls.

"Mr. Gallo. We have rules and laws for a reason. Crimes can not go unpunished."

I nod again and clumsily wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Our prisons are well equipped for all types of people with disabilities, son."

Oh God, please don't do this to me. I close my eyes and say the quickest silent prayer in my life in my head. 'God, please don't send me to jail.'

The judge pauses for a moment and looks down at his documents. The courtroom is full of tears and sniffles.

"In California, non-gross vehicular manslaughter is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county Jail. Sentencing you to serve time in prison and accommodate your disabilities under the ADA guidelines is a costly expense. I thought long and hard over this. You DO need to serve time, Mr. Gallo."

I stare at the judge and nod again. 'God, please!'

"But serving time in prison is not the best option for you. We reserve jail space for more serious offenders, Mr. Gallo." He looks at me with sympathy. "I hereby reduce your sentence to six months of house arrest then 12 months of probation to follow. This will avoid the negative effects of being incarcerated."

"Judge Capriotti.." Colton speaks out but gets no attention from the judge.

"You will be fined the $1000.00 and two points on your driving record. You will be required to pay for your house arrest, which is $3000.00 for six months. You will wear an ankle bracelet to monitor you and remain at home at all times except for pre-approved reasons. You are allowed to leave for medical appointments, attend church, or to counseling services. All other reasons will need to be pre-approved. Miss Jones, I truly am sorry for your loss. But you did not have any financial setbacks due to the fact you did not plan a service, funeral, or even a casket for your uncle. You will receive zero money from Mr. Gallo OR Mr. Hollan, for your losses." He shakes his head.

"Good luck to you, James. I hope you recover fully and also hope I never see you here again. The court is adjourned."

*******

*Trisha*

It takes a moment for any of us to process the sentence. I stand there completely dumbfounded for a second before I turn to Nate.

"Wait." I mutter. "Wait. I don't understand."

"Trish. He's not going to jail." Nate throws his arms around me while I continue to stand in shock.

"He's not going to jail?"

"No doll. James won't step foot in a prison." He cries into my shoulder, and that's when it hits me. Like a freight train. I sob in my best friend's arms while James's is being bombarded by the crazy Gallo girls and Lindsay. Even Maggie senses some kind of relief in the room as she jumps up James's leg while he stands, letting his sisters hug him.

After a good ten minutes of this, we are escorted back to the holding room to wait for Addison to fill in the blanks and answer any questions.

"So now what happens?" James asks.

"We won, Mr. Gallo." Addison smiles as she walks into the room. "You will be assigned a parole officer and, depending on where you choose to stay, fitted for an ankle monitor to wear for 6 months, but so long as you follow the house arrest rules you will not step foot in a prison."

James sits down on the couch, and I sit next to him, holding his hand with both of mine.

"James, I met with Addison this morning to go over things in case this was a possibility."

"Wait, you did? When?!" I interrupt the lawyer.

"It doesn't matter." Nate barks.

"Listen, James." Addison drags a chair over to sit across from us. "I just talked to Judge Capriotti about this. He is doing this out of compassion, ok? Because of your disabilities and the need for 24/7 care, he is giving you options on where you would like to serve your house arrest."

"W-what do you mean?"

"James. You can choose where you want to live for the next six months. You can live in your own home and have your sisters take care of you, or live in my apartment, though in a few months we leave for tour so your sisters would have to take over the last few months, or..." Nate pauses. "You can move into Julia's Avalon apartment, live with her and Paul, and she can take care of you."

WHAT?

James's eyes light up, and a hard lump forms in my throat. I let go of his hand and stared at him.

"Sir, you choose where you want to live." Addison nods.

"They'd let me live with Julia?"

My eyes begin to sting.

"I already talked to her doctor, and he ok'd it." She states.

I frown and look down at his hand I was just holding in disbelief. A tear falls down, and then another.

"With Julia. Of course. I'd live with Julia." He nods to the lawyer, and I can feel Nate's eyes on me. James didn't even take two seconds to think about his answer. He knew what he wanted right away. And it wasn't me.

"So here is the deal then, Mr. Gallo. Because you are choosing to live at The Avalon, an assisted living facility, Judge Capriotti said the rules are a little bit different."

I block out what the lawyer is saying. I'm still staring down trying to process this.

" It offers many different counseling opportunities for you to attend." I come back to life and hear Addison say.

"Hold on, James, you are willing to be an Avalon patient?? You don't have mental illness, and you don't have an addiction problem!" I blurt out.

"Trish. This is a good thing." Jonah begins. "The Avalon is staffed with plenty of nurses for James if he ever needed one. Julia can take care of him in her apartment with Paul's supervision. Her place is much bigger than 150 ft, and he has access to the outdoors with her backyard being part of The Avalon."

"And he wouldn't have to wear an ankle bracelet. The judge is going on your good merit. You made a mistake. Not from a DUI or drugs. From working too hard. Your character alone shows good merit. He's giving you a second chance at life."

"But you wouldn't want to stay at Nate's apartment? It's huge and you will have plenty of people to take care of you. Casey can walk the dog whenever, you'd have... " I look up at James. "Me..."

His eyes fall away.

Oh my God. He's choosing Julia over me.

"Trish...love, look at me." Nate moves to sit next to me and takes my hands in his. "You can go visit him whenever you like."

"At the AVALON?" I cry out. My heart physically hurts and that fucking lump in my throat is hard as a rock.

"If you were in his shoes and on home confinement. Couldn't drive. Would you stay at your apartment or mine, with me?"

"Well, yours. You know that! You're my..."My words fall and chin quivers a little. "Best friend."

"Exactly, doll. He wants to be with his best friend. Just like I would want you to be with me, you see?"

"And Jonah and I can take turns stopping by and walking the dog. There's a nice park right around the corner from The Avalon. It's not Griffith but it has plenty of room for Maggie to get her exercise. I'm sure once we go on tour, Lindsay will help out in that department." Casey smiles at James and gives me an empathetic look.

"So...no tour then? For you, I mean." I turn back to James who shakes his head no, now feeling bad for me from the way I'm reacting everything.

So that's that. I guess- we're done here.

******