Marlow stopped Sidney in the courthouse hallway after the trial ended. The prosecutor squealed, of course, but he didn't look quite as scared as usual. "I- It's been good to see you again, Mr. Fernicker," he mumbled nervously. "I don't know if you remember me, but I-"

Marlow cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Of course I remember you. You're kinda hard to forget." He frowned. "What I want to know is why you got me mixed up in all this. You knew from the beginning that Joe Schmö was really Marcel Taylor, didn't you?"

Sidney nodded timidly. "I didn't know you moved to Pennsylvania... otherwise, I wouldn't have told Miss Taylor about you. I never meant to cause you so much trouble." His blue eyes fixated on the floor. "I just… thought this case would be important to you. And I…" He trailed off.

Marlow grabbed him by the shoulders, startling him into making eye-contact. "You what?"

Sidney looked somewhat guilty. "Well, it's strange, but ever since you graduated, I've been thinking about how to get out from underneath your shadow," he explained quietly. "People at Ivy only knew me because of you, and you always got better grades than I did… I thought, if I fought against you just once, I might finally become stronger on my own." He blushed and hid his face in his scarf. "B- But th- that's a stupid reason to do what I did… I'm sorry…"

Marlow gently pushed Sidney away, sighing heavily. "No, the only thing that's stupid is you."

Sidney blinked. "Huh?"

Marlow rolled his eyes. "Come on. You had me in the jaws of grisly death back there and you still don't get it? You're already plenty strong on your own, so stop pretending you need me to solve your problems." He popped a cigarette into his mouth and walked away, shaking his head. "Honestly…"

Sidney watched him go, a small smile forming on his lips. "...You're right," he whispered, clutching his scarf. "Sorry."

Five and a half hours later, Marlow met Adley as she exited the detention center, a free woman for the first time since he'd met her. She looked happy, in a sad sort of way. It was a look that he would have had a hard time describing, but he knew it because he almost felt that way, too.

Adley ran a hand through her short brown hair. "I guess you'll be going back to Philadelphia now that the trial's over…"

Marlow smirked. "What, were you thinking I'd stay for you or something? Get real, kid."

Adley rolled her eyes. "Like I'd want a cranky jerk like you around." She fished around in her purse for a few moments, then pulled out a check and handed it to him. "That should about cover everything, right?" The dollar amount was enough to pay for both his plane tickets, hotel stay and standard fee, plus a little extra. He decided to call it a tip.

Marlow pocketed the check and gave Adley a knowing look. "Something tells me you didn't make this much just working overtime."

Adley smiled wryly. "Actually, Marcel's been sending me money since I graduated high school. His 'jobs' paid for me to go to college and even get an office in the city. That's how I knew where to send the key; he always included a return address." She looked slightly guilty. "You can understand why I didn't want to tell you that… I never knew he was the Marshall, though."

"So you already suspected he was making dirty money?" Marlow scowled. "That could've really helped me out, you know! I was practically grasping for straws in there!"

"Aw, I knew you could do it," Adley teased, giving Conrad, who was sticking his head out of Marlow's briefcase, an affectionate pat on the nose. The turtle rubbed his head up against her hand, and she giggled. "I think he likes me."

Marlow narrowed his eyes at the turtle. "Traitor," he hissed. As if to spite him, Conrad nosed Adley's fingers a second time, and she let out a bright peal of laughter. For the first time, it sounded completely genuine, and her smile made it all the way up to her warm brown eyes. "Take care, Marlow," Adley said softly, taking a step back. She was too proud a person to thank him out loud, but the sentiment showed in her face.

Marlow nodded, clenching his fist around the handle of his briefcase. "You too, kid," he murmured, surprised at the emotion that had found its way into his own voice. He turned his back on her and walked swiftly down the sidewalk, towards the nearest subway station. He didn't allow himself to look back; he knew that if he did, he might not make his flight.

Hours later, when he finally touched down in Philadelphia, made his way through the airport, and stepped out onto familiar streets for the first time in three days, puffy grey clouds covered the sky and tiny flakes of white floated through the frigid air, disappearing the moment they touched the ground. Marlow glanced up at the statue of William Penn, lightly dusted with snow, and smiled quietly. "You know, Conrad," he whispered to the turtle in his briefcase, "it might be time to change things up. Maybe I will get back into criminal law..."

He started to walk down the sidewalk, letting the city slowly sink in through his skin. For some strange reason, he didn't really feel the cold.

- - Fin - -

Author's Note: Wow, that was long. Also… wow, I finished something! I can't believe it! Somebody pinch me! *starts hyperventilating*

Anyway, I've been wanting to write about Marlow and friends (?) for a while now, but I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. But then I saw the OC Contest over on Court-Records . net (which only happens once a year or so), and figured, oh, what the heck.

I told myself I'd write something short, and then this happened. Sometimes I amaze even myself. O_o

Also, I apologize for the lack of significant canon characters (except maybe the judge). I just felt that this is primarily Marlow's story, so including them too much felt kind of forced. *shrug*

Anyway, thanks for reading all the way to the end! I hope you liked it! :D