Episode Theme Song "Life" by Our Lady Peace

Previously on One Day at a Time
- While Meggan was drunk, she hit Noah with her car and as a result he died. Leah discovered the truth and attacked her. Meggan was arrested. While in jail, Meggan grew depressed, while Leah and Jeff grew closer in the wake of their sons death. They began advocating the death penalty in her case.

Scene One -- The Courthouse

Robbie walks down the long corridor to the courtroom where Meggan’s trial will take place. He wishes the trial date was anything but today as he would have liked to have a nice romantic morning with Leah being Valentine‘s Day and all; alas that was not the case as Leah was up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the trial. He knows how important this day is to her, although he wishes she start to let go of Noah’s death. He hopes that the trial can be the starting point of her attempting to move on with her life. He turns the corner and immediately feels his blood boil; Leah and Jeff hugging. He quickly approaches the two of them.

“Morning Jeff,” Robbie greets the two of them, trying to remain civil to Jeff.

“Hey Robbie,” Jeff replies. “What a great day, hey?”

“Oh yea, fantastic,” Robbie says not altering his voice although he knows that he is not looking forward to it as much as Jeff and Leah are.

Leah looks at Robbie and is suddenly overcome another jolting pain in her side again. She turns away and squints in pain. She holds her hand to her mouth as she feels like she is gagging a little. She moves her hand away after the pain has subsided and notices a few drops of blood. She puts her hand back, but no other blood emerges from on her hand. She finds a tissue in her pocket and wipes her hand before either of the men can notice.

“Are you okay Leah?” Jeff asks concerned that Leah seemingly turned around.

“Yea … yea, I’m good. Just yawned … early morning and all,” Leah lies. “Why don’t you go inside Jeff. I’ll be there in a second.” Jeff enters the courthouse. Robbie quickly covers Leah’s shoulders with his hands.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You look pale Leah,” Robbie observes.

“I said I’m fine. This is the day, the moment I’ve longed for. I’m fine. I’m okay. I … I promise,” she says not able to look in the eyes. “Let’s go get our seat, okay?”

Robbie smiles briefly as Leah pushes past him. As he watches her enter the courtroom he can’t help but notice that she has lost weight, looks weak and fragile. He wonders how much more Leah can endure with Noah’s death. He sighs deeply and prays that she is satisfied with the outcome of today’s trial. He doesn’t know what’ll happen to her if she isn’t happy.

Scene Two -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Leah, Jeff and Robbie sit side by side by side in the court room. On the other side of the court room, Kim is sitting with her note pad. She looks over and spots Jeff; she longs to sit with him on this day to support him but knows that because she is representing the Twin Peaks Sun she has to sit in the media and press area of the court room, especially for this case as Noah’s death has gained a lot of publicity. She watches as Meggan is slowly brought into the court room. Her arms and legs shackled together in chains; her orange jump suit does her figure no justice. Her hair is curly and frizzed out as it has not had proper attention in months. Kim also notices the large bags under Meggan’s eyes and how pale she is. She is greeted by Preston. He smiles to her and tells her everything will be okay. Meggan looks and sees “Vinny”. He stands up and hugs her over the small fence between the public and the court officials. Meggan’s eyes find Leah’s. Leah glares at her and quickly turns her head away from Meggan’s. Meggan fights back a quick tear as she turns around.

The judge enters the court room. A middle aged man, Franklin Ross walks slowly up to his chair. “All rise,” the court bailiff announces. “The honourable Franklin Ross presides.”

Franklin looks over at the bailiff and smiles. “You may be seated.”

“Lois Kam for the District Attorney‘s office,” the female lawyer says into her microphone.

“Preston Wilkins for the defendant your honour,” Preston says standing up.

“Very well,” Franklin says back to the lawyers. “Meggan Victors, please rise.”

Meggan looks up at Preston then proceeds to do what the judge asked her to do. She stands up.

“How do you plead to the charges of manslaughter?” he asks her looking into her sad eyes.

Meggan gulps then moves towards the microphone on the table in front of her.

“Guilty,” she says slowly with her dry mouth.

Gasps in the audience emerge as no one was expecting Meggan to plead guilty. A sly grin comes over Leah’s face. Jeff looks at her and grins as well as he grabs her hand. Robbie notices the hand grabbing and sighs heavily, knowing that he’s in for a long day.

Scene Three -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Leah slowly stands up and walks over to the stand. While her abdominal pain is still there, she walks with confidence over the stand. She gets up and raises her right hand and places the left on the bible.

“Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” the court bailiff asks her.

Leah looks over at Robbie in the stands quickly then over at Meggan. “I do,” she replies.

“You may be seated,” the bailiff says to Leah as she sits down.

The judge looks down at Leah. “Mrs. Calimo, the victim was your son?”

“That’s right your honour. Noah was my little boy.”

“Could you explain to me exactly what happened the day of the accident?” Franklin asks Leah.

Leah immediately feels her eyes swell. For the longest time she refused to think about the actual day of the accident as it has too many bad memories for her. She feels her side ache and she puts her hand on her stomach for a moment.

“Everything alright Mrs. Calimo?”

“Yes. Sorry you’re honour … it’s tough to get into the detail,” Leah says looking up at him. “It was almost a year ago. Jeff, Noah’s father, and I … we weren’t really seeing eye to eye on Noah’s well being at the time. Petty arguments and stuff,” she says letting a tear run down her cheek. “If only we’d know. If only …,” her eyes meet Jeff’s in the crowd. “We shouldn’t have fought Jeff. You know? We should have …” Leah sees Jeff nod and put his head down. “We should have protected him!”

Franklin notices Leah holding her side. He looks concerned and he indicates to the bailiff to bring her some water. “Mrs. Calimo, please have some water and use a tissue. Just take a moment to collect yourself.”

Leah takes a long drink of water and tries to collect herself. “I’m sorry your honour. It’s just … if we hadn’t been fighting, we could have … maybe … stopped Noah from playing outside and kept him away from…” Leah looks over at Meggan and points her finger “…that … that monster!”

Franklin looks over at Meggan, who quickly turns her head away ashamed of her actions. “So Noah was outside while you and Mr. Claus were arguing.”

Leah nods as she wipes her nose. “Yes. Noah had this ball that he liked. He was playing with his ball and it went on to the road. He went to…” Leah continues as her sobs increase. “…get the ball and that’s when it happened. A car sped by and hit him,” Leah recounts slowly without getting too emotional.

Franklin looks at Leah and realizes how much pain she is in recounting the story of Noah’s death. He feels a deep sadness for her at this moment. “That’ll be all Mrs. Calimo. You may step down.”

Leah looks up to the Judge. “One more thing?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been very strong in advocating the death penalty for Meggan. Some may think that’s harsh or extreme your honour … but she took my sons life! I will never get to see him graduate high school or see him have his first kiss … or anything. My life, my heart is empty without him. Please, I’m begging you, do the right thing. For my little boy, do the right thing.”

Leah stands and covers her face as she is crying once again. She slowly walks back to her seat and sits next to Jeff and Robbie. Robbie embraces her as she sobs.

Scene Four -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Leah takes a sigh of relief in the lobby as the Judge just ordered a short recess. Her abdominal feels like it’s stabbing at her and she is weak and tired. She chalks it up to the stress of the day, not wanting to admit that something serious could be wrong with her. She turns and sees Jeff approaching her.

“How you doing?” he asks her as he comes up beside her.

“As well as to be expected,” she smiles at him. “I don’t regret anything. I said what I had too. Are you ready? You’re next you know.”

Jeff doesn’t need a lot of time to respond, he has been waiting for this moment for a long time. “I am so ready. You were strong up there. I am proud of you,” he says as he puts his hand to her shoulder. Leah starts to smile but it soon turns into a grimace as her pain intensifies again. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look really pale Leah.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine! I don’t want to miss this day. I’m going to go get some water. I’ll meet you back in there?” Leah says as she walks past him. Jeff nods quickly to her question and turns and watches her walk away.

“Do you have a minute?” Robbie asks Jeff as he approaches him from behind. Jeff turns and looks at his watch quickly.

“Yea, but just a minute. I’m up next,” Jeff says with an enthusiasm that scares Robbie. He still can not understand why and how Leah and Jeff would want to go to such far lengths against Meggan.

“I’m worried about Leah,” Robbie replies. “Watch out for her, okay?”

Jeff arches his eye brow. “You’re asking me to look after Leah?”

Robbie hates to admit it but he knows that Leah has been turning to Jeff more and more during her grieving period for Noah. He wishes things were different but he nor Leah can go back and change what has happened. He just wants the best for his wife and he needs to know that she is alright. “Look Jeff, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“And I know that Leah and you have this bond because of Noah. I’m just saying, I’m worried about her. Can you help me out?” Robbie asks sincerely, hoping that Jeff will put their differences aside for Leah’s sake.

Jeff looks at Robbie; his face filled with concern and grief with his wife. For the first time, Jeff can really see that Robbie does love Leah and he suddenly feels guilty for sharing a couple of secret kisses with her. “Of course I will. She loves you Robbie, don’t forget that, okay?”

Scene Five -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Jeff raises his right hand and places his left on the bible, his eyes meet the bailiff’s as she reads him his rights.

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

“I do,” he says as he sits down.

Franklin looks over at Jeff. “You’re Noah’s father, correct?”

“Yes sir,” Jeff replies quickly feeling a little nervous as it is his first time being in a court of law.

Franklin reviews his notes before he asks Jeff the next question. “Mr. Claus, I really do not want to go over the day of the accident again. I feel like Mrs. Calimo said everything pretty well.”

“Okay,” Jeff says wondering what the Judge will ask him instead.

“I’d like you to go over what you remember about the police investigation.”

Jeff sighs. “Well not much really, your honour. I mean, I know that the Twin Peaks Police Department did everything they could, but they kept coming up with dead ends. It was frustrating as hell. We just wanted some kind of justice.”

“When you say ‘we’, whom do you mean?” Franklin questions Jeff.

“Leah … Mrs. Calimo and I. We have grown very close again during this ordeal, as Noah’s parents we have been driven to ensure justice is served for our son.”

“So whose idea was it to start advocating for the death penalty Mr. Claus?” Franklin asks looking at Jeff with his intense eyes.

Jeff gulps. He suddenly feels intimidated by Franklin. “Well, uh, it was sort of a mutual decision. I don’t remember who mentioned it first, but we both jumped on it. We want to see Meggan pay for her crime, pay for her act. We want Noah to be remembered.”

“And you honestly feel that killing this woman is the best way to remember your son?”

Jeff looks over and sees Meggan watching him, almost studying him. “I…I’m not sure really. I know I want her to pay for killing my son. I want her to feel the pain we have felt this year,” Jeff says getting angry. “So yea, I want her to die. She took our beautiful little boy! She deserves whatever she gets!”

Franklin sighs and starts writing some notes. “I think that’s all I have for your Mr. Claus. You may step down.”

“Thank you your honour,” Jeff says standing up. As he walks past Meggan he stops and glares at her. She feels her heart sink for a moment. She shuts her eyes in fear that he will say something to her; instead he says nothing and returns to his seat. He looks over at Kim in the media seating. She manages to break half a smile over at him in support, even though she wishes he had not said he wants Meggan to die.

Scene Six -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Franklin looks out in the courtroom; on the right hand side of the court he sees Preston and Meggan sitting, behind them is Vinny and then the media. On the left hand side of the court room he sees the D.A, Lois Kam; behind her are Robbie, Leah and Jeff. Behind them are the other spectators that have shown up to the trial.

“Ms. Kam, did you have anything further to add? I have gone over testimony from everyone on your witness list.”

Lois quickly looks over her files and then stands up. “No, your honour.”

“Thank you Ms. Kam. Mr. Wilkins,” Franklin says turning his attention to Preston. “I have your witness list, yet I only see your client’s name on the list. Is there no one else that can speak on her behave?”

Preston looks over at Meggan. “Can anyone else speak for me?” she asks him in a soft voice.

“Yes. Maybe we should call Vinny. If we establish that you are married and have a great life outside of this accident you may get a lighter sentence. Especially it may ruin their death penalty motion.”

Meggan looks to her husband. Brett looks back at her and gulps. This wasn’t apart of the master plan; not standing up in court and swearing that everything he says is the truth … not when he is not even being honest about his identity. He quickly recalls Leah and Jeff’s testimony … they never said their names, the Judge already knew them. It’ll be okay, Brett thinks to himself.

“I’m in,” he says to Preston and Meggan. “I’ll take the stand too.”

“Mr. Wilkins we do not have all day,” Franklin says losing his patience at the dialogue going on at their desk.

“Your honour,” Preston announces standing up out of his seat. “We’d like to add another witness, if you’d allow us.”

“Very well,” Franklin says. “We have no jury here so there is no problem, especially since I am asking the questions.”

“Very well. We’d like to add Vinny Victors, Meggan’s husband.”

At the moment he hears the name Vinny Victors, Brett stands up and walks over to the stand. He gulps and feels his forehead getting warm. The bailiff comes over and looks at Brett. He smiles at her trying to hide his apprehension.

“Do you swear to the tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

Brett looks over at Meggan, she gives him a faint smile as she is grateful that he is going to bat for her when she needs it the most. “I do,” he lies through his teeth.

“Mr. Victors, you are married to the defendant?” Franklin asks as Brett sits down in the witness chair.

“Correct your honour.”

“Did you know about her drinking problem?”

Brett thinks back to the time right before the accident; he and Dave were working feverishly to keep Madeline in line. “I knew that she had been drinking, yes. I did not think that it had reached the point it had. Meggan and I, at the time, we had been having some problems. I turned to work and she turned to alcohol.”

“I see. And what did you do when you saw your wife the morning after the accident? Did she look any different? What happened to her car?” Franklin quizzes Brett, thinking he is Vinny.

Brett freezes and quickly thinks back to the day after the accident.

[Flash]

Vinny arrives at home. He pulls the car into the driveway, and pushes the button under the dashboard for the garage door. He pulls in, and quickly spots Meggan’s car in the stall next to his. He looks once, and then turns his head to shut off the car. He quickly looks back and sees the cracked windshield, and the large dent on the hood of the car.

He opens his door and looks at the car in closer detail. “What the hell happened?” he asks himself, as he bends down and sees the bumper of the car. Another huge dent, and traces of blood. “My God...Meggan!” he says rushing out of the garage.

He enters the kitchen and sees Meggan’s coat lying on the floor. He races upstairs, and he opens the door to the bedroom. Meggan is fast asleep on the bed.

“What the hell happened,” he asks himself, shutting the door to let his wife sleep.

[Flash]

Brett shakes his head and looks up at Franklin, who has that look of utter impatience on his face. He forces a quick smile to the Judge, “Sorry I was trying to remember every detail,” he claims. “I remember getting home and seeing a large dent in the car. When I questioned Meggan she said she couldn’t remember. She did not remember the accident for a long time, actually. So I just assumed that she hit a dog or a cat. We live near the river, so we have a lot of strays up in that area.”

Franklin looks at Brett closely. He has been a judge for a long time and has seen many different kinds of cases, and he can usually tell when a person is lying. He can sense something is off with ‘Vinny’, but he believes the storyline. “Makes sense to me. So you had the car repaired?”

“Yes. If you checked my credit card bill, you’d see I took care of it for my wife. She wasn’t working at the time.”

“You’re a good man to your wife Mr. Victors,” Franklin mummers as he writes a few more notes down. “Let me ask you about your wife before she started drinking. What was she like?”

“Oh she is the most wonderful woman in the world! I mean, I married her!” he smiles as he looks over at Meggan. Regardless of his plan with Dave, Brett knows that he has started to care for Meggan on a deeper level; he knows that he hates that he has been lying to her and hurting her for years with this masquerade. “She is a very generous woman and a caring wife, friend, co-worker and neighbour. This drinking was a result of some kind of … depression or something.”

“Hold on a second Mr. Victors, you are not a psychiatrist … do not make medical presumptions in my courtroom,” Franklin sternly warns him.

“Sorry your honour. I’m just saying, Meggan was not a hurtful or harmful person before this. She … she doesn’t deserve to die for this mistake,” he says getting a some tears in his eyes. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

Scene Seven -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Leah looks over at Robbie as Meggan walks over to the witness stand.

“Are you okay?” he whispers to her as he squeezes her hand.

“Yea, I can’t wait for the sentencing though,” she says back to him still trying to cover up any pain she has in her abdominal.

The bailiff relays the same speech to Meggan before she sits down. Her hair is frazzled and her bags under her eyes age her considerably. Franklin looks down at her and observes these features himself. “Mrs. Victors, look at me please,” he says as she turns her head up to Franklin. “How often were you drinking?”

Meggan clears her throat. “All day, every day … until I passed out.” Meggan wishes she could say more but she feels like she should get a hardy sentence.

Franklin writes down her answer and looks at her. “Do you have any remorse?”

Meggan looks up at him, her eyes widen. “Of course I do,” she says water filling her eyes. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Noah, Leah and Jeff and their entire family. My heart breaks knowing that I have robbed them years with their son. I… I killed him! I deserve to pay!” she cries to Franklin. “It was me. It was all me!”

Leah stands up and yells, “You’re damn straight it was you! You SHOULD pay!”

Franklin smashes his mallet multiple times. “Order in the court! Order!” he yells. Robbie finally calms Leah down enough where she is not yelling; she grabs her side in pain. “Mrs. Calimo, any more outbursts and you will be removed from my court room. Is that understood?”

Robbie sits Leah down as she nods realizing that she was out of line. Meggan finishes wiping her eyes.

“You can step down Mrs. Victors, I think I’ve heard enough,” Franklin instructs her. Meggan wonders why her testimony was so short when everyone else seemed to have more time on the stand. She gets back to her chair. Preston and Brett look at her and smile, both knowing that outcome doesn’t look good for her.

Scene Eight -- The Courthouse; Courtroom 3

Franklin starts to walk back into the court room. He hears the bailiff call the “All rise” to everyone. He took a recess to review his notes and consider Meggan’s sentencing; after doing this he has come to a conclusion.

“Please be seated,” he announces to everyone. His eyes quickly scan the court room again; he sees Leah and Jeff grab on to each other’s hands; he sees Vinny put his hand on Meggan’s shoulder. He sighs. “Mrs. Victors, Mr. Wilkins, please stand up.”

Meggan takes a deep breath. She turns and looks back at Vinny and smiles. “It’ll be okay,” he says to her.

Meggan turns around and faces Franklin with Preston standing next to her. “You’ve already pleaded guilty Mrs. Victors. This trial was a mere technicality for your sentencing. I’ve heard a lot of testimony from the parents of the victim and from you and your husband. While many people wanted to see you die for your crime, I think that is going too far. You are guilty however, so I sentence you to twenty years in prison. That’s all,” Franklin says shutting the file and bashing his mallet.

Meggan puts her hands over her face: twenty years in prison. She doesn’t know what to think or feel right now; she feels numb. She feels herself releasing some tears. She turns to Vinny and hugs him. Brett holds her tightly. “You’ll be okay. We can appeal,” he says to her as the guard comes to take her away.

Leah and Jeff watch as Meggan is walked back into the secure area of the court room. He looks at her, and sees the disappointment on her face. He hugs her. “At least she’s gone for along time. It’s not what we wanted, but it’s okay.”

“Yea, I know,” she says to him back, faking a smile. “Excuse me for a minute.”

Leah rushes out of the courtroom. Once she’s in the lobby, she grabs her side again. She sees the women’s washroom and starts to walk over. As she’s walking, she feels dizzy. She gets to the washroom and runs some cold water and splashes it on her face. She looks down and sees red in the water. She looks in the mirror and notices more blood coming out of her mouth. “What’s wrong with me?” she says as she spits out more blood from her mouth.

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