Having watched the end of the 6th year episode of "Slave," a friend of mine challenged me to write a 'Whatever happened to…' piece. Having re-watched the episode "In Vino Vertis," this is my response. Again, own nothing in the Realm of Wolf.
Slave No More
Jack McCoy returned to his desk, tired, worn and torn apart about what had just happened.
On the one hand, he was livid with the selfishness that was Mitch Carroll, a man vain enough to put 'career' before 'caring.' On the other, Jack felt responsible for painfully shattering a young man's belief in that his father would love him unconditionally.
While setups like this had happened many times before and would probably happen many times again, it didn't lessen the heartache Jack relived.
A knock at the door brought him back to the present.
"Jack, are you all right?" Connie Rubirosa asked.
He nodded as he reached for the bottle of aspirin he kept in the top drawer – two drawers higher than the one he longed to open with its liquid elixir to better dull the pain. "You got a hold of Judge Cale?"
Connie nodded. "We're due in court at nine in the morning. John's going to be solid on the stand, Jack."
He nodded again then swallowed a couple of pills with some cold coffee. "Good," he said.
It still didn't make the conference room theatrics, with John on the other side of the office door, any better than…any better than the interrogation that Van Buren and he had arranged, complete with a speaker on for Lonnie Rickman to listen to.
He saw that his assistant didn't believe him, but thankfully she didn't press the issue as she approached his desk.
"This came for you," she said, setting a small, stuffed manila envelop on his desk.
As he studied the writing, only his name and address neatly printed on it in fine black ink, Jack tried to guess what the item was and who it was from.
The phone rang beside him just as Connie stepped back towards the door.
"McCoy," he answered. "Anita, I just now received it and was just about to open it unless-."
There was a long silence on his part as he heard Anita explain what she had done with the packages she had received.
He kept his expression masked as he removed the contents from the package. Still listening to Anita, Jack unfolded the letter, taking in the neatness of each stroke, taking in all the details of the presentation. Once Anita suggested where the two of them could meet, Jack ended the call.
Ignoring Connie's presence, Jack read the letter quietly to himself.
'You took a chance in doing what you did, forcing me to see and hear something I couldn't, wouldn't admit to in the painful truth that is…or was…my mother.
'I dared to reach for that next level of life, so to speak. A new beginning for me, a new lease on life, prepared. It took some doing- many long days and late nights. After some perseverance and patience…I wanted to let you know that I've earned my diploma at last.
'As a father-figure I'm glad to have had in my life if only for a moment, daring to show me an ugly truth I knew I couldn't and wouldn't face on my own as well as a future I didn't dare to imagine… As a well-known saying goes,' to the world, you are but one person. To this person, you are the world.'
'Thank you.
Sincerely, Alonzo 'Lonnie' Rickman
Jack carefully folded the letter and then opened the card and invitation.
"Jack?" Connie asked. "What is it?"
He answered her with only a smile.