It was a bright Saturday morning, too beautiful to be driving to a prison. But Jamie wanted to know what had happened to Jack, and Diana Hawthorne was a good a person to interview as any.

"At least Katie's with Neal this weekend," she said aloud. Even her intense curiosity over this entire affair would not mean that she missed a weekend with her daughter – since starting this job she had barely spent any time with her.

Thinking of her daughter might be pleasant, but it certainly wasn't any way to prepare herself to meet Diana Hawthorne. In the heat of the moment, Jamie had telephoned for an appointment without bothering to think what questions she would ask Diana – or what answers she would receive. What sort of view of Claire Kincaid would she receive from Diana? She was understandably bitter, after nearly six months in prison – the fact that her sentence would soon be up meant nothing. She had lost her respect, her license, her livelihood, and her lover – all because of Claire Kincaid. Just because she was dead did not mean that she would feel any more inclined to be sympathetic towards her. She would probably feel Claire had gotten what she deserved.

Jamie remembered Diana Hawthorne – they had met several times at various cocktail parties. She had certainly been a glamorous woman, and would not have taken well to prison – especially Bedford. Jamie never would have suspected that Diana would have done something like that – risking her livelihood for a man. And not just any man – Jack McCoy!

Jamie still didn't understand what attracted all these women – Sally, Diana, Claire – to Jack. Yes, he might be an open wound now, and she hadn't known him well before… but what was there about Jack that made all these women fall in love with him? Perhaps Diana would be able to tell her, among other things.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was nervous, nervous to see this former assistant of Jack's. And while she wanted to learn about Jack, wanted to help him, was it really her place to do so? Shouldn't Adam be worried about keeping Jack in check, not allowing him to searching for revenge for Claire Kincaid? Just because Adam had liked her too didn't mean he should forget his duties as an elected official.

And Jack himself… perhaps he should have retired after Claire's death. He was too old for this now – maybe not in actual years, but her death had aged him quite a lot. And, as Jamie had seen, he was certainly unable to control his rage in this case.

The prison was in sight; Jamie went through the routine inspections and finally entered the main building. After signing in, she was given a nametag and led to one of the visitor's rooms. Sitting down, she waited for Diana to enter.

Jamie had only waited a few minutes before the door opened and a skinny blonde woman stepped into the room. The heavy female guard closed and locked the door behind them, taking up her post outside the door.

It was only when the woman spoke that Jamie realized, with a start, that this woman was Diana Hawthorne.

"So, Jamie Ross," Diana sneered, "I have to admit, I was surprised to hear that you were my visitor."

Jamie tried to hide her shock at Diana's appearance – how could this gaunt woman be the glamorous one Jamie knew all those years ago?

"And I didn't expect to see you like… this," Jamie replied coolly. "I suppose this is a day for surprises."

Diana sat down in the empty chair, staring insolently at Jamie. "So, why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Claire Kincaid," she said.

It was as though a bomb went off – Diana jumped out of her seat, fury written in every line of her face. "Claire Kincaid?" she shrieked, "Claire Kincaid? How dare you come here and ask me about that bitch! Did Jack put you up to it?"

Jamie was disturbed – could jail really do this to a person? Or had Diana's guilt over her actions (if she felt any guilt, which Jamie doubted) done this to her?

"Diana!" Jamie all but shouted, hoping to bring the deranged woman back to the present. It worked.

"What?" she spat.

"Diana, no one put me up to it. I just want to know about her. I thought you'd relish the chance to discuss your nemesis."

She sat down on the chair again, her gaze calmer and more thoughtful. "Claire Kincaid…" she murmured, her tone still a bit malevolent. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Wherever you feel is appropriate," Jamie said, unwilling to provoke another round of Diana's madness.

"Claire Kincaid used to be Ben Stone's assistant, you know," she began a few moments later. "He was head-over-heels for her – always had been. But then he left for Europe after one of his witnesses was killed, and she became Jack's assistant."

Jamie knew this, but she nodded anyway, not wanting to interrupt.

"I was in private practice by then, as you know, when the Dillard case resurfaced. That was the first time I met her. She was smug, self-assured… too arrogant for her own good. Just like Jack. Naturally, I knew they were sleeping together – it was very obvious indeed for someone who knew Jack as well as I did. And I knew him for years. For years…" She paused to take a breath. "She was vindictive – a complete and utter bitch. What else could have provoked her to attack me like that in court? You can read the transcripts! She's the one who wanted me in prison, she's the one who went after me like a wolf baying for blood. She deserves everything she got – and then some."

"Jack really loved her," Jamie ventured.

Diana sneered. "Jack love someone? What a laugh! He doesn't' know how to love – that's why all his relationships failed. Just because whatever he had with Claire ended with her death didn't mean that it wouldn't have ended like ours did – with him breaking her heart. Jack McCoy doesn't love anyone, or anything… no, I take that back. He does love a few things – because he can only bring himself to love inanimate objects. He's a selfish, cold-hearted bastard who loves nothing more than winning and a glass of scotch."

A wicked gleam appeared in her eyes as she analyzed Jamie's question. "Why are you here, anyway? Are you in love with Jack? Trying to get a handle on the competition?"

Jamie pushed her chair back from the table. "No!" she exclaimed, repulsed by the idea. "No, I'm not!"

"Oh, really?" Diana asked, her voice mocking as she stood up. "You're really not in love with Jack McCoy?"

"No," Jamie replied firmly, her skin crawling as Diana approached her. This wasn't allowed – where was the guard? Why wasn't she doing anything?

Diana stopped a few inches away from Jamie, who still was wondering desperately where the guard was. "Good," she said softly. With that, the woman who had been Diana Hawthorne walked to the door, banging on it to let the guard know she was ready to go back to her cell. As Jamie watched the woman walk down the narrow hallway, she shuddered. Diana had unnerved her far more than she believed possible.

As she walked out of Bedford into the fresh air, she gave a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness that was over! She had certainly learned a bit more about Claire, though she doubted it would be of any use. But Diana had mentioned Ben Stone, and she knew that he was finally back from Europe. Perhaps he would give her a better view of Claire…

She was escorted back to her cell by the same sexually ambiguous guard who had guarded the door during her interview with Jamie. Jamie Ross... now she was one person Diana had never expected to see in Bedford visiting her.

Certainly, they had known each other – they had the same doctors, lived in the same neighborhood, attended the same cocktail parties and fundraisers… but they weren't friends. Nor was Jamie the sort of person to visit and gloat about Diana's presence in jail.

Was Jamie's desire to know about Claire motivated by anything else – perhaps an attraction to Jack? Despite herself, she believed Jamie's denial.

They reached her cell, and Diana stepped into what she not-so-fondly referred to as "the cage". Her cellmate had been released the previous week, and Diana herself would be released in only two weeks. The small calendar she was allowed to keep had the days crossed out, the date of her release circled with a bold red pen.

The date of her release coincided with the four-month anniversary of Claire's death, something Diana felt ironically appropriate. She couldn't have planned it better. It was a triumph of the first magnitude, her pride and joy, the result of so many months of careful planning.

Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold, and Diana's certainly was. And, in truth, she was proud of waiting, though it had been so difficult for her to wait. This was far better than any damage she could have wreaked in the heat of the moment – this was cold, calculating, subtle. And its effects were further reaching than even she had thought possible.

According to Jamie, Jack really had loved Claire. She couldn't bring herself to believe that, but, if it were true, it would make her revenge all the more satisfying. Claire hadn't loved Jack – she had been attracted to him, certainly, but she had used him to get ahead. If she hadn't slept with Jack, Claire would most definitely still be at the bottom of the ADA ladder. But after sleeping with him, doors had been opened for her that would have been closed before.

It wasn't fair! Diana had worked so hard to get where she had been, and Claire had ruined it all – just because she had once loved Jack! She still loved him… she would always love him, thought that didn't mean she didn't want him to suffer. She wasn't kind enough to want him to be happy with someone else – she wanted to be with him. She had always wanted to be with him.

She had risked everything for Jack, and what had she gotten? Six months in jail, while he got his promotion.

She thought that he would propose to her during their time in Ireland, thought that their trip was a new beginning. And indeed it had started out that way – they had been happy, enjoying the fine weather and the beautiful scenery. Then it started to rain, keeping them indoors all the time. He quickly grew annoyed with her, often ending the day at the pub, where he'd drink himself into a stupor.

She remembered the panic she felt on that trip, the desperation that she was losing him. It was identical to what she felt that last time she saw him – just before she accepted the plea.

She just wanted his gratitude! That was all she wanted, all she ever wanted – his affection, his approval, his gratitude – and she never seemed to receive it, no matter how hard she tried. But Claire… oh, it had been so easy for Claire – so easy.

Diana believed it was because Claire had once been Ben's assistant that attracted Jack to her. After all, Jack was always trying to be better than Ben, to beat him, and the fact that Ben had been unrequitedly longing for Claire was no secret around One Hogan Place. Add that to the fact that Jack never could resist anything in a skirt…

But it hurt. Naturally, she was no longer at Hogan Place, but she often saw Jack and Claire despite that – especially before she was convicted. It hurt to see them stealing secret moments in between arraignments, watch him rest a hand on her back, hear them flirt. Everything they had done, he recycled to use with that bitch…

Yes, Claire was rather pretty – Diana would grant her that. And, naturally, she was also clever. Despite what most people think, it was hard to get a job as an assistant district attorney, even if you'd clerked for a judge before. Of course, Diana knew that Claire had been sleeping with Justice Thayer – everyone knew that – but still. Yes, she was clever – and, while she certainly didn't have to be clever to catch Jack, she was clever enough to catch him.

She had wanted to marry Jack, wanted to raise a family with him. She would've done a much better job with that than his first wife! She had only cared about her career, and while Diana had enjoyed her work in the D.A.'s office, she enjoyed being with Jack far more. She had no aspirations of grandeur, did not want to become and E.A.D.A. or a bureau chief, far less a judge. Diana just wanted to work with Jack, doing what she enjoyed – putting criminals in jail.

And now she was one, she thought ruefully, not without a touch of anger coloring her thoughts. All those criminals she'd put in jail… and she was there with them.

It was a good thing, she believed, that she was in a minimum-security prison, and an even better stroke of luck that she was not well known among the criminals she had placed there. They wanted revenge on Jack, not her – and she was grateful for that.

Indeed, her own cellmate was someone Jack had convicted – with Claire – and naturally they got along well. Her cellmate, Joan Woodward, had not done anything wrong – she had just helped her husband hide a bit of incriminating evidence. And Claire had twisted her words in court, leading to her arrest and then conviction.

Joan had, naturally, been sympathetic to Diana's similar story, providing an endless litany of abuses against both Claire and Jack. It was Joan who had suggested from the first that Claire deserved to be taught a lesson, and, as time went by, Diana realized she was right. After all, without Claire's reckless vendetta against her, she would never have been forced to accept a plea, never would have been sentenced to six months in prison.

It was a few weeks after Diana first arrived at Bedford when Joan first sprung her proposition.

"Why shouldn't she get what she deserves?" Joan asked her. "We could do it. You have the connections, I know how to make people do what I want… and I want this."

Diana shivered at her tone – it was evil, heartless. She would not want to get on Joan's bad side. But despite her disapproval upon first hearing, Joan's idea did hold quite a lot of appeal…

"How?" she asked despite herself, thinking only of her anger with Claire.

"You know criminals – you've prosecuted them, then defended them. Is there one that you defended who would do anything for you?"

She thought for a moment, then lit upon a perfect person. "John Baumgarten. He was accused of sexual assault, but I got him off – only two weeks before I was arrested. Claire was the prosecutor. He'd do anything I asked him to."

"Good," Joan replied, sitting up in her bed. "He can threaten her. Next…"

"Wait," she interrupted her cellmate. "Threaten her?"

"Of course," Joan said impatiently. "He's good for it, don't you think? If she prosecuted him too, naturally he'd want revenge – even if you got him off."

"But what if we got caught?" Diana bleated, sounding rather like a lost sheep. "We'd get arrested again, and our sentences would certainly be extended."

"Then we won't get caught," Joan said firmly. "Call him tomorrow; ask if he can meet you here on Thursday for visiting day. We can plan out the rest of the details tomorrow – what he should say, do, things like that."

Yes, Claire deserved everything she got – and then some. So why did she feel guilty?