She was out in the large yard, playing with the two children. Even
from behind, he could tell that she was young and very pretty. She talked
to the children with some sort of Southern accent and for a split second,
he wondered if he'd come to the wrong address. He'd been on a wild goose
chase up until now: starting first at the law school his brother had
attended, then Hogan Place, then a townhouse in New York, and finally here,
a house outside Cooperstown. Something about the little boy told him not
to be so hasty.
"Ma'am, I was wondering if you could help me." Abbie stood and turned around. The voice sounded so much like Jack's, but he and Lennie had gone to the store about an hour before. When she turned around, she saw a man that she could only assume would be what Jack would look like in ten years. The hair was a little more silver, the eyes were a light blue, there were more lines on his face, but other than those features, she would have assumed it was Jack playing a trick.
"May I help you?" She asked, automatically picking up her daughter and keeping a closer eye on Austin.
"I certainly hope so. I'm looking for Jack McCoy."
Nora dried her hands and came outside, Annie running ahead of her. "Abbie, you won't believe…Brian? Brian McCoy?"
"Nora?" Nora hugged the man and Abbie was confused.
"Brian McCoy?" Jack had told her about his brother that had been supposedly killed in Vietnam.
Nora released Brian and turned to look at Abbie. "Abbie, this is Brian McCoy, Jack's brother. Brian, this is Abbie, Jack's wife."
The two eyed each other silently until the Tahoe drove up the driveway. "Abbie?" Jack was instantly worried and Lennie picked up Annie in his arms.
Jack walked closer and realized who the man was. "Bry? Bryan?" There were tears in Jack's eyes, but he didn't move to hug the older McCoy.
"Jack."
"They told us that you were dead."
"I know."
"It's been over thirty years."
"I know. Jack, don't be mad, little brother."
"Nora, let's take the kids inside." Abbie told her friend. Nora nodded and helped herd the three children inside while Lennie went back to get the groceries.
"I'm not your little brother." Jack said angrily when the others had left.
"I see. Cute kids. Cute wife. Why didn't you marry Nora?"
"Oh, I see. You've been gone for thirty years and you expect just to pick up where we left off! You expect to know what happened in just a few seconds!"
"Jack, you don't understand. You know how unhappy I was with Margaret; when I was reported dead, I thought that no one would ever miss me."
"I did. Nora did. Linda did. The girls did."
"How are Margaret and Linda?"
"Margaret killed herself two years after you left. Linda died in a car wreck ten years ago."
"What about Mary and Sarah?" He asked, referring to their sisters.
"Sarah died of cancer."
"And Mary?"
"She's still alive and she'd kick your butt if she knew you were. She grieved every day for thirty years."
"Jack, believe me. I never thought…"
"That's right. You never thought about your family until the day you just appear and expect everything to be the same. You have two nieces and a nephew. I've been divorced once, before I married Abbie. Nora is married to a friend of mine, Lennie Briscoe. Most of our family is gone. Get the hell away from me and get the hell away from my family. I couldn't stop you from destroying our family, but I won't let you near mine." Jack went inside, slamming the door behind him.
Abbie was at her home office when there was a knock on the open door. She looked up to see Lennie standing there. "Hey."
"Your office said you were here today." On the days when she didn't have court, she frequently stayed at home with the twins.
She nodded. "Yeah. What's wrong?"
He paused. Telling Nora had been hard enough, but he wasn't sure he could find the words to tell Abbie. "Ed and I got a call about an hour ago. Abbie, someone beat Jack up. It's pretty bad."
She grew silent and pale. "No."
He nodded. "I wish to God it wasn't true, but it is. Nora's with him; I'll take care of the kids."
"It's not Jack."
"I wish it wasn't." He looked at her. "Do I need to drive you?" She started crying and he hugged her. "He'll be all right, Abbie. He's got the best doctors in New York; Ed and I made sure of it."
"Mary. I need to call Mary."
"Do you need me to do it?" He asked.
"No. Just…I don't know what to tell the kids."
"Nothing until he wakes up." He hugged her again. "He'll be all right."
On the way to the hospital, she dialed the familiar number. Jack had two sisters: Sarah, who had hated her, and Mary, who was crazy about her. Sarah was the oldest; Mary was eight years younger than Jack, his baby sister, he called her.
"Hello?" Mary answered the phone.
"Mary, it's me."
The older woman heard the stressed and frightened tone in her sister- in-law's voice. "What's wrong? Has something happened to Jack or the kids? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. The kids are with Lennie." Mary smiled; she adored her brother's best friend and considered him another older brother. "Mary, Jack's in the hospital. Nora's with him and I'm on my way."
"So am I. Let me leave a note for Mark." Mary was a widowed mother of a sixteen-year-old that Jack had taken under his wing.
Nora paced outside the emergency room, wishing both that she could see Jack and that Abbie would hurry up. She wondered how the younger woman had taken it; Nora wouldn't have traded jobs with Lennie for anything in the world. She had Serena Southerlyn, the ADA that had taken Abbie's job after her departure, going through every case that Jack had ever prosecuted, but after around thirty years, the blonde had a big job ahead of her. It didn't matter; everything else could wait. The only thing that mattered was Jack. Abbie ran to her friend; a wild, frightened look in her eyes.
"Nora?"
"He'll be all right, Abbie. Everything will be all right. Did you call his sister?"
Abbie nodded. "Should be here in ten minutes, at the most. What happened? Lennie was too busy trying to calm me down to give me a straight answer."
"He wouldn't tell me either, just that Jack was hurt, but then Jack usually gets more conversation about his work than I do. I think he thinks it will upset me." That alone was almost enough to make Abbie smile; Nora was much more involved in the cases than Adam Schiff, the DA before her, had ever been.
"Adam. I need to call Adam."
"I'll wait for Mary and come get you if the doctors come out." Abbie nodded and went to the pay phones.
Adam Schiff answered the phone as he poured over a folder. "Hello?"
"Adam. It's Abbie. I just wanted you to know before you found out from anywhere else. Jack's in the hospital."
Jack. One of his favorite prosecutors. "How is he? How are you? What happened?"
She'd never heard so many questions from him in the four years she'd known him. "He's still in emergency. I'll be all right; Nora's here and Mary's on her way. We don't know what happened yet; none of us can get a straight answer from Briscoe."
"What about the kids?"
"Lennie's taking care of them. Everything's under control; I just didn't want it to come as a complete surprise."
Mary walked over to Nora. "Where's Abbie? How's Jack?" She asked, after she'd greeted her long-time friend.
"Abbie went to call Adam; Jack's still in the emergency room."
"Nora, I don't understand. How could this have happened to him? Brian taught him how to defend himself when he was three. He used to take care of Mom and me against our father."
"We don't know anything. I can't get Lennie to tell us; I know he knows something. Did Jack tell you that Brian's alive?"
Mary nodded. "Yeah. He was right too. If Brian wanted to be our brother, he should have gotten back here years ago. None of his nieces or nephews know him and that's the way I want it. The only brother I have is Jack." Looking at the slight, delicate woman, anyone would have suspected her to be helpless, but Nora knew better. She'd run into her temper before, but once both knew how much they loved Jack, they were friends for life. Nora nodded and they stood in silence until Abbie returned.
"Ma'am, I was wondering if you could help me." Abbie stood and turned around. The voice sounded so much like Jack's, but he and Lennie had gone to the store about an hour before. When she turned around, she saw a man that she could only assume would be what Jack would look like in ten years. The hair was a little more silver, the eyes were a light blue, there were more lines on his face, but other than those features, she would have assumed it was Jack playing a trick.
"May I help you?" She asked, automatically picking up her daughter and keeping a closer eye on Austin.
"I certainly hope so. I'm looking for Jack McCoy."
Nora dried her hands and came outside, Annie running ahead of her. "Abbie, you won't believe…Brian? Brian McCoy?"
"Nora?" Nora hugged the man and Abbie was confused.
"Brian McCoy?" Jack had told her about his brother that had been supposedly killed in Vietnam.
Nora released Brian and turned to look at Abbie. "Abbie, this is Brian McCoy, Jack's brother. Brian, this is Abbie, Jack's wife."
The two eyed each other silently until the Tahoe drove up the driveway. "Abbie?" Jack was instantly worried and Lennie picked up Annie in his arms.
Jack walked closer and realized who the man was. "Bry? Bryan?" There were tears in Jack's eyes, but he didn't move to hug the older McCoy.
"Jack."
"They told us that you were dead."
"I know."
"It's been over thirty years."
"I know. Jack, don't be mad, little brother."
"Nora, let's take the kids inside." Abbie told her friend. Nora nodded and helped herd the three children inside while Lennie went back to get the groceries.
"I'm not your little brother." Jack said angrily when the others had left.
"I see. Cute kids. Cute wife. Why didn't you marry Nora?"
"Oh, I see. You've been gone for thirty years and you expect just to pick up where we left off! You expect to know what happened in just a few seconds!"
"Jack, you don't understand. You know how unhappy I was with Margaret; when I was reported dead, I thought that no one would ever miss me."
"I did. Nora did. Linda did. The girls did."
"How are Margaret and Linda?"
"Margaret killed herself two years after you left. Linda died in a car wreck ten years ago."
"What about Mary and Sarah?" He asked, referring to their sisters.
"Sarah died of cancer."
"And Mary?"
"She's still alive and she'd kick your butt if she knew you were. She grieved every day for thirty years."
"Jack, believe me. I never thought…"
"That's right. You never thought about your family until the day you just appear and expect everything to be the same. You have two nieces and a nephew. I've been divorced once, before I married Abbie. Nora is married to a friend of mine, Lennie Briscoe. Most of our family is gone. Get the hell away from me and get the hell away from my family. I couldn't stop you from destroying our family, but I won't let you near mine." Jack went inside, slamming the door behind him.
Abbie was at her home office when there was a knock on the open door. She looked up to see Lennie standing there. "Hey."
"Your office said you were here today." On the days when she didn't have court, she frequently stayed at home with the twins.
She nodded. "Yeah. What's wrong?"
He paused. Telling Nora had been hard enough, but he wasn't sure he could find the words to tell Abbie. "Ed and I got a call about an hour ago. Abbie, someone beat Jack up. It's pretty bad."
She grew silent and pale. "No."
He nodded. "I wish to God it wasn't true, but it is. Nora's with him; I'll take care of the kids."
"It's not Jack."
"I wish it wasn't." He looked at her. "Do I need to drive you?" She started crying and he hugged her. "He'll be all right, Abbie. He's got the best doctors in New York; Ed and I made sure of it."
"Mary. I need to call Mary."
"Do you need me to do it?" He asked.
"No. Just…I don't know what to tell the kids."
"Nothing until he wakes up." He hugged her again. "He'll be all right."
On the way to the hospital, she dialed the familiar number. Jack had two sisters: Sarah, who had hated her, and Mary, who was crazy about her. Sarah was the oldest; Mary was eight years younger than Jack, his baby sister, he called her.
"Hello?" Mary answered the phone.
"Mary, it's me."
The older woman heard the stressed and frightened tone in her sister- in-law's voice. "What's wrong? Has something happened to Jack or the kids? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. The kids are with Lennie." Mary smiled; she adored her brother's best friend and considered him another older brother. "Mary, Jack's in the hospital. Nora's with him and I'm on my way."
"So am I. Let me leave a note for Mark." Mary was a widowed mother of a sixteen-year-old that Jack had taken under his wing.
Nora paced outside the emergency room, wishing both that she could see Jack and that Abbie would hurry up. She wondered how the younger woman had taken it; Nora wouldn't have traded jobs with Lennie for anything in the world. She had Serena Southerlyn, the ADA that had taken Abbie's job after her departure, going through every case that Jack had ever prosecuted, but after around thirty years, the blonde had a big job ahead of her. It didn't matter; everything else could wait. The only thing that mattered was Jack. Abbie ran to her friend; a wild, frightened look in her eyes.
"Nora?"
"He'll be all right, Abbie. Everything will be all right. Did you call his sister?"
Abbie nodded. "Should be here in ten minutes, at the most. What happened? Lennie was too busy trying to calm me down to give me a straight answer."
"He wouldn't tell me either, just that Jack was hurt, but then Jack usually gets more conversation about his work than I do. I think he thinks it will upset me." That alone was almost enough to make Abbie smile; Nora was much more involved in the cases than Adam Schiff, the DA before her, had ever been.
"Adam. I need to call Adam."
"I'll wait for Mary and come get you if the doctors come out." Abbie nodded and went to the pay phones.
Adam Schiff answered the phone as he poured over a folder. "Hello?"
"Adam. It's Abbie. I just wanted you to know before you found out from anywhere else. Jack's in the hospital."
Jack. One of his favorite prosecutors. "How is he? How are you? What happened?"
She'd never heard so many questions from him in the four years she'd known him. "He's still in emergency. I'll be all right; Nora's here and Mary's on her way. We don't know what happened yet; none of us can get a straight answer from Briscoe."
"What about the kids?"
"Lennie's taking care of them. Everything's under control; I just didn't want it to come as a complete surprise."
Mary walked over to Nora. "Where's Abbie? How's Jack?" She asked, after she'd greeted her long-time friend.
"Abbie went to call Adam; Jack's still in the emergency room."
"Nora, I don't understand. How could this have happened to him? Brian taught him how to defend himself when he was three. He used to take care of Mom and me against our father."
"We don't know anything. I can't get Lennie to tell us; I know he knows something. Did Jack tell you that Brian's alive?"
Mary nodded. "Yeah. He was right too. If Brian wanted to be our brother, he should have gotten back here years ago. None of his nieces or nephews know him and that's the way I want it. The only brother I have is Jack." Looking at the slight, delicate woman, anyone would have suspected her to be helpless, but Nora knew better. She'd run into her temper before, but once both knew how much they loved Jack, they were friends for life. Nora nodded and they stood in silence until Abbie returned.