After a few hours, Jack was moved from the recovery area to the ICU. Hospital policy allowed family and significant others visitation. Claire considered herself the latter. The ICU was like the recovery area only more activity. She was told she might be asked to leave, if they needed to attend to Jack or one of the other patients in the ICU. He looked the same as he did before—pale and still in a coma. She gently put her hand on his—it was warmer this time—that was good. She sat down in the chair next to him.
"Not much privacy here—just a curtain. Adam said he would come by this evening before visiting hours are over. It's strange having a one-sided conversation with you. Feel free to join in at any time." She talked to him, touched him, read to him from some magazine she found in the waiting area, hoping to get some response—like she thought she felt earlier. She now realized there was nothing like looking death in the face to let you know what was really important. She got up close to his ear "I love you, Jack!" She paused for a moment. "Last weekend, when you took me to Candela's for dinner, it was wonderful and very romantic. Then you suggested going to that bar with the awful lounge act. The whole time I'm trying to figure out why we're here. Then the singer said. 'This next one is dedicated to Claire from Jack—an old Robert Palmer tune called 'She Makes My Day'. Plus, you got up, took my hand, and we danced. A bit corny, but sweet. That whole evening was too perfect. I gotta admit, I got a little nervous—I was afraid you might pop the question. I didn't know what I was going to say if you did ask. When you didn't ask, a part of me wished you did. That's when I realized I loved you and I wasn't afraid anymore to make a commitment. I was going to tell you but—you know how hectic things were in the office—didn't have much time alone together and I wanted the moment to be right. Now, do you understand how important it is that you wake up, so I can tell you this face to face—I hope you can hear me?" Her eyes filled with tears.
A nurse walked over and asked Claire if she would step outside—they needed to work on another patient. She needed to go to the restroom anyway to pull herself together again.
Shelly came to the hospital when she heard the news. She ran into Claire as she came out of the restroom.
"Hi, Claire? I came as soon as I heard. How is he?"
"Critical!" She didn't particularly want to talk to Shelly right now, but she tried to be polite. "Doctor said if he improves over the next 48 hours, he has a good chance. You want to go sit in the waiting area? They're working on another patient in ICU and asked me to step outside."
"You look exhausted."
Claire knew that she and Jack were longtime friends. She couldn't help but wonder if they had been anything more. Didn't matter now.
"Yeah, I've been here since about 1 a.m. You want some coffee—light, three sugars right?" she asked Shelly in a sarcastic manner. Her fatigue had won over her politeness. During a brake from the trial earlier in the week, Shelly had asked Claire to get her some coffee so she could talk to Jack privately. What made it worse, Jack put in his order too. That really pissed her off.
"I'm sorry about that. I had to talk to Jack, privately. Hypothetically, lets say that a certain defendant was insane but refuses to enter a plea of insanity despite her council's advice. Now, the prosecutor knows she's legally insane from the court psychiatrist's evaluation. Both sides know she needs help—so one side opens the door for the other by allowing the defendant to take the stand. The defendant cracks under cross by the prosecutor—game over. We both know that this may not be entirely ethical and may have warranted disciplinary action for all involved not to mention an excellent basis for an appeal. I guess the point is sometimes you're better off not knowing…hypothetically, of course."
Claire just looked at her for a moment. "Hypothetically, some ADAs may not have agreed with the method but understood its necessity. Some ADAs would like to be in the loop and not get blindsided during the trial—especially by a colleague. An ADA also understood later that colleague's reason for exclusion and has forgiven him with the understanding that this should not happen again—hypothetically."
"The ADA should also be aware that the prosecutor did not initiate the process. Hopefully, the ADA understands this and finds it in her heart one day to forgive the defense council." After she spoke those words, Shelly realized that she was not only asking for forgiveness for her actions during the trial, but perhaps for her personal involvement with Jack.
"Maybe one day." Was all Claire said.
If Claire only knew what Jack had done or what he had not done last night because of her. Shelly wanted to tell her how much Jack loves her, but she would then have to explain how she knew. This brought her back to her earlier statement about how sometimes you're better off not knowing.
Feeling tension in the air, Shelly excused herself. "Maybe this just isn't a good time. I'll come back another time."