Heller braced himself outside of the room, silently debating how he should do this, despite having already made his mind up during the ride over. Dressed in his required working attire he had stuffed his tie in his pocket and un-tucked the shirt to try and appear more relaxed, hoping it would somehow put Jack at ease.
He tried to appear calm on the inside but he was really terrified, Jack hadn't allowed him to visit him during his hospitalisation. Despite this he and David were getting daily updates from both Kim and Sarah and had slowly witnessed his progress from afar. Heller still paled at the thought of seeing Jack though, there was so much they needed to talk about, the debrief being his last concern, but the government made sure it was his highest priority.
He knew it would be hard, for both of them, which made him even more apprehensive, knowing he wouldn't be able to get to the bits that really mattered, the things which he hoped could somehow help Jack. His daughter, his own guilt and pain, they would all be abandoned as they de-briefed, somehow Heller thought they were the things he and Jack really needed to be discussing.
Heller knew Jack was a man of pride and his current immobilisation would be something he would struggle to accept. In the company of an associate, especially himself, Heller was certain Jack was going to feel uncomfortable, and was worried his presence would create more depression. The man had enough to deal with, the very thought had made Heller consider ordering somebody else to do the debrief.
Almeida had been the strongest contender, being another worried friend who had been shooed away by Jack as he recovered, but Heller couldn't do it. He owed it to Jack to do this; he just had to be strong and hold it together. Hearing the debrief from Kim had been hard, but this would be much, much worse.
Part of him hoped Jack would blame him or show some resentment, but he knew it wouldn't happen. The man would be emotionless, and Heller was sure he wouldn't let anybody accept the blame for his condition other than himself. That tore Heller up the most, knowing Jack probably thought he deserved what the Chinese had given him. He didn't dare think about Jacks feelings on the confession, knowing he couldn't imagine the amount of grief and doubt Jack would be feeling over it.
Technically it was his job to get those answers from Jack, which is why he was dreading this so much; reports showed Jack had refused to speak about the incident, or would slyly change the topic or the focus of said conversations. Heller had to change this while trying to show Jack how much he cared, without overstepping the boundaries and making the afternoon personal.
It would be hard, he didn't want to make Jack hurt anymore than he already was, but there was no choice. He told himself this would benefit the man in the long run as he tapped on the doorframe, not entering until he herd Jacks rough voice granting him permission to do so.
With a laptop tucked under one arm and a bundle of official documents stuffed under the other, Heller stepped into the room as though stepping into a role. Professionalism was needed, but Heller knew that both of them would need more, if either of them were to survive this interrogation.