The jury had surprised her, though that hadn't made the weekend any less stressful for her, since she had to prepare her opening statement for a case that was starting at one Monday afternoon. Said stress made her get up far too early that morning, and so she had headed into the office to try and get some work accomplished in her extra time.

Andrea let out a deep breath as she cracked her back, trying to polish the words in front of her to a more succinct statement. Rusty came rushing into her office, two coffees in hand, and she frowned up at him as she set her pencil down. "What's your issue?"

"I hope that you're not overthinking the opening statement for the case this afternoon," he panted out as he thrust her coffee at her.

Frowning, she glared at him as she sipped from her cup, waving her hand in a hurry up motion before speaking when he said nothing. "I have three hours before I have to be in court, prepared to start this next case, so yes, I am working on the next opening statement."

"You have a few extra hours, since Judge Steinman will be presiding over that case as well. The jury is ready to come back, and we need to get over to the courthouse. The judge has already said that she will be postponing the start of the case until tomorrow, since the jury is coming back so late in the day."

Andrea nodded, running her fingers through her hair in frustration as she shook her head. "Great. That is not what I was planning on for today."

Rusty gave her a weird look, and she tried to brush it off as she leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. "I would have thought that you would be happy with this news. More time to prepare is always a good thing, yes?"

"No. Not when I'm prepared to do this right now. Every delay allows doubts to creep into the minds of the jury, since they're prepared to begin the case, as well, and the entire rhythm of the case is thrown off." She tried not to bite out her words, but Andrea could feel the irritation and annoyance start to build in her gut. Shoving her pad into her briefcase, she stood quickly, shrugging into her jacket and buttoning it before looking at Rusty. "Well, let's get moving."

He nodded and she took off out the door, not bothering to see if he was following. From the ice that was starting to form at the tips of her toes, Andrea knew that the verdict was not going to be he the outcome she had desired, and she tried to think about anything that would thaw the rapidly spreading cold. The only thing that seemed to come to mind was Sharon's face when they were getting ready for her wedding, and that image alone almost started the waterworks, so she shook her head and cleared her mind as she stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor as Rusty scooted in.

The ride down was silent, and she found that preferable to trying to make small talk with Rusty. He barely had time to make it into her car before she was heading towards the courthouse, and she tried to make good time, though it was almost impossible with the amount of cars on the road. Finally, she was pulling into the parking lot and scurrying into the building, knowing that Rusty would keep up or meet her in the correct courtroom.

She didn't even have to glance at the television screens scrolling with the different cases being heard in the courtrooms, since she knew they would be in the same one she had left Friday. A small groan escaped her lips when she saw the throng of people that were milling about in front of the elevators, which told her that there would be a delay in getting one.

"What's wrong, Andrea?"

"I'm trying to decide if I should wait for the crowd to thin and take the elevators or hike up the stairs and risk looking unprofessional." Glancing at her watch told her that the only option would be to take the stairs, so she let out a deep sigh as she turned down the hall and pushed the door to the stairwell open, taking the steps as quickly as she could without getting out of breath or start to sweat. Rusty kept pace with her, which was surprising, but she didn't comment on it as she stepped onto the landing of the fifth floor and entered the hallway leading to the correct courtroom.

She passed Judge Steinman in the hall, giving her a small nod as she went to her chambers and Andrea let out a long puff of air as she pulled open the door to the courtroom and stepped inside. Opposing counsel was already seated behind his table, and she nodded to him as she and Rusty took their seats. Andrea set her briefcase on the floor next to her, knowing that she wouldn't need anything from there until she had to go to the next trial, but she still liked to be prepared.

The courtroom started to fill behind her, and she turned slightly to see that nearly all of the defendants rather large extended family had decided to make an appearance, along with a good number of the victim's family. It was a volatile mix, and she knew that whatever the verdict was, a large number of people were going to be very upset. Turning back around to face the bench, she drew in a few deep breaths, trying to find a bit of calm in this storm that was fast brewing. The jury filing in caught her attention, and she swallowed thickly as she knew that Judge Steinman would also soon be making her appearance.

The door from chambers opened, and the judge swept in, bringing everyone to their feet as the bailiff spoke the words Andrea had heard so many times over the course of her career. Judge Steinman motioned for them to sit down as she turned in her chair to look at the jury. "Madam foreman, I believe that you have reached a decision?"

It was all happening too quickly for Andrea's liking, and suddenly her ears began to burn, whilst also feeling like they were filled with cotton, since it was so difficult to concentrate on the words being said. She watched as the head juror stood and handed a slip of paper to the bailiff, and allowed her gaze to track said slip of paper to the judge and back again. Shaking her head a little, Andrea focused intently on what the woman said. "Your Honor, after many hours of deliberation, we have reached a decision. We, the jury, find the defendant, William Starr, not guilty of all charges."

The blood drained from her face as she realized the implication of those words. Somewhere, behind her, she could heard the victim's family reacting in shock, just like she had thought, while Starr's family was crowing in exultation. Judge Steinman banged her gavel a number of times to restore order in the room. Andrea couldn't focus on what she was saying, knowing that it was the order to set Starr free, and she flinched when she felt Rusty's hand land on her shoulder, trying to offer support. "Save it," she hissed as she grabbed her briefcase and pushed her way through the crowd, needing to be alone to lick her wounds in that moment.