A Broken Hallelujah
Part Nine
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"What did you do?"
"I went to the hospital, I thought he might need somebody. And I found Ms. Kincaid quite alive and well, in the waiting room of intensive care. We spoke, introduced ourselves, I warned her that I didn't think Jack could deal with her return from the dead. She blew me off."
"Ultimately, what happened that lead to Mr. McCoy firing you?"
Tears formed in Abbie's eyes and she quickly blotted them. "I knew he'd just come home from the hospital, and I didn't know if he had anyone with him. I called and called, but no one answered, so I went over, as I had so many times before, to check on him. I let myself in, it was absolutely quiet, and I was alarmed. I walked into his bedroom and saw him, asleep, with Ms. Kincaid."
"Were you jealous?"
"A little, yes. After all, I'd had sex with him when I didn't want to as an effort to make him feel better about losing her, and there he was, naked as a jaybird and his arms wrapped around this woman who'd deceived and betrayed him. I felt angry and betrayed and used, and yes, I did raise my voice. Jack woke up and leaped out of bed, he shook me really hard, and told me to get out, of his life and the office, immediately."
"Did you call Ms. Kincaid a whore?"
"No."
"And when you discovered you were pregnant, what did Mr. McCoy do or say?"
"That it wasn't his problem. So I realized what had really happened, and went to talk to Detective Benson at Special Victims."
"Thank you. No more questions."
Danielle rose and approached Abbie, a deadly smile on her face. "Good morning, Ms. Carmichael. I have but a few questions. So, it wasn't until Mr. McCoy banished you from his apartment and told you to find a new job that you realized you'd been raped?"
"Yes. I had sex with him against my will, and that's the definition of rape."
Danielle nodded. "So, seeing him in bed, with his lover, triggered this realization?"
"Objection, asked and answered," Liz said.
"Sustained," Judge March ruled.
"Would it be fair to say you adored Jack McCoy, that you had strong feelings for him?" Danielle stood before Abbie, her gaze drilling into the younger woman.
"Yes, I guess so," Abbie said.
"You don't much like Claire Kincaid, do you?"
"I don't know Claire Kincaid."
"But you went to see her, introduce yourself shall we say, the night she moved into Jack's apartment, while he was still hospitalized, correct?"
"Yes."
"And how did that go?"
Abbie squirmed slightly. "Well enough."
"Did you warn her to stay away from Jack?"
"I might have, I really don't remember."
"And did Dr. Skoda ban you from Jack's hospital room the next day?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell us why?"
Abbie sighed. "He felt it was too emotional all around for Jack to handle, that Claire's return was upsetting enough, and he didn't want a lot of people hanging around while Jack healed."
"You're certain that was the reason."
"Yes."
"Very well. You've testified you had sex with Jack McCoy against your will, that you feared for your job. Do you consider yourself a good attorney?"
"Yes."
"Then what's the big deal? You could have said no, left, and found employment in private practice."
"I wanted to stay with the DA's office."
"And you testified you didn't call Ms. Kincaid a whore. Would you tell us what you did say?"
Abbie glanced at the judge, at Liz, then back at Danielle. "I think I said something about the Magdalene."
"The Magdalene. I'm Jewish, Ms. Carmichael, so perhaps I misunderstand, but wasn't Mary Magdalene considered a prostitute by the church?"
"Yes."
"So, what's the difference in calling Ms. Kincaid the Magdalene or a whore?"
"I didn't mean she was a whore."
"I'm sure you didn't." Danielle's sarcasm carried across the courtroom. "Are you certain that's Mr. McCoy's baby?"
"Yes."
"But you won't allow amniocentesis. Why is that?"
"The risk to the baby."
"A noble motive, indeed, even though those risks are minimal. No further questions."
Abbie left the stand and resumed her seat in the gallery. She glared at Jack before returning her attention to the next witness, Detective Olivia Benson.
--xx--
Claire hurt all over, her pelvis in particular. It had been broken in several places in the crash, and right now it felt like it never healed. She downed a couple more oxycodone, then tried to get comfortable on the hard bench in the hallway. Her thoughts were with Jack, with this clusterfuck of his life, feeling responsible. She looked up as Emil Skoda stopped in front of her.
"May I?" He indicated the bench beside her.
"Of course."
He sat and smiled. "How are you holding up?"
"A lot of pain, sitting like this is difficult. And I'm dreading being on the stand."
"Why?"
"Because I'm sure I'll be asked a lot of personal questions, my actions made to look just as terrible as they were, and it can only hurt Jack."
"I don't think so, Claire." He sighed. "Young Ms. Carmichael has gone off the proverbial deep end, and I think the jury will see that."
"His career is still ruined, and it's all my fault."
"I understand why you feel that way, but it's not true. Abbie engineered this all by herself."
"What if they find him guilty?" The anguish in her voice touched his heart.
"That won't happen. Danielle's too good."
"So is Donnelly." She winced as pain wracked her pelvis and lower back. "And with my screwed up head, Donnelly is going to have fun with me."
"Danielle will make it clear you suffered a brain injury and that you have trouble articulating your thoughts. Don't worry about it."
"I'm so sorry for all of this. I should have stayed dead."
His smile was compassionate. "This aside, are you happy being back with Jack?"
She smiled. "Yes. We've found our way back. I never thought he'd forgive me, but he did."
"So trust in the common sense of the jury and the skills of his lawyer, and simply love him."
"It's that easy?" She moved, trying to get comfortable.
"It is. From what I understand, Donnelly really doesn't have much of a case, it's classic he said she said. They would have done better to file a sexual harassment suit instead of felony charges." He sighed. "I go in before you, I'll lay out the nature of your injuries and that's about it. Then I guess you go. Just tell the truth, ugly as it is."
"It is ugly, isn't it? Playing dead, hurting people."
"You had your reasons, Claire."
She nodded. She'd been sitting out here nearly two hours, watching as three different people were called in to testify, she wondered when it would end. In a few minutes, the last witness called came out and Emil was called. Claire tensed, wondering how he would explain her to the jury, and if it would help Jack.
Half an hour later, Emil came out and Claire was called. "It's going our way," he whispered as he passed her. She limped up the aisle and gingerly took her seat. She was sworn in, then she looked at Jack, trying to communicate her love with her eyes. He smiled at her. Danielle approached her.
"Are you comfortable, Claire?" she asked. "Do you need a pillow or something?"
"I'm fine, thank you," she said, clenching her fists in her lap.
"I know this is going to be hard for you, but you aren't on trial so just relax and answer my questions." Danielle's smile was warm. "Can you tell us about your relationship with Mr. McCoy prior to your accident?"
"We were in love, lovers, but we'd been having problems, issues, especially with the impending execution of Mickey Scott. I was so tired of arguing, of the tension. I planned to leave the DA's office, hoping it would help as well as bring a little peace of mind. We argued the morning of the accident, but reconnected over the phone that evening. I was late picking him up, and he left, so I drove Lennie Briscoe home. And somebody slammed into my car."
"What were the extent of your injuries?"
"A lot of broken bones and a scrambled brain." She spoke slowly, she didn't want the words to come out mixed up. "Was in a coma for months, the doctors held little hope for recovery, but I did."
"And when you did, why did you insist your parents announce your death?"
She sighed, and tears formed and drained down her cheeks. "I wasn't the same. I was messed up. I didn't want to be a burden on Jack. The Claire he knew was gone. It was easier to be dead."
"Did you think about how that would affect Jack?"
She shook her head. "All I thought was burden, guilt. He would have stayed with me out of guilt and hated me in the end. I had to learn to walk and talk again, I still don't speak well unless I concentrate."
"Like now." Claire nodded. "So why did you come back from the dead?"
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