I still don't own Law & Order.
Although yellow tape was no longer roped across Abbie's living room, the blood was still there, the large reddish-brown that greeted them when they opened the door a gruesome welcome mat.
The sight of it made Abbie feel sick, but despite her revulsion, she stepped over it. Jack followed.
She ignored him and went into the bathroom and trashed her bloodstained clothes. She turned the shower on pure hot and tried to wash away the blood and grime, both literally and metaphorically. She was more successful with the former.
She got dressed, in clothes that had never seen the inside of a prison cell, and went back into the living room. Jack was sitting on her couch, talking on the phone. "Yes, that's good… Sure." He hung up.
"I called crime scene clean up," he told Abbie.
"Thanks," she said, and sat down next to him.
"No problem. They'll be here at noon tomorrow, and they said you probably won't want to be home."
Abbie nodded, then said abruptly, "Jack, I'm sorry."
He looked at her sharply. "For what?"
"I don't know… for everything. For what happened, and I've been being-"
"Don't apologize," said Jack. "You had to kill him, Abbie, you didn't do anything wrong."
"Yeah," she said, unconvinced.
Jack was about to say something else when his phone rang. "Jack McCoy… Yes, I am… You're crazy!… No!… We won't plead… No… The only deal we'll accept is a complete dismissal of charges and a public apology… It would only be a good deal if she was guilty… No, I know that she's not!… Mr. Cutter, we're not even going to consider a plea… Yes, I'm aware of my ethical responsibilities and I'll pass on your offer… I don't care how long you're offering it, Abbie will plead guilty when hell freezes over, and maybe not even then!" he slammed down the phone.
He turned to Abbie, glowering. "That was my replacement, offering you man one to save the taxpayers the expense of a trial since 'we both know' you're guilty."
"What a generous offer- I'll pass." Her voice was as laden with sarcasm as his.
"Then let's start working on your defense."
I hope you like it, please review! I'm actually pretty inspired on this story right now, so there's a chance I'll update it again this weekend. And if not I'll be really inspired in about two weeks because we're going to Sacramento and I'll be trying a self-defense case in mock court, so I'll probably write the trial part then.
Oh, what do you think about Mike Cutter prosecuting?