When Marshall returned to the hospital, the doctor was already prepping for the surgery, so he gave the documents to the nurse so she could copy them for the file. He asked her to make an extra copy of the living will for him. She returned with his originals and the extra copy a few minutes later and told him the family was still in the waiting room.
He took a deep breath and entered the waiting room, startling Jinx and Raph. They had both almost drifted off to sleep. He apologized for waking them and turned to leave, but Raph motioned to the chair across from him and asked him to sit. Brandi readjusted in her chair and drifted off again, leaving him to talk to the others.
Jinx rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at Marshall. He couldn't tell if the look in her eyes was hurt over Mary's injury or the fact that her motherly duties had been usurped by the man sitting across from her.
"Any news?" she asked.
"They're prepping her for surgery now. Will probably take three to four hours, at least."
She nodded her head in acknowledgement and wrestled up the courage to ask the question she'd wanted answered since her daughter's partner had left earlier. "When did she decide to make out a living will? She never mentioned it to me. And, no offense, but why you?"
"None taken." He handed her the extra copy of the document he had made and said "If she ever asks where you got it, do me a favor and tell her you beat it out of me."
They each chuckled in understanding. At this point, they hoped she'd be around to read them the riot act about it.
Marshall started, "A few years ago, we were providing assistance to marshals in Chicago by transporting a fugitive from El Paso."
He paused and looked at Raph, seeing in his eyes the mental image of replacing fugitive with witness. He continued, "Somehow, the guys the fugitive was about to turn state's evidence on got wind of when he would be arriving and sent out a welcoming committee. Upon our arrival in Chicago with the fugitive, all hell broke loose and one of the marshals meeting us was shot. After the dust settled and the fugitive was safely turned over. We went to the hospital to check on the condition of our fellow marshal. Turned out that he didn't have any immediate family and there was no one there to make decisions on his behalf. And with the newer medical privacy laws, they wouldn't tell even his partner anything beyond the basics. The doctors did the best they could but he slipped into a coma. He remained in that condition for a few days while they tried to find anyone to notify. Eventually, he passed on."
He paused to gather his thoughts. "On the trip back from Chicago we talked about it and decided that we just couldn't let that happen to each other. So we found a lawyer to draw up living wills for each of us and gave each other medical power of attorney." He looked at Jinx who was trying hard to process what was hearing. "At the time, you and Brandi were living in New Jersey and Raph, I don't think she had even met you yet. She asked me to do it because you were so far away, and honestly, she didn't think you would be willing to make the decision she would want. I wasn't even sure I could, but I guess now I know…", his voice trailed off.
Marshall looked down at the floor between his feet and ran his hands through his hair. "Fortunately, when I got shot last year, I wasn't hurt badly enough for her to have to make any life or death decisions for me, but I was glad she could if she needed to. It was a weight off my mind knowing she would.
Jinx looked at her hands as if they held answers, then looked back at Marshall. "But I guess I don't understand why this," she shook the papers, "this prevents me from making those decisions. I am her mother, after all." She looked to Raph who put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She continued "And he's going to be her husband. We should have some say in the matter."
Raph, who had been disarmingly quiet through all this, jumped in at this point, his frustration finally boiling over. "That is just so typical of Mary. Everything with her is a secret. Can't, no wait, won't tell us anything. How many close calls like that has she had since then? Oh, you probably won't tell me either. She tosses us crumbs and expects us to be happy." He stood up and walked a few feet away mumbling something in Spanish.
Marshall sighed and gave Raph a sympathetic look, "Look, I know this is difficult for both of you, but the law provides each of us the right to decide who we want making these tough decisions for us. For a variety of reasons, that person is not always the next of kin. I have my own reasons for wanting Mary to do it and not my sister, who's my only remaining family. Mary can revoke the power of attorney anytime she wants and name someone else if she chooses. But right now, at the end of the day, it comes down to this: until she says otherwise, she's given me the honor and obligation of speaking for her when she can't." He looked Raph in the eye, "And it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
He reached over and put his hand on Jinx's. "She would want to fight, as long there was a victory worth having."
She put her other hand on top of his and said "Thank you. I'm glad she has you looking out for her. Heaven knows she doesn't let us do it."
"Well, I have plenty of battle scars from trying to help her and it's not always easy to be her friend, but it does have its rewards."
Seeing that they had no further questions and he not knowing what else to say, Marshall got up and after putting a reassuring hand on Raph's shoulder (who had calmed down a bit), moved to a far corner of the waiting room to read the magazines he brought from home, leaving Jinx and Raph to read the document he gave them. He can see the tension and worry surrounding them and almost feel the frustration being projected his way from Raph. Not that he could blame him, but it's not his fight to have with Mary. Raph will have to take it up with her when she recovers, he reminded himself. He watched them flip through the twenty or so pages of specifics. He was pretty sure that after they've had time to go through it, they'd have questions about what some of the medical jargon means. But for now, he gave them space to absorb yet another batch of surprises from Mary and was thankful for the chance to get lost in the latest issue of Archeology Today.