Day 39

The morning pitch meeting had just ended and everybody was leaving the conference room when Charlie entered the bullpen with a wide grin on his face and motioned Mac to follow him into her office.

„Go, get ready to meet Rebecca at the Detention Center in..." He looked at his watch. „... 42 minutes."

Mac's eyes went big and her face lit up. „Will's coming home? The FBI found the source?"

Charlie's expression faltered for a moment and he shook his head, but then the smile returned. „No, I'm sorry...The next best thing though: Genoa is over!"

„What?" Mac couldn't believe her ears. „I didn't even know anything was scheduled for today!"

„The Grand Jury dismissed the charges brought against ACN as well as all personal charges against you, Will and me. It's not going to trial."

Closing her eyes Mac drew a deep breath. „That is just wonderful! What happened?"

„Insufficient evidence – After hearing the depositions given by us, General Stomtonovic, Dantana etc. the Grand Jury decided Dantana didn't provide the evidence needed to prove any institutional failure, which officially means that Dantana was at fault and his being fired was fucking justified."

Opening his arms Charlie grinned and Mac basically threw herself at him. For months now Operation Genoa had been on her mind. Granted, pushed back a little during the last weeks with the mess Will had gotten himself into, but it had always been there, and she was still beating herself up that she hadn't caught on to Dantana's deception earlier.
With these few words just now Charlie had lifted a terrible burden of her shoulders and for the first time since the discovery and the retraction of the story she felt like she could finally breathe properly again.

Pulling back from the hug a wide smile shown on her face which then turned into a light frown. „Why didn't you tell me it was today?"

Charlie shrugged. „You already have enough on your plate, you didn't have to worry about that as well. Besides, we couldn't have changed anything anyway."

Mac looked at him for a moment. „We're gonna talk about that later... This is official? We can report on it tonight?" Charlie nodded, so she continued with another huge smile. „Okay, let me tell Jim and have him prepare a segment, then I'll be ready."

„I have Millie call you a car. Five minutes?"

„That should be fine, thanks. But you're not coming along?"

„I'd fucking love to, but I want to tell Leona and Reese as quickly as possible and I also have to report to Pruit, after all he did inherit this mess. Rebecca can answer all questions your prosecutor-husband will most definitely have. Tell Will I'll see him next week and let Jim know I'll be with him shortly for more details."

„Okay... I can't wait to see Will's face when we tell him, I just wish we could celebrate together..." Mac sighed which earned her a caring look from Charlie.

„I know, kiddo, me too... But now go, don't let Rebecca wait."

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Sitting in the back of the car Mac let her head rest against the seat. Genoa was over, she could hardly believe it.

Nothing anybody had said over the past months had convinced her that the whole affair hadn't been her fault, and she had been serious about resigning over it. When that wasn't accepted by Leona she had succesfully tried to lure Will into firing her, and if it hadn't been for his change of heart she would be God knows where by now and not being married to him.
Still, even Will had never been able to persuade her that it hadn't been her very own responsibility to catch on to the flaws in the story and to Dantana's tempering with the raw footage of the Stomtonovic interview earlier.

She had been so sure that the whole matter would end up in court, the greater was her surprise now that it was officially over. However, as grateful as she was that she would not have to appear in in front of a judge and jury, she knew that for herself it wasn't finished yet.

She still had to come to terms with the fact that she had not lived up to her responsibility as executive producer. It was her job to make sure that what- and whoever going on the air was thoroughly vetted and scrutinized, and in this respect she had failed.
She had not double checked the injuries of Gunnery Sgt. Sweeney and had just trusted his own words. She had posted leading questions during her interview with Lance Corporal Valenzuela. And she had trusted Dantana blindly while not listening to people she had known and relied on much longer, like Jim and Don, who'd had their doubts about the story.

But she knew, with the verdict of the Grand Jury the matter was at least officially closed now and the rest she could figure out by herself, in her own time. Hopefully growing from it and only becoming a better EP in the end. And at least the show and Will were safe.

The car was nearing it's intended destination when Mac's phone rang and seeing that it was Charlie she quickly answered. „Hey Charlie, what's up? I'm not there yet."

While listening to him her eyes got bigger and bigger. „Are you kidding me? How did you...? Wow... Sure I'm going to tell him, he'll be thrilled...! Yeah, what a day! Thanks, Charlie!"

Hanging up Mac unbelievingy shook her head. Really, what a day...

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On arrival at the Manhattan Detention Center Mac saw Rebecca already waiting. She quickly got out of the car and hurried over to meet her. „I'm sorry, Rebecca, have you been waiting long?"

„I just got here, don't worry. And even if not, Lee's paying for it." With a wink she opened the door and let Mac go in first. „Congratulations, MacKenzie, this is a good day for you."

„Well, I guess you deserve the praise, you must have done a terrific job."

„We didn't do too bad..." Rebecca agreed with the self-confidence of a star attorney and followed Mac inside.

When Will entered the room they were waiting in he already started talking before he was through the door. „So what's the verdict, Rebecca?"
Only then he saw Mac standing next to her and quickly went over for a kiss. „Hey, I didn't expect to see you today."

She smiled and took his hand. „I know, but I wanted to be here when Rebecca tells you..." With a nod she signaled the lawyer to take over.

„Well, congratulations Will, you're all officially off the hook!"

While squeezing Mac's hand Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath. „Thank God...!" Then he looked at Mac and pulled her into his arms. „I told you not to worry, Honey, didn't I?" he mumbled into her neck.

„Hmmm... You did, but seeing your reaction just now I'm not really sure if you believed it yourself...?"

Will pulled back. „You know I hate not being able to fight my own fights... And besides, you heard the saying 'Before the court and on the high seas, a man's fate lies in God's hands'? No one can ever be completely certain how it will end..."

„Come here, Mr. Smartypants." With this Mac reached for her husband to give him a searing kiss which he more than willingly returned, until Rebecca audibly cleared her throat.

„Sorry..." They both blushed a little while breaking apart, and Will quickly continued. „So, what happened?

„Well..." Rebecca went to sit down at the table and the two followed suit, taking their seat on the opposite side. „As you know the Grand Jury convened today and..."
As soon as their talk began and Rebecca and Will engaged in a lively conversation about today's events that was filled with legal jargon, Mac tuned out and let her thoughts roam while watching her husband.

She was so happy for Will that Genoa wouldn't remain a a dark spot on his career achievements. She knew that it would probably always be mentioned when somebody would talk about him, but now it would need to be followed by the legal acquittal.

But then Mac's thoughts focused on another point.
Remembering the way Will had entered the room he had clearly been expecting to see Rebecca today. So he must have known that the Grand Jury had been scheduled for today but still he didn't tell her. Seeing that not even a week ago they had talked about not holding anything back she felt a sting. Apparently he still felt the need to protect her, which was sweet, but not what she wanted. However, she was not going to ruin this moment but filed this knowledge away for later; today was a time to celebrate.

After about ten minutes the two lawyers in the room wrapped up and Rebecca stood up, putting her papers back in the briefcase. „So, if you don't have any more questions I guess that was it for today. MacKenzie, are you coming with me?"

Mac shook her head. „No, thanks, I'll stay a little longer. Thank you for everything, Rebecca." She stood up and hugged her tightly before stepping back to stand next to Will who had also risen from his seat.

„Yes, thank you, Rebecca. You did a great job." He shook her hand and then put his arm around Mac's shoulders. As soon as they were alone he pulled her in for another hug. „I am so very happy for you, Mac. I know how much this affair still weighed on you. How are you feeling now?"

„Splendid, I just feel great, Billy." She sighed and just enjoyed their closeness for a moment, but then she could no longer keep quiet. „And I have more good news for you..."

„Oh?" Will backed up a little to look at her. „What's that?"

Mac grinned. „Charlie called me on my way here. He had just received a call that you have been nominated for the Columbia Journalism Award. Congratulations, Honey!"

Will raised his eyebrows. „Wow... That's nice, but what the hell for?"

She gave him a preen smile. „I looked it up to get it completely right: 'The Columbia Journalism Award is given in recognition of exceptional journalistic performance and is presented annually to someone of overarching accomplishment and distinguished service to journalism.' I assume you fighting to protect your source and even going to jail for it, stepping up for all journalists in this country, is what got you this nomination..." Mac tugged on lapels of his shirt to pull him down for a long, but gentle kiss. „I know I said it before but it's true: I am so fucking proud of you, Billy."

Will smiled at her and took her into his arms again, kissing her forehead „You know what? That's the only thing that matters to me... Are you going to celebrate tonight?"

Burying her head in his chest she sighed. „I'm sure they'll all meet at Hang Chew's tonight. And they deserve it."

He stayed quiet for a moment „Mac, you definitely deserve it, too. Promise me you'll go with them? I hate to think of you sitting home alone every night..."

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Fifteen minutes later Mac was on her ride back to the office. She had given Will her word to go out with the staff this evening and she was actually looking forward to it; it would be the first time since he went to jail.

Thinking back to her visit just now she remembered her disappointment that he again had kept something from her, but suddenly a sad grin showed on her face. She actually hadn't done any better by telling him that she was feeling simply great because Genoa wasn't going to trial. But hadn't she just told herself a mere hour ago on the way to prison that she still had to deal with the personal fallout and consequences and hadn't forgiven herself yet?

She shook her head. They both really were a sorry pair when it came to communicating with each other. They really had to work on that...

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Back at the office she dove right in again, approving the segment Jim had worked out on Genoa and then catching up on the rest of her work until the final rundown meeting.

The show that night went fine and afterwards the whole staff went to Hang Chew's, their favourite hangout. Cheers erupted when Mac opened a tab courtesy of Will and soon the lively chatter reflected the shiny mood everybody was in since the news of Genoa being officially off the table had broken earlier that day.

Mac leaned back in her seat and just enjoyed the company of this group of young, exceptional people.
Even though Will couldn't be with her she was glad that she had them. They were her family, too.

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Notes:
1.)
I'm no legal expert and hope I was right to involve a Grand Jury in this.

2.)
The Columbia Journalism Award actually exists and Mac's quote is taken from the website of the Columbia Journalism School:
www. Journalism. Columbia. Edu / page / 9-journalism-awards / 9
(type it without the blanks)