Chapter Forty-Seven



As soon as I step back onto our floor at the precinct, I see Ash sitting on Dani's desk.

“I've been waiting for you.”

“What's happened?”

“Paul took the deal. He got the guard to call about 20 minutes ago. I guess Cain pulled it off.”

“I guess he did. When's the Assistant District Attorney coming to process him?”

“She's on her way. Should be here any minute now.”

“Good. You and Cain will have to deal with it. I can't be seen anywhere near this one.”

“Sure thing. I think the Cap is sitting in on it though. You still want me to handle it?”

“No, if the Cap is going to be there then it's ok.”

“How's Dani? I presume that's where you went?”

“She's ok. I bet she's getting sick of that question. It's not something that she's just going to forget overnight. It's going to be a long process, especially after everything she's already had to deal with. We're working on it.”

The ADA struts through the door, in her 'power' skirt suit, and marches right up to me. I can't help but think we're about to enter a slinging match with her and her office. We might have to fight for a decent punishment.

“Hi, I'm ADA Nicole Flynn. I'm looking for Captain Michaels.”

“He's in his office. I'm Lieutenant Ramirez and this is Sergeant Scott. I'll show you through to the Cap.”

“Thank you.”

I knock on the Cap's door and announce ADA Flynn's presence. The Cap calls us both in and then says, “Ramirez, you should stay for this.”

“Sir?”

That's a shocker. I'm not supposed to be anywhere near this.

“You're my next in command. You need to know what's going on. I know you're not on this case, but you still should be in here. Do you have any problems with that Miss Flynn?”

“Just one question first. Why is he not on this case?”

“He's friends with Miss Romanov. We thought it was best to keep the chain free from any scrutiny.”

“Good. That makes a change.”

“We run a tight ship here, Miss Flynn. I don't know how this situation evaded us, but now we know about it, we need to make sure it doesn't happen again. I won't have a dirty house.”

“I'm glad to hear it. I don't mind if Lieutenant Ramirez stays, as long as he keeps away from the actual recorded proceedings.”

“You have no need to worry about that, ma'am.”

“Good.”

The Cap signals for us to sit as he asks, “So, have you read up on the case?”

“Yes. It seems pretty cut and dry. I heard that one of your men was talking to him?”

“Yes ma'am. Well, he used to work in this precinct. He was transferred to another unit a few months ago.”

“And what's his connection to this?”

“He was here when it happened. In fact, he's the one who has dealt with it from the start.”

I sit quietly, not wanting to influence anything and cause a conflict of interest.

“Right. So, what was the outcome of this 'talk'?”

“Mr. Jarvis has taken a guilty plea in exchange for allowing him to keep his license. I don't know about jail time. I think he should serve time. I want my house to realize they can't get away with things like this.”

“Ok. Do you have all the notes from their interview?”

“Yes ma'am. Right here.”

She looks through all of the notes from Cain and Paul's session and we're all silent for a few minutes. Eventually, ADA Flynn says, “Right. I can offer a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years in jail. We'll waive the fine and we'll allow him to keep his license on the grounds that he works pro bono for 2 years after he's released from jail. He'll be subject to strict guidelines for practicing psychiatry when he's released, but my office will need to write up the terms. I'll need to speak with Mr. Jarvis now to see if he agrees to these terms. I would like the officer that took the interview to be there as well.”

“No problem. I'll have both of them brought into the interview room. Ramirez, get Scott on that now.”

“Yes sir.”

I quickly get Ash to bring Paul and Cain in. I watch the interview from the viewing room. Paul tries to resist the jail time, but Flynn assures him he won't get a better deal from anyone else and he won't fair well with a jury once they see the video. He eventually gives in to his fate and takes the plea. I let out a huge sigh of relief and run my fingers through my hair. That part is over with. I just need to get Dani back to where we were before all of this happened.

Once Paul is taken out for processing and heads for his new home, compliments of the great state of New York, Flynn appears in the viewing room. She smiles slightly at me and throws all my preconceived ideas about ADA's out of the window when she says, “Thank you.”

My brows furrow in confusion and I question, “For?”

“For staying clear of this. It would have made my job a nightmare if you'd have been involved. Mr. Jarvis would have used broken protocol against the department as a bargaining chip. So, thank you for not putting me in that predicament.”

“Just doing my job. Regardless of the victim, my job is to get the bad guys and get the appropriate punishment for them the right way. Although I would have been happier with a harsher punishment for him, I understand that it's a win for us in a very tricky situation.”

“Yes, it is a win. However, I understand where you're coming from. No woman should have to worry about that kind of treatment, especially in law enforcement of all places. How is the victim?”

“Her name is Miss Romanov. I just don't like to call her a victim.”

“I apologize. How is Miss Romanov?”

“Better than she was. Still a bit shaken up.”

“From what I can discern, there has been harassment going on for quite some time.”

This shocks me. Even I haven't found out the details yet.

“Sorry, I thought you'd been informed of the details from the video footage.”

“Not yet. I've been off for a few days. Today's my first day back.”

“I'm sorry, I should have let your Captain tell you. I will be pressing for the full 5 years, seeing as it has been an ongoing situation. There will be an appeal hearing at the 2 year mark, which your department will be informed of. The whole case will be reviewed to see if Mr. Jarvis should be released after those 2 years. That will be your opportunity to inform the judge of any developments. My office will submit the full collection of video footage before then, so that will already be on record. I have to get back to my office, but I do hope Miss Romanov is ok.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“You're most welcome. Keep doing your job the way you do.”

She's gone in a blink, leaving me to wonder if any of that actually happened.

I don't get time to speak to the Cap until it's time to clock out. He calls me into his office once I've finished filling in all of the paperwork and locked up the weapons.

“Take a seat, Eli.”

I sit, hoping this doesn't take too long. I want to get home to Dani ASAP.

“We finished reviewing all of the footage...”

“I know. The ADA told me.”

“Oh. I would have told you; I just didn't get a minute to do so. Did Flynn speak to you about the case?”

“Yes sir. She told me about the appeal hearing and everything. We'll just cross that bridge when we get there. For now, he's in jail and that's the most important thing.”

“Agreed. Eli, I want to bring Cain back. He belongs with this team and we need his skill set.”

“I miss what he brings to the team as well. I need to speak to Dani though, Cap. She needs to be informed of this kind of change. I know ultimately it's your decision, but in light of recent events, she needs to know what she's coming back to. She may not even want to come back now.”

“Really?”

“I don't know. We haven't discussed it yet. I don't think the time is right just yet. Let me talk to her before you make a final decision.”

“Sure thing.”

He runs through the day's events with me, just checking on all of the teams, etc. An hour later, I'm stepping out of the precinct to go home. Home; that sounds weird but good. It's actually Dani's home, but more and more I'm learning that wherever Dani is, that's where I count as home.

I can smell the dinner before Dani even opens the door. As soon as she knows it's me, the door opens. I shoot a smile at her and say, “Something smells great.”

“Thank you. It's nearly done. How was your day?”

She actually seems like she's trying to make the effort to put everything behind her so I go along with it, trying to make the process easier for her. I know that we have to discuss the Paul outcome and Cain as well. But for now, I just let her have some form of normal.

“It was pretty good, I think. The security detail went off fine and there were no threats at the stadium.”

“How was training?”

“Good actually. A bit harder after a few days off though.”

I see guilt flash across her features, even though she drops her head to try to disguise it. “Hey, you don't need to feel guilty. I wasn't concerned about my fitness, only you. It's only ever you that I'm concerned about...”

This seems to catch her off guard and I see shock in her eyes and a blush form on her cheeks. My heart does a little flop at the sight. She's starting to feel something at my words. That's got to mean something, right? Maybe I'm reading too much into a simple blush, but for now I'm going to go with that thought and allow my heart to flutter at an abnormal rate.

“Is the Captain ok?”

“He misses you, but he's ok. Ash has been asking after you.”

“Oh.”

She doesn't know how to process that bit of information, so I say, “He misses you as well. Babe, you're a big part of our lives now. How has your day been? Cleaning and rearranging aside.”

“Ok. I finished that computer program and I got through all of the files you brought over.”

“That quick, huh?”

“Yes sir.”

As we eat, I bring up Paul. I see her pale instantly and I hate the fact that I've done that to her.

“Babe, we need to talk about this. We can't just avoid this topic forever.”

She drops her head and whispers, “Ok.”

“I swear I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable deliberately. I just need you to know where everything stands right now.”

“Ok.”

“Ok. Cain interviewed Paul today...”

She nearly chokes on her food when she hears both of their names. Geez, could this be any more messed up?

“Sorry, Dani. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not involved in the case. We can't be accused of not following protocol. Cain interviewed Paul and got him to take a guilty plea.”

“What?”

“Yep. Long story short, Cain got him to take the plea and the Assistant District Attorney gave him a deal. 2-5 years in jail with a 2 year pro bono probation for practicing psychiatry when he's released. He's going to be in jail for at least 2 years sweetheart. This is a good thing. You don't have to worry about him anymore.”

She lets out a breath, but doesn't say anything.

“What? What are you thinking?”

She hesitates and then says, “I don't even know. Eli?”

“Yes baby?”

“Do you... think it's... my fault?”

I'm shocked that she'd even think something like that. I'm also shocked that she'd reveal her thoughts to me just like that.

“No, it's not your fault. Why would you even think something like that?”

She shrugs and then whispers, “Because it keeps happening to me... It must be my fault if it keeps happening...”

She looks and sounds so vulnerable right now and it takes all of my strength and will power to not scoop her up in my arms.

“It's definitely not your fault. You're beautiful, there's no doubt about that, but a real gentleman wouldn't do something like that. Unfortunately, there's a lot more scumbags out there than there are gentlemen. I think part of the problem is, you're scared and I totally understand why.”

She looks confused and frustrated, so I explain, “Because you're scared, certain people will use that to their advantage and prey on you. It's almost like you have to portray a sense of confidence to actually make yourself safer. If people don't think they're going to get away with anything, then they'll leave you alone. I'm not saying you shouldn't be scared or feel scared. I just think that if you acted like you weren't, people might not use it against you.”

She doesn't comment; she just nods a little.

“What are you thinking, Dani?”

“I don't know how to not act scared. I am scared. I'm petrified. How do I not act like that?”

“You just need to pretend you're not. I know it's easy to say it and a lot harder to do it, but you need to divert your attention away from whatever is scaring you and focus on something else. I know that Ash and myself will be keeping an extra close eye on you, just to make sure you're ok, so we'll be close by a lot of the time. We'll figure it out, sweetheart.”

“Ok.”

“How do you feel? I mean, with the meds? Are they working?”

She chews her food and thinks for a few seconds before she says, “I think so. I don't feel like my brain is as noisy. I don't know if it'll last though.”

“Let's just continue with it for now and see how we go, yeah?”

“Yes sir.”

“Dani?”

“Yeah.”

She looks up at me with an intensity in her eyes that I haven't seen before. It kind of throws me off guard. It's the look in her eyes as well as the fact that she's actually looking into my eyes. She very rarely does that. It seems like she realizes that fact because she quickly drops her head and mutters an apology.

I whisper, “Don't apologize. I like it when you look into my eyes. I like to gauge your reaction to things. I like to see if you're ok with me. I want you to feel comfortable enough with me to show me your eyes and your reactions. You don't need to be frightened that I'm going to get angry or anything. I know its always in the back of your mind. I know you think that eventually I'm going to snap and hit you, but I would never do such an awful thing. I don't know how else to prove that to you.”

She whispers, “I know, Eli. I do know you're not going to hurt me. Well, as much as I can be sure anyway. That fear will always be there, even if it's hidden. I just need to convince my subconscious and that will take some time.”

“I know. As long as you believe I'm not going to hurt you that's a starting point. I have to talk to you about something else.”

Her head shoots up, a worried expression on her face.

“The Cap wants to bring Cain back. I know we agreed to send him to another precinct, but the Cap says we need his skills; that he belongs with our team...”

She surprises me by asking, “What do you think, Eli?”

I let out a deep breath and truthfully admit, “I agree with him. After seeing how he handled the Paul interview, how he had your best interests in mind, how he played every part just like I taught him, I have to agree with the Cap. He's back to his old self Dani. In fact, I think he's more understanding now. He's got a more mature head on his shoulders because of what happened. He deeply regrets what he did to you; to himself as well. He sends his regards by the way. He wanted me to wish you well.”

She picks at her fingers. A very bad nervous habit. So I carefully reach over and place my hand over hers. She jumps a little and I feel her trembling under my touch, but she doesn't freak out or jump away. She just stares at our hands intently for a little while, like she's trying to figure something out. I feel her fingers move and I assume she's trying to get away from my touch so I lift my hand slightly to allow her movement. She surprises me yet again by entwining her fingers in mine and just continues to stare at our hands. I don't want to make a big deal out of the gesture, even though I know it's a major step for her, so I say, “I told the Cap I'd talk to you first. At the end of the day it is his decision, but I told him I needed to let you know first before he made it final. I need to know if you can work with him in the office. If you will constantly be worrying, then we need to come to another solution...”

“Ok.”

“Huh? Ok what?”

“I will be ok.”

“With Cain working there? Are you sure about this? Once the Cap gives him the ok, he'll be back permanently.”

“You and Ash will be around. You know about it now. It'll be ok. I won't not be scared, but you said I have to pretend, right?”

I let out a light chuckle and she looks confused.

“You're amazing, you know that? I was freaking out that you wouldn't want to come back to work and you've just totally thrown me for a loop. I thought I was going to have to give a hundred reasons why it will work out. You just.... you're amazing.”



She blushes again and quickly averts her gaze. I pretend like I don't notice, but my body totally notices that she's still got her fingers wrapped in mine.