Author's Note: This is a sequel to Back in the Game and though not necessary, you should probably read that story first to fully understand the events here. As far as timing in the ER universe this story takes place during the latter half of season 11 starting with "Ruby Redux". Many, many thanks to my beta Allison for her advice and suggestions. My stories wouldn't be nearly as good without her.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the ER universe; I'm just playing with them for a bit. Sophia and Marti Dubenko, however, are solely my creations. Also, I am not Patricia Cornwell, nor do I own the likeness of her characters, I'm merely borrowing Scarpetta for a while, I'll put her back too.
"Because you don't know how to say 'no', Papa. Not when it comes to your career. You never have been able to do that, you know." Sophie Dubenko's words echoed in her father's head as he threw his lab coat over a clean set of blue scrubs. Dr. Dubenko was on his way to a tenure review panel. A meeting he didn't want to attend. As part of his hiring package at County he retained his tenured status amongst other perquisites. Having to sit on the review panel was not something he counted as a perk.
"Susan, I really hope you have all of your ducks in a row this morning." Dubenko said out loud as he sifted through a file folder containing Dr. Lewis' tenure application and curriculum vitae. He liked the ER chief, she was capable and levelheaded; she knew her job and her staff. The fact that she could work with some of the ER residents spoke volumes in Dubenko's opinion. He'd rather suture his left hand to his forehead than be responsible for the likes of Morris. He never could bring himself to think of the third year resident as a doctor, it seemed to cheapen the hard work everyone else went through to earn the title.
"Morning, Kerry. Donald," he greeted the other members of the panel as he took a seat in the conference room. Dr. Lewis wasn't due to arrive for another few minutes but the grim faces around him didn't look promising for the ER doctor. Well this'll be fun. Dubenko poured himself a glass of water. Sure, if by fun you mean excruciatingly unpleasant. Tearing apart a respected colleague is always great fun Lee. Afterwards you can go look for an intern to kick.
Sophia Dubenko was listening with rapt attention to the former medical examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The doctor had been part of the National Relief Team; a group of professionals that aide when disasters strikes such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and was now giving a lecture on forensic pathology at the University of Virginia. This is what I want to do. Hands on, in depth, hard-core side of forensic pathology. Sophie mused as the lecture continued, I want to do something that will make a difference, I want to help nail the scumbags of the world, the monsters; murderers and rapists who destroy the lives of innocent people. She couldn't help but think of the way her own life had been drastically altered by the actions of one such monster years ago. As the blonde woman continued to discuss various aspects of her chosen career, cases she had worked on and the advancements in recent years due to technology Sophie's thoughts drifted back to that fateful winter day from five years ago.
She had been told to go home directly after school, a fact she chose to ignore once the school day had ended and a couple of friends wanted to hang out and goof off. By the time she finally made her way back to her house it was early evening. Sophie had decided that whatever lecture she'd receive from her father for disobeying him was well worth it. After all it was, in her opinion, better to get yelled at for a while than to have missed out on being kissed by one of the cutest guys in school. Yeah, that was definitely worth one of her father's long-winded discourses on the virtues of following the rules. That is, if he even remembered telling her to be home in the first place. Sometimes it worked to her advantage to have a scatterbrained genius for a father.
As she rounded the corner of her street Sophie noticed that her dog, Munch, was running around in the front yard and that there were no lights on in the two story house. It struck her as odd that her mother hadn't turned on the front porch light and that she'd leave without making sure Munch was in the house. Sophie called to the chocolate colored Labrador and led him around the rear of the house, intending to go in through the back door that led right into the kitchen.
The back door was wide open, a potted plant turned on its side; soil spilled across the wooden deck. As she approached the door Munch whimpered and refused to go into the house. "Come on, Munchie, let's go inside. Want some grub? Treat? You like treats. Come on you stupid dog, I wanna go inside!" She was pulling on the animal's collar to no avail, he wouldn't move.
"Fine, stay out here for all I care. You can wait for Papa to get home to eat. Stupid dog." Sophie side stepped the plant and spilled dirt as she went into the darkened kitchen. "Mom? Where are you? How come the lights are all off? Mom?" She knew her mother would never leave the house with a door open, her father? Sure if he was lost in thought, but Marti Dubenko was almost neurotic about locking doors and windows before going anywhere.
Sophie dropped her backpack by the door and decided to go looking for her mother since yelling from the doorway was bound to get her in trouble. She had only taken a few steps when she slipped on the tiled floor, her sneaker covered feet going out from under her. There was something slick covering the ceramic flooring. Slick and somewhat sticky. The only light was fading sun coming through the windows above the sink so Sophie couldn't tell what had been spilled. She put her hands down to push herself up off the floor when she happened to look to her left. There on the floor, against the cabinets was Marti Dubenko. She wasn't moving.
"Mom?" Sophie's voice quaked with uncertainty. "Mom? Are you okay?" Sophie reached out to touch her mother's arm and realized that her skin was cold, her body stiff. "Mommy?" She questioned softly. "Mom! Oh god, Mom!" She started screaming as she shook her mother's body.
Looking down and the notes she had been taking earlier, Sophie blinked back tears. She didn't know how long she sat on the kitchen floor in her mother's blood screaming for help. Eventually a neighbor came over and the authorities were called, but all she remembers is being pulled away from her mother's body and a female police officer helping her get cleaned up.
Papa, that's all the police officer kept asking her. Where was her father? Did she know? What time did she come home? Did she touch anything? See anyone suspicious? So many questions and she couldn't answer any of them. "I want to call my Papa," she all but whispered. "He needs to come home now."
The officer had let her make the phone call, let her speak to her father until she broke down sobbing. She didn't hear the conversation that the officer had with Lee Dubenko, but knew that whatever had been said was enough to get him to leave the hospital and come home. She sat on the sofa in the living room as police and paramedics swarmed through the house. Sat there waiting for her father to come home and blame her. She should have been home. Why'd she have to take off with her friends? She should have been home. Her mother had needed her and she wasn't there. Now her mother was dead.
She assumed that Marti had fallen in the kitchen and hit her head. An accident. And that had she come home, she could have called 911, she could have helped her mother. Saved her. It was her fault and Papa would know it. Papa was going to hate her. How could he not? How was she ever going to tell him how sorry she was? Would he ever forgive her? In her shocked state Sophie didn't listen to the police officers, the medical examiner or any one else that was talking around her. Marti didn't have an accident, she had been attacked, murdered, but in her fourteen year-old mind Sophie Dubenko was certain it was her fault.
These thoughts passed through Sophie's head as she sat on the sofa and stared at her hands. She didn't move until her father walked through the front door. She heard his voice, strained with worry and grief, "Sophie…baby?" She launched herself into his arms and immediately began crying again. Over and over she repeated that she was sorry, but Lee Dubenko wasn't listening to her.
He had squeezed her tightly for a moment and then walked around her towards the kitchen. The kitchen; where her mother's body was lying on the floor. He was going to go into the kitchen. Sophie bit back a sob and followed her father convinced that he was going to yell at her, blame her for what had happened. She stopped short of her father, behind him in the hallway she watched as he grabbed onto the kitchen doorframe and took in the horrific scene. She watched as he whimpered. As his knees buckled and he sank to the floor she continued to stand there. As he whispered her mother's name before covering his face with his hands she looked at her feet. As he began to cry she felt her own warm tears run down her face.
A hand on her shoulder brought Sophie out of her reverie and she found herself looking into the concerned blue eyes of the lecturer, the hall now nearly empty. "I'm sorry, I must have zoned out." Sophie blushed, embarrassed.
As she stood to go the older woman stopped her and asked her if she was all right. Sophie admitted that her thoughts had strayed to the first time she had met the accomplished pathologist. They ended up spending nearly an hour discussing Sophie's motives for wanting to become a forensic specialist, the finer points of the lecture and the fact that Martina Dubenko's murderer had never been caught.
By the time Sophie left UVA to make the long drive back to her father's house in Richmond, a house where she now lived alone, she had come to the decision that she finally wanted to know exactly what had happened the day her mother was killed. The memories of a fourteen year-old traumatized girl weren't enough anymore. She wanted facts. And she knew the only way to get them was to talk to her father. She needed his permission to get the Commonwealth to hand over a copy of the autopsy. She knew that permission wasn't going to easily be had.
She knew that her father had only recently begun to put those events behind him and move on with his life. His personal life anyway, he had used his career as a coping mechanism for years, kept himself so busy that he didn't have time to properly grieve and come to terms with what had happened. Sophie felt like a heel for what she was about to do but she too, wanted to move on and she didn't feel that she could do that without some answers.
I'm sorry Papa, I'm so sorry.