CHAPTER FOUR
Concealed Pains Of Domestic Life

After breakfast, Parker dropped Sophie back off at her house. It was the last place Sophie wanted to be right now, but she didn't want Parker to know that. She had already screwed up by telling Parker she didn't want to go home last night, and she was so determined to have everyone think that absolutely nothing was wrong with her life that she was willing to take the forthcoming abuse just to convey a false image.

She looked back as Parker drove off, waving a bit and forcing a smile. Then she took a shaky breath and looked at her house, already having a bad feeling about going back in there. But she took one hesitant step forward, and then another, before she was finally at the door. Turing the handle, she entered into the back hall, through the kitchen, to finally see Nate in the living room.

Nate looked up, drink already in hand, Sophie just sighed heavily and threw her purse on the end table before crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him. "What's this, then?"

Nate took another sip and said in a raspy voice, "I didn't know where you were."

Sophie scoffed and looked at him like he was mad for even suggesting he cared, and responded, "Don't blame your addiction on me, Nate."

Nate didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows and took another sip that seemed over dramatisized for Sophie. Sophie just shook her head and held on to herself tighter, not believing what was in front of her. After all she went through yesterday, she had to come home to this? Already?

"You almost never saw me again," she told him finally, her voice breaking a bit. She wanted him to care, to comfort her. But yet at the same time she didn't even want to tell him either, because then she would have to relive it.

"You would have come back," Nate says simply, like that's what she was meaning. "You always do."

"No!" Sophie exclaimed, frustrated. "That's not… that's not…" but she could get it out, she was starting to feel like she was going to cry again and that was the last thing she wanted to do right now. All she did yesterday was cry. It's a wonder she didn't shrink two dress sizes from losing most of her water weight.

"It's too early for the drama, Sophie. Just sit down," Nate says, and grabs the remote for the television. But Sophie smacks it out of his hand, making him look up at her annoyed. "What the hell could possibly be wrong now?"

"Will you just bloody listen to me for once!" Sophie cried, her breath shuddering a bit as she inhaled. "Please!" Her bottom lip starts to tremble, and she bites on it to keep it from doing so. She really didn't want to cry, especially not even in front of him right now. She just wanted him to listen, sweep her into his arms and tell her everything's going to be okay.

But that wasn't going to happen.

"What?" Nate said, exasperated, putting down his drink of the coffee table and looking at her like this better be important for interrupting him. Sophie just stared at him like she couldn't believe how he was acting, but it would have really been more foolish for her to expect anything else.

"S-Someone… they…" she starts, shaking a bit and holding on to herself tighter. She couldn't even bring herself to say it.

"What? Stole the car or something? I'll buy you a new one," Nate says and turns back to get the remote, like that was that. Dismissing her. Buying her stuff just so she'd shut up.

"I could have almost gotten raped last night, you bloody bastard!" Sophie cries out finally, slapping the remote out of his hand again and screeching a bit. Nate blinks and looks at her for a moment, almost like he's in shock from the revelation, but then he just shakes his head.

"Sophie, you don't have to make stuff up to try to con me into paying attention to you. I'm paying attention now, aren't I? Jesus. I already know you'd shoot anyone who'd be stupid enough to try."

Sophie started crying then, not even knowing what to do. Of course Nate didn't believe her, of course. She put her hand over her face as the tears started flowing, and Nate just rolled her eyes at her display, thinking she's lying about the whole thing. She started to get angry again, just infuriated because that was one of the scariest times of her life and she was trying to confide in him… and he thought she was lying.

"I didn't have my fucking gun!" Sophie yells and grabs her purse off the end table to turn it over and dump the contents all over him. Nate let out a sound of protest before she threw her purse across the room. "If Parker hasn't of been there I would have died! And you… and your just going to sit there? Are you bloody kidding me?!"

Nate sighed heavily and looked at her. "Just stop, okay? I get it. I'm paying attention."

"Fuck you!" Sophie screamed. "Are you telling me that my own man won't even protect me?! That I had to run to Parker when things go bad now, is that it?"

"Parker's a lesbian now, sure she wouldn't mind," Nate said with a bit of an amused laugh, like Parker's sexuality was a joke, and that Parker wanting Sophie would be an even more amusing joke on her behalf. That this entire thing was just one big joke.

Sophie slapped him then, right across the face so hard that the sound seemed to echo across the room. But before she knew what was happening, he was up, retaliating, grabbing her by the throat automatically before throwing her heavily into the far wall. Sophie coughed and put her hand to her neck as her knees gave out underneath her and she slumped to the ground.

"Don't put your hands on me," Nate told her dangerously, and Sophie just lay for a moment, staring at him like she didn't even know who he was anymore. It wasn't the first time, so she was hardly surprised by it, but it was usually when he was far too trashed to even see straight, and from the looks of it he had only just started drinking.

She rubbed her throat in silence for a little bit, it feeling like his hand was still on it. She coughed again and got to her feet before rubbing her temple, where her face had slammed into the wall. She was so sick of this, she was so sick of all of this. Nate didn't have any right to treat her this way! The bastard acts like she's good for nothing… and she was just sick of it.

So she opened the end table drawer, took out her gun, and pointed it at him.

Nate's eyes went wide. "Sophie…" he warned gently, putting up his hands.

"You fucking bastard," she told him, a dangerous look in her own eyes now. "I think its you that shouldn't put your hands on me anymore."

"Sophie, calm down…"

Sophie cocked the gun, making Nate look terrified for a second. Sophie smiled a bit inwardly. Good, it was his turn to be scared for a minute. Not like she would ever really shoot him, but it emphasized her point very well, and made him listen at least.

"I had the worst night of my life last night," she told him with a low voice, too angry to even yell anymore. It was that sort of calm anger, the ones children always fear with their mother because it means she's really, really angry. "I had some guy try to drag me into his car, I had you treat me like a whore, I cried all over Parker. And now you think you're going to hit me? Is that it, Nate?"

"No," he said automatically, his voice softer. "Come on, Sophie. I'm sorry. It was just a reaction, I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"Liar," she told him, and straightened her arms a bit more, aiming at his chest. Nate was starting to get desperate, and Sophie could see him start to sweat a bit.

"Sophie, baby… I love you. Okay? I'm sorry. I'll have Hardison find this guy if you want, and then we can make him pay for trying to do that to you. Will that make you feel better?" Nate still had his hands up, but was trying to slowly coax his way over to Sophie.

Sophie didn't care about that guy, not anymore anyway. He wasn't what mattered right now, but when Nate said the words 'I love you', that he hadn't said to her in so long, her fact softened a bit and her arms slacked only a tad, but she still had it pointed at him.

"Are you okay? I'll kill him for hurting you, I promise," Nate said, and Sophie's bottom lip trembled, her arms slacking a bit more. That's all she wanted to hear, that Nate cared and that he wanted to do something about it. "I love you, Sophie. I won't let him hurt you again."

Sophie put down the gun then and started to cry. Nate wrapped his arms around her, and slowly coaxed the gun out of her hand to lay it back on top of the end table. Sophie threw her arms around him and just bawled, her hands holding onto his shirt like she knew that this moment wouldn't last, and that it would just be hell again tomorrow… because it would.

"Shh…" Nate hushed her and ran his fingers through her hair. "Hey, it'll be okay, alright? I love you."

It was always like this though, wasn't it? After every time that he hits her and she takes drastic measures to retaliate, he's always sorry. He always loves her then. The only time it lasted longer than a day was that time she stabbed him in the leg with a butter knife and he walked with a limp for a week. He told the team a dog bit him. Eliot made fun of him for awhile after that.

She doesn't know how she got stuck in this lifestyle, especially with Nate. She loves him so much, but all she can do is really hope that one day he'll realize what he has and loves her back just as much, and then maybe for once they can be finally happy together.

TBC…