Only one more chapter to go after this guys!
Kate and Rafael's hands remained linked in the car as he drove them both to the court house. Three weeks of living together and everything was going perfectly. For the first two weeks, being around each other in the apartment was a novelty, but in the last week it had become a comfortable normality. That was the feeling that Kate liked the most. She finally felt normal. She was a normal woman, living with her normal boyfriend, in their normal apartment. For the first time in her life, she couldn't stop smiling.
Rafael pulled his car into the underground lot, found a spot, and they took the elevator upwards. When the doors slid open, the entire team were waiting in the hall. Carisi hurried over to them and handed Kate a coffee.
"Thanks, Carisi," she said, using the Styrofoam cup to defrost her hands from the November weather.
"Don't I get a coffee too?" Rafael asked, jokingly.
"When I make the same money as you, I'll buy you a coffee," Kate said with a smirk.
Rafael rolled his eyes, but grinned. He gently squeezed her arm to say goodbye, then hurried off into the courtroom.
Once he was gone, Carisi leaned close to Kate and whispered "How's living together going?"
She blew on her steaming cup of coffee before she responded. "Good, Carisi. Really good."
A genuine smile came across Carisi's face. "I'm so glad to hear that Kate."
Nick called them over, and they all filed into the courtroom.
Kate sat down in the first row, and would not take her eyes off Bradley. He looked…defeated. She glared at him with triumph and satisfaction. A small grin came over her face.
The court was called into session. The judge ran through a number of factors that would be influencing sentencing, then a number of victims made statements. Kate chose not to be one of them, but she listened to the beautiful yet heart-wrenching speeches that the women and girls read to the judge. They detailed the abuse once again and how it has affected their lives. Kate could hear a few people sniffing behind her, and saw one woman wiping back tears a few seats across. After each victim spoke, they would walk back past Kate and she would give them a reassuring nod or a light squeeze of the hand.
Finally, the judge had heard all he needed to and began his sentencing. "Mister Bradley, this has been one of the most horrific cases I have ever seen in my life. You have proven that you are a serial abuser of power and authority with a taste for violence and suffering. You represent a number of challenges to the state. Firstly, your crimes span a number of decades with an increase on the severity and nature of the crimes. There is no period where these crimes stopped, and you would have continued if you had not been caught. If you were ever to be released, there is no doubt in my mind that you offend again. Secondly, the state believes that, despite you very well-acted performance in this court, have no remorse for your crimes. Thirdly, you have proven to the state that you are a flight risk. Fourthly, these crimes completely surround the suffering of another person. Finally, Mister Bradley, the state believes that you pose a risk to other around you, no matter their gender, age, race, or mental health. Therefore, I hand down this sentence,"
Nick, who was sitting behind her, gripped her shoulder. She nodded without looking at him.
"Damien Bradley, on the six counts of rape, I sentence you to fifteen years imprisonment per count with no possibility of parole. These sentences are not to be served concurrently."
Kate exhaled the biggest sigh of relief. The victim next to her, Maddison, turned and wrapped her small arms around Kate with a smile. There were a few cheers in the crowd.
The judge continued. "On the one count of attempted rape, I sentence you to ten years imprisonment. On eight counts of kidnapping, I sentence you to twenty years of imprisonment per count. These sentences are not to be served concurrently. And on the eight counts of torture, I sentence you to twenty years of imprisonment per count. These sentences are not to be served concurrently. Your sentence will be undertaken at Attica Correctional Facility. It is my recommendation to this facility that you be categorised as a maximum security prisoner." The judge turned from Bradley to Barba. "Thank you, ADA Barba and Defence Counsel Harris. Court is now adjourned."
The court erupted into cheers. So many people wrapped their arms around Kate, she lost track of them. Once the initial chaos died down, the team and Barba formed a small circle.
"Drinks?" Olivia suggested.
Everyone agreed with vigour, and it was scheduled for that night. The group began to break off to either go back to work, or to lunch. Although Kate and Rafael couldn't embrace lovingly in the courtroom, they could give a congratulatory hug. When they wrapped their arms around each other, Kate whispered "I love you, Rafael," in his ear to which he responded "I love you too, bella alma."
Just as they broke their embrace, Harris stormed past them giving them the look of death.
"Careful," she hissed. "People might get the wrong idea."
Rafael narrowed his darkened eyes at her. "Listen Harris, I might not have found a way to expose you. But I will…and oh my, will I enjoy that day."
Harris raised one corner of her mouth. "Right. I'd like to see that happen."
She sauntered away to towards the media frenzy on the front steps. Rafael looked back to Kate as if to ask if it was okay for him to go. She smiled and nodded.
He hurried away, and she realised the rest of the team were outside, and it was just her and a few other people in the courtroom. She took a deep breath and looked around. Really looked around. Normally the room was so full of people, she never had the chance to take in the beautiful maple coloured wood and stone tiles. She sat down in one of the empty pews. This courtroom had felt like a home after the last few months, and now it was if she was saying goodbye to her familiar childhood home and moving on to bigger and better things.
She sighed again.
"Detective Walker?"
Kate jumped and looked to the side to see Annabeth Greyson, the first of Bradley's victims, standing beside her.
"Just Kate's fine."
"Can I sit?" Annabeth asked.
Kate slid over without another word and she shuffled in beside her.
"Kate, I just wanted to say…thank you."
She smiled and shrugged. "It's my job."
Annabeth tilted her head a little. "But, it wasn't. Sure, investigating and arresting him was. But…but you had to go through what every one of his victims had to endure to bring him down. And you had your personal life brought up. They even brought your mother here. You held out throughout this entire trial."
Kate felt a churning feeling in her stomach.
"I was raped all those years ago, and the police didn't believe me. I lost faith in the cops," she continued. "But now…looking at you and everything you went through to get justice, I know that there's people out there that are looking out for people like me."
Kate was stunned. What Annabeth had said was the reason she had become a cop – so that those who felt helpless knew they had a protector.
Shakily, Kate managed to say a few words before she started crying. "You have…no idea how much that means to me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry!"
Kate quickly wiped the tears from her face. "No, no! They're happy tears!"
She sat with Kate for another ten minutes, talking about her kids and her beautiful husband. Kate loved to hear the story because it was good to hear that someone just like her; someone who had been ripped apart had been able to glue themselves back together again. And she had found the love of her life in the process.
"Cheers!" Seven voices chimed as seven different shaped glasses met in the air.
Everyone took a sip of their drinks, before Carisi jumped from his seat. "I would like to make a toast! To Barba, for his excellent work in the courtroom, and to Kate…" He smiled at her. "I can safely say that you've changed more lives in your few months in New York City than I have in my entire life. You've made this team whole, Kate, and we can't wait to have you back."
"To Kate!" Everyone yelled, then gulped from their glasses.
"I actually have an announcement…" Kate said, sending a small, sly grin to Rafael who sat beside her. "Well, not an announcement but an invitation of sorts."
Everyone looked confused.
"All of you know that I was going to leave New York city a few weeks ago, but changed my mind. But, I had already sublet my apartment. I moved into a new place three weeks ago and…"
"And you want to invite us over? Have a little housewarming bash?" Nick asked.
Kate took a deep breath, then grabbed Rafael's hand in full view of the team. "Well, we wanted to invite you all over."
Amanda and Finn, the only two who didn't know about the relationship, instantly froze. Amanda's mouth dropped open.
Nick, who knew about the relationship but not about the apartment, grinned. "You two are living together now?!"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Amanda said, holding up her hands. She turned to Nick. "You knew?"
Kate bit her lip a little. Nick was going to be in trouble with her tonight.
"Well…yeah..."
"Serg and I knew too," Carisi chimed in.
"I honestly thought you two hated each other," Finn commented.
"Listen, we can talk about this later." Kate said. "Rafael and I are going to be having a Thanksgiving dinner next Saturday, and we would love it if you all could come."
"Of course!"
"Yes!"
"Don't have to ask me twice."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Kate smiled at her friends, then gripped Rafael's hand. Everything felt right.
Three days, the entire team stood in a circle around Kate whispering encouraging words to her. Rafael was there too, sitting on a table behind the group sipping his coffee. His encouragement had come in a different, more physical form last night. And twice that morning.
"Don't stress yourself out about it," Carisi said. "There's no need to stress about it until you know the outcome. I mean, so what if they don't let you back on the force? We'll smuggle you in every day. You won't be able to have a gun or a badg…"
"Carisi?" Kate interrupted him. "Shut up."
Tucker was waiting upstairs for her. Despite constant insistence from Olivia, Rafael, and everybody else in the room, she wanted to go and find out the outcome on her own. Her last psych evaluation had been just after the sentencing hearing. It was strangely sad to say goodbye to her psychiatrist.
Kate took in one deep breath. "Okay."
She walked towards the elevator while wishes of good luck were yelled at her from behind. Once she was inside and the doors were closed, she sighed and thought of Annabeth Greyson. With that, all her nerves and worries were gone. No matter what words came out of Tucker's mouth, she had done her job. There was a man behind bars, many women safe, and a girl who felt she was being looked out for.
The doors slid open, and Tucker's partner, Sergeant Martin, stood there waiting for her.
"Detective Walker," he nodded in greeting.
He guided her to the meeting room she had been in all those days before when she had been stripped of her gun and badge. Tucker sat in the exact same spot, and she was sure in the exact same suit. She shook his hand then took a seat.
"Detective Walker, I'm glad to hear that Bradley was found guilty. Congratulations." Tucker said.
"Thank you."
"Now, this was a difficult case. Many thought you should have been stripped of your badge all those weeks ago, but we had to follow protocol."
Her stomach knotted a little, but she took a deep breath.
"Your psychiatrist provided us with weekly updates on you and your mental state. I am not allowed to know what you talked about in your sessions. I only get the final reports, but the first week was most definitely troubling." He picked up a small grouping of papers. "As I quote, 'Detective Walker is exhibiting excessive signs of PTSD at current. It is unclear whether this condition is rooted in previous trauma, or the more recent trauma involving D. Bradley. She lacks a substantial support system, and currently could be engaging in high risk relationships.'"
Kate rubbed her forehead. "Okay…"
"But, her last and final report is of more interest to me. As I quote, 'Detective Walker has shown a substantial improvement over the course of the D. Bradley trial. I believe she has developed more efficient coping skills. Although her PTSD is still present, I do not believe that it will impact on her work, or on decision making abilities. She has now developed a strong support system in the forms of her team, and is showing positive improvements in engaging in healthy, interpersonal relationships.'"
A small smile came over her face. Kate had never been able to read her psychiatrists face, and this was the first time she had heard what she'd written about her.
Tucker placed the papers down, and interlaced his fingers in front of him. "Despite what she has written, you have been through hell and back. You were kidnapped, tortured, stripped of your badge, had your life paraded before the media. Everyone in New York, and everyone on the force knows your name and face. Everyone knows what happened in your past."
Kate felt like she was on a rollercoaster of emotions that was currently doing loops and taking unexpected sharp turns.
Tucker sighed a little, then stood as if he was going to leave. "If you can go through all that and still want to be on this force, Detective Walker, I take my hat off to you." He reached into his pocket and threw something on the table. It clunked and clinked against the wooden surface then skidded to a stop in front of Kate. It was her badge. "You're back on the force, Walker."
Kate stared at the small metal object in front of her, and managed to whisper a "thank you" to Tucker and Martin.
"We'll be keeping a close eye on you though," Martin advised, pulling on his coat. "So stay inside the lines."
Kate nodded eagerly to them.
Tucker pulled on his own coat, then held out his hand to Kate. She gave him a grateful smile as she shook it.
Tucker and Martin left the room, leaving Kate staring at her badge. She was back on the force. Her excited and trembling fingers gently touched the metal, as if to test that it was real. Once she found her fingertips laying on the engraved letters 'NYPD', she couldn't hold herself back. She grabbed the badge and let out a little squeal of excitement.
She ran to the elevator, and didn't bother to compose herself. Her feet tapped as the numbers ticked down on the screen. As soon as the bell dinged, she sprinted to the small collection of desks where the team sat.
"I'm back on the team!" she screamed, louder than she really should have.
Carisi was the first to get to her. He wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her a little off the ground. "I knew it!"
Nick, Finn, and Amanda hugged her too then Olivia appeared in front of her holding Kate's gun and holster, as well as the keys to the squad car. "I expect to see you eight A.M. tomorrow then."
Kate took her gun and holster, then quickly hugged Olivia.
Rafael and Kate met eyes, and the room fell silent. Everyone suddenly realised that they should probably leave them alone for a moment.
"Ah….Nick, can you take a look at that report for me?" Amanda asked, pulling Amaro by the shirt sleeve towards the printer.
"I've got to make some calls," Olivia said, wondering off into her office.
"Carisi, you want a cup of coffee?" Finn asked, and the two hurried towards the breakroom.
Finally alone, Kate came over to Rafael and leaned on the desk beside him. They couldn't be too affectionate in the workplace, but the simple act of their shoulders being pressed together was enough.
"Congratulations, bella alma."
"Thank you, Rafael."
They sat for a moment in joyful silence, smiling widely at each other.
"Hey!" Kate said, suddenly thinking of something. "How come you don't have a Latin name I call you?"
"Well, what do you want to call me? Tell me and I'll translate."
"I don't know. Cute names should just sort of happen."
"How about 'guapo'?"
"What does that mean?" Kate asked.
Rafael smirked. "Handsome."
Kate raised an eyebrow.
"Fine. How about 'Bueno'?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Eres un idiota!" (You're a jackass.)
Rafael looked at her shocked, but amused. "Where did you learn that?!"
Kate grinned at him. "Your mother taught me when we had brunch last week."
Rafael laughed, and Kate joined him. It was a perfect moment.
