August 26, 2006
**Potential trigger warning for domestic abuse/sexual assault**
When Jess woke up she was acutely aware of the fact that she was not in her normal bed. For one, her dorm had a twin, which while large enough for the relatively petite woman, was still smaller than she preferred. She rubbed her eyes before her memories began to seep through the fog of exhaustion that had held her. Shit. What about Nelson? Jess knew that Sam and Dean were looking out for her, but Nelson was a psycho and could very well have tracked her down… She inhaled deeply, not wanting to leave the safety of the locked bedroom. The clock read nine-which meant she'd slept over twelve hours-so she forced herself out of the bed and to the door, cautiously opening it. She glanced in the hall and saw out into the living room. Dean was sitting on the couch watching something on TV while chatting back to Sam in the kitchen. Good. It's safe.
"Morning Jess." Dean looked at the woman as she exited the hallway, "Sam made breakfast earlier and saved you a portion. If you want it he can nuke it for you." Dean motioned toward the kitchen, where Sam was busy fiddling with a stand mixer. He had a vegetable spiralizer attachment on it, but it appeared to be giving him a difficult time.
"Thanks. I'm not really hungry." Jess hadn't eaten much at dinner the night before, and today she still wasn't very much in the mood to eat.
"Well, I suggest eating something. You'll need energy for when you give your statement." Sam looked up from the mixer. "I know it's intimidating, but you need to tell the police what happened. I only saw the aftermath when he came into the classroom, you were there for all of it."
Jess uncomfortably gripped her arm.
"We'll both be there. I promise." Dean added.
**SPN**
The Lawrence Police Department was located in the city hall, off the first floor lobby through a set of large wooden doors. Dean had never actually been to a police station before, so he was impressed with the chatter present of the various officers moving around the bull pen as he stood by the reception desk. "Hello, my friend and brother would like to make a statement regarding a case of…" He paused, Actually I don't know what. "…Well, I'm not sure, but it involves her boyfriend and things not going well."
The woman at the desk nodded, "Certainly sir. We can have someone take them to one of our interview rooms and have them make a statement, and if needed we can begin the process of opening an investigation if there is a concern."
"Is it possible for me to go with them, for emotional support?"
"Certainly." She smiled kindly. "If you will be willing to wait I can have someone meet you in a few minutes.
Eight minutes and seven seconds later the three of them were sat abreast a table in an interview room. Unlike an interrogation room designed to intimidate criminals, there were no two-way mirrors or chains on the table. It was a tan room with a large table and a few chairs in the middle. If not for the video camera in the corner it could be a standard meeting room in any office building. An older Hispanic man with a thick mustache was sitting across from them. He'd introduced himself earlier as Officer Rojas, and seemed to be genuinely interested in helping.
"Before we begin I have to remind you that putting in a false report is illegal, so please refrain from exaggeration or speculation. You may state feelings, but please make sure to identify it as emotion. My goal is to get as many of the facts as possible so that if there is an illegal act we can move forward appropriately." He stated calmly.
"Of course." Sam nodded, looking gently at Jess, then looking to his brother on her other side.
"When you're ready you can begin."
Jess exhaled, clearly on edge as she swallowed her anxiety and began, "My name is Jessica Moore, but everyone calls me Jess. I was dating a guy named Nelson Burke for a while, and he seemed like a nice enough guy, if a little clingy. We broke up and he started showing up all the time where I was. At first it was just at social things, like parties or at the same cafeteria or something, but it always seemed too convenient. None of my friends really thought anything of it because he was a nice guy. A few days ago I came home to find a note on the door to my dorm and a box of candy for me. He was trying to get back together. I called him to let him know that I got the chocolates, but I didn't want to get back together-I was too busy to date because I was working on too much at law school… He hung up after that, but I got a bunch of texts later saying I was a bitch and that I was going to regret dumping him…" Jess uncomfortably fiddled with her sleeve.
"Do you have those texts still?" Rojas asked.
"Yeah. Those and a bunch of other ones from later. He started threatening me and telling me he knew where I was when I was out at different places. It was freaky." Jess paused, uncomfortable.
"Did anything happen besides that?"
"Yes. Yesterday I got home from my last class and was starting to put away my stuff when I heard a noise from my bathroom. I knew my roommate wasn't supposed to be back, so I went to check. When I opened the door he jumped on top of me and held me down…" Jess rubbed her eyes, her voice cracking as Sam offered his hand and Dean supported her as best he could, "…and he tried to take off my clothes, but I broke free somehow and ended up running." Jess was sobbing as she put her face behind her hands.
Sam was turning bright red with anger. He'd known something was wrong, but he hadn't known it had been that. "That's when she found me. My class was over, but the door was open. I hid her in a storage closet when her ex- came in looking for her. I asked if she had somewhere safe to go, and given the lack of options, she came home with me. I called campus police yesterday to report him, but was unaware of the full extent of the situation."
Officer Rojas nodded as he finished jotting down his notes on the police report. "Miss Moore, I understand this is difficult for you, but did you receive any injuries as a consequence of the restraint?"
Jess shook her head, "No."
"Good." He nodded, "I am going to be passing on this information so that we can begin the process to apprehend Nelson. Thank you for your time and willingness to come forward, it is often challenging. I advise continuing to avoid areas familiar to him, we will be conducting a sweep of the college campus to see if he is in the area. Until we have him in custody I suggest continuing to stay with your friends."
Jess nodded silently, working to restrain her tears. Sam helped her up as the three exited the room, then the station, before returning back to Sam's.
**SPN**
Dean grabbed Jess' things from her apartment shortly after dropping off Sam and Jess. Her roommate was curious as to where she was, but Dean insisted on being secretive for Jess' protection, after all who knows what could happen if her ex- found out where she was. Eventually he relented and allowed her to speak to Jess over the phone, who okayed Dean taking some of her things.
Dean returned with a few cardboard boxes. It was mostly clothes, with some hygiene stuff and her laptop and phone on the top. Jess brightened considerably when he came in.
"Thank you so much, Dean!" She nearly leapt onto him to give him a hug. She quickly rooted through the boxes to see what was there. "I'm sorry of Tara gave you a hard time. She's a good roommate."
"I've dealt with worse." Dean smirked, sharing a quick glance with Sam.
"I think things should be fine now, with the police looking for him. If it's okay with you two I'm going to head back to my place." He turned to his brother, "And for God's sake, you need to get a pull-out. That couch is horrible!"
Sam rolled his eyes, "I think we should be fine." He turned to Jess, who nodded, " I'll call to check in later."
"You sure you're okay? If you aren't comfortable I won't go."
"I'm okay. Thanks." She smiled nodding at Sam.
**SPN**
Dean glanced at the clock. It was nearly four as he rolled the pen across the counter another time. The phone was mocking him, it felt like. He'd called Bobby plenty of times since Sam's first incident, but this one was different. He inhaled deeply as he picked up the receiver and dialed.
"Hello?"
"Hey Bobby, it's me."
"Hey Dean, how's it going?"
"I'm okay-and so is Sam."
"So, what's going on?" Bobby smirked, knowing that Dean usually didn't make social calls.
Dean exhaled, "Well, there's two big things right now… So pick your poison."
"Let's hear the worse of it first."
"A girl, Jess, is staying at Sam's house."
"Well, Dean, your brother is a grown man. He can have a romantic life if he wants." Bobby chided.
He huffed, "I didn't finish. She's staying there while the police track down her ex-. I'm not gonna go into a ton of details, but let's just say he wasn't a good guy."
"Shit. Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine now. She and Sammy made statements today and the cops are looking for him."
"Good." Bobby stated firmly, "So, what's the other thing?"
Dean hesitated, "You know how earlier you were talking about Sam having a romantic interest with Jess?"
"Yeah."
"What if Jess was a guy?"
"Is Jess a guy?" Bobby asked.
"No."
"Then I don't see why it matters. Even if Jess was a guy, that's Sam's business. As long as its two consenting adults I don't give a damn what happens." Bobby paused, "Are you trying to tell me something about your brother?"
"No." Dean said, panicking, "Sammy's straight."
Bobby blinked as the wheels clicked into place, "Dean are you…?"
Dean breathed, "Yeah. I'm gay."
"And you thought I wouldn't like that."
"Well, I kinda assumed-given that you're an old guy with a penchant for guns and you're dog's name is Rumsfeld."
"Dean, I honestly don't care. As long as you're happy, you can be with whoever you want."
"Thanks Bobby."
"Have you told anyone else yet?"
"Just Sammy."
"Well, in any case stay safe. Let me know if anything changes, and maybe a social call would be nice every once in a while. I have enough dilemmas constantly falling into my lap."
Dean smiled, "Alright Bobby. Talk to you soon."
"You better!" He laughed as he hung up.
