I WILL FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE, TO BE AT PEACE.

"Dani?" Malcolm was baffled.

What's she doing here? Then a frightening thought crossed his mind, Did she tell them to process the kit?

He and the detectives were frozen in place. No one expected there to be someone standing in the doorway, much less her. Gil came running up behind her, from the direction of the viewing room.

They've been watching, Malcolm noted. He stared at Dani's face for a moment, searching for some inkling as to what was going on. Her eyes were red, her cheeks slightly damp. She'd been crying. Malcolm completely forgot his surroundings and rushed toward her, to comfort her.

DeMarco intervened and threw Malcolm into the wall by the door, his forearm against Malcolm's throat, pinning him. "I don't think so, Bright. You're done hurting her."

"I'm not trying to hurt her," Malcolm croaked from under the pressure on his windpipe.

"He's right," Dani added.

Both Malcolm and Demarco's heads whipped in her direction. The detective gradually pulled his arm back and both men stared at her bewildered.

"I need to talk to Malcolm, please. Alone," Dani requested.

"With all due respect detective, I can't allow that," DeMarco responded.

Dani pursed her lips, contemplating. Then she entered the room and faced Malcolm. This was the first time since she left the hospital that afternoon that they had been in the same room together, that Malcolm had even spoken to her. There were an infinite amount of things he wanted to say to her, yet he couldn't manage to find his own voice. All he could do was stand there against the wall, hands cuffed behind him, and stare into her eyes, hoping the words he wanted to say to her would somehow transfer into the correct gaze. After a few moments, Dani broke the spell and spoke.

"It's gone too far, Malcolm. I can't let you do this." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "We have to tell them."

Malcolm lowered his head and nodded in agreement.

Dani and Malcolm were seated on the same side of the table, Messer and DeMarco opposite them notepads and paperwork ready. There was a chair for Gil on the end, but he ignored it and chose to pace behind the detectives. Dani looked over at Malcolm, his arms extended forward on the table, still bound.

"Can you please uncuff him?" She asked.

"That all depends on what we're about to hear," DeMarco answered.

"Fine." Dani took a slow, deep breath before she bagan. "Most of the original statements we gave are true. All the details about the torture Nathan forced me to inflict on Malcolm are correct, proof being the scars Malcolm showed you earlier. Everything about the standoff when the team arrived and how Nathan was stabbed is also true." She hesitated before continuing. "The other portions of the report… aren't completely accurate."

DeMarco clarified, "Nathan didn't rape you."

"No."

"Malcolm did." DeMarco wasn't looking at Dani as he said it. He was glaring at Malcolm, who huffed and shook his head angrily at the detective's incessant need to assume he knew what the hell happened.

Dani responded to the accusation, "It's more complicated than that."

"Please explain."

"We knew Nathan's M.O. going in," Dani said. "We knew he made the females torture their male lovers and then he would rape the women in front of the men who loved them. Nathan knew who we were when he captured us. We weren't sure if the fact that Malcolm and I didn't have that type of relationship would change his behaviors. After he made me burn Malcolm, it was clear that Nathan intended to follow his typical M.O."

"How so?" Both of the detectives were furiously scribbling notes on their pads.

Dani took a breath. She absent-mindedly began picking at her fingernails. "He approached me, started touching me."

Gil stopped his pacing and was listening intently.

"I smacked his hand away and he hit me. Then he pulled me by the ankles and I hit my head on the concrete. By the time I shook it off, he already had my pants off."

Messer and DeMarco continued hastily writing down the details. Malcolm was staring unfocused at the table top.

Dani continued, "Malcolm begged Nathan to hurt him instead of me." She glanced at him, but Malcolm didn't look up. "So, Nathan left me and went to him. He said something to Malcolm and then stood up and talked about having possibilities or something I don't remember."

DeMarco interrupted, his focus on Malcolm. "What did he say to you?"

Malcolm lifted his head and looked at the detective for a moment, then Dani, then back at the table.

"Malcolm, what did Nathan say to you when you asked him to hurt you instead?"

Malcolm swallowed and slowly licked his lips before answering. "He said 'You care about her'."

Dani's eyes widened as she turned her head toward her partner. He refused to meet her eye contact. DeMarco raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth at the two of them for a moment before prompting Malcolm. "That's what had possibilities?"

Malcolm nodded his head. "Then he agreed not to touch Dani."

"Really?" Messer couldn't hide his shock.

"Really... As long as I did."

Gil huffed an angry exhale.

"And you agreed." DeMarco wasn't asking. He was clarifying what he thought the correct answer was.

"I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to do. So, I just sat there petrified. I couldn't do that to Dani, hurt her like that."

"What changed your mind?"

"I did," Dani answered.

"You did?" the detective was clearly confused.

"I knew what Nathan wanted. One way or another it was going to happen. I just couldn't stand the thought of it being him. If it was Malcolm…" She couldn't think of the right words to complete the sentence, so she left it hanging and then resumed. "So, I begged Malcolm to agree."

"And he did."

Both Dani and Malcolm nodded their heads in unison.

"Then what?" Messer asked.

Malcolm shifted only his eyes to the detective, irked, "You really need all the details?"

"I know this is unpleasant for both of you, but yes, we do," he responded.

"Unpleasant?" Malcolm turned his head, aligning his eyes with the front of his face. His volume increased with each word. "No. A hangnail is unpleasant! This is-"

"Bright." Gil's calm voice brought the profiler back from the edge of a meltdown. Malcolm looked up at his mentor. Gil had never seen eyes with such anguish behind them.

Dani responded to the detective's question. "Then Nathan unchained Malcolm and brought him to my side of the room." DeMarco lifted his hand in question, and Dani paused.

"Malcolm, you were still able to… perform? Despite the horrific situation?"

Dani glared at DeMarco. Malcolm was clenching and unclenching his fists, while staring a hole into the table.

"Really?" Gil was getting tired of the detective's accusatory tone.

"It's a valid question. Most people, wouldn't exactly be able to get it up if they knew they were being forced to rape their friend."

"You know what? Fuck you!" Malcolm snapped.

"Oh, fuck me, huh?" DeMarco countered, as he started to stand.

"Enough!" Gil commanded. "Let's just try to get through this as quickly and respectfully as we can."

DeMarco returned to his seat and Dani took the opportunity to continue, "No, detective. He couldn't. And Nathan was getting impatient and threatened to trade Malcolm places if he didn't get things going. So I tried to help him; I told him to kiss me. After a few minutes of that, things progressed and we…" Dani wasn't exactly sure how to label what it was they did. "Nathan watched, pleasuring himself the entire time. Malcolm was very gentle. He did everything he could not to hurt me."

"If that's the case, where did the bruises come from?" DeMarco challenged.

Malcolm continued to stare at the table. His legs were bouncing beneath it, trying to expel the anger surging through his system. He didn't consider himself a violent person by nature, but this might be the thing to drive him to it.

Dani responded to the question, "Nathan was unhappy with Malcolm's… technique. He threatened him into being more rough with me."

"How so?"

Malcolm answered this time. His voice was firm, but his entire body was shaking, "His exact words were 'make her feel you there this time tomorrow, or I'll slit her throat while you're still inside her'."

Gil stared at Malcolm, completely stunned. DeMarco and Messer too, were sitting silently, their mouths slightly open in shock.

Malcolm continued, unprompted. "So, yes. I did as Nathan wanted, because I didn't want my best friend's throat slit right there in front of me. And, yes. It has completely fucked me up that I had to put myself in a state of mind to actually feel pleasure while I was doing that to her. But if I didn't, then Nathan was going to take my place, or worse, kill Dani."

Dani was staring at Malcolm. He felt it; he could see it out of the corner of his eye. He just couldn't bear to look at her. Gil was still standing behind the detectives. One of his hands was fisted in front of his mouth, the thumb under his chin. He wasn't prepared for anything Malcolm had just said. After a short pause, DeMarco opened his mouth as though he was going to say something to Malcolm. Instead he resumed taking notes.

"Once you finished. What happened?" Messer asked.

"I got up and Nathan re chained me." Malcolm wasn't interested in divulging any more details.

"Was this the only time Nathan forced the two of you to be intimate?"

Damn it. Malcolm had been silently praying they wouldn't ask that question. He elected to let Dani choose how to answer.

She lowered her head and responded truthfully, "No."

Gil ran his hands through his hair, all of this was just unthinkable.

"How many other times were there?" Messer didn't look up as he wrote more notes.

"Just one," Dani replied.

"Was the second encounter similar in nature to the first?"

"No."

Malcolm glanced at Dani then at Gil. He was surprised that he felt almost equally uncomfortable for his mentor to hear about this time with Dani. It was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum and felt oddly private, intimate, despite the circumstances in which it happened. In truth, those moments during, when they had both forgotten their surroundings and completely let go, Malcolm couldn't remember when he'd felt happier, more at peace.

"No?" DeMarco was sincerely curious about Dani's answer.

"The second time was after Malcolm's heart stopped and I revived him. Nathan came back in and, as revenge for my shooting him in the leg, was going to shock Malcolm again. I knew his heart wouldn't be able to withstand anymore. So I offered to do anything Nathan wanted, as long as he didn't shock Malcolm again. Malcolm tried to get Nathan to shock him anyway and leave me alone, but he went for my deal. Once Nathan started kissing and touching me, Malcolm agreed, to keep it from being Nathan, again."

"Mr. Bright, why did you refuse at first?"

"I couldn't handle the thought of hurting her again. Once was already too much to endure." He and Dani hadn't made eye contact since the interview had started. Malcolm didn't think he could control himself if he saw any more pain in her eyes. He'd already seen enough of that for several lifetimes.

"Once he agreed Nathan led us to Malcolm's side of the room and chained him. Then went back to the table to watch. I knew the pain Malcolm must have been feeling so I made a deal with him."

"Which was?" DeMarco inquired.

"Neither of us could take any more guilt or shame, it was already crushing us both. So I whispered to Malcolm that Nathan didn't get to win this time, that we deserved a moment's peace. I told him that this time there would be no shame, or guilt. We were just going to go with it and feel whatever we felt with no repercussions."

"And you both agreed?"

Again, Malcolm and Dani nodded.

"Afterward Nathan was angry because he couldn't fully enjoy watching us the second time. He said consent wasn't his 'thing' and we were-" Dani stopped, realizing that the rest of the quote from Nathan revealed a bit more than she had intended about the second time with Malcolm. But it was too late.

"You were what?" Messer prompted.

"We were 'enjoying the hell out of each other'."

Gil watched his team members as they studiously refused to look at each other. In a strange way he was proud of them both for their act of defiance toward Nathan.

"That's when Nathan returned and strapped Malcolm to the table. You know what happened after that," Dani concluded.

Everyone in the room was quiet as the two detectives finished jotting down their notes. Gil broke the silence, "Are we through here?"

DeMarco responded, "I have just one more thing. Detective Powell, would you classify your first encounter with Mr. Bright as rape?"

Malcolm looked up at the detective, taken aback. He's still trying to put me away for this.

"Yes." Dani replied.

Malcolm turned his head in her direction, utterly stunned. The only thing he could hear was his heartbeat pounding in his head. DeMarco was again, hastily scribbling notes.

"For both of us," Dani continued.

"Sorry?" the detective seemed just as confused as Malcolm was.

"Malcolm was no more a willing participant than I was, detective. He agreed because I begged him to. But that doesn't mean he was in any way willing. So, yes, I would classify the first encounter as rape, for both of us."

Malcolm closed his eyes and exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"And the second time?" DeMarco added. "Would you classify that as rape?"

Dani shook her head, "No."

"You would classify that as consentual sex?"

Dani thought for a moment before answering, her skin flushed ever so slightly. Malcolm wondered if the detectives noticed. "Consentual sex, while under durress," she replied.

DeMarco focused on Malcolm. "Do you agree with that classification?"

"Yes," Malcolm nodded.

"Okay," DeMarco flipped through the notes he had taken, checking for anything he might have missed. "I think we're finished."

Malcolm looked eagerly at the detective, awaiting his verdict.

"Despite the blatant falsification of a police report- why, by the way?"

Dani took a breath "I couldn't spend my entire career, hell my entire outside life, being looked at that way."

"Ah. Well, based on everything we've heard, I don't see cause for any charges to be filed." He turned to Dani, "Especially if you don't intend to press any."

"I don't," Dani replied.

DeMarco nodded. He leaned over the table and released Malcolm's wrists from the handcuffs. "You're both free to go." The men collected their notes and turned toward the door.

"Hold on." Gil walked up to the side of the table. "Given that no charges are being filed, I'd appreciate it if what was said in this room stays here." He gestured toward Dani and Malcolm, "They've been through enough. They don't need furtive whispers and side eye everywhere they go."

DeMarco nodded his head, "Agreed."

"Can we have a moment?" Gil requested.

"Sure." Messer and DeMarco exited the room, leaving Gil alone with Dani and Malcolm.

Gil sat down opposite the two of them. He laced his fingers in his hands on the table and thought for a moment. "I have to be honest, I'm not really sure what to say."

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Dani was the first to speak. Her comment was directed to no one in particular, "I still don't understand why they ran the kit." She looked at Malcolm for answers, but he shook his head, equally confused. "I mean, there was no reason to, with Nathan dead."

"I told them to," Gil confessed. Dani and Malcolm stared at him in disbelief. Gil rubbed his hands together and collected his thoughts before continuing. "When I walked into that hospital room, after Malcolm had woken up, it was obvious that something more was wrong. The way the two of you were interacting, I knew there was something you weren't telling me. And I was worried about you both. I wanted to help you. So, I told the investigators to run everything they had, leave no stone unturned. I had no idea that your secret was… this."

Neither Dani nor Malcolm responded. There wasn't really a need to.

Gil straightened up in his chair, "So, I'm just going to straight up ask. Do the two of you want to continue working together? Can you, after everything that's happened?"

Malcolm picked at his fingertips. He couldn't imagine life without his work, without the team and family he had come to know and love. But he refused to answer first. Whatever Dani wanted is what mattered. If she couldn't handle it, he would step down and walk away. Waiting for her to respond was agony. He was so nauseous he could taste bile in the back of his mouth.

Dani finally responded, "I can't imagine him not being there." She turned and looked at Malcolm, their eyes meeting for the first time since the interview started, and half smiled. Malcolm returned the gesture. It took everything he had not to break down in relief.

"Bright. I'm assuming you want to continue working with us?" Gil asked, a tiny smirk on his face.

"Very much so," Malcolm replied.

"Good. However, I have a few conditions," Gil began. Dani and Malcolm sat at attention. "Two more weeks mandatory leave-"

Dani was first to object "Come on Gil, I've already been off for three, Malcolm for four. I want to be back at work."

Malcolm jumped in, "Gil, I'm bored out of my mind. I need the distraction of work, otherwise I just sit there thinking about… everything."

Gil considered their protests for a moment. "Fine. No leave." He paused, "But, I think the two of you should attend joint therapy sessions. Let a professional guide you through everything that's happened. Work through it, together."

Malcolm glanced at Dani. She raised her eyebrows in question, and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay." Gil stood and pushed in his chair. "Ready?" When neither of them responded Gil took the hint, "I'll meet you guys in the lobby."

Malcolm watched as Gil exited the room, leaving the door slightly cracked. Then he slowly tracked his gaze back to Dani. Once their eyes met Malcolm saw the tears begin to well up in hers. When they spilled over, he felt the familiar sting at the back of his throat, as his own tears fell. They sat this way, staring into each other's eyes, all the emotion of their captivity, the month following, and the day's revelations pouring out.

When they both stopped, Malcolm reached up to brush the glistening trail from Dani's cheek. She put her hand around his neck in response. They leaned in, closed their eyes, and rested their foreheads together, each of them taking a slow, cleansing breath.

After they opened their eyes again, Dani gently squeezed the back of Malcolm's neck. "Let's go," she whispered. They got up, pushed the chairs in, and started walking.

Maclolm turned and grabbed the handle on the door, took one last look around the room, and closed it behind him.