I'm BACK! And most importantly, Steve and Sophia are back. Hope you like this new chapter…..As always, your comments are appreciated.
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A few minutes later, Steve told Sophia it was time to go downstairs. Seeing her beautiful face so anxious, Steve gave her a soft smile. "I'm going to stay right beside you…..holding your hand. You can do this."
Sophia answered by shaking her head affirmatively. Steve winked at her and took her hand to lead her out of his office. Danny and Brian walked out with them as they made their way to the interrogation room.
Steve continued to hold her hand and felt her tense when they reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the interrogation rooms. He gave her hand a supportive squeeze causing her to look up at him. "Here we go. Remember, you can do this," he encouraged.
As they walked, Steve filled her in on what would happen: Someone from the District Attorney's office and a member of HPD would be waiting for them to serve as witnesses to the identification. Once Sophia made her identification, charges would be filed and Mancini would be processed and transported to jail to await an arraignment and trial.
They rounded the corner and Steve was pleasantly surprised to find that Ellie Clayton was the DA assigned to the case. They exchanged greetings and he introduced Sophia.
"Ellie is a friend of mine," he told Sophia. "You can trust her. Okay?"
Shauni smiled hesitantly.
"He can't see you, Sophia" Ellie repeated softly. "I just need for you to look through the window and tell me if you recognize the man in the chair. Okay?"
They stepped forward to the window that allowed them to see IN and prevented Dominic from seeing OUT. Steve still had Sophia's hand in his own.
"Okay…Take your time and tell us if you recognize him."
Sophia turned towards the window and Steve saw her begin to shake. He moved behind her and put his arms around her to give her the courage and comfort she needed. "Do you recognize him, Soph?"
Sophia could clearly see the damage Steve had done to the man sitting in the chair; His face was bloody, one eye and his nose were swollen, and he was grimacing in pain between demands in the empty room for someone to get him medical attention. She wouldn't feel sorry for him, though. After the terror he had caused her, she was grateful for someone like Steve who would give him a dose of his own medicine. Still, some of the fear came rushing back to her as she swallowed the lump in her throat.
"That's Dominic Mancini," her voice was shaking and barely above a whisper. "That's the man who kidnapped me."
Steve continued to stand behind her and hold her closely to his chest.
Ellie had read the hospital reports indicating there had been no sexual assault, but she had a hunch; One she was almost afraid to ask because she knew what Steve's reaction would be if her hunch was correct. She had no choice but to ask the hard questions, however. It was her job, after all, and if there had indeed been any kind of sexual assault, Domini Mancini needed to be prosecuted for that as well.
Ellie had dealt with sexual assault victims many times in her career, and she knew victims would sometimes admit the truth to a female before they would male policemen, doctors, or attorneys.
Ellie gave Sophia a sympathetic smile and tried to be as gentle as possible. "Sophia, did anything else happen while you were with Dominic Mancini? Did he hurt you in any way?"
"What do you mean?" Sophia asked even though she knew where Ellie was leading.
"Did he sexually assault you?" she asked cautiously.
Steve couldn't see Sophia's face, but Ellie could. Before Sophia answered the question, Ellie knew her hunch was right. Ellie gave Steve a pleading look as if to ask him to hang on the to shred of control he still had so Sophia would answer. Whatever had happened needed to be stated verbally for them to be able to move forward with additional charges.
Sophia's eyes filled with tears, "Yes…." She said barely above a whisper. She felt Steve's entire body go rigid behind her.
Ellie reached out to touch her forearm. "Okay. You don't have to give me details right now….We can do that later. Just tell me in general: Did he touch you inappropriately? Or Did he rape you?"
Steve turned her around to face him. He needed to maintain a level of composure even though every fiber in his body cried out for him to go in and kill Mancini with his bare hands. He took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly, "He can't hurt you anymore, baby. If there is anything else we need to know, you need to tell Ellie."
Her bottom lip quivered as she turned back to face Ellie. "Yes," she choked out a sob.
"Okay. I know this is really difficult, Sophia, but what did he do to you?" Ellie asked.
"He…um…" Sophia looked at Steve and then to Brian before turning back to Ellie. "He…..he…raped me!"
Steve turned her back around and pulled her to his chest. He held her fiercely as she broke down in to sobs.
"I'm going to kill him," she heard him say to no one in particular.
Ellie understood Steve's rage. She also knew what he was capable of, but the last thing she needed was to lose Mancini and have to charge Steve with murder.
She stood in front of the doorway leading to the interrogation room as if blocking Steve from going back in to finish what he'd started with Domini Mancini. "Stand DOWN, Commander."
Steve blinked. He rarely saw this stern side of Ellie; Least of all pointed in his direction. As he looked in her direction, there was no mistaking the determination in her eyes. "I mean it, Steve," she continued. "Let me handle Mancini. YOU take care of Sophia."
He knew Ellie was right, but he was furious with Dominic Mancini for putting hands on her….and frustrated with Sophia for lying to him. From the look on Brian's face, the feeling was mutual. She had lied to them when she'd insisted to them and medical personnel that there had been no sexual assault.
Ellie saw the conflict on Steve's face as he debated with himself over whether to finish Mancini off or read Sophia the riot act for lying to him. Her expression softened as she stepped forward to put a hand on his forearm.
"Why don't you take Sophia back upstairs and I will meet you all back there in a few minutes."
Steve was so filled with emotion, he didn't know what to say, so he just shook his head and began leading Sophia back up to his office.
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Steve left Sophia in his office as he went to grab bottled water from the breakroom/kitchen. When he returned, he found her sitting on the couch and Brian sitting on a chair opposite her. She had the button-down shirt Steve had worn over his t-shirt that morning wrapped around her like a security blanket as she hugged her knees to her chest. Neither she nor Brian talked as Steve handed them both a bottle of water.
Steve sat on the couch beside her and rested his forearms on his thighs as he leaned forward and sighed. She looked over at him with such sadness in her eyes that his heart ached for her. She had been through hell these last few months. It was no wonder she was on the verge of a breakdown. Steve was confident, however, that he could help her through this and he knew Brian would be there for her as well. They were not going to lose her; It simply was not an option.
There was so much to talk about and deal with, but Steve knew instinctively that HQ was not the place to do it. They needed to be at home…..in comfortable surroundings. It was not going to be easy, but the talks they needed to have would be easier if she felt safe.
Steve pulled her into his lap. Sophia curled into him as he kissed the top of her head. "As soon as Ellie leaves, we'll go home."
Brian and Steve shared a look of understanding.
"I don't want to talk about anything. I just want to go home." She said sadly.
"I know," Steve said softly. "But we need to start working through things, babe."
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One hour later…
Steve drove Sophia back in his truck while Brian followed behind them. By the time they reached Steve's home, Sophia had fallen asleep in the seat beside him. Steve didn't want to wake her up, so he carried her inside and up to his room where he put a light blanket over her and made his way back downstairs. Brian was waiting for him and handed him a beer before they made their way outside to talk without waking her up.
After they had each settled in the Adirondack chairs by the shoreline and taken drinks, Steve spoke first.
"Did you know she'd been raped?"
"No….That was the first I'd heard about it too."
"I wanted to rip his heart out," Steve said matter-of-factly as he continued to look out at the waves gently rolling in.
Brian took another swig. "So did I."
After a couple more minutes of silence, Brian said, "So what's next?"
Steve sighed. "Now, he will get arraigned and hopefully Ellie can get the judge to set his bail too high for him to get out until trial."
"And Sophia?" Brian asked.
Steve was quiet before answering. Brian saw the burden weighing on him when he turned to answer. "That's a lot more complex. I mean, I thought we had things to deal with before because she's obviously really struggling with Gio's death….but this is going to make it even worse."
They both sat silently both contemplating everything that had happened to her in a few short months.
"You obviously know her better than I do," Steve began. "So, how do you think we should handle this?"
Brian turned towards Steve and caught his gaze. "You love her don't you?" He asked.
"Yes…..And if I'm being completely honest, I'll tell you that it hit me like a freight train. I didn't expect it…..but I definitely fell in love with her."
Brian smiled. "Well, then…..I think the best thing for me to do is step out of the picture and let you talk to her. If we go in together, she's going to feel like we're ganging up on her and she will completely shut down. Besides…I talked to her some this morning before you called, so she already knows she's not fooling either one of us."
Brian was surprised to see the look of uncertainty on Steve's face. He reached over and put a supportive hand on Steve's shoulder, "Trust me. YOU are the one who's going to get through to her…and I'll be here….but you need to sort of 'take the lead'. She loves you too, by the way."
Steve looked uncertain. "How do you know?"
Brian's smile grew wider, "Because I KNOW her, remember? So you'll have to trust me when I say I have never seen her like this with anyone else. She…..loves…..you."
With that, Brian and Steve turned the conversation to lighter topics while they shared another beer together. Steve invited Brian to stay for dinner, but he declined by saying it had been a very long day. He wanted nothing more than to get some sleep.
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Sophia woke to find the sun setting outside. She didn't know how long she'd slept, so she found one of Steve's shirts to wrap around the tank top she wore and made her way downstairs.
Steve was in the kitchen and she allowed herself a moment to admire him from behind as he chopped up veggies assumedly for their dinner.
He turned around and found her watching him before giving her the smile that made her knees go weak.
"Hey, babe. Feel better?" he asked as he made his way over to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless.
"Much better. Thank you," she answered.
"I'm just getting ready to put some salmon on the grill." He handed her a glass of white wine. "Why don't you go out and enjoy the sunset….I'll be out in a sec."
"Are you sure you don't need help with dinner?" she asked.
He turned her around and gave her a gentle shove towards the lanai. "Go…..I'll be there in a minute."
Sophia did as he asked, but instead of relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous sunset before her, she couldn't help but wonder what the night would unfold. She knew Steve well enough to know he would want to talk about things.
She took a calming sip of the perfectly chilled Chardonnay before sighing and willing herself to be strong.
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Steve and Sophia will begin working through all of this pain in the next chapter. Brian will be there to help as well…but he is wise enough to know that the one Sophia needs the most is Steve. It's beautiful to see how it all unfolds!