"Damn Mike, didn't five years walking a beat teach you anything? Not only is Brooke Malinowski a victim, she's engaged to the DA," Anita Van Buren said with disgust, after closing her office door.

"I swear Lieutenant, it wasn't how it looked," Logan began, stopping short when Van Buren held up a hand.

"Please," she countered in tone that left no room for explanations. "I may be married Mike, but I'm not dead. Is getting into another pissing match with Jack McCoy worth not only trashing your career, but risking an indictment?"

Logan shook his head in amazement.

"You want to bring me up on criminal charges?"

"Mike, I'm still trying to decide whether to suspend you or take this to your commanding officer to deal with," she said, as she wearily took a seat behind her desk.

"After all these years, if you think I'd take advantage of any victim, maybe you better call Ross," Logan retorted, his look of defiant stubbornness, not quite hiding his pain at having been accused of something so repugnant.

Not that she was ready to admit it to Logan, but Van Buren hadn't been sure what to think since she had found herself staring wide eyed and open mouthed at Logan, as he leaned in to kiss Brooke Malinowski.

At the time, her first thought had been CPR … that Logan was simply trying to revive the battered woman he held in his arms. But, the positioning was all wrong and the look of fondness in his eyes as he turned towards Van Buren, left no her question in her mind as to the personal nature of his actions.

"Oh, no you didn't," she responded, without giving an inch."You didn't just try to put this on me, detective. The only reason you're not in the hospital or sitting in Riker's right now, is because I didn't want Jack coming down to that basement until I had a chance to see for myself that the crime scene was clear. When I pulled rank on him, I was doing it for his personal safety. I had no idea I was saving him from dealing with your knee jerk tendency to take every opportunity you get to sabotage your career."

Van Buren gave him a knowing nod, as she watched a look of comprehension replace the look of stubborn confidence.

" Humm humm. That's right, Mike. The only reason McCoy wasn't the one standing in that door way, was because I was the CO on the scene. Now, why don't you cut the crap and tell what is going on between you two and maybe, just maybe, you'll still have a shield when I decide to let you walk out of here."

"McCoy was there," Logan said with disbelief."I'd only phoned in less than fifteen minutes before I saw you…how did he..."

"Mike, they were keeping Brooke in his building. Jack was in his old apartment when Green got your call."

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Jack McCoy listened as the doctor filled in the group of men with him, on his fiancée's condition. While Cohen, Collins, Green, and the most recent addition to the group, Andrew Malinowski, listened gravely, McCoy's eyes never left the woman behind the glass window of the ICU unit.

Every now and again a word or phase would catch the DA attention and he would turn slightly or quickly catch the emergency room doctor's eye with a raised eyebrow. He'd heard it so many times before with so many victims over the years, all he wanted to do was have it over and be free to sit with her… to hold her hand… to just listen to the sound of her breathing.

When the doctor had started the briefing with words like 'non threatening' and 'precautionary', McCoy knew the worst was over. Green had caught up with him, while Van Buren secured the scene and assured him the officers on the scene had the suspect in custody and that Van Buren herself had seen that Mike Logan was taking Malinowski out and to a waiting ambulance.

It wasn't until the doctor mentioned the extent of the head injuries that McCoy turned away from the window to face the group.

"…we should know for certain when her MRI results come back, but for the next several hours I want to keep her a wake and as alert as possible."

"Doctor," McCoy interjected abruptly," what have you determined the origin was to those injuries to be?"

The doctor eyed McCoy carefully for a moment before answering. Cohen gave the DA a worried glance and gave Andrew Malinowski a quick tap on the arm.

"Andy, I'm going to need some help with the paperwork for Brooke. Why don't you come with me to admissions?"

"I'm sorry gentlemen," the doctor said with obvious confusion."Which one of you is Ms. Malinowski's next of kin?"

The husky redhead sighed and turned to Cohen.

"Mr. Malinowski is the patient's next of kin," Cohen explained nonchalantly. "However, I have medical power of attorney."

"My sister and I have different ideas about the meaning of 'extraordinary measures'."

"I see," the doctor said discreetly."Well, if you gentleman are ready to talk to admissions, they are just one floor down."

McCoy waited until the pair were out of ear shot, before repeating his question to the doctor.

"Well, Ms. Malinowski denies it," the doctor said uncomfortably."But I've done this long enough to know self inflicted injuries when I see them. Given the circumstances, it's completely understandable. Still, I want one of our resident psychologists to talk with her before we think about releasing her, just as a precaution."

McCoy nodded as his suspicions were confirmed. As much a he'd hoped to be wrong, experience told him he wasn't. His professional knowledge told him how the injuries occurred, his personal knowledge told him why. He also knew why the doctor was insisting on a visit with a psychologist and how much Malinowski would fight it.

"Doctor, would it be all right if Ms. Malinowski's own doctor evaluated her," McCoy asked."She hasn't seen Dr. Olivet in several months but..."

"Olivet? Dr. Elizabeth Olivet," the doctor said with a smile, as McCoy nodded."Dr. Olivett is more than welcome to do the evaluation. Now, about the sexual assault. The rape kit has already been sent to you SVU at the 16th precinct. A Detective Benson said she'd be back to talk to Ms. Malinowski, as well."

McCoy let out a small sigh of relief. He knew a report to SVU would have to be filed. The fact someone Malinowski already knew would be speaking to her reassured McCoy, as well as the fact he himself knew Olivia Benson to be an exemplary advocate for the victims she worked with.

"I'm sorry to cut this short," the doctor said as he took a step away, upon seeing a nurse down the hall signal to him."I need to check on another patient. Was there anything else, gentlemen?"

As the doctor started down the hall, Jeff Collins took out his cell phone and frowned.

"Jack, I have to take this. Someone from Niagara Falls is calling."

"That's odd," McCoy said with a frown. "I know they have already given Interpol whatever information they had. Go on and take the call. I want to check on Brooke."

McCoy turned back to the glass and moved towards the door. Malinowski could see he was about to open the door and gave him a weak smile of encouragement, that faded into a look of puzzlement, when she saw her ex-husband place a hand on McCoy shoulder.

As the two men exchanged words, she watched with interest from her bed. The nurse continued to monitor the beeps and drips of the various machines around her. The doctor had explained to her the importance of staying awake until the test results came back, so she fought the urge to close her eyes and tried to stay focused on the two men outside her door. As the conversation grew more intense, her curiosity began to peak.

As mush as she wanted to know what was going on between the two men, her body demanded her attention, as well. Every part of her ached. Between the abuse, the deprivation, and her own attempts to hold on to some sort of illusion of control over her destiny, her muscles screamed for relief.

The state of her body was a source of distraction, as well as relief. At least she could feel.

That meant she was alive and it appeared she was going to stay that way.

Alive and the love of her life was almost within her reach.