"Are you ready?" Roger said with his arm around Marty's waist as they walked into the police station.
"No, but I have to do this." she said looking up at him looking scared.
"OK, let's go. Roger Davis and Marty O'Brien to see Detectives Stabler and Benson." Roger told the cop at the desk.
"Marty, Roger I'm glad you came in. Come right this way." Stabler told them directing them to the desks in the middle of the room.
"Hey Detectives. Is there any news yet?" Roger asked helping Marty sit in the chair next to what appeared to be Det. Benson's desk.
"We're still trying to run this guy down. We want you to look at a few mug books to see if you recognize the guy. We narrowed it down to a bunch of guys with the same M.O. as your attack. Are you up for it?" Det. Stabler asked her sitting at his desk.
"Yeah, I think so. I just want to you catch this guy so he doesn't do this to anyone else." Marty told him holding Roger's hand as he stood next to her.
"Mr. Davis, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Detective Benson asked as Detective Stabler gave Marty some books with pictures of horrible men in them.
"I'll be right back, OK?" he said kneeling down next to her.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." she said looking down at him with a faint smile.
"What is it Detective?" he asked as they entered another room where Det. Benson closed the door.
"How has she been doing?" she asked sympathetically.
"She won't sleep alone. She doesn't even like being in a room alone. She has nightmares as if it's happening to her again. It's horrible. I wish I could do more, but all she wants is for me to be with her all the time." he told her running his fingers through his hair.
"She's gonna be that way for a while. Does she have any friends or family who can help her through this?" she asked with her hands on her hips.
"She has no one. No one she wants to go to anyway. I'm all she has." he told her looking out the window in the door as Marty looked in the books.
"Mr. Davis. Roger. Are you sure you know what you're getting into?" she asked curiously.
"Detective Benson, no offense but she needs me. I'm not the kind of guy who just runs out when things get tough. Really, I have experience with sticking it out through the tough times." he told her trying to keep his voice down.
"Roger, no one is saying that you can't handle it. I'm just saying, I know how easy it is for a woman to fall in love with her rescuer. Just be careful. She's in a very delicate emotional state right now." she told him putting her hand on his shoulder.
"I understand what you're saying, Detective Benson. I do, but I'm not gonna hurt her." he told her looking out at Marty, who looked like she needed him. "I'm sorry, are we done? I really need to get back to her." he asked.
"Sure Roger. Go ahead." she said as Roger seemed to take the door off the hinges with the force he used to open the door.
"Are you OK?" he asked kneeling down next to her as she flipped through the books.
"Yeah, I don't see him yet. But all these guys look so scary." she said looking over at him.
"Just keep looking and make sure you're sure, OK? That's all you can do." he said taking her hand.
"I know. I'm trying." she said flipping another page as Detectives Benson and Stabler looked on. "That's... that's him. That's the guy. I will never forget the look in his eyes for as long as I live." she said pointing to a very scary guy in the middle of the page.
"Are you sure? Make sure you're absolutely sure." Roger asked as Stabler took the book and looked at the card that was tucked under the picture.
"Yes, I'm positive." she said looking at Roger with tears in her eyes.
"This is very important, Marty. Where do you know him from?" Detective Benson asked looking down at Marty.
"He's... he's the man who came up behind me last night and beat me up and raped me." she cried looking up at her.
"Elanzo Sanchez. He has tats." he told Benson as they got up and began to put their jackets on. "You did really good, Marty. You and Roger go home, we'll be in touch." he told Marty as he shook hers and then Roger's hand. Benson put her hand on Marty's shoulder and leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"We're gonna get him. Don't worry. He'll never hurt you again." she whispered before she and Stabler rushed out of the squad room.
"Roger." she looked up at him as he collected her into his arms and she cried into his chest.
"It's OK. I'm right here. You did good. You did really good. You were so brave. So brave." he whispered to her as he held her tightly in his arms comforting her.
"I hope they kill the bastard." she cried as Roger rocked her.
"I know. I know. I wish I could make this all better for you." he whispered to her kissing her head numerous times.
"I just want to know why he did this to me. I want to know why me." she cried to him as he stroked her hair.
"There is no why. Guys like him don't need a reason. He is a pig who doesn't know how to treat women, so he lashes out at them. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. It's him." he said looking down at her as he held her face in his hands.
"I'm sorry, Roger." she said leaning in to kiss him. "I'm so sorry." she said kissing him in the middle of the squad room.
"Marty, we... shouldn't be doing this." he said wanting to continue.
"You're right. I'm sorry." she said as she put her head in his chest grabbing his t-shirt in her hands.
"It's OK. I want this too. I just don't want to take advantage of you." he told her holding her tightly as he kissed her head before helping her up and leaving the squad room with her.
"I know exactly what I'm doing. Don't you want to kiss me?" she told him as they left the police station.
"Marty, you have no idea how much I want to kiss you. But I'm just afraid you are vulnerable right now and I would be taking advantage of you." Roger told her looking into her eyes.
"I know I've been through a lot of trauma since last night, but the one thing I am sure of is that I like you. You've been so amazing to me and I don't know, I'm attracted to you. I mean, you've stayed with me since you found me and it's just, I like you." she told him looking into his eyes.
"I like you too, Marty." he said smiling at her. "A lot. But don't you think you should heal before you make any decisions about your life?" Roger asked taking her face into his hands.
"I don't want to lose this. Lose you." she told him looking at him.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. You're not gonna lose me. I'm here for you." she told her firmly but gently.
"I know. It's just... I wanted to kiss you." she told him smiling at him.
"I've wanted to kiss you since before you fell asleep in my arms last night." he said leaning in to kiss her.
"I feel so safe with you." she told him clutching onto his shirt.
"Good. You should feel safe. I'm never gonna do anything to hurt you." he smiled at her.
"I have no doubts about that." she smiled.
"How about we go home and relax?" he asked her looking down at her kissing her head.
"Yeah, I gotta go through my clothes and make sure Carrie didn't do anything to any of my stuff." she said as they started walking.
"No, you have to rest. I'll go through your clothes and I have to set up your room." he told her as they walked through New York City.
"Yes, dear." she said teasing him. "So, what do you do?" she asked looking up at him.
"I'm a singer/songwriter. I mean, that's what I used to do. I used to perform at clubs. I actually work as a bartender part time to help pay the bills. I'm trying to get a band together so I can get back onstage. What do you do?" he told her feeling uncomfortable talking about himself.
"I'm a writer. Fiction mostly." she answered as they approached the building.
"That's really cool Marty." he smiled before looking up at the loft. "Well, here we are." he said opening the door for her.
"Yep, here we are." she said as she clutched the railing trying to climb up the stairs.
"Allow me." he said picking her up into his arms and kissing her.
"You just wanted an excuse to do that." she said giggling.
"Maybe." he answered as he carried her up the stairs to the loft. As they walked in he set her down on the floor. Mark and Collins were sitting on the couch as if they were waiting for them to get home. "What's up guys?" he said as he and Marty stopped laughing.
"Detective Benson called. They caught the guy." Collins yelled cheerfully.
"Are you serious?" Marty asked as her face went serious.
"Of course we are. We would never kid about something like that. She said he confessed and it's over. You don't have to go to court. He's taking a plea. He's going away for a long time." Mark told her as she began crying, leaning into Roger's arms.
"I can't believe it. They got him." she cried as Roger slid to the floor with her.
"It's OK. I'm here." he told her holding her in his arms as Mark and Collins looked on.
"But why did he do this to me. That's all I want to know. Why?" she asked crying into Roger's chest.
"I told you, there is no why. Some people just need to hurt other people to feel powerful. He's gonna pay for that he did to you. Detectives Benson and Stabler will make sure of it." he whispered in her ear rocking her back and forth.
"I know." she said holding on to him tightly.
"C'mon, I'll put you in my room so you can get some rest. You've had a really emotionally draining day and you should rest." he told her kissing her head.
"Will you stay with me?" she asked as Roger helped her up.
"Yeah Baby. I'll stay until you fall asleep and then I want to put your room in order. I'll be in the room right next door. I'm not gonna leave." he told her holding her waist as they walked to his room as Mark and Collins looked at one another. They knew what this meant. They knew by the way he spoke to her that his feelings for her were getting stronger.
"Roger, I'm sorry I keep losing it like this. I mean, one minute I'm OK and then the next I'm falling apart. We have feelings for each other. This is supposed to be cause for celebration and I am ruining it." she apologized as Roger fixed his bed up for her.
"Don't ever feel like you need to apologize. It is perfectly understandable given what you've just been through. Don't worry about it. I want you to take as much time as you need." he told her as he held his hand out to her.
"Mark and Collins probably think I am a lunatic." she told him laying in his arms.
"No they don't. They understand too. They aren't like that. And anyway, it helps to be a little crazy if you're gonna hang out with us." he laughed as he kissed her neck. "Now try to get some rest." he told her as he stroked her hair.
"OK. Thank you, Roger." she said as her eyes closed.
"No problem." he replied looking down at her. Once he was sure she was asleep he slipped out from under her and went out into the living room. He sat on the couch and put his head back closing his eyes.
"Is she OK?" Mark asked looking up from his camera.
"Yeah, she just got to sleep. I'm glad they caught the guy. If I could get 5 minutes alone with him..." Roger said looking up as Collins put his hand on his shoulder.
"We understand, Rog. But you are doing everything you can for her. She is lucky to have a guy who cares for her so much." Collins told him squeezing his shoulder.
"She didn't deserve this, Collins." he told him quietly as to not wake Marty.
"No one does, man." Collins answered looking at Mark. "So when did you guys kiss?" he asked looking at Roger with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Roger asked coyly as to not admit to anything.
"We know you kissed her, Roger. We've known you a long enough." Mark chimed in looking up at Roger smiling.
"It just happened. She kissed me and I tried to stop her. I tried to tell her it was too soon after what had happened to her and then I kissed her back." Roger told them smiling. "Did you know she's a writer? She writes fiction." he told them sitting up leaning his elbows on his knees.
"Really?" Collins asked taking his joint out from behind his ear.
"That's a coincidence." Mark told him laughing.
"I know. Do you guys want to help me clean out your old room for her?" Roger asked looking at Collins.
"You mean, she's not sleeping in your room?" Collins asked smiling at him.
"No, it's way too soon. Especially given what she's been through. I want to take this slow. For her. I don't want her to get scared." Roger told them getting up.
"Yeah, I'm game." Mark said getting up too.
"I want it to be ready for her to sleep in tonight. Mark, do we have any clean sheets and extra pillows?"
he asked heading to what will now be Marty's bedroom.
"Yeah, I think so. Let me go check." he answered going into the chest across the room.
"Collins, is there anything you need in there or can we throw everything out?" he asked as he started moving stuff out of the way of the bed.
"I can't believe it. Roger Davis cleaning. I guess there's a first for everything." Collins commented laughing.
"Well she needs a bedroom, Collins. And she can't very well be expected to go through our crap, especially in her condition." Roger told him going through a box and taking something out. "I'm gonna regret it if I ask what the hell this is, aren't I?" he asked Collins laughing.
"Yeah man, you don't want to know." Collins told him grabbing the odd shaped item. "Let's just bring this stuff to my place and I'll go through them there and then give whatever I don't want to good will or something." Collins said taking the boxes off of his old bed and setting them on the floor.
"I really appreciate this, Collins. I want Marty to be comfortable here." he told him sitting next to him.
"I know, man. I am really proud of the way you're being. The old Roger would be wanted to sleep with her. You are really a new man." Collins told him putting his hand on Roger's shoulder.
"When I found her last night you should have seen the fear in her eyes. She was scared to death. I tried to leave to call 911, but she didn't want me to leave her so I brought her up here. She was so beaten and bloodied. I was really scared for her. She needed me so much that I couldn't leave her. I fell asleep just holding her last night. She feels safe when I'm around. I hate that this happened to her and I'm gonna make sure nothing ever happens to her again. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make her feel safe again. If cleaning this room up for her and giving her a safe place means she is gonna feel safe, then I'm gonna do it." Roger told him putting his head in his hands and leaning on his knees with his elbows.
"I understand, Roger. She needs you. But I don't want you two to base a relationship on that need. In time, you could become a reminder of what happened to her and she may want to just get away and start over. Are you gonna be ready for that?" Collins asked him as Roger looked up at her.
"Do I want her to leave? No. Do I want her to feel safe? Yes. If I ever become a reminder of what happened to her, I will not hesitate to let her go. I just want her to be OK." Roger told him getting up to continue the cleaning process.
"That's pretty big of you to say now. But what are you gonna do when it really happens?" Collins asked getting up to help him.
"I don't know. I don't even want to think about it right now. All I know is she needs to feel safe now and I'm gonna do my damnedest to make sure she feels that way." Roger told him piling some boxes on top of each other outside the door.
"I get it, Rog." Collins told him looking inside his old dresser drawers to make sure they are cleaned out.
"Rog, I found some sheets but you took all the extra pillows for your room." Mark said coming in, his hair was a mess and he was carrying the sheets.
"No problem. I'll just give her some of the ones for my room. Are those clean?" he asked as he continued to move stuff cleaning out the room." Roger asked as he looked up at Mark.
"They smell spring fresh." Mark told him sniffing the sheets.
"Blankets. We have to get her some blankets." Roger told him as he looked around the room to see if he needed to move anything else.
"Got it covered, Rog. You are being so, unlike you." Mark commented as he put the pile of sheets on the bed.
"Well Mark, she needs to be comfortable." Roger asked taking the sheets off of the bed and placing them on the dresser to flip the mattress.
"OK Rog." Mark told him looking at Collins.
"Where's the broom?" Roger asked rushing out of the room.
"In the closet by the kitchen. I can do that for you." Mark told him watching him run around.
"I can do it, Mark. Thanks." Roger told him carrying the broom back to the bedroom to sweep. "When I'm done with the floor, I'm gonna need some help with setting things up. We need a lamp in here." Roger said as she began sweeping up some dirt and dust.
"No problem, Roger. Just tell us what you need us to do." Collins told him putting his arm on Mark's shoulder.
"I'm sorry guys. I just need to do this. I have to go back to her old apartment and get the rest of her stuff, but I can't leave without telling her. When she wakes up can you stay with her Mark so me and Collins can go finish getting her stuff?" Roger asked taking a break.
"No problem, Roger..." Mark began as Marty began to scream.
"Help. Please Roger." she cried as Roger dropped the broom and ran to his room.
"Marty, Marty I'm here. Marty wake up you're OK. Everything is OK now. I'm here." he whispered taking her into his arms.
"When is this gonna stop?" she cried clutching his shirt.
"I don't know, Baby. I don't know. I wish I could make it all go away." he told her caressing her hair as he kissed her head.
"Rog, we're gonna finish up in the other room." Collins told him quietly as he and Mark stepped out of the doorway to finish what Roger had started in the other room.
"She really does need him, doesn't she?" Collins whispered as he looked at Mark.
"Since last night. Yeah..." Mark told him as the phone rang. "Hello?... Detective Benson, how can I help you?... not good. She just had a nightmare, Roger is in with her now... she has to what? But I thought you said he confessed?... Fucking lawyers... Yeah, I'll tell them... Thanks for calling. Bye." Mark said slamming the phone down.
"What happened?" Collins asked sitting on the arm of the couch.
"That scum ball got a lawyer who had his confession thrown out. Marty has to go down there to ID him and probably testify." Mark told him as Marty and Roger stood in the doorway of his room.
"Oh my God." she said burying her head in Roger's chest crying again.
"How did this happen?" Roger asked holding her close.
"Lawyers, Rog." Collins told him getting up to go to Marty. "Don't worry Baby girl. We're here. We'll take care of you. Right guys?" he told her caressing her back.
"Of course. You know there is nothing I wouldn't do for you." Roger said kissing her head.
"That's right. We're not going anywhere." Mark answered walking towards them.
"Thank you. All of you. My three heroes." she said looking up at her cheerleaders.