Chapter Content Warning: Sexual Assault
"We're going to be home in about an hour." Elizabeth said into the phone.
"How's Rachel doing?" Mark asked as he tried to manage both his crying daughter and his wife on the phone who was at the hospital with his older daughter.
Elizabeth sighed. "I think she's doing alright all things considered. We're waiting for a police officer to take her statement, they've already run the kit."
"You have a shift in four hours are you sure you don't want me to come sit with her?" Mark tried to convince her.
"No Mark." Elizabeth sighed. "I just talked to Doctor Anspaugh and he's going to cover my shift, and Susan is covering yours this afternoon. We're going to have a long day without worrying about work."
"Alright." Mark conceded. "Let me know if there's something I can do to help."
"We need to talk to Jen, let her know what's coming." Elizabeth pointed out. "Maybe we should invite her here, talk to her?"
Mark sighed. "How do you go about telling your ex-wife her husband raped her daughter?"
"I don't know Mark, but she needs to know." Elizabeth reminded him. "She'll find out one way or another and I think she'd like to be here for her daughter."
"I guess I'll figure it out." Mark sighed. "I'll see you guys in an hour."
"Good luck." Elizabeth replied before hanging up the phone and going back into the exam room. "Hey Rachel how are you doing?" She asked gently as she sat down on the stool next to the exam bed.
"I just wanna go home." Rachel said quietly.
"I know." Elizabeth replied sympathetically. "As soon as you give your statement to the police we can go."
Rachel shook her head. "I can't. I can't tell someone else about how stupid I was."
"No Rachel, you weren't stupid." Elizabeth said gently. "Your step-father used you, and it was not okay. Nothing you did made this happen to you."
Rachel looked down at her hands. "How come you're being so nice to me?" She asked softly.
Elizabeth sighed. "Because right now the last thing you need is another adult you can't trust." She said softly. "You need a safe place and right now that's with your father and me."
"But I hurt Ella." Rachel said quietly. "I made too many mistakes and this is my punishment."
"Rachel you can't blame yourself for this." Elizabeth stopped her. "Nothing you did made this happen. The only person responsible for this is Craig."
Rachel sat quietly for several moments. "How come you are so calm about this?" She asked clearly confused. "Dad's so angry, but you're so calm."
Elizabeth smiled sadly. "Because I've been here." She said softly.
Rachel's eyes widened in confusion. "What?"
"Rachel one in every five women have been sexually assaulted." Elizabeth said tiredly. "I had a teacher who took advantage of me. My mother made it incredibly clear that I had asked for it, but my father was furious. Neither of their reactions helped. All I wanted then was for someone to just listen to what I had to say, and to just love me unconditionally."
Rachel nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
Elizabeth shook her head. "It's okay. I'm okay." She assured her. "It was a long time ago for me. I've made my peace with it." Rachel was trying to figure out how to reply when there was a knock at the door. "Come in." Elizabeth called.
The door opened to reveal Susan Lewis and a police officer. "Rachel this is Officer Jenna Roscoe, she'll be taking your statement."
"Hi Rachel." Jenna said quietly as she approached the bed. "Doctor Lewis has filled me in on the medical details of your assault but I need to ask you a few questions."
Rachel nodded. "Okay." She said hesitantly. "Can Elizabeth stay?" She asked anxiously.
"Of course."
Elizabeth and Rachel sat in the car outside of the house. They had been there for nearly twenty minutes. Mark had come outside to check on them, but Elizabeth had assured them they would be inside when Rachel was ready.
"Elizabeth I can't do this." Rachel whispered. "I can't face Dad. He's so angry at me."
"No Rachel he's not angry with you." Elizabeth replied gently. "He's just angry about what happened to you." She explained. "Let's go inside, you can go to your room and I'll talk to him alright?"
Rachel nodded before slowly getting out of the car and following Elizabeth into the house.
"What did the police officer say?" Mark asked anxiously as soon as the two of them were inside. Elizabeth shook her head, waiting for Rachel to go into her room. "Why can't I talk to her?" He questioned again.
"Mark you're scaring her." Elizabeth said quietly. "I know you're angry, I am too, but we can't transfer that anger onto her."
Mark pinched his nose between his fingers. "I'm sorry. I'm just so so angry. He hurt my little girl Elizabeth."
"I know." Elizabeth said softly, moving to gently pull him into her arms. "You had no reason not to trust him and he violated you as well. He took your trust and abused it."
Mark sighed, pressing his lips against her forehead. "I just don't know what to do."
"Did you call Jen?" Elizabeth asked as she went to start a pot of tea.
Mark nodded. "I told her Rachel was here and that we needed her to come talk to us about her." He replied. "She should be here this afternoon, but she's under the impression Rachel will be going back with her."
Elizabeth shook her head. "We're not sending her back there. Her mother didn't know. She couldn't tell her mother, and that's a terrible thing."
Mark slammed his fist on the counter. "What the hell did we do wrong?"
"Nothing." Elizabeth replied quietly. "We didn't do anything wrong. Craig did. He took advantage of a fifteen year old, he's going to go to jail for what he did."
Mark sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "What do I do Elizabeth? How do I fix this? How do I fix her?"
Elizabeth smiled sympathetically. "Mark she's not something to fix." She said gently. "She's your daughter. All you can do is support her through this, make sure she knows you don't think it's her fault."
"Of course I don't." Mark softened immediately. "Does she think I do?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know what she's thinking. I just know she doesn't need to be hurt any more by us."
Mark nodded gently pressing his lips against Elizabeth's. "Thank you for being so perfect."
"Hardly." Elizabeth laughed in response.
Mark shook his head. "If this had happened and I didn't have you… I don't know what I would have done."
"You would have done your best Mark, that's all we can ask of you." She assured him. "Do your best now."
"My best is better because of you." Mark replied, once again kissing her. "Thank you."
Elizabeth was sitting in the living room with Ella and Rachel when the doorbell rang. She took in a deep breath before leaning down to talk to Ella. "We're going to go upstairs for a bit Ella." She told her daughter as she worked on standing up. "Rachel and Daddy have to talk to her Mommy." Ella looked at her curiously but didn't protest before she scrambled up the stairs. "Mark Jen's here!" Elizabeth called before going to the door. She opened it to see Jen, in a rather frazzled state.
"Hey is Mark here? He called, wanted to talk about Rachel." Jen said, shoving her phone into her pocket.
Elizabeth nodded. "He's upstairs, come on in." She said opening the door to let her inside. "Rachel's in the living room, Mark should be downstairs in a minute."
"I'm so sorry Rachel came here, she left without talking to me or Craig. I don't know what she was thinking." Jen said as she put her briefcase down by the door.
Elizabeth shook her head. "It wasn't a problem."
"Well if it wasn't a problem Mark wouldn't have called me to come get her." Jen replied, making her way into the living room where Mark had just arrived.
"Jen we need to talk." He said quickly, Rachel sitting on the couch in tears.
"I'll be upstairs." Elizabeth dismissed herself before heading up to take care of her daughter.
"I'm sorry Mark, I don't know why she thought running away would solve her problems." Jen said as she took a seat on one of the armchairs.
Mark shook his head. "Rachel didn't do anything wrong." He informed her seriously. "I didn't call you here to have you take Rachel home with you."
"Then what am I doing here Mark? If you want her to stay here she's welcome to, but I can't be taking time away from the law firm to talk about custody issues." Jen said sternly.
At this point Mark's anger had returned. "I wouldn't have called you here if that's what this was about." He said bitterly. "I thought you might like to know that that bastard of a husband of yours would be being arrested before it happened."
"What are you talking about?" Jen asked, clearly becoming angry.
"He assaulted her Jen, how the hell could you not know?" Mark replied angrily. "Your husband sexually violated our daughter and you had no idea."
Rachel looked down at her hands guiltily. "I'm sorry." She whispered quietly.
"This isn't happening. Rachel he didn't, he wouldn't…" Jen tried to protest before Rachel looked at her angrily.
"He raped me, and all you want to do is deny it." Rachel said angrily. "That's why I came here. Because I knew that you would blame me for this, because I didn't tell you when it started."
Jen looked at her in disbelief. "I don't… know what to do with this information."
"Screw you." Rachel replied bitterly before running up the stairs.
"How am I supposed to react when my rebellious teenager and ex-husband start making claims about my husband assaulting her?" Jen asked angrily.
"Perhaps by believing your kid." Mark said with just as much anger. "Rachel has been in your life for fifteen years and while she's made some stupid decisions, she's your daughter. I can't believe you would even suggest that she's not telling you the truth."
"How are you so sure she is?" Jen asked bitterly. "She's lied to us before."
"Not about anything this serious Jen." Mark replied. "I thought you should know, but if you don't want to support her, then you can go."
Jen took in a deep breath. "What so you want me to choose between my daughter and my husband?"
"He raped your daughter Jen." Mark replied angrily. "How do you not believe that?"
"Because I don't know when she's lying for attention." Jen replied.
"She's not." Mark said bitterly. "This morning Elizabeth took her to the hospital and they did a rape kit. She was raped Jen. I know it's hard to deal with, but the evidence is going to show that Craig did it."
"He's my husband Mark." Jen replied. "What if she's lying? That will destroy my marriage."
"I'm sorry you're worried about what if she's lying will do to your marriage?" Mark asked, voice raising. "What about if she's telling the truth, which she is, what about what that will do to your marriage? Or your relationship with our daughter?"
Jen sighed. "I can't believe... he would do this…" She began to cry.
Mark softened slightly. "I know." He said gently. "But you have to support Rachel right now. I know this is going to be even harder for you than it is for me, but you can't pick him over her, not right now."
Jen buried her face in her hands. "So what do we do now?"
"I'd like Rachel to stay here with us." Mark replied evenly. "I don't feel comfortable putting her back in your care right now, and I don't think she'll feel comfortable being there."
"I didn't mean that…" Jen said tiredly. "How do we help her?"
"I think you might want to start with an apology." Mark suggested. "Rachel needs to trust you as much as possible."
"You're right." Jen admitted.
Mark sighed before going to the bottom of the stairs. "Rachel can you come here please?" He called.
Rachel appeared at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed. "Is she gone?" She asked angrily.
Mark shook his head. "Come down here please. We want to talk to you."
Rachel slowly came down the stairs, clinging onto Mark as soon as she reached him. "What?"
"I'm sorry Rachel." Jen said hesitantly. "I shouldn't have questioned you. You were open and vulnerable and I destroyed your trust." Rachel didn't respond, but her grip on Mark loosened slightly. "What can I do? How can I help you?" Jen tried again.
Rachel bit her lip nervously. "Please just go." She whimpered. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, and I don't want to talk to you right now."
Jen nodded. "I'm sorry. If I had known…"
Rachel shook her head. "Don't give me that crap. Just get out." She said burying her head in Mark's shoulder.
"I'll call once I know what's happening with Craig." Jen said as she gathered her things. "Again… I'm really sorry Rachel." She said once again before making her leave.
"Are you okay Rach?" Mark asked several minutes later, his daughter still clutching to his side.
Rachel shrugged. "I don't know anymore."
"What can I do?" Mark asked gently.
Rachel looked up at him tears shining in her eyes. "Promise me you'll never let him hurt me again."
Mark nodded. "Of course baby." He assured her. "As soon as we hear back from the police we'll go to court for a restraining order. We're going to make sure he never gets the chance to hurt you again."
That night everyone sat around the dinner table. Rachel shifted the food around her plate but hadn't taken a bite.
"Is there something you want to eat Rach?" Mark asked, clearly concerned about her appetite.
Rachel shook her head. "No this is fine." She said quickly.
"You haven't had a single bite." Mark protested.
Elizabeth quickly elbowed him. "It's alright Rachel. Just let us know if there's something you want."
"No, I'm fine I promise." Rachel insisted once again. "Actually I'm kind of full. Can I take Ella upstairs to get ready for bed?"
Elizabeth nodded in approval. "Make sure to check the temperature of the water before you put Ella in the bath." She reminded her.
Rachel put her and Ella's dishes in the sink before quickly making her departure.
"What the hell are we doing?" Mark asked tiredly after they were out of earshot. "Pretending like everything is fine? What's the point?"
Elizabeth sighed. "Mark it's been 48 hours since she was raped, nothing about this is fine. But pressuring her into admitting that isn't going to help her. She knows she's not okay, she's just trying to distract herself."
Mark was about to respond when the phone rang. He sighed as he got up to answer it. "Hello… I'm sorry what?... No she's upstairs… Okay… Keep me updated… Thanks."
"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked as the phone hit the receiver.
"Craig's gone." Mark replied angrily. "Someone told him the police were coming and he's gone."
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Should we tell Rachel? Or should we wait until we have more information?"
Mark shrugged. "I don't know what to do. Who knew about this that would have told him?"
Elizabeth looked up at him curiously. "Do you think Jen… do you think she would have told him?"
Mark's eyes narrowed before he picked up the phone again. He waited until he heard Jen's voice on the other end. "Did you tell him?"
"Mark?" Jen asked, sounding confused.
"Did you tell Craig?" Mark repeated.
"Tell him what?" Jen questioned.
"That the police were coming." Mark replied angrily.
Jen sighed. "I told him I wasn't coming home because I knew what he did."
"Dammit Jen." Mark yelled. "He's gone, he left. How am I supposed to keep Rachel safe when you are messing with this?"
"How was I supposed to know he would run?" Jen replied indignantly.
"Because you're not an idiot!" Mark yelled angrily. "You knew he wouldn't stick around to get arrested!"
"I'm sorry Mark!" Jen yelled back. "What was I supposed to do? Go home to him?"
"You weren't supposed to give him a warning shot." Mark said bitterly before slamming the phone back on the receiver.
"I'm sorry Mark." Elizabeth said softly.
Mark shook his head. "It's not your fault." He said gently as he pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this."
"Mark." Elizabeth said tiredly, expressing so much love in one word.
"I know you're more than willing to." Mark conceded. "But you've been exhausted without having to deal with this. I don't want you or the baby to get sick."
Elizabeth sighed. "I'm fine Mark." She assured him, both of her hands resting on her stomach. "So is the baby."
"Are you sure?" Mark probed.
"Of course I'm sure." Elizabeth insisted. "I have an appointment with Doctor McLucas tomorrow. If it would make you feel better you can come."
Mark smiled. "I'd love nothing more." He said pressing his lips against hers. "Let's go to bed."