By way of background, it did not become an offence for a man to rape his wife in England until 1992.

1 September 1989

"All right Sophie, just take your time. There's no rush, just tell Inspector Burnside and I what happened in your own words."

Frank sat back in his chair, regarding the woman in front of him carefully. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five, petite with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, though her face bore all the hallmarks of someone who had lived a bit of a troubled life. Her two young children were being cared for in the canteen by June and Viv their mother, unsurprisingly, not keen for them to hear the details of what she was about to divulge. When she had turned up at the front desk and told Barry Stringer that she wanted to report a rape, the whistle had gone straight up to his office. It was the type of crime that could only be investigated by an Inspector or above and, thankfully, Christina had been sat at her desk appearing, at least, to be doing very little. Having a female officer to assist could only be a good thing.

He hated rapes.

In a slow, trembling voice, the woman recounted the tale she had come to tell, the one about a husband whom she had married thinking herself to be in love only to find that he was really a monster in disguise, the kind of monster who forced her to do things that she didn't want to do.

"How often does this happen?" Christina asked, her voice low as her pen hovered over her notepad.

"Every other night," Sophie wiped her eyes. "He just won't take no for an answer."

"Is he violent?"

"Sometimes."

"And where are the kids when this happens?"

"Sometimes they're asleep or in the other room. The other night he left them in the bath while…I mean, you don't leave young kids in the bath alone, do you? Anything could happen." She dissolved into sobs. "I can't take it anymore. I just want it to stop!"

"When he does this," Frank said, sitting forwards, "what do you do?"

Sophie looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well, do you try and fight him off?"

"In the beginning, yeah but…but then I realised that there was no point so…so now I just let him do what he wants, even if I don't want to. Sometimes he still gets heavy with me anyway, even if I'm just letting him do it."

"Do you have anywhere else you can go?" She shook her head. "No family or friends?"

"All my family's up north and I don't really have many friends, not that I could go to about something like this. Everyone thinks he's a real catch, my Dennis."

"Right…" he sat back in his chair again and looked over at Christina. "Would you excuse us for a minute, Sophie? We'll be right back." Rising to his feet, he opened the door of the interview room and allowed Christina to go out first before closing it again behind them.

She turned to face him and shook her head. "Bastard. What do you think?"

"I think we've got a problem," Frank replied grimly. "They're married."

"So?"

"Come on Chris, you know the law as well as I do. It is not an offence for a husband to force his wife to have sex with him unless they are legally separated. Now, did she say they were? Of course she didn't They're still living together, still part of a so-called happy family. As such, it falls within the common law exemption and there is nothing that we can do. Not to mention the fact that she said most of the time she just lies there and lets him get on with it. No force," he added on her look.

"Just because they're married doesn't give him the right…"

"Yes, yes it does. As distasteful as you or I might find it, that's the law. We're doing her no favours pretending that it's any other way."

"But she came to us for help!"

"I know and that was very brave of her, but all you can do is give her some leaflets and the phone number for Women's Aid and send her on her way."

"All I can do?" she looked at him squarely. "Why have I got to be the one to tell her we can't do anything? You're the senior officer."

"I think she might take it better coming from you."

"Oh, so it's all right for an investigation of this nature to have to be run by an Inspector or above, but when it comes to telling victims that we're just going to toss them back out into their abuser's arms, a constable can take the flak?"

"It's nothing to do with that."

"So, it's because I'm a woman then," she folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.

"In a nutshell – yes."

"But that's…"

"Look," he sighed. "One of the advantages of having women officers in CID is to help deal with these types of situations. How do you think she would have felt, how do you think any rape victim feels, coming in here and reporting what happened to them to a bunch of men? It's all about sensitivity, or at least that's what they keep trying to tell us. You should be pleased that I'm letting you handle this instead of bulldozing my way through it myself. Sister solidarity and all that, isn't that what you want?"

"I'm all for women, any woman, having a positive experience when they come to us, Guv but making me out to be the bad guy just because I'm also a woman doesn't seem fair! The least you could do is back me up when I have to tell her."

"You're like a dog with a bone," he shook his head at her stubbornness and found himself almost regretting inviting her along for the interview. At least Ted would have understood. "Fine, but you do the talking, all right?"

Nodding, she pushed the door open, and he followed her inside, immediately feeling a pang of guilt at the hopeful expression Sophie shot in their direction.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting Sophie," Christina said. "I realise that this has been very difficult for you. I…" she paused slightly. "The problem is…unfortunately your husband hasn't done anything wrong, not legally at least."

Sophie looked between them, her face wild with confusion, "I don't…I don't understand…"

"Unfortunately, when a woman gets married, she, technically, gives up the right to say no to her husband when he wants intercourse."

"So, you're saying it's not a crime?"

"No, it isn't."

"But…but he held me down and…and he penetrated me and…" tears coursed down Sophie's cheeks, "and he didn't listen when I told him to stop. How can that not be a crime?"

Frank shifted uncomfortably. "Because it just isn't. I'm sorry. Morally, your husband is a piece of excrement but, legally, he hasn't committed any crime. Now, if you were legally separated…"

"Separated?" Sophie stared at him. "But I told you, I don't have anywhere to go!"

"I understand that…"

"So, what do you expect me to do? Just let him do it to me night after night after night?!"

"There are people who can help you," Christina said. "I can give you the number of Women's Aid. They have shelters all across the country that you and your children can access and they can help you get legal advice about a proper separation, even a divorce. If you can get the ball rolling on that, if he touches you again, then we would be able to do something. I know that this sounds unfair…"

"Are you married?" Sophie asked suddenly.

"Yes," Christina replied, "yes, I am."

"So, if it was your husband doing this, and you told him about it," she gestured carelessly towards him, "he would still tell you that there was nothing the police could do?"

Frank watched out the corner of his eye as Christina's jaw clenched, "Yes, he would."

"Oh well…that's just great, isn't it?" Sophie got to her feet. "I came here for help and the best you can do is tell me that you can't do anything? I should never have bothered in the first place!"

"Look, Sophie please…" Christina reached out her hand, but the other woman shrugged her away.

"No! I just want to get out of here! I should never have come! Where are my kids? I want my kids!"

"Your kids are fine," she said, "they're still in the canteen. If DI Burnside doesn't mind showing you back to the front office, I'll fetch them for you, along with that information I mentioned." She shot him a final look before slipping out of the room again, leaving him with Sophie. He watched as she lifted her bag from the floor and wiped her eyes again.

"I really am sorry."

"Are you?" she looked at him. "Or are you just relieved you don't have to do anything about it?"

"Mrs Brennan, I can assure you that if there was something I could do, I would do it. I don't agree with the law as it stands at the moment, but until someone decides to change it, my hands are tied."

"I bet if it was one of your own, you would. I bet if she told you she'd been raped you would do something about it!"

"I'm sorry." He held the door open and then followed her down the corridor back towards the front office where she was reunited with her children. "WDC Lewis can show you out."

"Thanks Guv," Christina replied witheringly.

"You're welcome." He turned back through the door and headed back upstairs to his office, hoping that whatever crime came his way next would be one he could do something about. "I hate rapes," he announced, stepping into the CID room.

"Who's been raped?" Mike asked, looking up from the typewriter.

"Some poor cow's been raped by her husband."

"That's not a crime, is it?"

"No Michael, it isn't a crime. Not yet at least."

"And a good thing too," Ted echoed, lighting up a cigarette at his desk. "Lot of husbands be very upset if it was."

Frank stared at him, unsure what surprised him more, Ted's attitude or the fact that his own was so different. "So, you think it's acceptable for a man to force his wife to have sex with him whether she wants to or not?"

"That's what marriage is about, isn't it? Forcing the other person to do something they don't want to do." A titter went around the room and Ted blew smoke in his direction. "Don't tell me that working with Christina is making you go soft, Frank? You're not telling me that every time you went to bed with your wife, she was up for it."

"Course she was Ted," he replied brightly, pushing all thoughts of his failed union to the back of his mind. "She was married to me, wasn't she?"

XXXX

The encounter with Sophie Brennan had left Christina feeling chilled in a way she hadn't for a long time. Watching her leave the station with her children in tow, she had been desperate to call her back, to tell her that they would do something about her husband and that she needn't live in fear any longer. Sense told her, however, that there was no point. Even if they were to arrest her husband and question him, CPS would bin it for the exact same reason that Frank had given her; it just wasn't a crime.

She sat in the canteen for a while, drinking burning hot coffee to try and bring some life back to her extremities before venturing back up to the CID office where, no doubt, the others would all be chatting about what a woman's expectations were when she got married and about how women just had to roll over and give their husbands pleasure whenever they wanted it. The whole idea made her shudder and think on her own marriage. Had there been times when Stewart had wanted sex when she hadn't really been up for it? Of course there had. Had she given in and allowed him to have sex with her anyway? Yes, she had and, most of the time, she had enjoyed it. Did that mean she had been raped? The whole thing was a minefield, so different from the blatant violence that Ryan had subjected her to.

"Oh, there you are." She looked up to see Reg approaching the table, holding something in his hand. "This just came for you. I accepted service on your behalf."

"What is it?"

"Looks like a court citation to me. I'm guessing it'll be for your undercover job, you know where that bloke…"

"Yes, thanks Reg, I do remember the incident." She sighed heavily and looked at the envelope bearing her name. He hovered in front of her, and she looked up again. "Thank you, Reg."

"Oh, right, yeah."

He moved away from the table and she slit the envelope open to indeed reveal a court citation for four weeks hence regarding the case against Ryan Brown. Funny, she hadn't even really thought about his surname until that point. Seeing it in black and white made everything suddenly seem real again and another shiver went through her.

The CID office was unusually quiet when she went upstairs, but a quick glance at her watch made her realise that it was lunchtime and so most of them were probably down the pub. Throwing the citation onto her desk, she sat down and put her head in her hands.

"Everything all right?"

Jumping, she lifted her head in time to see Frank coming out of his office. "Sorry Guv, I didn't see you there. I thought everyone was out."

"I was just about to head down the pub to meet the others. You coming?"

"No, I'll pass thanks. I got my citation for Crown Court."

"Yeah, I got mine and all. Hollis was like a dog with two whatsits when he came up to give it to me."

"I suppose I sort of hoped it would never come."

"Well, I reckon that's understandable."

"I mean, it seems all a bit, I don't know, unfair."

"Unfair how?"

"Well, it was something that only lasted a minute or two, if that. He was on top of me, trying to assault me, and then it was all over." She shivered again. "And then you've got women like Sophie Brennan, who are raped night after night by the men that are supposed to love them, and what justice do they get? None at all. Nobody cares. There's no citation coming for her."

"The world isn't always fair, Chris."

"Yeah, I know that Guv, but this just seems…" she shook her head. "I guess I'm finding it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I'm entitled to justice for something that doesn't really affect me and she…"

"Doesn't really affect you? You were almost raped."

"But he was never going to do it, was he? You were on the other side of the door. There's no way he would have been able to…you know…before you came into the room."

"So that doesn't make you a victim?"

"No, not in the same way Sophie is."

He paused and perched on the edge of Ted's desk. "Did you ever do anything about counselling?"

"No, there didn't seem much point."

"Christina…"

"Guv…do we really have to go over this again? I already told you how I feel about it. I'm fine. I don't need any counselling." Even as she said the words, she wasn't entirely convinced that they were true. Thoughts of what had happened often invaded her mind when she least expected it, but Stewart had made it clear on more than one occasion in the last few months that he didn't want to discuss it and she wasn't sure why. Could he not bear to bring himself to think about what had happened to her, or did he not think it was serious? Maybe he didn't consider it a 'proper' attack either.

"Well, when your civil claim for damages against the Met fails because you didn't take advantage of the help that was offered to you, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Civil claim?" His words pulled her back into the moment. "Is that what everyone thinks I'm going to do, raise a claim?"

"No, but it would be an option for you, especially given the circumstances of the operation."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"All right but, like I said, don't say I didn't warn you." He straightened up. "You sure you don't want to come down the pub?"

"She made a good point."

"Who made a good point?"

"Sophie Brennan. She made a good point earlier."

"About what?"

"About the fact that if Stewart raped me and I came to you to report it…you would say that you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"Well, you told her that was the case, didn't you? We can't change the law depending on the class of victim, no matter what some people might think."

"You weren't saying that about that prostitute rape last year," she reminded him. "I seem to recall certain people not considering it a crime at all."

"Yeah, well…that was different. Anyway, if your husband did rape you, I'd only be unable to do anything officially."

"Meaning what?" she frowned.

"Well, unofficially…" he left the remainder of his thought dangling and she found herself meeting his gaze, almost as if an understanding had passed between them. "Now, maybe you don't need a drink, but I certainly do. Last chance to join us."

"No," she shook her head. "No, I'll give it a miss."

"Suit yourself," he turned and left the office, whistling as he pushed open the double doors and hurried down the stairs.

Unofficially. What did that even mean? Did it mean Stewart being cornered down a dark alley one night and having the shit kicked out of him? She supposed it would have to. What else could it mean? She looked again at the citation and once more her thoughts turned to Sophie.

Life really wasn't fair sometimes.

XXXX

"She didn't want to come then?" Tosh asked, as Frank sat down beside him.

"No, she didn't."

"She's not still pissed off about that rape victim, is she?"

"She got her citation in for court next month."

"Well, that won't be easy for her," Tosh mused. "It's one thing giving evidence in the course of your duties, quite another when you're technically a victim."

"There's no 'technically' about it," he said. "She is a victim."

"Sorry Guv, I didn't mean…"

"Forget it. Cheers," he lifted his glass and drained half of it in one go. "She'll be all right."

"Yeah, she's made of tough stuff our Chris and, well, it's not as if…"

"It's not as if what?"

"Well, luckily, he didn't actually rape her, did he?"

"No, he didn't. But when he was on top of her, pulling at her underwear, I'm not convinced she would have realised that are you?" Frank shook his head as the other man blushed. "Anyway, it was my fault she ended up in that situation in the first place." He thought back to when he had appeared in front of Driscoll's disciplinary committee and about the questions that had been asked about his own judgement in the whole affair. There had been times, so many times since, when he had wished he could go back and change things.

"You can't blame yourself Guv, it could have happened to anyone."

"Yeah, well it didn't, did it? It happened to one of my officers on my watch. I'm pretty sure the defence will have something to make out of that. Are you listening to me?" he frowned as Tosh's head bobbed about in front of him, the other man clearly trying to see what was going on somewhere behind him.

"Yeah Guv, I am but…isn't that Christina's husband?"

Frank turned in his chair to follow Tosh's gaze and immediately saw Stewart Church standing at the bar, a tall blonde at his side, and his arm around her waist.