A/N: This chapter had a nod to another show that I love, alas the characters from that show are also not my property! Also a possible trigger warning? Description of injuries and story of a rape/attack.
"Phoebe Turner was brought in by ambulance about two hours ago after a neighbour found her unconscious in her bed at home." Fin said in way of greeting when Amanda arrived at Mt Sinai hospital. "The neighbour said she'd heard shouting and banging earlier but grew concerned when it got quiet. She used her spare key to gain access to the apartment when she got no response from knocking. She found Mrs Turner knocked out and bleeding, so she called for a bus."
"Who called the police?" Amanda asked, as they approached a tanned blonde man in a white coat.
"That would be me," The man said, "Dr Wyatt." He introduced himself, shaking both their hands. "Mrs Turner presented with a black eye, a fractured radius, a nasty laceration to the back of her head and a bad concussion. When the nurses changed her into a gown, they found semen and blood in her genital region, on her underwear and nightgown, as well as bruising to her wrists and legs.
Rollins looked at her partner, "whoever did this beat her, pinned her down and raped her." She muttered, tasting bile in the back of her throat, she swallowed hard. The injuries were disturbingly similar to those she herself had sustained at the hands of her old deputy chief in Atlanta, five years ago.
"Where's her husband in all this?" Fin asked, bringing Amanda's attention back to the current situation.
"Nobody came in with her," Dr Wyatt said, "the information I have comes from the paramedic who brought her in. He said there was only the victim and the neighbour in the apartment while they were there."
"Well he is suspect number one on my list," said the African American detective in a surly tone. "Did you run a rape kit?"
Dr Wyatt nodded, "the SANE just finished up with her about fifteen minutes ago, once she has finished the paperwork, she will release it to you."
"Can we talk to the victim?" Amanda asked the doctor.
"She was very disoriented when I last saw her," the doctor warned, "she was unconscious when she came in but I gave her a sedative and a local anaesthetic so I could stitch the cut on her head. Needless to say those combined with the concussion are causing her to drift in and out of consciousness, but you're welcome to try." He gave a grim smile and led them into a private room further down the hall.
The detectives entered the dimly lit room and found the bed occupied by a small pale brunette with dark brown eyes and full lips. She looked young, maybe in her late twenties, with a white bandage around her head, covering most of her dark hair, and a large cast covering her right arm from elbow to hand. The over large hospital gown drowned her. Amanda spotted a tattoo of an 'om' symbol on the inside of her left wrist as well as some sort of Celtic knot symbol on her collar bone.
"Hi Mrs Turner," Amanda said in her soft 'victim' voice, "I'm Detective Rollins," she lifted her coat aside and flashed the badge on her hip, "this is my partner Detective Tutuola. We're from the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions?" While she spoke, she slowly approached the bed and sat in the chair next to it, Fin moved to stand behind her with his back to the wall, trying to appear less threatening.
"I didn't ask for the police," Said the frail woman in a wary tone, "who called you?"
"Your doctor grew concerned when he saw the extent of your injuries," The blonde said gently, "it's standard procedure to call us when there is evidence of an assault."
"Nothing happened." The young woman said quickly. "I…I fell. Hit my head, landed wrong on my arm, that's all."
"Honey, the doctor told us there was blood and semen in your underwear and you have bruising on your legs. All that points to a sexual assault. Can you tell me what happened? "Amanda asked, patiently. "We're here to try and help you, but we can only do that if you are honest with us."
"I told you nothing happened." The injured woman snapped, shifting in the bed and wincing. "Now leave please, if Cole finds you here…"
"Who's Cole? Amanda asked at once.
"He's my husband," Mrs Turner admitted, grudgingly. "He won't be happy if he thinks I told you any—"
She cut off what she was saying when they heard a commotion in the hallway outside. They could hear voices shouting, one louder than the rest and it was getting closer. "Where's my wife, dammit?! I have a right to see her! Where is she?" The door burst open then and the frame was filled with a tall black-haired man. He was unshaven and his clothes looked dishevelled. There was a light sheen of sweat on his face and his wild green eyes were suddenly focused on the woman in the bed. "Phoebe," he muttered, and he made to stride towards the bed.
Amanda saw the young woman flinch out of the corner of her eye, so she stood quickly to block the man's path to the bed. Only then did the man seem to notice the other two occupants of the room. He was brought up short by the blonde in his way. "Who are you?" He snapped at her.
"We're with the NYPD," Amanda began, "I take it you are Cole Turner?"
"How do you know my name?" He snapped. "Phoebe, what have you been telling them?"
"I didn't say anything," his wife whimpered from the bed.
"Mr Turner, perhaps we should take this outside," Amanda tried to reason with him. "It will help us all to calm down." She began trying to press him back towards the door, Fin close behind her.
Cole Turner was having none of it though. He grabbed Amanda by the shoulders and pushed her roughly into the wall. "You can't keep me from my wife!" He yelled.
Amanda's back had hit the wall hard, knocking the wind out of her. She doubled over struggling for breath, but Fin had leapt on Cole, grabbing his wrist and twisting it, slamming him face first into the wall beside Amanda and cuffing him. "Y'alright?" Fin asked his partner.
She just nodded, unable to speak just yet. "Cole Turner," Fin began, "you are under arrest for assaulting a police officer. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of Law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"
Fin yanked his prisoner by the scruff of the neck and his cuffs, pulling him bodily from the room as he struggled still trying to get to his wife. Fin called over his shoulder for Amanda to radio for back up. She pulled her walkie from her belt and choked into it.
"SVU portable to central." She waited for the response, trying to draw in a deeper breath.
A crackle, then, "Central receiving, go ahead SVU," came a voice over the radio.
"Central, requesting a patrol car to Mt Sinai hospital," The blonde said, quickly regaining the ability to talk now that her lungs could expand properly. "One suspect in custody, requiring transport to the 1-6 precinct."
"Request received, SVU, patrol car contacted and mobile, ETA two minutes." Came the reply from dispatch.
Returning the radio to her belt, Amanda turned back towards the bed. "Are you alright?" She asked the young woman who still cowered against the pillows.
"Are you?" Phoebe retorted, wincing as she eased her body into a more comfortable position.
Amanda just shrugged, "I've had worse." She said, nonchalantly, moving to sit back down by the bed. "Mrs Turner, was it your husband that did this to you?"
Phoebe's lower lip trembled for a moment, "he… he d-didn't m-mean to," she sobbed, "he just c-can't always c-control his t-temper." She dissolved into tears.
Over the next two hours, Amanda built up a rough story about what had happened. Between fits of hysterics and bouts of unconsciousness, Phoebe Turner explained that her husband suffered from schizophrenia. When he was on his meds, he was sweet and loving but when he was off his meds, like now, he could be unpredictable and sometimes violent.
When Amanda asked what had set him off tonight, Phoebe explained that they had only been married about a year, and Cole wanted to start a family. Phoebe was worried that any child they had would run the risk of inheriting Cole's illness, so she had been continuing to take her birth control pills, despite telling her husband she had stopped. He had found them tonight and flown off the handle at her. He had thrown her into the doorframe, cutting her head, then pinned her to the bed, twisting her arm with such force the bone snapped, then he raped her. She had passed out from the pain just after he left, then woke up in the hospital.
Amanda finished making notes, then looked up at the young brunette. "I think that's everything I need from you for now," She said, kindly, "I'll leave you to get some rest. Is there anyone we can call for you?"
"Um, yeah, I have two sisters, I'd like to see them." Phoebe said, giving the blonde their phone numbers.
"We'll call and explain the situation," Amanda promised. She fished a business card out of her wallet and passed it to the brunette. "Here's my card, if you think of anything else or you need to talk, call me, anytime. There's also the number for victim's services on the back. They can help put you in contact with counsellors or therapy groups if you're interested."
"Thank you."
With a nod and a brief smile, Rollins left the hospital room, meeting Fin out in the corridor. When he had returned from delivering Cole Turner to the patrol car, he had seen that their victim had opened up to Amanda. Not wanting to interrupt the flow of the conversation, or risk the woman shutting down in the presence of a strange man, as so often happened, he had decided to wait outside the room.
While he waited, he had texted Liv to let her know what had happened, assuring her that Amanda was unhurt, just winded, and that they had the bastard in custody. As yet, he had had no response from the lieutenant, so he assumed she must still be asleep. Once his blonde partner had joined him, they made their way out of the hospital and back to the precinct. Amanda recounted their victim's story to Fin while he drove.