| A Matter of Trust |
| Lennie was sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork. Not his favorite part of the job. But even the tedious task couldn't dampen his mood. Ever since that night a week ago he'd spent with Jack, he'd had a feeling of contentment, happiness. They weren't lovers, at least not physically. That would still take time. But their friendship seemed to have grown to a new, deeper level. He knew there would still be hard times ahead for the attorney; the trial was coming up soon. But he was confident that they had built a good case. And with Lennie by his side, Jack would be able to get through one last trauma of reliving the rape on the stand.
As to the long term � well, Jack's first HIV test came back negative. He was taking the drugs which hopefully would help his body fight off the potential infection. They just had to take one day at a time now. A philosophy Lennie was all too familiar with. But it was OK. Whatever came of it, he knew he'd be there for Jack. He wasn't even scared anymore. He'd already decided that if and when Jack was ready for more, he wouldn't hesitate. Wouldn't let the fear of this damned disease come between them. Because he loved Jack. He was surprised at how comfortable he was with that knowledge. After all they'd been through, he knew Jack himself still wasn't quite ready for the 'L-word.' And that was ok. This time it wasn't because he thought he didn't need love. It was more because he was still sorting out everything that had happened to him recently. For now, Lennie was content to be a safe harbor, a trusted friend, the one person Jack could let down his guard with. He looked up and saw Rey grinning at him over their desks. "What?" Curtis chuckled. "Nothin'." Lennie sighed and shook his head. Funny. Despite his initial concern about Lennie's involvement with McCoy, ever since the assault, he'd been their biggest champion. He seemed to understand how much the two older men needed each other. Another small favor, that his usually blatantly conservative partner was open-minded on this issue. As he was constantly reassuring Jack, everything was going to be just fine. This whole sordid thing would be over soon and he and Jack could move on with their lives. Before he could get out a retort, Lt. Van Buren came over to their desks, still carrying a bag of French fries from her lunch. "Just got a call from the hospital. Sandhu finally woke up. Why don't you two head over there and see what he can add to the case?" "You got it, LT." Curtis reached for his suit coat; the bullpen got pretty hot on an August afternoon. Lennie grinned at her and swiped one of the fries as they headed out. She laughed, wondering why Lennie always did that. Like so much about the lanky detective, she just found it irresistibly charming. // Anita, you're a married woman! // she scolded herself before heading back to her office. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jamie Ross strode quickly down the hospital corridor. Up ahead, she could see Briscoe and Curtis, obviously they�d also gotten the news that their second victim was awake. She caught up to them and realized they were talking to Sandhu's doctor. "He just woke up a little while ago detectives, he's still rather disoriented. He thought it was still April." Lennie's heart sank. If he didn't remember the past five months, he likely didn't remember the rape. "Does he know what happened?" "I told him that he'd been assaulted, badly beaten, and had been in a coma for several weeks. I didn't go into the details." Lennie sighed. Of course, leave the dirty work for them � "Can we see him now? Even if he doesn't remember, we have to confirm that." "Yes, all right. But don't push him too hard. He may remember in time, but it's not going to happen today." The cops and the ADA entered the room. �Mr. Sandhu, I'm Detective Curtis and this is my partner, Detective Briscoe, Ms. Ross of the DA's office. Can we ask you some questions?" �Of course, but I'm afraid I don't remember anything � Jamie? God, Jamie is that you?� She pushed her way to the bedside and took his hand. �Hello, Daniel.� He shook his head. �What � what are you doing here?� Curtis spoke up. �Jamie, you know him?� She looked up at the cops. �He works for my ex-husband, the firm�s accountant. I thought you knew that!� She turned back to the patient. �Daniel, you do remember that I work in the DA�s office now, don�t you? I�m prosecuting the man who did this to you.� �Oh. I �. Forgot. Is it really August? The last thing I remember was working on the taxes back in April.� Jamie sighed. �It really is August. I�m sorry, Daniel. I take it you don�t remember anything about the � attack?� He shook his head. �Not a thing. I�m sorry. Do you � do you know what happened to me? Who did this?� Jamie sighed and pulled the cops aside. �Guys, please, let me talk to him. He�s not going to be any help with the case.� Lennie nodded. It was a disappointment, but they still had a strong case otherwise. �Yeah, sure, counselor.� As the cops left, Jamie pulled up a chair and sat beside Sandhu�s bed. �Daniel, this is going to be difficult. Do you remember a bar called the Jade Palace?� Sandhu�s pale face suddenly got paler. // She knew! // He managed to nod. Jamie continued, knowing the news got worse, not better. �You went there on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago, and left with a guy named Dave. He took you to an empty apartment and beat and raped you.� �No �.� Jamie could see the fear and humiliation in Daniel�s eyes. �I�m so sorry, Daniel. I wish I didn�t have to tell you this.� She reached out to touch his arm in a comforting gesture, but he pulled away. �Does � does Neil know?� Jamie shook her head. �The detectives checked out your employment right after the attack; he knows you were an assault victim, left unconscious. They wouldn't have mentioned the rape, and I certainly haven�t told him. But when the case goes to trial, it will become public knowledge.� �Trial? So you do have him?� Jamie nodded. �You were actually his second victim. The first happened about a week prior. He wasn�t beaten so badly, actually didn�t report it as a rape until he saw what had happened to you. We had a cop go undercover at the bar to catch him in the act, and we have it on tape. We were hoping for eyewitness testimony from you, but we really don�t need it.� Sandhu just lay there, taking it all in. Jamie almost didn�t want to tell him the last bit of news. �Daniel, there�s something else. We got a blood sample from him to confirm that he was the one who raped you. The tests also showed that he�s HIV Positive.� It was all she could do to keep a steady gaze. �God, no!� She reached down and touched his arm. �Daniel, is there somebody, anybody I can call for you? Someone you trust?� Sandhu gave a quick shake of his head. �No, nobody �� He was obviously struggling to keep his composure. �Jamie, please, I �� She nodded. �I�ll keep you posted on the case, Daniel. Take care.� // What a terrible thing to have to face alone. // Her thoughts were tangled as she walked to her car parked in the hospital garage. // Thank God Jack has Lennie to lean on. // She smiled softly as she thought of the most unlikely couple she could have imagined. They weren�t really a couple per se, but the two had been nearly constant companions since this mess had started. She could see that the cop really cared about Jack, and that the feeling was becoming very mutual. This trial would likely be tough on both of them, but she had a feeling that together they�d get through it. Maybe someday Jack would even be able to finally admit he needed someone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ �What do you mean there�s nothing on the tape?� Liz Donnelly�s voice cut through the heavy silence. Jamie sighed and shook her head. �There�s something, but it�s not intelligible. There was a mechanical malfunction in the recording.� �And nobody actually listened to the tape until today?� Jamie shrugged. �So many people heard it go down, nobody thought to check it.� �Great, that�s just great. So our first victim didn�t even report the assault as a rape, the second victim doesn�t remember the attack at all, and there IS no tape of the third attempt. What solid evidence DO we have, Ms. Ross?� Donnelly�s voice was dripping with sarcasm. �We�ve got his DNA match to Sandhu�s rape kit.� The EADA shook her head. �Blaise doesn�t deny they had sex. He says it was consensual.� �We have Jack�s testimony.� �One victim�s word against the defendant. He said/he said.� "Even without the tape, Briscoe can testify to the undercover. The sound tech and Van Buren heard it going down even if the tape malfunctioned. They could corroborate Briscoe's testimony." "Good, but not solid. Since cops and DA's work together, he can claim they're conspiring to protect their 'friend' the victim." �He had Jack�s bike.� �Again, he doesn�t deny that he took it when McCoy �ran off.� Now if he had let the hospital do a rape kit, we�d have another DNA match.� �But again he�d say it was consensual.� Donnelly sighed. This case suddenly wasn't as strong as it had looked. "It's not hopeless, but it's not strong either. I don't suppose there's any chance we'll get a plea out of this creep?" Jamie shook her head. "He seemed pretty confident that when push came to shove, his victims wouldn't testify in open court." "Well, then we've got to convince him otherwise." The phone rang, and Donnelly answered it. �OK, we�ll be there.� She hung up and looked at Jamie. �Blaise�s lawyer wants to talk. We�re meeting them at Rikers in two hours.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two female attorneys sat across from the accused and his lawyer. Blaise had a smug smile on his face that Jamie didn�t like. Donnelly took the lead. �OK, you asked for this party. What�s on the table?� Donaldson started. �I hear your second 'victim' woke up and doesn't remember anything." "We've still got the rape kit and DNA that proves your client raped him." "No, it proves they had sex. Someone else beat him up afterwards." "Your first victim will testify that you did the raping and the beating." Blaise just grinned menacingly. Jamie glared at him. "You think he won't testify? You picked the wrong victim this time, Mr. Blaise. Jack McCoy is with the District Attorney's office. He's more than willing to testify, even if it means outing himself in open court." The defense attorney looked a bit concerned and turned to his client. Blaise whispered to him for a moment. Donaldson turned back to Ross and Donnelly. "He may be willing to, but what about his gay cop buddy? My client will testify that Det. Briscoe was a regular client of the Jade Palace; he'd seen him there several times before. And NOT on police business. A gay DA might survive, but I wouldn't want to be an outed gay cop �" Blaise whispered again. "Or perhaps they're not buddies, they're lovers. This whole thing was a set-up because Briscoe saw my client leave with Mr. McCoy one night. He wanted to frame the man who stole his lover? Do they really want this dragged into open court? I'll convince the jury the entire operation was a personal vendetta." Jamie tried hard to hide her reaction, but Donnelly noticed the sudden tension in her body. There was something to this creep's accusation. Donaldson continued. "We can make this all go away. We'll take a suspended sentence on the theft of the motorcycle, and your cop's secret can stay a secret." Donnelly shook her head angrily. "You've got to be kidding. Forget it. Come on, Ms. Ross. Guard?" Once outside the prison, Donnelly turned on her companion. "All right, Ms. Ross. Spill. I can't prosecute this case if I don't know all the details. You nearly fainted in there when he accused them of being lovers. Are they?" Jamie was torn between the fragile trust she'd finally developed with Jack and the responsibility to do her job to the best of her abilities. The job won out. "They � have history. I'll tell you the rest back at the office, ok?" Donnelly glared at her, furious that her second chair had withheld information. "Ms. Ross, I want EVERYTHING you know this time. I don't want you holding anything back. Do you hear me?" Jamie nodded meekly. She knew Donnelly was right. They had to be prepared for every contingency. This was going to get very ugly before it was over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie walked into One Hogan Place with a weird feeling of dread twisting his stomach into knots. Jamie Ross had called him late in the afternoon and asked him to come by on his way home. Her voice had been strained; something was wrong. He got off the elevator and headed toward her office, but was intercepted as she headed toward the big office. "Hi, Lennie. Come on, Adam's waiting for us." // Uh oh, the big guns. This must be bad. // For once he didn't even have a quip to lighten the moment, so he just followed her. Jack was already sitting on the overstuffed leather couch. Without thinking, Lennie came and sat beside him. He had to fight the urge to touch him comfortingly. And yet just the simple physical closeness seemed to calm both of them just enough. Jamie closed the door behind them. Schiff grunted, looking over at the two men at the center of the current maelstrom. "Detective, thank you for joining us. Ms. Ross, tell them." Jamie sighed. "We met with Blaise this afternoon. Lennie, he says he's seen you at the Palace and not on police business. He plans to out you as well as Jack if we go on with the prosecution." Lennie was still for a moment, taking it in. Schiff spoke up. "Jack, you know I don't like it when the defense essentially blackmails the victim into not testifying. But we've got to make a decision here. If we're going to prosecute this bastard, we need to know that you're both in for the long haul. It's going to get ugly, both your names are going to be dragged through the mud. He will claim it's a set-up. We don't have Sandhu's testimony. We don't have the tape from the wire thanks to a technical screw-up. It's not the strongest case, and he'll try to twist it into entrapment, or revenge. Are you prepared to face that?" Jack and Lennie looked at each other. Jack had long since resigned himself to being outed. But it was different for Lennie. A gay cop had a decidedly shorter life expectancy than his straight 'brothers.' "Lennie, it's too risky." Lennie just shook his head. "I didn't risk my life that night just to let this bastard slip away! It was a clean bust, I stand by it. I've been a cop for 25 years, I'm not backing down now." His usually sleepy eyes flashed with anger. Schiff grunted, pleased that Briscoe had the balls to go through with this. Seeing them together, he began to hope that just maybe Jack had really found what he needed. Now if they could just get through this case in one piece � ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They stopped for Chinese takeout and ended up back at Lennie's apartment. Throughout dinner, they avoided the subject of the trial. But when the leftovers had been stashed in the fridge and the trash thrown out, they settled onto the couch, Lennie in the corner with Jack leaning against him. They fit together comfortably, so naturally. Jack sighed as Lennie's long fingers slid lightly over his chest. "Lennie, about the case �" The arm across his chest squeezed tight. "Jack, it's ok. He's not worth the time spent worrying. His word against ours. We're the good guys. We'll put him away so he can never hurt anybody else again." Lennie's steadfastness was like a rock Jack clung to throughout this whole horrifying mess. He sighed. "You're not afraid of being outed?" Lennie shrugged. "Who's gonna believe that creep?" Jack stared at him. "You wouldn't lie under oath? If they asked you directly if you're gay?" Lennie frowned. "Well, no." Jack sighed with relief. "So � could you live with it? Being outed?" Lennie let his hand rest over Jack's heart. "If you can, so can I. But we'll deal with that when and if it comes. One day at a time, Jack." Jack laid his hand over Lennie's. The AA mantra had become their personal one. "OK, Lennie. I hear you." He was deeply touched by Lennie's loyalty. And then Lennie's head bent down and gently kissed his hand. It was almost chaste, and yet it wasn't. It touched something deep inside Jack. He sat up, looking into Lennie's eyes. His hand reached out to touch Lennie's face. Before he knew what he was doing, he had leaned in and softly pressed his lips to Lennie's. Then Lennie's arms were around him, holding him as he trembled. A soft voice whispered in his ear. "Jack, you don't have to �" "I know. I � wanted to �" Lennie held him close, stroking his back, until Jack pulled away just enough to kiss him again. They spent the next 20 minutes trading soft, gentle kisses, lips barely parted, tongues caressing, not demanding. It was a kind of intimacy Jack had all but forgotten about; kissing not as foreplay, but as an act worthy of doing on its own. His body stirred, but not to the point of arousal. Lennie seemed to understand. His hands gently caressed Jack's upper body, never straying below. It was tender and loving and supportive. Then the long arms pulled him close again, hugging him tight as a soft kiss found his forehead. "It's been a long day, Jack. You heading home or staying here?" Jack sighed. He wanted to stay safe in Lennie's arms all night. But they had agreed that for now at least, weeknights they should go home; weekends they could spend together. "Guess I should head home." Lennie watched him reluctantly get up then let Jack drag him to his feet. "Want me to call a cab?" Jack shook his head. "Nah, I'll walk the couple of blocks to the subway if I don't see one out there." The walked to the door. Suddenly, it seemed awkward, in a kind of teenagers-on-their-first-date way. Jack smiled shyly. "'Night, Lennie." Lennie reached out and touched Jack's face. "'Night." They hesitated a moment, then came together in the sweetest kiss goodnight. When they finally separated, Jack turned and quickly darted out the door before he gave in to his desire to stay. Lennie smiled and locked the door behind him, shut out the lights, and headed to his own bed. He knew what he'd dream of tonight. Continue on to Chapter 27 Send me some Feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 26 |