Used, chapter 47
Nov. 22nd, 2008 01:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darkdreamer*hugs*
DoS
Title: Used
Beta:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
misanthropicobs Rating: R
Pairing: House/Wilson/Cuddy friendship, slight Wilson/OFC
Warnings: implied and explicit non-con, violence and non-con of a flashback/memory sort, mild language, general angst and trauma and darkness
Summary: One night leaving the hospital, a violent attack leaves House devastated and broken. In the aftermath, Wilson and Cuddy struggle to find a way to help him heal -- while House fights just to find a way to survive.
Chapter 47
Protection
Wilson reached out a gentle hand to rest momentarily on House’s left knee, subtly stilling the anxious tapping of his foot, and House looked up at him sharply, startled by the unexpected touch. He raised a questioning eyebrow in Wilson’s direction, glancing pointedly down at Wilson’s hand, and the younger man removed it with a self-conscious clearing of his throat.
“There’s no need to be nervous, House. You’re perfectly safe…”
“I’m not nervous,” House snapped, cutting him off and looking away, almost petulantly resuming the nervous, tapping gesture Wilson had halted.
Wilson didn’t argue, but, concerned, he watched his friend out of the corner of his eyes, as they waited for the woman with whom they were here to meet. House’s entire body was taut with tension, his arms crossed defensively over his chest, his foot once again tapping out a rapid-fire staccato on the tile as he glanced impatiently toward the door again.
No, House wasn’t nervous.
After all, there was no reason to be nervous, not anymore. Tritter and the others had been arrested, and he was perfectly safe – here in the Princeton County Courthouse, surrounded by cops in every direction he looked. There was no reason why he should feel ill at ease or afraid about the interview that was about to take place.
Unless you consider the fact that it was a group of cops who hurt him in the first place, and the dozens of officers that would make anyone else feel safer probably just look like a threat to him.
Wilson frowned slightly, taking in House’s pale skin and the tiny beads of moisture along his hairline that further betrayed his anxiety.
And the fact that he’s about to tell his most humiliating, devastating experience to yet another stranger, when he’s probably not completely convinced that he’s not going to eventually get murdered in his sleep, or worse, for doing so. Hell, I’m not even convinced of that yet… but it’s the only choice.
Come forward… or live in fear of Tritter for the rest of his life.
Not really a difficult choice, when you think about it.
The office door opened, and House jumped a mile, rising swiftly to his feet and spinning to face the door. Wilson rose with him, attempting to cover House’s reaction as he stepped toward the tall woman who had entered the room, extending his hand to shake hers as she introduced herself.
“Brooke Landers, Assistant D.A. Dr. Wilson, I presume?” Wilson nodded, and she turned her hand and her attention to House. “And Dr. House. Very pleased to meet you, though I wish it might have been under different circumstances.”
House glanced down at her hand, then nodded toward his cane with an impatient look, indicating his inability to accept her extended hand. Wilson had seen House do much the same thing to others on many occasions, and it usually put people on the defensive, made them feel self-conscious and embarrassed for their perceived mistake.
To her credit, Brooke did not seem at all bothered by the exchange, simply nodding her understanding and withdrawing her hand as she took her seat behind her desk. “Please, have a seat, and I’ll bring you up to speed on the case… where things go from here.”
Wilson noted with relief that, if she had noticed House’s reaction to her entrance, Ms. Landers did an excellent job of hiding the fact. She waited until they both were seated before speaking again, her voice calm and even, but barely concealing a note of anticipation, a triumphant gleam in her eyes.
“You should know, this office has had its suspicions about Michael Tritter for years now, but there’s never been anything solid – nothing we could actually make stick – until now,” Brooke explained with a slight smile. “We have a very strong case against him. He’s been charged with first degree rape, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual assault with special circumstances on all three charges. The kidnapping alone carries a possible life sentence automatically, and the special circumstances on the other charges make it possible for him to get life for them as well. We’ll be putting him away for a very long time.”
“Good.” Wilson nodded with relief and satisfaction. “That’s great.”
House’s voice was quiet, restrained, as he met her eyes and asked softly, “And the others?”
“Same charges, with the exception of the special circumstances. Tritter was the one who instigated the attack, and he used a weapon, whereas the others didn’t,” Brooke explained. “Still, life imprisonment is a possibility for them as well – and once a jury hears your story, Dr. House – I can’t think of a judge in his right mind who wouldn’t throw the book at these animals.”
“What about… the one who’s testifying for the prosecution?” House hesitantly asked, biting the side of his lip uncertainly. “Andrew Leander. What’s he been charged with?”
“Conspiracy to commit assault and unlawful imprisonment, and evidence tampering.” Brooke’s smile faded as she visibly tried to gauge House’s reaction to her words. “He’s been offered a deal in exchange for his testimony – probation and fines, but no prison time.” She paused a moment, holding House’s gaze as she added, “But the deal’s off the table, if you don’t like it. We don’t need his testimony – not when we have yours. Without the deal, he could get as much as fifteen years…”
“The deal’s fine.” House’s voice was barely over a whisper, and he looked away as he spoke, shaking his head slightly. “No problem with that. Sounds like the kid… didn’t… didn’t have any idea what he was getting into, or… or what was going to happen. But…” He hesitated, looking up to meet her eyes again with a solemn, piercing gaze. “… no deals for any of the others. Please. Don’t give them the chance to… to…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head again, swallowing hard.
“Of course not,” Brooke assured him, her voice softening with understanding. “There will be no deals offered to any of the men directly involved in the attack. We don’t need their testimonies. We don’t even need Leander’s testimony – not when we have yours,” she repeated, her voice slowing at the end of the statement, taking on a leading tone as she raised an eyebrow in silent question.
House let out a heavy sigh of resignation. “So… that’s absolutely necessary, then. My… my testimony.”
Wilson gave him a startled look, glancing between House and Ms. Landers as he realized that she had caught onto House’s hesitation when he had failed to notice it. It hadn’t occurred to him before this meeting that House might try to back out of actually giving his testimony. Yes, it was terrifying, and potentially humiliating and traumatic – but it was necessary.
Surely House has to see that…
Brooke was quiet and thoughtful over her response, before meeting House’s eyes with an apologetic nod and grimace. “It really is. It’s possible that we’d get a conviction without your testimony, Dr. House. But… there’s no guarantee. The video alone isn’t really enough, because technically – you’re not on that video. It could be anyone he’s talking to – he could be playing a part in some amateur video, or role-playing or something.”
At House’s dubious look, she shrugged. “I know, highly unlikely – but possible. What I’m saying is, your testimony confirms the identity of the person he’s threatening in the video. Evidence is great – and we’ve got a lot of it – but your testimony is what’s going to convince the jury of what a disgusting, vile, dangerous piece of scum Michael Tritter is, and that he deserves to spend the rest of his natural life locked away from society where he can’t do anymore damage.”
House considered her words for a moment before nodding slowly, head lowered in resignation.
“Right,” he sighed. “Got that. I just… I’m gonna do it, I just… wondered…”
Sensing House’s embarrassment over his reluctance to testify, Wilson quickly moved to change the subject.
“What exactly is the evidence that we’ve got?” he asked. “Can you run through that for us?”
Brooke smiled with an encouraging nod. “Well, besides Dr. House’s testimony, we’ve also got Andrew Leander’s testimony of the events of the kidnapping, and the testimonies of you and Ms. Leander about what you saw and heard the night of the video recording, as well as the video itself. We have the clothing and… and other items you saved, Dr. Wilson. Once we get the results of the DNA tests back, we’ll have evidence against the others who attacked Dr. House, if not against Tritter himself…”
“No,” House broke in grimly, shaking his head. “There won’t be anything against Tritter. He was very… very careful…”
“You might be surprised,” Brooke countered with a little half-shrug. “Sometimes the slightest trace can be enough. If they find anything – a hair, trace fluids – it could be enough.” She paused, glancing between them with eager anticipation in her eyes as she added, “Besides, we may not have his DNA, but we have yours – found in his possession.”
House frowned, puzzled. “How…?”
“They found a knife,” Brooke explained, her expression sobering at House’s visible flinch. “The smug bastard was actually carrying it on him when he was arrested. It was stained with blood, and we took it into evidence – and it matches the DNA sample you gave us, Dr. House. You would think he’d be smarter than to keep it like that… but it’s a good thing he did.”
“It’s a trophy.”
Wilson and Ms. Landers both were silent, and House dropped his gaze with a self-conscious swallow.
“Like… like serial killers, and… other sociopathic personalities. He wanted a… a permanent reminder.” House nearly gagged on the words, swallowing back the wave of sickness that rolled up into his throat, closing his eyes and struggling to fight against the horror of his own conclusions. “He wanted to be able to look at that knife and… and remember… anytime he wanted…”
Shocked, horrified silence followed his words, though the truth of them was no surprise to either of his listeners. Both had heard of such behavior many times before, but the matter-of-fact way in which House spoke about it was sobering. Finally, Wilson cleared his throat, waiting until House looked at him to speak in a quiet voice that trembled with repressed rage.
“Well, he’ll remember, all right. Every time his cell mate wakes him up in the middle of the night because he’s feeling a little bit affectionate – Tritter will get all the reminiscing he can stand!”
House gave him a weak but appreciative smile, meeting his gaze for just a moment before looking toward Brooke again through lowered eyes. “What about… the guy he killed? Have you found anything on that yet?”
Brooke shook her head with a sigh. “No, I’m sorry. Not yet. And without a body, or even a solid identification of the victim, we can’t really make a murder charge stick. But when it turns up – and it eventually will – we can add that to the list of offenses standing between Tritter, and the possibility of ever seeing the outside world again.”
Wilson caught the slight tremor of emotion in her voice that hadn’t been there before, and knew that House’s struggle against his own emotions was responsible. After seeing the emotional wreckage that had been left of Tritter’s latest victim, Brooke Landers was clearly very eager to see Tritter locked away for good.
“At the arraignment tomorrow,” she continued, “he’ll just enter his plea – not guilty, obviously…” She rolled her eyes. “… and bail will be discussed.”
“There’s… there’s a chance he could get out on bail.”
House’s wide blue eyes snapped upward to lock onto hers, sudden panic building on his face. It was a statement, not a question, but filled with a note of stunned wonder that suggested the troubling but rather obvious concept had just occurred to him for the first time.
Wilson reached out a hand to rest on House’s knee in silent support, and House irritably shook it off, focused completely on Brooke, and her answer.
“There’s… technically a chance,” she conceded cautiously, meeting his eyes with a firm promise in her own. “But I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll make sure they know the kind of danger he presents if he’s allowed to walk free between now and the trial date, and they won’t grant him bail.” She took a deep breath, a tight grimace twisting her mouth as she continued grimly.
“But… if they do…”
House swore quietly, turning his head away and shaking it in denial of the fears that were rapidly spinning out of control in his mind, driving him toward panic.
“No,” he muttered, resting his head in his hands. “No, that can’t happen…”
“If it does, I’ll make sure you have a protective police detail between now and the trial. You’ll be safe…”
“Safe?” House echoed, glaring at her in angry disbelief as he rose abruptly to his feet. “A freaking police escort is supposed to make me feel safe? Have you forgotten who the hell it was who did this to me?”
Wilson rose with him, reaching out a hand to try to calm him, but House angrily jerked away from him, storming toward the door.
“We’re done here, aren’t we?” he snapped at Brooke. “Because if you’re finished tossing your placating, meaningless promises of protection at me like a bone to a starving dog, I think I need to find a place to vomit.”
A troubled expression on her face, Brooke nodded, catching Wilson’s eye momentarily to silently confirm that they had discussed all they needed to for the moment.
“Dr. House… I need you to know that I’m doing my best for you on this case. I want to see this man locked away where he can’t ever hurt you or anyone else again – and I’m doing my best to see that that happens.”
House stopped at the door, his shoulders sagging slightly as he relented, turning back halfway toward her. “I know,” he said quietly. He paused a moment, weighing his words before adding bluntly, “I’m just afraid your best won’t be good enough.”
Brooke took that in, nodding slowly in acknowledgement. After a moment, she replied simply.
“I hope you’re wrong.”
“Me, too,” House sighed as he opened the door and stepped out into the hall, leaving
TBC...
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-27 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 09:49 pm (UTC)Wow! Again a great and moving written chapter *smile*. The whole story is great and moving written. Thank you so much for sharing.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-27 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-27 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-23 12:33 am (UTC)gotta say you've since made up for it, though ;) hehe
*hugs*
DoS
no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-27 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 11:37 pm (UTC)I am glad Andrew got some leniency because I think he really didn't know how far Tritter was going to take things with House. I am also glad House with okay with the deal the D.A. offered him for his testimony.
Speaking of testifying, I cannot imagine what it's going to be like for House to have to face Tritter in court and talk about what he did to him. Still if it comes down to that I think House is going to surprise us all in that moment.
How stupid was Tritter to keep that knife he used to hurt House with?
One last thing about Tritter possibly getting out on bail: I would love to see Wilson had the opportunity to shoot that man in "self-defense" but at the same time I know Tritter could and would find a way to get at House in a way that wouldn't allow for Wilson to use the gun. It's better if Triter stays where he is although I do hope someone gets to him before it's over with and the man gets what he deserves.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-27 12:07 am (UTC)thanx, hon, i'm so glad you liked this update :) *Hugs* the next one is up now, hope you like it as well :)
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Date: 2008-11-23 01:19 am (UTC)On the other hand, poor House. I'm afraid he'd break completely if Tritter made bail. I'm practically salivating in anticipation of the next chapter. I hope it's soon!
no subject
Date: 2008-11-27 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-23 10:01 am (UTC)*torn*
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Date: 2008-11-27 12:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-04 08:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 10:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 09:09 pm (UTC)thanx, love :) *hugs*
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Date: 2009-02-13 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-14 08:55 am (UTC)