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Chapter Three-Hundred-Thirty-Six



“…Ellie is that true?” Kevin asked his daughter when the shock of Dakota’s words finally wore off.


Yes its true!” Dakota answered for her in an accusing tone. “An’ she knew he was at the party last night too! She didnts tell anybody’s!” Elenore looked around at all of the shocked and disappointed faces that were staring back at her. Not knowing what to say, but feeling like the biggest screw up in the world tears watered up in her eyes. She wiggled herself free of Kevin’s hands and she made a mad dash for the stairs suddenly sobbing.


“Ellie, come back here!” Kevin demanded before turning and running after her. Brian, Howie, AJ, Jerald, and everybody minus Nick followed them up there wanting to know just exactly how Kevin is going to handle this, and how she’s been keeping in touch with Sean all of this time without any of them knowing about it. Nick on the other hand gently gathered Dakota in his arms. Marcus handed him a first aid kit and Nick took his little girl over to the couch and sat down with her in his lap as Sarah crawled up beside him, slid her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder as she sat on her knees. Nick got out the handy wash cloth that is kept in the first aid kit and he handed it to Marcus who went and got it wet before handing it back to Nick. After doing that, he set off to make an ice pack for Dakota’s eye.


“You shouldn’t have started that fight Dakota Ann,” he lectured, knowing perfectly well that it was her who started it. They were just discussing Dakota giving Elenore the silent treatment upstairs right before the fight broke out. He gently placed the wet wash cloth to her bloody nose, which is very much identical to the bloody nose Dakota had given Elenore with the popcorn bowl. “You know better.”


“But daddy it’s her fault Ashee is gone!”


“That’s not true baby, and you know it” Nick insisted.


“How can you say that?” Dakota snapped as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Daddy she knew Sean was at the party all a long!”


“Yes and she should’ve said something but sweetheart Ellie is five years old. She had no idea Sean was going to sneak into our hotel room and take Ashley, she just felt like she had a loyalty to her father.”


“That’s not true she knew exactly what he was there for an’ Sarah, Joshy, an’ I told her so but she wouldn’ts listen to us.”


“So then why didn’t you tell us he was there? Huh?” Nick asked while taking the ice pack from Marcus and gently placing it to Dakota’s eye, which was slowly turning black. Elenore sure does know how to punch. “You knew he was there all a long as well and didn’t say anything. Why?”


“Because…Ellie made me promise nots to…an’ as a best friend I felt that I should keeps that promise…” realization suddenly hit Dakota then like a knife stabbing her right in the heart and her eyes filled up with tears. “It was my fault too…I knew he was there an’ I kept quiet. Ashee is gone because of me.”


“You are not alone baby…” Nick told her gently and he cupped her cheek and gently tilted her head back so she is looking up at him. “Daddy knew he was there as well. We all did, and we didn’t do a thing to stop it. We stood there and watched him sit at that table all night long.”


“Why?” Dakota asked suddenly startled.


“Because he wasn’t doing anything wrong. We couldn’t arrest him because he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Everybody kept insisting that for all we knew he could just be a regular guy out enjoying his New Years, but I knew better. I knew better in my heart but couldn’t do a thing about it. We should have though because even though he didn’t do anything wrong at the party, he snuck back to our hotel room and succeeded in his plan. I will never forgive myself – not ever.”


“An’ I will never forgives myself either,” Dakota insisted tearfully. Nick gently wiped away her tears with his finger and he rested his forehead against hers.


“I don’t want you to feel guilty baby. You’re four years old it wasn’t your job to protect Ashley, It was mine. You’re so young sweetheart and I wish you didn’t even have to worry about stuff like this. You have so much worry in your life for a child and it breaks my heart. This is supposed to be your time of innocence.”


“How can I nots worry when Ashee is out there being hurt daddy?”


“Ashley wouldn’t have wanted you to blame yourself honey, you know that. How would Ashley have handled the situation with Ellie?”


“She would’ve been fair,” Sarah spoke for the first time since the night she found Nick on the floor unconscious. Her voice came out in a whisper and she is fighting back tears with difficulty. Nick and Dakota looked at her feeling both surprised and relieved to hear her speak. “She would’ve looked at the situation from both sides. She would understand why Ellie has a need to protect her father. She would see that even though her father treated her badly, he must’ve done something right to make her still have love in her heart for him. She would try her very hardest to understand what that something is despite her own feelings and struggles. She wouldn’t blame her for wanting to keep in touch with him but at the same time she would tell her that it was wrong for her to not tell a grownup about it. She would make sure she understands the danger of that. But she wouldn’t yell at her – not once. Ashee always knew how to talk to us without getting mad. She always had a way of understanding no matter what you do wrong. She is very special.”


“She also would’ve known about mine an’ Ellie’s fight before it even happened,” Dakota added softly and she rubbed at her eyes and sniffled some. “She would’ve seen it coming – she always knew when something wasn’t right with us. Always. Sometimes before we even knew it ourselves. She would sit us down an’ talk to us about it an’ she wouldn’t let us up until everything was better again.”


“Would she have wanted you to blame yourself?”


“No…” Dakota answered softly and she looked away shamefully.


“She wouldn’t have wanted you to blame yourself either Nick,” Marcus spoke up as he was standing near by listening as he cradled Bella. “If she heard you blaming yourself you know she would be yelling at you and setting you straight.” Nick chuckled softly as he rubbed at his eyes.


“She was really good at that.”


“She is good at that,” AJ corrected while coming downstairs and he over heard the last couple of things said. “Stop talking in the past tense Nick,” he ordered lightly but Nick didn’t miss the seriousness in his tone. “She’s coming home to us,” he added. “Not only would she want you to not blame yourself, but she would want you to keep fighting and that’s what we’re going to do. She’s counting on us.”


“What’s going on with Ellie?” Nick asked softly.


“Kev is in the process of coaxing her out from under the bed.”


“I just can’t believe she’s been keeping in touch with Sean…”


“Yeah, I would like to know just exactly how she’s been doing it” AJ replied, suddenly eyeing his niece who seems so keen on blurting her best friend’s secrets tonight.


“She’s been writing to him – with Sarah’s help,” Dakota answered. “She leaves it in a special spot on the playground – right outside the gate and Max gets it and delivers it.”


“THAT’S why you kids are always going over there,” Marcus replied, suddenly comprehending.


“Has she ever spoken with Sean in person?” Nick questioned.


“Besides that time at the park when he spanked her? No. She’s spoken to Max before though.”


“How??” Marcus asked outraged, and then paused. “Wait a minute…” he looked over at Sarah and once again comprehended past events.


“Sorry…” Sarah apologized sheepishly.


“What?” Nick asked confused. Marcus shook his head.


“From now on…we’re rewinding those tapes everytime we re-enter the room.”


~*~*~*~*~


“Come on Ellie…talk to me. Why would you do this?” Kevin asked gently after having Josh go under and fetch her for him. He was now sitting on the floor with Elenore in his lap and everybody else sitting around waiting for explanations.


“He’s my biological daddy…why shouldn’t I be allowed to write to him?”


“Writing to him is one thing…but doing it in secret is a whole different story Elenore.”


“You wouldn’ts have let me do it if I tolds you.”


“You’re right I wouldn’t have.”


“I hads to do it.”


“Why? You better have a very good explanation Elenore Richardson.”


“I was trying to gets him to behaves himself. To stops hurting other people.”

“Why?”


“Because if he doesn’t, the law is gonna kills him” Elenore answered tearfully. “An’ he was my daddy, he brought me into this world I can’ts let that happen. No Matter Whats.”


“Do you realize that if you came to me with these concerns a long time ago when I was worried about you that I would’ve helped you out?” Kevin asked, suddenly understanding everything. Elenore looked down at her lap shamefully and shrugged her shoulders.


“Didn’t you realize that I could’ve done something to stop that? I do have a very good relationship with Detective Stabler you know, and so do you.”


“Sarah wrote a letter to the president for me…and Uncle Jerry sent it to him.” Kevin looked at Jerald with a raised eyebrow then.


“You’ve known about this all a long?”


“Just about the fact that she was trying to save him from being given the death penalty. I swear if I knew she’d be talking to Sean all this time I would’ve told you.”


“You should’ve told me about the death penalty thing too. You know damn straight that I’ve been worried about her all this time.”


“I promised her I wouldn’t…and that part of her secret wasn’t endangering her life or anything…so I kept it. I’m sorry.” Kevin narrowed his eyes at him for a couple of moments.


“You two are not allowed to keep important secrets like this from me anymore you hear me? Or how else am I supposed to trust you to take care of her while I’m gone?”


“I’m sorry…” Jerald said again, hoping he didn’t just damage his brother’s trust all over again. Kevin sighed and looked down at Elenore.


“I will talk to Detective Stabler about your concerns. You know if you talked to me about this, I could’ve taken you to the president in person. Do you know how much more effective that would be then a letter?”


“You could??” Elenore asked surprised.


“Of course I could. You are the daughter of a Backstreet Boy did you forget?” Elenore blushed some at that question.


“I’ll help you out with this but you have to promise me a few things first little one.” Elenore looked up at him curiously.


“You’re not to keep anymore important secrets like this from me, do you hear me?”


“Yes…”


“And if you see Sean around…please do tell! Do not keep it from us because we need to know. Secrets like that gets Ashley kidnapped okay?” Elenore nodded as her eyes once again filled up with tears.


“I’m sorry…I didnts mean to get her kidnapped…I didnts mean to hurt Kota…I’m sorry I’m such a screw up…”


“Hey…you aren’t a screw up,” Brian insisted. “You are a very smart individual and you are destined for great things. You’re just five years old and like all kids you make mistakes sometimes. That’s all. But that’s why you need to come to us when you have a problem. Got it Kiddo? That’s what we’re here for.”


“But my mistakes gets Ashee kidnapped…”


“That’s not your fault honey and I know Ashley wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. Yeah, you could’ve told us Sean was there…but I think we’re all to blame for what happened that night.”


“Why?” Elenore wanted to know.


“Well…because we all had a feeling that, that was Sean sitting at that table…but we didn’t do anything because we weren’t sure. If we had done something, he wouldn’t have made it back to that hotel room. So therefore, it wasn’t entirely your fault honey.” Kevin gently lifted Elenore up and turned her to face him and he planted a kiss on her forehead and hugged her close to him.


“But she wouldn’t have wanted us to sit around blaming ourselves. We’re going to stay strong and try our very hardest to bring her home to us okay? Everything is gonna be all right in the end, I know it.”


“No it won’t,” Elenore sniffled as she rested her head against Kevin’s shoulder and nestled into him. “Kota hates me.”


“She doesn’t hate you,” Howie promised as he watched Kevin rub his hand over her back. “She just misses her mommy very much.”



~*~*~*~*~*~



When Sean, Trevor, and Max had finished dinner (Trevor had gone back to the house and brought back leftovers for them) Sean went on down below to check on Ashley and was pleased to find her where he left her. Up in the air still hooked to the torture machine. He smirked as she caught sight of him and he saw the dread in her eyes.


“Hello Ashley…I’m back. Ready to play some more?” he taunted. Ashley said nothing; she only stared back at him with hateful eyes. He walked across the bridge to the other side of the lake and he lowered her down to the ground. He detached her from the machine and pulled her down and he shoved her back up against the wall, moved closer to her and rested his forehead against hers as he slid his hand up her bare leg. “I certainly am,” He told her. “I’ve been waiting a very long time to hurt you. And since you’ve made it extremely hard to get to you…it’s going to be ten times worse” he warned. He bent his head down and began to nibble on her earlobe as he slid the hand on her leg up to her thighs. Knowing exactly what he plans to do with her next, all kinds of warning signals went off inside Ashley’s head. She swore to herself that Nick was going to be the only one allowed to touch her this way for the rest of her life. She told herself she wasn’t going to let another man violate her like this - especially not Sean. She told herself this so many times that she had it drilled into her brain by now. As soon as Sean’s hand grazed lightly over her private area, something inside Ashley snapped. As it was moving up over her stomach, she kneed Sean hard where it counts.


“OW! You little bitch!” He roared, before raising his hand and smacking her hard across the face knocking her down. Ashley fell to her knees sobbing and he kicked her in the bottom causing her to fall on her stomach. He dropped his pants and as she was starting to crawl away he bent down and grabbed her legs forcefully pulling her back. “I don’t think so!” Leaving her on her stomach he got down on his knees straddling her legs and he forced a finger inside of her. Ashley winced but managed not to cry out – with great difficulty. As she lay there letting him violate her, the side of her head rested against the hard ground she spotted her pile of clothes just a couple of inches away and suddenly she remembered her pepper spray.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“He said it was just a ten minute walk from Sean’s old trailer home” Detective Stabler announced as he sat in the passenger’s seat of Detective Benson’s car.


“I heard you the first five times El,” Detective Benson told her partner lightly.


“I know…I’m just reminding you is all.”


“Next time we go on one of these missions your driving. Would that make you feel better?”


“Maybe.” Detective Benson shook her head.


“You need to cool it Elliot, Cragen is very close to taking you off of this case. You are making it too personal.” Detective Stabler scowled.


“I would like to see him try and take me off this case Liv.”


“Why don’t you just cool it a little and then maybe he wouldn’t have to try.”


“I can’t understand how you are not making this personal.”


“I love Ashley just as much as everybody else but you have to remain professional.”


“I am being professional!”


“I’m just telling you to be careful.”


Fine you’ve told me” Detective Stabler snapped before turning and looking out the window, clearly stating that their discussion is over. A couple of moments later when they pulled into the parking spot in front of Sean’s old trailer home, they set off toward the only direction that they haven’t gone and searched in before.



~*~*~*~*~*~



Still lying on her stomach on the ground Ashley eyed her underwear out of the corner of her eye. She has to get that pepper spray, she just has to. All of the strength that she lost earlier when witnessing Nick blowing up into flames slid back into her as soon as Sean started touching her. She was saving herself for Nick. Sean may have stolen her virginity from her but saving herself for Nick made her feel like she was innocent all over again and that’s what made the wait so special to her. As she indured Sean’s fingers inside her bottom and his lips on her neck Ashley thought hard for a plan. She won’t let Sean’s dick enter her so help her god. Nick may be gone but that does not mean she’s going to let Sean have her. If Nick can’t have her, no one can. Suddenly making up her mind, Ashley turned over onto her back. Sean paused and looked at her clearly confused. Ashley reached up and cradled his cheeks in her hands and she brought his lips down on hers in a hard passionate kiss, giving him the mind blowing kisses that she normally reserves for Nick. Sean stiffened in surprise at this, but kissed her back nonetheless, figuring she’s decided she has nothing else to fight for since she thinks she lost her stupid beloved boyfriend. After a few moments, Sean broke away from her lips and brought his own down to her neck. He nibbled and sucked on it lightly, before sending the kisses down her body. He cupped her breasts in his hands and slid his tongue over each one slowly, before continuing his kisses lower. His lips danced lightly over her stomach as he grabbed her legs, forced them open and brought his mouth down to her pussy where he began to suck on it hard. Ashley looked down at him and when she saw that he was no longer watching her she reached toward her panties with one hand, before bringing her other one down to his head. She tangled her fingers in his hair in order to make him think she is encouraging him and she even went as far as faking improving moans. She reached inside her panties and dug around until finally her hand landed on the pepper spray. She pulled it out, brought it down to her mouth and pulled the lid off and she closed her hand around it so he wouldn’t see before lying her hand out on the ground above her head. After a few very long agonizing moments, Sean lifted his head and brought his mouth back up to hers. He kissed her forcefully and she wrapped one arm around his neck and kissed him back. He reached down and grabbed his manhood and just as he was placing it at her entrance, Ashley brought her hand with the pepper spray in it up pretending to go and wrap that arm around his neck as well. As he looked up at her to watch her eyes, she placed her finger on the button and went straight for his.


“AHHHHH! FUCK!” Sean yelled, falling backward onto the ground as his hands flew to his eyes. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! YOU LITTLE SHIT, I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!! TREVOR!!!!!!!!! GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!” Reacting quickly, Ashley jumped to her feet and made a mad dash for the bridge, pepper spray still in hand. As soon as she reached the other side of the lake she heard footsteps coming quickly from the way Sean brought her in earlier and turned and ran the opposite way hoping to god there is another way out. “TREVOR!!!!!!!!!! IT FUCKING IT HURTS, MAKE IT STOOOOOOOP!!!!!!! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!” Sean continued to yell, rolling around on the ground and all.


“WHAT HAPPENED???” He suddenly heard Trevor yell in panic from the other side of the lake. “WHERE IS ASHLEY??”


“NEVERMIND THAT, THE BITCH FUCKING GOT ME WITH PEPPER SPRAY!!!!!!!!!!! MAKE IT STOP HURTING PLEASE! AHHHH!!!!!!!”


“Put your head in the lake! I have to go find her, she’ll get out and lead the police straight to us!” Trevor insisted, remembering they didn’t even bother blindfolding her on the way to the warehouse this time around.


“BUT TREVOR IT HURTS!!!!!!! I NEED YOU!!!”


“The lake baby! It helps I promise!” Trevor insisted, before taking off running in the only direction Ashley could go in. “MAX, go back upstairs incase she turns up there!” He ordered and Max immediately obeyed turning around and heading back upstairs. Sean continued to yell and complain, as he crawled around on the ground blindly, feeling everywhere he goes for the lake.