The Path to Love: A Sonny Carisi Love Story

44: Sonny's Testimony

When I step out of the elevator to my apartment I spot my father standing at my door "Dad! What are you doing here?" I ask going over to him, my mouth hanging a jar with shock.

"What? A father can't stop in to see his daughter?" He asks with a stupid smile.

I give him a know it all glare, knowing how much he hates that I'm here in the city and lean in for a hug. "Come in." I say after, moving beside him to unlock my door and move this into the apartment.

Once he's inside, I lock the door behind me and place my badge and gun down on the front table "it's good to see you dad, but really, what are you doing here?"

He sighs but answers "Spencer called me."

"Spencer?" I repeat his name, unsure why he would call my dad. I haven't talked to him since I called him a month or so back.

My dad nods "told me about someone breaking into your place. Maddy, you should've called me." My dad goes to step a bit closer, face full of concern.

My brain races as he says this, finally coming back to the other night when Sonny used my phone and said it was the locksmith "damn it, Sonny." I mumble under my breath with a shake of my head. I turn my attention back to my father "it's nothing to worry about dad, there's nothing here." I open my arms wide as if to tell him to look around.

"You're going to take that risk?" He pushes me.

I shake my head again "breaking and entering is not really Doyle's thing dad. I know his sheet in and out, he'd leave a calling card if he wanted us to know it was him."

"What if he didn't want us to know?" He pushes back. "What if he's playing another game?"

"He would want me to know it was a game, dad. I'm serious, if I was worried or thought for a second it was him I would have let you and the BAU know." I try to assure him, keeping my own seeded thoughts of who broke in down and invisible from him or anyone else.

"I don't think you should mark this down as a coincidence." He tries to discourage my reasoning.

I roll my eyes "it's not his M.O. Dad, it's nice of you to come up here but I'm fine. Everything is fine!" I assure him.

He looks around my apartment while exhaling deeply and shrugs "well, can I at least grab dinner with my daughter before heading home?"

"Sure, dad." I semi smile, glad he's good to go after having dinner together. I love my dad but things are just weird since the incident in D.C.

After dinner, my father heads back to the airport for the next flight home. I crawl into bed later then I wanted and fall asleep quickly, not really ready for the next day.

I sleep through my alarm and quickly rush to get to court on time, throwing my bed head into a bun. I get to the court room  just as Sonny's questioning with Barba is about over. I slink into the back of the room.

"And is that when Mr. Sullivan told you he'd been assaulted?" He asks.

Sonny responds "it wasn't easy for him to talk about it. He was, um, embarrassed. But I'm proud of him for coming forward and telling the truth."
"Thank you, Detective Carisi." Barba says and returns to his seat.

The judge directs "your witness, Mr. D'Angelo."

D'Angelo clears his throat, stepping away from behind the desk "so you said Mr. Sullivan was embarrassed, possibly even anxious?"

"Yes." Sonny agrees.

He asks "could that be because he was lying to you?"

Barba calls "objection."

Judge confirms "sustained."

D'Angelo calls back "I'll rephrase." He paces a bit closer towards Sonny "Mr. Sullivan told you this story after he'd been arrested and you had picked him up from jail, right?

"Yes, but it wasn't a story." Sonny spits back quickly.

Her lawyers goes in further at Sonny "and you're not just his fiancee's brother, you're also an SVU detective?"

Sonny confirms "yeah, that's right."

"Which he was aware of." The lawyer goes to argue. Benson and I share a glance, knowing what the lawyers trying to get at. "So is it possible, Detective, that Tommy Sullivan was trying to get your sympathy after he'd been arrested, after he'd cheated on your sister, by telling you that he had been raped"

Sonny's voice raises a bit annoyed "no, actually. He wasn't even aware that a woman could rape a man."

Her lawyer feeds off that "Oh, that's right. In fact, he only used the word "rape" after he had talked to your supervisor Sergeant Benson and Detective Grey, correct?"

"He did disclose to them." Sonny goes to clear it up

D'Angelo doesn't give in "after you asked them to talk to him." Then he turns towards the jury "I mean, Mr. Sullivan didn't think he had been raped at all until SVU detectives told him that he had been raped."

"Objection." Barba quickly yells out.

The judge agrees and commands "Sustained. Jury will disregard."

But the damage was done. "Nothing further" her lawyer says, walking back to his seat with his a smug grin. The damage was already done.