Chapter 11: Lines Made Permanent
By the second month the criminal referral arising from the hospital documentation had produced formal charges against Nicholas for assault.
Patricia and Gregory remained under the protective order’s scope for their roles in the confinement and intimidation. Counsel advised that the evidence package—medical records, photographs, Abigail’s statement, and my account of the doorway confrontation—was sufficient to proceed without requiring Abigail to face them in preliminary settings. She chose not to attend. I supported the choice without comment.
Financial separation advanced in parallel. Accounts that had once given Nicholas leverage were closed or retitled. Abigail’s personal documents were reissued where necessary. I watched her sign the papers with a steadiness that had not been present in the observation room at St. Bernard. The uniform I wore on the days I returned to base felt less like armor and more like the ordinary clothing of a job that no longer needed to compete with a crisis at home.
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One evening Abigail said, “They still think this is temporary. That you’ll get tired or go on deployment and I’ll have to come back.”
“Then they are still misreading the situation,” I said. “The order does not expire when I am on duty. Neither does my attention.”
