usattorney | this is not a litigation

this is not a litigation;
Luke comes to see Janet two days after she gets out of the hospital. The only reason he holds his tongue that long is because he wants to give her time to get acclimated to her new normal. In truth, his blood's been boiling ever since he walked into George Washington University Hospital and saw her in that bed. The bruises on her face from hitting the pavement were what did it to him; Jack Ford may as well have punched her.

That's what this feels like to him—a domestic violence situation. Her father has been the direct cause of three different traumas in her life. In his line of work, they'd call that a serial offender and insist on getting him off the streets. Instead, he knows from his sources that Jack is already on a new case for the DEA while his daughter is struggling to get out of bed. Luke waits until he knows Holden isn't around, avoiding another fight with Janet's roommate because he knows he might start one with her.

"We're gonna have a conversation you're not gonna like," he says, rolling up his sleeves at the end of her bed. "It might make you hate me." Pause. "More than you already do."

"I don't hate you. I hate several things about you."

"Whatever." Luke snorts. "You need to stay the fuck away from your father. This is like a goddamn car wreck, Janet—every time you get anywhere near him, he hurts you. What happened to Adam having him arrested?"

She sighs. "I thought I could make peace with him."

"You can't make peace with a criminal narcissist."

"Not for him, for me." Janet clenches her jaw slightly as she pushes herself up on the bed before letting out a slow breath. She still can't quite take a deep one without chest pains. "I've been triggered by him since I was a teenager. I was in a great place, and I thought... I thought I could beat this and get the fear out of my head. For good."

Luke exhales. "That explains why you wanted to do it alone," he says, and watches her nod.

They've had this discussion before. She lives with a deep-seated fear of either becoming her father or his felonious reputation ruining her career. It's why Janet's integrity means so much to her and why she has to be perfect. She doesn't want any mistakes or any risks that will bring her too close to Jack's side of the line. As long as he's alive and in D.C. he will haunt her, which is why Luke has thought more than once about getting someone to have him killed.

"He is going to get you murdered," he tells Janet, slowly to emphasize every word. "He threatened your mental health and now your physical health. You could have been paralyzed or dead."

"I know that."

"Then you need to stay away from him."

Janet glances up at Luke knowing he's not saying anything she hasn't already tried. Christie had wanted her to accept her parents, so avoiding her father would mean never completing that last step of her recovery. But being hospitalized had to count as extenuating circumstances. And she didn't know if she had the emotional strength to try again; all the confidence she'd gained in the last few months from things like her promotion and her visit to Holden's parents had gone away when she woke up in the hospital. Now she's fighting just to not hate herself again.

"What do you want me to do?" she asks.

"We'll file for a TRO." Luke shakes his head. "If I can get him arrested, I will."

"Can you even represent me as a U.S. Attorney?"

"I don't care." He really doesn't. Luke cares about her too much and he's too arrogant to let any other lawyer handle her case. Maybe Kevin if there was no other choice but he doesn't want to risk anyone else fucking it up. He knows Bryan wouldn't stand in his way either.

Luke won't admit it because he's also too arrogant to give Holden credit, but he's glad that she's not living alone now. As much as he wants to punch the other man out he knows Holden won't let Jack or any of his associates or enemies get to Janet. Which is a very good thing since she can't defend herself.

"I'll get you the paperwork," he continues. "You focus on getting better and let us get revenge."

He absolutely means that word.

Luke sits back down on the bed and sees the sadness on Janet's face. He's angry; she's just trying to keep her head above water. Despite all of the drama in their relationship, there's no one he cares about more. "What are you worried about?" he asks quietly.

"That I'm not going to be okay." Janet can admit it easily. "That I won't get back to where I used to be and Holden will leave me."

"If he gives up on you, he's an idiot." Luke can't promise her that she'll be anywhere near her former self physically or emotionally. It's too early to tell. And it stings to hear her talking about someone else. But he says the only thing he can. "I'll always be here for you, Janet," he reassures her. "I know we're not together anymore, but this time you won't feel alone."

He hopes she believes him.