He could tell she was as deeply affected by the decorum of the house.  No doubt she had expected it to be drab - that of a man who no longer had a wife, but instead the rooms were decorated with love and care...just as if Ana were still alive.  It was how he kept her...the house practically a shrine to the one he had lost to such violent and unnecessary tragedy.  Yet, it could not be helped.  Vincent would not have changed a single room in the house.  They represented the future he was to have with Ana - despite them being done without her there anymore.  To ask him to do otherwise would have practically destroyed him...just as it had nearly destroyed him to hold her lifeless mangled body when he found her.  This was her house as much as it was his own, and that was the way it had been since her death...even though this not where she had perished.  Indeed, this particular house he had picked, because she had eyed it for several months after they had begun talking about expanding their family.<br/><br/>The pain of never having any children with her was something he could never seem to be rid of.  She had wanted a family...wanted children even as much as he had, but that had all been ripped away from them.  Oh, how he wanted to make Rafe pay for what he had done to her...to them...to their future, but...he had Sofie there with him, and she needed his attention.<br/><br/>"No, you should not put your life on hold.  I would just ask that you make sure you take every precaution.  If you must go to meetings - at the very least take Sheba, but I assure you either me or my partner will accompany you.  It...it will not be quite normal...I know that.  Having us underfoot will feel a bit invasive," Vincent told her...he had been taught to always put the victim at ease when possible.  Some had a severe dislike for being locked up even for their own protection, and balked at the idea of having guardians.  Most of the time such things came from them having illegal dealings they had no desire for the police to find out about.  Sometimes it came from simply wanting to have as much of their normal life remain normal.  "Yet, you must return here for safety.  Your home has been compromised, and your routine as well.  To be honest, we must keep your routine fairly much the same.  To do otherwise would make it harder for us to catch Rafe."<br/><br/>All which he had told her was true, but it did not make it any easier to explain.  Especially with the way Ana seemed to be right there with them in the way the room was decorated, and the visage of her in their wedding photo.  Still, it was his duty to protect her, and the irony of this was not lost on him even with the grief so close.  It had been his duty to protect Ana, and now it was his duty to protect her sister...the very sister who had married a dangerous man that had taken Ana away from him.  Vince shook it away for the moment.<br/><br/>*Focus on Sofie...have to focus on her, or she's dead*<br/><br/>This thought galvanized Vince to act, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.  "I need you to....to do something for me," he told her as steadily as he could.  Though he had said such words to every victim or witness he had brought here - saying these words to her was deeper and harder by far.  "I need...I need you to think of this as your home.  This is important.  It will make it...easier for you to carry on with your life.  I know that will not be easy for you...especially for you, but you must try in order to preserve your peace of mind."<br/><br/>What he was asking of her was no small thing.  Yet, to do otherwise was to make her feel a great deal less welcome.  She had to understand that she was safe here...no matter what it cost him personally to do so.  There was, of course, the cost to herself as well with her sister's presence in every room, but that only made it all the more important to tell her.  If he did not...she might change her routine too much, or feel too trapped to stay home when she needed to...putting her at greater risk.  That was unacceptable.<br/><br/>Silently, somewhere inside himself, Vincent made a vow that he would not let something happen to Sofie...that he would not fail her as he had failed Ana...no matter what his personal thoughts about her were, and this promise shone brightly and fiercely in his eyes.