Disclaimer: I own no one apart from Adia
I promise I'll try to make this a nice long Mac/Stella/OC fic with DL and all the rest of the gang.
Chapter One: Adia
It was bitterly cold which wasn't unusual for the overcast time of year in November. Most days it was the confines of the church that Adia found herself taking refuge…she couldn't go home knowing what might be waiting for her.
Her life hadn't always been an array of disappointment. She tried to remember this but still woke up most mornings in distress at the fact that those memories were slowly starting to disappear. She'd always wanted to run but knew she couldn't it was selfish…although it felt as if she had lost everything it wasn't quite true, she still had her father, even if she truly didn't know him anymore.
Adia knew her father hadn't always been the way he was. Before the untimely death of her mother life had been good for her and her family. Until her mother had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time when Adia was 10 years old. Now 18, she was old enough to notice her father had fallen away from what the average father should be.
Her mother had left Adia with her father and younger brother Charlie. Charlie was only 2 months old when her mother died, killed instantly when she collided with a drunk driver pulling stunts on the highway. Her father didn't take it very well, it wasn't as if anyone was expecting him to but Adia at the age of 10 had to look after her baby brother and her father. She grew up pretty fast after that.
Alcohol became her father's best friend and he was fired from being a lawyer. When the money started to dry up, he got a job at a bar and worked late. The child minder would pick Charlie up before she went to school and drop him back home after she'd been back about an hour. she'd feed him, dress him, bath him and put him to bed.
When the morning came and her father woke up, he'd remember none of it and be the caring father he used to be for a while. He'd blame it all on a man called William, and it wasn't his fault. As a young child Adia assumed that William was a friend of her fathers but she later discovered that it was something much more sinister. William was her father, she didn't understand how or why that's just how it was and nothing was ever done about it. When William came out, it was when her nightmares began.
This was routine and became a way of life until things got much worse.
One fateful night her father returned in his drunken stupor and woke Charlie up in his rage. Adia rushed to the baby's and bounced him, sang his a lullaby offered him formula milk but he wouldn't stop crying. Her father started yelling saying if Charlie didn't shut up he would come in and kill them both. So she held him, held him tight to protect him from the wrath William. When he was still and sleeping, she placed him back in the crib and went to sleep.
Adia next woke to the sound of her father's screaming. William was resting for now. There were strange people in the house; all in Charlie's room but Charlie wasn't there. Her father told her through teary eyes that Charlie had gone to be with mommy in heaven and it was just going to be him and her from now on. She'd never thought of anything more terrified.
The doctor's said that Charlie had passes away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and there was nothing that could be done. The nagging voice inside Adia screeched to her that Charlie was just too still went she protected him and placed him back into his crib.
Her father remained her father for several days after that and William came and went. Adia never told a soul what she really thought had happened that night, nor about her father's additional personality. No one would believe her she thought, she thought it so often she came to believe it so no one ever found out.
Through the years Adia had attempted to remain perfectly normal and had managed surprisingly well, she'd always been good at hiding things. To get away from it all she turned to the ambience of music…singing in particular. She joined the school choir and the church choir too. Now an able soprano she focused her mind entirely on the career ahead of her and hoped her father would forget her with his problems.
"Are you with us, Adia?" Simon asked her. The musical director had completely brought her back into the material world which she hadn't realised she'd even wondered from.
"Yes, sorry…I was miles away" she replies. No matter how hard she tries to move on from what happened it never seemed to stray far from her subconsciousness. The choir sang mellow Gregorian chants for about another hour before it was time for them all to depart into the depths of New York City.
"Are you sure you're alright, Adia, you don't look too well, how's your father?" Simon collars her at the end and she can't get away until she answers him.
"I'm ok, it's just, my father went off somewhere and hasn't been back for a few days" She admits, the scenario is very common but it worries her every time still. Although he has brought nothing but burden to her life he's the only family she has left now.
"Again? Have you called the police?" he asks, she shakes her head.
"It's quite normal, he'll come back when he's hungry" Adia says trying to lighten the mood. More like when he's in trouble she thinks to herself but keeps her true opinions to herself.
Simon lets her go and tells her he'll see her next week. The church isn't very far from her apartment and is at home with her feet up within 15 minutes; she flicks through the news and gasps at the latest headline.
"Another Mother and Child have been found dead this evening, this case is the fourth of its kind in 6 months and NYPD are looking for a serial killer. The Chief of police strongly urges all young mothers to not go anywhere unattended" Adia feels a nagging in the back of her mind again.
6 months. Her father has been missing 4 times in the last 6 months. Surely William wouldn't kill anyone; she knew her father wouldn't allow it. Would he? Somehow she felt that her secret wasn't going to stay secret for much longer.
CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY
"Son of a bitch!" Stella yelled taking one step into the darkened alley and stepping right back out again when she sees the latest victims before her. Mac gets up and follows suit.
"You've got to stay focused, Stella. If you can't, I'm going to have to remove you from the case and I don't want to do that. I need you on this one" Mac says gripping her by the shoulders. He hates seeing her like this and wants nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her and tell her everything is going to be alright. But at this moment in time, he can't promise her that.
"I know, I'm sorry, it's just this…it's so unfair!" Stella says, wiping escaped tears from her eyes. Mac cups her cheek in his hand and his thumb slowly caresses her soft skin. Its little gestures like this give her the will to carry on. Her tears subside and he smiles at her.
"Ok?" he asks. She nods.
They try to assess the scene in as much detail as possible but neither wants to stay there any longer than needed. It's a horrible sight which they've seen three times before.
Back at the lab Danny pokes his head around Mac's office door.
"Danny! Please say you've got something" Mac asks. Danny grins.
"I've never been one to disappoint, Mac. I got a suspect" he says, sounding very pleased with himself.
"Really?" Mac jumps out of his seat. Stella enters when she notices the movement in her boss's office.
"What's going on?" she asks trying to focus at the CCTV footage capturing the face of a man.
"His name is Thomas James. I ran his file…"
"He's on the system?" Mac asks wondering why it has taken this long to find this vital evidence.
"Yes, he's on record because CSI was called to his home 8 years ago when his baby died, as it happens the baby died from SIDS but we took his prints to eliminate him from the scene" Danny says breathlessly.
"Call Flack" Mac says. Danny is one step ahead of him.
"He's on his way to the Thomas James residence as we speak" Danny says. Mac, like everyone else, sighs in relief…finally things are moving on.
"I'll go over there" Mac says grabbing his coat.
"I'll come too" Stella says wanting to be with him in case he flips his lid…she knows what he'll be like.
CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY
Abrupt banging on the door interrupts Adia from her sweet playing of "Clair de lune" by Debussy on her baby grand piano. Expecting it to be the return of her father she answers it immediately. The visitors are not what she was expecting at all. They burst in, about a dozen police officers armed and protected with bullet proof vests.
"NYPD!" Flack yells rushing into the apartment. Adia's fears are confirmed. Even though she had nothing to do with it she can't help but feel responsible for her father's actions.
"Excuse me!" Adia yells at the top of her voice. They all turn around to stare at her. Mac and Stella enter at the precise moment silence falls.
"This is the residence of Thomas James?" Mac asks. Adia nods.
"Yes, I'm his daughter, Adia" she says terrified at the sight of guns being pointed at her. Stella rushes to her aid, using a much calmer voice than the others.
"Adia, do you know where your father is?" she asks her. Adia looks around at the faces glaring at her. They scare her into telling the truth.
"I don't know where he is" Adia says simply. Flack doesn't buy it.
"Do you know why we're here, Adia?" Flack asks her.
"I think so" she says knowing her response is going to do her father's defence no good.
"You do? Why are you protecting him?" Mac says.
"Do you want to be responsibly for the murders of 8 human beings?" he says taking her by the shoulders and shaking her violently.
"Mac! Please!" Stella says, pulling him away from Adia.
"You don't understand. My father's sick" Adia says but Flack takes it completely the wrong way.
"Too right, killing mothers and their babies is a sick thing to do" he says. Adia shakes her head. It was better off keeping things a secret.
"Not like that, I don't know where he is, he's been missing for a few days" Adia says, hot tears forming behind her eyes.
"But it's not what you think, he's not himself. He's had a hard life…it's not my father who has done this, you've got to believe me" Adia attempts but she knows that no one will believe her. The truth is far too ridiculous to believe.
"We have your father's prints on the murder weapon that killed those women and their babies. We've got him on CCTV footage. We know it was your father" Mac says, unable to understand why this girl is not cooperating. Most people do when they know they've been caught out. Adia isn't budging.
"My father wouldn't do this. He didn't do this" Adia continues. Flack sighs.
"If your not going to cooperate with us, we'll take you down to the station" Flack says, it's late and no one has slept for hours.
"Tell us where he is, Adia" Mac says desperately.
"I can't tell you because I don't know!" Adia screams at them.
"Guys, lay off" Stella says stepping in front of Adia who is now quietly sobbing behind her.
"Stella, quit messing around" Flack says irritated. Mac turns to her.
"Stella what's got into you?" Mac asks.
"Mac! What the hell has got into you? We have no evidence that implicates her to the murders yet we're treating her like the suspect" Stella says.
"If she's with holding information she's just as involved" Mac says. Stella shakes her head and looks at Adia.
"Does she look as if she knows where he is? You're scaring her to death! She can't be more than 18, the poor kids terrified. Coming in here screaming and shouting isn't going to help us at all…let me try and speak to her, alone" she says. Mac relaxes, knowing as always that Stella is right.
"Ok. Guys, Stella's gonna talk to her, as soon as we know anything we'll let you know" Mac says. Flack stands down and the other officers file out of the apartment.
"Do we have to go to the station?" Adia sobs like the 10 year old that holds all the horrid memories. Stella puts her arm around the small framed girl.
"I'm sorry, you have to. We have to find your father, he's a dangerous man" Stella says.
"No!" Adia barks, pulling away sharply from Stella.
"My father didn't do it…William did, it was William" Adia says through sobs.
"Who's William?" Stella asks,
"You're never going to believe me" Adia says calming down
"Try me, I'll do my best, I promise" Stella says. Adia points at Mac.
"But he doesn't, he won't believe me. I knew no one would believe me" Mac slowly approaches Adia and takes her hands.
"Adia, I want to protect you, you have to help us…tell us about William, is he a relative, a friend?" Mac asks, his more sensitive side surfacing.
"William is his other personality" Adia begins her story of ten years.
Adia
I do believe I failed you
Adia I know I let you down
Don't
you know I tried so hard
To love you in my way
It's easy let
it go...
Adia I'm empty since you left me
Trying to find a
way to carry on
I search myself and everyone
To see where we
went wrong
'cause there's no one left to finger
There's
no one here to blame
There's no one left to talk to, honey
And
there ain't no one to buy our innocence
'cause we are born
innocent
Believe me adia, we are still innocent
It's easy, we
all falter
Does it matter?
Adia I thought that we could make
it
But I know I can't change the way you feel
I leave you
with your misery
A friend who won't betray
I pull you from
your tower
I take away your pain
And show you all the beauty
you possess
If you'd only let yourself believe that
We are
born innocent
Believe me adia, we are still innocent
It's
easy, we all falter, does it matter?
Believe me adia, we are
still innocent
'cause we are born innocent
Adia we are still
innocent
It's easy, we all falter ... but does it matter?
A/N So what did you guys think? Should I carry it one? I apologise if it seems rushed. I was trying to write the idea down before I forgot it. This fic hasn't been proof read so I'm sorry if it appears disorganised.
I hope you liked it, please leave a comment and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Smacked is one the way because I believe there is not enough of it in this world!