Sara Sidle leaned on the reception desk in the police department as she discussed the case she was currently on with Nick Stokes. It was all but over, and Sara was waiting for Captain Brass to bring the suspect in for questioning. It was already blazing hot outside, and every time the door opened they were blasted by the heat. The reception area was humming quietly with different conversations. Suddenly the room became silent. Following Nick's eyes, Sara turned around to see a teenage girl standing in the doorway.
The first thing Sara noticed about the girl was the bruising on her cheek. As her eyes traveled down Sara noted bleeding scratches on the girl's arms. Finally Sara's eyes came to rest on her hands, which were covered in blood. The blue shirt the girl was wearing was rumpled, and her knee length white skirt was covered in blood spatter. She never said a word, but her blue eyes were round in fear. She stood by the door and waited for someone to help her.
Sara was the first one to move. It seemed as though everyone was frozen in time except her. Taking the girl's arm gingerly, Sara led her to the CSI part of the building and the more private waiting area. She sat the girl in a chair and waited for her to talk. The girl didn't say anything, but ducked her head and let her waist length brown hair cover her face. Sara noted bruising on the girl's thighs where the skirt rode up. She decided she should get the girl to talk, since it looked like she had been assaulted.
"Honey, what happened?" asked Sara as she knelt in front of the girl. When she didn't receive a reply she followed the girl's eyes and saw Nick standing nervously next to the door.
"Sara, I'm going to go find Catherine. She's better with kids than we are, and maybe she can get her to talk." With that Nick left the room.
Deciding to try another tactic, Sara placed her hand on the girl's knee, careful to avoid the bruises that were already forming.
"Sweetheart, if you could tell me your name we could help you a lot faster."
Sara hadn't expected her ploy to work, so she was surprised when she heard a soft "Trina Wales."
"Ok Trina, my name is Sara. Do you wanna tell me what happened to you? You don't have to right now; you can wait, or talk to Catherine when she comes. She has a daughter close to your age, Lindsey. She might understand better."
It was then that Nick came back with Catherine and Grissom. Trina stiffened and grabbed Sara's hand as they gathered around her. Surprised at the gesture, Sara sat next to the girl and put her arm protectively around her.
"Hi, I'm Catherine Willows. I'm a crime scene investigator. If you'll tell me what your name is and what happened to you we can help you."
"I already know her name, Catherine. It's Trina Wales."
"How did you find that out?" questioned Nick.
"She told me."
"That is why she looks so familiar" exclaimed Catherine.
"What?"
"Haven't you seen those commercials for Michael Wales, Attorney at Law? I think Trina was in one a couple of years ago. I'll never forget it. After seeing her hair Lindsey begged me for weeks to let her grow her hair that long."
"Trina, is Michael Wales your father?" asked Sara. At the girl's nod Grissom took over.
"Catherine, you take Trina to the hospital for a SARS test. It looks as though she'll come back positive. Sara, you and Nick swab her hands and scratches before she leaves. I'll call Brass and make a trip to the Wales home. I wonder if they know where their daughter is."
"Come on Sweetie" said Catherine as she knelt in front of the girl, "You and I have to make a quick trip to the hospital."
"No!" cried Trina.
"I promise it won't hurt at all. We have to go. This is a way for us to find out who did this to you."
"I want Sara to take me. Please."
"All right Sara, you take Trina to the hospital," said Grissom, "Catherine you quickly swab her hand and give it to DNA. Then you and Nick can keep working on that breaking and entering case."
Catherine and Nick swabbed Trina's cheek for DNA. Then they got samples of the blood on her hands and scratches, as well as skin tissue from under her fingernails. When they were done Sara took Trina to the washroom and helped her clean up as best as she could. Then Sara took Trina to the hospital.
Sara couldn't help but remember Brenda Collins as she waited with Trina at the hospital. That had been the last time she had done this. Trina was like Brenda in so many ways, except that she was older. She had the same large eyes and the same vulnerability. Sara wondered what had happened to Trina.
Trina sat silently in the chair beside Sara. She unconsciously played with the ring on her right hand ring finger, which appeared to be a sapphire. Sara noticed that there appeared to be skin caught in the ring's band.
"That's a pretty ring. Can I see it?"
Trina nodded and handed Sara the ring, and Sara dropped it in an evidence bag. Then she took the ring off of her own right hand and handed it to Trina.
"You can wear this until I give your ring back to you."
Trina smiled as she put the ring on her middle finger. "Did your Daddy give you this ring?" she surprised Sara by asking.
"No," Sara replied with a sad smile, "my father is dead."
"So is mine" Trina whispered.
Before Sara could comment on what Trina had said her cell phone rang.
"Sidle"
"Sara, we're at the Wales home. You'll never believe what we found."
"A dead body?"
"How did you know?"
"Nicky, when will you stop doubting me?"
"Well anyway, there were two dead bodies. Mr. and Mrs. Wales are both dead. We've found evidence that Trina was here, but we're not sure if she saw what happened. Could you find out if she knows?"
"She knows."
"Is she all right? Things are pretty brutal here. Mrs. Wales was strangled and Mr. Wales was tied up and shot in the stomach. If Trina saw that happen, then no wonder she's not talking."
Sara looked at where Trina sat across the waiting room. She was staring blankly at the wall in front of her.
"She's still in shock. It won't be too long before it hits her, though. Teenage girls never handle this kind of thing well. Soon we'll know to what extent she was harmed, and how better to help her."
Sara wasn't allowed to stay with Trina while she was being tested, but she stood right outside of the curtained area. As the nurse passed Sara on her way out, she paused.
"She'll be right out after she's dressed. And she has suffered severe sexual abuse. She was raped multiple times within a short time period. She will need appropriate counseling for that. I will get her SARS kit to you as soon as possible. I found and extracted semen from her vaginal tract. I took several swabs in case she was raped by different men each time. The bruising on her thighs will disappear with time. I don't know yet if this has affected her ability to bear children. Any other information will be in her SARS kit. She'll need to be brought back in a week so that we can monitor her progress."
The ride back to the law enforcement headquarters was silent. Sara gave Trina some coveralls to wear while she took her clothing to be processed. The coveralls were much too big and made Trina look as fragile as a porcelain doll. Sara situated Trina in the break room before beginning to process the evidence.
While Sara cut squares of blood from the clothing to be sent to the lab, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen to Trina. Soon a social worker would come to take Trina away, and she would probably end up in a relative's custody. What if Trina had no relatives? Then she would end up like Sara, shuffled from one foster home to another that was even more horrible. Sara felt a tear slip down her cheek as she thought of the teenager ending up like she had. She wouldn't let that happen to Trina. But perhaps she was worrying for nothing. A person like Trina would have plenty of relatives waiting to swoop down on her and love her. Of course she would.
Sara hurried back to the break room as soon as she was done to check on Trina. She found Trina surrounded by three adults and looking terrified. Catherine was squatting in front of her, trying to reason, Gil was standing back with his arms crossed and a quizzical look on his face, and a professional looking black woman in a business suit was trying hard to hold back her frustration.
The second she saw Sara, Trina scurried over to her and looked up pleadingly.
"Please don't make me go with her, Sara. I don't want to. I want to stay with you. Don't make me leave."
Sara took the girl's hand and turned to face the adults.
"I'm Ms Young, the caseworker assigned to Trina. Since she has no close relatives willing to take her, I am in charge of Trina until we find a suitable foster family for her."
"Where will you be taking her?" questioned Sara.
"For the time being she will stay in the girls' home."
At Trina's whimper, Catherine offered to take Trina to the bathroom to change into some of the clothes they had brought from her home. Once they were alone, Sara began.
"You're going to take Trina to the girls' home indefinitely?"
"Yes."
"Trina has just suffered through rape and the death of her parents. She needs someone to care for her and comfort her. The last thing she needs is to go to a place where all of the girls will either hate her or ignore her."
"We will look for a suitable foster family for her. She won't be in the girls' home for long."
"You can't just shove Trina into the system. She'll never survive."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"I'll take her."
"Sara, do you know what you're saying?" asked Grissom.
"Grissom," said Sara, turning to face him, "I can't let the same thing happen to Trina that happened to me. Even if they find a foster home for her immediately, it won't be what she needs. In foster homes you aren't part of the family; you're an outsider that they're waiting to get rid of. I know because I went through it. Trina needs me, and I am more than capable of taking care of her. She's not a baby who needs constant care. She's a teenager who needs someone to love her and teach her how to live again."
"And you think that you can be that someone?"
"I know that I can. I already love her, and I'm willing to do anything to help her."
"Well, then," said Ms. Young, "I guess that we can give you a chance. It will be better for Trina to be with you than in the girls' home. Of course, I'll have to do a background check on you before Trina can stay with you. And if you decide to adopt Trina you'll have to go through the process of interviews and other legalities."
"Great! How soon can you do the background check?"
"As soon as I can meet with someone who has adequate knowledge of your background."
"I can do it," said Grissom, "I'm her supervisor. If you'll come to my office we can do this now."
It seemed like an eternity before Grissom ushered Ms Young back into the break room. Once there Ms Young looked at Sara seriously.
"Dr. Grissom told me about you almost having a DUI. That is very serious. However, he also told me that you went through proper counseling and haven't had problems since then. All in all, I suppose that it would be fine for you to take Trina for the time being."
"I want to adopt her."
"Then you'll have to talk to your lawyer and have your lawyer talk to me. Together we can start the process. It is a somewhat lengthy process, but if everything goes well you should be Trina's adopted parent by the beginning of June."
"But it's the beginning of April now! It will take two whole months?"
"Yes, and that's if everything goes well. Right now I need you to sign these papers so that I can release Trina to you. I already have one of my men down at your apartment to check it out. He said that it was rather small."
"Yes, it is. Naturally, if the adoption goes as planned, I'll purchase a new home that will suitably accommodate both of us." Sara quickly signed the papers that would allow her to take Trina home with her. Then she smiled up at Grissom.
"Grissom, I'm going to need a couple of days off."
"Sara Sidle, I never thought that I would hear you say those words."
"See, Trina is changing me already."
When Trina re-entered the break room she headed straight to Sara.
"So? What are they going to do with me?"
"You're going to stay with me."
"For how long?"
"For forever, if you'd like."
"Really?" said Trina as she gave Sara a big hug. Sara looked at Grissom over Trina's head and smiled. It was the beginning of a new life for her.