Disclaimer: The characters of Law and Order SVU are property of Dick Wolf and NBC.

Siblings

Chapter One

"I'm sure things will be a little easier next week," Brett said as he walked out of Connolly's Bar with his friend Sara.

"I just feel like there's no way I'm ever going to get through to these kids. Studying French requires diligence; all these kids care about is drugs and gangs and who knows what else," Sara said as Brett placed his hand on her back and they continued walking down the street. The two friends had just started teaching at one of New York City's toughest high schools. Both were Yale graduates and felt like they were in way over their heads.

"If anyone can get through to them, it's you," he said smiling at the redhead. Brett had always cared about Sara and after seeing her teach the last couple days, he couldn't help but think he was falling in love with her. Sara was incredibly beautiful; she had long auburn hair, and the cutest freckles dotted her entire body. Brett couldn't help but stare. Not only was she beautiful, but Sara was also the smartest and most determined woman he had ever met. They walked the rest of the way in silence until the pair got to Brett's apartment.

"You want me to walk you across to your building?"

"I'm a big girl Brett; but thanks. I'll see you on Monday." Sara smiled and started to head across the abandoned city street.

"See ya," he mumbled as he stepped into his own building.

Sara crossed the street and walked up to the tall brick building she had recently moved into. It certainly wasn't anything fancy. Being an inner city teacher she really couldn't afford much. Even when her parents and older sister offered to help her pay for a nicer place, she refused. She was finally on her own and was confident that she had chosen a reasonably safe place, in a good neighborhood. As she opened the door she felt the presence of someone behind her. Turning around she saw a man with a briefcase, and kindly held the door open for him.

"Thanks," he said in a gruff voice.

The two got on the elevator and Sara felt a little nervous when he didn't push the button for a different floor other than her own. But she hadn't been living in the building long and she certainly hadn't met everyone on her floor. They stepped out of the elevator and Sara breathed a sigh of relief as the man turned in the opposite direction. Still, she paced quickly to her own apartment and swiftly unlocked the door. Then suddenly as she was removing her keys, she felt two rough hands on her back as someone pushed her hard into her own living room. She screamed in surprise and immediately fell down to her knees. She had no time to process her thoughts as her attacker kicked her in the shoulder and she fell all the way to the ground with a thud. Feeling his presence over top of her, Sara quickly got back up on her feet and ran to the other side of the room. He was right behind her though. She swung her right fist and winced as her knuckles made contact with the man's jaw. For a second her attacker seemed to stumble backwards, but just as quickly he grabbed the arm that had assaulted him and used it to pin Sara to the wall. Blinded by the darkness of her apartment, Sara could hardly see the man's face as he leaned in towards her.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be," he whispered in her ear as Sara let out a furious cry for help. The man had his left knee between her thighs, making it impossible for her to move. Sara tried to cry out louder and louder but her voice was starting to crack. With his free hand, the attacker pulled out a knife from the pocket of his jacket. He placed it against her throat and Sara immediately went silent with fear.

"Scream again bitch; I dare you."

"Please don't hurt me," she managed to croak out.

The man grabbed her by her waist and with his knife still against her throat, led her down the hallway of her apartment into her small bedroom. With more force than before, he threw her onto the bed and pushed himself against her. As he was unbuckling his pants, Sara felt a tear trickle down her face.

"Please no…anything but this…please stop…," she pleaded. The man removed the knife from her throat and used it to slice across her stomach, leaving a thin red line of blood across her soft white blouse. Sara whimpered and felt her whole body tense even more. He used the knife to cut off her pants and underwear. Then he placed the knife against her throat once more and forced himself upon her. By this time, Sara was trembling and sobbing uncontrollably. Her mind went completely blank. She could no longer feel; all she heard was the distant sound of the city traffic and the way too close panting of the man on top of her. She thought he would never stop. Seconds turned into hours and Sara found herself wishing he would just plunge the knife into her heart. Instead, as the man finished, he placed the knife back into his jacket pocket. He leaned in close to her and said, "To bad your sister is such a bitch in the courtroom, or I bet she'd be good in bed too."

With this Sara lashed out again at the man on top of her, this time with no fear, only pure rage behind her punches and kicks. The fight turned into a blur. At one point, he grabbed her head and bashed it into the headboard of her bed. They quickly tumbled onto the floor and Sara managed to kick the man hard in the groin. As she mustered up all her strength to get up off the floor, she saw a fist coming towards her face out of the corner of her eye. Then everything went black.