Hey guys! This story is going to be a pretty interesting one I think, it's different than any other ones i've written. Hope you enjoy!

I remember the day so clearly, as if it were yesterday. We had been working a case for a week, a very long week. A girl who had been reported missing 5 years before had been seen on a security camera in a store. She was clearly disoriented and the clerk who helped her check out said there was noticeable bruises, and blood. This was a very hard case for many reasons. First of all, she had no family at all. Both of her parents were only children, whose parents died before she was born. She hadn't been seen in 5 years, and then suddenly turned up on a camera, which doesn't happen often for runaways or missing people in general.

Elliot and I had been having arguments throughout for many reasons. The main one was the fact that I thought I was pregnant. We'd been very careful, but one night we got too drunk and next thing we knew it was morning, and there was no condom or wrapper to be seen. The case was also making us argue, there were many sides to the case considering it's complexities. He thought she was a runaway, and I thought she was a hostage. She seemed to be a very sweet girl from anybody who'd met her. It just didn't make sense.

So as we were sitting there looking over our files one last time, we decided to broaden our search. We talked to people who would have known her in school, teachers, neighbors down the street. Everyone. But still nothing new. Then we got a phonecall. I remember hearing that phone ring and feeling something was different. It was her. "Hello? I need help" "Anna?" "yes" "ok, first of all are you in any immediate danger" "no, he's not at home right now" "ok, anna do you know where home is?" "no" "ok, can you describe it to me?" "Um, yeah. It's got a blue car outside, suv size. The house is brown, with a red door. I know it's in a busy neighborhood because I can hear a lot of people outside." "okay, good anna. Now who is 'he'?" "John. he is the one who brought me here and I need help. He said that since I was on the news he's going to punish me, and I think he's going to kill me" "okay Anna, we have your location we're on our way." "okay" "do you want me to stay on the line?" "yes please" Throughout the entire conversation Anna was crying. I didn't blame her, with what was happening. I felt some connection with this girl, maybe because she was so young. Only 16.

As we pulled up in the squad car I told Anna that we were outside. The pressure I was feeling was building up in my chest. "Okay" she said. "Now I'm going to put down the phone, I need to hold my gun" "ok" We walked in, everybody's weapons drawn. After we declared the house clear except for the basement, I opened the latched door and walked down. "Anna?" she yelled "I'm over here" I run over and see her sitting on a bed, her arms roped to the base. I untie her and she falls into my open arms. It's a feeling i've never felt before. Sure, i've had many victims cry on me before, or hug me. But this was different. She was so open about needing that affection. After a moment she pulled away, still crying. "I'm really sorry. I'm sure that was no appropriate to do, I just.. I" "hey" I cut her off. "You don't need to apologize about anything, it was appropriate and I understand what you're going through. Now let's get you out of here, okay?" "I had never talked to a victim this way before, It was as if I knew her, well. We walked out of the house and she got in the other side of the car. I sat down next to her and we pulled away. "I'm going to have to go into foster care aren't I?" Her words came abrubtly to me. "Well, I don't know. We are going to see what happens." I lied, I knew she was going to end up going into foster care, I mean she didn't have anybody that could take her. Once we got to the station the rest of the squad went out looking for her captor, while
I talked to her and helped her clean up. I handed her the clean t-shirt and a bottle of water. "Thanks" she said, smiling at me. "Of course honey" Honey? Since when do I say that to a victim, much less anybody? I don't know what's going on with me today but something about this girl seems to bring out a maternal side to me. She walks over and sits down on the couch. "Do you need some food? I could go out and get you something" She smiled at me. "No thanks, I couldn't eat right now if I wanted to." I nod, knowing the feeling. It's a moment of awkward silence, but at the same time i'm learning more and more about her. She looks over at me, and I see a tear trickle down her cheek. "Is there somebody here I can talk to? I just really need to talk to somebody" I smile at her. "You can talk to me" "well I don't want to bother you if it's not your job" I look at her, "listen. After what you've just gone through you don't need to worry about bothering anybody. Not to mention you aren't going to bother me."

After a talk about what happened, she falls silent again. I know now why she was having such a hard time talking about it. The things that he did to her go beyond anything i've ever seen. She lifted her shirt up and showed me the cigarette burns on her back and stomach. She was covered. Amongst the cuts and all the scars.