The team was in the murder room diligently tacking pictures of the newest crime scene on the white-board and scribbling down the pertinent fact that corresponded. A typical face to the room at this hour would have been Rusty coming in from school with the most recent math packets and English assignments. However, it was not Rusty who Lt. Provenza saw walking into their offices, far from it. The person entering the room was a young woman. She was tall with a graceful walk, one that did not require high hells to assert her elegant grace or the fact that she was actually a girl. Her full brown hair fell past her shoulders and contrasted with her green eyes. Provenza wasn't sure what to think of this stranger considering that they had not invited any witnesses of the crime to come give statements and he felt comfortable confirming that this young woman had nothing to do with any form of law enforcement considering she was dressed in skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and blue leather flats with a brown leather messenger bag hanging unimportantly from her body.
As the young woman looked around for whatever or whomever she came into the to room to get or see Lt. Provenza commanded Sanchez to see what it was the woman wanted by grumpily giving him a hand signal that meant get up and do your job so that I don't have to.
Sanchez jumped up and started walking towards the young woman, "May I help you?" he asked in a husky deep voice.
Just then Sharon, noticing the new addition to her offices, excited her captain's office and with a happy slightly concerned look she embraced the girl in a protective welcoming hug.
"Katie, sweetie what are you doing here?"
Sharon knew something was wrong with the familiar figure who stood before her. The girl had lost a noticeable amount of weight, Sharon guessed from constant running. Furthermore, the usually very communicative young woman had not called her in over a week.
The girl shyly pulled away from the older woman simply saying that she had a few days off and thought she would stop by for a visit.
Sharon was immediately skeptical of the vague answer she had received but decided not to push the subject. Instead she turned her attention to introducing the still stranger to her squad.
"Everyone, this my daughter, Catherine."
Catherine waved a small dutiful response with a half smile and one of her arms encompassing nearly all of her small body.
The team responded with smiles here and there and few waves hello from their prospective desks. Their newest case was consuming most of their time and as curios as they were to learn more about one of their captain's children and possible details into the elusive captain's personal life they really did not have the time just then. So as the team plowed back into their research Sharon led her daughter into her office so they could talk privately.
Catherin Marie Raydor was twenty-one and headed into her senior year of college at University of California, Berkeley. She was majoring in marketing with a minor in psychology. During her summer before senior year she was completing her required internship in order to receive her degree. She was lucky to be accepted on an intern base level to the marketing team of a Northern California publishing company. She was an intern so her opinion meant very little and she spent the better part of the workday fetching coffee or preparing the conference rom for the next meeting. But she was still able to sit in on a few meetings and absorb the intricacies of marketing a potential New York Times bestseller and she loved every minute of it.
At least three days a week on the drive home from work to her rented room in a house of boarders who were mostly meandering, hippie, nomads exploring the northern California cliffs Katie would excitedly call her mom and gush about how great the internship was going and how she hoped they would offer her a full time position one she graduated.
Catherine was bubbly and sweet. She could talk to almost everyone but she was also rather shy. When she was younger her shyness was significantly worse. Sharon used to take her hand and walk with her everywhere from the grocery store to school, calming her fearful daughter by the promise that she would not let go of her hand until Katie was ready. It took until she was twelve for Katie to walk into school on her own.
Sharon was always incredibly patient with her daughters shyness and as Katie grow older she grew exceedingly more confident. By the time she was in college she became involved in several campus groups and although a trace amount of shyness still prevailed Catherine was a confident albeit quiet and reserved young woman. She had a small core group of friends who all loved each other and never ceased communicating even in the long summer months when college kids so easily lose touch. Catherine took pride in the relationships she developed with other people. Granted she didn't have a lot of friends, but she really didn't want a lot of friends. So when she met David her sophomore year and they easily hit it off, Catherine was content to foster this one relationship with a genuinely nice guy whom she got along with. Catherine would rather build strong relationships with a few people rather than have meaningless relationships with her entire graduating class. This is why she nurtured her relationship with David for two years now, and she was contentedly happy with it.
When Sharon saw her youngest child standing in the murder room she knew something was wrong. Katie had said several times over the summer that she was too busy with work to come home and visit. She felt bad, but her internship was going so well she didn't want to risk anything with it. Sharon had not minded at all. She took pride in her successful children but she also knew her daughter very well and Katie was the kind of person to push through any issues she was having until she was physically and mentally too exhausted to push any further.
Those were the times when the troubles and issues all became too much to process and think about. During all these times all that Katie could do was fall apart, let everything out, and start over with a fresh mind.
It had happened so many times before. Sharon vividly remembered her fragile nine-year-old daughter walking to the car form school after a father-daughter day. Katie had not told her mom about the school event because Katie didn't want to hurt her feelings. Instead, she didn't face the issue until she saw all the dads walking to the class with their little girls by their sides. Katie looked on in horror as her peers curled onto their dad's laps and painted a picture together while she sat at her empty desk suppressing her overwhelmingly dejected feelings. Of course this was on the cusps of one of Jack's whirlwinds visits through LA and by the time Katie saw her mom in the carpool lane she fell apart, sitting on the curb crying her eyes out. Sharon immediately picked her shaking, hurt baby up off the street and sat in the back seat of her police issued vehicle stoking her daughters head and back until she calmed down and they could go home.
Sharon could tell be looking at her daughter that this was one of those times. She looked at her daughter standing in her office taking in every minute detail from the way Katie pushed her hands deep into the small front pockets of her jeans to the way she evasively tried to avoid her mothers gentle, concerned stair.
"Honey, what happened?" Sharon asked gently, while tucking a piece of her daughter's thick hair behind her ear.
Tears immediately started brimming in Katie's eyes and rather than fall into her mother for comfort she became panic stricken and in a weak, scared voice she barely cracked out
"Not here. I can't fall apart in front of everyone."
Sharon understood her daughter's need for privacy. She gently stroked her daughters face wiping away the few tears that had escaped. Sharon nodded that she understood then she took her house keys from her desk and placed them in Katie's' hand. Sharon took her daughters shoulders steading her and told her to drive home, get comfy, and they could talk when she got there.
Catherine nodded with a weak response before giving her mother a deep hug and heading quickly to the police station elevators so that the squad would not see too much of her tear streaked face.