First silent witness fic on this site! :) I love silent witness and I'm always playing with what if's.
I remember watching silent witness as a child, but I don't remember much of Leo's wife and daughters death, I was much too young to be watching at that age anyway, not that it ever stopped me. There may be some details that aren't exact in here relating to the accident, but this is AU anyway, google failed me when I tried to search for more information. There really is a first time for everything!

I hope you enjoy this, if you do, please review. I'm hoping to make a series of one shots at some point based in this universe.

Lots of love x

Returning

After years and years of helpless wondering she's standing outside his office. The blinds are closed and you can hear the rhythmic tapping of fingers on a keyboard. He doesn't know she's coming. Doesn't even know that she is still alive. Why would he even contemplate that she was? As far as he knew she had been killed, sat in that little café with her mother.

She didn't know how it had happened. One minute her and her beautiful mother were sat there sharing small talk. Her mother was drinking a coffee. Milk. No sugar. She'd had a frothy hot chocolate with whipped cream and caramel. Suddenly they had heard a shriek as something tried to break quickly, but the car was travelling to fast. They'd got a window seat. The car was hurtling towards them like an oversized bullet.

Her mother had screamed.

"Cassie! Run!" Terror danced in her eyes as she'd gazed as her daughter, only ten years old. She was too young to die.

Her mother long golden hair had whipped around as her mother turned to face her pushing her backwards. Her soft brown eyes told Cassie all she needed to hear, and so she ran.

She ran to the back of the little shop and rushed behind the long black marble counter. The white door swung open as she ran though it and into the kitchen. She made her way out of the back door and into the little courtyard with its grey flagstones at the back of the café. There she waited.

The sirens were almost on top of her by the time her mother emerged. The thought of police swarming around was enough to send shivers down her spine. She hated the police, even though her father had always said she could trust a police officer. They looked like a predator ready to strike. Ready to kill the prey.

At this thought she turned and ran. Climbing over the pile of bricks and wooden planks at the end of the courtyard she slides through the empty space where a gate once stood. She can hear her mother's footsteps behind her, and when the need to stop and catch her breath becomes absolutely necessary she stops.

From this point the smoke emerging from the building is clearer and as she stares at it she imagines the flames dancing inside.

Her mother reaches out to hug the shocked girl and terrified she climbs into the safety of her mother's arms. A policeman had approached them then but she hadn't paid any attention. He had taken them to a house. A safe house. Her mother told her that the police were worried about the man driving the car. He had driven into the café window on purpose. She couldn't understand that. Who would want to do such a thing?

She never found out. It was years until her mother brought up the accident again. She was 13 years old. They were moving. They didn't have to live in the safe house anymore.

Immediately her thoughts had turned to her father, but her mother said they weren't going to look for him. Why not? She didn't ask. She never questioned her mother's motive. They left the little terraced house they'd lived in and moved into a bigger semi detached property in a quiet suburban area of London. She went to school, made friends, worked hard, she did everything a normal teenage girl should do. However she never stopped thinking of her father. Where was he? Did he think of her too?

Her mother had moved on. A man named Steven, fairly good looking. Dark hair, dark eyes, muscular with a strong jaw. She had nothing to hold against him, and yet she didn't like him. He was trying to replace her father.

He would never be able to do that.

Now she was standing outside the door of her father's office. Too scared to knock. Why would he even want to see her? He had clearly moved on, got another job, new friends: a whole new life.

Beeping machines surrounded her. The room had a warm feel to it, which surprised her seeing as her father was a forensic pathologist, and he worked in a mortuary. She took a deep shaky breath. Why was she even doing this?

She was about to turn and walk straight back out the door she had come through but before she could a man walked in. He was tall, dark haired, with prominent facial features. He smiled at her.

"Leo won't bite you if you knock on his door you know" He laughs.

She smiles weakly as he gives her a puzzled look. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

She just shakes your head.

He gives her another grin before walking towards her, having picked a black folder up off his desk.

"Well, I've got work to do" He smiles again before leaning behind her and knocking on the door. Her heart starts to beat rapidly. A look of pure fear runs across her face before she wipes it away, replacing it with a forced smile.

A deep but gentle voice comes from inside the office. "Come in."

The young man opens the door and pokes his head around it. You hear him inform the man inside that "there is a lovely young lady stood out here for you". The man inside chuckles before asking the younger man to send her in.

As he steps out of the room the young dark haired man grins at her.

"See you around beautiful" He gives her another dashing smile.

She takes a deep breath and forces another smile in his direction before glancing at the door. The man gestures for her to go inside.

She takes a step forward, and then she's done it, she's through the door and staring at the man behind the desk, her father. He looks up, and smiles at her, but then suddenly the smile falters and a shocked expression appears upon his face.

"Cassie" he stutters disbelieving.

"Hi dad" She whispers.

She stands there awkwardly in silent for a few moments, and from outside she can hear a voice sounding both shocked and embarrassed.

"Oh shit." A small smile graces her face as she realises it's the young man.

Her father smiles at her from across the desk and gestures for her to sit down before raising his voice so the dark haired man next door can hear him.

"Language please, Harry."

He looks at her again. She can see the warmth in his eyes and for the first time in a long time she feels loved. This man has missed her.

He leans across the desk and takes her hand before whispering.

"Oh Cassie. How?"

She takes a deep breath and prepares herself to tell the story. The story of how she survived, and of how much she has missed him.