3/7/09-So I have this nag to go through my older fics and fix them, mostly this one. I must be insane, right?
Chapter 1: Could it be...?
Pulling at the cuffs above her head, she tried desperately to free herself from her situation, and the pain. Open wounds throbbed with every movement and caused her body to tremble to a point it became impossible to stand the pain. Opening her mouth to scream, all she could hear and feel was a gurgling sound that escape her mouth, coughing just enough for a small trickle of blood to drip from the corner of her mouth. The whining of a dog in pain drew her attention and she tried hard to focus on a wet nose touching her fingers, which were cuffed above her head.
Heavily slipping back into unconsciousness, she could hear a door being opened, the person dropping items and screamed. "Call an ambulance!!"
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"Got a call about seven this morning. A woman, mid to late thirties , single, came in very bad shape. She was stripped, raped multiple times, deep gashes on eighty percent of her body and her throat slashed." The nurse told the two detectives, while leading them to the victim's room, "I'm surprised she lasted this long before being found."
"Did you get a name?" Asked a gruff African American detective.
"Not yet, but we did get these," She held up a clear evidence bag, "and her dog is at the veterinarian's. He had been badly stabbed as well. The victim did have a gun holster with a few possessions. When she was found, she was slipping in and out, but she came in unconscious. The first twenty-four hours are very critical." She replied as she handed another detective the clear bag.
Pushing his tinted glasses up his nose, he looked over the items that were presented to him; a watch, bloody gun holster, and a ring that looked very familiar. "It can't be..." He whispered, pulling it out with a gloved hand. Running a thumb over the two stones in the center of it, his breathing hitched and his own blood pressure rose with fear. "No...it can't be her."
"Munch? What is it man?" His partner asked as they neared the victim's room in intensive care, taking the clear bag from his trembling hand and carefully placed the ring back in, before John dropped it.
"It's just...I think I know who the victim is. I need to see her if I'm allowed to." He said, glancing at the nurse, who nodded, and slowly turned the door knob, not knowing what he would find. Opening it slowly, he saw a woman laying in the bed and his heart started to ache. Her arms and neck had thick bandages wrapped around the wounds, an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, a few tubes in between some bandages to drain from possible infections, and a heart monitor bleeping slowly. Moving his eyes to look at the heart monitor, he could clearly see it was going slower then normal, telling him she was struggling to hang. He reached down and lightly grasped her right hand, feeling her cold skin in his grasp and gently ran his thumb over the bandage on her wrist.
"Oh, my God. It's Maria." He whispered, feeling her faint pulse under his hand. He couldn't believe that the woman he loved almost 5 years ago laid in front of him, cling to life, "Her name's Maria Frank, a detective from Boston."
The nurse looked at him before looking down at the unconscious woman. "Are you positive it's her?"
"Yes. You said that she was found with a dog as well. Did they get it's name?" He asked, not looking up.
"They did find tags on him. I forget his full name, but it does start with an A."
Could it be Alex? He thought as looked back up at the nurse and his partner. "I met her five years ago, when she was temporarily transferred to Baltimore for a year. She left earlier then required and I never heard from her again."
Fin could see his partner hurting now. Looking at the nurse, as she wrote her name, he asked, "You did a rape kit, correct?"
She nodded, looking at the chart. "Yes, there was semen present and, due to the multiple times she was raped, there's a considerable amount of damage to her vaginal area. The person who did this had handcuffed her hands above her head. Her wrists were torn open from struggling against the metal, which has already been taken for evidence. She had been found at a motel right outside the city."
"A motel?" John said, looking confused. What the hell was she doing there? "You said that she has deep wounds all over. Where else are they located?"
"She has them on her chest, breasts, stomach, sides, genitals-he really wanted her to suffer. We think that it was a pocket knife, which has not been found. When he had cut her throat, he missed her jugular veins. She did loose a large amount of blood, but, if he had nicked a vein, just slightly, it would have killed her."
John felt like he was going to be sick. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a card. "When she starts waking up or anything changes in her stability, please call me."
The nurse nodded as they left the room. John sneaking one last look at her before turning the corner. I'll be back. Hang on, sweetie.