2.
Sweets was feeling tired by the time Alex and James had removed the bodies and the rest of the meth evidence was carefully collected from the apartment. Sweets had made several calls but found only what he already knew - the apartment was rented to an elderly couple, Sal & Grace Paxton. Their rent was drawn from a checking account, their social security and pensions were automatically deduced, no extended family so no one noticed they had been gone. Sweets reported them as missing for now and concentrated on their current deceased pair - Carol & Steve Livingston as identified by their drivers licenses and the couple they suspected in the meth ring. Sweets imagined the possibility that this couple murdered the elderly couple and continued to live rent free. How the little girl came into the situation he wasn't sure but was going to be a large focus of his investigation. He didn't want to fill the little girl with expectations her real parents may be alive or possibly that they were out there but terrible parents.
Sweets rubbed his head in the room where the sun began to set. It was quiet now that everyone was gone. The apartment seemed to be filled with the worst parts of humanity - murder and child abuse, laced around the outside with drugs made from cleaning products. He hoped the little girl could be saved, truly saved and her life improved from here on, like his had, but it hadn't been an easy road. He looked to the open door of the closet and examined it. The bottom of the door had scratches though not deep. He crouched down to look at them, and lined his fingers up with them. By doing so he was inside the closet door. The light scratches made him think that while she scratched at the door it must not have been very loud.
The little girl, Abby, had bruises and faint scars. He could imagine the doctors and nurses discussing at the hospital 'how could anyone do such a thing'. He knew because he overheard them as a kid himself. He sat down in the closet knowing it was a bad idea but he wanted to remember for a moment what it was like. He pulled the door shut and sat in the dark, in the silence and remembered. It's fine Lance, it won't bother you, you're past this. He told himself the same thing over and over but after a few moments the realization wouldn't set in and he scrambled to his feet to get out. Only the door wouldn't open. Sweets bordered between feeling stupid and feeling a panic attack coming on. He had checked the door and it wasn't locked but it wasn't opening either. He pushed on the door, harder then harder. He could feel dust falling on him, loosened from the frame and dark space above. One final shoulder push into the door and the jam released and Sweets fell into the room. The dust made him sneeze and he brushed the powder off him and thought idly he was glad no one was in the room.
Great idea Lance he chastised himself and seeing the sun now setting knew he should get to the hospital to see Abby.
"She's right this way." The nurse said. "I'll get the doctor for you."
Sweets headed to the room but met the social worker Ava outside the door. Had Sweets not been so busy thinking of his misadventure with the closet door or worrying about Abby he may have noticed how beautiful Ava was, in that cute and mousey way.
"Dr. Sweets?" Ava asked. "Or is it Agent Sweets?"
"Either is fine." Sweets said looking at Abby on the hospital bed with an oxygen feed in her nose.
"I'm Ava Gardner." She said holding out her hand for a shake that eventually Sweets noticed. "I'm the new worker assigned to the case."
"Yeah, I thought you looked different from the woman earlier." Sweets said taking in a minor note of her pretty features but was instantly sidetracked. "She still looks pretty pale."
"Yes, I've been here with her." Ava explained. "Here comes the doctor, he can explain better than I can."
"Yes, I'm Dr. Vitter." The doctor said introducing himself.
"She looks pretty pale still, was she dehydrated?" Sweets asked.
"Yes, she was. In addition to that she has a few scars and bruises which is concerning but for right now I'm most concerned with her overall condition." The doctor said quickly gaining Sweets attention and drop in Sweets stomach.
"What do you mean?" Sweets asked.
"At first I attributed her condition to the malnutrition and the dehydration, possibly other issues from her abuse. However I'm not able to pinpoint what is ailing her most. She has a temperature and a difficulty breathing. I'm keeping her here for observation for now until we can find out more. I assure you we are working on this diligently."
Sweets nodded and wondered what might be bothering the child. He thought about asking Brennen to look in on it, maybe Hodgins but he knew these doctors would do what they did best. The doctor promised to keep him updated on her progress and left. Sweets reached for the door to go in but Ava stopped him.
"Where are you going Dr. Sweets?" Ava asked.
"I promised Abby I would come by." Sweets said.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Ava said stopping him. "I know this little girl has connected with you but soon you will be off this case and gone, I'm worried how this will affect this child."
"Ms. Gardner." Sweets said annoyed. "Wouldn't you say the same thing about your role in this case?"
Before she could come up with an answer Sweets slipped in the door and was by the child's side. She was weak and tired but she was still happy to see him. He saw the watch on her arm as Ava came in.
"I'm keeping your watch safe." Abby promised him then she looked sad. "Do you want it back now?"
"No Abby, you keep it, I'll be around awhile longer." Sweets said eyeing Ava. "I'm not going anywhere just yet."
Ava sighed but smiled at Abby who looked at Ava.
"I like Dr. Sweets." Abby said.
"I know Abby, and that's fine." Ava assured her.
"I like you too, but you're kind of fussy." Abby told her and Sweets tried not to laugh.
"Well you'll have to work on her won't you?" Sweets asked her and Abby almost smiled.
Ava looked like she wanted to say more but she noticed the way Sweets & Abby interacted was unique, they seemed to have a connection, she thought maybe she would let the issue go of Sweets being as involved as he was.
"You look tired Abby, how about I come back tomorrow?" Sweets asked.
"You look tired too." Abby said. "Let me see, you can come back at…" Abby was looking at the watch. "Eight o'clock."
"Okay, eight o'clock it is." Sweets promised and slipped out the door. He wondered why he was feeling so tired but he figured it had been a long day.
The night wasn't an easy one for Sweets when the cough started around two in the morning and would hardly cease. What started as a dry cough developed into a deeper wet cough. He had finally managed to drift off somewhere around the time he was set to get up at six and thus overslept until eight.
Sweets eyes widened as the red numbers of the alarm clock taunted him with the late hour. He shouted a profane word for poop and got up from the bed quickly. The suddenly shift from horizontal to vertical made his head spin and chest ache some. Ugh, I really can't handle the flu right now Sweets said trying to shake it off. He lamented the fact that when he got home last night he went straight to bed and didn't take the time to shower or even change clothes. While that sounded appealing right now he had little choice but to change suits and rush out the door.
Abby was sitting on the bed looking deflated as Sweets arrived. A small smile came to her face as he walked in the door.
"I'm very sorry I'm late Abby." Sweets said trying to suppress a nasty cough that wanted to expel.
"I thought you forgot about me." Abby said.
"No, it was very bad of me to be late." Sweets sat in a chair next to her. He wanted to be honest with the child, the way he wanted people to be honest with him at that time. "I didn't mean to, but I overslept."
"Are you not feeling good?" Abby asked. "You look like you are sick."
Sweets smiled at the little girl's perceptiveness because he did indeed feel like crap. He was hot one moment and cold another, his chest hurt and his eyes sometimes burned.
"Yes, I might be. I won't get too close incase it's the flu." Sweets said.
"It's okay, I used to get sick a lot. When I lived…there."
"It's probably because those people didn't take good care of you." Sweets said thinking of the little girl's malnutrition. "Can you tell me anything you remember - about coming to live there?"
Abby got very quiet. "No, I've been there a long time. Sometimes I remember Mommy & Daddy. I miss them."
"Do you remember their names?" Sweets asked when Ava came in.
"Ah Dr. Sweets, I'm surprised to see you here… so late." Ava said hissing but then felt bad when he turned to face her. She could tell he was obviously under the weather and thus most likely his reason for being so late.
"Yes, I feel very bad about that." Sweets said but Abby seemed over it.
"Yes, uh, well you shouldn't be asking Abby questions without myself here." Ava reminded him.
Sweets was trying not to be annoyed by the pretty social worker who was obviously new to her job. Abby beat him to the comeback however.
"It's okay Ava, Sweets knows what it's like to live with bad people." Abby informed her. The social worker felt even worse now and Sweets felt embarrassed that Abby had shared that with her. Before yesterday only a half dozen people knew the truth about Sweets childhood and that seemed to be expanding more rapidly than he cared for.
"Can I call you Sweets? I like that more than Lance." Abby asked completely oblivious to the bomb she had dropped.
"Sure, everyone does." Sweets said now uncomfortable that Ava had a glimpse of his life he hadn't planned to share with a random stranger. He had done it to win Abby's trust to remove her from a bad situation, not for her to share with everyone she met. His head hurt trying to come up with a way to get her to stop. He could only come up with one solution - retreat he told himself.
"Well, I should get going." Sweets said. "But I will be back later. I'm going to see if I can't find out more about where you belong."
Abby smiled and Sweets was sure not to promise much more than that. Sweets headed to the door and Ava told Abby she would be right back.
"Dr. Sweets wait." Ava said walking out the door behind him. No, no no Sweets said to himself, he didn't want to discuss his life with her. "Dr. Sweets I should apologize. I haven't been very nice to you. I thought you were just another hot shot agent looking to get a big Atta boy from your boss." Sweets softened at her somewhat apology. "I see that you do care, so I'm sorry."
Ava held out a hand as though calling a truce and Sweets shook it.
"Thank you, and I do care." Sweets said but was anxious for the conversation to not go into his childhood. "But I should be going, I'd like to find out more about who she is and who her parents are."
"Sure, but shouldn't you get some rest? You look awful. I mean, not awful, you're very attractive, I mean, I didn't mean to say that, not that it's not true, but it's not…." Ava reddened with each misspoken sentiment and Sweets resisted an urge to smile as he noticed how much prettier she was becoming now that she wasn't annoying him so much.
"Thanks, I think it's just a cold or something. I'll be fine." Sweets said sparing the woman any need for any more confusion.
"Dr. Sweets?" Ava said stopping him once more. "I'll talk to Abby, I'll let you know if I find out anything from her."
"Thank you." Sweets said grateful for some help on the case. Ava went back to the room and Sweets had the sudden urge to get out of sight. He charged into the bathroom in time for an intense coughing fit to come on, one so serious he coughed hard enough to throw up. After a few minutes he stood but, ignored the dizzy spell and hot flash that came over him. By the time he walked to the sink he felt like he was freezing and he knew this wasn't a good sign and was angry that this year's flu shot was going to fail him. He washed his hands and face, ignored the pale color of his face and knew he should go home. But if he did that, Abby would spend more time in a hospital than maybe back with her parents, if they were out there looking for her. Sweets decided to head to his office - from there he could make calls and not expose anyone to his flu.
Sweets reached his office pretty quickly. He wondered if it was because of the fact he obviously looked under the weather - and no one wanted to catch what he had but then he realized a slightly sadder fact, most of the time people did avoid talking to him. He figured it was because he was a shrink and they thought he would analyze them while they visited with him, even outside a session. Some people had told him this, others still had issue with the balance between his young age and his profession and thus taking him seriously.
At the moment though Sweets figured it was for the best and was glad to not be bothered. He opened up the folder that waited him with the results of what Alex and James had come up with at the scene. Most was nothing new, meth chemicals, a few other chemicals on hand though not generally used for meth he was curious about the purpose for their presence in the apartment.
Several inquiries to the missing tenants brought no results and but by lunch Sweets had some information on Carol and Steve Livingston. While he had some information on them before on the original case file he did find out that three months before the couple had been seen around the neighborhood however never with the child. Sweets deduced that they must have locked Abby in the closet each time they left, a thought that made his stomach clench and dismissed the last remaining notion of lunch.
Sweets decided perhaps the best solution at the moment was to lay on his couch and close his eyes, doze off a few moments and come up with a great plan. As he stood up his body ached though he had only sat at his desk for the morning, it wasn't like he was doing heavy lifting. He dismissed the groggy feeling and lay on the couch. As his head touched the arm rest his phone rang. Sweets groaned as he reached for the cell and glanced at the caller ID. The unknown number appeared suggesting it was either a wrong number or something about the case.
"Dr. Sweets, it's Ava." It's the case Sweets said to himself and sat back up, heading to his desk to find something to write on. "I talked to Abby. It took a while but about a year ago she started to live with the two people you found. She couldn't call them by name, just 'them'." Sweets knew the little girl had long since tried to disassociate herself with 'them'. "She doesn't remember what happened to her parents or how she came to live with them. Does that sound correct?"
"It's not surprising. It may have been traumatic and she doesn't want to remember." Sweets suggested and considered something tragic may have happened to her parents causing the condition.
"Okay, well she said they used to drive around a lot, live in a lot of different places until they started to live there a few months ago. She said she always stayed in the apartment, never left and didn't ever see anyone else there. I hope that's helpful."
"Yes!" Sweets assured her. A lot of it wasn't immediately helpful but it gave him a clearer picture of her life as of recently. "How is she doing? Did the doctors figure out what is wrong with her?"
"No, they're calling in a few specialists who will check on her pro bono. One of them is the leading cardiologist in the nation." Ava said hopeful.
"Good, please let me know how it goes." Sweets said and hung up before Ava could ask him any other questions.
A little girl shows up three months ago while the people she is living with make meth after leaving two missing tenants who didn't leave on vacation. Sweets mulled it over in his mind that felt like a swollen blister. He wanted to go home and go to bed, but Abby's face, the yearning for a connection with someone haunted his mind.
His mind drifted back to when he was found, in a closet, dried blood down his back, a confused cop standing over him.
"Hey Buddy." The cop said to. "Let's get out of there."
Sweets shook his head, confused by the bright light. He could feel the officer pull his arm, the oversized tee covered his bruised arm, the officer didn't realize he was offering more harm than good by pulling on the injured arm. Five year old Sweets had twisted to get away from the beating, leaving his arm raw and bruised.
"Why do you want to stay in the closet?" The officer asked confused and frustrated.
"I don't!" Sweets shouted as tears rolled down his cheek. The officer looked at the child with hurt eyes, so small and thin, pale, weak and beaten. "I don't want to go back in."
The small child swayed on his feet but he pulled away from the officer whose grip was unknowingly too tight.
"How about we leave here okay?" The officer asked.
Sweets in present day thought back to that officer with all the good intentions. He knew he hadn't been versed in such a situation. He was only called to the house on a domestic dispute, once the foster father was in cuffs and the strung out wife stared off into space did the officer question why such a large lock was on the closet door. He would want to help the little boy inside and while Sweets was then, as now, forever grateful for him to turn the lock and open the door, it was scary the moment he did. Sweets knew Abby had the same fears when he opened that door yesterday, and he hoped he hadn't caused the confusion he had felt.
"How about we both leave here - and never come back." The officer said as Sweets recollection played on. Young Sweets swayed again and the promise sounded wonderful.
"Yes please." Sweets said in a near whisper as the too small child passed out in the officer's arms.
Sweets cleared his throat as the memory faded away. He thought of his own Ava, an older woman social worker, Emily was her name. His first question to her when he woke up was if he had to go back. She had the same look the officer had on his face, one of anger with the world and sadness of the boy she saw.
"No. You're never going back there. I will promise you that."
Sweets smiled as she was right, he didn't have to go back there, anywhere for a while until he was well enough to leave the hospital. He never saw the officer again though he long since suspected he had asked Emily about him. Still Sweets would have liked to have seen him again, to have said thank you or at least goodbye. Maybe Ava didn't understand that, despite her job, but he did.