PART 2
September 11, 2001
The quiet of the morning -- if you could call it quiet in New York -- was shattered when the first plane hit one of the Twin Towers. And moments later all Hell broke loose and the second was slammed into by the terrorist flown kamikaze attackers.
Panic and chaos swarmed over the city.
And in the midst of the disorder, an 8 year old blonde girl covered in ash and dirt wandered into the New York Police department in shock and completely lost. The little girl was ushered out of the way, pushed aside to keep from getting stepped on numerous times only to find herself ushered into an elevator. Reaching up to push the button farthest from her, she found herself staring at the crime lab on the 35th floor.
Stepping out of the elevator, she shuffled across the way, looking around and finding it deserted. Large blue eyes would look around and seeing the most likely safest place, she climbed the few steps to the large office enclosed in glass and once inside the office, she found a nice spot under one of the tables of books and into a corner she curled up and fell asleep.
Near midnight, Detective Mac Taylor, head of the CSI lab made his way to his office and to his desk. Not noticing the little curled up ball of dirt under the table. But then his mind was on other things. One specific was the fact that his wife Claire had gone to work that morning. And she worked on the 74th floor of the North Tower.
Even though he tried to fight it, his heart knew that he'd never see her again. But denial is a strong action. And frequently it can overcome an emotion or even common sense. He folded his arms on his desk and dropped his head onto his arms with a heavy sigh.
The sudden flurry of noise of scuffing shoes and whimpers brought Mac back to the here and now and when he looked up he saw the little girl trying to tug the heavy glass door open but the wrong way. Rather than push it since it went both ways, she was trying to pull it so it swung open like it had done when she walked in earlier.
Mac blinked and stood up, walking over but stopping when the whines from the little girl got louder. "Hey there..." he said softly and knelt down to be more at her level."What's your name? Where are you from, little one?"
The little girl turned to face him and pressed back hard against the glass door, her eyes wide with terror. "Nuuuuuuu" she whimpered.
Mac forced a small smile at her and held out one hand. "Come on...I'm a policeman. I won't hurt you."
The little girl knew where she was...she saw all of the uniforms and the badges. Another blink at the man in front of her and she seemed to think another minute but soon enough she wandered over to him and when Mac just started to take her hand, the little girl pounced on him and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
Mac was caught completely off guard when she hugged him, but his arms wrapped around her tight and he stood up and moved back to his desk and sat down. She was trembling wildly as she curled up on his lap when he sat down and Mac held her all the tighter, a kiss to the top of her head. "Just relax. We'll talk later." But before he'd finished that line, she was asleep again.
"Mac, you know you have to take her to child services." Stella Bonasera, detective first grade and his second in command of the lab.
Mac stared out the window and rested his chin on the sleeping little girl's head. "Please Stella...don't wake her up." he mumbled softly.
"I can't believe you're being so hardheaded about this! You're only using her as a replacement for Claire."
Mac twitched at the mention of his wife and blue eyes turned to glare at her. "Don't say that. And Claire will love her as well when she--"
"Mac! Claire was in the North --"
Mac growled softly and closed his eyes for a moment. "That's enough, Stella."
The female detective studied her boss and his charge for a full five minutes and a sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Mac, I'm only thinking of the both of you. What about children's services? I'm sure you can visit her whenever you want. And they'll find her a good foster home until they find...her parents."
Mac sighed and shook his head. "They're overcrowded, Stella. And there's nowhere she can go." He turned his gaze to his friend again but this time it was more of a defeated look. He wasn't usually the "kiddy" type. He didn't mind kids...but he'd never seemed real comfortable with being around them longer than he had to. This was something definitely different. "I can't let her go."
Stella was about to argue more, but then when she saw the look in his eyes, she knew she couldn't tear them apart.
"Her name is Allysin Taylor," Stella said with a smirk seeing Mac's reaction at the last name.
Digging through records and fingerprinting her at the lab the next morning, they had been able to find out that she lived with her mum and dad in an apartment in Manhattan near Park Avenue. They were a well off family, her father making somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy five thousand a year and her mom making close to forty. Allysin was born on August 20 in the middle of a freak storm that hit New York in 1993. She had no other family as both parents were orphans and….." Mac sighed softly as he looked at the little girl that was playing on the computer in his office.
"They both worked at the Towers." Stella said as she finished off reading the report to him.
Both detectives looked at each other for a moment. "What was she…?" Mac started. And then looked at Allysin.
"Well to answer the first, they had a nanny for her. And apparently since both parents were at work early in the morning, neighbors at the apartment building reported that they saw the nanny take Allysin out every morning during the week. Probably to have breakfast with her folks." She studied the little girl closely but then her gaze turned back to Mac. "You're planning on keeping her…aren't you?" she said softly.
Mac still studied the girl and a nod. "And that's so bad?"
Stella knew it wasn't worth another argument and maybe I the long run they would be good for each other. "I think it's great." She said with a smile and a hand on his shoulder. When he looked at her, she nodded. "And if you need anything then just let me know."
Mac grinned at her and nodded and headed back into his office, closing the door and walking over to the desk to kneel down beside the little girl. "Sin?"
Blue eyes would turn from the computer to look down at him and that sunshine smile. "Hi, daddy."
Mac blinked and swallowed hard. She'd been calling him that ever since she'd first woken up a few hours ago and they started doing the tests on her. She must have blocked everything out from the attacks. It was a tragedy she didn't remember her life before but then Mac assumed that it was more of a blessing. At least one person in his apartment at night wouldn't have nightmares and be waking up in a cold sweat. "What're you doing, kiddo?"
"Making you a picture." She said and nodded back at the computer. She'd gotten onto the paint program and had drawn a picture of him and her by a table where they were using a microscope. And that grin back at him. "I'm gonna work in the lab too when I grow up!" and she hit the print tab and after the picture printed out, she snatched it up and handed It to him.
Mac did adore children. They were so innocent and so trusting. And Allysin seemed far too much of both which made her ever more special. He took the picture and took it over to the bulletin board near the door and tacked it up right in the middle. "There!" He said as he turned back to look at her. "Now everyone will see it."
The girl beamed and then a confused look crossed her face. "What'd you wanna talk about?"
Mac shook his head and walked over, snatching her up into his arms as she shrieked and hugged her close. "Nothing, pumpkin….what say we go get some dinner and then some ice cream?"
Allysin nodded emphatically and the pair left the office.
That was 6 years ago. And after that dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and spumoni ice cream, Mac took Allysin home and put her to bed with a story and then the next morning he took her with him into the lab and called social services asking for the protocol to adopt an orphan.
Papers were signed. And after interviews with him and the girl and others in the lab for character witnesses, Sin was his for real.
He enrolled her into a private elementary school and every day he'd pick her up after school and bring her back to the lab until he could go home. She was smart and a fast learner and he realized this as she began spouting off procedures to do different things and different chemical reactions to different substances. And she was only 9.
When the captain had come by and "suggested" that a CSI lab wasn't really a place for a child and Mac argued that she never left his office unless he was there and only on his ok, the captain still insisted and Mac began the hunt for a sitter for the afternoons. Finding an older woman with much experience, and after a thorough background check, he hired her and the first week she met Allysin after school and took her home, stopping at the market on the way. But on Friday of that first week, she had gone to the school to pick up Sin, the little girl wasn't there and there was a panicked call placed to Mac.
Taking the crew and all three black SUVs racing to the school with red lights and sirens blaring, once there, teachers were questioned and black and whites were put on alert and then in the middle of the fracas, Mac's phone rang.
"Daddy?"
"Allysin! Where the hell are you?" he tried not to sound upset but his heart was in his throat.
"At the lab. I thought you'd be here"
Mac blinked as the others stood and watched him when they heard him say her name. Then a wave of relief mixed with anger washed over him and he said softly into the phone, "I…had to go out for a bit, sweetheart. I'll be there in just a few minutes. STAY there, Allysin. Do you hear daddy? Don't…move."
The little girl grinned and nodded. "Sure, Daddy. I'll see you when you get here!! I love you!" And she hung up the phone.
Mac looked at the others and then a nod at the SUVs. "She's at the on" And nothing else could be offered now. Especially how a 9 year old got clear across town alone and into the crime lab on the 35th floor without anyone questioning – well. this WAS Allysin we were talking about-- her.
Once back at the lab, Mac literally squeezed between the elevator doors as they were opening just too damn slow for his liking at the lab and ran up the steps to his office. Jerking open the door, seeing his daughter safe behind his desk, he ran over and gathered her into his arms and hugged her tight. "God, Sinny, don't ever EVER do that again, do you hear me?" He sat down in the chair behind the desk and sat her on his lap, fingers brushing the golden fringe from her eyes. She nodded emphatically and Mac frowned. "Why didn't you wait for Mrs. Simms, kiddo?"
Allysin frowned and shook her head as she began toying with his shirt collar, "I don't like her…she's…she's….."
The frown on Mac's face grew deeper "What's wrong, Sin?" And the worst of ideas came to his mind. "Sweetheart….tell me, please? Does she hurt you?" An instant vision of tossing the woman into a cell if she so much as THOUGHT about hurting his daughter….and his gaze traveled over the little girl as fingers gently plied for bruises or any signs of an "ow" when he hit the right spot. "Allysin?"
She slowly turned huge blue eyes up to meet her father's and a slow blink. "She just sits around, daddy. She doesn't do anything…not like you….and she never smiles. I don't like 'er."
Mac waited for a moment to make sure that she was finished and a blink down at her then a smirk and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You…..are going to give me gray hair before my time, aren't you?" wrapping his arms around her completely and drawing her up against his chest where she squealed and curled up. "All right then no more babysitter. We'll just have to make the captain see that you're fine here…hm?" and another kiss to the top of her head.
Sin nodded and yawned as she started to drift off in her father's arms.
Mac almost wanted to question her some more about how she got to the lab, but he didn't want to upset her any more today. That little adventure can wait to be told till later. He turned his chair around so he could watch the lab and as everyone went back to what they were doing before being yanked off to go on a kiddy hunt, he had to smirk at Stella as she began to ride herd over them all in his place. Eyes closed, Mac rested his chin on the top of Sin's head and sighed softly. What had he getting himself into
Hope can sometimes be the strongest of emotions. It can help you through another day or it can help through an emotional crisis. But hope is a fragile thing... And 7 months later when it hit him that Claire wasn't coming home…that he had truly lost her and there hadn't been that phone call from her saying she was all right…..Mac could feel the hope slipping away. So rather than lay in pity for himself, he decided to concentrate on Allysin. They were all each other had now.
