Chapter 2

Sara made it to the airport with only minutes to spare. Her supervisor had called her in last minute to pass on any of her open cases to other members of her team. She started to sprint towards her gate as she heard the final boarding call for her flight, ticket clutched tightly in her hand. Ahead of her Sara saw the flight attendant move over to the door to close it.

"Wait," Sara called as she neared.

Quickly she passed the ticket over to the impatient looking flight attendant. Sara was ushered quickly through the door. Having not even taken two steps the door was shut behind her, startling her. Turning around she looked at the blocked exit. For some reason she didn't understand the closed door felt final as if something was ending. Turning back around Sara pushed the thought from her mind and rushed up the corridor and boarded the plane.

Having found her seat Sara buckled her belt as she felt the engines raw to life. Excitement ran through Sara at the thought of it bringing her closer to being once again with Jim.

16 Years Earlier

It was not the first time she had seen violence. She had often seen her father turn her mother into a bloody mess. Though this was the first time she had seen her mother fight back. There had been times that Sara had been caught up in the middle of whatever fight her parent had been having, even ended up in the emergency room a couple of times. This time, however, the anger in his eyes was directed straight at her.

She had thought she had escaped him when she had hidden under her parent's bed. Moments later she was pulled out from her hiding spot by her hair. She kicked and screamed as she was dragged across the room.

What happened next was a blur; all she knew was that somehow she had ended curled up in her mother's arms staring at a bloody mass lying in a heap on the floor across the room. All she could do was watch the blood seep from her father's body while her mother held her tightly sobbing. Sara wondered if she too should be crying.

Outside the sounds of sirens grew in the distance, but still they did not move. The bedroom door burst open and two officers entered, guns drawn. In minutes Sara was pulled from her mother's arms and all she could do was watch as her mother was handcuffed and taken from the room. Someone came to stand behind her and slowly guide her from the room and it was only then that her eyes were pulled away from her father.

Outside a young officer stood with her unsure of exactly what he should do with her. Sara felt a blanket being wrapped around her body as the police cruiser carrying her mother pulled away. She only looked at officer for the first time when he knelt down in front of her blocking her view.

"I'm Officer Jim Brass. I'm going to take you to the hospital to get you checked out. Social services will meet us there," he told her.

She looked up at him but did not answer as he placed a hand softly on her back and moved her towards another police cruiser.

Sara was pulled from her thoughts as they pilot announced their descent into Las Vegas.

GSR

Brass stood outside the gate waiting for Sara's arrival. This was only the second time he had been able to get her to Vegas in the eight years since he had moved here. Usually he would return to San Francisco to visit her, other times they just met at their half way point when they had trouble getting off work or school.

15 years earlier

Jim Brass had now been living in San Francisco for a little over a year. He had moved there after finding out that his wife had had an affair and that the baby she was going to have had not been his. His ex-wife was now married to Jim's old partner raising their child together. When she had told him she was pregnant he had been so excited. He was going to be a father. Being told that he wasn't the father had crushed him, especially when he found out she was leaving him for his friend and partner of five years.

He had packed his things and moved as far away from New Jersey, a place he had been born and raised, as he could. He had settled into the new city with few problems but it still didn't feel like home, there was something missing.

On this particular night he had been called out to a bad car accident. Arriving at the scene and seeing the crushed vehicle he wondered how anyone could have possibly survived such a horrific crash. The car was wrapped around a pole. Emergency workers had arrived just minutes before and were already working on getting the people out of the car.

Two bodies were pulled from the front of the car and placed in body bags before they moved to the back seat and extracting the body of a young child. Moments after a voice called out.

"There's another one on the floor," one of the rescue worker announced, a moment later he shouted, "…she's alive, I have a pulse."

Everyone on the scene had come alive as they rush to help. Jim rushed around the other side of the car and with the help of another worker they pried the door open. Down on the floor of the car was a young girl curled up protectively in a ball. She was still except for the slight rise and fall of her back as she breathed. She was pulled out carefully and placed on a gurney. It was only then that Jim got a good look at her face. It was the same face that had haunted his dreams for the last year.

Jim was brought back to the present as people started exiting the gate. It took a while but before he knew it there she was in his arms.

"How's my girl?" he asked as he looked up slightly at the woman in front of him.

"Happy to see you. I've missed you," Sara told him kissing his cheek.

"I've missed you too," he told her as he linked his arm through hers.

"How's the girl?" Sara asked as they walked towards baggage claim.

"Still in surgery. It doesn't look good," he told her unhappily.

"So where do I start?" She asked.

"I need to take you to see Gil…" he hesitated,"…he's in charge of the case now."

"What? Why?" Sara stopped turning to look at him.

"I've been demoted, sent back to homicide," Jim told her, "but I did kind of bring it on."

"Why do you say that?" Sara wanted to know.

"I made some mistakes, had some staffing issues. If I am totally honest the job never quite fit me. Once a cop always a cop I guess." he admitted.

"But a damn good cop," Sara told him bringing the smile back to his face.

"Come on," he said as they started walking again, "we have a scene to get to. I have to introduce you to the new supervisor."

GSR

As they arrived at the scene Sara notice a large group of spectators standing behind the police tape.

"What the…?" she said under her breath as the crowd clapped.

"You'll understand in a minute," Brass told her as they got out of car.

Making their way through the crowd they stopped as they reach the police tape. Three simulation dummies were scattered across the ground.

"Norman pushed. Norman jumped. Norman fell." a man said as he photographed each dummy.

"Wouldn't you if you were married to Mrs. Roper?" Sara couldn't help but mumbled causing a chuckle from Jim. "Who the hell still tosses simulation dummies? There are other ways to tell, better ways. That's so old school" Sara said out loud this time to no one in particular.

"That would be me," a man spoke up as he moved over to where Sara and Jim stood.