"Nick's fine." Sara added quickly before saying anything else, knowing Jackie would be worried.
"Oh thank God." Jackie said.
"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you, actually I'm not even working with Nick tonight we are on different cases but I do need your help."
"With what?" Jackie asked perplexed.
"Well I have a little boy here named Kason Sampson, he says you're his teacher."
"I am, is he ok?" Jackie asked worriedly, Kason was such a sweet little boy, just the other day he had told Jackie that her ears were pretty, it took Jackie a few seconds to realize that he meant that he liked her earrings.
"Yes he's fine but he's quite scared, he says he woke up in the middle of the night and he was all alone, he tried to call his mom and she didn't answer so he got scared and called 911. When cops got over to his house they found him just like he said, all alone. There are no signs of forced entry at his house and he says that his mom sometimes works the night shift, he says she worked tonight but that a trusted babysitter was watching him, someone named Amanda, he doesn't know her last name but he really seems to like her. Right now we aren't sure where she is, if she is a victim of foul play or if she took off or what but Kason is down here at PD with us and since we can't get a hold of his mother we asked him if there was anyone else that he'd like us to call and he said his teacher and then he gave me your name, I know it's a lot to ask but he is so scared, as you can imagine, is there anyway you can come down here. Russell is working the case with me and he called Barbara and she said that she would be more than willing to come watch your kids for you if you'd come down to the lab."
"Of course I'll come, does Barbara want me to drop my kids off at her house or is she coming to mine?"
"She said she'd come to yours so you don't have to wake them up."
"Ok, I'll get dressed and I'll be down there as soon as I can." Jackie promised.
Not very much time at all passed before Barbara got to the Stokes' house.
"Thank you for watching my kiddos." Jackie told her.
"Oh sure, it's no trouble at all, I just hope no one is hurt in Sara and DB's case."
"Me too. Please make yourself at home, and thanks again." Jackie told her before leaving for the lab.
"Hi Jackie." Russell told her as soon as she'd gotten out of her car in the lab parking lot.
He'd been waiting for her so he could walk her inside since it was dark outside.
"Hi." Jackie greeted him with a smile.
"Thanks for coming, sorry about the late hour." He told her.
"It's no problem at all." She assured him.
"Maybe you could help us with our case, what do you know about the little boy's mom?"
"Not much, she seems to be a very good mother though, always making sure Kason has what he needs, she also seems to be a very loving mom."
"Do you know where Kason's father is?" Russell asked her as they walked towards the lab doors.
"I believe he was killed in a motorcycle accident either right before Kason was born or when Kason was a very small infant."
"Do you know anything about Amanda, his babysitter?" He asked.
"No, I don't, I'm sorry."
"That's alright, and boy is he going to be excited to see you." Russell said as they entered the lab.
He led Jackie to the break room.
"Kason, someone has come to visit you." Russell told the little boy who was sitting at the break room table eating a sandwich and drinking a soda.
"Mrs. Stokes." The little boy said as he jumped up and threw his arms around her (or he tried to at least but his little arms wouldn't go around her large tummy.)
"Hi buddy." Jackie said as she hugged him back.
"Mrs. Stokes this is Sara, she is my new friend, she bought me a sandwich and a soda pop because I was hungry and thirsty."
Jackie looked at Sara and smiled.
"And this is Russell, he's nice too, he's funny." The little boy said with a grin.
"You know what? I know them already and do you know how I know them?" Jackie asked.
"How?" Kason asked, sounding amazed.
"They work with Nick, do you remember my husband Nick? He comes into our classroom sometimes."
"Yeah, I remember him, he's funny too, where is he, I haven't seen him here yet?" Kason asked excitedly.
Jackie looked at Sara, she too wanted to know where Nick was.
"Nick is working in a different place tonight with someone else named Catherine." Sara answered the little boy, trying to give him an answer he'd understand.
"Oh." Kason answered sounding slightly disappointed as he took another bite of his sandwich.
"Kason, now that Mrs. Stokes is here can you tell us what happened tonight, why did you get scared?" Sara asked the little boy gently.
"Ok." Kason answered.
Sara had tried to ask the little boy exactly what was going on earlier but he'd been so scared he'd nearly been hysterical, and now that he'd calmed down considerably she wanted to talk to him more.
"Ok, let's start with what you did before you went to sleep." Sara said.
"Ok, my mommy made me dinner and then Amanda came to watch me because my mommy had to go to work. She played games with me and then read me a story and then I went to sleep."
"Does Amanda watch you a lot?" Sara asked.
"Yep, when my mommy works at night."
"Ok, and do you like Amanda?"
"Yeah, she's really nice." The little boy said.
"Ok, after you went to sleep what happened?" Sara asked.
"I woke up in the middle of the night to go potty."
"And then what happened?" Sara asked gently.
"I looked for Amanda and I couldn't find her, I got scared because I don't like being alone so I tried to call my mommy, I know her number, but she didn't answer, then I got really scared, I don't know Amanda' s number so I called 911." The little boy said as tears started welling in his eyes.
He then turned his attention to Jackie.
"Mrs. Stokes, am I going to get in trouble for calling 911? My mommy says that I should only call them if it is an emergency."
"No sweetheart, you won't get in trouble, you did the right thing by calling them." Jackie assured him.
"That's good." The little boy replied, obviously relieved.
"Hey Mrs. Stokes guess what I saw when the nice cop was driving me here?" He said suddenly and excitedly.
"What?" Jackie asked.
Sara listened closely hoping that the little boy was unknowingly going to shed light into what was going on.
"I saw a hospital when I was looking out the window."
"You did, do you think you need to go to the hospital?" Jackie asked him worriedly.
"No, but you do Mrs. Stokes." He replied.
"I do, why?" Jackie asked surprised.
"Because a hospital is where a mommy goes to have her baby right?" He asked.
Jackie smiled at him.
"Yes it is." She answered.
"Well, then go there and have your baby and then bring him back here so I can see him because I want to see him really bad."
Sara, Jackie, and Russell looked at each other and smiled, Sara sat back in her chair, this little boy was adorable but he hadn't provided the big break through for the case she'd been hoping for.
"Bud I can't do that." Jackie told him.
"Why not?" he asked, sounding really disappointed.
"Well, because my baby isn't ready to come yet, and if a baby comes before it is ready it can get really sick."
"Oh, I don't want your baby to be sick, I just really want to see him." Kason said, he didn't know babies would be sick if they came too early, he just thought they came whenever the mommy was ready.
"But if it makes you feel any better I really want to see him too." Jackie replied with a smile.
Just then Sara's cell phone rang.
"Excuse me." She said before leaving the room.
Once she was out in the hallway she answered it.
"This is Sara Sidle…
TBC…