Stella Bonasera was naturally a curious person; she supposed that was why she made a good cop and CSI. True it had gotten her into trouble over the years but Stella could not shake the feeling that her curiosity and 'gut' feeling about Jenny were well deserved. The young woman was currently being seen by the ER doctor, the fracture had been confirmed by x-ray and the doctor was now casting her left arm. Stella had attempted to pry Jenny's story out of her on the drive over but the young woman had not been forth coming and she had not pushed considering the circumstances. So she sat waiting, hoping that some of the pieces of the story would come out once Jenny had been put back together and medicated. Lindsay had been picked up and taken back to the crime scene, hopefully to find something useful.
Stella thought back to her conversation with Mac when she told him she was taking the chief witness to the hospital. She had then divulged her suspicions about the young woman.
"Don't worry Stella, do what you need to do. I can help Lindsay process the scene if she needs a hand," Mac stated reassuringly, reading between the lines of her brief explanation. His gravelly voice belied his fatigue but Stella knew that he trusted her intuition.
"Thanks Mac. I want to see if I can help," Stella explained, not wanting to say too much as Jenny was sitting beside her. Mac knew that Stella had a soft spot for those young women that had been in similar situations to her, no one who cared and on a self-destructive path. Sometimes Stella herself did not realize how close to the line she came as far as self-destructive went. Mac tried every day to reassure her that she was surrounded by people who know, trust and care for her.
"Sure Stella. Keep me updated," Mac instructed simply.
"No problem," Stella replied. They exchanged parting words and Stella had hoped that her help would be appreciated.
The exam room opened and Jenny was standing before her with her left arm in a plaster cast, a sling holding it against her chest. The doctor was giving her instructions on care and handed her a prescription bottle.
"Those are to help with the pain, take them for a few days and then gradually decrease use as you start to feel better," the doctor instructed as Jenny nodded her in understanding. The doctor, who appeared no older than thirty gave Jenny a stern look, his eyes gave away his worried feeling. Stella noted that he obviously was worried about her safety as well. "If you ever need help or someone to talk to I want you to come back here, okay?" the young man asked, causing Jenny to mutter a quick reply sounding like 'I will be fine'.
The doctor looked up to Stella, a knowing look in his eye. It was obvious he was worried he was going to see her again. "Okay, well Detective Bonasera will take you back to your residence. " Jenny nodded, giving the doctor a handshake and a thank you. She smiled weakly at him; trying to convince them both, she was okay. "Take care now," the doctor said in parting, leaving the two of them alone.
"This way kiddo," Stella instructed as she led Jenny down the hallway to the ER exit. The SUV was parked close to the doors causing Jenny to laugh. Stella picked up on its meaning. "Yeah, perk of being a cop," Stella explained with a smile. Jenny smiled but then stopped suddenly at the side of the vehicle. The young woman was suddenly unsure if she should get in the front seat or in the back. Noting her dilemma, Stella invited her to sit in the front, the relief visible on Jenny's face.
"Thanks," Jenny replied simply, fumbling with her seatbelt with one hand until she got it buckled.
The ride to the stable was silent except for some simple conversation. It was approaching dark as Stella brought the vehicle into the stable drive. She put it in park and they both sat in silence for a moment. Stella's attempts to pick away Jenny's armour and glimpse her story had been unsuccessful leaving her feeling frustrated.
"Thank you," Jenny stated breaking the silence. She nervously rubbed her casted arm and then unbuckled her seatbelt. Stella had noticed that her anxiety had seemed to be increasing the closer they got to the stable. "I probably would still be dealing with this otherwise," Jenny added, trying to be humorous, trying to make the conversation light. Stella gave her a small smile.
"Well now you can start to feel better," Stella answered, giving Jenny a reassuring smile. The young woman nodded, sighed heavily and then reached for the door handle. Quickly Stella interrupted her.
"Listen I know you already heard this tonight but if you ever need anything, I want you to call me," Stella stated, producing her card from her pocket, holding it out for Jenny to take. "I know what it is like to have no one who cares or to look out for you. No one to help you out of a bad situation," Stella added, her voice going far away for a moment while her head took her back to some unpleasant memories. Refocusing she looked to Jenny who sat staring at her card. Stella reached out with her other hand and touched the young woman's shoulder. Jenny looked up to meet Stella's gaze.
Finding herself unable to respond she nodded, swallowing hard as she pushed away a wave of feelings that she did not, could not feel right now. She nimbly took the card, making Stella smile thankfully. Finally finding her voice, Jenny replied. "Thank you again," her words seemed inadequate for her actions but they were all she could produce for the moment. Stepping out of the vehicle, she grabbed her prescription from Stella.
"Any time, I mean it kiddo," Stella reaffirmed one more time. Jenny simply smiled, closing the door and walking to the stable. She did not look back; Stella did not expect her too.
Stella sat in Mac's office, their day once again running late. They sat going over the Forbes case, Lindsay had not been able to find the gloves. They had however discovered that of all the prints on the door latches, Oscar's door was the only one with Ron Kilner's print on it. David Forbes body also did not have any marks to indicate he had fought his killer. This would mean he knew his attacker, maybe someone like Ron Kilner. It could have been argued maybe Jenny had somehow committed the act and sustained her arm injury in the process. Besides the fact that she was maybe 140 pounds versus Forbes 200 plus pounds frame, the doctor had confirmed Jenny's injury had occurred a couple days prior. This took her out of the picture.
"I think Kilner did it," Stella offered, looking up to Mac as he examined the findings. He nodded his head in agreement but frowned.
"Unfortunately we do not have much evidence to prove that at the moment," Mac replied. It could easily be argued that because he was the owner, of course his print would be on the latch. "And we are still lacking motive. If anything, it should be David angry over his injured horse," Mac surmised. He leaned back in his chair, throwing his pen and papers on his desk. He had to admit that he was tired and it was starting to get to him.
"Tomorrow I think we look over Ron's alibi again. His wife confirmed he was at home sleeping but according to his own report, he slept on the couch. He could have slipped out without her knowing. Lindsay found out that Forbes was being laid off his job. He had many unpaid bills at his apartment, perhaps this was over money. Maybe our vic owed payments for his horse and Ron went to settle the score," Mac looked up to Stella to find her gaze far off, not paying attention to his presentation of information. Mac pushed away the irritated side of him that wanted to lash out angrily at her for not paying attention; instead, he focused on the worried expression she wore. Without her even speaking, Mac knew what the cause of her inattention was.
"Stella, you know as well as I do that you can only help a person so much before the ball is in their court and it is their turn to step up to the plate. To take responsibility for their own future and seek help," Mac supplied, watching as her green eyes shifted their attention from nothing to match his gaze. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly, she knew all too well, she thought to herself. Mac knew that. Stella sees a knowing look pass through his features; he too has gone through this before.
"Yeah," Stella replies simply. Dropping his gaze and rubbing her arms, feeling the late night chill starting to set in. All of a sudden, Stella finds herself feeling exhaustion starting to hit her. She had been staying if off most of the day but her body's demands were now tired of being ignored.
"Listen both of us needs sleep. This will wait till the morning," Mac states as he rises from his chair, being uncharactistically willing to leave work for rest. Stella does not argue for once.
"Okay," Stella agrees as she rises from her chair. Mac grabs his coat and ushers her out of his office. After retrieving her jacket from her own office, Mac walks Stella to the elevators. Stella smiles when she feels him staring at her.
"Don't think I don't know what you are doing," Stella warns with a smile as the elevator doors open. Mac smiles innocently as he encourages her to step into the elevator, following step. The doors close and the car begins its descent down the shaft.
"I'm escorting a friend to the door," Mac states simply, shrugging his shoulders. Stella does not reply but he knows she knows. The only reason he was going home was that he knew Stella would not leave with without him. They were very similar in their work ethic and Mac would stay up days until he saw his work through. He would not however see his partner succumb to the same mentality. If that meant that occasionally he had to face the situation and go home with work left to be done, so be it. He would do it for Stella.