Okay, so i pretty much owe this whole chapter to Alice (FadeIntoTheBackground) best friend eveeer, because i told her the idea and what i wanted to happen, and she wrote it. I mean, i wrote some of it, obviously. Cookies to anyone who can guess where my writing ends and hers begins ;P (here's a hint, it's when the bad writing stops and the good writing starts!) I had a bit of a block for this chapter, hopefully i'm over it now though, thanks to Al. So please, let her take all the credit, she deserves it :) And here is the end of last chapter, just in case anyone had forgotten :P
"I'm sorry," Lisbon whispered, "I'm so sorry, but we have very strong reason to believe that for the past six years, since Natalie's abduction, she has been involved in a sex trafficking ring,"
Jane glanced at Lisbon, she was holding up well, but if you looked close enough she was shaking, just very slightly, and he hoped she was ready, because nothing about the next couple of hours was going to be easy.
Chapter 7
Mr. White was the first to speak, "What?"
"Her kidnapper appears to have targeted young girls, and since her abduction we have strong suspicions that she has been involved in a sex trafficking ring," Lisbon said quietly, watching Laura who seemed to have frozen with shock.
"No," the woman whispered quietly, "no, no, no," She shook her head, finally moving, tears spilling over her cheeks,
"I'm sorry," Lisbon said softly,
"No, no you're not," the previously fragile, quiet woman stared at her, disgust and hate in her eyes, directed at Lisbon. "This is your fault, if you'd done your jobs in the first place, then this wouldn't have happen! How the hell could you miss something like this?! This is your fault," she said, standing up, anger in her eyes.
Lisbon stood up to match her, "I know this is hard," she said quietly, "I know it hurts, but we are trying to help Natalie-"
"Shut up," she hissed, "Shut the hell up," she yelled, bringing her hand up and slapping Lisbon across the face with full force, and fleeing from her office.
"I'm sorry," Jackson said, but Jane was busy tending to Lisbon.
"You need to get her back here or we'll call security," Jane said quickly, then returning his attention back to her.
He nodded, still dazed from the news, and he too left the office.
"I'm fine Jane," Lisbon said, sitting down, she too was dazed.
"You know she just said that because she was angry, we all say things we don't mean under pressure like that."
Lisbon nodded, but her eyes were disbelieving, trust her to blame herself. Jane watched as she lightly brushed her hand over her reddening cheek, and didn't say anything, just watched her process the last few minutes in her mind.
"Where is she?"
"Her husband's gone to get her,"
"No, Natalie, where is she?"
"Same place she was when you last asked, she's upstairs with Van Pelt, look, are you sure you-"
"I can handle it Jane, what I can't handle is everyone doubting that I can, I can do my damn job,"
"I never said I doubted to your ability, I just wanted to check you were ok,"
"I told you, I'm fine,"
Well, that was a load of bullshit, but she wasn't about to admit it, not yet anyway. He knew anyway, she wasn't sure why he bothered asking anymore.
"Teresa."
She looked up at him.
"I'm asking because I care."
"I know you do," she wanted to say, despite herself, but her throat wouldn't quite let her, what with his eyes staring down into hers, so blindingly. Her stomach and head jolted, and she thought that maybe, if the situation had been different, less urgent, things might turn out differently, they might have....
As it were, they came dangerously close. Jane wrapped his arms briefly around her, but, even though it was hard, even though it hurt, Lisbon pulled away. There was something more important than the two of them right now.
"Natalie...." She walked fast, out of her office and into the upstairs corridor, where Natalie was waiting with Van Pelt. She didn't know where else to go, where would Mr and Mrs White be? Would Jackson have calmed her down? Where the hell was she? And... Natalie... So many unanswered questions were suddenly surging through her head.
She had to get to Natalie, she owed it to her, because if by some chance the couple came across their daughter...
She broke into a run, Jane just behind her. They wheeled into the corridor, and the most wondrous sight finally met Lisbon's eyes. Natalie, safe – with her parents nowhere in sight. Skipping alongside Grace, who was laughing as they walked down the corridor towards Lisbon and Jane.
"What's going on?" Lisbon asked them.
"Everything's fine," Van Pelt smiled. "Natalie just wanted a drink, so we're just going now. How did the, umm..." She looked away from Natalie and lowered her eyes, "conference go? Where are they?"
They heard footsteps down the corridor, and Mr White emerged, his arm around his wife, who's face was still tear-streaked, and who suddenly looked a lot older in the space of a few minutes.
Oh shit.
Natalie was already looking at her parents. A slight questioning look on her little face, but no sign of recognition.
But Mrs White had stopped, and she stared.
Shit.
Lisbon edged slightly closer to Natalie, and didn't realise it until Jane stepped up beside her.
Mr White stared at his ten year old daughter, the girl who had obviously grown up too fast in the space of such a short time, the girl who had been groomed and fed and looked after for a few days, which was not enough to erase or hide the scars from the past clear on her face and the haunted look of her terrible past that lingered in her eyes.
His daughter.
He tried to speak. "N-Nat-?"
Mrs White's breathing rate rose, and she reached out a trembling hand, despite being over a metre away from her daughter.
Natalie was getting scared. She didn't know who these people were. Slowly, trembling, like she was terrified to move in case something attacked her, she drew away from Van Pelt and edged towards Lisbon, who caught up her small, cold hand and held it there.
"Natalie?"
Lisbon flinched at the sound of Mrs White's cold voice. It was suddenly empty, expressionless, and in one word she experienced the pain that this mother had been through, and the blinding discovery of the child she never really knew.
"Nat?" Her voice cracked again.
Natalie drew back, trying to close in on herself, trying to block out her incomprehensible situation.
Another two tears slid down Mrs. White's face as it became clear to her that her daughter just didn't recognize her. Mr. White's face was tight and strained, and he looked up at Jane and Lisbon with fear in his eyes.
"Please agent Lisbon," he begged in a low voice. "Catch the bastards that did this to our daughter."
Lisbon nodded, and bent down to comfort a seemingly terrified Natalie, who immediately flung her arms round her when she got low enough, "It's ok," Lisbon whispered, hugging her tightly, "Everything is going to be just fine."
The last line was mine :P Lol. I hope you liked it! Please review, if not for me, for Al :P
Thanks for reading!
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