Given her past experiences with police, Lucy was surprised to find herself liking the Manhattan SVU department. They didn't snap at her when she sassed them, they didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do, and they didn't forget her in a lock-up cell for hours on end.

Munch had introduced her to some of his coworkers, among them his partner Finn. He seemed rather impressed with her colorful backstory, and had told her as much, though he shut up rather quickly at the stern look he got from his captain.

"Lucy, can I ask how you ended up in foster care?" Olivia, the only woman she'd met so far, asked kindly. "What happened to your parents?"

Lucy shrugged and hummed in an 'I dunno' type fashion. "I was living on my own when was taken to the hospital. Doctor was the one that called social services."

"And your parents?"

"I had a dad." She informed. "But he probably forgot about me once he got a fresh six pack. It's okay." She said quickly, seeing the pitying expression cross the detective's face. "I don't mind. To be honest, I don't think he knew my name."

"What about your mother?" Finn frowned.

"I guess I had one at some point, but I don't remember. All papa ever said about her was that she was a whore."

The four detectives in the room shared a look, and Oliva took a deep breath and stood. "Okay, why don't I take you down to the lodge room to get some rest, and we'll see if we can get a hold of your social worker."

"She's gonna be mad." Lucy informed the woman as they turned to leave the main squad room.

"Don't worry honey, we'll explain everything." She assured.

Lucy went silent at the term of endearment, never having it directed at her before. Sure, Kevin and the other's complemented her a lot, but words like that were reserved for different kinds of relationships.

Oliva led her down to a room full of bunk beds where the officers would sleep after being on extremely long shifts. Lucy pulled herself up onto one of the top bunks and traced a hand over the flannel blanket. "I've never had one before…" she remarked to herself, but the detective heard her.

"What, a top bunk?"

"….a bed." Lucy admitted in a quiet voice. She'd slept on a mattress at papa's, and foster care had been a merry-go-round of pull outs, futons, and air mattresses.

A look that wasn't quite pity and wasn't quite anger crossed Oliva's face, and she stepped up to the bunk. "Lucy, if someone's been mistreating you, you can tell us. We can keep you safe."

Lucy scoffed, still looking down at the bedspread. "If you wanted me safe, I'd been on my way to Colorado already. Cuz I'm not gonna stop." She looked up at the woman with fierce determination. "No matter where you send me, I'm gonna get away. I'm gonna get home."

"You said your parents are gone. So why are you so determined to go back?" She faltered and looked away. No one had ever actually asked her that. "Lucy, what's in Colorado?"

"…..I had these friends." Lucy said in a voice that was barely a whisper, tears pooling in her eyes. "They were the only people who – who ever cared about me. They love me, I'm all they've got." Her voice cracked, and she turned to the detective with a broken expression. "I've gotta get back Oliva. I've gotta. I think she's going to kill them."

"Who is?"

Lucy raised a shaky hand to the scar on her cheek. It had healed and faded over time, but there was still a prominent silver line cutting across her skin. Unable to hold back years of pain any longer, she broke down into a sobbing mess. Oliva held onto her arm to make sure she didn't fall off the top bunk. Eventually, she cried herself out, and the detective laid the girl with the tear-stained face down and pulled the covers over her shoulders silently praying that she'd sleep peacefully. God knows she needed it.

Lucy's DNA had been taken to run through the system; everyone in the department agreed that her father ought to be arrested for negligence, and possibly more – they wouldn't know until they got Lucy to open up.

Tim Collins, the man Lucy had named as her father, did not turn up with her DNA however. What did turn up was a decades old case file from Lucy's hometown.

"Hannah Mathews." Warner, the M.E. informed, turning the screen towards the detectives. "According to the case report, she and her infant son were both found dead in his nursery. The husband was originally blamed, but her death was ruled a suicide."

"What about the kid?" Elliot frowned.

"Reports say he was smothered to death with a pillow. She must've killed him before she killed herself."

"Okay, what does any of this have to do with Lucy?" Olivia asked.

"According to the DNA results, Hannah Mathews was Lucy's mother."

"Then why didn't Tim turn up?" the female detective frowned, not liking where this was going.

"Well I pulled the strings on the kid's DNA." Warner said, walking towards another screen where the grid for Lucy's DNA sample was pulled up. "The green parts are the common crossover." She pointed.

"So?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"So, there's way too much green for your average sample. This kid's father must've had similar DNA to her mother; my guess is they were brother and sister."

"…She's the product of incest…"

Lucy looked around the gray room detective Stabler led her into warily. She didn't like it in here; it was too small and there was a draft coming from somewhere that made her rub at her arms.

"You can go ahead and take a seat, Dr. Wong 'll be in in a few minutes." Elliot informed. He went to leave the room, but Lucy whirled around fast as lighting, catching the heavy metal door before he could pull it shut.

"Don't…please…" she said in a small voice, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights.

"What's the matter?" He frowned. Lucy opened and closed her mouth a few times, but found the words getting stuck in her throat, along with all the air. Elliot, recognizing that something was wrong, stepped away from the door and put a hand on her arm. "Hey, hey look at me, you're okay. You're okay." He soothed, steadying her until her breathing returned to normal. "You want me to stay here and wait with you?"

"Yes please…" Lucy said in a very small voice that betrayed the scared little girl hiding behind the sassy criminal of a teenager.

Elliot led her to the large metal table and took the seat across from her that was meant for Dr. Wong. "So, you like to draw, right?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. "The uni said he found some sketchbooks with your stuff."

"Paper and pens are pretty much the only thing you can count on to be available anywhere." Lucy said, looking down at her hands where she was playing with her fingers on the tabletop.

"Well you're right about that. In fact –" the detective pulled his notepad and pen from the pocket of his suit jacket, and held them out to her. "How'd you like to sketch something before Wong gets here?"

Ever the artist, Lucy couldn't deny the temptation and took the tools from his hand after hesitating for just a moment. Elliot let her draw in silence until the door opened, causing both of them to look up.

"Hello Lucy, I'm Dr. Wong." An Asian man smiled kindly at her. "The detectives called me in to talk with you. I see one of them has been keeping you company."

Lucy nodded and held the detectives pen and pad out for him to take back. Elliot took it and went to tear the picture she'd drawn free for her, but paused when he saw what it was. A boy and a girl; each with little more definition than a stick figure, were holding hands as they walked down a street with their backs facing the viewpoint. The light appeared to be coming from in front of them, casting shadows that stretched from behind. This was nothing out of the ordinary, except that where the girl only had one shadow, the boy had four of varying sizes and shapes.

Making a mental note of the image, Elliot tore it from the pad and handed it to the girl, who folded it up and tucked it away into the pocket of her hoodie. She kept her gaze on the metal table top as the detective left the room.

******
"Now Lucy, why don't we start by talking about some of the families you've stayed with?" the psychiatrist said, taking the seat the detective had previously occupied.

"Okay." Lucy said, her voice a scratchy whisper. Since leaving Colorado, she had gone back to not using it very often, and it showed.

"Do you know how many you've been with?"

"No." she shook her head. "It's in the low twenties I think. But I guess the Johnsons and the Kellys don't really count; I was only at those houses for a week."

Dr. Wong raised a surprised eyebrow. "Why'd you move around so much?"

"They put me with a new family every time I ran away from one."

"And why did you run away so much?"

"I'm just trying to get home."

The psychiatrist hesitated a second before he leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "Lucy, you do understand that you were placed in the foster system because you didn't have a home? According to your file, you were living in an abandoned apartment when you were first taken in."

"You don't know me." She finally looked up at him with a stern glare. "None of them do. They never listened."

"Well I'm listening now. Help me understand."

"I had a home, and I had a family. I was happy, but that doctor called that woman and ruined everything!"

"That doctor treated you for a deep cut with an infection. He gave you twenty stiches." Lucy's hand reached up to ghost across the silver scar on her cheek. "Lucy, you have to understand, this obsession with returning to a place where you were unsafe; it's not healthy."

"Well of course it isn't!" she snapped. "Let's take you away from everything you love, see how you turn out!"

"I understand that you miss your home, but you were taken into the foster system for your own wellbeing and protection."

Lucy scoffed and burst out laughing, making Dr. Wong raise a questioning brow at her. "Y-You, you do get, that everyone who shuttles me through the system is killing me, with this passive form of slow homicide?"

"Now what makes you say that?"

Lucy sighed and rested her forehead in her hand. "My expectation in life is to be invisible Doc. And I'm good at it." She informed. "Taking me away from the only people in my life who ever saw me? It's like shooting me in the gut, and now no one will let me go to the hospital."

"…Why don't you tell me about these friends of yours? What were their names?"

"Dennis….Patrica, Hedwig….Kevin…."

"And what exactly made them so special to you?"

"I told you. They saw me." A lump came into Lucy's throat and she choked on it. "I-I didn't matter. Nothing mattered, I was just on my own. I made my own meals, bought my own clothes, and got myself to school every day. If I didn't take care of myself, no one would. But then Kevin…." Her voice cracked and she could feel tears pricking at her eyes. "He was so shy. Nervous, a-and scared, but he came up to me. He's my best friend."

"What about the others?"

Lucy chewed her lip. "….I'm not supposed to say."

"Lucy, I can't help you if you don't tell me everything."

"Sure you can. Put me on the next flight to Pueblo and your job's done." The sassy teenager was back. "It's really simple, Doc. I just wanna go home."