Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual lol.

Chapter Ten

Lindsay crumbled as she heard her brother on the other end of the phone; his voice was soft yet rough, demanding to know what was wrong. She tried to speak, gagging, choking, on her own breath as she tried to tell him what was wrong, but no words would come out no matter how hard she tried and in the end she ended up sinking back into the bed clothes and crying softly into the phone.

"Lindsay! Lindsay what's wrong? What's happened? Lindsay I cant understand you, take deep breaths bunny."

Steve's voice whispered gently in her ear and she felt herself shake with fresh tears as she heard the old nickname he had given her. After a few more moments she managed to calm herself down and her hoarse voice spoke quietly like a child's.

"Steve, I'm in the hospital. I…I was attacked. I just, Steve, I.."

She broke down in fresh tears and was unable to finish her sentence. The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening to her and she silently begged him to speak again. When he did he sounded as broken as she felt.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. If there are no planes leaving within the hour I'll drive, but I'll be there as soon as I can, bunny."

She nodded even though he couldn't see and was about to say goodbye when she thought of something.

"Steve, don't tell ma!" Her eyes were wide with fright and she chewed her lip nervously.

"Alright I won't. I'll see you soon kiddo. Love you."

"Love you more."

She hung up and placed her phone on the table. Her head shot to the door as she heard it open but she relaxed slightly as the nurse stepped through pushing a trolley. Her throat was dry, she suddenly realised, and spoke quickly.

"May I have some water please?"

The nurse looked at her sympathetically and pointed to the jug of water next to the bed along with the glass of water. It was quite often she saw women try and divert away from the exam, put it off for as long as possible, and it didn't get any easier no matter how long they waited.

Lindsay turned her head slowly and looked at the water, she wanted to drink it but a little voice inside her asked her "What's the point?" She stared at the water for what seemed like hours until the nurse slipped on some gloves and said gently with a soft smile.

"Miss, I need to examine you now. Please lie on your back." Lindsay did what she was told and the nurse spoke again so quietly it was difficult to hear her. "I'm sorry, I'll be gentle."

Lindsay had no reaction. Her eyes stared at the ceiling above her and she felt the soft thud of her heart against her chest. The nurse was explaining the procedure to her, but Lindsay wasn't listening, she knew it all anyway.

She would be tested for HIV, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, many different samples would be taken from her and analysed in a lab somewhere, maybe her own. Her clothes had been taken earlier along with dirt and tarmac from her hair and the samples lay on the trolley in various evidence bags waiting to be collected.

She spread her legs carefully and curled her toes underneath her, grinding her teeth as she felt hairs, foreign and native, being collected and sealed in plastic bags. She felt the soft touch of a swab between her legs and closed her eyes, screwing them up tightly. Gentle fingers prodded and probed her private area, thighs, and abdomen searching for any biological spill left by her attacker. She felt a little lightness as she felt something being collected and knew that they had at least some DNA from the assailant.

Sitting up as best as she could, she held her shaking hands out slowly and grimaced as something sharp swabbed under her fingernails, searching for those precious bits of DNA she had hopefully collected. A needle pierced her skin on her arm and three blood vials were taken from her to test for various diseases and other consequences from a rape.

A flash went off in her face and she realised that they had moved onto the next part of the rape exam. She turned her head slightly so that different angles could be taken, her whole body was photographed. From her bloody and smeared head, to her battered and bruised face, to her quivering hands, to her angry colourful skin.

And then it was over.

The nurse surveyed her with sad eyes and handed her a cup with a couple of tablets in it, Lindsay looked at them then to the nurse who explained. "To help with the pain." Lindsay nodded and dry swallowed them, choking them down her rough throat and the nurse spoke again. "We'll give you something to help you sleep after we've taken you to X-ray ok?"

Lindsay nodded and slipped into the wheelchair the nurse was offering, letting out a short moan of pain as she did so. The nurse reached behind her onto her trolley, unfolded a soft cushiony blanket, and gently tucked it around Lindsay's knees, in order to keep her warm, then wheeled her to X-ray.

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Detective Don Flack paced around the squad car for the third time as he talked on the phone, one hand on his hip the other holding his phone to his ear he spoke with a natural voice of charm and professionalism.

"Yes this is Detective Don Flack with the NYPD. I'm calling in regards to a patient."

He paused and then took a breath before speaking again.

"Well we don't know who she is, but we do know that she was attacked within the past two hours. We believe she may have been raped, and despite being seriously injured, she has admitted herself into a hospital. Yes, a description I can give you. From witnesses, we have determined that she was young, around late twenties to early thirties, roughly 5'3", shoulder length curly light brown hair."

He waited with baited breath. This was the third hospital he had called and he was desperate to find his victim, so he could get to her and help her. That's the reason he had joined the force.

Yes his father may have played a part, as well, but ultimately it was due to his desire to help people and put the guilty where they belonged. He loved to wear the shiny white cowboy hat. After a moment his face lit up and he stopped pacing, nodding enthusiastically he spoke with relief,

"Thank you. Do not let her leave, I'm sending someone now."

Hanging up he pocketed his phone and walked back over to the alleyway where Mac and the team were working diligently. They all looked up when he came close, and waited.

"Mount Sinai has a patient who admitted herself a little over an hour ago, asking for a rape kit. She fits our description so I'm going to head over and check it out."

Mac nodded and straightened up. "Let us know what you find out Flack."

Stella turned to them both but directed her question to Flack. "You get a name?"

"No, she hasn't filled out the necessary paperwork yet so they didn't have her name. I'll get it when I'm over there."

Both Stella and Mac nodded, and Flack turned on his heel and headed back to the squad car before taking off for the hospital. Mac turned to Danny who, stood in a corner; one hand slung into his pocket, the other dialling a number on his phone.

"Any luck Danny?"

Danny turned suddenly, surprised at the voice and shook his head. "Naw, just keep getting her voicemail."

Mac's jaw tightened and his lips grew into a thin line. He was angry with Lindsay. She was a good CSI and should know not to turn her phone off and not answer her pager. What the hell she was playing at, he didn't know.

A little voice at the back of his head sent off warning alarms, but he ignored them. It was easier to be angry with someone and do your job, than be worried for someone and do your job. But looking at Danny he realised that his young employee was having a more difficult time ignoring the voice.

Mac turned to Stella and she nodded and then walked over to Danny shoving the camera into his hands.

"Come on Messer, she'll be fine. And it's your turn to take the photographs."

Danny nodded slowly, pushing his phone back into his pocket and fixing the camera strap around his neck. Glancing around, he caught Stella's eyes and knew that he wasn't the only one worried about Lindsay.

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Flack stood at the nurse's desk smiling at the young pretty nurse in front of him. "I'm Detective Flack I called about the rape victim. Do you know where I can find her?"

"Can I see some ID please Detective?" The nurse was very polite and smiled at him sweetly. Matching her sweet smile with one of his charming ones, he pulled out his badge and showed it to her. Nodding she pointed down the corridor. "She's in room 201, down the corridor to your left. I'm sorry Detective, but she's currently in X-ray but you can go wait."

"Thank you. I think I will."

Grabbing his badge once more, he set off swiftly walking down the corridor towards the room, but his breath caught in his chest by what he saw at the opposite end of the hall. Another nurse was pushing a wheelchair carefully toward him, and in the wheelchair was none other than Lindsay Monroe.

He struggled to breathe as he took in her appearance. Her hand was in a cast, her hair matted with dried blood. She sat upright in the wheelchair and he could faintly see the outline of a brace on her chest, to support her.

The sweet, fresh face of hers was torn, ripped, bruised and shattered. Her right eye was so swollen and so purple he doubted she could see out of it, her lips were swollen, also, and he could see the congealed blood along her chin. He glanced down her body taking in the bruises and cuts on her arms and legs, she had clearly been dragged along the ground harshly. Finally he looked at her feet, they too were bruised and on one foot she bore another cast.

Watching her be wheeled into the room he was heading toward, he closed his eyes momentarily. Despite seeing her, he had been hoping she wasn't their victim. As he stood there, outside the room, and watched the nurse hand her some pills, she didn't raise her head once. Her chin rested on her shoulder and her eyes seemed to be stuck to the floor by some powerful invisible force.

He balled his hand into a fist and turned abruptly, walking back down the corridor. That wasn't their Lindsay, that was someone else. The woman in that room was a shadow of the woman he knew and he was so furiously angry at the bastard who did this to her. Calming himself down, slightly, he pulled out his phone and hit speed dial.

"Mac? You best come to the hospital. It's Lindsay."

Ta da! Im sorry again for the lateness of getting this up, college is my only excuse.

please please please REVIEW. You know I love them and they make me write faster :D

Thanks once again to Mel for being my wonderful beta.

XxX