Brianna paid for the meal while Horatio had the car brought up. She walked outside and saw her father waiting by the car. He smiled and opened her door, helping her in. He walked around and got in. He pulled away from the restaurant and out into the late night traffic.

The car ride home was quiet as Horatio and Brianna thought about what everyone said. They pulled into the driveway. Horatio parked, got out and helped Brianna out. They walked to the front door. After he unlocked the door, Horatio stepped inside and turned on the foyer lights. Then he walked into the living room and turned on the lights.

Brianna noticed that he was very quiet. "Dad, are you upset?"

Horatio turned to see a questioning look on his daughter's face. "No, sweetheart, why would you think that?"

"You haven't said much," Brianna commented.

"I just have been thinking about what everyone said. I am very grateful for all that you guys did tonight and I appreciate it."

"You're a very humble man, dad," she complimented.

"Thank you, Brianna. You get a lot farther by giving credit where it's due than taking it for yourself, remember that," Horatio replied taking off his coat and laying it neatly on the couch.

Brianna nodded and went to her room. She changed into a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, and took her hair down. She went into her closet, opening a storage box; she pulled out a photo album. Then she got her file out of her portfolio bag.

Brianna carried them into the living room where she found her father was putting a cd in. She put the album and the file down on the couch and walked over to her father.

"What are you putting in?"

"Sarah McLaughlin," he replied.

She smiled and went into the kitchen, grabbed a couple of bottles of water and came back into the living room. She sat down on the couch next to her father, handing him a bottle.

"What are those?" He asked, gesturing to the album and file.

She picked up the file and scooted closer to her father. She opened the file and the first thing Horatio saw was a picture of Brianna in her uniform.

"This my real personnel file. It contains my file from New York and here. Everything's in here, soup to nuts."

Horatio looked at her for a moment. "When was this picture taken?"

"That was taken on the day I graduated from the academy. I graduated second in my class. This one," she said, pulling out another photo. It was she and Mac Taylor. "This one was taken after my first year evaluation."

"Mac looks very proud of you," Horatio said smiling.

"Oh, he was. He kept bragging how quickly I caught on," she mused

Brianna put the file aside and picked up the photo album. She opened it up. "After two years at PD, I was able to track down mom. We got together, talked and stuff," she said, looking at her father.

"Did she ever explain why she left me?" Horatio asked quietly

Brianna could hear the pain in his voice. "Do you want the personal or professional opinion?"

Horatio looked at his daughter and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just want to know why."

"It wasn't you or the job. It was her," she answered.

"I had to have done something," Horatio said getting up and walking over to the window.

"That's the thing, dad," Brianna began to explain. "You did everything you could to help her and find me. She thought it was her fault."

Horatio turned around, a confused expression coming over his face. "What do mean she thought it was her fault?"

"She blamed herself for me getting kidnapped because she told you that going to that restaurant where you two had first met would the best anniversary present she could receive."

"She never told me she thought it was her fault," he said sadly, as he sat back down on the couch.

"She loved you, dad, very much. She did say that she tried to come back, but she didn't think you'd have her. She was scared. She thought the kidnapping was her fault and if anything were to happen to you, she didn't know what she would do. It doesn't make it okay, but at least you know. Mom left on her own. That wasn't your fault."

Horatio knew Brianna was telling the truth. "I wish I would have found you though."

"Things happen when they do for a reason," she smiled, looking back at the photo album.

"From what Mac and I could find out, the woman who took me was part of a ring that preyed on young, newly married couple with young children. While they found her and arrested her, they couldn't find all the children. Two others and I weren't found. Their M.O. was to pose as nannies and babysitters. They would wait until the parents were out, kidnap the children, take the children to separate locations, changed their clothes and cut and dye their hair. Then they would turn them over to child services or adoption agencies, saying that they found the children abandon or that relatives had left the child with them, but were unable to care for them anymore."

"So what did you look like?" Horatio asked.

"Here," Brianna said, pointing to a picture. The picture was of a five-year-old girl with a bob haircut, brown hair, blue eyes and freckles. "This was taken the day I went into the New York Foundling."

"They didn't think it was strange when your hair began to grow out and it was red?" he asked.

"I remember them asking me about it, but I told them I couldn't remember."

Brianna slowly flipped through the next five pages of photos that where taken at the orphanage. There was always one on her birthday and at different times during her stay there. Horatio smiled as he saw his daughter grow up.

"How long were you there?"

"Until I was seven," Brianna answered, pointing to another picture. This one was Brianna, red hair and all, with a man and woman. The man and woman had the biggest smiles on their faces.

"Your adopted parents?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah, Adam and Tracy Davis," Brianna smiled. "They were in their thirties and had been trying for a long time, but Tracy couldn't conceive, so they opted to adopt."

Brianna smiled. "We always got excited on open house days. We would spend time with each couple. Some of us would get adopted, some of us wouldn't, but we were always told to never give up hope."

Horatio could imagine all the children running around while the staff tried to explain things to them.

"They had adopted a boy four years before adopting me. His name was Michael," she said.

"How old was he?" Horatio asked.

"Michael was 10 when Adam and Tracy adopted me."

"Why was he at there?"

"Well, Michael's dad had died from cancer and his mom couldn't cope. Michael's aunt had to sign committal forms because his mom had tried to kill herself. That left Michael with nowhere to go. No one in the family could afford to take him in. They all helped pay for his father treatment."

"They look like a nice couple,"

"They were great. Adam was a doctor in Manhattan and Tracy was a lawyer. Both of their practices centered on helping people who didn't have a lot of money. When I was about fourteen, I remember asking Adam and Tracy why they didn't have a fancy office and stuff like other doctors and lawyers.

"What did they tell you?" Horatio inquired, wondering what they had taught her.

"Adam told me that just because people didn't have a lot of money, didn't mean that they didn't deserve help and Tracy explained that a lot of her patients were victims of violence who couldn't afford an expensive lawyer. She said that making sure the victims and their families received justice was what was really important."

"Good principles," he commented. "Is that when you began thinking about becoming a police officer? "

"Yeah, the idea started to roll around in my head. I remembered that day when you came home. You still in your uniform," Brianna said softly as memories from that night clawed their way to the forefront of her mind.

Horatio watched as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her as she began to sob. Since he had found out that Brianna was his daughter, he had lost count of the times he wished he could go back and make things right.

"I was so scare, dad," Brianna cried.

He felt his own tears on his cheeks as his daughter cried. "Its okay, Brianna. You're home now and no one is going to hurt you again," Horatio comforted.

After awhile, Brianna pulled back and Horatio reached for the tissue box on the coffee table. She took several and blew her nose. She looked at her father. Horatio gently wiped the last tears from her cheeks.

"Your file said that you graduated from high school at sixteen," Horatio asked as they returned to Brianna's high school photos.

"I did. There wasn't too much that I wasn't involved in," Brianna said.

"Where did you go to high school?

"Actually I went to The Birch Wathen Lenox School from elementary school through high school."

"Very nice school," Horatio commented.

Horatio had her pause on a page with several photos. "This looks like it was taken in Paris?"

Brianna looked at the photo that her father was looking at. It was of Brianna and two other girls, standing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

"That was my junior year of high school. I was an exchange student. The two girls with me in the picture are Angelique and Nicole Roux. My host family was the Roux. It was great. I had so much fun."

Brianna turned another page to reveal the pictures of her graduation. There were about two dozen of Brianna, her class and her various friends. One picture caught Horatio's attention. It was of Brianna addressing her graduating class.

Brianna noticed the smile on his face. "I was valedictorian."

"How many were in your graduating class?"

"There was twenty-five in my class," Brianna explained. "We were close."

The next series of photos were of Brianna in college. The first one was of Brianna, Adam and Tracy on her move in day.

"This would be your first day of college, wouldn't it?" Horatio asked.

"Yep, I was so nervous. I had to get special permission for admission because I was 16. Adam and Tracy had to sign a mess of consent forms. Michael was attending there, so they asked him to be my guardian until I was eighteen. He was glad to do it."

Brianna and Horatio continued to look over her college photos until they came to her graduation photos.

"I was second in my class and the only one who accomplished a double major that year," she said.

"What degrees did you graduate with?" Horatio asked, even though he already knew. He wanted to her it from her.

Brianna smiled, knowing that he knew the answer to the question. One thing she had learned about her father was that he didn't ask question for no reason.

"A Bachelor's in Forensic and Toxicological Chemistry and a Bachelor's in Criminal Psychology."

"Heavy majors,"

"I thrive on challenges." Brianna smiled.

They continued to look through the photos until they came to Brianna's academy photos. His smile grew broad as he looked over the photos. There were pictures ranged from first day photos to hanging out to field exercises. Brianna pointed out a series of pictures that were her favorites.

"These are my favorites," Brianna said proudly.

The series of pictures were of four men and three women, one of which was Brianna. They were standing with several member of the New York PD.

"When was this taken?" Horatio asked, recognizing a few of the officers.

"This was taken right before graduation. We were the top seven in our class. It was decided that we would immediately go from our internships to the field upon graduation."

"How did they decide who went were?"

"It was based on test scores, internship scores and profiling. Mac was already watching me as I came through the academy, so I went to Mac's precinct."

"Who did you do your FTO with?"

"Umm, Officer Mark Callahan. He was there when you were because he kept mention how much I looked like a friend of his who was a homicide detective, whom had left and moved down to Miami."

"Leave to Mark. He was a good officer and an excellent teacher," Horatio smiled.

"He asked me about my family. I told everything I could remember. Then he asked if I had any desire to find my family."

"I told that I had wanted to but was able to. He told me not to worry that he would help me out."

"So he helped you find Elizabeth?"

"She was the easier of the two of you to find."

"How long did that take?" Horatio asked.

"By the time my FTO was done, I had tracked her down," Brianna sighed.

"Then you went into the crime lab?"

"Yeah. Mac taught me a lot. He an excellent criminalist," Brianna said as she pointed to a photo of her and Mac. "This one was taken after I solved my first case."

Horatio leaned over and kissed her temple. "Smart girl."

"After I was in the lab for a year, people started asking questions about my family. They kept saying that I looked like this homicide detective that had moved down to Miami. So, Mac started to dig around and see what everyone was talking about."

Horatio nodded as Brianna slowly continued to turn pages.

"One day he came into the lab and showed me a picture. I recognized it because it was the one you kept on the bookcase."

"The one we took a couple of days before your fifth birthday," Horatio confirmed, knowing the exact photo she was referring.

"That would be the he showed me. He asked if I knew who the people were. I said recognized them, but I could think of where I knew them from. That's when we started to dig into the police report, my birth certificate, social security number and stuff. We found out that it was false. Evidently, the abduction ring had someone very good at fraud and getting papers for illegals."

"When did you start to put the pieces together and when did you and Stephen get together?" Horatio inquired.

"Stephen and I got together in my second year. We the same rank, so it was kosher. To answer the second question, that would be right before I received my promotion. Mac finally found my original birth certificate, social security number and some other information. He helped me sort through everything. He asked if I wanted to get in contact with, but I said I needed some time to think about things. He said he understood."

"Did you ever come down here looking for me?"

"I did. It took a couple of trips, but I eventually did." Brianna said, looking down, knowing what the next question would be.

"Why didn't you approach me?" Horatio asked gently, not wanting to sound accusing.

Brianna sighed. "I was scared and I didn't know how you would've reacted."

"So, you went back up to New York and kept an eye on me from there?"

Brianna nodded, turning a page. On the next page, were several pictures of Brianna with the brass of the New York PD, the mayor and her superiors. This must be when Brianna got her promotion to detective, Horatio thought.

"You're thinking this is when I got my promotion? You'd be correct."

"Your file doesn't say what you did," Horatio commented.

"That's because it couldn't and will not be put in there." Brianna said firmly.

"Classified?" Horatio nudged.

"No, it was a special task force assignment. Do you remember reading about a serial killer called The Ghost?"

"Yes, I remember. He used a wide range of hallucinogens on his victims until they went insane, then he tortured them to death. You were involved with that investigation?" Horatio said, quite surprised.

"I was the one asked by the FBI to help profile him. It took me a couple of days to get through the crime scene photos. Then we went to where the bodies had been found, that was rough. I know I lost it twice at the first one."

"I can imagine. Those were some pretty bloody scenes." Horatio said, having done his own research on the killer.

"We caught him and the ASAC at the time, mentioned to my superiors that if it wasn't for my profiling and additional insight that they wouldn't have caught him anytime soon. I was twenty-three."

"So they promoted you to detective?" Horatio smiled proudly.

Brianna nodded. "By then, I had my name and information changed back to Caine."

Horatio noticed that Brianna seemed to be unable to turn the page. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Brianna slowly turned the page. Horatio saw the newspaper article. He read the headline and the first couple of sentence.

"Ring of Dirty Cops Exposed (AP-New York), An internal investigation in the New York Police Department has revealed a ring of dirty cops trading classified information to outside informants in exchanged for money. After a hostile takedown, Detective Sergeant Phillip Andrew Collins along with ten other officers of the New York Police Department were arrested. During the raid, an unnamed member of the NYPD with severe injuries was hospitalized after assisting in the arrest of Detective Collins …."

Horatio remembered the list of injuries Brianna had run down at the gardens. Brianna didn't turn the page.

"I think I'm going to go soak," Brianna said putting the album aside, but not closing it. She wanted her father to see the rest, but she couldn't look at them. Some wounds just don't heal, she thought. She walked back to her room, leaving Horatio looking down at the photo album.

Horatio hesitantly picked up the photo album. He knew that sometimes, no matter how much time passes, memories still hurt. He turned the page and saw a single note on the page, See page 23, Case No. 05-93728. He closed the photo album and picked up the file that Brianna had brought out.

He opened it up and went to page 23. Horatio began to read the reports of what had taken place. When the team had gone in, it was a blood bath. There had been fifteen cops involved in the ring and five of them had been killed. Collins had broken off from the group and tried to escape out the back but Brianna had caught up with him.

He continued to read. He discovered that the communications had gone down, leaving the team unable to radio for SWAT to head into the building. Meanwhile, Collins had gotten the upper hand with Brianna. When communications were restored, SWAT raided the building. As they came to the back of the building, they found Collins on the ground with Brianna holding a gun to his head, badly injured.

Horatio turned the page and nearly retched. In the next section were the photos that had been taken of Brianna's injuries. The worst ones were the photos of her back. Collins had whipped her with his belt until her back was looked like a raw piece of meat. In all his years and of all the things he had seen, he had never seen anyone beaten this bad and still be alive. He remembered Scott telling him that she had to have a blood transfusion and that the senior officers had never seen anyone with that much blood loss survive."

By now, Brianna had come back into the living room in her swimsuit. She noticed that the case file wasn't where it was setting earlier. There was no way I could tell him about that, she thought. Then she heard the sliding door open and her father walk back into the house.

Horatio had changed into a gray tee shirt and khaki shorts. He walked up to his daughter. Brianna pulled her hair to the side and turned around. Her tank top hid a lot of the damage, but now, Horatio saw the full extent of it. While most of the scars were extremely faint and hard to see, four of them weren't.

"The medication I take and the lotion I put on got rid of a lot of the lighter ones, but these four took three surgeries to get them to look this good," Brianna said softly.

"No wonder you were so scared the first day when Collins showed up," Horatio said, remembering the fear in her voice when she screamed his name. "I'm so sorry sweetheart."

Brianna turned back around to face her father and stepped into his open arms. She wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could without hurt her shoulder.

"There's a saying, 'What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger'" Horatio quoted. "I've seen far more seasoned officers break under far less stressful and dangerous circumstances, Sparks, but you, you take it and learn from it. It's built your character, skills and integrity as an officer and I am very proud of you." Horatio complimented, holding her at arm's length to get a good look at her.

Brianna bashfully dipped her head and looked back up at her father. "Thank you, Dad."

Horatio looked at the clock, 11:45 pm. "Soak for thirty minutes, then come back in. We have to be at the lab by 8:00 am."

Brianna nodded and walked out to the deck. Horatio followed and helped her step into the hot tub. She smiled contentedly as she slid down into the water.

"Remember, thirty minutes, Brianna," Horatio remained.

Brianna nodded as Horatio laughed and walked back into the house. He locked up, got ready for bed and drifted off to sleep.