Hey my awesome sauce readers :D! Sorry if the last chapter was a little blah, it's just that I had gone so long without an update I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer so I posted the short, not so super exciting chapter 28. Anyway, chapter 29 you guys should enjoy a lot more. There's lots of dialogue, some interrogations, past season trivia, and Greg as an adorable CSI wannabe/newbie… OH HOW CUTE :D!
I also wanna apologize for forgetting to put the thanks and appreciation thing… don't worry, I remembered this time and I went back and added them as well :D!
So yeah, here is chapter 29 for you. I hope I didn't keep to waiting too long for this one either. It's a bit long but it should go by fast with all the dialogue. Anyways, enjoy :D!
Chapter 29: Defending the Innocent
"Finally someone can answer some questions for me. No one has told me a god damn thing since I've been here," Aaron moaned out once he saw the familiar face of the man who sent him to the station who was also being followed in by a detective who looked like he belonged in the mafia.
"Actually Aaron, were here so that you can answer a few questions for us," Nick simply answered as he and Brass took a seat across the table from Aaron. "I'm Nick Stokes and this is Captain Brass; were her to talk to you about what happened to Monica last night as what you may have to offer us could help us in our investigation," Nick informed in a stern but non-threatening way.
"What happened to Monica," Aaron harshly demanded to know finding it frustrating that he still has not been given one single answer regarding the love of his life or her well being.
"We'll get to that in a moment alright Aaron," Nick calmly assured the uneasy man. "Right now though, we need to focus on who did this to her."
With Nick's response, Aaron could sense the incentive behind his comment. The way that he had said this statement, it was accusing in the slightest way, but he still wasn't oblivious to the underline meaning of his words. "Am I a suspect?" he then asked with innocent eyes and a voice that carried a tone of worry.
"Everyone is a suspect until we prove that they're innocent," Brass merely explained with an emotionally unfazed glare.
"You could actually help us eliminate you as a suspect though if you would be willing to give us a sample of your DNA," Nick humbly asked, though in a casual and passive way so not to raise suspicion in their lead suspect.
"Whatever helps to find the bastard that hurt Monica," he cursed through gritted and a hurt glaze in his eye, as if showing that the monster that had hurt Monica had hurt him too.
Taking out a buccal swab from his kit, Nick took off the orange cap and quickly swabbed the inside of Aaron's mouth, simply yet thoroughly collecting his DNA. Snapping the cap back on, he had then placed the swab back in his kit and then returned to the conversation at hand. "So, getting back to it, can you tell us everything that you did yesterday?"
It was a this question that Aaron started to grow a bit concerned, seeming that he didn't exactly see the relevance of this question. Choosing not to confront the importance behind the question though, he took in a deep breathe and answered the question. "I went to my two jobs and after that I went to my brother's house. Then at around 8:00 o'clock at night, I headed over to Monica's house and I left from her house to go to my first job."
"You said that you have two jobs; what do you do for a living?"
Once again, another question of irrelevance, but it wasn't worth a confrontation about it. "My first shirt is at night from 10:00 to 6:00 in the morning where I work at a bar that's just south of the strip. Then after that shift, I leave from the bar and head down to a hardware store where I work from 7:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon."
"So you said that you went to Monica's house last night; what did you two do last night for about two hours then?" Nick then asked as he really began to try to pry into the events that Aaron claimed took place.
"You know," Aaron started off to say but choked on a bashful laugh when he said it. "We hung out," he then merely offered as a reply, though it was clear that there was more to the story then what he had just stated.
"Can you define hanging out for us?" Nick proceeded to ask, his voice ever so thick with a prying incentive.
"Does it matter?" Aaron asked in vulnerable yet defense way as his checks became flushed with the uncomfortable topic that he was hoping he would have to bring up.
"It might," Brass sternly offered as an answer, clearly informing Aaron that he didn't have any other choice other then to answer the question.
Taking in a deep breath and looking at the two men before him with innocent and bashful eyes, he told them what happened with a small voice, "We had sex. It's not exactly a crime to have sex now is it?" he then added with a laugh to lightened the awkward mood, but he soon realized that the laughing didn't help the situation, but it seemed to make it more uncomfortable.
"It depends," Nick merely answered in return, holding now a very stern and uncomfortable glare at Aaron.
A thick gulp then knotted in Aaron's throat as his forehead started to become sweaty and his nerves rose. He knew he was innocent and would swear on the bible to it, but sitting across from these two men was practically making him self question his own innocent. Maybe this whole Monica thing was a joke and he was really being interrogated for a petty crime, like he took a pen and forgot to give it back or maybe it was that time when someone gave him an extra $5 back in change and he didn't return it. At this moment, he felt like an ant getting picked on by a kid with a magnifying glass and it felt like there was no way to escape.
"Well Mr. Richards, there isn't really much more that we can do until the DNA results come back so why don't you just hang out in here until we get those results alright," Nick forcefully offered the panicked looking man as he got up from his seat and began to head toward the door.
"Can you please answer just one question for me," Aaron finally blurted out before his to interrogators were out of sight. "Is Monica okay?" he asked once he saw that he had their attention.
"Well, I'm on my way to go see her now so I'll let you know," Nick merely offered as a response as he swiftly left the interrogation room and left Aaron Richards alone to himself and his jumbled thoughts.
As Nick left the room and turned the corner, he was then met face to face with his supervisor. "So you're heading down to the hospital then?" Grissom asked, though already knowing the answer as he was listening to the interrogation.
"You know, I just think it's better to work with the victim's statement rather then the suspects. Plus, I figured that by the time I get back, Greg should be finished processing the DNA results and we'll be well on our way to convicting the son-of-a-bitch."
"Don't get ahead of the evidence Nick," Grissom quickly warned. "Although we work by the philosophy that everyone is a suspect until their innocence is proven, the state of Nevada holds to the constitutional right that we're innocent until proven guilty."
"I understand," Nick humbly replied as he heeded the words of his wise supervisor before he began to make his way toward the elevator.
Walking toward the hospital room that he was guided toward and knocking on her door, Nick made his presence known to the young woman that was lying in her bed. "Hey Monica," he said as he made his way into her room and over to her.
"Hey Nick," she merely replied with a quiet, timid voice and a weak smile.
"How've you been?" he asked as he took a seat in a chair that was right next to her bed.
"You know," she started off saying but then paused for a moment, deciding what the best thing to say would be. "I've been better," she informed with the same small, measly voice.
Nick couldn't deny that the mood in the room changed after that comment as he could feel the trauma that she had experienced. Trying to set aside the dismal atmosphere though, he then turned to Monica with a smile on his face and began to inform her of some good news. "I actually just talked to the nurses before I came in. They told me that they have been taking good care of you and that you'll be able to go home once your dad comes to check you out."
"Is my dad on his way?" she asked with a spark of life in her voice as she said this.
Nick happily nodded his head. "We got a hold on him and he said that he'll be on the first flight to Vegas. He sounded pretty worried though, but we assured him that you were in good hands."
"Wow," Monica firstly said, but finished her comment with a warm voice of gratitude. "Thank you so much."
"Of course," Nick proudly assured, happy to see that he had done a good thing that had lifted her spirits. Carrying on with the moment, he then took his opportunity to tell Monica why he was there. "Hey Monica, I was wondering if you're feeling up to answering those questions for me?"
"Yeah sure, I want to make sure that I can help out as much as I can," she bravely replied.
"Great, let's get started then. So we're going to get right into this okay. Just take your time and if there is ever a point where you want to stop, but say so okay," Nick assured with a soft smile of encouragement toward the young woman. "I need you to start off by explaining exactly what happened last night, as best as you can remember."
"So last night, I was watching TV and it was around 8:00 o'clock last night that I heard a knock on my door. I know it was 8:00 because that TV show Survivor had just started."
"Why did you answer the door?" he asked out of concern and curiosity. "Didn't you check through the little peep hole to see who it was?"
"Honestly, it was my sheer stupidity that made me open the door. I didn't even think to look through the peep hole or anything; I just opened the door and then…" It was here that Monica grew extremely quiet.
As Nick observed her reaction, it was clear that it seemed as if Monica was replying the events in her mind. "That's when Aaron attacked you," Nick half asked and half stated.
Monica silently nodded her head. "All of a sudden I'm on the ground and Aaron has his hand over my mouth," she stated with a trembling voice. "I just remember being scared at that point, but clearly that was the least of my worries."
"What happened after that?" Nick asked, though not is a forceful way, but more so to encourage her to keep explaining what happened, as by the reactions that she was displaying, Nick was growing worried that she might back down.
Taking in a deep breath and releasing a slow exhale, she took to the encouragement that Nick had provided and continued to explain what had happened to her. "He dragged me to my room and threw me onto my bed and then tied me up. I kept trying to kick him but he was just too strong. Next thing I know, I'm bound spread eagle to my bed and I have this guy straddling my waist. Then he goes on this weird whole "I love you" speech but when I wouldn't say I love you back, he started saying that he's going to make me love him. It was then that he started to take his pants off and I started to scream but he put a piece of tape over my mouth before anyone could hear me. After that… he…" But she couldn't even finish the statement as an agonizing and shameful bawl left her throat as tears began to stream down her face.
"You're doing great Monica," Nick calmly said to her as he took one of her hands and held it. "I know it's hard," he said, sympathizing with her.
Taking in a second deep breath, Monica quickly gained her composure back and wiped away her tears before continuing with her statement. "So after he was finished, he told me that he had to go to work and he told me that he was going to leave me tied up while he was gone so I couldn't escape. It was when he left though that I got really scared. I felt abandoned and I was worried that no one was going to find me and I was also scared for when he came back… I just never felt so alone before," she explained as another tear slowly trickled down her cheek.
"You didn't think that Cory would? He told us that he picks you up for school every morning," Nick suggested.
"Honestly, when you're in a position like I was, you seriously can't contemplate anything other then the worse. I knew that Cory was going to be at my house at 7:30 to pick me up for school, but I kept thinking that what if today is the day that he can't pick me up, or what if his alarm doesn't go off, or what if he comes to pick me up but because I didn't answer the phone or open the door, he leaves. Constantly I was considering the worst… it wasn't until he found me that I figured that everything was going to be okay."
"Well thank god he found you," Nick said with a pleased grin.
"I can't even begin to imagine if he didn't."
"I just have a few more questions for you Monica alright and then you can get back to resting. You said that Aaron started stalking you a couple of weeks ago; do you remember seeing him anywhere that you think triggered the obsession?"
"Well I first met Aaron when I went to the hardware store about three weeks ago. My farther was remodeling the shed in our backyard and he sent me to the hardware store to pick up a few items for him. Well I couldn't find what my dad was looking for so I asked one of the employees where to find the items and well, that employee that I asked was Aaron. He was really helpful, but then he insisted that he ring me up at the register and then he offered to use his employee discount on me and it was a nice gesture and everything but I seemed too nice. He was then flirting with me and then offered to walk out with me and carry my things to my car, and I didn't want to be rude so I said sure. But after that day, for like the past three weeks, all of a sudden, I was seeing him everywhere."
"How come you didn't report this to the police?"
"I wanted to wait till my dad returned from his trip on Monday. I just didn't know what to do and I didn't think that Aaron was dangerous or anything. I figured that my dad would be able to handle the situation. Clearly though, I was naive to think that I person who was stalking me wasn't going to be a threat."
"I'm sorry that this had to happen to you Monica," Nick woefully commented as he took the girls hand again.
Upon Nick's condolences, Monica merely nodded her head, implying that she had heard him, but kept a distant look in her eyes, as to her, Nick could feel sorry for her all that he wanted, but he wouldn't be able to understand her situation. "When will I be able to see Cory?" she then asked.
"We can actually only allow family members in here or until a family member gives permission," Nick then informed her with an apologetic look in his eyes.
"So I'm supposed to stay in her all by myself until my father, who is probably still in is Boston, Massachusetts, arrives?" she asked with a snide and irritated look in her expression.
"I'm very sorry," he apologized yet again, but upon his comment, Monica had then let out a rather irritated sounding huff. Trying to ignore her passive aggressive attitude, he then turned the conversation around and began to ask Monica some more questions, ones that he knew she would want to answer though. "So Cory mentioned that you two have been together for almost two years?"
Automatically, Monica smiled. "I always joke that it feels like we've been dating for four years."
"Why's that?" he asked as he let out a small chuckle.
"I meet him freshman year and we've been really good friends since then. We started dating my junior year though," she explained. Then, an unexpected, slightly sorrow expression came across her face. "I hate that we don't go to the same school anymore though."
"Cory graduated?" he half questioned and half stated. After seeing Monica nod her head, he then issued his follow-up question. "Where did he attend; UNLV or WLVU?"
To Nick's question, Monica's brow had furrowed as she clearly displayed a sense of confusion. "Ummm, Cory is attending WLVU; he graduated from Las Vegas High School last year."
"Wait," Nick stopped as he pinched the bridge of his nose and contemplated what Monica was telling him. "So you're still in high school?" he asked with a hidden sense of shock in his voice. When Monica nodded her head though, once again it inspired another question in Nick's mind. "How old are you?"
"17," she casually and straight-forwardly answered. "My birthday is at the end of next month though. I can't wait to finally be classified as an adult."
Upon this answer, Nick could hide the wide-eyed expression or the slowly dropped jaw. "You're 17," he then repeated, still holding the shock stricken expression on his face.
"Wait, did you think I was in college?" she then asked, laughing at what seemed to be ludicrous though to her.
"I'll be honest; I didn't think that you were as young as you are," he commented with the same blank expression of surprise in his eyes. "I actually need to head back to the station now," he then announced as Nick began to excuse himself. "Thank you again for all the help Monica," he finally added as he swiftly made his way out of her room.
Nick desperately wanted to leave the hospital at this point as the news that he had for Grissom had completely changed the charges on the case. As he stood at the elevator waiting though, he was then approached by a young, blonde nurse.
"Mr. Stokes," she asked with a quiet and polite voice. "I have Monica Brush's S.A.E. kit that you requested," she said as she handed the evidence to him.
Taking the box from the young woman's hands, Nick looked back at her and thanked her before he got onto the elevator and headed back to the crime lab.
"Hey Greggo," Nick light heartedly said as he entered the DNA lab. "You having fun with your beakers and test tubes?" he then quipped with a knowledgeable glance toward the lab tech.
Before Greg could cleverly deliver his quip at Nick though, Grissom had then walked into the DNA and had beaten him to the comeback. "Well let's hope so Nick," he quickly said back with a hopeful yet serious stare at his subordinate partner. Then turning his attention at Greg, he asked, "Do you have any results for us?"
Quickly gathering his papers from the printer behind him, Greg handed them over to his boss and immediately went into explaining the evidence. "Actually, a lot of what you gave me led to a dead end. The evidence belonged to either the boyfriend or Monica. There was also a result that came back to an unknown male but after I cross-referenced it with the database I found that there were 13 allies in common with our victim, so I'm assuming that it belongs to her father."
"What about the evidence from her bed?" Grissom then asked, finding it hard to believe that all the evidence that he had collected was explainable and didn't even relate to his crime scene.
"The blood belongs to Monica, but that alone doesn't prove that she had been raped. For all we know, it could have been a… monthly accident," Greg modestly suggested.
"So we don't have the results from the epithelials that I collected from the mattress?" Grissom questioned, drawing this conclusion based off Greg's inconclusive assumption.
"Well see, there is your golden ticket," Greg quipped with a simple smile. "The epithelials from the mattress not only came back to Monica, but the DNA is a match to Aaron."
"Which places Aaron at the crime scene," Grissom concluded with a proud look in his eyes.
"But in his defense," Greg then unexpectedly added, "it still doesn't prove that he's raped her."
"I think this does," Nick retorted as he handed Greg a small cardboard box. "This is the evidence that the nurses collected from Monica's S.A.E.," Nick merely informed as he distanced his emotions from the events that had taken place.
"So you got Monica's statement?" Grissom asked, seeing that Nick had gone to the hospital.
"Yes," Nick woefully said, his voice clearly emanating the fact that the matter of events were worse then what they had assumed.
"So is Aaron a suspect?"
Nick only nodded his head, silently answering his boss. There was more that he wanted to say though, but he didn't know how. There was always the blunt and brash way that avoided the act of beating around the bush, but Nick saw Monica's delicate nature and held the same respect to the fragile truth. At the moment, he couldn't find himself to announce what really happened in such a casual way where you couldn't express sympathy or sorrow for what the young girl went through. Taking in a deep breath, he looked at his supervisor with hollow eyes and said, "She claimed that Aaron… violated her. The S.A.E. kit proves it."
"We still need to wait for the DNA results though, so to prove that Aaron was in fact the one who raped her," Grissom said with a contradictory tone, knowing that a statement only offers so much verses the truth that evidence provides.
"Grissom, I'm telling you, it's not even worth waiting for the results. We know what Aaron did to her and its time to convict the bastard," Nick harshly added as he defended the dignity of their victim.
"Nick, it's risky to accuse someone when we don't have all of the evidence," Grissom cautiously warned.
"I've got plenty of evidence," Nick confidently challenged. "I want to question Aaron again."
"Could I watch?" Greg then quickly added, passively breaking the growing tension between Nick and Grissom.
"Greg you need to run the seminal DNA against Aaron so that we can convict him," Grissom merely offered as an excuse as he wasn't yet convinced by Nick that now was the best time to question Aaron again.
Unexpectedly though, Greg once again cleverly challenged Grissom's statement. "I could get the test started and while the results are being processed I could watch the interrogation. It takes 24 minutes to run the test anyways so we might as well get something done while we're waiting for the results."
"Then it's settled," Nick said as he then swiftly made his way out of the DNA lab, an action that didn't allow Grissom the chance to excuse Greg's suggestion.
"Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Aaron desperately asked with a strained expression on his face. "I've been sitting here for hours now and I still don't know if Monica is alright."
"Well despite what happened, I'll say that she is going to make a full recovery," Nick snidely added as he took a seat across from Aaron at the interrogation table.
"That's great," Aaron chocked out, his voice sounding as if he was about to cry tears of joy. "When can I see her?" he then eagerly asked.
"See the thing is Aaron," Nick stated off saying with a sarcastic tone, "I just don't know if Monica's going to want to see you Aaron."
"Why," he simply questioned, with a thick look of confusion in his expression. "What happened to Monica?"
"Why don't you tell us," Nick knowingly suggested.
At this moment, Aaron let out an arrogant, chocked back laugh, while shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't know what happened, that's why I'm asking you," he irritably replied back.
"So you don't remember tying her up last night," Nick asked as he placed a picture of Monica bound to her bed on the interrogation table.
"How did you get that picture?" Aaron asked with an undeniably confused expression in his eyes.
"So you admit, you tied her up last night," Nick questioned but mostly accused as he realized that he now had Aaron suck in an unexplainable position.
"Yes I tied her up," he firstly confessed, but realized that it wasn't a piece of information that really made him look good in this situation. "I can explain," he then offered.
"Please do," Nick snidely encouraged with a skeptical and mocking tone.
"Well I told you that Monica and I had sex last night," he firstly started to explain. "This is kind of embarrassing," he then warned as he proceeded to explain why he had tied her up, "but Monica likes rough sex. She had this fantasy where I would pretend to kidnap her, tie her up and rape her. When I left for work though, I untied her. That's why I'm confused about how you got that picture," he humbly explained with a slightly bruised ego.
Nick was silent for a minute after he heard Aaron explanation though, processing in his mind what he had heard. When he broke the silence though, with the same snide tone, he questioned, "So rough sex; that's what you're calling it?"
It took a lot for Aaron to dismiss the snarky and accusatory comment, but it had also once again confused Aaron as he didn't know how to respond to Nick other then to give into his confusion. "Okay, what are you talking about?" he finally asked with a miserably lost expression on his face.
"You see this picture here?" Nick asked as he redirected Aaron's attention to the photo on the desk. "This is how I found Monica this morning, tied up to her bed and crying. When we asked her what happened though, she told us a lot more then we wanted to hear. See, what you're calling rough sex, she's calling rape."
"WHAT!" Aaron shouted back at Nick with an incredulous look on his face. "You think I raped my girlfriend?"
"We have evidence that proves that you did," Nick smugly retorted with a proud portrayal of confidence.
"I didn't rape Monica," he sternly contradicted with a strong stare.
"Look, I'm sick of beating around the bush. I don't believe you. Cutting the bull shit, here's what I think happened. Let's start the story at about three weeks ago as that is when she said that she first met you. She went to the hardware store where you work at and you helped her find supplies that she needed to fix her shed. You were a little too nice to her though; offering to ring her up, use your employee discount and to carry her things out to her car for her. Gentleman gestures or a stalker selecting his pray? Anyway, she didn't want to be rude so she said yes, but then all of a sudden, she starts seeing you a lot more and she's starting to get worried. But then again, you don't seem dangerous so she doesn't feel the need to report anything. Last night though, you proved her wrong. You knocked on her door and when she opened it, you attacked her, you tied her up to her bed, and finally, you raped her."
"Are we talking about the same Monica here?" Aaron skeptically question, finding it hard to believe that he was being accused for this bull shit.
"Well seeming that you drove to her house this morning, I would say that yes, we are talking about the same Monica Brush," Nick once again cleverly and logically retorted.
"Then you need to get your facts straight because Monica and I have been dating for three years."
"I do have my facts straight buddy. Everything I just told you, they were all the exact words that came from Monica's mouth."
Aaron was silent for a second, but his next words unexpectedly raised a red flag to the investigators. "I think I need a lawyer."
"I think you need to cut the bull shit and get your story straight."
"So you got the DNA results yet?" Nick impatiently asked as he followed Grissom into Greg's lab.
"It's still working its magic but it should be done in a few minutes," Greg casually responded.
"I thought that this was supposed to be done by the time I was done with the interrogation?" he then challenged with a snide and intolerable attitude.
"Well I didn't know that the interrogation was going to go by so fast," Greg then defended with an irritable look fixed at Nick.
"I didn't know that the ass hole was going to ask for a lawyer!" Nick then unceremoniously snapped back.
"It is his right to one though Nick," Grissom then reasoned to Nick. It was a fact that Nick was well aware of though, but at this moment, he didn't care about the law, only trying to nail the bastard that had raped Monica.
It was after Grissom's moment that an awkward silence had filled the DNA lab that they had all assumed would probably carry out until the results had finally finished, which at this moment couldn't be a moment too soon.
Amidst the silence though, Greg's mind had been scrambling, all considering a possibility that seemed logical. Finally choosing to break the silence, Greg asked his question, but once he had asked it, it quickly proved to be a questioning that was more disturbing and uncomfortable then the awkward silence.
"What if Aaron is innocent," he carelessly asked with an optimistic spirit as he figured that he would get to have an interesting a intellectual conversation with Grissom and Nick, two CSI's that he looked up to. Unfortunately for Greg though, this would not be the case.
"What do you mean?" Nick asked as he choked back a laugh.
"I mean what if the guy's story is true?" he firstly reasoned. After he looked at the expressions of his two superiors though, he then decided to continue with his thought. "You know, that he's been dating Monica for three years."
"Greg, you can't be serious, you believe Aaron over Monica, our victim," Nick humorously questioned, feeling that Greg's thought was all just a joke.
"Well one of the stories is a lie, what if Monica is lying," Greg challenged once again.
After hearing Greg's response though, Nick quickly realized that he was being completely serious and that he was actually considering if Aaron was innocent. "Wow Greg, you're calling our victim a liar?" he snidely said. "Greg, the S.A.E. clearly shows that Monica was raped."
"Rough sex can leave the same marks though," he challenged, not only knowing this information based off of coroner reports that he's seen but also from experiencing the same harsh yet riveting experience of rough sex.
"More importantly though, rape can leave those kind of marks," Nick once again retorted, as he chose to remain unconvinced to Greg's argument.
"Greg do you honestly believe that Aaron is innocent?" Grissom genuinely asked realizing that this was something that he young CSI in training was seriously considering.
It was different to question Nick's thoughts, but it was another thing to question Grissom. Upon Grissom's question, Greg at first remained silent but then offered him a weak and almost cowardly response by saying, "I don't know."
"Greg," Grissom firstly said so to get Greg attention. Once the lab tech was looking at him in his eyes though, he then proceeded to encourage the novice investigator. "State your reasoning," he requested with an eager voice.
"Grissom, I really don't know, it was just something I was considering," he excused with a voice that was practically begging for his mentor to drop the conversation, but as he received the same forcefully convincing stare, Greg knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter. "I was just thinking that when you have a case like this where you have two stories that are the same but they also contradict each other, which one do you believe?"
"You believe what the evidence gives you," he confidently answered.
"But the evidence shows that she could have been raped or she could have had rough sex. Aaron could have raped her or she could be setting him up," Greg continued to challenge.
"Greg, is that what you really believe?" Nick asked with almost a disappointed look on his face.
"Why are you giving me that look?" he harshly asked with an offended look on his face. It was then though that Greg had come up with the perfect example that he knew Nick would understand and he would finally be able to get his point across to him. "You know what?" he firstly stated with a new confident grin. "I have a perfect example for what I'm talking about."
"Humor me Greg," Nick challenged with a serious stare.
"What about that case that happened three years ago between you and Kristy Hopkins?"
"What about it?" Nick asked with a heavy sigh and gritted teeth as he was forced to remember that case.
"You were the main suspect in that case. You were accused of murdering Kristy after you guys spent the night with each other. Then there was that jerk that really killed her that was trying to frame you and also claimed that he was a witness who saw you beating her or something. The truth behind it all, you were innocent and he killed her."
"But the evidence was there to prove that I was innocent. Greg, you're doing something that you not supposed to do in the field and that is getting ahead of the evidence."
"Well you're just as guilty of doing it at the moment. You think that Aaron raped Monica, but he's saying that he didn't."
"So you're calling our victim a liar?"
"I'm just considering the alternative."
"But your alternative has nothing to do with what happened with me three years ago! Like seriously Greg, how does that case fit into this one?"
"Aaron is you and Monica is the jerk who set you up. God what was his name?"
"Jack Willman," Nick smugly replied.
"And Monica is Jack Willman," Greg then repeated.
"Wouldn't Monica be Kristy though?" Grissom then calmly asked. "Seeming that Monica, like Kristy, is the victim?"
Once again, with Grissom chiming in and always presenting his logical reasoning, it had intimidated Greg and had reduced him to silence.
"Greg, I'm not going to lie," Grissom started to say to the young lab tech. "You're making a very good point and a strong argument," he encouraged yet again, trying to put a spirit back into his very optimistic CSI wannabe. "But the major difference between Nick's case and Aaron's is that Monica, unlike Kristy, is alive." It was the contradicting that had once again erased that smile from Greg's face.
As Greg continued to remain silent, Grissom had then proceeded to carry out his reasonable statement. "As CSI's, we speak through the dead and tell the story of what happened to them. It's not very often we have a victim who is alive, so when that happens, we heavily rely on them as they are a witness to what happened but we are able to question them and they can inform us on what they experienced. Monica not only has provided us with evidence that points to Aaron, but she has told us what Aaron did to her and her statement supports the evidence."
"But the evidence also supports Aaron's statement too," Greg proceeded to contradict, proudly holding strong to what he thought.
"You said that Aaron is like Nick, well what if Aaron is like Jack Willman. If you remember Jack was the one who killed Kristy so he knew exactly what happened to her. Because of what he knew, he was able to manipulate the crime scene and change the scenario around to make him self look like a witness rather then a suspect. He delivered a story that supported the evidence that we collected and not only that, but he delivered a story that perfectly framed Nick and he had the evidence to support it."
"For the time being," Greg mused.
"Very true," Grissom agreed as he remembered how Catherine found the sash that cleared Nick's name. "The point is though; the killer manipulated the situation and made him self look like the witness which ultimately got the target off of his back. The ones who are guilty will contradict everything that they can to avoid the truth."
"But unlike Jack, Aaron didn't manipulate a crime scene. He just has a different story then Monica but his story fits the evidence as well."
"That's true Greg," Grissom firstly mused. "But there is also the fact that Aaron has been stalking Monica," he suggested.
"What does that have to do with him being guilty or not?"
"It could be that he can't even define what reality is. If you remember when Nigel Crane was stalking Nick, he was so infatuated with him where he was even going to kill Nick in order to become him. It was his process of Self-Actualization which is the final stage of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. With Aaron Richards, it's along the same lines as you can see the same pattern. It's as if Aaron has created this world where he is involved with Monica and even though they only knew each other for three weeks, to him it was three years. To Aaron, Monica Brush was his girlfriend that he was in love with. The only problem was there was that barrier between fantasy and reality, and Aaron's final stage of Self-Actualization was to prove to him self that they were really together. When Aaron was raping Monica, to him it was consensual sex, and having that mind set could also lead to his denial of raping her. To him it was affection, to Monica it was trauma."
"So you think Aaron is a nutcase then?"
"Most stalkers are," Nick then commented.
"This is one of the many crossroads with being a CSI Greg, but it's always important to remember to follow the evidence for the evidence does not lie," he encouraged. "Let us know when you have the results on the S.A.E. kit alright," he then requested.
"Sure thing," he agreed. Once he was alone in the DNA lab though, he finally announced his comment to him self that he was proud he kept in from Grissom. "The evidence might not lie but people do."
"What was that Greg?"
At first Greg had worried that Grissom had indeed over heard his comment that he had made to himself, but as he turned around and faced the warm smile of the woman he had a not-so-silent crush on, he quickly relaxed and excused the comment he had made. "Nothing Sara," he said as he brushed the comment off his shoulder and pretended like it never happened.
"I though you were supposed to be in the field today?" Sara asked as she crossed her arms and leaned onto on to the counter that Greg was standing at.
"I was," Greg firstly assured. "I got to shadow Nick and Grissom at a crime scene today. I still have to run the DNA on our case though so here I am," he explained, though showing very little enthusiasm.
"Alright stud, explain your self," she ordered with a playful yet and adorably serious stare.
"What?" he merely asked as he continued to display a very bland attitude.
"Can I just point out that you have been expressing way too much enthusiasm for the field to be having a mood like this?" she reasonably stated. "So, what's going on?" she then proceeded to ask, though with a genuine concern in her voice.
"Have you ever had a case where your victim's statement completely contradicts your suspect's statement?"
"Greg, that's like asking a stripper if she's ever danced on a pole before," she light-heartedly quipped, knowing that it would be a comment to bring a smile to Greg's face, and it did. "I have to say though; it's usually the suspect's statement that contradicts the victim's statement," she then added, finding it odd how Greg chose to phrase his sentence.
"Well that's the problem I'm having," Greg explained in a very brash way. "It's frustrating because I'm considering if the suspect is telling the truth and the victim is lying."
"Really?" Sara questioned, rather impressed that Greg was showing off a rather advanced way of thinking for being such a novice. "Have you mentioned it to Grissom?"
"Yes," he answered with a quiet voice and expression.
"And what did he say?" she asked, wanting to know what Grissom thought.
"Well let's just say that he and Nick disagree with me."
"Well if Grissom is disagreeing with you, it's gonna be because of your thought either goes against protocol or the evidence," she tried to explain but also in a way tat defended Grissom. "Then with Nick, he probably disagrees with you because he's emotionally invested in a case and when that happens with him, he just becomes very… determined," she figured was the nicest way to put it.
"It doesn't matter, I'm the newbie so it's not like what I have to say is of any importance," Greg bitterly stated with defeat.
"Greg you can't think like that if you're going to be a CSI. If you disagree with something question it," she encouraged. When Greg's expression stayed the same though, it was then that Sara decided to further pick at Greg's brain as it was clear that there was something more then this case that was bothering him. "Greg, are you alright? Is there something you want to talk about?"
"It's nothing," he quickly resorted to saying.
"Greg," was all she said though, making sure that he got his full attention. Once he looked up at her, it took nothing more then a sweet, convincing stare to get him to finally open up to her.
"I'm just wondering if I'm really cut out to be a CSI," he admitted with a questionable and lost gleam in his eyes. "It's just this case," he then went to explain, but with his mind being as scrambled as it was, he didn't exactly even know where to begin with explaining his thoughts. To sum it up though, he finally blurted out, "Hell, I'm basically calling our victim a liar and I believe the suspect! I'm terrified that I'm going to mess up and I'm petrified that I'm going to disappoint everyone! This whole thing is just turning into a reality check and I don't know what to do!"
"All I can say is that this job will do that to you," she offered with a small chuckle but then quickly pursed her lips as she tried to give a serious piece of advice to her friend in need of some assurance. "Greg, I know your going through a lot as becoming a CSI, it's a lot to absorb," she started off saying so to assure that the stress that Greg was going through was normal. "With working in the lab, you're in an environment that has structure and you're trading that in to work in a world of ciaos. You're moving from double helixes to double homicides and where your answer isn't just a push of a button away. Your now going to be finding show impressions, trace evidence, DNA evidence, fingerprints, ballistics, and you still have an autopsy to deal with on top of all that and more."
"Are you trying to convince me to go through with becoming a CSI or what?" Greg questionable asked, seeming that Sara's pep talk wasn't all that peppy.
"Let me finish," Sara added with a confident smile. "Greg your very smart and ambitious and I know if you set your mind to it, you'll be a great CSI. I'll tell you right now, processing a crime scene you'll find will be the easiest part of your job."
"Then what's the hard part?" Greg asked, wanting to heed to warning that Sara was providing him with.
"Why do you think Grissom holds so much faith in evidence?" Sara asked, leaving Greg to ponder the question for a brief moment before she answered it. "It's true you know that the evidence doesn't lie."
"But people do," Greg reasoned. "People lie and liars can manipulate evidence, which is why they can hold power over the truth."
"And right there, that is the hardest part of this job," Sara finally answered with an accepting smirk barely tugging at the corner of her lip. "You begin to consider alternative possibilities and after that you don't know who to trust. Your gut will be telling you one thing but the evidence says another," she explained to Greg with a knowledgeable glance at him implying that she understood exactly what he was going through. "It's one of the hardest things to deal with."
Though the conversation had ended on a slightly dismal note, Greg chose to find the optimism in the conversation and looked to Sara was grateful eyes and a subtle smile and said, "Thanks." Changing the conversation though, but not too much, he then said, "Well hopefully your gut agrees with your evidence; I've got your results," he announced as he pointed to the piece of paper sitting in the printer tray.
Sara took the paper from the printer and briefly scanned over it before turning her attention to Greg again. Looking at him, she could see that she did resort a more optimistic spirit into him though there was still a sense of doubt behind his eyes. "I promise Greg, it'll get's easier," she encouraged once more.
"It's just a bit overwhelming. I've only had to rely on beakers and test tubes, but now, I have to rely on my gut," he said with a nervous stare.
"Keep in mind that you still have the beakers and test tubes Greg, just you won't be running the tests anymore. All you're doing is juggling another ball," she metaphorically added.
"You know I've never been good at juggling," Greg mused, though in the literal sense.
"Neither have I," she added with a laugh catching onto what Greg was implying. Returning her thought to he central point though, she continued to say, "But look at me now, I'm a CSI level 3, and someday, you will be too."
"I just want to become a level 1 first."
"And you will," she encouraged yet again as she turned to leave the lab. Before she walked out though, she turned back around and got Greg's attention one last time. "Hey after shift, Cath, Warrick, Nick and I are all gonna go out for breakfast; you should come too."
At this moment, nothing sounded better then getting off work and enjoying a hot meal and it didn't take any convincing after that thought for Greg to agree to the invitation. "Yeah sure, I'll be done around 8:00."
"Mr. Grissom?" he heard a man ask as he approached the front desk. Turning to face the person who had addressed him, he had then addressed the man back. "Yes, and you are?"
"My name is Calvin Richards," he introduced as he extended his hand out to shake the man's hand with the graying beard. "My brother, Aaron, called me and asked me to meet him here," he informed.
"Has your brother mentioned anything to you?" Grissom curiously asked so to see if their suspect brother knew of anything that was currently going on.
"He just said that he needed me to come down her that that it was urgent," Calvin merely replied. "Is everything alright?" he then asked with a brow beginning to furrow.
"How about we go and talk in my office," Grissom suggested as he knew the conversation he was about to have with this man was one meant for privacy. Once he saw Calvin nod his head, the two of them then walked around the corner to his office and as Grissom shut the door behind him, the two of them took a seat at his desk.
"So what's going on?" Calvin immediately asked with a stern voice, clearly stating that he didn't want to deal with the passive action of beating around the bush but rather confronting the current situation that involved his brother.
"Your brother is currently a suspect in our investigation," Grissom replied.
Instantly Calvin's stern expression weakened and as worry swept over him. Holding his composure though, he proceeded to ask, "What did he do?"
"We're still waiting for our results to clear your brother as a suspect but until then, your brother isn't being charged with anything," Grissom firstly assured so to ease Calvin who clearly seemed tense at the moment. "I would actually like to start off with asking you a few questions regarding your brother, if that's alright?"
"If it'll help Aaron, of course," Calvin willingly agreed.
"Are you and your brother close?" Grissom started off with asking; a simple question but one that would certainly help to expand the type of questions that he could ask.
"Without question Aaron is my best friend," he proudly said with an honest grin. "I know everything about him."
"Do you know if he has been seeing anyone recently?"
"Yeah, he's been dating this girl Monica for about three years."
This was the first piece of information that he had received at had contradicted Monica's statement but not only that, had supported Aaron's statement. "Have you met her before?" he then asked.
"You know, as close as Aaron and I are, I unfortunately have never met his girlfriend that he has been seeing for three years," Calvin explained with a surprised tone and a shake of his head, finding it hard to believe himself that he had never met Monica before.
"Can you explain that for me?" Grissom then asked, falling under the same surprise as Calvin as he too found it hard to believe that he had never met his brother's girlfriend after he had claimed that the two of them were close.
"You know I tried to meet her, on several occasions, but every time that I was supposed to met her, Aaron would then call me up and would have an excuse for me why I couldn't meet Monica. Sorry Cal but Monica's sick, Monica has an appointment, she got held up at work, she's out of town, she's on her period. I would actually mess with him and say that he was making her up, but I know he wasn't. Without a doubt, I can tell you that he was in love, no question."
"How often did he talk about her?"
"When didn't he talk about her? Every time we would see each other he always had some story about her or something to talk about regarding her. Also, he would always say that she and Leah would have gotten along great, which is another reason why I wanted to meet her so badly."
"I'm sorry, but who's Leah?" Grissom asked upon hearing about this new person.
"My wife," Calvin answered, but after his expression grew rather sorrow. "She passed four years ago; cancer," he then explained.
"I'm very sorry," Grissom respectfully offered.
"Thank you."
Moving forward from the tragedy of the past, Grissom proceeded with the questioning. "Well even though you have never met Monica, have you seen a photo of her before?"
Shaking his head like he did before with an incredulous look on his face, Calvin once again admitted to the strange relationship that he had with Aaron's real, mystery girlfriend when he said, "I actually have absolutely no idea what she looks like. I have never seen a picture of her before. I would always remind Aaron to bring one but he would always forget."
For a brief moment, Grissom had begun to side with Greg's thinking that Monica had been set up by Aaron as there were loop holes in Monica's statement with the information that Calvin as providing, but as of now, Grissom was once again convinced that Aaron was indeed the suspect. The fact that Calvin had never met or seen even a picture of Monica before almost implied that Aaron was faking his relationship and Monica was nothing more then a figment of his imagination.
"Mr. Richards, have you ever considered if Monica wasn't real and rather a figment of your brothers imagination?" Grissom then cautiously asked.
"Are you calling my brother a nutcase?" Calvin accused with a harsh voice and angered eyes, clearly taking offense to the ludicrous question.
"Mr. Richards, your brother has been stalking a girl named Monica for the past three weeks. I find it strange that you claim that you and your brother are close yet you have never met his girlfriend. You can't blame me for considering the possibility if your brother has in fact created an imaginary girlfriend and when he met a girl named Monica, his imaginary figment became real."
"Did he do anything to her?" Calvin then up front asked as he already knew that his brother was a suspect for something more then just stalking.
"Yes," Grissom firstly answered. "Last night, he came to her house and he violated her."
"He raped her?" Calvin asked, though with an unexpected skeptical tone and an unconvinced expression on his face. "I'm sorry but I don't believe that," he then challenged. "Look, I know my brother and I know he would never harm anyone in that way."
"The evidence proves that he did," Grissom went to contradict but was then interrupted by Calvin.
"What evidence?" Calvin firstly challenged with a smug smile. "You said that my brother hasn't been charged yet."
"I understand that this is hard to hear and I'm very sorry to tell you this," Grissom once again went to say but like before was cut off by Calvin.
"You know what, how about you take a second to listen to me alright so I can explain to you why my brother isn't a rapist. We had a rough childhood growing up alright. Our mother was a drug addict who committed suicide and my father was a drunk and a pedophile. I hated that bastard and Aaron was terrified of him but one night, our father lost control. He locked me in the pantry and he got a hold of Aaron."
"As in he molested him."
"Yes. After that we were sent to live with our grandmother in Reno while we grew up and Aaron went through a lot of counseling. Our grandmother made sure he was raised right though. I am telling you, Aaron would never do that to someone. Like this is going to sound so stupid, but he's too nice. He wouldn't have it in him."
"Maybe he still has some dark demons from his past."
"If anyone has the demons, it's me alright! After Aaron was born, my mom went through postpartum depression and one night she told me that she was going to kill herself and Aaron. I was six at the time and I knew that I needed to protect my brother so that's what I did. I hid under the stairs holding onto him when I heard my mom kill herself. Single gun shot to the head. Then there was my father, not only a pedophile but an abusive drunk. He threw beer bottles at me, he burnt my arm with a lighter because he was bored, he would also grab me by the roots of my hair and yell at me, he pushed me down the stairs; let's just say that I took a lot of beatings, but I did it to protect Aaron. When my father locked me in the pantry though that one night, I got to hear him as he molested my little brother. He was five at the time and I was eleven."
"Did you're father ever do anything to you?"
"You know my mom, even though she was a drug addict, she still loved me and she did her best to raise me. When she killed herself though, I realized that more then anything, she taught me how to protect. I realized that more then anything, she protected me from my father and I knew that I needed to protect Aaron. After she killed herself though, I noticed that my dad began to get more out of control. He drank more and he started abusing me but I put up with it to protect Aaron. I guess I just grew thick skin when I lived there. The night when my dad molested Aaron though, he actually went after me first. I fought against him though but he was stronger and before I knew it, I was locked in the pantry and all I could hear was Aaron screaming and crying. That night I failed at protecting him and I swore to him that I would always be there for him for the rest of his life."
"So I'm assuming that is why he called you then?"
"We're all that we have. Our grandmother, our only other relative, passed 7 years ago," he informed with a sorrow expression. "I have no family and my wife who I loved with all of my heart was taken from me. All I have left is Aaron, and if I lose him too…" Calvin grew silent as he considered his life with out his best friend and almost wept at the depressing though. "I'm telling you, my brother's innocent."
"Mr. Richards I want to thank you for your time," Grissom generously thanked seeing that this was the end of his questioning.
"Can I see Aaron now?" Calvin immediately asked as he stood up from his seat.
"I'll have an officer take you down to his holding cell," he stated as the two of them left his office and made their way to the front desk where an officer was standing. After Calvin had left with the officer and as the two of them made their way to the holding cells, Nick had then approached Grissom.
"Who were you talking to? Nick had asked after seeing a man in Grissom's office just a few minutes ago.
"It was Aaron's brother," Grissom merely answered.
"God, this must be hard for him, having to hear that his brother raped a minor," Nick expressed with the utmost sense of sympathy for the brother.
"Wait, Monica is a minor?" Grissom immediately questioned once he heard this surprising news that he was completely unaware of.
"Not only that, the DNA results came back on the semen. It came back a match to Aaron Richards," Nick proudly informed as he was happy to hear that they finally had the evidence that they needed to take down Aaron.
"You know the brother firmly believes that Aaron is innocent?" Grissom added with now a bleak stare. Understanding the turmoil that both Calvin and Aaron have endured in their lives, Grissom did genuinely express a sense of sympathy for Calvin.
"Well what do you think?" Nick then asked.
"Even if the evidence wasn't enough to prove that Aaron raped Monica, I would challenge this. Aaron's father was a pedophile that molested him when he was five years old. He was clearly at the age where he had a cognitive memory and the statistic shows that 80% of pedophiles were violated as children," Grissom reasoned with the statistical fact.
"So you're saying that Aaron raped Monica because of what happened to him in his past," Nick asked to confirm his thoughts once again.
Grissom stood there in silence for a moment before he finally answered Nick. "It's hard to let demons like that go."
"Aaron?" he questioned as he walked up to the bars of the holding cell.
"Cal," Aaron said as he walked up the bars of his cell and stood across from his brother, meeting his sorrow eyes with his confused ones. "Thanks for coming," he said as he put his hand on his brothers.
"Aaron, what going on?" Calvin asked, desperate for an explanation. "I just talked to this guy who told me that you're being charged for raping someone? Is that true?"
"Cal, you know me! You know I would never do something like that!" he defended with tears beginning to form in his eyes as he began to consider if his brother thought he was guilty as well. "I don't know what's going on Cal and I'm scared."
"Who is she?" Calvin then bleakly asked as he tried to distance his emotions.
"It's Monica, my girlfriend," Aaron once again explained with truthful eyes.
"The girl you've been seeing?" he asked, wanting a conformation.
"Calvin you know I would never hurt anyone like that, to go as far as to rape them, but more then anyone, I would never, ever hurt Monica. Everyone is saying that I've been stalking her for the past three weeks when I've been dating her for the past three years!"
"Have you really been dating her, for three years, or was the whole thing made up?"
"Calvin, why would lie to you about that! I would never!" he continued to assure. "Calvin please, you're my brother you have to believe me. You're the only person I can trust and I need your help. Please, I can't go to jail," he desperately begged as a few tears began to stream down his face.
"Aaron, I believe you alright," Calvin firstly assured. "I'm really confused though. Can you please explain to me what happened?"
"Nothing happened," Aaron repeated yet again as he refused to deny his innocence. Monica and I had sex last night before I went to work, but then when I went back to her house, there are all these cop cars surrounding the house and there was crime scene tape. I then walked up to this guy and ask him what the hell is going on and then all of a sudden, I'm down here in this cell begin accused of raping my girlfriend."
Before Calvin had a chance to reply though, the officer that had brought him to his brothers holding cell had walked over to them. "Mr. Richards," he said, addressing Calvin. "I need to take your brother to the interrogation room right now. You can wait outside of the interrogation room alright," he informed.
After Calvin nodded his head, it was then that the officer had opened up Aaron's cell and immediately began to lead him toward an interrogation room. As Aaron walked into the room though, he saw the same two familiar faces from before already waiting for him. Taking a seat across from the two gentlemen, a thick gulp had knotted in his throat like before as he awaited his fate to be delivered to him.
"So Aaron, lets start off with a simple question shall we?" Brass painfully teased the emotionally wrecked man sitting across from him. "Do you know how old Monica is?"
"She's 21," he quietly answered.
"Wow, you've done your research," Brass quipped.
"We have too," Nick then added with the same toying attitude that Brass with portraying. "See we just talked to Monica and she is still claiming that you raped her. You know what the penalty for that is? Five years in prison."
"I'm being charged for five years in prison for something that I didn't do?" Aaron asked with hopeless eyes.
"Well actually, see this is the cool part. You wanna see a magic trick?" Brass cleverly quipped yet again.
"Is this a joke?" Aaron miserably asked as he just wanted this whole miserable thing to be done with.
"Nope, because POOF… your five years just turned to 25 years to life in prison."
"WHAT! ARE YOU SERIOUS I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING HERE!" Aaron immediately shouted back as he heard this.
"See it's a crime to rape someone in Nevada hell it's a crime to rape someone in any 50 state. What changes that five years to 25 though; the age of the victim," Brass informed with a rather sadistic smile.
"Guess how old she was," Nick then asked, with scrutinizing eyes.
"She's 21, I know that for a fact, she's told me and I've seen her driver's license."
"Wrong answer Aaron… Monica Brush is 17 years old."
"What…" Aaron repeated, though this time, his expression was just blank.
"You raped a minor Aaron," Nick blatantly said with a careless stare.
"I didn't rape her but I also didn't know that I was having sex with a minor," he tried to reasonably defend.
"See Aaron, that's where I am just having a hard time believing you. Monica's statement fits our evidence and our evidence says that you did it," Nick informed once again.
"But I love her," he quietly stated with tears thick in his eyes.
"But she didn't love you," Brass heartlessly offered.
"She set me up," he whispered to himself as he continued to wallow in his tears. "Can I see her, please?" he proceeded to ask. More then anything, at this moment all he wanted was an explanation.
"You can see her," Nick then answered, but the hope in his voice only unforgivable betrayed his ears as he finished his sentence. "You can see her in court."
Standing up from his seat and walking over to Aaron, Brass extended his arm out and clasped it around his bicep as he pulled the distraught man up from his chair. It was then that Brass had removed his handcuffs from his back pocket and proceeded wit pull Aaron's arms behind his back. It was then that Brass recited the accursed words that had sealed away Aaron's fate. "Aaron Richards your under arrest for the rape of Monica Brush."
Poor poor Aaron :(
My question for you guys: 1) So you guys now have the full story of what happened to Aaron Richards, so are you guys confused about anything or have any questions that you need me to answer.
2) What do you guys think of Greg's argument when it came to defending Aaron?
Now to my thanks:
For alerting, thank you Sunlit-Oceans and gunsAndROSES2656.
For favoriting, thank you Sunlit-Oceans.
For reviewing, thank you imcrazyandiknowit, C.H.W.13, and WMG.
So yeah, that's the whole kit-n-kaboodle! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and be sure to review! Reviews full my fire! Anyways, I'm off to continue writing chapter 30 :D! Wish me luck guys and hopefully it'll be up soon :D!
