Hey ppl! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I am def. gonna do a sequel. I haven't forgotten about Who Are You? I've been concentrating on this one, why? I'm not sure. And, I'm giving Cruz a Honda Civic. I changed my plans. This is chapter 8 and then I'm gonna have a quick epilogue. Then I'm gonna do the sequel. If anyone knows how tall Tia Texada is, tell me.
Shorty, thank you for the reviews and I am actually planning something like that....
Standard Disclaimer: I own Kaylee, Theresa and whoever else you've never seen before and that's it. Please don't sue me. I have nothing.
ENJOY!!!!!!!!!
Don't Let Me Go
Chapter 8
2 days later at 12:32pm, Cruz was wheeling Kaylee out of the hospital. Cruz Wasn't she supposed to get out in only a day? She sighed. Doctors.
"Mom!" Kaylee whined. "I don't need a wheelchair. I'm fine. My arm doesn't even hurt." Kaylee still had her cast on. Dr. Nara said it was a small break and should be healed in 4 weeks.
"I know your fine, but it's the rules of the hospital." Cruz explained.
Kaylee sat back in the chair, crossing her good arm in front of her chest.
Cruz Damn, she's a lot like me. Why didn't I see this before?
They got to the doors in the main entrance and they opened automatically.
Kaylee looked up at Cruz. "Can I get outta this chair now?"
Cruz tried not to smile. "Yeah." She went over to the valet and give him her ticket.
Kaylee jumped up like a bat outta hell. "Am I going to your house now?"
Cruz nodded.
"What happened to Theresa?" Kaylee asked, looking at Cruz.
"We're finding people that work for or with her. We're getting close, okay?"
Kaylee nodded. "And I never haveta go back there again, right?"
"Right." Cruz agreed.
"Kay."
During the past two days, Cruz was with Kaylee for mostly every single minute. Swersky was very nice about the whole thing and let Cruz take 1 week of unused vacation time to help get Kaylee settled in at her place. Cruz hasn't been to the House in two days, but now she has to take Kaylee so they can have a better description.
"We're going to our apartment, then I haveta take you into my.." she paused. "..police place."
"Why?"
"I need you to give me a description of Theresa. Then, there's gonna be a room and there's gonna be women in there. The cop is going to ask you if you see her in that room."
"Okay."
"This might take awhile." Cruz warned.
Kaylee's eyes lit up. "Do I get to meet the people you work with?"
"If you wanna, yeah." Cruz could just imagine when Sully, Davis, Faith, and Bosco hear Kaylee call her Mommy. I'd give anything to see that. she thought, laughing to herself.
The valet pulled Cruz's Civic around and gave her the keys.
"Thank you."
The valet nodded.
"Mom, when am I going to school?"
"You wanna go to school?" Cruz asked, shocked.
Kaylee blushed. "Kinda."
"Hey, that's okay. Don't feel bad for wanting to learn."
Kaylee looked at Cruz. "Okay. Can we go home now?"
Cruz smiled. "Yep." Cruz got Kaylee's stuff from the hospital into the car and then finally got Kaylee into the car, in the backseat. To Cruz's surprise, Kaylee didn't argue with her on that one. Cruz got in the car and began to drive home.
Kaylee I can't believe how lucky I am. I get to go to school and I have the bestest mommy ever!
Cruz was driving along, and she looked at Kaylee in the mirror. I can't believe I'm a Mommy. I wasn't expecting that until.... ever "When we get home, we'll get settled, maybe take showers.."
Kaylee interrupted. "I don't have any other clothing except the ones from the hospital."
Cruz Oh yeah, we were here about 3 days ago.
"Right. Okay, do you know where you get clothes?"
"Nope."
"Okay, let's go to.." she trailed off. She was looking out the window at any place that would have children's clothing. "How about Kids R Us?"
"Okay."
Cruz That place is cheap, right? She turned left and surprisingly there was a parking lot in the back. She found a spot in the back, parked and got out of the car. She opened Kaylee's door and Kaylee jumped out. Cruz locked the door and started walking towards the entrance. She stopped. "C'mon, Kaylee, it's okay." she reassured her.
Kaylee ran up to Cruz and Cruz took her hand.
"You wanna sit in a wagon?"
Kaylee nodded.
Cruz found a wagon and picked Kaylee up and put her in the front seat.
Cruz studied Kaylee for a minute.
"What?" Kaylee asked.
"You have sweat pants on." Cruz stated.
"Okay."
"Do you like sweat pants?"
Kaylee nodded. "They're comfortable."
"Okay, we'll get you some of those."
They entered the store and spent an hour shopping. By the time they were back in the car, Kaylee now owned 3 pairs of sweat pants, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 six packs of underwear, 6 shirts and 1 pair of Nike sneakers.
"Now, this is just to start you off." Cruz told her.
"Okay." Kaylee sounded happy.
"Let's go home."
10 minutes later they were climbing up the stairs in the apartment building, Cruz struggling with what they just bought and Kaylee struggling with the tiny amount of stuff she had from the hospital. Finally, they reached the 8th floor.
"Aren't there elevators?" Kaylee asked, out of breath.
"They're broken."
Cruz got her keys out and they walked to their apartment. Cruz opened the door and they dropped all the bags on the floor of the living room. Kaylee plopped down on the couch.
Cruz plopped down right next to her. "Do you know how to take a shower?"
Kaylee thought. "I took one in the hospital, it was hard though 'cause of my arm."
Cruz She did? Oh yeah, she did. "Okay, never mind. Come with me and I'll show you how the knobs work. We'll figure out how to do it with your arm."
Kaylee slid off the couch and followed Cruz into the bathroom.
Kaylee took a detour and peeked her head into Cruz's bedroom. "Do you have another bedroom?"
A light bulb went on in Cruz's head. Shit. I knew there was a problem with this. Cruz turned to Kaylee. "No."
"Where do I sleep?"
Cruz thought quickly. I'm gonna haveta get a bigger apartment. "You're gonna sleep in my room."
"Your room ain't that big." Kaylee pointed out.
"I know. But my bed is. It's a king size."
Kaylee looked confused. "Does a king sleep in there with you?"
Cruz I wish. "No. That means it's the biggest kind of bed. We're not gonna stay here forever. When you get settled with me, we're gonna move into a bigger apartment and you're gonna get your own room." Cruz looked at Kaylee who was trying to absorb this. She went behind and gently guided her into the bathroom.
"This one's the hot water, this one's the cold water. This is how you turn it on." Cruz pointed out the certain knobs.
"Okay." Kaylee looked unsure.
"Do you wanna take a shower first?"
Kaylee shook her head no.
"When I get out, I'm gonna call for you. When I call, you come in here." Cruz told her.
Kaylee nodded.
"Shove over my clothes and put your new ones away. Don't strain your arm." Cruz That should keep her busy
Kaylee went into the living room and got the bags. She brought them into Cruz's room one at a time..
Cruz followed Kaylee and went into her draws. She pulled out the clothes she'd wear to take Kaylee into the precinct. Cruz turned to Kaylee. "I'll be out in 15 minutes."
Kaylee began going thru her new clothes and putting them in piles.
Cruz watched Kaylee and smiled to herself.
Cruz took her shower in record time. She left the shampoo and conditioner bottles open so Kaylee wouldn't haveta open them. She was out in 13 minutes. She pulled the towel around her and dried herself as fast as she could. She put her clothes on and opened the door.
"Kaylee." she called.
Kaylee appeared in the bathroom door way, clothing in hand. She put them down on the counter and walked over to Cruz.
Cruz showed Kaylee how to do the knobs, and put a plastic bag over her cast. Before she knew it, Kaylee hopped into the shower.
"If you have a problem, yell."
Kaylee nodded.
"Do you want me to come in and help you get dry?" Cruz asked.
Kaylee nodded again, this time shyly. "I was never good at that."
"Give me a yell when you're done."
"Kay."
20 minutes later Cruz heard "Mommy!"
Smiling to herself, she hurried into the bathroom.
"Did you wash your hair?"
Kaylee nodded.
"Did you condition it?"
Kaylee nodded.
"Did you wash your body?"
Kaylee nodded.
"Okay." She took the plastic bag off and brought in a blue towel. She wrapped it around Kaylee.
15 minutes later Kaylee was dry and clean, dressed in a pair of blue sweat pants and a blue shirt that said Spoiled.
"You ready to go the pre- police place?"
Kaylee looked happy. "Yeah!" she exclaimed.
"Go put on your sneakers."
In a second, Kaylee was back, dragging her sneakers behind her by the laces. She sat down on the floor and put them on struggling a bit.
Cruz went over to her and told her to stick out her foot.
Kaylee did so and Cruz tied the sneakers for her.
"Do you wanna get a pillow?" Cruz asked randomly. Off of Kaylee's confused look, she added, "Do you wanna buy a pillow? A nice, soft and new one. Mine are all old."
"Sure."
"We'll go to Bed, Bath & Beyond after we go to my work."
Cruz grabbed her keys and Kaylee took her hand. They walked out of the door.
In the car, Kaylee started to get nervous. "What if Theresa takes me back?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Cruz pulled the Civic over. "She can't do that. I'll be right there with you the whole time. I promise."
Kaylee wanted to unbuckle her seat belt so she could crawl up to the front seat. She tried to do it by herself but she couldn't. Cruz heard her messing with it so she turned around and helped her. Kaylee got out of the seatbelt and Cruz opened the back door. Kaylee got out of the car and Cruz opened the drivers door. Kaylee climbed in and sat against Cruz. Cruz put her arms over her and hugged her protectively. "Trust me. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you."
Kaylee smiled, knowing Ritza was telling the truth.
"Arite, you gotta get back, 'cause we're a little late."
Cruz opened the door and Kaylee climbed out. Cruz leaned back and opened the passenger door behind her. Kaylee climbed into the back seat, reluctantly.
Cruz helped her get the seat belt on and she was back on the road.
7 minutes later, they pulled onto the street. Cruz parked the car and went around to get Kaylee out.
"Are you ready?" Cruz asked.
Kaylee nodded.
They walked into the precinct.
Swersky looked up and saw Cruz and a little girl. "So this is Kaylee?" he asked.
Kaylee looked up at Cruz.
Cruz bent down to Kaylee's height. "This is Lieutenant Swersky."
Kaylee gave him a small smile.
"Wait here for a sec." Cruz told her.
She went up to Swersky. "Am I allowed to be with her during the description and line up?"
Swersky looked at the little girl, alone and scared. He nodded.
Cruz didn't say anything, but her eyes had the look of gratitude in them.
She went back over to Kaylee and took her hand.
Bosco and Faith were coming down the stairs, when they first saw Cruz walking with Kaylee, holding her hand. Bosco almost fell down the rest of the stairs and Faith almost had a heart attack.
Cruz gave them a small smile and stopped walking.
Kaylee turned around when she felt Cruz stop. "Mommy? Why did you stop?"
Cruz That could NOT have happened any better. "I want you to meet these people."
Kaylee walked and stood right in front of Cruz. Cruz put her hand on her shoulder.
"Kaylee, this is Officer Boscorelli or Bosco and this is Officer Yokas."
Kaylee stared at Faith. "I remember you."
Faith smiled. "I was with you when you first met um.. Ritza." It nearly killed her to say that, and Cruz knew it. Inside she was laughing her ass off.
"Oh yeah!" Kaylee exclaimed. Kaylee And I said I didn't like you, ha!
"And you were with Bosco for a minute when I had to talk to Faith."
Cruz looked at Bosco to see if he even remembered. To her surprise, a look of familiarity was on his face.
"Hey Kaylee." He gave Cruz a questioning look.
"Is Monroe here yet?" Cruz asked, ignoring the look.
"Yeah, I think she's in the locker room." Faith answered. Sully would shit his pants if he ever saw Cruz with a little girl like this.
Cruz reached down and picked Kaylee up. "I don't want you to get ran over with all these big people, okay?"
Kaylee smiled and nodded. She leaned her head against Cruz's shoulder.
Cruz carried Kaylee to the locker room. She pushed the door open and saw Monroe closing her locker. Cruz carried Kaylee over to her.
Monroe turned around and almost fell. "Cruz, who, what?" She couldn't speak.
Cruz smiled. "Sasha, this is Kaylee. Kaylee this is Sasha Monroe." Cruz put Kaylee down and Kaylee stayed close to Cruz.
Monroe looked at Kaylee. "Hi."
"Hi." Kaylee replied shyly.
"Kaylee is the little girl from the abuse case that I'm gonna adopt." Cruz explained.
"Oh."
"We gotta go. I'll talk to ya later."
Monroe nodded, still in shock
Cruz !Hey we gotta stay friendly. I may need her to babysit.
Cruz picked Kaylee up again and they went out the door.
Kaylee's pulse sped up and she started to get scared.
Cruz brushed Kaylee's hair back from her ear. "How you feelin?" she asked.
"Nervous."
"I'll be right there with you." Cruz reminded her.
Kaylee nodded.
Cruz pushed open a door and went inside.
There was a man standing in the corner talking on his cell phone.
Cruz walked over to the table and put Kaylee down. She leaned down to Kaylee's level and whispered, "Sit in the chair", to her.
Kaylee sat.
Cruz walked over to the man. She cleared her throat.
The man jumped and turned around. "I gotta go," he said into his phone.
"Sergeant Cruz." she announced herself. "Kaylee Castillo." she nodded at Kaylee.
"Detective Warrick." The man said. He looked confused. "Why are you here?"
"She trusts me and won't do this without me here."
"Is she old enough to do this?"
"She's 7 ½."
He nodded and walked over to the table.
"Hi Kaylee." He said warmly.
"Hi." she whispered.
He sat down in a chair across from her. "Kaylee, I need to ask you some questions about your mother."
Kaylee looked at Cruz.
"Not me, Theresa."
"Oh. I don't wanna talk about her. I'm just gonna tell you what she looks like." Kaylee told Warrick.
He smiled. "I need you to tell me what she did to you."
Kaylee squirmed in her chair, not wanting to talk.
"Kaylee." Warrick said gently.
"What?" She snapped.
Warrick looked at Cruz. She shook her head as if saying 'you ain't gonna win'. He sighed.
"What does she look like?"
"She has brown eyes, long brown hair, she's taller than Mommy.."
"Wait, what?"
Kaylee looked at him annoyed for interrupting her. "Mommy." She repeated and pointed to Cruz.
"I'm adopting her." Cruz explained.
"Oh." He wrote what Kaylee said before down. "Sergeant, how tall are you?"
"5.2."
"How much taller is she?" Warrick asked. "A lot?"
Kaylee thought. "A lot."
"Do you know where you come up to on her?"
Kaylee looked confused so she looked at Cruz.
"When you stood next to Theresa, were you the same height as her leg, or her knee?"
"Um.. I was the same size as her.." She got up and stood in front of Cruz. She pointed at Cruz's upper thigh.
Warrick looked down at the paper, trying to hide his small grin.
Cruz I wonder what's going on in his mind. she thought sarastically.
Kaylee sat down again.
"Was she fat or thin?" Warrick asked.
"She was skinny."
"What color skin?"
"Like mine."
"Roll up your sleeve, Kaylee." Cruz instructed.
Kaylee obeyed, it took her awhile and finally Cruz reached over and pulled it up gently for her.
"Did she have any marks on her face?" he asked, noting the color of Kaylee's skin.
"She had a mark right here." Kaylee pointed right under her right eye.
"What was your address?"
Kaylee thought. "I don't know, but the last time I was with her, we were in Queens."
"Okay, Kaylee. I need you to wait here for awhile, okay?"
Kaylee nodded. "Why?"
"We're gonna bring in women that we think may be Theresa. They're gonna go into a room, and you're gonna tell us if she's there."
"Okay." She sat back in her chair.
"Sergeant, may I speak with you?"
Cruz nodded and followed Warrick outside.
"I think we may have her."
"You have Theresa?" Cruz echoed.
Warrick nodded grimly.
"Can we do the line up now?"
Warrick nodded. "I'll go get everyone ready. I'll be with you and her to make sure there's no hinting."
"Fine." Cruz went back inside the room.
"We may have the line up quicker than we thought."
"That's good, right?" Kaylee asked hopefully.
"Very."
Detective Warrick came back into the room. "We're ready. Let's go."
Cruz whispered to Kaylee. "Do you want me to carry you?"
She nodded.
Cruz picked Kaylee up and followed Warrick out of the room. They went down the hall into a tiny room with a large mirror.
Another detective came into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Detective Moore." She introduced herself.
Cruz nodded but didn't say anything back.
"This is Sergeant Cruz and Kaylee." Warrick whispered.
Moore nodded.
Warrick pushed the intercom button. "Send them in."
Four women came one by one into view, each holding a number.
After # 4 came in, Kaylee pointed and started to get squimish. "Mommy, I wanna go!" she cried.
"I need you to stay until all the women come out. Okay?" Warrick asked impatiently.
Kaylee had tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up at Cruz. "Mommy." she started to cry.
"I know, sweetie, but she can't see you or hear you." she said soothingly. She gave a dirty look to Warrick.
He shrugged back to her. He pushed the intercom button. "Hold it for awhile." He sighed.
Cruz bent down to Kaylee's level. "Kaylee, can you do this?" Cruz asked.
Kaylee took a deep breath. She nodded slowly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Kaylee said impatiently.
Cruz stood up. "Warrick!" she yelled.
"I'm standing right here." He replied. "Is she okay?"
Cruz gave him an even dirtier look than before.
"Yes, but if you make her cry again, I swear to god, I WILL hurt you."
Warrick gave Cruz a dirty look and glanced at Detective Moore. She had a smile on her face. He sighed. Warrick Just have all the women come together and hate me. "Kaylee, remember I need you to tell me what number Theresa is."
Kaylee rolled her eyes. How dumb does he think I am?
The 2 last women came into the room. The guard told each of them to come foward and give their profile. When # 6 finished Warrick turned to Kaylee.
"Do you see her?"
Kaylee nodded.
"What number?" he asked gently.
"Number 4." she whispered and turned around in Cruz's arms so her head wasn't facing the window.
"Can we go?" Cruz asked.
Warrick nodded.
They left the room. Kaylee had a tear falling out of her eye.
"It's okay, it's over. She's gone. She couldn't see you." Cruz comforted her.
She walked down stairs still holding Kaylee and stroking her back.
Cruz Something's been bugging me, what the hell is it? Oh, yeah. She got raped too... Cruz's brain froze for a second, as she remembered what happened to her. She shuddered.
"Mommy? What's wrong?" Kaylee asked.
"Nothing, I just felt cold for a second. I'm okay."
Cruz I should talk to her about the rape, but I can't do that. She's only 7 ½. I'll talk to her when she gets older about it. But maybe I should just bring it up gently. She may have nightmares. So maybe I should wait til then. she decided. She knew that she was procrastinating, but it was something she really didn't wanna do.
Swersky looked at Cruz and Kaylee. Judging by how Kaylee was acting, he guessed they got her.
"Sarge, I need to talk to you." Swersky stated.
"Later." She replied firmly.
"Sarge.."
"Later." She repeated. And with that she walked out the door of the precinct.
She carried Kaylee to the car and opened the back seat, struggling with one hand. She got it open and placed Kaylee inside. She fastened her seatbelt and opened her own door. After fastening her own belt, she started the car and drove home.
"Are we getting a pillow?" Kaylee asked.
"Of course we are." Cruz How the hell did she remember that? She turned the car around and went the other way.
10 minutes later, they were pulling into Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Cruz got her and Kaylee out of the car and found a wagon. After placing Kaylee in the wagon seat, Cruz entered the store.
"Damn." she said looking around.
Kaylee giggled.
"You think that's funny?" Cruz asked smiling.
Kaylee nodded.
They went to the Bed part of the store and after a lot of looking, Kaylee finally found a pillow.
"I need pillow cases."
"I have those at home."
"Okay."
Cruz and Kaylee went on line and waited.
After waiting for 5 minutes they were finally next.
The clerk took the pillow. "$19.96"
Cruz $19.96 for a pillow? What the hell? I might as well make one Cruz sighed and gave him a 20.
She got her change back and took the bag. She wheeled Kaylee out. She put the bag in the back seat and then picked Kaylee up and placed her right next to it. She buckled her in and closed the door. Finally they were going home.
Kaylee's stomach rumbled while they were in the car. Cruz checked the clock and found out it was 3:18. Cruz glanced at Kaylee in the mirror. "You hungry?"
Kaylee nodded.
"Aright, we went food shopping 3 days ago, and I really haven't been home much, so we have food." Cruz Finally, I'll get home.
The ride home was uneventful.
As soon as they walked in the door of the apartment, Cruz's cell phone rang.
"Cruz."
"Cruz, it's Swersky, we have Theresa."
"You do?"
"Did you not just hear me? Yes we do."
Cruz looked over at Kaylee who was rumaging thru the refrigerator.
"Ok."
"We may need the girl to testify."
"Only if Theresa isn't there."
Swersky gritted his teeth. "Maritza, I know how you feel, but Theresa won't be able to touch or say anything to Kaylee, you know that."
"I know that," Cruz snapped. "You shoulda seen her today during the line up. She was not in good shape. And she knew that pyscho bitch couldn't see her or hear her." She took another look at Kaylee. Kaylee was now looking for food on the counter. "If I testify, and we get the doctor to testify, isn't that enough?"
Swersky paused. "Maybe."
"She's only 7 ½, the A.D.A can't seriously expect her to testify."
"Was she raped?" Swersky asked.
Cruz froze. She didn't say a word for a minute.
"Cruz, Maritza!" Swersky shouted.
Cruz cleared her throat and managed to find her voice. "Yes." she whispered.
"You gotta talk to her about that."
"She's too young. If she has nightmares about it, that's a different story. If she doesn't get older then when she gets older, I'm gonna talk to her about it."
Swersky sighed. "Fine."
Cruz hung up.
Kaylee looked up. "Mommy?"
Cruz looked at her. She had cheese doodles in her hand and her hand was all orange. She couldn't help but smile.
Cruz went over to the couch and sat down. "So you wanna hear the rest of 'The Wizard of Oz'?"
Kaylee nodded and ran over to Cruz, excitedly.
Cruz got up and got the book and sat back down.
Cruz pulled Kaylee into her lap. "Where were we up to?" she asked.
Kaylee shrugged. "I don't know. Read it from the beginning."
Cruz agreed. "We'll start all over." Cruz In more ways than one...
Epilogue up soon!
Okay, I know that was really long, and I'm sorry. Please REVIEW! I'll have the epilogue up soon, I promise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the other ones. I had a lotta fun writing this, I hope you had as much fun reading it.
SargeCruz