Chapter 5

Surprise, Surprise

The next morning dawned too bright for Sara's taste as she opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming in. Her day brightened considerably, however, when she realized there was a head resting comfortably on her stomach. She fidgeted, waking Nick up. He groaned.

"Morning sunshine," Sara said, lifting her hand to his cheek and feeling his stubble. He leaned into her touch.

"I want you to go home today," she said, placing a finger on his lips as he opened his mouth to protest. "I know you don't want to but it'll do you some good to take a break from all this white."

"How useless is it for me to protest?" he asked. That in itself spoke volumes of how exhausted he was. He wasn't arguing with her.

"Totally. We both know you'll feel better after sleeping in your own bed," she replied, resting her palm on his cheek again. His gaze met hers.

"You'll be okay?" he asked. Sara rolled her eyes.

"I'm in a hospital for goodness sakes!" she exclaimed. He nodded, looking absently around the room. It was painfully obvious that she'd gotten a lot more sleep than he had.

"Go," she said with a smile to soften the sting those words could have brought. He nodded, walking backwards out of the room.

-

Not even an hour had passed before Sara's door opened again. She smiled slightly as Catherine walked in.

"I hear you get out tomorrow." Sara nodded, wrinkling her nose in displeasure.

"Yeah, but it doesn't have the same anticipation. I was hoping to get out of here and not have to return for a long while. With Amanda here now, the chances seem to be slimming." Catherine gave her an empathetic look, taking a seat in one of the plastic chairs.

"I'm sorry to hear about her. Where's Nick?" Just the thought of the broad-shouldered Texan brought a smile to her face. Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"I finally got him to go home and sleep in his own bed," she said. Both allowed the following silence blanket them. Then it dawned on Sara. She leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes.

"Catherine, am I going to have to testify for assault?" In actuality, Sara knew the answer, like she knew her own name. The fear and weariness were tangible, even to her. When she met Catherine's eyes, she knew Catherine had forgotten about her case. Sara found that she didn't particularly care, especially now that Amanda was only a couple of rooms down the hall.

"…totally forgot about the charges against Banning!" the older woman groaned. Sara only smiled, telling Catherine that she didn't mind, really. Her smile fell, however, when the implications of what Catherine had said hit her.

"There was another one?"

"We don't know. The house was in ruins, chocolate, blood, glass, broken… everything. Sometimes I really hate this job." Sara agreed wholeheartedly.

"The nurse came in a bout a half an hour ago and said Amanda was awake. I've been down there and she won't tell me how she ended up with a broken rib and punctured lung." She silently pleaded with Catherine to help her friend. Then Catherine spoke.

"Sara…" she began her face twisting in pain.

"Yes," she answered quietly, reading Catherine's emotions easily.

"Amanda was abused."

-

Catherine had poked her head back in to Sara's room before she left and then Sara had drifted off to sleep. When she awoke, Nick was back, looking much more refreshed than he had hours before. He waved to a bag on the floor with a smile.

"I dropped by your place to pick you up some clothes," he said with a cheeky grin, dropping her keys on her lap. Sara smiled and shook her head.

"You also had a few messages. A couple from your parents, one from a little girl named Rebekkah…" Nick watched Sara's face pale in horror, concern quickly flooding his gaze.

"Sara?"

"Bekki! I didn't even think…" She dropped back against the pillows with a heavy groan. Finally, he ventured a question.

"Sara… Who's Bekki?" Sara met his gaze solemnly.

"Amanda's daughter."

But you already knew that, didn't you, because you read the real story, Subtle Clues (PS its more detailed too)

I'm sorry this took like a year to put up. I'd wanted to finish Subtle Clues and then I got caught up in that sequel… anyway, here you go and I'm working on the next one so I can get back to the Subtle sequel.

Kavi Leighanna