AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, and also, I'd like to thank everyone else who reviewed 'A Broken Wing' after I'd written and posted the last chapter! Just so everyone is forewarned, this chapter contains a lot of religious talk about Jesus, hell, Catholicism. If that's going to bug you, then don't read it. Here's the second chapter of the story, please keep the reviews flowing!

Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson walked into the waiting room of St. Christopher's hospital. Another case; another victim. Another life down the drain. Olivia saw Casey, and hurried over to her.

"Hi Casey."

Casey looked up, her eyes filled with tears.

"I should have done something sooner." She whispered.

"Hey." Olivia said, "You didn't know. You couldn't have done anything. It's not easy to know for sure."

"Those children," Casey gasped, "Have gone through hell and I did nothing to stop it."

"Casey," Elliot said, "Blaming yourself won't change anything. You've helped them now. You called us. What room are they in?"

"The oldest one just regained consciousness, but they're all in room 502. There are three of them, ages 13, 10 and 6. Their names are Mary, Matthew and Rebecca."

"Okay. We'll be back in a few. Try to calm down, okay?" Olivia said, as she hurried to keep up with Elliot. They stepped into the room, and neither of them could speak for several seconds.

The three children sitting in front of them were emaciated, and that was saying the least. The eldest was covered in bruises and cuts, as were the younger two, but with less severity.

Elliot was the first to trust himself to speak.

"Hi, you guys," He said, squatting down to their height, "My name's Elliot, and this is Olivia. We're police officers. Can you tell us what happened to you guys?"

"Mommy said we couldn't." The youngest one whispered.

Olivia squatted down next to Elliot, praying her voice wouldn't break.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" She asked.

"Rebecca." The little girl whispered

"She's six." The oldest one said, "This is Matthew. He's ten. And I'm Mary…I'm thirteen."

"Shut up, Mary!" Matthew said, "You know mom and dad said we couldn't talk to cops! They won't get it!"

"What won't we get?" Elliot asked, wondering just what the hell these children had been taught to think.

"Matthew, it's okay. You can talk to us. You trust Casey, right? We're her friends." Olivia said.

Suddenly, Mary gasped in pain, clutching her stomach.

"What is it, Mary?" Elliot asked in concern.

"I…just got my first…you know, the curse."

"Oh," Olivia said sympathetically. "I'll go see if I can get you something to take care of the cramping, okay?"

"Thank you." Mary whispered.

Olivia walked out of the room, just as Casey walked in.

"Hey, you guys!" She said, hugging the two younger ones.

"What did you do, Mary?" Rebecca asked innocently.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Mary asked her little sister, pulling her onto her lap.

"Mommy said that God gave you the curse when you did something bad. What did you do?"

Mary's face crumpled, and she started sobbing.

"I don't know, honey," She whispered, "I don't know. But whatever it is, God must hate me."

"Elliot, can I talk to you?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, sure."

They walked out of the room.

"Elliot, I talked to Mary after she woke up. Her mother taught her that woman get their…period when they've sinned so badly they're doomed to go to "eternal damnation" it's "when God turns children into woman," to quote her. And when you become a woman, you're supposed to make babies. And her father… well…raped her." Casey said

"Son of a bitch." Elliot hissed, his fury evident.

"So on top of being abused and raped and trying to look after her younger siblings, she's dealing with the idea that God hates her and she's going to hell. You're a Catholic," Casey continued, "Do you think you could convince her that that's wrong?"

"Well, I can try." Elliot said, "But do you think it's a good idea to have a man in there with her?"

"She's mature for her age, she knows that not all men are rapists." Casey spat the last word.

"Okay. Why don't you…hang out with the younger ones?"

"Sure," Casey said, walking back into the room. "Matthew, Rebecca…let's go get a snack, okay? Mary…Elliot wants to talk with you. Is that okay?"

"Yes, Ms. Novak."

"You can call me Casey if you want." Casey said, leading Matthew and Rebecca out of the room.

Elliot walked into the room, his heart breaking for Mary.

"Hi, Mary."

"…Hello sir."

"You don't have to call me sir, sweetie," He said, "Elliot's fine."

"Alright."

"That's a nice rosary." He said, looking at the one that was clutched in her hand. "You're Catholic?"

"Yes, sir…Elliot, sorry."

"That's okay. You know, I'm Catholic, too. So, your mom told you that you're going to hell?"

"Yes," She whispered, "I'm so scared."

"You believe in Jesus, right?" He asked.

"Of course."

"And when you do something wrong, you're sorry, right?"

"Yes."

Elliot tried not to cry. All his life, he'd tried to be a good Catholic. It was hard enough to do when he'd believed in a God who loved everyone like a father, with loving parents who had told him that God loved him, and would forgive him for anything if he asked. He could only imagine how much harder it was to believe in a loving God when your parents beat and raped you, and told you that God hated you and was going to send you to hell.

"Then you're not going to go to hell," Elliot said softly, "God loves everyone, Mary. He doesn't want anyone to go to hell. If he did, he wouldn't have sent Jesus down here, would he?"

"…No. He wouldn't have." Mary whispered, "So you really don't think I'm going to go to hell? Do you honestly believe that God loves me?"

"I don't think you're going to go to hell. And I know that God loves you."

"But I'm not a virgin…" She whispered, "My father…"

"How did you get the rope burn on your wrists, Mary?" Elliot more stated then asked, "You didn't want him to do it. So in God's eyes, you're a virgin."

Elliot sat there and watched as he saw the first flicker of hope in this child's eyes, and he felt…he didn't even know what. Relief flooded him.

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome. I'm going to go get Casey and your brother and sister, okay?" He said. Then, looking at her emaciated body, he asked, "Have you or your brother and sister eaten anything recently?"

"Um…Rebecca had something last night, but Matt and I…dad's been making us fast for the last three days." She admitted.

"Okay. I'm gonna go make sure someone gets you all something soon, alright?"

"Thanks a lot…Elliot."

"I'll see you later," He said.

He saw Olivia and Casey sitting together in the waiting area, by a vending machine, deep in conversation.

"And then I heard a scream, so I called…oh, Elliot," Casey said, interrupting herself, "Did you…"

"Yeah, I did." Elliot said, "She's feeling better now."

"Thanks," Casey said.

"Casey was just telling me what the kids told her," Olivia said, her eyes flashing, "I want to nail their parents asses!"

"Well, that makes three of us." Elliot said, his eyes flashing with the same fury, "I think we should go talk to the parents. I have a few things I want to say…and, well, technically a few things I'd like to throw, but I'll contain myself. They're under arrest, right?"

"Of course," Casey said, "The arresting officer caught her father in the middle of…"

"Let's go," Olivia said.

AN: Alright, everyone. It's going to sound dumb at the end of such a morbid chapter, but merry Christmas! I hope to hear from all of you via the review!