AN: YAY. Next Chapter. Thanks again to all those people who reviwed my story.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to a certian Rebecca that goes to my school. She won't be reading this but I'm going to dedicate it to her anyway. She's the only person that stopped the actors in our play last night from ripping each other's heads off.
In the car, Sara called Greg and told her what she was up to. "Chasing the evidence" was the term she used.
"Chasing the evidence? That the best you can come up with," Greg said at the other end of the lab. If she could see him, Sara would be glaring daggers at him.
"Just tell Grissom where I am," She said shortly.
"You sure you aren't getting to attached to that kid."
"Greg," She said using her most intimidating voice.
"Alright, I'll see you later."
Sara hung up the phone and gave her full attention the road. It didn't take her long to find the Children Safe Home. Her memories of this place weren't very fond and she tried to push them away.
After she parked the car and walked up to the large stone building she was quickly ushered inside. Jessica Robinson had obviously been waiting for her. She looked like... well like Sara did back at the hospital. Tired, worn out and frazzled. She quickly lead Sara up the stairs to the "residential" part of the building. Where all the bedrooms, bathrooms and such were. At the end of the hall was a completely bare room except for the carpet on the floor. Basically the time out room for kids who were having tantrums. Through the window in the door Sara saw the little boy for the hospital.
He was pacing around the room, shouting. He wasn't shouting any words, just letting loose a steam of noise. He started slamming his fists against the wall. Hard enough to bruise his knuckles and leave bloody fist prints on the wall. Sara winced as he slammed his tiny fist against the wall again. She never knew a little kid could punch that hard.
"He's been like this sence we brought him here. We thought he would get tired, quite down, but he hasn't yet."
"So why am I here," Sara asked.
"He seemed really attached to you in the hospital. I thought, maybe he'd calm down if he saw you."
Sara nodded and she opened the door. At the sound of the door opening, the little boy turned. When he saw Sara his face went blank. All the anger and hurt and frustration just vanished like it was never there. He walked to her quickly, like he was afraid she would leave if he didn't get there fast enough. Sara bent down and pick the little boy up. He cried silently in to her shoulder but she didn't mind.
The social worker watched, completely amazed. "We're going to have some problems placing him in a foster home if he acts like that," she said softly.
Sara knew what she was asking. She considered the little boy in her arms and knew also what she had to do.
"How hard is it to become a foster parent," she asked.
She found out it wasn't hard at all. Not when the agency was dying to get rid of the kid, to make him someone else's problem. They would jump through hoops to get rid of problem child. So a few hours later she sat in the car, the little boy buckled in the back seat, driving back to the lab to explain why she would be taking some vacation time.
She decided to take the little boy with her into the lab. A better option then leaving him in the car. As she walked down the hall to Grissom's office, Greg caught up with her. He froze when he saw the little boy Sara was carrying. He walked up to the. The kid, who was already holding on pretty tight, tired to squeeze him arms tighter. Not enough to cut off her breathing, but enough to make her a bit uncomfortable.
"You here to ask Grissom for your vacation time," Greg asked.
Sara nodded. Greg knew it was completely pointless to argue with her. "You call me if you need any help with... with anything, okay," Greg said. Sara was touched by his concern and nodded again. Then she continued her walk to Grissom's office.
Surprisingly, he was actually there, sitting at his desk.
"How many weeks are you taking off," were the first words out of his mouth.
Sara was so shocked it took her a moment to answer. "Um... how did-"
"Sara Greg told be you went to the safe home to check on a kid. Unless I'm much mistaken, you have the kid in question attached to your hip. You have plenty of vacation time saved up, it's about time you used it."
"Just... just a couple of weeks," Sara said, still surprised. Grissom nodded.
"Alright, I'll get the paperwork written up."
Sara exited the office. Before she left she found Greg.
"Greg, can you keep me updated on the case," Sara asked.
"Oh course," Greg said with a grin.
When she got home, she placed the little boy on the couch and got the first aid kit. Then she proceeded to bandage his hands. She did his right hand fine, he didn't even flinch. But he wouldn't open his left hand.
"Hon, I need to bandage this hand too."
The little boy, with out looking at her held his hand out like he wanted to give her something. Sara held her own hand out and the little boy dropped something into her out stretched palm.
Sara inspected it closely. It was a necklace. She couldn't see the pendent clearly because of the blood that satined it. She wondered how long the little boy held this in his hand. Ever the criminalist, Sara got her spare kit and swabbed the blood before cleaning the pendent off. It was a picture of Saint Anthony according to the inscription on the back.
She clipped the necklace around the little boy's neck.
"Saint Anthony, huh," she said as she started to bandage the little boy's remaning hand.
"Should that be what I call you. Tony?"
The little boy looked at her. Slowly he nodded.
"Alright then. Tony, I'm Sara and you'll be staying with me for a while."