"Aiden's almost out of surgery," Hawkes sighed trying to keep calm for the rest of the group. "She was raped with a foreign object. They aren't sure with what but it did a lot of damage. Physically she'll recover but emotionally, it may take a while."

"Okay," Mac said taking charge. "Stella you stay here till we can get Aiden's family is here. Sheldon do you mind staying and getting as much information from the doctors as you can and any trace evidence from them."

"Sure thing Mac."

"I'm going to go and get Aiden's contact information and get our kits." Mac headed out with Aiden on his mind and how to get whoever attacked her.

"Why don't you come back with me?" Sheldon asked Stella. "I think it's in Aiden's best interests to have someone she can trust nearby when the aesthetic wears off." Stella nodded in agreement. Hawkes gave her a short smile before they slipped back between the hospital doors. He knew that she needed to be looked after along with the rest of the unit, having someone close to you in such a vulnerable position was not easy for anyone to stomach, he himself was having a hard time.

Stella sat beside Aiden's bed waiting for her to wake up. She found herself playing with little items she found in her pocket; cell phone, apartment keys, little balls of lint. After about an hour, just as she began bored with her fidgeting Aiden began to stir. "Aiden?"

"Stella?" Aiden's groggy voice asked. "What happened?" Aiden attempted to sit up and get out of bed but could barely lift her head. "I feel like I've been…" And then the memories came flooding back and she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Aiden talk to me, tell me what happened." Stella took hold of Aiden's hand as she began to cry. Stella felt so helpless, she wished Mac was there, not so much for Aiden but for herself, Mac had a way of taking charge of a situation and making everything seem okay. She needed that now. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Mac holding my hand." Stella assumed that Aiden was talking about the ambulance ride over and took it as a very good sign that Aiden could remember.

"Do you remember who did this to you?"

"Ya,"

Aiden seemed a little to calm for Stella's liking. She was expecting Aiden to start to describe the guy and going into a big long explanation on where it happened and where to find all the evidence was. But nothing, short one-word sentences were all she got. A knock came from the door that made Aiden slightly jump. "It's okay, I'll be right back." Stella gave Aiden's hand a little squeeze before she got up. When she opened the door she saw Mac and a tall man with dark hair and eye. She immediately saw the resemblance and connected that it was Aiden's brother.

"How is she?" Mac asked holding the other man at bay. It was obvious that Aiden's brother wanted get in there as soon as he could.

"Withdrawn and spooked. But she seems to have a good memory of what happened. Getting her to talk, however, may be a little tricky."

"Okay," Mac said with a nod. "I'm going to get you to process Aiden as soon as she feels ready. Danny is doing trace on her clothes and Flack will be by after your done to get a statement. In the meantime this is Neil, Aiden's brother. Go on in."

Neil carefully slipped by Stella and in one careful motion took his sister up into his arms and let her cry. Mac and Stella stood in amazement, they had never seen Aiden like this before and it was obvious by his actions that they had a very tight bond, one that was now coming in handy. "Hey it's okay sweetie, you're okay."

Neil continued to comfort his sister as Mac and Stella slipped out. "I brought your kit, maybe Neil can help keep her calm." Mac was back to being all business. It was the way he dealt with things. If he was busy working he was occupied and didn't have to dwell on the crisis.

"Okay, I'll call you when I'm done. Thanks Mac." Stella forced a smile to her boss and then went back into Aiden's room. Neil was now sitting beside the bed talking calmly to his sister. "Aiden…" she paused not wanting to disturb her.

"It's okay Stella, you can start." Aiden sighed taking hold of her brother's hand. "Will you stay?"

"Of course. I'll tell you about my new job," Neil said knowing that he had to keep her mind off of whatever it was that Stella was going to do. "How does that sound?"

Aiden nodded as she tried to keep her tear from falling down her face.

"Well it's in Jersey," Neil started brushing the salt water off her cheeks. "But I don't mind the commute. It would be nice to have something closer to home but whatever. I've got some really great classes, grade eleven and twelve chem. And bio. The kids are great and I'm also coaching the co-ed soccer team." Neil paused as he saw the discomfort on his sister's face. He wasn't paying attention to what the detective was doing but he knew it wasn't pleasant. "I'm going to find out at the end of the year if the job is going to be permanent, if so I may invest in a place in Jersey; settle down, get a house, wife, 2.5 kids, the works." Neil trying to keep the very dark situation light but it didn't seem to be working.

"Stella can you please stop." Aiden couldn't stay still for very long. She curled up and hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay Aiden, I'll come back in a minute." Stella left her kit and walked out into the hall where she ran into a very disgruntled looking Flack.

"Is she ready to give me a statement?"

"No she's taking a minute."

"How is she?"

"Strong but weak at the same time. Her brother is in there with her."

"If I was him I'd be out going to find the rat bastard who…"

"Well that's not his job. His job is to get her better. Our job is to find the guy."

"Why her?"

"Why anyone. Listen Flack, we can get someone else to do this if you don't think your head I'll be in the game."

"No I'm fine. I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee, you want?"

"I'm fine thanks Flack."