Catherine really had no choice in the matter. Dakota's grip on her arm was adamant and unwavering. She stood in the hospital room, deciding what to do. Dakota didn't budge.

"Look, sweetie…" Catherine said, kneeling down to the little girl's height. "Your mommy's coming to pick you up really soon, okay? Real soon!" Catherine assured her. Dakota's grip only tightened. Her eyes grew wide.

"I want to go with you, Catherine. I want to go with you," Dakota said forlornly, looking at her hand. She broke Catherine's heart.

"Okay," Catherine said, smiling, "Alright." Dakota grinned gleefully.

A couple hours later, at the lab, Catherine returned with Dakota tagging along behind her. She handed bag containing the girl's bloody clothes to Greg, who promptly went to analyze the blood. Dakota's mother Ruth was sitting with Warrick and Sara in the family room. She didn't see her daughter, as she was facing away and Dakota made no effort to be seen by her mother. Which Catherine observed as strange when she escorted the little girl into the interrogation room. Dakota was suddenly surprised at this. She looked questioningly at Catherine.

Ruth was kind of homely looking, unlike her daughter. She had mild features that stood alone and didn't really interact with each other. Her hair was unkept and frizzy, as Dakota's was wavy and smooth in a rich chocolate colour. She looked like the type to drive a pickup truck through a McDonalds drive thru and order the same thing each day. Her clothes looked old, maybe second hand. Which was funny, her daughter looked pretty well off. They didn't even seem related.

"We're going to ask you a few questions alright?" Catherine explained, seeing her look. Dakota absorbed this and carefully nodded. "Would you like your mother here too?" Catherine asked out of routine. Dakota frowned and shook her head 'no' very surely. She sat down hesitantly.

Ruth Lerman glanced towards the interrogation room, as Catherine entered the family room. She jumped up. Sara and Warrick stood up as she ran towards the interrogation room.

"Dakota! Honey are you alright? Don't tell them anything!" She screamed. Behind two walls of glass, Dakota shivered nervously. Catherine was forced to grab her, as she entered the room. Ruth instantly gave up her fight and menacingly glared at her daughter. She sat down as did Sara and Warrick. Catherine remained standing, in partial protection of the girl and still very surprised at the outburst.

"Mrs. Lerman, your daughter was found early this morning in a field, with blood all over her clothes… do you want to explain that?" Sara asked accusingly. She felt it best to be forceful with her, hoping to discover whatever needed to be found out. Ruth shook her head and looked at the floor.

"I only noticed she was gone this morning… she wasn't in bed," Ruth said, beginning to cry. Sara didn't buy the act. Nobody did.

"I'm curious Mrs. Lerman… as to what you don't want your daughter to tell us. If she'd just gone missing, there'd be nothing to tell on your part, right? Unless you were involved," Warrick stated. Ruth looked around the room, searching for a loophole.

"Mrs. Lerman? If there's something we need to know, you can tell us now." Catherine said. She shook her head.

"There's nothing you guys need to know. She's fine, I'm fine… can't we just go home? Deal with it ourselves?" Ruth asked. Catherine was shaking her head in disbelief, hoping she heard wrong.

"Mrs. Lerman," she said, opening Dakota's medical file, "Dakota was given a psychological evaluation at the hospital." Catherine said, like she was the bearer of bad news, "the doctor there diagnosed your daughter with a mild case of Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. Mrs. Lerman? Has Dakota lost someone close to her? Catherine asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to know the context of the answer. Ruth looked completely shocked.

"Well, my husband was killed last year… on the job, in a trucking accident. But Dakota went to a counselor, both kids did." Ruth said, confused. Catherine looked irritated. She glanced over to Dakota, who looked bored.

"Mrs. Lerman…" Catherine started, "Dakota told me… on the way here, she had no siblings." She said. Ruth looked furious.

"Just let me take Dakota home!" She wailed, running to the room where Dakota was. Her daughter started shrieking. The CSI's just watched as security took the not-so-sane-anymore woman away to a cell to calm down. Almost instantly, Greg returned, with results from the blood.

"The blood is from a relative, and it's male, either father or brother." Greg reported.

"Which means," said Sara, "it's probably a brother, if dad's dead." Warrick and Catherine nodded.

"A brother she denies having," Catherine said.

"Maybe," Warrick suggested, "maybe she saw something she shouldn't have."

"Oh definitely. And Ruth knows what," Catherine confirmed that was what she was thinking too. She looked over again to Dakota, like she was responsible for her now. Dakota looked like she was caught red-handed, she looked guilty of something. But whatever she was, it was only half of how scared she looked.