A/N: I apologize for the long wait between chapters. I had a family emergency. (My 14-year-old bro had to be choppered off Whistler Mountain to the Children's hospital and was in a coma for 24 hours). And between that and Christmas and New Years, I haven't had time to post.

A/N2: I had a different plan for this chapter but I changed it because I didn't want to have two overly fluffy chapters back-to-back. This one is still the background on Shelly but I made it so it wasn't just Sara asking her questions. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4 - Stories

12:30pm Saturday

Sara awoke with a stiff neck and popcorn spread across her living room floor. She looked over to her right and saw Shelly's sleeping form, which made her smile as she sat up. She walked towards her bedroom to change her clothes and get ready for the afternoon. She opened her shirt drawer and noticed the file folder that had 'SO' written on its tab.

She pulled it out of the drawer and opened it on her dresser. Inside were the notes she had taken on Shelly's father and the page showing Shelly's DNA profile that she took from Greg. The two pages that stood out to her eyes however were the two articles that she had printed off about Shelly's mother's murder; the headlines jumped so far out at her that she had to quickly slam the folder shut.

What this girl went through. Sara shook her head. It's so depressing, the fact that I can understand. She witnessed her mother's death while I witnessed my father's. Thankfully I'm here though. I can help her through this.

Sara's stomach growled as she got dressed which reminded her that she had yet to get food for herself and Shelly. She headed to the grocery store, planning to read the articles if Shelly wasn't up by the time she got back.

She wasn't.

Sara put the groceries away quietly, so as not to wake Shelly, and then walked back to her room. She grabbed the folder and set up camp on her bed. She pulled out the first article and started to read:

Chicago Tribune …December 16th, 1994

'Young Girl Witnesses Mother's Be-heading.'

A little girl's life was changed in the matter of seconds in the undergrounds of East Chicago on Wednesday night, December 14th. Six-year-old Shelly Gillian O'Brien was witness to her own mother's brutal death as she hid in the kitchen cupboards of their rundown apartment on Riverden Road.

The killer brutally beat 29-year-old Rebekah Elizabeth O'Brien and then shot her in the head before turning his attention on the young girl. It is reported that he then grabbed Shelly forcefully by her upper-arms out from the cupboards and proceeded to "ask many questions about my mommy's 'stuff'. If I gave him the wrong answer he hit me."

It is said that little Shelly grew violent with paramedics as they wheeled her four-year-old sister, Hailie-Bec O'Brien's, lifeless body away from the scene and into an awaiting coroner's van. Reports say that Hailie-Bec's body was found in the girls' bedroom, suffocated in her bed with signs of sexual assault. Shelly was found curled into the fetal position at the head of her mother's bed, hands tied and mouth gagged with a washcloth; she was also sexually assaulted. The murder weapon used on her mother, a nine-millimeter semi-automatic, was found on the bedside table with an empty magazine.

Shelly's eyewitness report was that the killer was her mother's live-in boyfriend, Kyson Kurner, a known drug addict and dealer. The police are currently working on the evidence found on the suspect, who was picked up last night at a strip club a few blocks from the crime scene.

The theory being reported is that Kyson Kurner came home work that night and wanted to 'shoot up' with his girlfriend, the victim. "Mommy kept yelling that she didn't have any 'stuff'. When I heard them yelling I ran for my room but I 'membered my sister was sleepin' so I ran into my hiding place." Said Shelly O'Brien. "After I heard a big bang, he grabbed my arm and threw me into my mommy's room. He left me there. I heard screaming from my sister but I didn't move. He told me not to."

It is speculated that that is when he sexually assaulted and killed four-year-old Hailie-Bec before returning to Shelly in her mother's room where he preceded to sexually assault her. "We heard sirens. That's when he ran away from me."

Kyson Kurner is currently in custody and will be looking at charges of two counts rape with a minor, one count murder, and one count of murder in the first degree.

Sara wiped at the tears that came to her eyes as she finished reading the article. She took a sip of the water she had brought in to sooth her now scratchy throat then picked up the second article.

Chicago Star … December 16th, 1994

6-Year-Old Watches Mother Shot

She skimmed through the first three quarters of the article, which was pretty much a repeat of the first article. She started looking intently at the last paragraph when a new name was mentioned.

This isn't the first loss in the family for Shelly whose younger sister was a twin. Hailie-Bec's twin brother, Sylis Alexandar O'Brien, was three months old when he was killed via shaken baby syndrome on January 1st, 1991. Sylis and Hailie-Bec's father, Darin Pooler, also a known drug dealer, was charged with the manslaughter for the death of baby Sylis after his defense of 'diminished capacity' was disallowed. He claimed to be "too drunk to remember a gddamn thing" after a New Years party but Judge Garrish didn't take the bait and so Darin stood trial and lost. His first parole hearing is not until February 1997.

Sara sat; taken aback by the story this article was telling her. The brilliant and strong young Irish teen sleeping on her couch in her living room had lived a life no one should. Sara again wiped at the tears that dragged trails down her cheeks as she closed up the file. I am truly amazed. She thought as she stored the folder back into her shirt drawer. She is who she is now by total self-control. Sara stood and shook herself mentally before heading into the living room with a book.

Shelly awoke to the smells of toast, eggs, coffee, and 'Is that pancakes?' She stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen where she found Sara standing in front of the stove singing gently as she flip another pancake.

"What are you doing?"

Sara started and turned around quickly at the sound of Shelly's voice. "What do you think I'm doing?" She said flippantly then turned back around to finish the pancakes. "I woke up a few hours ago and remembered that I still had nothing to eat in the apartment so I went to the store and bought some pancake batter and eggs."

"But, that's a breakfast meal and it's," Shelly looked at the clock hanging over the stove, "3:30 in the afternoon."

"Yeah, well…" Sara turned around and placed the plate of pancakes on the table, "welcome to the life of a night shifter."

Shelly sat down at the table and asked about the other 'night shifters' that Sara worked with as they ate their meals.

"Which one do I start with?" Sara sighed dramatically, which made them both laugh lightly.

"How about you start with the one that you said I remind you of when we were at the diner." Shelly suggested.

"Well, I said you remind me of all of them because you do. Your humor kind of reminds me of Greggo; your politeness, when you want to be, reminds me of Nicky; your swagger reminds me of Warrick; your self-confidence reminds me of Catherine; and your, I don't know, there is just something about you that reminds me of my boss, Grissom." Shelly noticed the small smile in Sara's eyes when she talked of Grissom's name.

"You like him." Shelly stated as she took another bite of her pancakes.

Sara looked up sharply and gazed into Shelly's dancing eyes. "I don't know who you're talking about." Sara looked down at her plate with a small smile that she couldn't control.

Shelly tsked, "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Sara asked perplexed.

"Lie. It doesn't look good on you and from all that I've learnt of you, you don't do that well." That time Sara didn't even try to hide her smile as she took another bite of her meal. "Besides," Shelly started, "You're the one that made up this deal thing that says we speak what's on our minds. No regret, no judging. So spill it."

Sara shook her head lightly. "Nothing to spill." Shelly gave her a disbelieving look that made her sigh. "I met him at a seminar when I went to Berkley in San Francisco. I asked many questions and he took me out to coffee afterwards so that he could get my opinion on the seminar. From there we kept in contact with emails." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Shelly glared at her. "Then how did you end up here working for him?"

"I was a CSI in San Fran when he called me up because he needed me to come in and investigate something internally and after that was done, he offered me a job and I took it. No big deal."

"Oh please. You just get up and move because he asked you to?"

"I didn't just get up and move because he asked me to." She was a little defensive. "He offered me a great job at the second best lab in the country and I took it, no questions asked. It's a great job." Sara smiled sadly.

"Great job but something is wrong." Shelly stated gently.

"It's just that…" Sara looked at the girl sitting across the table from her and thought her words through carefully. True, Shelly seems older then normal teens her age but does she really need the problems of a grown up's love life to think about? But then Sara remembered the deal and sighed. Shelly gave her a patient look.

"It's just that this job kind of takes some stuff away from my life that I wouldn't mind having." Sara answered cryptically.

"Like a social/love life?" Shelly smiled at Sara's questioningly pointed look. "You haven't received any phone calls from friends nor have you even checked your emails. You haven't mentioned anything about friends outside of your workplace and your apartment doesn't look to have any male influence, which tells me that you most likely don't have a boyfriend or at least the relationship is very new. And if the latter was the case then I must say you two are pathetic because neither one of you have phoned each other since I've been here."

Sara smiled ruefully at Shelly's correct observations. "You can be too smart for your own good you know that?" Sara finished off her pancakes and got up to clear her dishes, Shelly following right behind her.

"I know." Shelly smiled.

"Let's just say that it's been very difficult between us. We were fine and flirting when I first moved here, then about a year later he became cold and distant, then he was just professional and a bit standoffish and now he's back to almost flirting again. It's a little unbalancing you know?"

Shelly nodded. "How long have you been here for?"

"Almost six years." Sara answered. "I'm going to go take a shower and then you can go after."

"You trying to say I smell?" Shelly joked to the back of Sara's head as she walked away.

"No offence but … Hell Yes." She threw over her shoulder and the two laughed.

5:30pm

After they showered and had cleaned up the kitchen, they sat down to watch 'Bull Durham', the movie that they weren't able to finish that morning before they fell asleep.

They had settled into a comfortable aura, talking and laughing about the movie, as they sat on opposite ends of the couch, coffee and hot chocolate in hand. "I've always liked Kevin Costner." Sara whispered. "I think he was awesome in 'Dances with Wolves' and 'Bodyguard.'"

Shelly shrugged. "He's okay for an older guy."

Sara smiled and retorted, "Older guys must be my thing." which made them both laugh. When the manager caught the starting pitcher having sex in the locker room right before the game, Sara chanced a look over to Shelly and saw a deep crimson creeping over her face. Her wrinkled up nose and pinched lips made Sara have to try very hard to suppress her laugh.

They were interrupted, yet again, half way through the movie but this time it wasn't because of sleep but Sara's cell phone.

"Sidle."

"Hey Sara. How's your day going with 'Chicago'?"

"Not too bad. Just watchin' a movie. How 'bout you Greggo."

"I was doing well up until I got called in by Grissom." Greg sighed dramatically as he sat down in the break room of CSI Headquarters. "I guess people are finally seeing just how special and important I am around here."

Sara could hear the laugh in Greg's voice. "We all knew you were special Greg. It's written in your file under 'Medical Conditions'." They both laughed. "So why'd you call me? Are you that bored?"

"Actually," Greg opened up the case folder that was sitting in front of him on the table. "I was calling because we may have found the perp that attacked 'Chicago'."

Sara jumped up from her seat as she yelled, "No way!"

"Yes way!" Greg yelled back and then stuck his tongue out at Hodges who had scowled at his outburst. "We found his DNA at the crime scene…"

"What crime scene?" Sara interrupted.

"The crime scene that Grissom called me out to. This guy was caught raping a young girl in an alley just a couple blocks from where 'Chicago' was attacked. He matches the description she gave us of her attacker so I took the dudes DNA and it's being run right now to see if it matches 'Chicago's' case."

"That is awesome news!" She yelled back into the phone while thinking, Why didn't Griss call me in if the cases looked familiar. I'm the primary, not Greg. Then her conscience figuratively gave her a slap upside the head. They might have just caught Shelly's rapist stupid. Don't be selfish. … Right! She turned to face Shelly with a mega-watt smile.

Shelly's expression was a mixture of expectant yet weary. "What?" She asked.

"They caught him Shells!" Sara stood in front of Shelly and pulled her up to give her a joyous hug, forgetting for the moment the phone in her hand. "They caught the bastard who raped you." Shelly's smile erupted on her face as she hugged Sara right back. That's when Sara finally heard Greg yelling to get her attention back to the phone.

"Yeah, sorry." She said to him, still hugging Shelly who was gratefully clinging to Sara's waist.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves. I said he matches the description but the DNA isn't finished yet. Sophia wants 'Chicago' to come in and see a line up. You know, point him out and stuff." Greg finished uncomfortably.

Sara sighed, as did Greg. They both knew how difficult that could be for victims. "Thanks Greg. Tell Sophia I'll call her and let her know if we're coming in or not." They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Shelly had let go of Sara and had looked up when she sighed. "What's happening? You don't seem happy anymore. What's wrong?"

"Nothing Shells. Nothing. It's just … I was a little ahead of the evidence. They said that the guy they found matched the description of the guy who attacked you…"

"Raped me." Shelly interrupted without rancor. "Don't down play it. I wasn't just attacked, I was raped. I'm not a victim but a survivor so please don't make me feel like anything less."

Sara nodded her forgiveness and continued. "They still have to run the guy's DNA against the semen we found on you. If they get a match then it's open and shut but they would still like you to come in and identify the guy via line up."

"I'll do it." Shelly didn't hesitate.

"You sure?"

"Of course. I told you, survivor, not victim. I will not let this guy scare me into not identifying him. Besides, you'll be there with me right?" Shelly was strong until her last question when a hint of vulnerability was shown.

Sara smiled her reassurance. "Of course." And they grabbed their things and left for the lab.

7:00pm

Shelly and Greg shared shy smiles as she and Sara walked into the break room at CSI Headquarters. Sara went straight for the coffee when Greg nodded toward it, indicating his special blend was brewed. Shelly took the seat beside Greg and Sara sat across from him at the table.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Greg asked.

"Sophia said that she would page me when the line up was ready." Sara answered.

"Cool. So," Greg turned to his right and asked Shelly, "What are you guys planning on doing after the line up?"

Shelly entwined her fingers and placed both hands on the table as she shrugged. "Dunno." Greg placed his right arm around the back of Shelly's chair and leaned in to get a closer look at her hands.

"What is that?" He asked, pointing to her right hand, which she then quickly hid in her pants pocket.

"Nothing." Shelly answered a little too quickly.

"It's not nothing. It looked like a tattoo. What was it of?" He asked.

Shelly sighed hard and brought her right hand back up to the table. Between her thumb and index finger was a small tattoo of a gun with the letters 'GRs' inked underneath the barrel.

"That's … interesting." Greg hesitantly said. "Why do you have a gun tattooed on you?"

Sara, who instantly knew what that tattoo represented when Shelly first mentioned her involvement in gangs, went to change the subject but Shelly answered before she could say anything.

"I'm not proud of this one and if I had the money then I would get it removed… actually, no … I wouldn't; it keeps me in line." She looked up from her hand to Sara's understanding eyes and then to Greg's confused ones. Before she could change the topic of conversation, comprehension then surprise showed up in the surprisingly street-wise Greg's eyes. He nodded then changed the subject himself.

"So you mentioned that you're not proud of that one. Which one are you proud of?" He asked. "And will you show it to me?" He waggled his eyebrows in a comical manner, which made the girls laugh.

"It's not in an inappropriate place so I don't see why I couldn't show you." Shelly answered. She raised her left shirtsleeve up to her collarbone and placed her left elbow onto the table so they could get a better look. There on her left shoulder, close to her heart, was a beautiful blue and red butterfly with it's wings shaped as capital Bs. Inked around the edges of its right wing, in small letters was, 'All for you…' and around its left wing was, 'Or no one at all'. It was surrounded by grass and a small shining sun that made it look like it was in mid-flight.

Sara and Greg were both speechless from its beauty. Sara was the first to recover. "How could I have not seen this the past two days?" She asked. "It's beautiful."

"You probably didn't see it because I don't make a point of showing it off to people. If they see it or ask about it then I'll talk about it but if they don't then it's not that big of a deal." Shelly shrugged and went to cover it again but Greg's hand stopped her.

"Who is it for?" He asked as he dragged his eyes off it and up to Shelly's face. Apparently a woman with tattoos was something Greg found enticing.

She smiled brightly and answered with so much enthusiasm that it made Sara and Greg smile as well. "The wings stand for 'Baby B'." She said staring at Sara. She then turned her eyes to Greg, readying herself to tell him what Sara already knew, and yet, to Shelly's surprise, didn't judge her for. "I have a son named Brennan. He will be one in a couple weeks, March 3rd to be exact. I got this in honor of him for him saving my life."

"How does a one year … Oh." Greg started to understand. "He's the reason you left the gang that is inked on your hand." Shelly nodded and then tensed as Greg went to squeeze her shoulders with his arm that was still on the back of her chair. He saw her tense and immediately dropped his arm back to the chair. Shelly smiled her thanks and Greg smiled back his reassurance when he saw the embarrassment in her eyes.

Sara looked down to her hip when her pager started beeping. "The line up is ready for you Shells." She said as she looked back up to her. Shelly nodded, smiled her goodbye to Greg and headed for the door. "I'll meet you at the car." Shelly nodded again and left the room.

Sara turned to Greg who was watching Shelly walk down the hall. "Did you forget that she is only 18 Greg?"

"Hey, I'm just trying not to be rude by flirting back when she starts it." He smiled.

"That excuse only counts when she starts it Greggo." He blushed as she smiled knowingly. "Just be careful. With the shit she has been through, you could kill her if you hurt her. Not to mention I'll kill you if you do, so don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry Sar. I saw how she tenses every time she even walks past a guy, which tells my, very smart," He smirked, smug, "investigative self that she has a thing against men since she doesn't do that around anyone else so I'll be careful. Now for the 'hurting her', don't get ahead of yourself and start planning my demise." He smiled. "I have absolutely no intention of hurting anyone, never mind the idea of hurting 'Chicago'. She's cool." He winked as Sara started to walk away with a small smile on her face.

7:54pm

Sara and Shelly met with Sophia inside the observation room. "Hello."

Shelly eyed Sophia with dislike. "Hi." She replied curtly.

Sara smiled her apology for Shelly, "Hey Sophia."

They were standing in a semi-circle with Shelly's back to the one-way window. "Okay," Sophia started her explanation. "When you say you're ready, you can turn around. Beyond that window are six men. We will call out a number and that man will step forward, then to his side, then face forward again before stepping back so the next number can be called. If you see the man who raped you then I want you to write the number down on this pad of paper." She handed Shelly the pad. "Any questions?"

Shelly shook her head.

"Okay, now, before we get started I want to make sure that you know that these men can't see you. You can see them but…"

"It's a one-way window, I get it." Shelly interrupted. She turned around and faced the window then nodded to the caller. Sara stepped up beside her, her presence giving the support Shelly needed.

The caller announced into the mic, "Number one, step forward." He did. "Now to your side." He shifted. "Now forward again."

Shelly shook her head and whispered to Sara, "His nose is too big and his eyes are too dark." Sara nodded to Shelly and then to the caller.

"Number one step back and number two, step forward. Now to your side. Now forward again."

Again, Shelly shook her head. "He's too tall and scrawny. If that was the guy, he wouldn't have lasted against me." She stated with conviction. Sara smiled at her strength and nodded to the caller.

"Step back. Number three, step forward." Shelly instantly grabbed hold of Sara's hand tightly. "Now to the side." She held a little tighter when she saw the three scratch marks on his face and Sara squeezed her hand in support. "Now forward again." Sara could feel Shelly's fight to control herself from lunging through the window to hurt the guy. Shelly ducked her head and took a couple of deep, long breaths.

When she composed herself enough, she reluctantly let go of Sara's hand and wrote a huge number three on the pad of paper, then handed it to Sophia. "But I still want the guy to call the next numbers." Sophia raised her eyebrow. "I want to see his reaction when he sees that he's been bypassed as the rapist." Sophia understood and nodded to the caller.

"Step back…" The expression was priceless. Number threes eyes widened with surprise and his jaw dropped open slightly as his feet froze to the floor. Definitely an amateur Sara thought.

"If I didn't actually see him then that reaction alone would tell me he did it." Shelly said as number three finally composed himself and stood back as number four moved forward. When the caller was finished with all the numbers, a guard from inside the line up room pulled number three out in handcuffs. His expression again was priceless as he realized he was done for.

"Thank you for your co-operation Miss O'Brien." Sophia said politely.

Shelly nodded. "I wanted this guy gone so he couldn't do it to another girl again so it was my pleasure."

"Shelly O'Brien." Came a cocky voice from the doorway.

Shelly, Sara and Sophia all turned to see a tall, brown haired, brown-eyed man in a black suit leaning lazily against the doorframe. "Do I know you?"

"No. But I know all about you … Shim."

Shelly narrowed her eyes at the man's smug smile.

"You shouldn't be back here…" Sara started but was interrupted by the man.

"Actually, I can. Name's Detective Ryen Lanten. I help head-up a gang task force focusing on the Gun Runners." Shelly's jaw dropped in surprise then clenched shut with distaste. "I'm watching the Gun Runner's Las Vegas base and I need to talk…"

"I don't have a fuckin' clue what you're talking about. I'm outta here." Shelly tried pushing past Lanten but he stood in the doorway blocking her exit.

"Ignorance doesn't suit you, Shim. We have task forces following the bases in Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, and Los Angeles. And I heard from the boys in Chicago that you were coming to Las Vegas so I've been looking out for you."

Sara walked up to Shelly and placed her arm around her shoulders. "What do you want from her?"

Lanten smiled at Sara then at Shelly. "We found unknown DNA at two separate crime scenes in Chicago. We didn't have any evidence to hook it to you, Shim, except for the victim's connection to the Gun Runners, which only meant that it could have been any of them too. We ran the DNA through databases every month to see if we could finally match it to someone but we hadn't gotten a match for two years. That was until you got raped and they placed your DNA into the system." He finished with a confident smile at Sara who, in turn, scowled back.

Shelly drew apart from Sara immediately. "You did what?"

Sara hid her shock at Shelly's reaction and raised her hands in a defensive manner. "It's protocol. We needed to so that we could decipher between your blood or the assailants." She lowered her hands slowly and narrowed her eyes at Shelly. "What's the problem Shells? You told me that you've never killed anyone."

"I haven't. I could never take a life." She replied forcefully.

Lanten walked toward Shelly to handcuff her but Sara stepped forward and interrupted him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He replied as he pushed Shelly up against the wall and pulled out his cuffs. "I need to question our suspect."

"Hold up!" Shelly yelled. "I didn't kill anyone, damn it!"

"Okay, wait." Sophia finally stepped out from the corner. "You can use one of our interrogation rooms." She suggested. "There is no need for the handcuffs. She's not a flight risk considering she's surrounded by officers."

"And who are you?" Lanten asked.

"Detective Sophia Curtis, Las Vegas homicide. Now, instead of making anymore of a scene, how about we take this to one of our rooms." She offered. "You go ahead Detective and find a free room and when you find one, CSI Sidle and I will escort your suspect to it. We won't let her exit this room until you return."

Lanten hesitated but stepped out to find a free interrogation room.

Shelly sat down on the bench that was placed against the far wall and stared at Sophia with an unreadable expression. When Sara started to slowly walk towards her, she shook her head, making Sara stop a few feet away. "Thank you Miss Curtis." Shelly whispered before lowering her head into her hands.

"You're welcome. Now, I just saved you an arrest record, at least for the time being, so tell us the truth Shelly; were you involved with those murders?"

Shelly shook her head sadly, mumbling, "I didn't kill anyone. I was doing what I had to to survive. I didn't. I wouldn't kill anyone. I can't." She looked up slowly as Sara knelt in front of her, placing her hands on Shelly's knees, her slightly watered eyes matching Shelly's. "Please believe me." She pleaded to Sara in a broken voice.

Sara nodded and pulled her into a hug.

Sophia stood back and watched the embrace. Sweet but… Sara is going to get hurt. She needs to back off the victims.

"Let's go Shelly." Lanten said from the door.

"Okay." Sara stood up with Shelly.

"You're not coming with us CSI Sidle."

"Yes, I am. I'm Shelly's advocate."

Sophia's jaw figuratively dropped. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Sara?" She asked.

Sara looked back at her and nodded as she walked out with Shelly in front of her being led by Det. Lanten.

A/N: This chapter turned out to be a lot longer then I first expected so I have split it up. Already this chapter has hit the 5,000-word count so I'm going to post the rest of it in a part two. I hope you enjoy.

Again, thank you for your reviews. They are great.

PS This is an edited version of the original chapter because it was brought to my attention that I had the wrong rape charges written. Thank you.