Chapter 2

"When is Daddy coming home Mommy?" The little girl turned to look at her Mommy briefly before she turned back to the window, watching for him.

"Soon baby, soon" her mother answered gently, a smile in her voice as she crossed over and stroked her daughters soft hair, dropping a gentle kiss on the curls before walking into the kitchen to check on the dinner.

The steady beat of the heart monitor was the only sound as Tony DiNozzo slowly entered the hospital room. He stood for a moment, his mind flashing back to that evening and the accident he had witnessed. The young woman that had been tossed like a rag doll into the air was now lying attached to various machines. Her outlook bleak. It seemed to Tony that it was even worse that the woman had no name, no family to sit and will her back, no one to care whether she lived or died.

He crossed over to the side of the bed, staring at the dark brown curls that were still tangled and knotted. A large stark white bandage covered half of her head and face. Her injuries were extensive and the doctors were surprised she had survived this long. She had sustained a fractured skull, as well as numerous other fractures to her body. Her spleen had ruptured and had already been removed. If she managed to survive the next 24 hours then the outcome looked no better. They couldn't tell what damage her brain had suffered, and it looked as if she would loose her left leg due to the fact that the damage looked too extensive to repair.

He stared down at her and wondered what colour her eyes were, what she looked like when she smiled, if she had a deep laugh or a soft giggle. He shook his head, the woman was a mess, and not his type at all he laughed in self depreciation. But there was something about her, something that pulled to him. He turned as the door behind him opened softly.

"Ah Anthony, the nurse's told me you had visited our Jane Doe" Ducky said with a gentle smile, before crossing over to stand next to the younger man in his perusal of the woman lying motionless in the large bed.

"Such a pity, that a beautiful young woman should live as she has" Ducky murmured as if to himself.

"How's that Ducky?" Tony asked his eyes curious as the turned to stare back at the much older medical examiner.

"From the way our young Jane here was malnourished, and the many healed fractures, it is apparent that she has been physically abused and most likely homeless and has been for some time" Ducky paused to watch the woman sadly "I fear that she has suffered badly in this life, and has a story to tell us" he continued softly, his deeply lined face creased further in concern. With that he gently patted Tony's arm and walked out of the room.

Tony stood there for a while staring down at the woman, before quietly leaving the room, a determination to his step that had not been there earlier.

"Where's my damn dinner?" The young girl hurried into the room, a tray balanced in her hands. Trying desperately to hold the heavy tray steady, knowing that if she spilled so much as a drop of the beer she would be in for another beating.

"Here Momma" she almost whispered as she placed the tray on the woman's large and rolling lap. Hoping and praying that everything was perfect. She stood with her head bowed down, unable to watch as the woman before her checked the contents of the tray. "Where's the damn biscuits?" she snarled, heaving the steaming tray and contents at the young girl, smirking as the contents hit her full force in the face, her tender skin turning red from the hot food.

"We don't have any Momma" the girl whispered not moving a muscle as the food dripped burning down her skin.

"You eat my biscuits girl?" the woman sneered, pushing her vast frame out of the worn and food stained easy chair.

"No Momma" the girl whispered, trying to shrink into her skin, knowing what was coming, knowing that to do anything except stand there and take it was pointless. "You had the last of them yesterday" she whispered as the woman stood so close she could smell her fetid, alcohol laced breath on her cheek.

She watched as in slow motion the woman raised a large meaty fist…

"Charging" the doctor called out, then "Clear" as she placed the paddles on the young woman's chest for the second time, the last time. If this didn't work she was calling her. The injuries were too extensive and it would be kinder to let her slip away, she thought sadly. She watched impartially as the woman rose of the bed with the shock of the electricity.

"She's back" the doctor said watching the monitor for a moment, wondering if perhaps it would be have been better if she had died.