Hey thanks for the reveiws guys. Just letting you know that this story isn't over yet. Still got the aftermath, flashbacks, Gregs case... few more things I might throw in...

I don't own CSI.

Before you read this I'd like to apologise for any errors I make in this chapter regarding medical facts, procedures or HIV/AIDS treatment, and drug trials in the 80's. I'm not a doctor or an expert in HIV/AIDS.

1986

Sara could hear the doctors working above her. She was too tired to keep her eyes open. She felt them insert tubes, connect monitors, she felt needles pierce her skin and tape holding them in. She fell asleep.

She heard a voice. Female, she sounded like a doctor.

"Are you her father, her gardian?" Next was a male voice, familiar.

"No I'm Joseph Taylor, I'm a social worker with Riverwood Home for Girls." Back to the womans voice.

"The group home? She lives there?"

"Yes."

"Can you make descision regarding her health?"

"Only in emergencies."

"This is an emergency. This girls has PCP andshe tested positive for HIV. She has AIDS."

"I guessed as much."

"It's not in her file?"

"I don't know I only met her today."

"Its not." This voice was weak, it her own. The doctor looked down at her.

"Hi sweetheart. Welcome back, we were kindaworried about you." She checked on her vitals,and adjusted a few dials on the machines. She sat down in a chair beside Sara's bedand smiled at her. "I need to ask you a few questions in a little bit ok, but first I'm gonna tell you a few things." The doctor was a large african american woman. She had very short black hair and warm smile. Sara nodded. The doctor started in a soft, gentle voice.

"I'm Doctor Williamson. I'm a pediatrician." Sara nodded her understanding.

"You have tested positive for HIV." Sara nodded.

"Do you know what HIV is?" Sara nodded.

"Have you ever been tested for it before?" Sara nodded.

"When was that?"

"A...a year ago." She had a mask over her face. That combined with the worsening infection in her chest made her voice come out in barely a whisper.

"Have you ever been treated for HIV." This time Sara shook her head. "Do you know what an oppurtunistic infection is?" Sara shook her head again. Dr. Williamson took a deep breath.

"Ok. I'm gonna give you a quick lesson on HIV." Sara nodded. The doctor kept her voice soft and calm. "It's a virus that is spread through bodily fluids, that includes blood, semen and vaginal secretions." She checked on Sara, she was calm and attentive. "When HIV infects the body it attacks your white blood cells, in particular your T-cells. Your T-cell are a part of your immune system they help your body fight colds, and infections and things like that. When HIV attacks the T-cells it kills them. Your body can't replace those T-cells as quickly as HIV kills them, so your T-cell count drops. Are you still following me?" She looked at Sara and waited for a response, the girl was looking a little worried but nodded in reply. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah"

"Ok. When your T-cell count drops you become more susceptible to certain infections. These are called opportunistic infections. If you develop any one of these infections or if your T-cell count which is also known as your CD4 count drops below 200 that means you have developed AIDS. Are you still with me?"

Sara nodded. "Do..I have...it."

"Yes. You have PCP, thats Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Thats an opportunistic infection and your CD4 count is 94. See these lesions on your arms." She pointed to the purple marks on Sara's left forearm. "Thats called Karposi's Sarcoma, or KS. Its a form of AIDS related cancer. Those three things indicate that your HIV has progressed to AIDS."

She watched Sara for a few moments to see if she was ok. Her breathing rate started to increase. She was panicking. Dr. Williamson put her hand on Sara's cheek "Its okay sweetheart. I want you to concentrate on your breathing." She spoke slowly to calm Sara down. "Take a deep breath in okay it might hurt a bit, but try to breathe." Sara tried to breathe in and it did hurt. She heard herself wheezing and only got a small amount in. She heard the doctors voice.

"Okay now hold it for a few moments." Sara wanted to let go. She felt like she was suffocating. "Okay now release it." She let go of the air. Dr Williamson heard the wheezing and noticed that it was getting worse. She sighed and continued to help Sara get her panic attack under control.

She had been in hospital for a week now. Most of her doctors including Dr. Williamson didn't think she would survive the PCP. But she was making progress.While the infection had not recceded, it had stopped spreading through her lungs. She wasn't breathing any eaiser yet though, and her chest still ached when she coughed. She had been recieving treatment, but her doctors where discussing the possibility of needing a second round of the drug. She wasn't worried about this, she trusted the doctors, they knew what they were doing.

A few days after she had been hospitalised Joey had come to see her. He had asked her about her knowledge of her HIV status.

"So you were tested before."

"Yeah...my...foster parents took me 'cos of the l..les..K..S."

"And what did your parents do?"

"Got..rid...of me."

"So that incident with your foster brother..."

"They...made it...up."

"I'm sorry they did that to you. I'm gonna make sure that there is an investigation, into it."

Sara knew that he would try, but she didn't think anything wold come of it. A few days after that he had come back with Ashley. She was still sporting her multicoloured hair and blue makeup, but this time had added a pair of black pants, and dark red top to the look.

"Now that...makes...more...sense." Ashley had looked at her with confusion for a moment.

"Oh you mean my clothes. Well there's no asshole principal here." Her language got her a stare from Joey. She just smiled sweetly back at him.

"I'll give you guys some space." With that he had laughed and left the room. Ashley looked back at Sara. She saw the all the machines and equipment she was hooked up to.

"You look like shit." She said with a smile.

"Well... gee...thanks."

"Does that hurt?" Ashley was refering to the end of the IV that was going into the back of her hand.

"Not really...I..forgot...it was...there."

"Are you contagous. I'm sorry I don't know much about AIDS?"

"Only...my blood...stuff like that." Ashley nodded.

They had talked for half an hour or so before Joey came back in the room to take Ashley back to the home.

Two weeks later, to the surprise of her doctors, she had recovered from the PCP. Her doctors told her that the KS was limited to her skin, that it had not spread to her mouth, gastrointestinal tract, lungs or lymph nodes. Dr. Williamson told her that she was a good candidate for a drug trial that was currently being conducted. The drug was AZT.

"Does it work?" Sara asked, she knew that there was no effective treatment for HIV or AIDS.

"There are reports that indicate that it is effective. But nobody knows for sure. Thats why their conducting the trial. Without people who are willing to get involved in the trials, there will never be a treatment."

"Okay. I'll do it."

They were making her take the drugs every four hours around the clock. That ment a nurse would come in at midnight and wake her up to take a pill. Then at four am, then 8. She would take them at midday, four pm, 8pm, and again at midnight. Every day, and it did nothing. It broke Dr. Williamson's heart to watch Sara waste away while taking so many pills that did nothing, and it scared her to think that this drug may not be an effective treatment for people with AIDS.

She didn't figure it out for another few weeks. She was reading a report on another drug trial. It was the double blind. It wasn't that the drugs wern't working, she knew that they were working for other patients, it was that Sara wasn't getting the drugs. She was getting a placebo. Probably sugar pills. She wanted to hate them for it. Putting a kid in the control group. But it was protocol. Sara was going to die because of protocol.

Let me know what you think.