A/N: Hey! I'm down in Florida now, and moving into my apartment tomorrow morning! Woo hoo! It's still pretty crazy, so sorry for not updating. I will try to do that more often when things get settled down. Thanks for sticking with me!
Kelsey went through the motions of her last three classes of the day after her meeting with the principal and her parents. They all talked about how they cared about her and wanted her to get better, but it was only because she freaked them out. Her parents didn't want a daughter who did psychotic things; who made herself bleed; who talked back to them. They just didn't want her to get kicked out of this school so they wouldn't have to deal with her so much. Kelsey wasn't going to make it that easy on them.
She hated them for sending her to this awful school; for having to wear this disgusting, itchy uniform; but most of all for trying to make her something she wasn't. She was never going to make them happy, no matter what she did, or didn't do. They wanted her to be the perfect straight-A, well-mannered girl she used to be. Kelsey hated that girl, but she hated the girl she was too. That was the hard part – she was trapped, and didn't know where to go.
When the school bell finally rang, Kelsey started to walk out to the city bus to catch a ride to the CSI headquarters. She stopped halfway, looking at other students boarding the bus. This is not where she wanted to be. She didn't want to go see her parents, so they could put her under house arrest. Kelsey felt like a specimen, being observed, as her parents took notes on her and tried to control her. Realizing she'd had enough of this micro-management, Kelsey turned back to the school doors and pushed her way through the sea of identical, seemingly brain washed and uniformed students going the opposite direction.
Kelsey needed to send a message, that she was not going to be handled. She wasn't going to roll over and perk up with the right discipline, the right school, or the right group of friends. She felt she was beyond hope, and just wanted everyone to give up on her already. Kelsey hated the fact her parents thought her problems would be such a quick fix, sending her here. Their daughter was a nutcase, and they just needed to face it, and Kelsey was going to send that message loud and clear.
Digging through her backpack and jeans pocket for money, the teen managed to rummage up close to five dollars worth. She found the coke and candy machines, and quickly bought as many as she could afford, stuffing them into her backpack. Kelsey stormed off towards the girls' locker room, where the basketball team had just finished changing before practice. All alone with no one to talk her out of it, Kelsey started chugging the sodas and stuffing the candy bars down her throat at a rapid speed.
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
Nick Stokes looked again at his watch while waiting for a meeting to get over with at work. It was almost four o'clock, and Kelsey should have been here by now. Each day when she arrived, she had to come find him or Sara so they knew she'd gotten there safely. Since she'd been upset earlier at school, Nick was beginning to think she'd decided to run off somewhere else, or meet up with friends from her old school. As soon as Grissom decided to dismiss them, he would call her cell phone to see why she wasn't here.
He looked across the table at his wife, who didn't very happy either. She'd been looking at her watch frequently also. Nick didn't understand Sara's reasoning to start going easier on her. Kelsey's behavior had been unacceptable for quite some time, and now they'd found out about the cutting, he wanted to clamp down on her even more. Their disagreements had been putting a strain on the marriage, and they often argued about how to handle Kelsey.
Finally, Grissom dismissed the team, and Nick immediately stormed out of the room, pulling his cell phone out and dialing his daughter's number. Sara caught up with him and took hold of his arm, pushing the cell phone away.
"Nick, you need to calm down before you call her." She warned her fast-becoming irate husband.
"No, Sara. I've had it." He told her firmly, easily pulling his arm away from her grasp. "This is ridiculous! She thinks she can just wander off and disobey us? Just wait until we get home, she'll be in for a rude awakening." Soon, they reached his office, and Sara slammed the door behind them.
"Nick, stop!" She screamed, causing Nick to stop dialing and look up at his wife. Sara rarely yelled, and the look on her face showed how serious she was. "Just listen to yourself! You're the one acting ridiculous right now!"
"We cannot tolerate this crap any more! If we need to check her in to some clinic, or personally escort her between school and home, that's what we need to do. I've had it." Nick's face was stern and determined as he started to re-enter Kelsey's phone number. He was more than surprised to feel the phone being swatted out of his hand, and it tumbled to the floor. Looking up, his eyes were met with a very upset Sara Stokes.
"You're going to drive her further away." She didn't yell, but there was a steely, protective determination in her voice Nick hadn't heard before. There was silence for a several prolonged moments, as they studied each other's faces, the determination of both steeled. Neither wanted to see her hurt and unhappy anymore, but were at totally different ends of the spectrum at how to handle the situation.
"She couldn't be driven away any further." Nick said calmly, his eyes glued on his wife's. He was about to reach for his phone when Catherine opened the door.
"Guys, Butterfield is on the phone. Something about Kelsey, and it sounds urgent." She reported in concern, not caring that she had seemingly interrupted an intense moment between the two worried parents.
Sara and Nick practically dove for the phone. In all their arguing, they hadn't thought about the fact she may still be at school for some reason. The sense of urgency in Catherine's voice frightened them as they tried to think of why she would still be there. Sara picked the phone up first.
"This is Sara Stokes."
"Ma'am, this is the nurse at Butterfield Academy."
"Is something wrong?" Sara asked worriedly. The slight sigh coming from the nurse caused Sara's mind to race even more.
"Kelsey was found in the girls' locker room a few minutes ago unconscious. She was surrounded by quite a few empty soda cans and candy wrappers. I know that she's diabetic, and I believe she went into diabetic shock."
Sara would have collapsed if Nick hadn't been there to help sit her down. Hearing that her daughter may be in diabetic shock sent the mother into hysterics, trying to get more information.
"Is she okay? Where is she?"
"The ambulance is just a couple minutes away, and they're taking her to Desert Palms."
Sara had since broken down crying, so Nick to the phone from her hands.
"This is Nick Stokes. Is Kelsey okay?"
"Sir, they're taking her to Desert Palms hospital to be treated for diabetic shock. You need to go meet her there."
Nick felt like his world was falling apart, and he couldn't move. The thought of his baby girl in trouble; her life possibly in immediate danger, was more than he thought he could bear. He managed to thank the nurse and he spent the next few moments trying to compose himself. They needed to get to Kelsey.
Nick knelt down in front of where Sara was sitting, sobbing. He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.
"Sara, she's going to be fine, do you hear me?" He said louder than he'd intended. Maybe if he said it out loud, it would be true. They were both crying and felt paralyzed as Nick pulled his wife to her feet. They knew their legs must be moving, but going out to the car was all a blur. People passing them in the hall went unnoticed as they rushed away to get to their daughter. Nick and Sara had never been so scared in their lives.
