Saraya was caught by the surprising rush of memories that she had to sit down on a stool at the island table as everything began to assault her. She was just 10 years old when her mother got very sick. Her mother, Steve's half-sister Heather McGarrett had been diagnosed with liver disease. It was pretty bad when they caught it. Heather would need a liver transplant if she were to survive.

Heather was the daughter of Doris McGarrett, who was away on an assignment while Steve and Mary thought that she was dead. She had met a fellow named Max. They had dated a few times and things got a bit out of hand Doris ended up pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl she named Heather. It wasn't until Doris came out of hiding 20 some years later that Steve and Mary were even told that they had a half-sibling. Steve wasn't bothered by it as much as Mary had been, but he never dreamed that in a few short years that he would be raising the child of that half-sibling.

Life for Saraya growing up was what she thought was normal, she enjoyed finger painting, arts and crafts, working on broken cars with her dad, and doing community service. Saraya Leilani McGarrett was born to Heather McGarrett and Dexter Mclaughlin on August 17, 2010, in Terre Haute, Indiana at 1:49 a.m. Heather and Dexter were not together when Saraya was born as Dexter tended to see more women than he really ought to, so there was no father listed on the birth certificate. It wasn't until 10 years later that Saraya's father would reappear on a more constant basis. The sicker her mother got the more time Dexter had come around. Saraya thought he was hoping that her mother had left him money. Dexter came around a lot while Saraya was a child, but he stopped coming around at all after Saraya had turned 7 years old. Saraya blamed herself for this happening. She had told her mother about Dexter's "play room" and the "games" that he would make her play.

Heather hadn't taken things seriously when Saraya had told her what Dexter was doing but she had called and told him to stay away from them. That he was no longer allowed to see Saraya, Dexter didn't fight that arrangement. He came around on birthdays and major holidays after that until one day he just didn't come around anymore at all, that was until Heather got sick.

Saraya never questioned it when she was younger. She and her mother did alright for themselves, she lived in a middle-class neighborhood, and She had friends. She went to a great school. Her favorite subjects were Physical Education and Biology. Her favorite teacher was Mr. Lee, he was there for her when her mom got sick, he was the one she told about the abuse after she went to live with Dexter after her mother had passed. She hated Mr. Anderson because he seemed to like giving out detentions like they were candy and for the most absurd reasons. Many times she was kept after school because of Mr. Anderson. Dexter loved having that excuse for when he would punish Saraya.

Saraya had lots of friends but was only close to a few. Charles Torres and her had been inseparable growing up through elementary school until the only thing he could think about was girls. Jade Stewart was a good friend but moved away earlier this summer, her dad's job relocated them to Honolulu, HI. He was some tech whiz in a fancy suit. So it seemed that Saraya would know at least one person on this island. She would miss her best friend Christopher Thomson as they liked to work on the broken cars and do community service together.

Saraya had been completely distracted by her own thoughts and memories that she jumped at the sound of the doorbell when the pizza delivery guy showed up. She got up from the island and went to the door and retrieved her pizza. She didn't know how long her Uncle would be gone and she wanted to have leftovers. She took the pizza to the kitchen. She sat it down on the island and went in search of a plate. Once she found her plate she went to the refrigerator and got out a bottle of water to drink. She took out two pieces of pizza, grabbed her water, and walked back through the dining room area out to the lanai. She saw two chairs halfway down the backyard towards the water and went to sit there and enjoy her early dinner. She ate her pizza and drank her water, then she sat there, she felt her mood continue to decline so she decided that she needed a distraction so she went back into the house, put her dishes in the sink, and headed back to her new room.

Once in her room, she decided that she would start putting her things away. Saraya picked up the black overstuffed suitcase and placed it on the bed. She unzipped it as the top expanded at the freedom it now had. She started sorting and unpacking her clothes and other things that were in the suitcase. She placed some of her clothes in the dresser and hung what she thought needed to be hung in the closet. She then took her toiletries into her bathroom and put them in their proper places, she then realized that she did not have that many items and would need some more essential items soon. After she had emptied the black suitcase she slid it under her bed. She then grabbed the blue suitcase and emptied its contents on the bed and sorted through those things. She took the framed pictures she had and sat them on the armoire in the order that she wanted. She then took about half a dozen books she had packed and placed them on the bookshelves. She placed her stuffed teddy bear "Theo" by her pillow. She knew that she was old enough to not need the bear anymore but she's had it since she was born, Theo was worn out, his fur was all over, his clothes were faded, and you could see where he had needed patching up.

She then placed her two pairs of shoes on the bottom shelf in the closet. She then slid the suitcase under the bed next to the other. She then grabbed her backpack and emptied it. She placed her IPad on the desk that was in her room along with its charger, her new iPhone and its charger were also placed on the desk. She then laid out her journal that she had been writing in on the desktop. She put all of her important papers and documents in the desk drawer.

After she was sure that she had everything put in the place that she wanted and everything looked neat and clean she decided to return downstairs to the living room. She located the tv and turned it on. Saraya watched several episodes of Street Outlaws, even with her piqued interest and the noise from the loud volume she had on and the surround sound home theater system going, she seemed to still notice the quiet environment and the loneliness it brought with it. Saraya sat on the couch and let herself feel the emotions that kept beating at the damn so to speak. She missed her mother, it had only been nine months since she had passed in her arms. Nine months that her life had been pure hell, nine long agonizing months of fear, tears, frustration, and abuse.

It wasn't until she had run away from Dexter's house one night after he had passed out drunk, that she was able to stumble her way to Mr. Lee's front porch, the following morning Mr. Lee had found Saraya curled up on his front porch swing in nothing but her undergarments. He immediately took her inside and began asking her questions as well as offering her something to eat and clothes to put on. After all, it had been the end of January in Indiana. The temperatures were well below freezing at night. So when the young teacher saw the girl on his front porch, he did what he thought was right. After breakfast that fateful morning and after talking to Saraya and seeing physical injuries, he took her to the local hospital. That day is what started her on the road to her new home. Because there was no father listed on the birth certificate and she couldn't stay with Dexter for obvious reasons, a case was opened with DCFS and She was placed into an emergency foster home until a more suitable placement could be found. She spent 2 weeks in the emergency placement until she was moved to the Riverside Group Home, where she would stay for her remaining time until the state could figure out what to do next.