Diana walked up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, she had no idea where to start….if this was even a good idea. Her father's name had gotten her inside without any problems, but her steps were far less confident than her voice had been mere minutes ago. She finally turned the corner where she could see inside the squad room, the almost empty squad room. She saw the detective she had met earlier that morning, who frowned upon seeing her enter.

Fin was talking with Barba when he saw Diana enter the squad room, he frowned at her, trailing off as he spoke to Barba, which made Barba turn around. He also frowned when he saw Diana, panic rising within him since she was staying with Savina.

"Diana!" he exclaimed in surprise, and slightly in panic.

Diana smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, she's fine," she was quick to assure him.

"You're Savina's friend," Fin commented.

"Yeah. Diana Castillo," she extended her hand, and Fin shook it.

"Castillo? Bradford Castillo?" he wondered, and she nodded. "I was hoping to talk to Lieutenant Benson."

"She's giving Sargent Rollins her statement," Fin stated, just as the door to the interview room opened. Amanda and Olivia both emerged, with Olivia's statement in Amanda's hand. Both women were glad when neither Dodds nor Tucker were present. But Olivia – like Barba – nearly panicked at the sight of Diana; who immediately held a hand up to calm her. "She's fine. She woke up, and had enough wit about her to realize that I probably procrastinated every single assignment till the last minute and kicked me out of there!" she quipped, smiling when she saw a small smile tugging at Olivia's lips.

"You must be Diana!" Amanda realized, and Diana chuckled.

"I take it she told you about her ribs," she laughed, and Amanda smiled as she nodded.

"Her ribs?" Fin repeated questioningly, and Diana smiled sheepishly at him. "I broke her ribs twice this past year."

Fin chuckled at the sheepish smile on her face as she turned her attention back to Olivia. "I was hoping I could talk to you," she hoped.

Olivia nodded. "Of course, why don't you wait for me in my office, and I'll be right with you." Diana nodded, and wordlessly headed into her office. Once they were satisfied that Diana was inside, Amanda turned her attention back to Fin.

"Fin, please tell me you got those files," Amanda nearly begged. They had been hitting brick walls all day, she was desperate for something that will move the case along. And something that won't rely on their hunches, personal believes, or prejudiced thoughts. She wanted – or rather needed – a solid lead that defense can't argue was vindictive. This whole playing by the books thing was starting to get on their nerves!

"I did. Councilor and I were just looking through them right now," he calmed her. "Guess who we found?" he asked rhetorically, holding up a sign up sheet.

"Freed!" Olivia basically spat her name.

"There's more to it than that, I asked around the center. Apparently it was a known fact that Savina was staying with the Solearno's, and Mrs. Solearno had told a few of her coworkers that she was heading for California, without Savina. Although they claim that she told them that she had arranged for someone to keep her, they didn't know she was staying on her own," he added.

"And the canvas?" Barba asked.

"Barba, the DA didn't take you off this case?" Amanda wondered in surprise. She had been so focused on getting Olivia out of the way, that she didn't realize that Barba should probably be taken off the case as well.

"No, Cutter said he will keep a close eye on the case, and if it gets too hairy, he will take the lead, and I will assist," he replied. Amanda nodded, before she turned her attention back to Fin.

"A few shops around the apartment building said that they saw Freed lurking around the area a couple of weeks before she took Savina. A few security guards around the slaughter house said that they saw her coming in and out of the building, but never saw Savina with her. On a hunch, I canvased nearby tool shops. And that's where I got this," he held up a security picture of Freed. "Cashier wouldn't give me the receipt without a warrant, because it has her credit card info on it, but he more or less confirmed what she bought. It's the same list Lewis bought when he took you," he informed them.

"As much as I hate to admit it, but all of that is still not enough for a warrant," Barba remarked regretfully. He held up his hands in surrender when three identical murderous glares were sent his way. "If I go before any judge with all of that, he might sign the warrant, but defense can easily argue that this was more prejudicial than probative, and they'll have a strong case."

"What if Savina picked her out of a line up?" Amanda asked, a sudden gleam making its way to her eyes.

The other three frowned at her. "How on earth, or any other realm, will this be possible? Savina said she was blindfolded, or she wore a mask!" Olivia exclaimed in frustration.

"I have an idea," she said vaguely. "But Liv, you can't be a part of this anymore. Go see what Diana wants, I'll talk to Barba," she instructed. For a second, Olivia looked like she was about to protest, before she realized that Amanda was merely doing what was best for Savina.

"I can't thank you guys enough," she whispered sincerely. Fin cocked his head at her. "Stop talking nonsense, girl! This bitch didn't just mess with you, she messed with all of us. And you better hope that I don't get my hands on her first, or else that comment I made in Cragen's office about Lewis won't be wishful thinking!" he admonished gently. The serious tone of the last comment was not lost on any of them – save Olivia, who had no idea what he was referring to – and they knew that it was not an empty threat. And neither of them actually had any problem with it. Amanda for one, thought she might actually look the other way.

Olivia smiled appreciatively at him, before making her way towards her office. She found Diana standing by her desk, holding a framed picture of Noah and herself in her hand. She looked up at the sound of the door closing, and turned the picture around. "We ran into him a couple of weeks ago, he absolutely refused to let Lucy put him down on the ice, or even step into the rink with him. But he took to Savina fairly quickly, and it wasn't long before she had him on his feet on the ice," Diana recounted fondly.

"Yeah, he saw her this morning, and lunged at her," Olivia recalled.

"Well, I guess this video will be all the more meaningful to you then," Diana pointed out, and Olivia frowned at her. "Last year, we were studying physics of motion. Our teacher had each of us pick a sport, and demonstrate the physics of it. The one condition he had, was that it can't be something we already know how to do. We had to pick something that we had no previous knowledge of. My brother, Sam, chose ice skating," she explained. "Savina was, of course, his test subject as he called her," she continued, and saw the longing in Olivia's eyes. "Once we turned our papers in, he decided to do a more advanced form of it for his college applications, so he started recording each and every time Savina set foot on the ice. Another friend of ours, Demetri, also knows figure skating, so they started dancing together. The day Noah graced us with his presence, Sam had the cameras rolling," she finished.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Olivia wondered, though her voice was more curious than impatient. She loved learning those things about Savina. She felt like she had seventeen years' worth of stuff to catch up on.

"This morning you said that she won't be herself for a while, and that she will need my help to come back from whatever it is that happened to her," Diana answered, and Olivia nodded. "You're right, she's not the same. She's good at hiding it, but there will come a point where it will be too much to bare, and it will all come crashing down on her. And even though she is terrified of admitting it, even to herself. She will need you of all people to help her through it. So I figured I'd give you an idea of who we're trying to bring back." She pulled a flash drive from her pocket and handed it to Olivia.

Olivia silently took the drive from her and plugged it into her laptop, a video immediately started playing. Diana silently made her way to the door, and led herself out. She ran into Barba as he made his way over, and told him what she gave Olivia. By the time he made it to the office, and around the desk, Olivia's shoulders were shaking with her silent sobs. He silently wrapped his arms around her, his hands moving up and down her arm in an attempt to sooth her, as he murmured kisses into her hair.

He saw Savina moving gracefully on the ice, her laughter echoing in the closed space, and the emptiness of the rink. She and the other teenage boy were the only ones in the frame. Diana's voice, as well as another boy's voices could be heard, but they did not appear on the video.

"Guys, I need something with a spinning motion!" Sam almost begged.

Neither Barba nor Olivia understood the terms that Savina and Demetri tossed between them, before they seemingly decided on a certain move. They skated together till they gained enough momentum, before Demetri picked up Savina, and spun her between his hands in the air. Olivia's heart sank when she saw Savina spinning in the air, and a sound that was a mix between a laugh and sob escaped her lips when Savina was safely back on the ice.

"A Little more complex, if you please," Sam instructed.

"Ay-ay, Captain!" Savina mock saluted, sticking her tongue out at Sam – or rather at the camera.

Olivia gasped softly when Demetri pulled Savina from between his legs, spun her, and let her drop a few feet away from him.

"Oh come on you guys!" Sam whined.

A delighted squeal filled the rink, and Savina whipped around to locate the source, and found Noah happily clapping his hands.

"Well, at least he liked it!" she quipped, as she made her way over to him.

Olivia's heart melted when she saw Savina cooing at Noah, and how well Noah responded to her. It surprised her how easily he took to her, and even let her pluck him out of Lucy's arms. The video went on to show how Savina skated slowly with Noah in her arms, did a few simple moves with him, before she gently lowered him to his feet on the ice. She saw her holding his hand as they skated. And it wasn't long before she was pushing Noah back and forth between her and Demetri, both crouching down close to each other.

Both Olivia and Barba had tears in their eyes by the time Lucy and Noah had bed them farewell, and Olivia thought that it was the end of the video. But before she could reach over to switch it off, a song came over the sound system in the rink, and both Demetri and Savina started dancing to it. Her laugh was a much welcomed sound; the way she threw her head back as she laughed was a much needed change from the sight she saw this morning; the way her body moved gracefully with the tunes of the song was remarkably different from the way it jerked as the paddles sent wave after wave of electricity.

Olivia's sobs were hard to control by then, and she turned around to bury her head in Barba's body. He let her cry, let her get it all out. She had just watched her daughter die, saw pain in her eyes that she was all too familiar with. He held her close, let his body muffle her cries, as he once again murmured kisses and assurances into her hair. His hand was now stroking her hair soothingly, as the other rubbed up and down her back.

"We'll get her back, I promise," he vowed softly.

Lucia woke up to a sore shoulder, and a numb arm. She was confused at first, her foggy brain still not quite realizing where she was, but then she felt someone move against her chest. She looked down at the weight on her arm, and that seemed to get her brain to catch up to the events of the past few hours. Savina was still fast asleep, curled up against her chest, though her hands were no longer balled up around her blouse. She took the time to study the teenager; she was truly beautiful, looking much like her mother. She smiled sadly at her, even at her young age, she did not look peaceful in her sleep. Though she wasn't sure if it was merely the events of the previous few days, or if it was the case even before. She pushed some of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, making the teenager stir in her sleep. Lucia stilled, she didn't mean to wake her, and she thought if she just froze that maybe Savina would not awake. But her hopes dashed when she saw those haunted brown eyes flutter open. It took Savina couple of seconds, but she finally saw her eyes focus on her own.

"Morning," she greeted softly.

"I think you mean afternoon," Savina quipped teasingly, and Lucia chuckled. "Yeah, I only closed my eyes for a second."

Savina smiled. "That's all it takes sometimes."

Lucia nodded. "Diana was here when I fell asleep, but I guess her parents told her to come home," she guessed.

"No, they didn't. I woke up about two hours ago and kicked her out," Savina informed her. "I knew she probably had a ton of homework to get to, and I didn't want her flunking because of me. It's bad enough that there's a good chance I'm getting kicked out of school, I don't want her to join me," she explained.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm sure your mother, and Rafael will figure something out," Lucia assured.

"How long have they been together?" Savina wondered.

"Less than a year."

Savina's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "You can't be serious?" she almost squeaked. Lucia laughed at her disbelief, already knowing what was going through her mind, but nodded nonetheless. "Wow!" she said in surprise. "If you look at them, you'd think they've been together for years."

"Trust me, we were all praying they get together the second they met."

"And how long did that last?" she wondered. "A whopping three years!" Lucia declared, waving her hand in the air dramatically. "Man alive, they're slow!" Savina joked, and Lucia laughed genuinely at her.

"I think I owe you an apology for earlier," Savina said softly. Lucia held her hand up, stopping her before she could finish. "No, you don't. What you went through was awful, and you are entitled to have every reaction in the book," she soothed, instinctively reaching over and pushing an errand strand of hair behind her ear. "You look so much like your mother," she commented softly.

Savina smiled shyly at her, and looked away. "I guess I have to get used to people saying that," she pointed out, and Lucia frowned in confusion at her. "My parents both had bright blue eyes, and different shades of blonde hair," she elaborated, and Lucia nodded in understanding. "She loves you very much, Savina. I know it will take some time for you to adjust. But don't ever doubt her love for you. She's been mourning you for years," Lucia stated confidently.

"Did you know?" Savina alluded questioningly, her voice a tad over a whisper. Lucia knew exactly what she was talking about, and briefly thought of lying to her, but knew that Savina would probably see right through it. After all, if the foster care system taught you one thing, it was how to read people well.

"She told me the full story last night after they got the DNA match," she confessed, and saw something flash in Savina's eyes. "That doesn't mean anything, Savina. She loves you very much, and from what I saw yesterday, she never stopped mourning you," she added. Savina averted her eyes, not entirely sure how to respond to this. Years of experience told her to expect the worst, but her instinct told her that this was different. She was never one to show emotions easily, or let anyone in on what she was thinking, but it seemed that the alcohol and drugs were affecting her inhibitions, and the question was out before she got the chance to stop herself. "Then how come she didn't tell you about me?"

It broke Lucia's heart how small and vulnerable she sounded, the pain and doubt in her voice was not lost on her, and it reminded her that even though she seemed like a tough seventeen year old, underneath it all….she was a terrified little girl.

"I didn't tell Rafael about the baby I lost before him," Lucia dead-panned, and Savina's eyes snapped up to meet hers. Lucia smiled reassuringly at her, before she started her tale. "I miscarried at eight months before I had Rafael, and to this day, he doesn't know. That doesn't mean it hurt me any less, doesn't mean I forgot about that baby, doesn't mean that I don't love her," she listed. "It merely means, that sometimes you keep certain things to yourself. You may find an appropriate time to tell people, and you may take the secret to your grave."

Savina's gaze shifted wildly between Lucia's, trying to find any signs of deception, of lies….but found none. She found love, understanding, a need to protect from future harm…safety. She smiled softly at her, her hand squeezing the older woman's in comfort. Lucia squeezed the hand back, before she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Thanks," Savina said sincerely. "That's what Abeulitas are for!" Lucia joked, smiling when Savina laughed.

A knock on the door interrupted their sweet moment, and since Diana had closed the blinds, they couldn't really see who it was. "Come in," Savina called out, as she slowly turned onto her back, just as the door opened revealing both Olivia and Barba. Lucia was already half way out of the bed by the time the door opened, and she didn't miss the fleeting moment of jealousy that crossed Olivia's face. She knew Olivia was dying to hold her daughter, but was trying not to push the girl.

Savina's entire face lit up when she saw the box in Barba's hand. "Detective Tutuola got you your laptop, and phone," he explained, as he placed the small box on top of the bed.

"He deserves a raise!" she quipped, as she pulled her phone and charger out. She looked around the bed for the outlet, and Olivia quickly took it from her, and plugged it in.

Once all was settled, Lucia took her leave, but not before checking in on the progress of the case. Savina's happiness over having her phone with her was sadly short lived, since Dr. Thompson came in and took her for some x-rays and MRIs. But not without protests of course. By the time she came back, her phone was back up and running, but there was a strange man in her room.

"Savina, this Trevor Lanagan," Olivia introduced. "He's the lawyer who helped me with Noah's adoption," she continued. "He's going to help us with you as well."

Savina smiled politely at the strange man, and shook his offered hand. "She's the spitting image, Olivia," he commented with a smile. Savina's eyes cut to Olivia's at the comment, and she was touched by the pride she saw in them. The sheer happiness that simple comment left.

"Thanks for doing this on a weekend," Savina said appreciatively.

"My pleasure, but I'm afraid it won't be an easy process. I will try to get your mother in front of Judge Linden in the morning before court, get her to sign the temporary custody order," he stated, and Savina's heart sank at the word 'temporary'. The slight change in demeanor was not lost on neither Barba nor Olivia, but it was Barba who quickly explained it to her.

"The temporary custody paperwork is much faster than permanent ones, and in your case, we still need to prove what the nuns did. So at least this way, you'll be with us until we solve this mess," he hastily explained, and she nodded.

"Your mother told me that your adoptive mother told you she knew of your arrival weeks before you were actually born?" Trevor sought confirmation, and she nodded.

"Yeah. She said she had spent years praying for a baby – and later on, my grandmother said that they tried to have one of their own for years, but couldn't – but then a nun told her one day in church that she will soon get a baby girl," she recounted.

"And did any of them ever say if they knew your birth mother, or how you came to be in the church?" he asked, and she shook her head. "My parents died when I was four, and my grandmother passed when I was ten. So any story they told me was dumbed down for a child," she pointed out.

"And Olivia, you've never told the nuns anything that may be misconstrued as not wanting the baby?" he wondered.

Olivia adamantly shook her head. "I never set foot in this place before that day. I wasn't even supposed to be there. I was out running errands when a storm hit, and I started having contractions. I ran into the church and told the nuns to call an ambulance, but they said the phone lines were down because of the storm. My water broke, and one of the nuns said she used to be a nun, and she was the one who delivered her. I fainted, and when I came to, they told me she was gone," she recalled the story once more, her voice catching slightly at the end.

"Alright, I'll get the paperwork going, and I will keep trying Judge Linden, and see if we can get in with her early tomorrow morning," he informed her.

"We know it's last minute, and we appreciate you taking this case on such a short notice. But I can't stay here at the hospital with her, until that order comes through," Olivia pleaded gently with him.

"It'll give defense a chance to claim you two got your stories straight," Trevor finished her trail of thought, and she nodded. "I'll let you know as soon as I know something," he assured her, and she smiled appreciatively at him. "I can't thank you enough."

"No thanks needed. It's my utmost pleasure," he shot back genuinely. "It was very nice meeting you, Savina. And I'm sure I'll be seeing plenty of you, as we try to sort this out completely," he said.

"Looking forward to it," Savina replied.

Just as Trevor left the room, Carisi came in, all freshed-up, with take-out and coffee in his hand.

"Ready to kick off tonight?" he asked, and Savina grinned at him.

A second chapter as promised, since I will probably go dark on this story for a while, to update my other stories, since I seemingly neglected them recently.

I have not gone through this chapter or the last with a fine tooth comb grammatically, so excuse any errors if you please until I do.

Let me know what you all think of this. You know reviews make me happy, so keep'em coming.