AN: Hey all. So it's been a really long time since I updated this story. I apologize. I've been super busy but I haven't forgotten about it. There is more drama to come for Chris and her family as well as with Chris and Amanda. You'll have to keep reading to find out what the drama is. As always, please leave your feed back. It's much appreciated.

Chapter 30: Do Not Resuscitate

Over the next couple days, they made an arrest in the Manning case. Barba was nervous about putting the little girl on the stand. She was just old enough to be sworn in but she was fragile. He didn't want her falling apart in front of the jury but he didn't have a choice. He needed her testimony. Chris was there with him when he prepped her, making sure she'd be ready when it was her turn to take the stand. She was as focused on work as she could be with her mom still in the hospital and still refusing the heart transplant she needed to save her life. She still hadn't told her father that her mother didn't want the surgery. He thought that his wife was already on the donor list waiting for an available organ. She knew she'd have to tell him soon but she was still hoping to change her mother's mind.

It was Abigail's day to testify in court and Chris had promised her she'd be there. They'd waited for as long as they could but the judge wouldn't wait any longer. She would have to go on without her being there. She'd taken a long lunch and was at the hospital visiting her mother. She'd just had a talk with the doctor and it wasn't good. Her mother's heart was getting worse and she was now refusing the drugs she needed to keep her in stable condition and reduce the risk of infections. She'd been sleeping more and more and the doctor said it wouldn't be long until she'd go to sleep and wouldn't wake up. It was time to start making preparations for her. He handed her some papers, including a do not resuscitate order, and told her to look them over and sign them when she was ready. With her mother refusing treatment, there wasn't much they could do except make her comfortable in her final days. She was pressed for time left with her mother and time to tell her family that the transplant wouldn't be happening. She knew that talk wouldn't go well. With all of that on her mind, she'd completely lost track of time. It was thirty minutes past the time that Abigail was scheduled to take the stand when she finally looked at her watch. Luckily her dad and brother got there and she was able to leave.

"Abigail, I know this is difficult and a little scary for you but I need you tell the jury how you got hurt at school" Barba said as gently as possible. Without Reyes there, getting information out of the six year old was like pulling teeth. She looked at him, then at the people in the jury, then briefly at the defense table, clearly scared out of her wits to be sitting up there with all of those people staring at her. "Abby" Barba said getting her to look at him. "Can you tell the jury how you got hurt at school?" The door opened and Chris slipped quietly into the courtroom. She saw Amanda and Fin sitting in the front row. Olivia and Nick sat behind them. She walked up quietly and sat down next to Fin. A wave of relief washed over Barba when he saw her walk in and take her seat. Abigail smiled and waved at her. She returned the smile and waved back. Barba turned back to his witness. "Now, Abby, can you tell the jury what happened?"

"It was recess and I had to go to the restroom" she started, sounding more confident now that Chris was there. "I went inside and the man was in there. He was cleaning. He wasn't nice to me".

"How? How was he not nice to you?"

"He wouldn't let me go to the restroom. He got mad that I had dirt on my shoes from the playground. He yelled at me and then he pushed me down".

"What happened next Abby?"

"He touched me" she said softly. "Mommy said that's my private place where no one's allowed to touch so I yelled at him to stop it".

"What did the man do next?"

"He hit me. He got madder because I cried. He put his hand over my mouth and said if I told anyone he'd hurt my mommy and daddy".

"Abigail, is the man who hurt you in this courtroom right now?"

"Yes" she said timidly.

"Can you point him out for the jury?" She lifted her hand form her lap and pointed at the defendant. "Thank you, Abby. You've been very brave. I have no further questions your honor". Barba turned and went to his seat. His nerves hadn't subsided yet. Abby still had to make it through her cross examination. He hoped that she would remember to do it just like they'd practiced.

"Hi Abigail" the defense attorney said as he approached her. He was a public defender named Ben Holder, nobody they'd ever seen before so they couldn't predict how he'd treat her on the stand. She was only six years old but that didn't mean he wouldn't go after her in attempts to discredit her testimony.

"Hi" she said back.

"Mr. Barba is right. You have been very brave up there".

"Thank you".

"You're welcome". He turned to look at Barba then glanced at Reyes before turning back to Abigail. "You must've had some help getting ready for today, right?"

"Yes".

"Who helped you?"

"Mr. Barba" she answered.

"Um hum. Anyone else?"

"Christina" she said with a soft smile.

"Christina" he repeated. "You mean Detective Reyes?" he asked pointing Chris out for the jury.

"Yes. She's my friend" Abby said happily. Chris smiled.

"That's very nice" he said pacing in front of the jury box. "And how did Mr. Barba and Detective Reyes help you get ready for today?"

"We practiced. Mr. Barba asked me questions and I answered. I got to sit in the judge's chair" she bragged.

"That must've been fun". Abby nodded. "How did Detective Reyes help you prepare for today?"

"She was there when we practiced. She said I did a good job".

"Did you practice with Detective Reyes what you were going to say today?"

"No. I practiced with Mr. Barba" she answered.

"Did Detective Reyes tell you anything about what to say while you're on the witness stand?" he asked. Barba knew that he was trying to confuse the girl into saying that she'd been fed her testimony but he wasn't worried. They'd done everything by the book and this bastard was going down.

"Yes". Barba sat up in his chair when he heard her answer. He looked over his shoulder at Chris who didn't may him any mind. She hadn't told Abby anything that would affect the case.

"She did?" he asked pretending to be surprised by her answer. "What did she tell you?"

"She said to tell everything that happened and to not be scared. It would go just like I practiced with Mr. Barba and…." She paused trying to remember exactly what Chris had told her. "And as long as I tell the truth everything will be ok". Barba relaxed in his chair again.

"You know what it means to tell the truth and to tell a lie, Abigail?" he asked.

"Objection" Barba said standing from his seat. "The witness' ability to tell the difference between a truth and a lie was established at the swearibility hearing, your honor".

"It was. Objection sustained" she said looking at Mr. Holder before turning to Abigail. "You don't have to answer that sweetheart".

"You wouldn't tell a lie would you Abigail?" he asked, moving along with his questions.

"No" she said softly.

"But you did lie to your mom and dad, didn't you?" Abigail looked confused by his question. "You told them that you were hurt in an accident on the playground, didn't you?"

"Yes" she said sadly.

"So which is it, Abigail. Did you get hurt on the playground or did my client hurt you?"

"He did" she said.

"Then why did you lie to your parents when they asked how you were hurt?"

"He said he would hurt them if I told". Tears were started to form in her eyes and she was starting to fall apart. Barba knew he had to get her off the stand.

"How can we trust that you're not lying about that, Abby? You lied to your parents. Why should this jury believe that you're telling the truth now?" He was standing right in front of the witness box, towering over the scared six year old girl. Barba could see that the jury was displeased with how the girl was being treated and thought it would work to their advantage. There was no doubt in his mind, they'd just won this case.

"Objection, your honor" Barba said standing from his chair again. "Badgering the witness".

"Sustained. Step back, Mr. Holder" she ordered. He stepped back from the witness chair and went back to his seat.

"I have nothing further for this witness". The judge looked over at Abby and told her she could get down from the stand. She practically ran over to Christina and gave her a big huge. Chris picked her up and carried her out the courtroom with her parents following close behind. She put her down once they were outside and kneeled in front of her.

"I'm so proud of you" she said taking both of her hands in her own. "You did so great, just like I knew you would". Abigail wrapped her arms around Chris' neck and held her tight.

"Abigail, let her breath" her mother said prying her away from Chris. The doors to the courtroom opened and people started filing out. Olivia, Fin, Nick and Amanda finally emerged followed shortly after by Barba. He told the Mannings that they were done for the day and they could take their daughter home. He was fairly certain that they wouldn't need Abby to get on the stand again so they wouldn't need to come back until the verdict. They said goodbye and walked away towards the elevators. Chris watched until they got on the elevator and gave Abby one last wave goodbye as the doors closed then turned back to her team.

"Nice of you to show up" Barba said. "Better late than never, huh?" Chris could tell he was being sarcastic and criticizing her for being late to court. She thought he should've been appreciative that she'd shown up at all.

"Yeah" she said before walking away towards the bathroom. He was about to say something else but Amanda stopped him.

"Come on Barba, cut her some slack" she said sticking up for her. "Her mom's in the hospital". She walked away towards the bathroom to go check on Christina.

"How is her mom doing?" he asked looking at Benson.

"Not good" she said simply. When Chris and Amanda came back from the bathroom and they left the courthouse to head to the precinct. They finished out their shift and planned on going for a drink. They invited Chris but she declined, saying she needed to get home and make dinner for her brother and sister and take a plate to the hospital for her father. He was now refusing to stay at home. He went to work from the hospital and then straight back afterwards. The nurses had brought a cot in the room for him to sleep on. If she didn't take him food herself, she couldn't be sure that he was eating at all. Amanda went over to her as she was packing up her stuff to head out.

"Hey" she said leaning against her desk. "You want some company tonight? I can help you cook". Chris laughed at Amanda offering to help her cook. "Or I could watch" she said playfully slapping her shoulder.

"Thanks but I'm ok" she said turning down her offer. "You should go out and have a drink. I'm not really much for good company right now anyway".

"You know you don't have to do this alone" Amanda said taking her hand. "I'm here for you". Chris nodded her head.

"I know" she said softly. "I just…I have some things to talk about with my family and some hospital forms to look over for my mother's treatment. It's a lot to deal with and I just need some time alone to….work through it all. But you should go" she said giving her hand a light squeeze. "Have a drink for me".

"Ok". Chris gave her hand another squeeze before letting go and heading out of the precinct. Amanda, Fin, Olivia and Nick headed out to the bar shortly after. They found a booth and ordered there drinks, talking mostly about the case. Then Nick decided to bring up what was on all of their minds.

"So, uh, how's Reyes doing with everything?" he asked looking at Rollins.

"She's keeping it together" she said, "taking care of everything and everyone same as always".

"She went to see her mother today didn't she?" Fin asked. Amanda nodded her head. "Did the doctors give her any news?"

"She didn't say if anything had changed" she said taking a drink from her beer. "She did say that she had some forms to look over".

"She shouldn't be trying to do this on her own" Benson said shaking her head.

"I don't think she knows any other way to do things" Amanda said finishing her beer. They talked more about Chris and what they could do to help her. Amaro suggested again to Benson that she order Reyes to take time off. Rollins didn't like the idea. She'd talked to Reyes about it and knew that she needed all the time she could get on the clock. Every penny she had was going towards her mother's care. They went back and forth for a couple of minutes before Benson settled the argument, saying she wasn't going to make her take time off. Fin didn't know why they wouldn't just sit down with Reyes and ask her what she needed from them. Amanda knew she'd say she didn't need anything.

Chris made it to the hospital at eight o'clock that evening with dinner and a change of clothes for her father. She sat with him while he ate and looked over the papers the doctor gave her earlier that day. She got to the do not resuscitate order and thought about how to talk to her father about it. She figured she'd start with him and then talk with her brother and sister. Her father finished his dinner then went to the bathroom to change into pajamas and brush his teeth. When he came back Chris took a deep breath and started talking.

"Papa, I talked to the doctor this afternoon" she said turning to face him. "She's not getting better. She's getting worse".

"I know" he said nodding his head. "But she will get better when they find her a heart" he said sitting down in the chair next to his wife's bed. He took her hand and kissed it softly. "Tan pronto como ella obtiene un nuevo corazón".

"Ella es no obtiene un nuevo corazón, papa" she said. His eyes snapped up to meet hers.

"What are you talking about?" he asked angrily. "We agreed she'd have the operation".

"I know we did but ma doesn't want it" she said bracing herself for his reaction. "She told me she doesn't want it".

"She doesn't know what she is saying!" he yelled causing Chris to jump slightly at his sudden increase in volume. "She's not well".

"She does know, dad" Chris said firmly. "She's been saying it since the day she came in here. She doesn't want the surgery".

"No" he said shaking his head. "I'm making the decisions for her. She's having the surgery".

"She doesn't want it. She's started refusing her medication" she said softly. "She's dying. She knows she's dying. She wants to go". She reached up and took her father's hand. "We have to let her go". Tears welled up in his eyes until he couldn't hold them any longer. He let his head fall down to rest on his wife's side and broke down into tears. Chris continued to sit with him and hold his hand, fighting hard to hold back tears of her own. Once he'd calmed down, she gave him the papers he needed to sign. When he got to the DNR, he hesitated, looking over the paper, at his wife then back at the paper again before finally signing it. Her father eventually laid down to sleep. Chris slipped quietly out of the room and headed home.

She wasn't expecting to find her brother and sister still awake when she got home but they were in the living room waiting for her when she came in. They asked how their mom was doing and she had to have the same conversation again with them. Robbie was understandably upset, wanting to know why she'd kept this from them. She explained that she was hoping to change their mother's mind but it was becoming clear that there was no chance of that happening. They'd all have to use this time to accept their mother's decision and spend as much time with her as they could to say their goodbyes. Jeza was quiet during their talk. She didn't show much emotion, not unlike her sister. She just got up from the couch and went upstairs to her room. Chris talked with her brother for a while longer before leaving him in the living room and going to her room. She changed her clothes and settled down to sleep. She tossed and turned, not able to get the sounds of her father sobbing or her brother's yelling out of her head. She finally gave up and just laid there staring up at the ceiling. She did that for hours, then got up, took her blanket and went downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and spoon and getting herself some ice cream. She went to the couch and turned on the tv, flipping through channels until she found a show to watch on the animal planet channel. She fell asleep there with the soft noise of the tv in the background, dreaming of good times she'd had with her mother.

Spanish-English Translation

Tan pronto como ella obtiene un nuevo corazon- As soon as she gets a new heart

Ella es no obtiene un nuevo corazon, papa- She isn't getting a new heart papa