A/N: One more time, a heartfelt thank you to all of you for the way you've embraced this story. Your questions, remarks and suggestions, whether in your reviews or by private messages have been interesting and keep me on my toes.

For this chapter, I also needed to do considerable research in order to make it as realistic as possible, but without detracting from the story itself. When I googled "legal status of amnesiacs" the very first result turned out to be a treasure trove of information, which incidentally lent weight behind the solution I had in mind. It also revealed the existence of a real case as well as a TV show, both hitherto unknown to me. Look them up if you like. By the way, the muscle/episodic/procedural memory things were borrowed from the Castle episode "The Fifth Bullet".

For now, enjoy the new chapter!

Indeed, going over the possible interpretations of the surname Sarah had scrawled on the delivery log was the best course of action. When they were done, Alexis would take it to the precinct with her and search for women named Sarah, with L as a middle initial, with those surnames and also try and run a facial recognition and fingerprint search. Sarah had also agreed to allow Ellie give Alexis her dental X-rays, just in case the detective was able to find any potential matches.

Sarah took a notepad and pen from the nightstand and got ready to start jotting down the possibilities.

"I think I'll start," said Ellie. "Watts," she suggested. "It's kind of unlikely, but…"

"Say no more," said Sarah, writing down the name.

"Williams," suggested Alexis.

Sarah took her cue. "Also Wilson, Walters, Wills… that thing at the end might just be a flourish… or maybe Willis."

"What we read as a W could also be an M. Miller, Milton, Mills," continued Alexis.

"Good idea," agreed Ellie. "I'll stick with W for now, though. Walton, Walker, Weston, Webster."

The three spent some time trying to come up – and writing down – any surname even remotely having a chance of matching Sarah's scrawl. In the end, none of them could come up with anything else. Fortunately, Ellie had not been paged throughout the time they'd been busy. A nurse interrupted their talk about what was going to happen next by bringing Sarah some food. Ellie and Alexis encouraged her to dig in. The nurse had also brought antihistamine pills, just in case Sarah had an allergic reaction to anything.

"You weren't kidding," said Sarah after the first few bites. "The food is really good."

"Glad you liked it," said Ellie with a smile. "Detective, what's going to happen in case you come up dry?"

"Frankly, I don't know, exactly," Alexis admitted. "But if Sarah here doesn't regain her memory by the time she's ready to be discharged, it's possible that she'll have to become a ward of the state, at least temporarily. I know a judge in Civil Division, and I think it won't hurt to ask for his opinion."

"Detective, thank you for everything," said Sarah. "I know you must be busy and you were still willing to spend so much time helping me."

"I'm between cases right now and this has been a refreshing change," the detective smiled. She then picked up her stuff and left, after promising to keep them both in the loop about any developments in the case.

Once Alexis left, Sarah turned to Ellie. "Something Detective White said has got me thinking. When am I going to be discharged? It's not that I don't like it here, but…"

"Honey, I understand perfectly. This is a hospital, not a hotel. It stands to reason you'd be eager to get outta here. To answer your question, I'd like to keep you here at least tonight, for observation. I don't think your head injury is going to cause any long-term issues…"

"Aside from the memory loss," Sarah grumbled, interrupting Ellie.

"Of course," she smiled, not missing a beat. "But due to the concussion you've suffered I believe we should err on the side of caution."

-o-

"Well?" Alexis asked the tech, who was running the facial recognition software.

"Nothing," he replied.

"You couldn't find a match?"

"Your Jane Doe may not even be from this State," he explained. "Her fingerprints aren't in any database, which means that she doesn't have a criminal record and she isn't in any occupation requiring them to be on record either. Likewise, the DMV has no record of any Sarah L. matching the photo you provided."

Alexis huffed. "Looks like we'll have to wait for a missing persons report, and if she's from out of state, it will have to be forwarded to us from another department. Can't you run the possible last names?"

"What good is it going to do? We couldn't find a match with her picture and first name, and we are sure about those. You came up with about a score of potential last names for her. It's going to take time going through them all."

"I understand. She did strike me as a nice person and I'd have really liked to be able to help her. Plus, I don't like my cases going cold."

"Detective, you did everything you could," the tech pointed out. "Besides, there is always a chance of the lady regaining her memory."

She just grunted something in agreement, but privately she wasn't so sure. Dr. Bartowski might be able to give a more informed opinion, but in the end it looked like she might have to call an acquaintance over in Social Services and defer the case to her.

While they commiserated over their failure, they couldn't know that they'd just fed a little too much information into the system. Had they entered only Sarah's photo, the computer would have found a close match, a brunette San Diego resident named Jennifer Burton. But since the search parameters included a name, it automatically chose to ignore the similarity. They also couldn't have known that her fingerprints were only on record with the CIA, whose databases they had no access to. Dental records were a bust as well, since they didn't have anything to compare them to.

Likewise, at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Langston Graham was also getting negative reports. No morgue along the California coast had reported floaters matching the missing agent's description. His people were still monitoring the reports and would keep doing so for a few more days, but if nothing came up during that time, it was clear nothing would come up ever.

-o-

Sarah woke up when one of the nurses who was making the rounds of the ward entered her room.

"Not a morning person, I see," she remarked cheerfully.

Sarah just grumbled something and sat upright.

"How are you feeling?"

"The headache is gone," Sarah replied honestly. "My shoulder still feels a bit sore, but I must have slept on it wrong or something."

The nurse nodded as she made a notation on Sarah's chart. "Everything looks good. I'll talk to Dr. Bartowski about getting your discharge paperwork ready. In the meantime, you could go to the dining room for breakfast. Moving around will do you good."

"Fortunately, I still remember where it is," Sarah replied with a smile. She swung her legs out of bed, wincing as her bruised left thigh protested the movement, but ignored it and shoved her feet into the hospital provided blue ballet flats style slippers. The white dotted blue gown she was wearing was fortunately designed for maximum comfort and modesty, so she didn't have to make sure her back side was covered.

"Hold on a second, sweetie," said the nurse. "I have to check your bandage first."

She sat obediently on the bed while the nurse carefully unwrapped the bandage, inspected the head injury and taped a fresh gauze pad in place.

"There. It looks better than the turban you had on." She held up the long bandage to drive the point home.

"Feels better, too," Sarah said, running her hands through her hair, trying to comb it into some semblance of order. She asked the nurse if she could take a shower. The reply was positive and she was also given waterproof wrappings for her injuries. She thanked the nurse again and after a quick shower took a leisurely walk to the hospital's dining hall. The results of her allergy test had come up negative, so she could eat anything. It was busy, but took her tray and managed to find a seat at a table next to a teenage girl with a cast on her right arm. "Here, let me help you," she said politely, seeing how the girl had difficulty cutting open and buttering a muffin without full use of her dominant hand.

"Thank you ma'am," the girl said shyly but politely.

She smiled. "Call me Sarah. Ma'am makes me feel old."

"Juliet," the girl introduced herself. "What are you here for?" She immediately regretted the question as she noticed that Sarah appeared to have been beaten up.

"From what I've been told, I'd gone swimming or surfing and somehow washed up on the Palos Verdes shore."

"From what you've been told?" This wasn't domestic abuse, Juliet thought. No, it was something really, really cool from her perspective.

Sarah tapped the gauze pad on her temple. "The head injury caused memory loss."

"Oh, I see. Well, I broke my arm trying to run up some stairs with a heavy backpack. I lost my balance and fell. It sounds stupid, right?"

"I don't know. Maybe I did something stupider to end up here. My doctor said that I too had broken an arm, but it was probably due to a bicycle accident when I was even younger than you."

She spent her time in the dining hall with Juliet, enjoying their breakfast and chatting. It somehow felt very refreshing.

-o-

There was nothing interesting on TV, which was just as well for Sarah. She preferred standing at the window and looking outside. Not remembering anything about Los Angeles was kind of annoying, but she enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle of the city.

Ellie interrupted her reverie. "Sarah?"

She turned, hearing the familiar voice. "Yes, Dr. Bartowski?"

"I've got your discharge paperwork ready. It is my considered belief that you are good to go, but if you feel any nausea, dizziness or disorientation, I advise you to seek medical attention immediately."

"Understood," she said.

"Good. Detective White called earlier and said that she referred your case to someone from Social Services and she'll be here any minute to talk to you."

Sarah just nodded. She hated the feeling of helplessness that came with the memory loss, but she resolved to deal with it.

"I also brought you this," continued Ellie, holding up a small travel bag. "You are just a bit taller than I am, but my clothes should fit you nicely. Since all you had on was your swimwear, I figured I could lend you something to wear."

Sarah eyes filled with tears. "Thank you, really. You've already done a lot for me and this… this is just…"

"Hey now, can't have you walking around in this hospital gown… or your sportswear. You can change behind this privacy screen here. Oh, and you can keep the gown and the slippers."

"I don't have anything else to sleep in, so they'll have to do, I guess. Give me a couple of minutes to change and I'll be right with you." She took the bag with a grateful smile and went behind the screen, emerging just a couple of minutes later wearing a blue t-shirt, a pair of nicely fitting jeans and sneakers. Ellie had also thoughtfully provided socks and an unopened pack of cotton underwear. She'd put a black zip-up hoodie inside the bag as well, but Sarah chose to leave it there until it was needed. "How do I look?"

Ellie took a step back and appraised her patient's appearance. "You look, well, normal."

"Normal is good. I could go with normal."

"Well then, come with me." Ellie led Sarah to the small office she shared with another doctor. There was a dark haired, brown eyed woman there, waiting patiently. She had a professional pantsuit on and a briefcase. Ellie proceeded to make the introductions. "Sarah, meet Ms. Prince from Social Services. Ms. Prince, meet Sarah."

"Call me Sydney, Sarah," said Prince. "Detective White was kind enough to give me a full rundown on your case. It's interesting, because the people with no recollection of their identity I usually have to deal with are suffering from either dementia or Alzheimer's. You, on the other hand, are the first one with actual, trauma-caused amnesia to require my assistance, because there are absolutely no leads as to your identity. I'm sorry to give you the bad news, but Detective White wasn't able to come up with anything helpful."

Sarah was predictably disappointed, but she took it gracefully. "Well, at least she did everything she could. I need to thank her for her efforts sometime soon. So, what's next?"

"Ms. Prince will explain some things to you. While she does, you just sign these papers here and you'll be free to go. Don't worry about the bills, as your situation warranted a waiver."

Ellie and Sydney told Sarah everything she needed to know regarding the immediate future and she listened attentively, while she mechanically scrawled her signature on the discharge papers.

The moment she was done, Ellie snatched them up and began scrutinizing them. She put them down with a sigh. "I thought it was worth a shot."

"I don't follow," said Sydney.

"I was trying to see if Sarah could make her signature to be more legible, but no dice."

"That's why you were both talking to me while I was signing these?"

"I didn't want you to focus too hard on trying to improve the legibility of your signature. I was hoping you'd do it mechanically."

Sydney had been told about the signature thing, so she wasn't surprised, although it was certainly interesting to be seeing it with her own two eyes. Before she could say anything, someone knocked on the office door.

"Come in!" Ellie called.

"Hey sis," Chuck said cheerfully. His smile got wider when he noticed Sarah. "Hi there, Sarah." He knew her name because Ellie had told him about the latest developments the previous evening.

"Hi Chuck," she returned the greeting with just as bright a smile and got up to give him a hug. "Thanks for the flowers," she added, pointing to the potted plant at her feet by the travel bag. "They were a big help."

"Not enough though, not from what I hear."

"Don't beat yourself up over this. If anything, you help speed things up. This is Ms. Prince from Social Services," she introduced Sydney. "She was given my case."

"Ms. Prince," he said politely, nodding in Sydney's direction and holding out his hand.

"Mr. Bartowski," she said, shaking his hand.

"What brings you here, Chuck?" Ellie asked.

"Um, Devon called me. One of the machines in Cardiology was acting up and he asked me to take a look at it. Turns out it the problem was just a jammed cooling fan. It's fixed now. How are things with Sarah?"

"Ms. Prince is going to take me to see a judge and see what can be done since we have no clue as to my identity," replied Sarah.

"Can the judge help?" Chuck addressed the question to Sydney.

"Detective White from the LAPD and I believe it's possible. It's a unique kind of case and input from a judge could be most helpful."

"Oh, OK." Then a thought came to him. "Will Sarah need any kind of legal representation?"

"I can advocate for her," replied Sydney. "I have all the necessary documents here," she added, patting her briefcase. "But I'm a social worker, not a lawyer."

"Fortunately, I do happen to have a close friend who is one," Chuck said smiling. "I'll give him a call and have him meet us at the courthouse."

"Chuck, I don't have any money," Sarah cut in. "How am I going to pay the lawyer?"

"You won't have to. First, he does pro bono work and second he owes me a few favors. If necessary, I'll call one in."

"Thank you Chuck, but there is really no need to go to any trouble just for me."

"It's no trouble at all. And since I have nothing else to do this morning, can I tag along?"

"Chuck is the one who found Sarah on the beach," Ellie reminded Sydney. "He could testify that before the judge."

"Mr. Bartowski, your sister may be right. If you can help the judge form a clear picture of events… Yes, I think you should come with us."

-o-

Not long later, in the courthouse lobby, Chuck, Sarah and Sydney met Mac, whom Chuck introduced to the ladies as a frat buddy of his from Stanford. Chuck had also put on a tie and a jacket over his white dress shirt and dark jeans, which he kept in the trunk of his car just in case he needed to appear more formal. Only his signature Converse sneakers clashed with his formal look.

"OK, which judge are we going to be seeing?" Mac asked after the round of introductions.

Sydney didn't have to consult her case notes before replying. "Judge Ominsky in Civil Division," she replied.

"Uncle Bernie?" Mac enthused, using the nickname bestowed to the judge by the majority of the people working in the Los Angeles legal system. "It's going to be a snap. I'll need to take a look at your notes first, Ms. Prince, as I'd like to be prepared. Chuck only told me that the case is unique and very interesting."

"Of course," Sydney said affably.

Mac took them to a waiting room, where they could discuss the case. He spent some time going over Sydney's notes, asking the occasional question and taking some notes of his own. He also told them about the judge: Bernard Ominsky was known for both being a serious law scholar as well as an inveterate bon viveur and gourmand. He was also an affable person, who spared no effort in trying to help the parties on his cases reach mutually beneficial compromises with as little friction as possible. Given the particularities of the case, they would be meeting him in his chambers instead of having to discuss it in the courtroom.

Judge Ominsky was still in his robes, having just concluded a trial, but welcomed them all to his chambers cordially. He was a rather short but rotund fellow with a receding hairline, bushy eyebrows and a beard. His kind expression and jovial attitude pretty much explained his nickname, which he was quite proud of. Following the introductions, he asked for the relevant documents, which Sydney handed over to him.

"When Detective White called to ask for advice on this case, I was intrigued," he said after speed-reading the first few pages. "I had to do a little digging, but there is a case from another state I could use as a template. It could set a most interesting precedent for the State of California though." He turned to Mac. "What do you think, counselor?"

"Your Honor, I'd have to agree."

"It says here that you know the applicant's first name. May I ask how?"

Sarah rose from her seat.

"Don't get up, Miss," Uncle Bernie told her, waving her down. "This isn't a courtroom."

"Thank you, your Honor. I was able to put my signature on a delivery log. My attending physician, Dr. Eleanor Bartowski, has explained it as muscle memory. It seems I have signed my name enough times to do it mechanically. Unfortunately, my last name was illegible."

Sydney took her cue. "Your Honor, I have an affidavit signed by Detective White. She states that the LAPD was unable to find anything about Sarah in any database they had access to, including DMV, fingerprints and dental records, so all they could do was classify her as a missing person of known whereabouts."

"I see. And you want me to help in establishing her current legal status. Counselor?"

Mac cleared his throat and straightened his blue and burgundy striped tie before speaking. "Ms. Prince and I discussed the case and we agree that despite the loss of her memory and identity, Sarah is a fully functioning person and making her a ward of the State wouldn't be beneficial to her in the long run. Therefore, we request that you issue a court order allowing her to apply for a founding certificate, receive a provisional social security number and identification card, basically everything required to be able to secure employment and live a normal life until she regains her memory or otherwise finds her true identity."

The judge thought about it for a minute. "The request sounds reasonable and I see no reason not to grant it. There are some technical issues though and I would like to discuss them with you before formally granting the request." He browsed through the documents again, and even asked Chuck a couple of questions about Sarah's state when she was found. Then he turned to more practical matters, especially date of birth and last name, both of which were required for establishing an identity.

"Based on Sarah's X-Rays and MRI, which were taken at the hospital, the doctors estimate she's in her mid-twenties, with the best estimate being twenty-five years old," said Sydney. Both an orthopedic physician and a dentist concur on the estimate. As for a more precise date, you could allow her to choose one, your Honor."

"So be it," said Uncle Bernie. "What about a last name? Sarah?"

"Dr. Bartowski, Detective White and I came up with a list of possible matches to the last name part of my signature. The ones beginning with M or even H are the least likely ones, since we all agreed the best possible match for the first letter is W, but we still had about ten potential matches. I could choose from one of those, should you allow it, your Honor. I just don't know how to make the choice."

"I could help," Chuck piped up. Everyone looked at him. "I have a random generator on my laptop, which I use to come up with character names for the games I'm designing." Seeing the judge's questioning expression, he elaborated: "I'm the CEO of Nebula Games, a company owning several online gaming sites. I could input the names in the program and let it make the choice."

"I like your idea, Chuck," said Sarah. "Your Honor, with your permission, I would like to do it this way."

"By all means, go ahead."

Chuck all but ran to his car to get the laptop and hurry back to the judge's chambers. Before long, the program finished its assigned task and its random selection was flashing on the laptop's screen for all to see.

"Well, Ms. Sarah L. Walker, it appears you have an identity now," said the judge. "Before issuing the court order though, I have to remind you to turn in all your provisional identity documentation if and when you find out your true identity."

"I will," Sarah nodded. "Thank you, your Honor."

"My secretary will have the order typed up and signed by me in about an hour. Feel free to drop by and pick it up."

Sarah thanked Uncle Bernie again and he dismissed them all. He was happy to have been able to help and he also wanted to try out a new steak house that had recently opened nearby.

P.S.: Some canon stuff was turned around a bit to fit this AU, so don't be weirded out by them. Everything will be explained in due time.