Parental Obligations: Of Past Grievances

Lindsay sat with her head in her hands. She felt so lost. Kenneth Manchetti was the source of a great deal of pain in her life.

Although he had helped her raised Sam until she was two, and the little girl had called him 'Daddy,' he had never seemed to like Elizabeth after the initial meet and greet.

It was always one thing or another that had him ranting and raving about her. Lindsay ignored it because Elizabeth always gave as good as she got. Sometimes even Lindsay had to take a deep breath and possibly a small break from the girl.

"Hey, Linds," Danny said quietly.

Lindsay looked up at him with sad eyes. "When can I get back into my apartment?" she asked hoarsely.

"It's a crime scene for now, but I don't think you should be there for tonight. It might be a little too upsetting." It was for him. His heart was so heavy with thoughts of Elizabeth and Samantha being hurt…or worse…

"He's not going to hurt Sam," Lindsay said, reading Danny's thoughts. A tear slipped down her face and she impatiently wiped it away. "She was his little princess even before she was born. He won't hurt her and he most definitely…probably…won't kill Elizabeth."

Danny looked at her in silent alarm and she laughed as a sob tore through her chest.

Lindsay tried not to break down, but she kept replaying the last time she had seen Kenneth. "Elizabeth was a good girl, but she had a problem with authority and other people—new people—entering her territory when she was certain they didn't fit. Kenneth…he was a good man, I'm sure, but he hated that Elizabeth didn't like him."

Danny put his arm around her when her breathing became laboured. "It's okay. Shhh."

"It's not okay," Lindsay sobbed. "It's all my fault." She struggled to control her breathing. "The reason I left was because Kenneth was beating Elizabeth." She put her hands over her face as her body shook with great, heaving sobs. "He was beating her for who knows how long before I came home early from work and caught him."

Danny pulled her to his chest and held her as she cried. He went over the words and his eyes held a newfound steely resolve. He had to find the girls before something happened to them.

Lindsay took a deep breath and pushed herself away from Danny's chest. She wiped her face and pushed Danny's hand away when he reached out to move her hair away from her face. "It's my fault that he took my girls," she said, "and it's my job to get them back. I'm their mother, and I need to make sure they're safe."

Danny watched her pull herself together before his eyes. She was going to find her kids, and she was going to knock over anyone that stood in her way.

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

"Dammit, Elizabeth," Kenneth growled as he slammed around the kitchen. "Would you shut the hell up?"

Elizabeth groaned pitifully. "You hand cuffed me to a chair. My face hurts, thanks to you, and Sammy wants to color. No, I most certainly will not—you know what? I think I'll shut up now." She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look down the barrel of the gun Kenneth had shoved in her face.

Sam whimpered, her eyes large with fear as she stared at the man pointing a gun in her sister's face. She didn't remember him or the fact that he was who she had called Daddy for the first years of her life. It wouldn't have mattered, considering he was threatening to kill her sister before her eyes.

"You're scaring Sammy," Elizabeth whispered, not opening her eyes.

"Are you going to keep your big trap shut?" Kenneth asked, taking a small amount of pleasure in the obvious fear in Elizabeth's voice.

"Yes," Elizabeth said.

"Yes…?"

Elizabeth licked her lips and opened her eyes. She stared up at him. "Yes, sir."

Kenneth grinned, making him look like the handsome man Lindsay had fallen for and her daughters had accepted as a paternal figure. "Okay, then. So…soda and chips will do for now, I think. For supper, we'll have hot dogs and Mac and Cheese, just like old times."

Elizabeth kept her mouth shut as she watched him open a bag of corn chips and pour three cups of soda.

"That good?" Kenneth asked as he put the chips and soda on the table.

"Do you have any salsa?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"Right. Salsa." Kenneth thought about it. "No, but I do have some cheese we can melt onto the chips."

Elizabeth and Sam watched as he poured chips onto a plate, sliced cheese on top of them, and heated it up in the microwave.

Kenneth placed the hot plate in the middle of the table. "Dig in," he said.

They stared at him, and Elizabeth pointedly rattled the cuffs against the chair.

Kenneth smiled slightly. "You have to give me your word you're not going to try anything," he said patronizingly. "I will have my gun ready, and I will hurt you, if not kill you."

"And we don't want that," Elizabeth said, not a trace of sarcasm in her tone. "I promise I won't try anything."

Snack time was almost completely silent except for the sound of Kenneth crunching his chips. Neither one of the girls were really hungry, but Sam ate because she was afraid Kenneth would shoot her if she didn't eat his food. Elizabeth ate to encourage Sam. The little girl was obviously very frightened.

"Done?" Kenneth asked once the plate was devoid of any chips.

Elizabeth silently nodded and took a deep drink of her soda. Sam didn't touch hers. She wasn't usually allowed to drink soda, especially not in a glass. Her cups of soda were usually plastic and really small.

"We can watch some TV. for a while," Kenneth said. "And I'll be having some friends over so you two have to be on your best behavior."

Elizabeth glanced at Sam. The little girl couldn't seem to keep her eyes off the gun that was sticking out of Kenneth's pants.

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Mac put his arm around Stella in a rare show of public affection. At work, they didn't really show any kind of affection, but it was a special case. They were both having problems dealing. "How's Hannah?" he murmured.

"She's fine. Looks like he slammed the butt of the gun into her head to knock her out. We got a pretty good imprint, but all we can really get out of it is that it's a pistol." She sighed and clicked her mouse a few times.

Mac rested his hand on the back of her neck and let his fingers rub soothing patterns. "And Grace?"

Stella glanced over to the bench where Grace was curled, asleep. "She cried herself to sleep. Seeing her friends kidnapped wasn't really good for her mental well-being," she snapped, giving him an irritated look.

Mac pursed his lips. Stella was pretty upset, but she hadn't stopped working since they had found out what had happened. "Stella, maybe you should take Grace home and rest."

Stella gave him a dirty look and pulled completely away from his grasp. "Mac, the only reason Grace wasn't either knocked out like Hannah or taken like Elizabeth and Samantha is because Elizabeth put her in a closet. That girl that protected our daughter, the girl that we have been bonding with for the past month, has been kidnapped. Excuse me, but I would like to get her back so I can at least thank her."

Mac moved so they were only an inch or so apart. He didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation after all. "You think I don't want that too? We're going to have to put some distance between us and our involvement in Sam and Elizabeth's lives. Danny's talking to Lindsay, but mostly we just have to go with what we have. And all we have at this point are Grace, Hannah, and Lindsay."

Stella sighed deeply and leaned her head against Mac's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice tight with pent up emotion, "I'm just…"

"Worried," Mac filled in. "I know." He put his hands on her arms and pushed her away so he could look into her eyes. "We're going to find them, and we're going to put this guy away. I'm going to talk to Lindsay right now. She can't be allowed to work on this case for obvious reasons, and I was hoping she would take Grace."

Stella nodded with a tight smile. All she really wanted to do was go into Mac's arms, knowing everyone she loved was safe.

Mac reached up and cupped Stella's face in his strong hands. "Don't worry so much," he said, giving her a brief kiss.

Stella watched him walk away with a sigh before turning back to her pistol imprint. She clicked the mouse to zoom in and discovered an imprint in the imprint. A possible carving in the grip?

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Sitting in a chair in Mac's office made Lindsay want to fidget. It was like being in the principal's office, only worse because he was more like an equal and they were there to talk about her daughters' kidnapping.

"Lindsay," Mac said, entering his office. He had been looking for her, but it hadn't occurred to him to go to his own office.

"Mac," Lindsay said, straightening.

Mac didn't go around to his seat. He pulled a chair beside Lindsay's and sat down. "You can't work on this case."

Lindsay's felt like her heart stopped. She had known that would happen, but she hated feeling helpless.

Mac looked at Lindsay, watching the emotions flash across her face. Having at least a small inkling of what she was feeling, he knew that she must have been feeling quite hopeless. "Lindsay, I know that you want to find them, but you have to know that we are working with everything we have. What we have right now is an imprint from the butt of a gun, and your testimony. Grace and Hannah have told us what they could, but we need to know what you know."

Lindsay slumped in her chair, her eyes squeezed shut against the emotions exploding inside. She felt sick, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to do anything about it. It was like a large stone was lodged in the pit of her stomach. "Kenneth Manchetti. I met him when I was five months pregnant with Samantha. When they first met, it seemed like Kenneth and Elizabeth got on alright. After that…" She opened her eyes and they shone with sadness and humor. "Saying they hated each other was an understatement and an exaggeration at the same time."

Lindsay scrubbed her hands over her face. "It was complicated. When we were dating, she was okay with it, but when things started looking serious, it's like a switch was flipped. She started saying the most awful things to him. I shrugged it off because he seemed to take it with enough humor. He asked me to marry him when Sam was eighteen months old. I didn't want to jump into anything, but I could seriously see myself settling down with him…so I said yes."

Mac listened stoically. He didn't really know the situation but he privately thought that maybe Elizabeth's dislike was backed up by something.

"After he asked me to marry him, Elizabeth calmed down a lot. She stopped trying to goad him into actually yelling at him and she actually started calling him sir." Tears leaked out of her eyes. "It never crossed my mind that he might have been forcing her to do those things. He was always so sweet and he was so great with Sam. I just thought maybe Elizabeth was just…a fluke. We had to delay Sam's second birthday party because she had chicken pox…" She covered her mouth to muffle the sobs. "I came home early from work to set up for a small get together with my parents so they could spoil her…"

"I knew there was something wrong when I walked into the house. Sam was asleep on the living room floor, but Elizabeth's radio was on and turned up all the way. When I opened the door to her room—"

Mac felt a sense of dread when she broke off. He really hoped she wasn't about to say what he thought she was going to say.

Lindsay struggled to get her breathing under control. "She was just standing there, barely even flinching when he hit her across her bare legs with his belt. He did it over and over until I pulled out my gun and told him to get out of my house. When I took Elizabeth to the doctor, they found bruises on top of bruises. I never knew. We moved three times to get away from him. I slept with a gun under my pillow, and I kept Elizabeth and Samantha in the room with me." She bowed her head. "A year ago, he found us. He called me and told me that he wanted me back."

It wasn't what he was thinking, but it was quite possibly just as bad.

"I couldn't do that, and I told him as much. He told me he would get me back, and he would take the girls…I didn't see much of a choice. I took the girls to my parents' house and came here." She wiped her face and sighed. "I was going to go get them when everything was straightened out, but…he didn't contact me again. I guess when they came I got too caught up in having my kids again that I forgot why I had left them in the first place."

Mac frowned. "Why didn't you tell me, Lindsay?"

Lindsay flinched at his harsh tone. "Because I was ashamed. My fiancé, the man that I thought I loved, beat my daughter. I'm her mother, and I was supposed to protect her." Her voice broke. "And now it's happening all over again."

"You don't know that," Mac said soothingly.

"No, Mac, I do. Elizabeth has only gotten more mouthy since she hit the big 1-3, and, if she used to get to him that much, how far do you think she'll be able to push him now?"

TBC…Oh, grrr. I wrote this about a week ago, but my internet got shut off...it's obviously back on, but I may need to send my computer in to get it fixed.