Jules held onto a clearly traumatized Maya and led her over the couch.

"I'll be right back"

She raced up to Sam's bedroom and shook him lightly.

"Sam...Wake up, put some clothes quickly and come down stairs" He could tell by the sound of panic in her voice that it wasn't good but he had gotten used to bad news over the past week. It was like he was constantly being kicked while he was down yet he clung onto the hope that his life couldn't get any worse than it was now and some good news had to eventually come.

It only took him a couple of minutes to get dressed and down stairs before he saw his distressed sister on the couch next Jules.

"Maya?"

He turned his head around the room searching for Ariel and Casey before he quickly realised they weren't there.

Jules saw that Maya couldn't speak and took the opportunity to fill Sam in.

"Child services took them..." She titled her head down and then turned to look at Maya who was now clearing her throat.

"They wanted to give me the decency of giving my daughter a funeral then take the other two off me." She let out a laugh before continuing,

"The decency? How could taking my kids off me be decent?"

Sam was still standing in the same spot.

"Why didn't I get them?" Sam finally spoke up "I mean I'm their closest relative aren't I?"

He was furious to say the least. How could child services believe that the best option for the kids was with complete strangers?

"They thought you would let me see them which I'm not allowed to until I have completed a safe parenting course and been evaluated by a psychologist" By now the tears had all dried up and all that Maya could do was laugh. It was sickening that something could be so funny at a time like this but it truly was. Her husband beat her up for no reason and even with him behind bars; she was still being punished for his actions.

"If I had stayed with James, maybe none of this would've happened. Kiana would still be alive and I would still have my kids"

Jules looked up at Sam with a mixture of shock and disgust.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard" He could've ended the sentence with smart-ass remarks and comebacks but he felt that this wasn't the time.

"I'll go down to child services in the morning and see what I can do..." Sam walked over and sat down next to his sister.

"Maya, please stay the night? I don't think you should be alone right now"

He just expected her to fight back saying something like she was fine, she didn't need any help but in all honesty, she was exhausted. She was sick of fighting because she knew that there was no hope.

She simply nodded as Jules made her way up to the linen closet to prepare the guest room.

This was the first time in a week that Sam had been alone with his sister, he had tried desperately to avoid her but here he was.

He took her hand and slowly wrapped it around his.

"Maya...I'm sor..." He began,

"Don't you say it, don't you dare say you're sorry!" She clung tighter onto his hand as the words escaped her mouth.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I was the one that let James go too far, I was the one that drank until I was passed out, it's my fault that Kiana is dead...you have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing you can say is going to change the way I feel, I will go the rest of my life with Kiana's blood on my hands and I will not have you living a life of guilt" She spoke swiftly but calmly. She never shed a tear but Sam could see her rough exterior being broken piece by piece and eventually she was going to shatter.

Sam looked down at his feet before looking back up at his sister. He pondered for a moment what to say.

"You are not an unfit mother and I hope to God you don't let these ass holes win. You're going to get your kids back no matter how long it takes...I promise"

Finally, Maya smiled. It was like music to Sam's ears watching her face light up. He just wanted to capture the moment and make it last forever.

"I'm sorry Mr Braddock but there is nothing we can do. They will be placed with a foster family in a safe environment for at least 3 weeks. If Mrs Thornton can complete the safe parenting course and keep to her psychologist appointments then they should be back with her in no time. If she however does not meet child services standards then you may wish to go to court to gain temporary or full custody of the children."

The words were like a knife through Sam's heart. 3 weeks...3 whole weeks without a word from his nieces. He couldn't see them, speak to them or even know how they were.

He figured that it would take a couple of weeks to go through the court process and get custody of the kids but it would only take a couple of seconds to put a bullet through the social worker's head...he decided against the second option, too messy.

Instead he simply thanked the social worker and left abruptly.

In the week leading up to the funeral, neither Sam nor Jules had been to work following strict orders from Greg. He knew what it was like for a child to be taken away from a loved one, not that his son was killed but he knew the feeling of absolute emptiness inside of them. Whilst Jules was very taken aback by Kiana's death, she felt that it was time for things to start going back to normal and that meant going to work. She knew that Sam wouldn't want to go but to be honest; she didn't want him to either. He was still fuelled with anger and putting a gun in his hand would just be a bad idea. Yes, going back to work had its ups; she got to be back with her friends and team but for how long? The rules were clear: No romantic relationships between team members. So first thing first, she needed to speak to commander Holleran. Why him? Well, Sam never spoke about it but Jules knew that he had a connection of some sort to the Commander. There were hundreds of other applicants with double the credentials of Sam's yet the Commander chose Sam. Not that Jules was complaining, she found the love of her life but still, she felt that Greg would have to follow protocol whilst Commander Holleran may be able to bend the rules a little. It was worth a shot anyway.

Sorry to just sort of end it there but my writers block is getting to be too much! Maybe after some nice dinner i might be able to think more clearly : )