Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added an alert and things to this story. It was fantastic to see so many people had chose to read.

Here's chapter 2, hope you enjoy. Parts in italics are flashbacks. Sorry if it seems to be moving a little slow for the first few chapters, the pace will pick up as the real action starts setting in.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 2

Jo had taken the time to get her thoughts organised and her mind clear before she had gone back into the hospital room. Mac had persuaded her to go in alone. He was going back to the lab. With shaking hands she hesitated at the door, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she pushed it open.

The nurse had since left and so the girl was sat alone on the bed. As soon as Jo saw her lying there her mind raced back to that day at the hospital. The day she had given her up.

It was later in the evening when Jo had been allowed to go home. She didn't have a newborn so there was no reason for her to have to stay in the hospital. She had changed into some clothes, filled out all the necessary paperwork and was now walking down the quiet, lonely corridor. The nurse who had delivered the baby had wanted to escort her out but Jo had refused, had given the nurse a look that said don't argue with me.

She got to the main doors and they opened up for her with a cheery ding. Cheery was the last thing she felt like. She felt miserable and suddenly incomplete. She stepped out of the hospital and walked across the car park. It was late, gone eleven and outside it was dark and cold. She wrapped her worn coat tighter around her, for what little warmth it offered. She looked down at her wrist, at the band around her, her patient ID. She pulled as hard as she could on it until it snapped off. She looked at it, she wanted to throw it away but she just couldn't bare the thought of throwing anything else away. She stuffed it into her pocket and began walking home, just as the rain began to pour, soaking right through her coat…

Jo came out of her thoughts to see the girl looking at her. "I'm Detective Jo Danville." she said, hesitating like the girl would say something to it.

It suddenly occurred to Jo how everyone, including herself, kept referring to her as the girl. If this really was Jo's daughter she wasn't a girl, she was almost 23 but she looked so young. There was hardly any fat on her, she was just a bag of bones. She seemed dwarfed by the large bed she was lay on. Jo found herself looking at her, memorizing her face. It hadn't changed.

The girl suddenly spoke, snapping Jo to attention. "Look, like I told that other cop, I saw nothing or no one."

Jo was a little shocked by how strong the girls New York accent was, she'd obviously lived here long enough to pick it up. "Maybe you could tell me you name, Detective Taylor said you would tell him?" she asked.

"So why would I tell you?"

"You don't have to but I'm going to continue talking to you for a while and I'd like to have something to call you."

The girl looked at her for a while, as if looking her over, considering whether or not to trust her. "Beth…Elizabeth Meyers." she replied.

Jo sighed upon hearing the girls name. She just knew this was her daughter and although she had gave the social worker a name all those years ago she never expected the name would be made official. "You can call me Jo." she replied.

Beth nodded like she wasn't really paying attention. She tried to sit up but Jo saw the struggle she was having, saw the pain it was causing her. She dashed over to the bed and tried to help her sit up. She helped her to sit upright and made her a little more comfier by fixing the pillows. When she seemed ok Jo pulled up a chair and sat down in it next to the bed.

"How long have you lived in New York?" she asked Beth.

Beth shrugged, "My whole life I guess. I can't remember living anywhere else?"

"Do you live with your parents?" she asked.

Beth looked at her, a little confused by her questions but she answered anyway. "I live alone, just a couple of blocks from here."

Jo's heart sank. She looked at Beth, looked at her eyes, she saw sadness, loneliness. "You seem a little young to live alone. Where are you parents?"

"I'm almost 23, I just look young, and I don't have any parents or other family for that matter. I've been in the foster care system since I was 2, when my adopted parents were killed in a car crash. I was put into the system because there was no one else who wanted to take care of me."

"You've been in the system all that time?" Jo asked her, guilt tugging at her.

"I got out when I was 15. Got a job, lived in some old lady's basement for a few years. Then she died and her kid sold the house so I had to move out. Lived on the streets for a while, that was fun!" she said sarcastically. "I managed to get a job in a diner, I work there in the day and a in bar at night. It pays the bills…barely."

Jo found herself struggling to keep it together, she was completely wracked with guilt. She had to swallow hard before she could ask, "Do you not have any friends you can stay with? A boyfriend maybe?"

"I get 7 hours a day to myself. In that time I have to sleep and wash and, when I can afford it, eat. I don't have friends and I certainly don't have a boyfriend." Beth told her.

Jo looked at Beth for a moment before she asked, "Can you tell me what happened at the shooting you witnesses?" Jo asked, wondering how she had come to be involved.

"Look, I told that other cop, I'm not telling anyone else. I got shot because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I saw what they did. If they find out I've spoken to the cops then they will kill me."

"And if you don't speak to us then more people could get killed."

Beth shook her head at Jo as she pushed herself up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "You're the cop, it's your job to protect people, not mine."

Jo watched as Beth climbed out of the bed. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm leaving." Beth told her as she limped over to a chair in the corner of her room where a nurse had left a pair of scrubs for her to change into.

"Sweetheart, you can't leave. You need to be here where the doctors and nurses can keep an eye on you." Jo said.

"Yeah, and where those guys can find me, I don't think so!" she snapped at her.

Jo watched her limp back over to the bed, thanks to the bullet graze wound on her leg, carrying the scrubs. "You wanna turn around!" Beth snapped at Jo, wanting privacy.

Jo turned her back to her but wasn't about to give up trying to persuade her to stay at the hospital. "You'know the guard outside your room is armed."

"I don't care." Beth said as she pulled the shirt on. She had to stop to study the bandage on her hip. The first bullet that had knocked her off the gate had been a through and through. Luckily it had just travelled through flesh, the little flesh that she actually had. A few inches to the side and it would have been a different story. Unable to look at it anymore, Beth pulled the shirt down, concealing the evidence of the nights events.

"If your frightened then we can put you in a safe house." Jo told her.

"No!" Beth said so sharply Jo had to turn to face her. "No, homes. I've spent enough of my life in homes. I'm not going in another one. I just wanna go back to my apartment." she told her as she pulled the trousers on.

"We can put officers outside your apartment building." Jo said to her.

"Oh my God, don't you get it! I don't want anything from you or any other cop for that matter! You can't protect me from the people who did this."

"Why? Why don't you trust the police?" Jo asked her, walking round the bed to stand next to her.

Beth dodged around her, needing space between them. It made her feel too nervous to be that close to someone, especially someone who looked so similar. "I don't trust anyone." she said as she limped around the room, looking for something. "Where are my shoes!" she yelled frantically.

"They're at the crime lab. They're evidence." Jo told her.

"They're shoes! And the only God-damn pair I have." Beth said before she slumped down on the bed, wincing at the pain it caused her.

"Look, if you're not going to stay here then I need to know someone is going to be able to come to your apartment to take care of you." Jo said to her.

"You'know for a CSI or whatever you are, you don't pay much attention." Beth said, "I have no one, remember."

"If you like…I could call in and check on you?" Jo said, a little shakily.

Beth looked at her and shook her head, it wasn't to say no but more confusion, "Why do you care?" she asked. Before Jo had chance to answer Beth said, "Wait, it's because I'm your star witness, but as soon as you have your killer, I'll get dumped and forgotten about."

"That's not what happens." Jo said to her.

"That's exactly what happens. That's what happened when my parents were killed. I got forgotten about and dumped in some shitty kids home, passed around from pillar to post. Met some real nice people, some grade A parents." she said sarcastically. "The system doesn't give a shit who they throw you in with, and police give an even lesser shit." she snapped bitterly.

She climbed down off the bed and walked over to the door. "You can't walk home, you have no shoes." Jo pointed out to her.

Beth looked down at her feet and immediately saw Jo's point. She turned to face her and said, "No shoes is the least of my problems."

Jo could only look at her. She wasn't about to let her walk the streets of New York barefoot.

~0~0~0~0~

Even though the Doctors had all protested Beth had left the hospital anyway. Jo had insisted on giving her a lift to her apartment, even though Beth had tried over and over to tell her she didn't want one.

At her apartment Beth had climbed out of the car and had began making her way towards her building when she realised Jo was following her. "Thanks for the lift and everything but I'm not inviting you in for coffee….mostly because I don't have any." Beth said as she grabbed her keys out of her scrubs pocket.

"I'd like to come in to check everything is okay." Jo said.

Beth turned to face her and saw the determined look on her face. "You're not gonna leave until I saw yes, are you?"

Jo smiled and shook her head. Beth rolled her eyes and turned and unlocked the door to her building. Jo had to take a quick look at the place before she stepped inside. It was a mess and looked like it needed to be closed and condemned not lived in.

Jo followed after Beth who was walking across the lobby. Jo noticed a lift and so wondered why Beth was walking towards the stairs, surely the lift was easier for her. "Would it not be easier to take the lift?"

Beth stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face Jo. "The last person to use that lift was Mrs Baker from 3B…she got out a day later." Beth smiled at her and then began making her way up the stairs.

Jo glanced at the lift and immediately stepped away from it and followed after Beth who had only made it up a few steps. Jo could tell she was in pain and that this climb was going to be a struggle for her to make. "What floor do you live on?" she asked her.

"The top." Beth said, sounding exhausted just from saying it.

"Here, put your arm around my shoulders." Jo said to her as she carefully placed her arm around Beth's waist. Immediately Beth pulled away and glared at her.

"I can do this myself." she said.

"I'm sure you can." Jo agreed, " but at this rate it will take us all night to get upstairs. The quicker we get to your apartment, and I check it out, the quicker you get rid of me." Jo said with an encouraging smile.

Beth looked back at her and had to stop herself from smiling back. "Fine."

Jo smiled at Beth as she placed her arm around her waist again and Beth placed her arm around Jo's shoulders so she could take most of her weight for her.

~0~0~0~0~

It was just under ten minutes later when they reached Beth's apartment. Jo could feel her shaking from exhaustion and she guessed pain. "Lets get you inside." she said to her, taking the key from Beth so she could unlock the door.

Jo unlocked the door and pushed it open, straight away she wanted to close it and take Beth away from this place.

Beth pulled away from Jo and stepped into her home, if it could even be classed as a home. Jo stepped through the doorway and found herself studying every inch of the tiny open planned flat. The kitchen was simply one large cupboard, a shelf and a cooker that looked like it wasn't even hooked up. There was an old fridge that seemed to be buzzing, loudly.

The living room was right beside the kitchen and consisted of just a couch a rug and an old coffee table that was scratched to hell. There was a lamp on it that had no lamp-shade. There was a small cot in the corner of the room and a small wardrobe with one door hanging off and not much inside. Jo could see a door on the far wall that she presumed led to the bathroom.

Beth turned and had to laugh at the look on Jo's face. "I can tell you like the place." Beth said sarcastically as she walked over to the bed and sat down.

Jo wandered further inside, shutting the door behind her. She wanted to say something but she couldn't. She'd seen squat houses in better shape than this place. She walked over to the bathroom and opened it up, just checking that no one was hiding in there. "Well there's clearly no one here." Jo said to Beth, stepping back out of the bathroom.

She turned to face Beth who was now lay down on the bed, fast asleep. Jo smiled and walked over to the couch. She could see a blanket over the back of it. She grabbed it and walked over to Beth. She gently threw the blanket over her. She crouched down next to the bed and just watched as Beth slept, breathing softly.

She reached up and brushed some of Beth's hair back off her face before brushing her hand gently over her cheek. "Sleep sweet, honey." she whispered to her before she pushed herself up and walked over to the front door.

~0~0~0~0~

Jo arrived at the crime lab sometime later. She couldn't stop thinking about Beth. It was still early hours of the morning and so most people still had yet to arrive to work at the lab. Jo was heading for her office when Mac called her into his.

She walked in and he could instantly see how drained she looked. "Have you come straight from Beth's place?" he asked.

Jo nodded as she sat down opposite him. "I wasn't leaving until the protection detail arrived. Even then I couldn't seem to pull myself away." she said.

For a moment Mac just watched her as she stared silently at nothing in particular. Then he spoke. "I had her DNA tested, compared it to yours…" Mac said.

Jo looked at him, desperate for his answer, she needed him to confirm what her heart was telling her.

"She's your daughter, Jo." he told her.

Jo sat back in the chair and let what he had said register in her head. She began nodding as tears began to build in her eyes. Unable to stop herself she burst into sobs. She quickly put her hands over her face, not really wanting Mac to see her crying, but Mac immediately stood up and walked around his desk to her. He reached down and pulled her to her feet before he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close against him. He could feel her body shaking in his arms as her tears continued to fall.

~0~0~0~0~

Outside Beth's apartment, in a black and tinted windowed SUV, sat a dark haired handsome man. He was parked behind a van but as he looked out of his window he could see a car further down the road. He knew it was an unmarked cop car.

He looked up at Beth's apartment, knowing which was hers. Had spent many a night in it with her, getting great pleasure from her. He was here now for a different reason altogether. To simply check out what protection she had. He sighed loudly, he liked Beth, not only was she a great little fuck, she was also the best barmaid he had at the bar. Still, she had witnessed something, become involved in something she should have. As he turned the engine on he thought about how much of a shame it was he would have to get rid of her.

He wasn't going to kill her tonight, but soon…He had to, she was too big a risk to keep around…

TBC

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