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Disclaimer: Not mine if you've seen them in CSI: NY

Chapter 7

Two days later.

Jo was sat at Beth's bedside. The small hospital room was silent, too silent. She was trying not to look at all the machines that Beth was hooked up to because when she did she just wanted to cry. Beth had been in a coma since she had come out of the ER. It was now just a matter of waiting for her to wake up, and when she did Jo wanted to be there. She didn't want Beth waking up alone.

She sighed and sat forward and took hold of Beth's hand. She gently brushed her thumb over Beth's bruised knuckles. She liked the thought that Beth had tried to fight back. It made her proud, but at the same time it made her sad that Beth had been in the position where she had had to fight back. Jo felt incredibly guilty for having not gotten there sooner, and protecting her.

She took a deep breath and said, "The day I had you, I was in a hospital room a little like this one." Jo said to Beth, quickly glancing around the room. "It was a cold, rainy day but the moment the nurse put you in my arms none of that mattered. You were so beautiful and you looked up at me like you were trying to memorize my face." she smiled, her eyes filling up with tears.

She placed Beth's hand against her face and then turned to place a gentle kiss in her palm before holding it against her face again. "I let you down that day, you needed me and I gave you away. I promise I will always be there for you from now on." she said, forcing her tears to stay under control.

"Please, wake up, Beth. Please, sweet-heart." she said. Her tears refused to stay under control any longer and they burst their banks as a sob escaped her mouth. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, immediately recognising the touch she stood up and turned to face Mac.

She stepped into his now open arms and buried her face against his chest as she continued to cry. Mac held her, gently rubbing soothing circles on her back. "It's going to be okay." he told her.

Jo let her tears fall as she held onto him, loving how protected she felt in his arms. After a moment she forced her emotions under control. She had to be strong not just for Beth but for something else she knew she had to do.

"I have to speak to Ellie and Tyler. I still haven't told them about Beth." she said.

"Maybe now is as good a time as any." he said wisely.

~0~0~0~0~

Jo had been trying to work out what she was going to say to Tyler and Ellie since the moment she had hung up from Tyler. She had called Tyler and asked him to come down to the hospital with Ellie. She knew they needed to know about Beth, but the thought of telling them had her petrified.

The time to tell them came when she heard a knock on the door, it then opened and Tyler walked in followed by Ellie. Ellie walked right over to Jo and hugged her tight, Jo hugged her right back. They'd seen very little of each other over the last couple of days. Jo had been home only to change clothes, showers and check in on them. Tyler was the one taking care of Ellie and Jo felt guilty over it.

Tyler walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek that she returned. "So, what are we doing here?" he asked her.

"Is that really Beth?" Ellie asked as she stepped over to the bed, the person in it almost unrecognizable.

"Yeah, sweetie it is." Jo replied.

"Her face is all bruised…" Ellie said. Shocked at what she saw. "Is she just sleeping?" she asked.

"No, honey, she's in a coma. She should come out of it soon though." Jo told her.

"How did she end up in a coma?" Ellie asked.

Jo had to smile at her daughter. She had always been so full of questions. "She was given drugs, an overdose of drugs."

"Given or taken?" Tyler asked.

"She was given it. Someone tried to kill her." Jo told him.

"Mom, look, I don't mean to sound rude but why are we here?" Tyler asked, his questioning grabbing both her and Ellie's attention.

"Guys sit down." she said to them, pointing to the chairs by Beth's bed.

They both did as they were told, both clearly puzzled. "Guys…there's something I should have told you, but truth is I was too scared to." she confessed.

"Mom, what are you on about?" Tyler asked.

"Tyler, you know how you said that Beth was the spitting image of me that night she came over." Jo said. Tyler just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Mom, what's going on?" Ellie asked, worry in her voice.

Jo turned to look at her daughter who lay in the bed. She then turned to look at her other children who were still waiting for answers from her. "Beth is my daughter. I gave her up for adoption the day she was born. She's your sister." she told them.

They both stared at her, her words seeming to take a moment to register. It was Tyler who spoke first and Jo couldn't help but notice the slight anger in his voice. "And you never thought to tell us this before?" he said as he stood up.

"I never thought I would see her again, then when this case began…"

"Is that why you brought her over to the apartment, to introduce us!" Tyler asked, now clearly annoyed. "What did you chicken out?"

"No! Tyler, I was trying to protect her." Jo said as she walked over to him, she reached up to touch his face, wanting to comfort the hurt she knew he was feeling, but he took a big stride back. "Don't, Mom!" he said, "I need some air." he told her as he stormed over to the door.

"Tyler! Tyler, wait!" she called after him.

"I'll be back in a minute!" he said as he stormed out.

Jo rubbed her temple, trying to put off the headache she could feel coming on. Forcing back tears she turned to face Ellie who was looking down at the floor, tears in her eyes. Jo shook her head, hating herself for being the one to cause her children so much pain. She walked over to her and sat in the empty chair.

She reached up and tucked Ellie's hair behind her ear and said, "I never told you because I didn't think you would ever get to meet her and I didn't want you to always be thinking about the sister you had and didn't know. I know what it's like to live with and I didn't want you two to have to go through that." Jo said.

"I get why you did it, Mom. But I know what it's like to live not knowing someone who is a part of you too, you should have told us."

Jo had to smile. She forgot how wise her youngest daughter could be sometimes. "I'm sorry." she said as she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her.

Ellie hugged her back and asked, "Will she be ok, Mom?"

Jo nodded her head and said, "She's gonna be fine."

"You're sure?" Ellie asked.

"Hey she's one of us, right?" Tyler said.

Both Ellie and Jo turned to the door where Tyler was stood. Jo smiled at him and then watched as he walked over to her. He reached down and placed his hand on her shoulder and flicked Ellie's hair with his other hand, making her laugh. "She'll be fine, you'll see." he said confidently.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Two weeks later.

Jo had pulled the chair right up to Beth's bed and was lent over it, her head resting on it as she tried to have a quick nap. Her body was screaming in exhaustion, she knew she needed to go home, have a decent meal and a shower and get some rest, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Beth alone.

She pushed herself up and turned to face the door when she heard a knock. She watched as Adam walked in.

"Hey, JD." he said with his usual friendly smile.

Jo smiled back and said, "Hey, Adam."

He looked at Beth who lay in the huge bed, looking so small. Her cuts had healed since the last time he had been here. That had been to bring flowers and also because he wanted to see how she was doing. "How's she doin' today?" he asked Jo.

"She's ok. She seems to have a lot more colour." Jo said turning to face Beth again.

Adam walked over the bed, and looked down at Beth. "Her bruises are almost all gone." he said.

"Yeah, her cuts have healed up real nice. Her arm is gonna take a little longer to heal but she's doing really well." Jo said as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"She looks like herself again." Adam thought out loud.

Jo smiled, she knew Adam liked Beth. She rubbed her tired eyes again and had to put her hand over her mouth to block a yawn that refused to be held in longer

Adam noticed and he noticed how exhausted she actually looked. "Jo, why don't you go home for a while, you look shattered."

"I am, but I don't want to leave her on her own." Jo said as she scraped her hand through her tangled hair.

"I'll stay with her." he said. "I'll let you know if there's any change."

Jo thought about it but she wasn't sure. "I don't know…"

"Jo, I promise I want leave until you're right back in that chair…or the one next to it depending where I'm sat." he said.

Jo smiled and decided she should take his offer. She needed to check in on Ellie and Tyler, it felt like ages since she'd seen them properly. "Okay." she said as she stood up. She walked over to Adam and hugged him. "Thank you." she said as he hugged her back.

"It's no problem." he said.

Jo turned and looked at Beth. She walked over to her and placed a soft kiss on her head. "I'll be back soon." she said to her before she walked over to the door. She hesitated and looked back. She smiled when she saw Adam sat down in the chair, his hand wrapped around Beth's as he watched over her. She smiled and stepped out knowing Beth was in safe hands.

~0~0~0~0~

Jo had been home long enough to shower, order a pizza for her Tyler and Ellie and watch some TV with them as well as help Ellie with her homework. She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep on couch but she woke up to find she had been covered over with a blanket and smiled knowing it was probably Tyler who had covered her over.

The sound of her phone ringing seemed to wake her up fully. Her heart began to beat faster when she saw called ID, Adam.

"Adam, what's up?" she said as she answered.

"Beth's awake!"

~0~0~0~0~

Jo ran up to Adam who was stood outside Beth's room. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I was sat talking to her and she woke up…she remembered my name too." he said with a smile.

"Is she okay?" Jo asked, a little frantic.

"I think so. The doctors pushed me outta the room so they could check her over. They said I had to wait in the relative's room until they knew how she was."

Jo didn't care about waiting, she was about to walk into Beth's room when a nurse walked out. "You can't go in there!" the nurse said to her.

"She's my daughter." Jo told her.

"We have to do some checks first and then you can go back in. Please wait in the relative's room, I promise I'll come get you as soon as the checks and tests are finished." the nurse told them.

Jo just nodded. She didn't want to wait but at least it would give her time to think over what she could say to Beth.

~0~0~0~0~

Jo and Adam were both still waiting in the relative's room almost an hour later. Adam was watching Jo pacing frantically, but he didn't want to say anything to her. They both turned to face the door when the nurse walked in.

"Is she okay? Can I see her now?" Jo asked.

The nurse looked at her and nodded. "She's okay. She's alert, could answer all our questions. She remembers most of what happened, but some of its a little blurry. I'm sure she'd be able to answer your questions better."

They all turned to face the door again as another nurse walked in. She looked at the other nurse and said, "I need a word with you."

The nurse excused herself and stepped out leaving Jo and Adam. They watched and waited for a minute before the nurse stepped back into the room. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but Beth's gone. The nurse went to get her a drink and when she came back Beth wasn't in the room. I'm really, really sorry."

Jo sat down in the chair behind her and dropped her head into her hands. Her mind raced with worry about where Beth could be. She stood up and stormed over to the door. Adam chased after her, "Jo, where are you going?" he asked her.

"To find my daughter!" she told him sharply.

~0~0~0~0~

Beth was walking home, but she had a stop to make first. Having found Jo's bag of clothes in her room and had taken a pair of jeans, a shirt and a pair of pumps out of it. She was walking along, hugging her body, it was so cold. The night air seemed to cut right through her, she hated winter.

She was actually taking the long way back to her apartment, part of not even wanting to go back to it. She crossed the street and walked over to a familiar club. The bouncer immediately recognised her and took a step aside for her to walk right in. "Good to see you again, Beth." he called to her as she walked past.

"Thanks, Pete." she said before disappearing into the noisy club.

The club was packed, just as it always was. She made her way over to the bar and spoke to the barman, who instantly recognised her. "Beth! Good to see you, honey."

"Hey, Louie. Have you seen Karl anywhere?" she asked.

Louie gave her a disapproving look but said, "He's here. Up on the balcony." he told her.

"Thanks Louie." she said before she headed off up the stairs to the balcony. She saw Karl who quickly locked eyes on her. He pushed the two girls who were all over him aside and walked towards Beth.

Beth glanced at the girls, knowing they mustn't have been much more than seventeen years old, but Karl could get anyone in any club, for a price. One she had paid many a time and one she knew these girls probably paid.

"Beth! You are looking hot as ever. Is that a broken arm?" Karl said as he placed a lingering kiss just on the side of her lips.

"You look pretty good yourself, Karl." she lied. "And, yeah it is. Think you think you can help an injured girl out?" she asked him.

"I thought you jumped off that wagon." he said to her knowingly.

Beth glanced away, thinking over what she was about to do, why the hell not she figured. "Guess I jumped back on." she said.

Karl looked at her and said, "You got more money than you used to have?"

Beth shook her head but smiled seductively at him, "No, but we always managed to work something out before." she said to him.

Karl smiled and nodded. "Indeed we did." he said as he took her hand and led her back down the stairs, across the club and out of the front door.

He led her right past the bouncer, who gave her a disapproving look, and up the alley at the side of the club.

She found herself hesitating a little of the way up it. The last time she'd been in an alley she had almost had the life strangled out of her. "You changed your mind?" Karl asked as he took a loaded syringe out of his pocket and showed it to her.

She looked at the syringe and felt her body itching for it, screaming out for it. She shook her head and took a step forwards into the alley. Karl led her halfway up and put the syringe back in his pocket.

"Karl, what the hell are you playing at?" she asked.

"You can have it as soon as we're done. It's been a while for us Beth. It'd be nice if you were with it enough to play along too." he said to her. "You know I won't mess you around. I never have." he said.

Beth nodded, accepting. The moment she did Karl planted a kiss on her neck. Beth stood with her back pressed against the wall as he continued kissing her. She closed her eyes as he unbuckled her trousers and prayed this would be over with quickly.

~0~0~0~0~

Jo was pacing back and forth in Mac's office. Also in there was Flack, Adam and Hawkes. "I've tried her apartment, the diner where she works….I can't find her anywhere." she said. They could all hear the panic in her voice.

"We'll all take a drive around. We'll see if we can spot her anywhere." Mac said, "Jo, you go back to her apartment, see if she's showed up there yet."

The others all nodded and left, off to drive around looking for Beth. Jo turned to Mac and he couldn't help but notice how sad, how lost, she looked. "We'll find her, Jo." he said encouragingly.

Jo just nodded, praying he was right.

~0~0~0~0~

Beth was almost home, having stumbled her way from the club to here. She wanted to get in and lie down on her couch and do nothing but enjoy the effects of the drug in her system. She was about to cross the street when a car pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down and a man looked through it at her.

"Hey beautiful."

His words sent shivers down her spine and immediately she could hear Warren's voice, saying the exact same words to her, 'Hey beautiful'

She was about to step around the car when the man asked, "How much you charge?" She bent down and looked into the car, having to hold onto it to keep her upright, at the moderately attractive man. She noticed the expensive car he was driving; the designers watch on his wrist. This guy had money to throw away. "80, my place." she said, her words a little slurred.

The man smiled and opened the door for her, "Jump in." he said to her.

~0~0~0~0~

Jo walked up to Beth's building feeling more nervous than she had ever felt in her life. She pulled the door open and made her way in. She walked up the stairs, still feeling like each one that creaked and groaned beneath her would collapse. She was relieved when she finally made it to the final flight of stairs to Beth's floor.

She noticed the man who passed by her on the stairs, saw the way his eyes snaked over her body. She stopped and turned and watched him disappear down the stairs. She then turned back and stepped up onto Beth's floor. As she looked down the corridor she could see Beth's door was open slightly.

She took out her gun and crept over to the door, her heart pounding in her chest. She nudged it open with her elbow and glanced inside. She looked around and spotted Beth in an instant. She was lay on her bed, face down, the blanket partly covering her naked body.

Jo put her gun away and rushed over to her. She grabbed hold of her and turned her over onto her back. She could see she was out of it. "Beth, Beth, honey talk to me! Come on, open your eyes." she said.

She got no response from Beth, "Sweetheart, come on, please! Oh God, don't do this to me again. Beth…!"

TBC

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