Author's note: I'm putting another chapter up since I was asked very nicely! Hope you enjoy, The plot thickens!
Nikki was typing away at her computer when she heard a noise outside the lab doors. She looked up and smiled as she saw Harry and Leo come through the door but this soon changed to a look of confusion when she saw a young bedraggled girl come through after them. She was about to ask the obvious when Leo came towards her, the girl following like his shadow
"Nikki, this girl needs something dry to wear. I wouldn't normally ask but I have to sort something out and this is your area of expertise"
Nikki nodded and stood up, still thoroughly confused but concerned enough about the girl not to ask questions. Leo turned back to the girl who was still shivering violently with the cold
"This is Nikki, she's going to find you something dry to wear and help get you warm"
The girl looked up at Leo with pleading eyes "She's a friend of mine, I trust her, no one is going to hurt you here I promise you that. You're safe here; no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do"
She nodded slowly and through chattering teeth eventually said "Erin"
"Sorry?" Leo said looking confused
"My name…" she shivered
"Erin…" he repeated with a small smile, he was finally getting somewhere with this girl
Nikki gently led the girl across the lab and down another corridor. Leo turned to Harry
"Did you see her injuries?" he questioned and Harry nodded
"She's got finger tip bruising to her arms and she's been hit repeatedly" Harry observed "I wouldn't be surprise if there's a couple of broken ribs or worse"
"So she's either been in a fight" Leo said
"Or she's somebody's punch bag" Leo gave Harry a worried look
"God knows what she's been through" the older man sighed as he watched the girl follow Nikki, her movements were stiff and she held herself slightly hunched over as if in pain
Nikki sat the girl down on a bench in the locker room whilst she look around to try and find the girl some dry clothes. The only dry and clean things she could find were some scrubs, Nikki grimaced, they weren't ideal but at least they were dry and warm. She passed the girl the dry clothes and turned around to give her some privacy. The girl mumbled her thanks and a few moments cleared her throat to let Nikki know she was done. The pathologists turned back and felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. The scrubs hung off her skinny frame and only served to make her look even sicklier
"I know they're not exactly the height of fashion but they're dry" Nikki said and the girl shrugged clutching her wet things close to her body
"We could leave those here to dry" Nikki suggested gently
Erin looked suddenly panicked but handed over the clothes biting her lip, Nikki accepted the sodden pile but paused when she saw a red stains on the damp pile. She looked up and Erin caught her eye but Nikki only nodded gently but said nothing
"Let's get you back to the lab, it's warmer in there" she said nothing that Erin had started to shiver again
Erin nodded and let Nikki gently guide her back into the welcoming warmth of the lab
Leo was on the phone in his office keeping an eye out for when Nikki came back in with Erin. He was on the phone to a DI Johnson, a man he had worked with and knew he could trust. He had just finished relaying the events of the morning to him
"…I couldn't just leave her out there. She was freezing cold and she's not in a good way"
"You did the right thing Leo, it's better for her to be in a safe place for the moment than freezing out there. Did you get a name?"
"Erin. She's about 5"3, shoulder length dark hair and skinny as a rake; I wouldn't put her older than about seventeen or eighteen"
"I'll run it through missing persons; hopefully someone's reported her missing. I'll be over as soon as I can. Try and keep her there if you can"
"Thanks James" he said
"No Leo I'm the one who should be thanking you, most people would have just walked past her and left her there. You probably saved her life by getting her safe like that"
The two men finished the conversation and Leo hung up the phone. He couldn't believe that anyone would have just let the girl onto the streets unnoticed. She was in a bad way which made him wonder how long she'd been there.
Leo walked out of his office as he heard Nikki re-enter the lab followed by Erin who was dressed in scrubs which were much too big for her. The girl was still shivering and her lips were tinged with blue. Nikki sat her down at a nearby desk shooting a worried look towards Harry and Leo who had just joined them
"She's freezing" Nikki whispered to Harry who nodded
He crouched down in front of Erin and spoke gently to her "Can I check your pulse?"
"No need, I'm still alive" she said, her teeth chattering loudly
"That I gathered" Harry chuckled "Anyway I need the practise, generally we don't get many visitors down here with a pulse"
He took her wrist and placed his fingers down whilst looking at his watch. "Pulse is weak" she murmured to Nikki
Leo walked over to the three of them holding a mug which he held out to the girl. Erin shook her head and pulled her knees close to her body
"Erin, we need to warm you up" he said gently
"And it's not everyday that Leo makes tea for someone" Harry smiled "That was a hint by the way" he looked up at Leo who shook his head
"You have hands don't you" he said to Harry who just pouted
"Professor Dalton" one of the lab technicians came up to the group "You've got a visitor"
"Thank you" Leo said nodding, taking Harry and Nikki to one side he spoke to them gently "That's going to be DI Johnson. Can you keep her here and calm whilst I go and talk to him?"
The two of them nodded "Keep her warm and hydrated" Leo said through he knew Nikki and Harry were more than capable of handling the situation
"So…" Harry said pulling up a chair "How does a girl like you end up in the car park of a mortuary in the middle of winter?"
Erin shrugged and looked at the floor; Nikki draped a blanket she had found in the lab around Erin's shoulders, shooting Harry a warning look in the process as he quizzed the young girl
"What?" he said raising his eyebrows
"Ignore him Erin…he's too curious for his own good" she said sitting down next to the pair
"Nothing wrong with curiosity"
"It killed that cat" Nikki said
"Ah but that is my secret, I'm a pathologist not a cat and we are immune to the idioms that people will throw at us" he said and Nikki snorted with laughter "Anyway this is the first person we've had down here for a long time who is alive"
"What about me and Leo?" Nikki said with mock hurt
"Leo is from the Jurassic period and have you seen yourself first thing in the morning…" Harry said ducking to avoid a swipe Nikki made at him
The corners of Erin's mouth twitched as she saw the two of them bicker and it did not go unnoticed by the two pathologists
"That's better" Nikki said gently "That was nearly a smile and a pretty one at that"
Erin buried her head in her knees, embarrassed at the compliment
DI James Johnson was sat in Leo's office gently surveying the young girl from a distance
"And there's no record of her on missing persons?" Leo said sitting down at his desk
James shook his head "No one matching her description"
"Do you think it was a false name?"
"I don't know" the DI shrugged "Someone might not have reported her missing"
"What?" Leo said sitting up in shock "Why would someone not report this to the police, She's someone's daughter, why would you not be worried about your child?"
"It does seem odd, she seems to have been on the streets for a while, though I haven't seen her before and I'm usually quote familiar with the rough sleepers. Maybe she didn't want to be found"
"She's got bruising to her arms. Like someone's grabbed her and she's got cuts and bruises which are the type we'd expect to find when someone's been punched"
"Signs of abuse?"
"Or she got into a fight. Either way she's in such a state. She's showing signs of hypothermia, we've been trying to warm her up but she's going to need proper medical attention soon"
James nodded "You did the right thing…."
Leo sighed "She's just a child…how could anyone let this happen to someone so young"
"You got her here Leo, she's safe now…"
"But for how long…" Leo glanced across at the girl. The girl had been terrified when he had found her, so wet and so cold. He remembered the icy feel of her skin and her sunken eyes which were so cold boring deep into his soul
Authors note: Sorry James Johnson wasnt the most creative name I could think of was it? I nearly put Jack Johnson!
