Disclaimer: They are mine. And if you believe that, I have some ocean front
property for sell in Arizona.
Author: Catgurl83
Title: Burning Memories chap 9
Feedback: Is much appreciated.
Rating: PG 13 for a graphic depiction of death. If you don't think that you can handle reading this, e-mail me and I'll be glad to send you a chapter summary.
Author's notes: Sorry it has been so long since this was updated!! I've been very busy with school.
In light of recent events on the show, this is now even more AU than it already was. Nothing that has happened this season on the show is going to factor into this story!
Thanks to Alex for beta reading this story for me!
*********
Cook County General Hospital, ER
*********
"Almost twenty years ago, in a case almost identical to this one, Natalie Ramano, wife of Dr. Robert Ramano, and the couple's one-year-old daughter Jubilee, were kidnapped from this same California town."
At the name Ramano, several staff members who were in hearing distance of the television turned to stare at it.
"They can't mean our Dr. Ram." Abbey trailed off as a twenty-year-old picture of Robert appeared on screen. This man was much younger and had more hair but it was obviously the same man that they all knew and worked for.
"In the nearly twenty years since the murder of Natalie Ramano and the disappearance of Jubilee Ramano, who was never found, the police have had few clues in solving the crime. Few thought that it ever would be solved," a reporter went on. "Now, Sylvia Grant and her eight-month-old daughter Lark have disappeared from the same small California town. Mrs. Grant's husband, Andrew, is a doctor at the same hospital that Dr. Ramano worked at so many years ago. Yesterday, Sylvia Grant's body was found in an abandoned gas station four miles from her home. Little Lark still hasn't been found." She continued with details of Sylvia and Lark's kidnapping.
"Wow," Carter muttered.
Chin shook her head. "Ramano was married. I kind of feel sorry for the woman."
"Maybe that is what made him like he is today," Abbey guessed.
"Something like that would have affected most people," Luka said quietly, thinking about his own wife and children. Robert had gone through the worst type of pain imaginable just like he had. He should have recognized the signs but he didn't. He, like the others, had had no idea that there was something like this in Robert's past.
"We've been getting calls from the media all morning," Jerry remembered. "I thought that maybe someone was threatening to sue or something."
Kerry glanced around at all of them. "Enough of this. Get back to work."
*************
"Detective Dillon made arrangements for me to see Natalie later that day, before they did the autopsy," Robert said.
"That must have been difficult."
"It was but I had to do it. I had to see her."
*************
Flashback
*************
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Anthony asked Robert a few hours after they found out about Natalie.
Robert didn't respond.
"Robert?" Anthony said worriedly.
Robert finally turned from the window. "I'm sure. I have to see her, Anthony."
"Okay," Anthony reluctantly agreed as he pulled into a parking lot at the hospital.
The two men entered the hospital through a back entrance and headed directly to the morgue, thankfully running into no one that Robert knew.
They stepped into the large basement level room and were immediately approached by a woman who was probably in her late thirties or early forties. Her short blond hair was pulled back away from her face and she wore a lab coat. "Dr. Ramano?"
Robert, whose eyes were scanning the room, didn't appear to hear her.
Anthony answered for his cousin, "This is Dr. Robert Ramano. I'm his cousin Anthony Ramano."
Her eyes were sympathetic as she glanced at each of the men. She was used to dealing with those who had just experienced a loss. This was different. Everyone in the hospital was talking about the kidnapping of their colleague's wife and daughter. News that Natalie Ramano's body had been found had not yet gotten out but it would before too long. Every detail leaked to the press was fodder for hospital gossip. Some were even wondering if Robert was responsible for the crime. Coming back to work was going to be difficult for him.
She crossed the room, gesturing for them to follow her. She opened a door on the far wall and they all stepped through it into a small, freezing cold room. She led them to a table. "Are you ready?"
Robert's eyes were locked on the covered form on the table. "Yes."
She carefully pulled the cover away and then stepped back to give the grieving man some room.
"Natalie." The whispered word broke from Robert's dry lips and he compulsively stepped forward. He reached out and no one stopped him as he brushed a lock of hair out of Natalie's ashen face. "Oh God, Nattie." Until now, a part of him had thought that this would be someone besides Natalie. That part of him insisted that it was all a mistake. Natalie, his Natalie, couldn't be dead. But she was.
He had seen death before, so many times before. But now, looking down at his wife, all of his medical training fled. He wasn't Robert Ramano, gifted surgeon. He was Robert Ramano the man.
Natalie's long hair surrounded her on the table, a tangled mess, sticky with dried blood. Her skin was ashen and incredibly cold. Her lips were an ugly shade of light blue. A dark bruise colored her cheek and blood crusted around a gash just below the bruise.
Taking a deep breath, Robert allowed his eyes to travel lower. Several dark angry bruises dotted Nattie's slender neck. The bruises were the size and shape of fingerprints.
A deep cut ran down Nattie's left arm and was covered in crusted blood. Both of her forearms had hand shaped bruises. Her wrists had deep, bloody abrasions, presumably from being tied together with rope. One of the fingernails on her left hand was broken down to the quick. Most of her other nails were jagged and torn.
"Her wedding ring?" he asked hoarsely.
"I took her ring and her earrings off. The police have them," she said quietly. Any one who could see and hear him right now would know that he couldn't possibly have done this to Natalie. He was too shocked, numb, and devastated by what he was seeing.
Robert reached for the sheet but the other doctor stopped him by laying her hand on his arm. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Robert's only answer was a sharp nod as he yanked the sheet the rest of the way off. The piece of cloth fell to the ground but he didn't notice.
Natalie had been wearing a long sleeved white lace blouse with pearl buttons down the front and a high collar. Now, the lose fitted sleeves were gone. The collar was still attached but barely. The blouse its self was ripped to pieces, most of the buttons gone.
The satin camisole that had been beneath the blouse was gone, exposing much of her torso. Bruises and cuts covered her fair skin.
Her black slacks were also ripped, the button at the waist missing. Her panties were shredded. Fingerprint bruises decorated her thigh.
Dirt and blood splatters covered her sneakers and her white socks. The shoelaces were short and ragged from recently breaking.
Unshed tears burning his eyes and a painful lump in his throat, Robert reached down and picked up the sheet, which he used to conceal his wife once more. That finished, he turned and wordlessly fled the room.
***********
Author: Catgurl83
Title: Burning Memories chap 9
Feedback: Is much appreciated.
Rating: PG 13 for a graphic depiction of death. If you don't think that you can handle reading this, e-mail me and I'll be glad to send you a chapter summary.
Author's notes: Sorry it has been so long since this was updated!! I've been very busy with school.
In light of recent events on the show, this is now even more AU than it already was. Nothing that has happened this season on the show is going to factor into this story!
Thanks to Alex for beta reading this story for me!
*********
Cook County General Hospital, ER
*********
"Almost twenty years ago, in a case almost identical to this one, Natalie Ramano, wife of Dr. Robert Ramano, and the couple's one-year-old daughter Jubilee, were kidnapped from this same California town."
At the name Ramano, several staff members who were in hearing distance of the television turned to stare at it.
"They can't mean our Dr. Ram." Abbey trailed off as a twenty-year-old picture of Robert appeared on screen. This man was much younger and had more hair but it was obviously the same man that they all knew and worked for.
"In the nearly twenty years since the murder of Natalie Ramano and the disappearance of Jubilee Ramano, who was never found, the police have had few clues in solving the crime. Few thought that it ever would be solved," a reporter went on. "Now, Sylvia Grant and her eight-month-old daughter Lark have disappeared from the same small California town. Mrs. Grant's husband, Andrew, is a doctor at the same hospital that Dr. Ramano worked at so many years ago. Yesterday, Sylvia Grant's body was found in an abandoned gas station four miles from her home. Little Lark still hasn't been found." She continued with details of Sylvia and Lark's kidnapping.
"Wow," Carter muttered.
Chin shook her head. "Ramano was married. I kind of feel sorry for the woman."
"Maybe that is what made him like he is today," Abbey guessed.
"Something like that would have affected most people," Luka said quietly, thinking about his own wife and children. Robert had gone through the worst type of pain imaginable just like he had. He should have recognized the signs but he didn't. He, like the others, had had no idea that there was something like this in Robert's past.
"We've been getting calls from the media all morning," Jerry remembered. "I thought that maybe someone was threatening to sue or something."
Kerry glanced around at all of them. "Enough of this. Get back to work."
*************
"Detective Dillon made arrangements for me to see Natalie later that day, before they did the autopsy," Robert said.
"That must have been difficult."
"It was but I had to do it. I had to see her."
*************
Flashback
*************
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Anthony asked Robert a few hours after they found out about Natalie.
Robert didn't respond.
"Robert?" Anthony said worriedly.
Robert finally turned from the window. "I'm sure. I have to see her, Anthony."
"Okay," Anthony reluctantly agreed as he pulled into a parking lot at the hospital.
The two men entered the hospital through a back entrance and headed directly to the morgue, thankfully running into no one that Robert knew.
They stepped into the large basement level room and were immediately approached by a woman who was probably in her late thirties or early forties. Her short blond hair was pulled back away from her face and she wore a lab coat. "Dr. Ramano?"
Robert, whose eyes were scanning the room, didn't appear to hear her.
Anthony answered for his cousin, "This is Dr. Robert Ramano. I'm his cousin Anthony Ramano."
Her eyes were sympathetic as she glanced at each of the men. She was used to dealing with those who had just experienced a loss. This was different. Everyone in the hospital was talking about the kidnapping of their colleague's wife and daughter. News that Natalie Ramano's body had been found had not yet gotten out but it would before too long. Every detail leaked to the press was fodder for hospital gossip. Some were even wondering if Robert was responsible for the crime. Coming back to work was going to be difficult for him.
She crossed the room, gesturing for them to follow her. She opened a door on the far wall and they all stepped through it into a small, freezing cold room. She led them to a table. "Are you ready?"
Robert's eyes were locked on the covered form on the table. "Yes."
She carefully pulled the cover away and then stepped back to give the grieving man some room.
"Natalie." The whispered word broke from Robert's dry lips and he compulsively stepped forward. He reached out and no one stopped him as he brushed a lock of hair out of Natalie's ashen face. "Oh God, Nattie." Until now, a part of him had thought that this would be someone besides Natalie. That part of him insisted that it was all a mistake. Natalie, his Natalie, couldn't be dead. But she was.
He had seen death before, so many times before. But now, looking down at his wife, all of his medical training fled. He wasn't Robert Ramano, gifted surgeon. He was Robert Ramano the man.
Natalie's long hair surrounded her on the table, a tangled mess, sticky with dried blood. Her skin was ashen and incredibly cold. Her lips were an ugly shade of light blue. A dark bruise colored her cheek and blood crusted around a gash just below the bruise.
Taking a deep breath, Robert allowed his eyes to travel lower. Several dark angry bruises dotted Nattie's slender neck. The bruises were the size and shape of fingerprints.
A deep cut ran down Nattie's left arm and was covered in crusted blood. Both of her forearms had hand shaped bruises. Her wrists had deep, bloody abrasions, presumably from being tied together with rope. One of the fingernails on her left hand was broken down to the quick. Most of her other nails were jagged and torn.
"Her wedding ring?" he asked hoarsely.
"I took her ring and her earrings off. The police have them," she said quietly. Any one who could see and hear him right now would know that he couldn't possibly have done this to Natalie. He was too shocked, numb, and devastated by what he was seeing.
Robert reached for the sheet but the other doctor stopped him by laying her hand on his arm. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Robert's only answer was a sharp nod as he yanked the sheet the rest of the way off. The piece of cloth fell to the ground but he didn't notice.
Natalie had been wearing a long sleeved white lace blouse with pearl buttons down the front and a high collar. Now, the lose fitted sleeves were gone. The collar was still attached but barely. The blouse its self was ripped to pieces, most of the buttons gone.
The satin camisole that had been beneath the blouse was gone, exposing much of her torso. Bruises and cuts covered her fair skin.
Her black slacks were also ripped, the button at the waist missing. Her panties were shredded. Fingerprint bruises decorated her thigh.
Dirt and blood splatters covered her sneakers and her white socks. The shoelaces were short and ragged from recently breaking.
Unshed tears burning his eyes and a painful lump in his throat, Robert reached down and picked up the sheet, which he used to conceal his wife once more. That finished, he turned and wordlessly fled the room.
***********