Trying not to attract any unwanted attention from anyone else she may encounter, Aurie calmly makes her way down the stairwell, not knowing what the hell she's doing.
She noticed the two men the moment they stepped off the elevator. Hovering in the background, she watched them, thinking they were cops like Steve until that asshole Taylor opened his stupid mouth. Thankfully, no one was paying any attention to her. Without thinking she completely slipped away before the ICE agents, or anyone else, noticed. Now she has no clue how to get out of this mess.
She can't just walk out of the hospital. There could be more agents downstairs watching the entrances. Even if it's just those two guys, she's at a disadvantage with not knowing the ins and outs of the hospital to sneak out a back way or something.
Doubt surges through her as she stops on the next landing, wondering if avoiding those agents is going to hurt her chances at citizenship even if one of the blood tests proves either Sloan or Spencer Davis is her father. She's heard how fickle the immigration process can be. Is she shooting herself in the foot by trying to duck out now?
She's not sure if she should go back to Mark's office either. They could find her there. Then again, he might have an idea of what she should do.
Hearing a door slam open somewhere above her, Aurie warily looks up before backing away from the center in case someone leans over to look down. She can hear footsteps hurriedly descending and wonders if they've already noticed she's gone. Tamping down her panic with a deep breath, she looks at the door to the floor she's on. There's a sign warning not to enter. Reaching out she tries the doorknob and gently pushes the door open. She cringes at the noise it makes as it echoes in the stairwell and slips inside, closing the door as quietly as possible.
Looking around in the dim light, she's surprised the area looks just like the other hospital floors she's been on, just creepier. She tentatively moves forward; afraid something is going to jump out at her. Looking into some of the darkened exam rooms, she wonders why the hospital closed off this floor. There's some construction equipment like scaffolding and plastic sheeting. It's as if there have been attempts at restoration. However, it looks like nothing has been done for some time.
Despite her heart beating loudly in her ears, she keeps searching for another stairwell or an elevator. Coming to a cross-section of the hallways, she pauses and looks in both directions, wondering if there's something down either one. The lighting is even dimmer, making it hard to tell. Deciding to try the right corridor, she takes a tentative step forward.
"It's dangerous to wander around here," Steve's voice startles her from behind.
Feeling like she soared six feet, Aurie slaps her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming as she whirls around to face Steve.
"Aye, dios mio! Don't do that!" she hoarsely manages, dropping her hands away.
Leaning against the nearest wall she takes a few deep breaths to calm her heart. Steve patiently waits for her to recover before speaking again.
"I didn't mean to scare you, but I'm not kidding about it being dangerous in here."
"Well, I didn't mean to come here," she retorts breathlessly, calmer than before. "It's horror movie creepy. I was trying to find a way out."
"You might not have ended up in here if you didn't run from ICE," Steve points out, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Even if you succeed in ditching them today, you're on their radar now. They're going to keep looking until they catch you and it'll probably be worse."
Sighing heavily, Aurie shifts until her back is against the wall and slides down. She wraps her left arm around her bent knees, resting the elbow of her right arm on her knee so she can support her forehead.
"Yeah," she softly agrees. "I saw them and left before they noticed me. I wasn't thinking. Taylor being a massive dick and calling them really fucks things up."
"Don't let my dad hear you cuss like that," Steve wryly points out, moving to sit next to her.
"I promised him I'd try not to," she nods before continuing. "I've been working with Agent Delia Coronado in the Tucson office of ICE, trying to do what I'm supposed to so I can stay here legally." Frustration seeps into her voice. "She warned me to stay out of trouble because if I got picked up by the LA office, I'd be on the fast track to getting tossed back into Mexico. She said they have a churn and burn reputation to get as many illegals deported as quickly as possible because it looks good to the bosses in D.C."
Steve watches as she drops her face into her trembling hands and takes a few more deep breaths.
"I didn't come here to cause trouble," she continues into her hands, her muffled voice thick with emotion. "Yeah, I snuck into Taylor's studio and spouted stupid shit to get his attention, but I was just trying to ask for a damn paternity test. I wish I had never gone to see him. I'm just trying to have a better future. It isn't much, but what I have here is going to be ruined thanks to that asshole and I can't stop it."
"If you do get sent back to Mexico, especially if you go voluntarily, you'll have a good chance at coming back," Steve reasons.
"Won't happen." Aurie drops her hands away in frustration to look at him. "I don't have anything to offer. Maybe if I was smart enough to get straight 'A's or something. But I'm just a girl with a mother whose horrible reputation is marking me as a pariah."
"Is it so bad to go back?"
Aurie goes back to resting her forehead in her hand.
"I've got no one there," she finally answers. "I don't have any family. Maybe I can get a job in the fabricas, assembling car parts or something. But I couldn't continue school. Over there you have to pay tuition for high school, like going to college here. I wouldn't be able to earn enough money for that and support myself."
"Dad is calling a friend of his who's a judge," Steve volunteers, breaking the silence and drawing her attention back to him. "It helps that we just did the blood draws. It'll buy you time since we won't have the results for a few days and this being a paternity issue might supersede the immigration issues. We can consult with an immigration attorney in the meantime."
"I can't afford that!" Aurie protests, dropping her arm onto her knees.
"In light of what you're facing, that's the least of your worries," Steve reasons. "Either way, if you voluntarily surrender to ICE, we'll have a good chance of convincing them to place you in our custody temporarily, and then we can figure this all out."
The silence stretches out while Aurie studies him in the dim light.
"Why are you helping me?" she hesitantly asks. "Your dad I get. But you? I don't. You've been suspicious of me because of my mother and I know I didn't win points yesterday at lunch. But then you helped me with that guy and gave me a ride here, so I didn't have more trouble with him. And you aren't dragging me to those ICE agents and you're trying to help me out of this mess. Why?"
"I may have my concerns, but I believe in doing what's right," Steve smiles at her. "I don't think what's happening to you is right. Neither does my dad. So, we'll do what we can to help."
"Even with what's in my background?" she arches a brow. "I know what's in that envelope you got, and I get why you did it even if you're being metiche."
Steve sighs, holding her gaze before answering.
"I wanted to know more about you. You weren't giving either Dad or me much info."
"I share more if I trust someone, but I hardly trust anyone," she admits, watching Steve's gaze drop briefly. "I've been screwed too many times. Just look at what happened with Taylor."
Her gaze drops to the heavily shadowed floor of the hallway as she gets lost in thought.
"I know there's nothing major in the information you got. It was dumb shit. I was trying to survive the streets and if I had to do it all again, I would." Giving Steve a pointed look, she adds, "It sure as hell ain't crap I'd willingly share because people are judgmental, and I've got enough marks against me. And it's no one's business. I don't care if you know it or even share it with Mark, but I've already apologized to the ones I wronged and I'm not going to apologize to anyone else for it."
"I understand," Steve nods in acceptance. "Are you going to surrender to ICE?" he prods.
Shifting her gaze back to the floor in front of her, Aurie's shoulders sag as she unconsciously hugs her legs tighter.
"I don't have a choice," she softly answers. "Even if I made it back to Tucson, Agent Coronado would probably have to arrest me and I'd still get sent back. ICE isn't going to look at me as someone worth keeping."
"Not if Dad and I can help it," Steve states, causing her to gape at him. "You don't have to trust us, especially me, but give us a chance. I promise to do what I can to help."
"Despite your suspicions? Or my mom?" she asks, eyeing him warily.
"Yes," Steve nods without hesitation. "Kind of puts us both on even ground. We don't fully trust each other yet, do we?"
Aurie cocks her head in consideration.
"Yeah," she finally agrees, her mouth quirking into a slight smile.
"Let's go back to Dad's office before he goes out of his mind with worry. You can call Agent Coronado to let her know what's going on. She sounds like someone who'll do what she can to help. Then we'll call the local ICE office to arrange your surrender."
Climbing to his feet, Steve extends a hand to her. Briefly, she hesitates before taking it and letting him help her up.
"Aren't they lurking downstairs waiting for me?" she asks, dusting her butt off.
"One of the agents said they'd do that, but it's just as likely they took off," Steve explains as he walks with her back to the stairwell. "They tend to come and go, trying to catch their suspects off guard. Sometimes that nails bigger fish, like smugglers and human traffickers."
Making their way across the darkened, deserted floor, Aurie looks around in curiosity.
"I wonder why it's like this. Seems like a waste of space."
"This floor was damaged by an explosion a few years ago. Right now, it'd cost the hospital more to try restoring it. And with the lighting so bad, it's hazardous to wander around in here."
"It would make a really cool haunted house for Halloween," she observes as they exit back into the stairwell.
"It would," Steve agrees with a smile as they start climbing up. "I don't know if they could make it safe enough. The elevators are programmed to avoid that floor."
Another thought occurs to Aurie as they reach the next landing.
"If the floor is damaged and unusable, doesn't that make it unsafe for the floors above?"
"The hospital had engineers from OSHA come in to examine everything and they've determined the building is structurally sound," Steve explains as they reach Mark's floor. "There's no danger of collapse. If there's a big earthquake, there will have to be another inspection."
Aurie considers it as they walk through the corridors.
"That's the nice thing about living in Tucson, earthquakes are rare. Did get a lot of them growing up in Cholula, but it's all earthquake county there."
Despite their rocky start yesterday, Steve is enjoying talking to Aurie. He's starting to understand why his dad quickly became attached to her. Reaching his dad's office he ushers her through the doorway, prompting Mark to look up in relief at seeing her with him.
"I'm so glad you found her before those ICE agents did, Steve."
Steve eases into the remaining guest chair next to Aurie.
"I lucked out that the door to the restricted floor is noisy when opened," Steve smirks at the teen quietly staring down at her clenched hands in her lap.
"The fifth floor?" Mark asks in surprise. At Steve's nod, he turns to Aurie. "You could've gotten seriously hurt in there. Why did you run?"
Aurie takes a deep breath and looks up.
"When that jerk Taylor asked if those two men were ICE, I knew they came for me," she admits. "I just left without thinking of how bad it'd look or where I could even go. I just knew that if they picked me up, I'd be heading back to Mexico as soon as they could do it."
"You don't know that," Mark states with a shake of his head.
"Apparently, Agent Coronado out of the Tucson ICE office warned her not to do anything to get picked up by the LA division as they're notorious for having a quick turnaround when it comes to deportation," Steve explains for her.
"Oh, boy," Mark exhales in surprise. "In that case, I don't blame you for disappearing, Aurie. But it certainly isn't going to help your case with them."
"I know," Aurie quietly agrees. "I don't know what to do about it. I've got to surrender to them, but they're not gonna to like me disappearing like that and who knows what bullshit Taylor fed them."
"For the moment I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear you swear again," Mark arches a brow at her.
"Sorry," she apologizes, dropping her gaze again.
"Well, I spoke to Judge Marty Dobrik in Family Court," Mark continues, looking at Steve to give Aurie a chance to compose herself since he can see how upset she is.
"I take it you treated him for something big and he owes you?" Steve sardonically asks.
"Pretty much," Mark grins. "He may be able to help us out." Aurie's gaze snaps up to him as he continues. "He's going to write up an order for a stay of deportation for Aurie just in case. There's not much he can do unless the results are positive on Spencer's test. If they are, he'll squeeze us onto his docket so he can review her case."
"I doubt Spencer would stand by and let Aurie be deported if it turns out he's her father after all," Steve points out. "He'd be lawyering up so fast your head would spin."
"Exactly," Mark agrees, giving Aurie a reassuring smile. "Even if Spencer isn't your father, we still have options. Marty confirmed consulting with a lawyer as soon as possible is a good idea."
"That and having Aurie call Agent Coronado," Steve comments. "She may have some suggestions so we can work within the system and not risk going against it."
"She's helped me a lot and I've got her card in my bag," Aurie nods. "But isn't a lawyer going to want money upfront? I'm completely tapped out."
"We're not going to leave you hanging," Mark grins. "Besides, if we get ICE to release you into our custody, you'll save money on the motel room. And even if you still don't have enough, I'll help you with that."
"I can't leech off of you!" Aurie protests, leaning forward in her seat and surprising Steve in particular. "I'm not Mom, expecting to be pampered! This is my mess and I have to clean it up no matter how hard it is."
"Aurie, you're going to have to swallow your pride," Mark firmly, but gently points out. "You're not going to be able to handle this situation without our help." Aurie grudgingly sits back with a heavy sigh. "We can work out repayment later. We just have to get you checked out of the motel today because chances are ICE is going to pick you up as soon as we call them."
"Um, no problem," she hesitantly begins. "I checked out Tuesday."
"What? Why?" Mark's confused frown matches Steve's.
Aurie's gaze briefly drops to her hands again.
"After you told me the tests were going to be expensive, I went back and checked out just in case it was more than my budget could handle. And it was. I had just enough left for the bus fare home and food if I ate cheap or skipped meals."
"Where have you been staying?" Mark asks, not liking where this conversation is heading.
Aurie has trouble holding either Sloan's gaze.
"The night before I stayed at the UCLA library until closing. Last night it was the LACC library."
"Why the library?" Steve asks, confused.
"Because students take naps there all the time," she shrugs. "You just try to pick an out-of-the-way spot or pull some books off the shelf, spread them on a table, and put your head down. No one questions it if you look like a student studying." Her face scrunches up in annoyance. "They were annoying at UCLA. The staff kept bugging me or being noisy. That's why I went over to LACC last night."
"And where did you go after the library closed?" Mark asked, not happy with what he's hearing.
"Uh," Aurie hesitantly begins, picking up on Mark's disapproval. "Well, after the libraries closed, I hung out at a 24-hour diner I found for a couple of hours. Can't hang out at a place like that too long or they start asking questions."
"And after that?" Mark's lowered voice matches his disapproving gaze.
"Back to campus," Aurie replies, shrinking a bit under Mark's glower much to Steve's amusement. "Just had to find a spot to nap that's not likely to be found by campus security."
"Why didn't you go to a homeless shelter?" Steve asks.
"Too far and by then the buses weren't running. Besides, unless you're part of a family, they'll call CPS on you if you're underage."
"And how do you know that?" Mark asks, upset at what he's hearing.
"Um, happened once," she reluctantly admits. "Barely avoided getting caught that time."
Mark takes a deep, calming breath.
"I'll ask more on that later," he pointedly states. "If things work out the way I'd like, you're going to be staying with us. First, you've got to call Agent Coronado then you've got to call Agent Ortiz with ICE and surrender to them."
"It's going out of the intended order, but we'll save you the trouble of calling," Agent Ortiz states, causing them to turn toward the door.
Ortiz walks in with Thompson. Aurie nervously follows Mark and Steve's lead and rises to her feet.
"I'm surprised you guys are still hanging around," Steve comments.
"We didn't have any other calls pulling us away," Ortiz explains. Looking at Aurie, he asks, "Are you Auralia Acevedes?"
Aurie nods.
"Do you understand we have to take you into custody?"
Taking a deep breath, she nods again.
"Yes, sir."
"Do you have to hold her?" Mark asks. "Can she be released into my custody until her case review is complete?"
"As I mentioned earlier, that'll all depend on several factors," Ortiz answers. "We must follow procedure and hold her for an investigatory detention. She will be assigned a deportation officer who could decide to release her to you on a bond, which can be at least $1,500. I can't guarantee if that'll happen or how soon."
Sighing heavily, Mark turns to Aurie. Her mismatched eyes clearly show how nervous and scared she is.
"It'll work out," he reassures her.
Unable to return his smile, she merely nods while stepping closer to Thompson and Ortiz.
"Quieres hablar español?" Ortiz asks her, prompting her to shake her head.
"English is fine."
"Okay. This is an investigatory detention. We need to pat you down for weapons or anything illegal. Then you'll be handcuffed. You'll be transported to the downtown detention center. As soon as you are assigned a deportation officer to review your case an interview will be conducted, which may determine if you're released and how soon. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Aurie quietly nods.
Agent Thompson takes her by the upper arm and guides her to the middle of the room. He frisks her before pulling out zip-tie handcuffs to secure her hands behind her back.
"Agent Ortiz, will we be able to call and speak with her later to check on her?" Mark asks.
"You can call the mainline on the card I gave your son to check on her status," Ortiz replies. Turning to Thompson, he adds, "Let's go."
Standing next to Steve, Mark can only watch in dismay as Agent Ortiz and Thompson guide Aurie out the door, her gaze fixed on the floor.
"Marty said he should have that court order ready sometime tomorrow," Mark states, drawing Steve's attention. "He'll have one of his staff call me when it's ready. You might have to pick it up."
"It's not likely to get her released to our custody."
"No, but it'll ensure she doesn't get deported quickly," Mark states, moving to sit behind his desk again. "Without any relatives to fight for her, it's more likely to happen."
"Even if we knew where to find Amalia, I don't think she'd bother trying to help Aurie."
"I don't think so either," Mark shakes his head. "Aurie said they didn't have much of a relationship."
Steve looks down and notices a backpack on the floor next to the other guest chair. Picking it up, he shows Mark.
"Is this Aurie's?" Steve asks. "She had me drop her off here yesterday to pick up her backpack."
"Yes, it is," Mark nods. "I can take it to the detention center and drop it off for her."
"Don't bother. They'll only confiscate it. And if they don't end up losing it, she won't get it back until she's released," he explains, unzipping the bag.
Mark arches a brow at Steve rummaging through her bag.
"What are you doing?"
"Just checking for Agent Coronado's card so I can call her."
"It's probably in the front pocket, so you don't have to keep flipping through every book and notebook and examine everything you find," Mark casually points out while resting his chin on his fist.
"Just being thorough, Dad," Steve replies, perusing a notebook.
"Uh-huh."
"She likes to doodle while taking notes and has a particular fondness for stick figures." He can't help chuckling when he turns to the next page. "And drawing some amusing scenes."
He hands the notebook over to Mark who also chuckles at the image drawn in the margins of a small group of stick figures chasing after a stick figure bull with spears before the tables are turned in the next image where the bull is chasing the fleeing stick figures. He hands the notebook back to his son who continues digging through the backpack.
"She certainly has a sense of humor."
"That she does," Steve agrees. "She wasn't kidding about being nearly wiped out," he observes while reading the checkbook register. "She has nearly $150 left in her checking account."
"That wouldn't have even fed her for a week until the test results came back if she was saving some for the bus fare back to Tucson!"
"Well, she mentioned skipping meals. She would've skipped a lot of them."
Finding a picture, Steve holds it up for a better look.
"Is that a picture of Amalia?" Mark asks.
"Yeah," he answers, flipping it around so Mark can see it.
"That's the one Aurie showed me to jog my memory about Amalia when she first came to see me."
"I wonder if this was taken during New Year's Eve years ago," Steve muses, looking at the picture again. Glancing up at Mark, he notes his curious expression. "Don't remember exactly when, but I remember we attended the same party, and this is how she looked. I didn't have a date, so I went alone. It was one of the rare occasions Amalia acknowledged my existence and gave me a dance or two." Smirking, he tucks the picture back where he found it. "Of course, I went back to being a nobody in her world during the next party we both happened to attend."
"Amalia certainly flipped frequently between hot and cold," Mark agreed.
"Especially if Spencer was around like he was at the next party," Steve smirks. Digging through some clothing he comments, "She didn't pack much,"
"Well, she said she only intended to be here for Spring Break," Mark explains. "Even without being arrested, she wasn't going to be back in time for school."
"I wouldn't say she even packed a week's worth of clothes," Steve muses, shifting to the smaller front pocket. "By looks of it, she gets them at Goodwill."
"C'mon, Steve, there's no way you could know that."
Mark watches as his son smirks again, holding up a receipt from Goodwill for clothing. He rolls his eyes as Steve dives back into the pocket, pulling out a wallet. Rifling through it, he finds cash in the form of a few small bills and some pocket change. He also finds her food stamps card, a Medicaid card, a Tucson bus pass, an Arizona ID card, and a school ID card.
"She's like her mom, she even takes good ID pictures," Steve observes before handing the cards over to Mark for a closer look. "Oh look, finally found Agent Coronado's card," he smirks, holding up a business card before slipping it into his pocket. "I'll call her when I head back to the office.
Mark nods while studying the ID cards in his hands.
"Well, I guessed right about her age. She's fifteen and her birthday is October 15th," Mark reads off her state ID.
Mark hands back the cards in exchange for a few photographs Steve found, showing Aurie posing with other kids her age or adults or both.
"They don't look like they've been taken that long ago," Steve points out. "Some sort of school event by the looks of them."
"Yeah," Mark agrees before handing them back. "Now that you've finished invading her privacy are you also going to read off that background check you had Dante do?" he sardonically asks.
"I looked through it while I gave the blood sample," he answers, giving his dad a look. "She had been detained or arrested for a few minor offenses, such as loitering, trespassing, and shoplifting. For most of the offenses, she was released by the arresting officers. The last one she only committed once and was ordered to pay back what she owed and apologize."
"Did all that happen in Tucson?" Mark asks, curious now.
"No," Steve shakes his head. "Here in LA. All occurred between a year or two ago. Not long after her last arrest, she moved to Tucson according to the issue date on her state ID."
"You know, doing that background check isn't going to convince her to trust you enough to share anything about herself with you."
"Yeah, that came up when I was working on convincing her to surrender to ICE. She said she only shares more of herself if she trusts a person, but she hardly trusts anyone. Seems she looked in the envelope Dante dropped off. She said she had apologized to those she wronged but doesn't owe an apology to anyone else, that she did what she did to survive the streets."
"That was a pretty deep conversation you two had," Mark blinks at his son in surprise.
"She was scared and confused about my intentions," Steve shrugs. "She wanted to know where she stood with me because she didn't understand why I was trying to help her. I think we reached a mutual understanding."
"Good, because I don't think I could take you two constantly bickering once she's released to our custody."
"I was not bickering," Steve replies defensively, earning an arched brow from his father. Giving him a look back, he rises to his feet. "I've got to get back to the station."
"Will you be home in time for dinner?"
"If you're cooking, sure," he grins at his father before disappearing out the door.
Chuckling to himself, Mark shakes his head as he rises to his feet and dons his lab coat, figuring he should get back to work too since there's nothing more he can do for Aurie at the moment.
Aye, dios mio: Oh, my god! Pronounced ai dee-ohs mee-oh
Fabricas- factories. Pronounced fah-bree-kahs
Metiche- nosy. Pronounced meh-tee-chee
Quieres hablar español- Do you want to speak Spanish? Pronounced keh-rehs hah-blahr eh-span-oll
A/N: Certain Spanish words I'll keep using throughout the story, especially the swear words, but I'm not going to have any conversations in Spanish. As I mentioned before, it's annoying as hell to have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find out what's being said.