[He's quiet at that response for a few moments, allowing it to hang between them as he decides how he wants to reply. He isn't, of course, sure of the reason--or reasons--for her hesitation, but that there's something keeping her from believing in the possibility is incredibly clear.
And so, after the short silence, he beings quietly--]
There was a case we had, a few years ago. A girl--I think she was sixteen or so--was the only witness to a murder, and was suspected of being the killer. She was Deaf, and so until a child advocate who knew sign language was found, it was difficult to communicate with her; all we knew was that she was traumatized and afraid of everyone, and because of that she wouldn't cooperate in the investigation.
[And that had been completely understandable. Lance remembers how angry he and Brennan had gotten with each other over this case and how Brennan was approaching it, both of them relating too personally to different aspects of it to be able to stay objective.]
We eventually found out that her name was Amy, and she had been running away from an abusive home. The murder had actually been self defense; Amy's parents had sent the man after her, and she'd stabbed him to protect herself. To make things worse, Amy's 'parents' had actually kidnapped her when she was little; her real name was Samantha.
[He sighs quietly; this story is a mess, and so many parts of it are difficult to think about both due to empathy for Samantha and because of experiences of his own. But there's a point here, and he's getting to it.]
We were able to reunite Samantha with her parents, who had never given up looking for her, and in only a few days a situation she never thought she'd escape turned into a new life. Although she had killed someone, and she carried that guilt with her, she'd just been doing what she had to do.
[And although he doesn't know Ellie's story, he has a feeling there may be some similarities in what she might've experienced.]
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-02-26 05:28 am (UTC)And so, after the short silence, he beings quietly--]
There was a case we had, a few years ago. A girl--I think she was sixteen or so--was the only witness to a murder, and was suspected of being the killer. She was Deaf, and so until a child advocate who knew sign language was found, it was difficult to communicate with her; all we knew was that she was traumatized and afraid of everyone, and because of that she wouldn't cooperate in the investigation.
[And that had been completely understandable. Lance remembers how angry he and Brennan had gotten with each other over this case and how Brennan was approaching it, both of them relating too personally to different aspects of it to be able to stay objective.]
We eventually found out that her name was Amy, and she had been running away from an abusive home. The murder had actually been self defense; Amy's parents had sent the man after her, and she'd stabbed him to protect herself. To make things worse, Amy's 'parents' had actually kidnapped her when she was little; her real name was Samantha.
[He sighs quietly; this story is a mess, and so many parts of it are difficult to think about both due to empathy for Samantha and because of experiences of his own. But there's a point here, and he's getting to it.]
We were able to reunite Samantha with her parents, who had never given up looking for her, and in only a few days a situation she never thought she'd escape turned into a new life. Although she had killed someone, and she carried that guilt with her, she'd just been doing what she had to do.
[And although he doesn't know Ellie's story, he has a feeling there may be some similarities in what she might've experienced.]