DISCLAIMER: Again I own none of the cast of CSI, Greg Sanders and the rest of the CSI cast belong to CBS, is I owned them then my last name would be Sanders right now…or Szmanda. Lexxi Seymour however is mine, as is Tizminda Seymour and Jake Clarke so all right to them belong to me.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Lexxi is twenty four and the newest member of the crime lab. Greg Sanders is twenty five in this fic.

I’d also just like to put a quick thanks to ‘Thephoenixsfire’ who first reviewed my first fic, ‘The Wedding Day’, much appreciated.

WARNING: Does have references to some physical and some mental abuse but nothing too graphic.

Because I Care - Chapter 1

Nobody knew much about Lexxi Seymour, she was the new girl and she kept herself to herself. She was twenty four years old with purple, naturally frizzy hair and lonely, hazel eyes but that was all anyone really knew about her. They didn’t know that she was in a horrible relationship, they didn’t know that he abused her in places where nobody would see but the biggest secret that nobody at work knew was that she had a four year old daughter to a man that got her pregnant then left her.

Everybody knew about Greg Sanders. He was twenty five years old and had worked at the crime lab for two years but in those two years he had been noticed by everyone. His dirty-blonde, spiky hair and impossibly deep, chocolate eyes weren’t what attracted attention to him but his personality was. He was loud, outgoing, crazy and Marilyn Manson’s biggest fan. He would walk around his lab singing along to loud rock bands and pretending to be a drummer by using test tubes as drumsticks but underneath his carefree, odd attitude his main ambition was to make it to CSI 1. He was single with no kids and no real secrets.

Lexxi found it hard to trust people, no matter how much she wanted to believe that there was someone out there that she could trust with her life, it just never happened. She was scared to confide in people, keeping it all bottled up inside, this way she wouldn’t get hurt and neither would her daughter.

Greg was too trusting, he trusted people believing with all his heart that they had good intentions. In return he got hurt, the first girl he trusted with his heart ran off with his best friend, he was left heartbroken. He showed emotion, underneath his crazy front he was more vulnerable than people thought and his innocence and naivety always seemed to be his downfall.

“Alright honey, I think I’m gonna have to take you to work with me today cuz’ nana’s gotta go to the doctors. I need you to be a good girl and behave ok, I’ve explained to Grissom and he’s gonna look after you.” Lexxi picked up her four year old daughter, Tizminda, and sat her down on the kitchen counter, resting her hands on the counter next to the little girl’s legs.

“Mommy, why can’t I stay here with Jake?” A question which Lexxi was running out of excuses to answer with. How was she supposed to explain to a four year old that her boyfriend was abusing her? The only reason she was even staying with Jake was because she was too scared to leave him.

She sighed before answering, yet another excuse to cover for him. “Jake has to work late tonight so you can’t because he’ll still be at work.”

“Oh, ok then.” Lexxi knew that she couldn’t keep Tizzy a secret forever, soon everyone was going to know that she had a daughter, tonight she was going to tell them.

Wanting to get out before her boyfriend got home, Lexxi lifted the youngster off the counter, set her down on the floor and told her to put her shoes on. “If you get ready now sweetie, we’ll leave early and go for ice cream, ok?

The little girl started jumping up and down enthusiastically then ran into the living room to get ready. Lexxi hitched up her top, took one look at the purple bruise coving part of her stomach and decided that no matter what it took, she was going to leave Jake. It wasn’t about her anymore; it was about her little girl too. Tizminda was what was important know and Lexxi had a duty to protect her.

A/N Well here’s the first chapter; I’ll try to update soon so yeah r&r please.