Hey! This is the first story I've written. I don't know if it's good or anything, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. :)
P.S. The Learning Centre is made up.

Chapter 1

"I miss her, you know." Beth whispered, snuggling into her father's side and resting her head on his chest. The repetitive 'boom' of his heartbeat keeping the tears at bay. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I miss the way she loved us, and how she would always have that massive smile on her face."

"And how she would always come around with the wake up call every morning. With 'Faith' being blared through the speakers downstairs." Sam added, lightly brushing his daughters bangs out of her face and behind her ear.

"Yeah." She sniffed quietly, not wanting to her father to hear that she was crying. Sam held his daughter tighter to his chest, completely happy to sit in the position forever. "Did we do something wrong, daddy?" She asked as the tears finally made way down her red cheeks. Her little voice starting to betray her.

Sam never knew how to answer that question. It was a question that he'd ask himself every morning when he woke up to an empty bed, or when he came home to find his daughter alone in her room crying.

He asked himself when he was in the shower, or making dinner, or driving Beth to school, or out on patrol.

When he would eat, sleep…breathe.

It was a simple question to many, but they never got an answer. And they never would.

"No." He said, shaking his head slowly. "We didn't do anything, okay? Especially you. You didn't do anything for your mum to leave us."

Beth raised her head and looked into her father's eyes. "Did she hate us?" She whispered.

Sam's eyebrows basically ripped off his face at the question. They shot straight to the top of his head and his mouth hung open. "She didn't." He said, more forcefully than intended. "You know that, and I know that. She told us every, single, day, how much she loved us."

"Then why did she leave?" Beth said, her voice becoming louder. She abruptly jumped from her seat on the couch and onto her wobbly legs.

"She got murdered, Beth" He said calmly, not wanting to lose his temper at his daughter. "I don't know what we did to deserve your mum to be taken away from us, but she was."

Beth's face contorted in pain as she listened to her father. Her heart shattered every time her dad said those 3 words. She didn't want to believe it.

Sam knew it was hard for Beth to understand what happened to her mother. Sure, she was 9 years old, and the concept of your mother being murdered wasn't exactly easy to comprehend at that age.

"I just don't understand." She whimpered.

He didn't either. He really didn't understand how someone could take away an innocent person's life. He didn't understand it when he was out on patrol dealing with murders. And he definitely didn't understand it when Oliver came to his door to give news that no police officer ever wanted to give.

"It's been 6 months today, daddy." Beth said. "6 months. She's never coming home."

"I know Beth!" He almost yelled, but stopped for the sake of his daughter. He couldn't lose his temper and risk her being scared of him. He was the only one she'd ever talk normally around.

She was the only person who she trusted now.

"I know that your mum left 6 months ago. I know all this, alright? You don't need to remind me. Your mum was the most valuable thing in my life next to you. You don't think I know that she was taken away from us?" His voice started to crack at the end of his sentence, as it finished in a harsh whisper.

Beth nodded her head vigorously and started to hiccup, willing the sobs to stay inside her. She had done enough crying to last a lifetime.

Sam hated to see his daughter cry, but it was a reoccurring event. If she wasn't crying, she was moping, if she wasn't moping, she was sleeping.

And Sam didn't know what to do.

"Beth." Sam said calmly. "Beth. You know what happens when you cry and panic, okay? Just calm down."

He was a single, widowed father to a very demanding 9 year old girl, who had her mothers bright blue eyes and her light brown hair. If she had lighter skin and no dimples, she would basically be Renee.

She certainly acted like Renee.

She had started to become detached and anti-social, which immediately lead to depression. To be 9 and have depression was not healthy. Sam knew this, their doctor knew this, and Beth knew this.

The therapist and Beth's social worker had tried nearly everything. They had even nearly gone as far as going to a clinic to help her, but Sam wouldn't let his daughter be put there.

She just needed help from people that she knew, and that loved her.

But she never wanted help.

She acted like Renee in the topic of independence. To be independent you had to be alone. That was her motto.

Wrong.

She felt the need to be alone, all the time. She hated to be hugged. Quite frankly, tonight was about the second time she had hugged her father in 6 months.

He needed help and he knew it. It was a very tiring task to even get Beth to consider going to school, let alone actually attend. Not long after Renee, Beth lost all her friends. Almost every person in Beth's school had found out about Renee. Soon after, every one had stopped talking to her because they thought they might hit a nerve and make her cry.

But Beth still cried every day. She would cry because she lost her mother, her friends, and her privacy. Her whole life had been showcased to her school.

So...moving schools was Sam's next option. She needed to be educated. Sam wasn't going to let her stay home from school everyday, especially if the school she was meant to go to know everything about her mother.

Beth hated the idea right at the beginning. Saying that she would become anti-social. Too bad she was already there. It took some convincing, and a lot of donuts, but it worked.

He had finally decided to get a personal teacher, for students with depression. Which was also a big argument starter.

Sam knew that she would probably give her new teacher hell. But the teacher knew exactly what they were getting into…He thinks. He hasn't met the teacher or anything, but he knows that the social working agency had recommended the company. They had great reviews from parents and children as well. Sam didn't even know the name of the teacher before accepting.

He still didn't know till this day.

Sam looked into his daughter's eyes and sighed, angrily rubbing his hands over his face. When Sam stood, Beth immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and smothered her face in his stomach.

She was short for her age, just like Renee.

Sam grabbed her from under the arms and lifted her frail body into his big, protective arms and rubbed her back as she sobbed.

"I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear. He kissed it about a hundred times, before rubbing soothing circles on her back once again. She was young and needed the comfort. Sometimes he forgot just how innocent his daughter was.

The duo made their way upstairs and into Sam's room. The bed was messy, and his room had loose clothing hanging around, but he didn't care. He just needed his baby girl right now.

Sam laid her on the bed, before running into her room and getting her some pajamas, then walking into his bathroom to get into his.

When Sam walked out, she was curled up on her mother's side, waiting for her dad's arrival. He slipped in and turned in to face her.

He liked to look at her face, and look for anything he could to remind him of Renee. Mostly the eyes though, definitely the eyes. They were a strong and piercing pacific blue colour, with baby blue specks in them.

The most amazing set of eyes you could get, and he was more than happy that his daughter had them.

"You ready for tomorrow?" He whispered. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Yeah." She whispered back. "I hope the teacher's nice."

Sam chuckled a little, and kissed her forehead. "They'll deal with me if they're not."

Beth giggled a little bit, and then rested her head heavily on her father's outstretched arm. "I love you, daddy."

Sam's heart stopped for a second. She hadn't said she loved him in 6 months. Those three words making him happier than he had been in ages. "I love you too, Beth." He kissed her hair, then wrapped his other arm around her back and rubbed circles up and down. It used to relax her as a child, and he could tell she needed it now. "I love you, so much."

Sam woke up to a small warm body wrapped around his side. He turned his head to the left to see Beth clinging to Sam and her head smothered in his neck.

She was beautiful.

Checking the clock, he sighed when he saw they had to leave in an hour. Luckily, Beth only took at most half an hour to get ready every morning, unlike her mother who took almost 2 hours.

"Beth." He whispered, stroking her hair lovingly. He felt her twitch and mumble, before resuming her heavy breathing on Sam's neck. "Beth. Wake up. You have to get ready for school."

"No." She whispered back, turning away from Sam's body and curling into a ball. Sam sighs and rubs his face angrily with his hands.

"Please, Beth. School is a good thing. You'll be with other kids and you won't be stuck around the house doing nothing."

Beth huffs angrily and throws the blanket off her and sits up facing Sam. "Daddy. You put me in a school full of freaks." Again, talking in a hoarse, whispered tone.

Sam raised his eyebrows at his daughter's attitude, and too sat up to face Beth. "They aren't freaks Beth. We've been through this. You have complained about every school you've been too. I really think this one will help, and I'm being absolutely serious." Sam watched the expression on Beth's face change.

"I know what you've been through is something that no one should go through, let alone a 9 year-old girl. But if you go to these classes, you'll stop feeling like you do now. I promise you that."

Beth's eyes betray her and a lone tear escapes, and splatters onto her shirt. She nods quickly before jumping out of bed and power walking into her room.

Sam groans. Beth is going to be pissed with him all day. He can already tell. She's 4 years away from her teenage years and she already has the attitude of one.

But he can't blame her. She saw something no one should have to. He seriously thought that she might come out like a serial killer or something. But she kept herself together in a different way.

But she never did anything wrong. She'd never break the law, or be disrespectful to her elders. She was just anti-social and depressed.

And again, he can't blame her.

20 minutes later the two were dressed and showered, and downstairs eating breakfast. Seeing Beth eat was a good thing.

Normally in the morning she'd hardly eat. At lunch she'd eat half a sandwich, then at dinner she'd eat half.

But she still got food, and at her last doctors appointment she was healthy, so what could he do?

Beth was dressed in her usual attire. Skinny jeans, converses and a long sleeved top. She would also wear a coat and scarf once she got outside. The chilly Toronto air didn't do much good to her.

At 8:00am they were in Sam's truck and on the road to Toronto A&D Learning Centre. The words depression and anxiety weren't used in the schools name. Which made sense to Sam.

When the two jumped out of the truck, Beth grabbed his hand in a death grip, not even thinking of letting go. Sam gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and he swung the door open, letting her walk in in front of him.

The foyer had white tiles and walls. A few pot plants were placed in corners. A small couch and rug were placed in a corner like a waiting area, with magazines and papers filling the coffee table.

They walked toward an older lady with greying hair and glasses sitting behind reception. She had bright pink lipstick on, and she was typing slowly on a computer. Sam cleared his throat and grinned when her eyes met Sam's.

"Oh. You must be Mr. Swarek." She said instantly. Sam's eyebrows raised and he looked down at Beth. "My Manager told me a new person was coming today, and you were the only person on our list."

Sam nodded once. "Yeah. Uh." He chuckled. "I don't know what I'm doing, so..." He shrugged.

"Hi." Came a cheery voice from behind them. Sam and Beth snapped their heads behind them and saw a young lady. 30 years old at most. She had long dark, wavy hair and tanned skin.

Her eyes were a piercing shade of brown and her smile was radiating.

"You must be the Swarek's. I'm Andrea, I'm Beth's teacher." She took a few slow steps toward the two, the sound of her ballet flats echoing throughout the foyer.

She was in light blue skinny jeans and a dark blue sweater. Half of her hair was done up in a clip, and she had little to no make up on.

She was also beautiful. Sam gave her a small smile, before turning his head back to Beth.

"I'm Sam and this is Bethany." He gave her hand a little jiggle to get her attention.

"Hi." She said, high pitched and abrupt.

Andy smiled at the two of them before stepping closer. She put a comforting hand on Beth's shoulder and bent down to her height.

"I'm just gonna talk to your dad for a few minutes. If you go straight through that door," She pointed toward automatic double doors. "There'll be about 10 other kids and a playground. Hang out there until I come and get you, okay?"

Beth gave a small nod before looking up at her father. He got the message, bent down and wrapped his arms around Beth's small body. Beth wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed.

"I'll see you later, daddy?" She asked in a hushed whisper. Her voice was starting to get high pitched. He knew she was trying not to cry.

"You will. I promise. I'll be back at 3:00pm to come and get you. If it's not me, it'll be uncle Oli, but I will do everything I can to make sure that I'm here to pick you up, okay?" He whispered in her ear. She nodded.

He pulled back a little and pecked her nose, then her forehead. Beth gave his cheek a quick kiss. She unwrapped her arms and walked to the doors.

Sam only took his eyes off her when she wasn't visible anymore.

"She's beautiful." Andy complimented with a small smile. Sam nodded in agreement, and then followed Andy. They weaved their way down the hallway, going through a series of doors. The carpet in the building was a light brown and the walls were a cream colour. There were pictures of flowers, and children on all walls.

There were doors on every wall with a different name on them. They climbed up a flight of stairs before coming to a room. The door had Andrea McNally printed on the front.

Once they were both seated, Andy cleared her throat.

"If Beth's social worker didn't tell you, I asked to teach her." Sam raised his eyebrows questionably. "I found her interesting and a little like myself, and I really think I'd be able to help her and give you some positive results."

"I hope you can. She needs it. She needs her life back. We both do." He rambled, groaning loudly and rubbing his face.

"I know it's frustrating." She started. "But I know a good parent when I see one, and I know that from her profile that you have done nearly everything you can to help her. And that you are hoping with everything you have that this will help her."

Sam nodded in agreement. She hit the nail on the head. "And I know it's not going to be easy." She continued. "But I'm going to try my hardest, just like I have with every other child I've worked with."

"What if it doesn't work though?" Sam asked. That was his biggest worry. After this, he just really didn't know what to do.

"Then I'll keep trying." She said.

Sam raised his eyebrows. Andrea McNally. She seemed...different than all the other people that he'd asked to help.

She was younger, but she looked passionate. She looked like she really cared about her job and about kids who need help. He really hoped this worked.

"I read the profile her social worker and therapists put together for me." She said. "A young girl shouldn't have to go through what she did, and I'm surprised at how well you have done with her. You shouldn't have had to go through it either."

"No one should have had to go through what we did. It was terrifying and left us with nightmares for months. But I wasn't going to sit back and let my daughter's life, and mine, waste away. I still have her to live for, even if Renee isn't here anymore."

Andy gave Sam a small grin. "Okay." She sighed. "Well. I know she's nervous, and I can tell you are too." Sam chuckled a little, and grinned back. "But she'll be fine. Her class starts in about 5 minutes. We just do normal stuff like at school. We do English, Math, History, Science, basic stuff of course because she's young."

Sam nodded.

"Then there will be the therapy side of things."

Again, Sam nodded.

"She'll be fine, Mr. Swarek. If anything happens I'll make sure I give you a call." Sam nodded. He rose to his feet and Andy did the same.

He held out his hand. Andy smiled and grabbed his hand sternly and gave a little shake.

"Have a good day, Mr. Swarek."

"Call me Sam."

"Have a good day, Sam."

Let me know if I should keep going. :)