Another wonderful story by guestsurprise. Thank you so much, Amigo!

Cassie, Vamps, and Gena belong to guestsurprise. I only own Rachel and the Grant Mansion and gave guestsurprise full permission to use them. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action.

Always There For You

"Cassie, come back!" Rachel called. But Cassie was running at a very fast speed; Vamps saw everything from the ceiling. He was shocked at why Cassie was running away from Rachel. He saw Rachel stop and scan the room to see which way she went.

"She ran down the left hallway…," she heard a voice say. She looked up and saw the confusion on Vamps' face. "Why is she running from you?"

"Cassie accidentally broke a vase in the living room. It was my grandmother's vase. I know she didn't mean to do it and I tried to explain that it was alright, but she took off before I could," Rachel said sadly. Frankenstrike then walked in with his special glue. After a few moments, he held the vase up. It looked brand new!

"See! Good as new! This new alien glue makes it to where it looks like it was never broken at all!" He smiled proudly. Rachel jumped in glee and thanked him. The friends embraced and then the alien doctor went back to his lab.

"This is fantastic! But now we need to find Cassie," Rachel said. She then heard the door open and Gena walked in.

"Did someone mention Cassie? I heard her say that she was going to be out for a while. I am still in the process of selling my house so she may have gone to my house. Please tell me she did not do something wrong!" Gena said, very concerned. Rachel smiled warmly and patted her back.

"No…everything is fine. It was only a mistake and a misunderstanding. But I do need to talk to her; I will be back later," Rachel said as she ran out of the house and jumped in her car. She drove towards Gena's old office house and saw Cassie inside. Rachel had a key so she let herself in and saw Cassie in the kitchen.

"Cassie?" Rachel spoke softly. Cassie almost jumped three feet in the air and her honey brown eyes were filled with terror.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it!" Cassie shrieked. Rachel was shocked at how Cassie was in such a panic, even more than usual.

"Cassie, calm down; it was an accident…what's wrong?" Rachel asked as she took a few steps forward.

"I broke your vase just like I broke my dad's trophy! I…," Cassie suddenly stopped. Talking about her father always made her sad since he was dead. She then took off upstairs; her eyes starting to fill up with tears. Rachel chased, but Cassie ran in her room and locked the door.

"Cassie, come out of there!" Rachel called as she pulled and pushed at the door.

"Rachel, please leave…just leave me here!"

"I'm not leaving without you! Cassie, please open this door!" Rachel said, clearly concerned because she was serious about not leaving her alone. Cassie started sobbing harder and then Rachel heard her coughing hard.

"CASSIE! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" The coughing continued and then silence. Rachel panicked and then used her hair pins to pick the bedroom lock. Once she was inside, she saw that Cassie was sweating feverishly and she was out cold. Rachel quickly picked her up and carried her back to the mansion. After a few hours of examination, Frankenstrike said that Cassie would be fine with rest. Rachel couldn't sleep or eat; she was sick to her stomach that this young one got a fever because she ran through the rain to get to Gena's old office house.

"Cassie…please wake up…," Rachel cooed as Vamps approached to check on Cassie too. Cassie's eyes slowly fluttered open and she saw Rachel. Rachel then slowly got on the bed next to her and ran her hands through her hair.

"Cassie, don't be afraid…I know it was an accident. I am not angry with you." Rachel said calmly. "But why did you run from me, sweetheart?"

"Because the last time I made a huge mistake like that my old foster parents said that they would kick me out. I tried to apologize, but they beat me instead. I am sorry, Rachel…," Cassie tried to explain, but Rachel gently shushed her and rocked her. Vamps heard the conversation through the door and knocked. Once it was clear to come in, Vamps slowly crawled up on the bed too and hugged both of the girls. He then saw that Rachel was falling asleep from a long eventful day. He let her lay on him as she fell asleep. Vamps then turned to Cassie.

"Cassie Carraba Hale. You are one of the sweetest humans I have ever met, but please never run from us like that, sweetheart; I was worried sick. And do not be afraid of making mistakes. Rachel would never put you out for that."

"I would never put you out for anything. You are my family and we all make mistakes. No matter what happens, you have a home here and I am never letting you go," Rachel added sleepily as she leaned over and kissed Cassie on the head. Cassie leaned over and hugged her tightly and both girls simultaneously hugged Vamps. He held them close and let them fall asleep on his chest as he kept watch over them.

It was early in the morning and the sun was barely rising into the sky when Rachel felt Cassie gently touch her shoulder. She looked over and saw Cassie gently putting Rachel and Vamps' hands on her head. She also had AmpFibian in the room.

"Rachel, Vamps, I want you to see why I react the way I do when I make a mistake…," Cassie said softly. She then let AmpFibian link their minds and both Vamps and Rachel saw the horrific sight in front of them. Three of Cassie's past foster families beat her almost to death when she did a simple mistake, such as spilling a small amount of water. Rachel's eyes teared up and Vamps' eyes widened in horror when they saw Cassie being beaten brutally and sometimes taking the blame for the other foster children to avoid them being beaten.

"I can take care of this…you all run…," Cassie cried as her back was torn open with a belt.

"CASSIE, NO!" Another foster child cried.

"I said GO!" Cassie bellowed. At that moment, Cassie fell to her knees as she was beaten until her back was bloody and until her face was bruised.

Rachel cried at seeing Cassie's bravery and pain. It was too much for her to bear! She quickly told AmpFibian to stop the mind link. Once he was done, he gave Cassie a gentle hug and then left the three alone once more. Vamps' hung his head and Rachel covered her mouth; they were both speechless at the horror they witnessed as Cassie allowed them inside her mind.

"The scars are still on me…that is why I usually don't wear clothes where you can see my back," Cassie said softly. Vamps slowly crawled behind her and lifted her shirt. He gasped as he saw foot long scars covering her back. He motioned to Rachel and she saw them too.

"Monsters! They were just monsters!" Rachel screamed.

"Who would do this to a young child?! No wonder you panic when you make a mistake! You were beaten for everything! Even something as simple as dropping a napkin!" Vamps roared. He clenched his fists and his eyes became red, until he felt Rachel gently rub his face.

"Vamps, shhhh…it's alright…," Rachel said as she tried to calm him down. He slowly let his eyes turn green once more and then they both looked at Cassie.

"I apologize for panicking when I make mistakes; the memories are just so hurtful."

"Don't worry. You just rest. We will protect you and love you. Now how about going and taking a shower and then we will got out for ice cream," Rachel smiled.

"Awesome! I'll be back in a flash!" Cassie grinned as she hugged Rachel and then kissed Vamps on his cheek. As she left, Rachel looked at Vamps once more.

"I wish we could make her pain go away."

"There is a way, Rachel; that is to love her and show her that her life is different. It won't be easy for someone that young to forget. Now that she is 13, those thoughts will be even more prominent, but we must continue to love her. Cassie has also shown bravery; a bravery that is seldom seen in one so young."

"Like when she took that gun shot for me?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. She loves you and she loves all of us, but she is also afraid of making mistakes. Over time, we can only hope that she calms down enough to see that those memories are of the past."

Suddenly, Four Arms came charging in.

"He's back…"

"Who?"

"I just heard that the Forever Knights just helped Cassie's uncle escape from prison."

"I will help you look for them…let's move." Vamps growled. As they left, Rachel could only hope that Cassie would remain safe.

"Don't worry Cassie; your uncle may be loose, but he better think twice about getting you again. I promise," Rachel thought.

guestsurprise's words: Cassie is so lucky to have Rachel and Vamps. One thing's for sure; she will always have a home and a family that will always be there for her and never let her go.

To guestsurprise: Just curious, have you reopened your request section? I have some requests I've been asked to pass on to you, but if you haven't yet, then that's okay too.

To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames! Remember, I'm watching the reviews closely.

GoldGuardian2418