a/n: Okay here goes nothing I hope you enjoy it. Please review, all comments welcome, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hints and ideas are welcome. First couple chapters will go up quickly.

-britsis

She kept her hands up and danced out of the way. The other kid was older, larger, and stronger but he was stupid. While she avoided his punches and waited, he was tiring himself out. He was getting slower as time ticked by, she only had to wait for that perfect moment.

"Stop moving and fight chicken!" The ten year old called out as he lashed out once again. She only grinned as she ducked under his arm to deliver two quick punches to his gut. The other kid grunted and took a couple steps back. Now was her moment. Rushing forward, Rae continued her assault with hit after hit to his gut and chest. She grew cocky though as he regained his footing and contacted with the side of her head. Rae fell to her hands and knees as her vision swam and she tasted blood. She could hear the crowd cheer as the kid show boated his victory. He believed she was beaten and wouldn't recover from the blow. Rae spat out blood and winced as she spotted the tooth that had been knocked loose. Her parent's were going to kill her.

Rae got up slowly, shaking the fog from her vision. She put her hands up again and charged. If she was going to die, she was going to go down fighting. The kid turned, spotting her just in time to get hit. Her first hit surprised him, the second snapped his head back, and the third was rewarded with a sickening crunch. He fell and she grinned, ignoring the pain coming from her hand. The others groaned and cursed as they readied to fight. She was out numbered five to one but that never stopped her before. Bouncing on the balls of her feet her eyes darted from one to the next, waiting for the first one to be brave enough.

"Oh shit it's the police!" One of the kids called before running off. Two officers raced into the alley way grabbing the two nearest to the opening. Rae pivoted and ran for the back of the alley. She jumped against the wall and grabbed the top of the fence only to have someone grab her ankle and pull her back.

"Raegan Cyrene Shepard, what in the world were you thinking?" the sound of Rae's mother's shrill voice caused her to flinch. Abigail Shepard had a temper that could scare a hardened marine. When she was mad it was best to vacate the premises and wait it out somewhere safe. If Rae wasn't handcuffed to the chair she'd have run very far away. Trying not to wince in pain, Rae picked up her head and faced her mother. The older woman stopped five feet away and sighed. The left side of her daughter's face was bruised, her lips bloodied, and her right hand covered in a cast. Abigail had grown use to seeing her daughter roughed up. The girl had four older brothers that insisted on treating the eight year old as a punching bag. But seeing the girl chained to the hospital chair was a new dilemma. Taking the last couple steps, Abigail swept Raegan's burgundy locks from her face and tsked at the state her daughter was in. "Another fight? You're only eight Raegan, you should be playing with dolls and talking to your imaginary friend."

"But mom those boys were picking…"

"Not another word! How many times have your father and I told you to find an adult?" Abigail pursed her lips. "Damn your brothers, I told them not to take you to their boxing lessons."

Rae tried to smile but quickly stopped at the look her mother gave her. She enjoyed following them to the gym, watching them win fight after fight. Her father called it the Shepard fire, the determination to be the victor in everything no matter the cost.

"I'm sorry momma," Rae whispered and ducked her head.

"We'll see how sorry you are when we get home."

A police officer cleared his throat, drawing Abigail's attention. "On that note," he pulled out a key and unlocked Raegan from the chair. "your daughter is free to go. We spoke with some witnesses and she was defending herself. Ma'am, if I may, I'd be proud of your girl. According to reports she stepped in to help a little girl from being jumped."

Abigail sighed and thanked the man before grabbing Raegan by the arm and escorting her out of the room.

"Six boys Ayden, six!" Rae could hear her parents arguing in the dining room. They had thought she, along with her brothers, was asleep. Instead she had snuck out and sat on the landing, hugging the railing. The pain in her hand had caused her to leave her room in search of help. However, after hearing her parents' raised voices, she decided it wasn't best to remind them of her escapades. She admits, now in hindsight, that fighting those boys wasn't her best. But she had her mother's temper and her father's fire, a viotile mixture. Rae found that she had an uncontrollable urge to protect the weak and was blind to her own safety.

"Daring it's normal to want to protect others," Ayden tried to cajole his wife only to receive one of her glares. Swallowing he reached out and patted her hand. "We'll talk to her again, but maybe we should enroll her in a class. Boxing, martial arts?"

That only infuriated Abigail even more. In her opinion it was such things that got Raegan in trouble in the first place. Her daughter should be wearing skirts, taking ballet, and practicing her table manners not wearing torn jeans, dirty, and getting in fights. When she was a girl she never would have even thought of allowing her clothes to get dusty, let alone bloody with another's blood. Abigail pursed her lips and shook her head. "What good will that do! It will only give her more confidence! Not keep her out of fights. Maybe we need to send her to refinishing school. It's what my parents did."

That sent Rae's heart racing. She didn't want to leave Mindoir or her family. Ayden, her eldest brother, was already leaving next year on a boxing scholarship. She didn't want to loose the rest of her family.

"No it will teach her discipline. Abbey, let me try my way just once. I promise if she gets into another fight we'll take her out of everything." Rae's father begged, not wanting to lose his baby girl. Rae gripped the railing tight, waiting for her mother's reply. She vowed to never get in a fight again, to be the good daughter her mother wanted, as long as she could stay at home.

"Fine Shepard, we'll try it your way." Abigail relented and Rae let out a pent up breath.

Rae's emerald eyes shone as she greeted her new coach. Coach Charles also taught her bothers boxing but she'd never officially met the man. Her mother had wanted her kept away from boxing but her father bought her this chance. She wasn't going to blow it.

"Welcome to class Raegan Shepard. Have a seat with the other student's while I speak with your father."

Rae nodded and rushed over to the other kids, trying to hold her excitement in. She'd been begging for these lessons since Galvin started his two years ago. Her parent's had come up with reason after reason until now. If she knew that getting arrested would have done the trick she'd have done it sooner.

"Hi, I'm Raegan Shepard," she greeted the first student, left hand extended. "But you can call me Rae."

"Hey Rae, I'm Bodie." The boy grinned and took her hand.