Rip frowned when Robert lead him to a derelict house, one he recognised although he remembered it as easier to get into. He heard a cough, harsh and painful sounding. Rip winced when he saw the little girl it had come from. Pale and clammy she was tiny, probably no more than six years old, with long straggly light brown hair and dark brown eyes which were glazed with fever.

"How long has she been sick?" Rip asked the boy.

Robert shrugged, "Couple of days."

"Who helps her?" Rip knew someone this young usually had an older kid who would watch out for them.

"We all make sure she gets food since Michael disappeared." Robert replied.

"What?" Rip demanded sharply.

"Michael always shared his food with her," Robert told him, "He looked after her."

Rip slowly moved to the little girl breathing softly, "I don't remember," he crouched down and gently rested a hand on her forehead wincing at how hot she was. Taking off his coat Rip wrapped the girl in it lifting her into his arms, "I'm going to take her with me and I'll do everything I can to make her better."

Without another word he carried the little girl out and headed back to the house. He was reeling from the memories that were flickering back to life of the child he currently carried. When he was Michael he remembered waking up in the Refuge and thinking no one would miss him but now he recalled the little girl who very possibly could actually be his little sister.

"Grace," he called the moment he entered the house.

"Is everything..." she stopped seeing the child he was carrying before asking, "What do you need?"

x

Grace tucked the sleeping little girl into the bed in the spare room now bathed to clean her and bring down her temperature. Rip had given her some medicine from the store he had made over the past few months which had seemed to be helping as well.

"I'll sit with her," Rip spoke up, making Grace turn surprised she hadn't realised he was there, "Go and get some sleep."

Grace frowned slightly, "You've had a long night already..."

"And I'm still filled by the adrenaline from it," Rip cut her off, "Go. You need to be up to make breakfast for the kids."

Gently stroking the little girl's hair, relieved to feel that she wasn't as hot as she had been when Rip had brought her home, Grace vacated her spot by the bedside.

"Try and get some sleep," Grace told him before she left the room.

Rip found a chair in one corner moving it so he could sit at the side of the bed. He couldn't believe that the Time Masters were still managing to screw with him. They had taken his memories of Beth when they abducted him. If he had known Rip would have found her the same day he had to send his younger self to the Time Masters and she would have been safe.

"Shh," Rip soothed when Beth began to shift slightly, "It's okay. Just rest and you'll feel better soon."

"Michael?" the little voice called, "Michael?"

Resting his hand on her forehead he murmured, "I'm here Beth and I won't leave you again. I promise."

At his voice she sighed softly before cuddling into the sheets and slipping into a deep sleep. Rip settled back to watch over her for the rest of the night.

x

Beth woke up confused.

Sitting up she looked around the room trying to work out where she was and why she was in a big clean comfortable bed. The door opened and Beth jumped getting ready to try to run.

"Hello," the woman who walked in smiled at her kindly, "It's nice to see you awake finally."

Beth stared at her worriedly.

"My name is Grace," the woman introduced herself, "Do you know who I am?"

Beth frowned in thought, "The lady who gives food for help."

Grace smiled again, "The boys help my employer Mr Hunter. He brought you here because you were sick."

Beth gave a slight bemused frown wondering why the important man the boys helped would help her.

"Are you hungry?" Grace asked, offering her hand when Beth nodded, "Okay, then let's go to the kitchen and we'll get you some breakfast."

Taking Grace's hand Beth looked around the house she was in as they walked through it. She had never been somewhere so nice and was terrified of breaking something. When they reached the kitchen Grace lifted her onto a chair at the table before placing a bowl of porridge and a cup of milk beside her. Beth began to eat, confused when Grace caught her hand.

"Slowly, sweetie," Grace said gently, "You'll make yourself sick if you eat too fast. Besides there's plenty for you to have."

Nodding Beth did as she was told and began to eat, more slowly this time, when Grace let her hand go. Just as she finished her breakfast the door opened. Beth warily watched the tall man walk in especially when he motioned Grace to leave. He smiled kindly at her, a familiar smile while he had eyes that she knew and trusted.

"Hello, Beth," he crouched down beside her, "My name is Rip and this is my house."

"Hello," she replied quietly.

Smiling slightly he continued, "You were very sick for a few days so I brought you here to get better. Can you tell me where you've been staying?"

"Where I can," Beth gave the only answer she could, "Michael showed me places. I miss him."

Rip dropped his head for a moment, "Come on. I need to talk to you and we should be comfortable for this."

x

Rip drew the child through the house and into the drawing room. It wasn't somewhere he used often, honestly only when he had guests, but he wanted them to be somewhere comfortable while he spoke with her.

"Beth," Rip said the moment they were sitting, "I'm sorry about Michael leaving."

"He would never leave without saying goodbye," Beth whispered sadly.

"He wouldn't," taking a deep breath he continued, "Do you remember he had a cut on his hand the day he disappeared?"

Beth nodded, "He got that making sure the other boy didn't hurt me."

With a deep breath Rip held up his hand, "Do you see the scar I have?"

Beth took a hold of his hand to study it closely, "It's in the same place."

"It is," Rip replied, smiling at the way she drew her finger along the scar, "I came back to get you, Beth. I didn't know it before but I do now. I came back here to find and look after you. Just like I promised I would."

"Michael?" she stared at him in amazement.

Rip nodded, "Yes. I'm Michael. I know this must be very confusing for you."

Beth stood on the couch and reached out taking his face in her hands looking deep into his eyes before throwing herself at him in a tight embrace, "You came back."

Rip wrapped her in his arms hugging her tightly, "I came back and I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner." He sat holding the little girl for several minutes before releasing her and settling her on his lap, "You're staying here with me now."

"I get to stay here?" Beth's big brown eyes were wide with astonishment as she looked around.

Rip chuckled, "Yes but you still have to do what I tell you."

"Michael," she pouted.

Tapping her nose gently Rip smiled, "And you can't call me Michael outside the house."
"What do I call you?"

"Well that is what we have to talk about," Rip told her, "As well as some rules we're going to have."

x

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Grace demanded while Smith stood at her side.

Rip frowned, "You think it's a bad idea to take a six year old girl off the streets and give her a home?"

"To bring her into this house though," Grace noted, "Considering that we chase monsters?"

Smith winced, "We don't want anything to happen to her. Could we find somewhere else that's better for her than here?"

Folding his arms Rip shook his head, "Where do you think she was before being on the streets? No, Beth is staying here."

Turning to leave Rip stalled seeing the little girl they were talking about standing outside the door watching them.

"I can leave," Beth said sadly.

Rip lifted her into his arms, "You are not going anywhere. This will make our life a little different but I'm your big brother, Beth. This is your home now."

"But they're not happy," Beth whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck leaning on his shoulder to look at the other two.

"That's not true," Grace said quickly moving to her.

Smith joined them, "We just want you to be safe."

"Michael always kept me safe," Beth told them matter-of-factly, "And I can help. I always helped."

At the determined pout on her face Grace and Smith swapped an amused look before they nodded.

Smith reached out and tweaked Beth's chin, "We know you can. We didn't mean to make you think that you weren't welcome here."

Beth turned and looked at Rip again before she looked at them, "Okay, I'll stay."

Pressing a kiss to her cheek Rip let Beth down once more, "Now that's sorted we have work to do."

Rip and Smith trudged back to the house, both soaking wet after having to jump in the lake at the park. Being wet though was much better than killed when the dragon-like creature had exploded in a fire-ball.

"We could have used Grace's help," Smith noted.

Rip frowned slightly, "One of you need to stay with Beth. She may have lived on the streets but I will not leave her alone."

Smith shrugged.

"And I am not letting the two of you go out on your own," Rip told him, "I was trained to fight things like this, you two weren't."

"But we're learning," Smith replied.

Stopping the younger man Rip stated coldly, "Learning does not mean you know what you're doing without supervision. I let people who believed they knew what they were doing out without proper control and they broke time. Twice. Because of their choices we have a city filled with dangerous creatures."

Smith stared at him.

"I decided to remove these things because it's partly my fault," Rip grimaced starting to walk again, "I won't let anyone else get killed for my cause. Not again."

Without another word they continued to walk back to the house. Rip and Smith split the moment they entered it, heading for their own rooms to dry off then change.

x

Rip frowned when he stepped out his bedroom finding Grace standing there.

"You don't happen to have a cup of tea for me?" Rip asked hopefully at her stern face.

Grace shook her head, "She's still awake."

"At this time?" Rip grimaced, wincing at her hard stare, "Fine, I will talk to her."

"Rip, you've got to discipline her," Grace told him, "I know this is an unusual situation but Beth also knows she has you wrapped around her little finger."

Wincing slightly Rip nodded, "I will deal with this."

"I'll make tea for when you're finished," Grace stated before turning and leaving him standing.

Rip headed to what used to be the spare room and was now Beth's. Knocking he opened it and found the little girl sitting in the centre of the bed.

"Why are you still awake?" Rip asked sternly.

Beth folded her arms, "I wanted to make sure you came home."

Smiling Rip sat beside her on the bed, "I always do my best to come home but going after the bad things is what I do to keep everyone I can safe."

Beth looked up at him with big eyes.

"You need to do what Grace tells you," Rip told her, "She's in charge when I'm not here."

"But..."

"No buts," Rip cut her off, "Beth, that's the rules. You do what the adults say."

Beth let out a sigh before she nodded, "Okay, Michael."

"Do you promise?"

She let out another sigh, "I promise."

Rip smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head, "Bed, now."

Crawling under the covers Beth looked up at him, "Can I get a story?"

Settling on the bed beside her Rip smiled when she cuddled against him, "Alright, this is a story about Captain...Jonas and his best friend Gideon."