So, I don't love this chapter, but I feel like it was much needed and it's an update! I hope you all enjoy!

Anytime there was a particularly brutal rape case going on, Sharon tried to keep Riley as far from the murder room as possible. This case was a little different, but she still felt it would hit too close to home for the girl.

Still, she tried to be open about it and give Riley a choice whether or not she was okay with what was going on. At this point in Riley's life, she was very good about knowing her limits. Rusty was sometimes more upset about it than Riley because he hated being reminded what he didn't protect his sister from.

When Sharon got the call that they were headed this way, she calmly explained that the case they were handling at the moment may make Riley uncomfortable. Riley assured her that she was okay.

Two years may not have seemed like a long time to many people, but it was enough to completely change a lot of things in teenagers' lives. As long as Riley had Sharon and Andy and the rest of Major Crimes, she knew she didn't have any reasons to be afraid anymore. Yes, the memories were still there, but it was amazing how far the sense of security could take someone.

As Riley and Rusty walked through the door they looked hesitant. Rusty was playing with a piece of between his fingers as they walked into her office.

The both stood their sort of awkwardly. Sharon gave them an odd look. "Hi," she said with a quirk of a smile.

Riley nudged Rusty forward and he stepped forward. "We went to visit our Mom today and..." he glanced at the paper in his hand before offering it to her. "She gave us this. Something just didn't feel right about it."

Sharon took it. A prescription. She tried to hide her frown, but didn't quite succeed. "I'll look into this, okay?"

The twins nodded and quickly exited with a mumbled excuse of homework. They would be in their cubicle if she needed to find them. Sharon walked over to the glass of her office and caught Andy's eye. She held up the paper and beckoned him in.

"Hydroxizine is a fair mild anti-anxiety medication, but I can't imagine this is really being used in Sharon Beck's treatment. Am I wrong?" she asked him as she perched on the corner of her desk.

"No, Hydroxizine also covers up the side effects of heroine. It's a cheap way to boost your high," Andy explained taking a closer look that the prescription.

Sharon's heart broke as she took a deep inhale. "So Rusty and Riley's mom is planning on using again?"

Andy nodded. "Well, where is she? Wall to wall drug addicts. Best place in the world to score drugs. "His mom broke the law, problem solved, you can put her in jail."

If only it was that simple which they both knew it wasn't. As much as Sharon would like to be rid of the woman, she had to think of what was best for Rusty and Riley. Had she known what would come from the peace treaty she thought she was making, she would have never let it get this far.

The next night left her regretting so much.

"Do I seem high to you? Look, I apologized to you. And I meant it. But you were not the easiest kid, Rusty. But being what you are? You think that was easy for me?..."

Rusty cowered while Riley stood up straighter. "Being what I am?" Rusty repeated her words in disbelief while his sister reached for his hand.

"Are you pretending you're not gay? You were the one who chose to go out on the street and do those things with guys."

The grip on his wrist tightened as Riley tried to control both their tempers. "Are you saying you let your boyfriend beat me up, leave me at the zoo, and get high for three years because I'm gay-"

"Look, I'm assuming you did the best you could," Sharon Beck shot back at him. "That you couldn't help yourself."

At that Riley stepped forward. "Stop! Right now!" she hissed pointing a hard finger at her mother.

The woman scoffed at the girl before slapping her hand away. "You did the same thing. You became a simple whore and I can't tell you that I was surprised. Rusty surprised me more than you. You and your need for attention."

"Where do you think we learned these things?" Rusty shot at her, pulling Riley away from the woman.

"You chose to do those things for money. You chose to be whores and street rats." She silenced and raised her eyebrows at them with a smug look. Obviously she thought she had won.

The twins looked at each other. This was how it was going to go. This was how it was always going to go with this woman. They were never going to come first with her. They were always going to be the gay boy and the attention whore. All they wanted to be was her children, they could have forgave her. Rusty did almost instantly about the abandonment, and even Riley had come to visit her more often, but this is the way things would always go. There was something always wrong with them. But they weren't going to break the law for her, they weren't going to feed her addiction, and they weren't going to put themselves last, again.

No. This time, they were going to put a stop to it. This time they would go home. "I think we should go," Rusty stated, picking up his backpack and offering Riley hers.

Obviously, that was not what their mother thought she would hear. "What? No!" she snapped. Rusty gently pushed Riley out the door as their mother rounded on them. "Can't you just show me some of the forgiveness that I am showing you? You said it yourself the other day. You two were not easy children, and I tried to help you."

"Alright, I'm sorry for being such a difficult kid that it forced you to do drugs. I'm sorry for not being the normal child you deserved. And, you know, maybe if you didn't see me again, you'd get better." Rusty glared at her through the tears in his eyes. "Why don't we try that?"

Riley pulled gently on his wrist as they turned and walked down the hallway. Their mother was calling after them to stop.

"Wait! Wait one second! Riley!" They both knew she was desperate if she was trying to get Riley to side with her. "Riley, you were always my pretty girl!"

When the twins didn't stop she started to follow after them. She grabbed Rusty by the shoulder and turned him around forcefully.

"I get passed you being gay and all the trouble that you caused me and your response is to just walk away?"

Riley opened her mouth to say something but she didn't get the chance. "And you, I always knew that you'd never be able to say no to anyone. I knew you'd end up a slut. A whore who sold herself for money!"

"To survive!" Riley snapped back at her. "Because you left us. You left us so you could get high with your boyfriend after you let him beat us until I my eye swelled shut and Rusty wheezed for a week!"

Rusty knew his sister's temper and though it didn't usually show itself, he knew when people pushed her hard enough, she went off like an atomic bomb that had lingering effect on all its victims. "Where do you get off telling us that you forgive us, when you aren't even sorry for what you did?"

Riley stepped toward the woman. "You, you, are the reason you get high. Not us. You. You may forgive me for being a whore, but I don't forgive you for giving me so little choice to become one."

The slap was heard before it was seen, but Riley's hand covered her left cheek that was already red with a perfect hand print. The shock in all three of their faces was evident, but Rusty had enough. He slid his arms around his sister's shoulders and walked her toward the door.

This time they ignored the calls there mother made, making a point to not even really hear them. It was nothing but white noise as they left the rehab and climbed into the car.

It wasn't started right away. The two of them just sat there completely silent. Neither of them had tears, but it would just take someone asking what was wrong before they broke.

"You okay?" Rusty asked after fifteen minutes of sitting in the car.

"Are you?" Riley replied glancing at him.

Rusty shrugged. "We will be."

Sharon's heart was breaking as she listened to the kids tell her what happened. Neither of them cried or even had tears in their eyes as they relayed the story, but she could still tell how deeply they were hurting. Rusty excused himself to bed, barely offering a wave to Andy who had sat in the adjacent chair listening to them tell the story as well.

"Is it okay if I go to Monica's tomorrow?" Riley asked as she moved into the kitchen to clean up. After all, it was her night to do dishes. Rusty made the dinner, Riley cleaned up.

Sharon just stared at the girl who had gone from telling a story that nearly had Sharon herself in tears to doing her chores and asking if she could go to her friend's house the next evening. It was an attempt to regain the life they lived with Sharon. The peaceful, almost normal teenage lives that she tried so hard to supply them.

Maybe they needed to find the normalcy, but Sharon was worried they were burying their feelings once again. The weight of Andy's had falling on her shoulder comforted her as he leaned down to place a chaste kiss in her hair. It brought her back to the moment and made her realize she hadn't given Riley an answer yet.

"It's a Wednesday. What are you all going to do?" Sharon asked forcing herself to sound casual. With Rusty, Sharon probably wouldn't have hesitated with allowing him to spend time with friends his own age. Riley was better about making friends. After all, she had ballet and jazz with girls her own age. A lot of them had been doing it longer than her, but her persistence and dedication earned their respect. "You also have piano lessons tomorrow afternoon, and studio hours. I really don't like the idea of you being out that late."

"Monica and I have studio hours together," Riley replied as she flipped on the kitchen sink and turned around to look at Sharon.

Andy narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't you also have a history test Thursday?"

The fact that Andy kept up on Rusty and Riley's academics just as much as she did always pleased Sharon. He really had become a father figure to Riley and Rusty, even if Rusty normally chose Provenza. The fact that there were men in their lives to offer them love and stability made Sharon very grateful.

"I've already studied. I'll study some more tomorrow," the blonde girl groaned as she frowned. "Monica is having a party, because everyone else my age has already graduated high school and I'm still in summer school."

"A party?" Sharon frowned and shook her head. "You don't need to be going to a party when you have a test in the morning. I'm sure Monica will understand."

Riley rolled her eyes in the typical teenage fashion before flipping the water off again with great annoyance. Her insides were burning with frustration that she knew was largely misplaced. Her hands were plunged in the water as she scrubbed at the dishes harshly. Her tongue pressed against her teeth wanting to lash out at Sharon and Andy but she knew it wasn't really them making her so angry.

Her eyes burned as tears pricked at her eyes and a lump grew in her throat. Suddenly Rusty's escape to his bedroom made much more sense.

Finally she removed her hands from the water and barely shifted her body toward the two adults still silently watching her.

"May I please go to my room?" she asked quietly. If she dared to speak any louder they would be able to hear how close to tears she was.

Sharon walked around the couch and moved to the girl. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders while still damp hand slid around Sharon's waist. It never ceased to amaze Andy how Sharon just naturally knew what the kids needed and when. Rusty needed space and Riley needed to be wrapped in someone's arms. Well, more specifically Sharon's arms. Apart from most of Major Crimes, no one else was allowed within arms' reach.

Riley's head turned on Sharon's shoulder to look over at him. She didn't say anything, but he was no acquainted enough with her that he knew what the look meant.

Slowly he moved over to her and Sharon. His hand found hers and he held it for a moment. It was so small and youthful. Her skin was ivory and smooth with light colors of blue-green underneath in lines from the veins. Just like the rest of his little Riley, it was dainty.

Yet he held it like he would never let go. He leaned in and kissed her hair before looking back up at Sharon. What happened tonight with their mother was not going to be repeated. They were not going to allow someone to shatter them that deeply again.

With one last squeeze, Sharon pulled Riley back and looked at her face. There were no tears but there was exhaustion from the hard day.

"Go to bed, sweetheart," she instructed her daughter softly. "It's been a long day and things usually get easier in the morning."

Riley nodded and stepped away from the couple as she rubbed her hands together. She whistled for Phantom to follow her. Phantom yawned and stretched as she got up from her place by the door before following the girl.

Andy chuckled and shook his head at the pair. The dog was really the family's but Phantom's master was Riley as far as she was concerned. She would do anything to make her little master feel better.

"I hate her," Sharon whispered as she watched Riley's bedroom door close. "I hate that woman for hurting my kids."

Her eyes turned back to Sharon as she began to roughly throw things into the sink. Water splashed but she didn't care. "I don't hate people, Andy," Sharon told him, her voice thick as she grabbed for the sponge. "But that woman cannot see how wonderful and beautiful her children are. She can't see it. She's hurt them over and over again, put them in horrible situations, and now she does this?"

Andy walked up behind her and ran his hand up her back to her shoulders where all her tension was being held. Gently, he massaged her as she scrubbed harshly at the dishes. "They love her," Sharon continued a few seconds later, turning around to look at Andy. "Riley and Rusty would do anything for their mother to think about them and love them, but she doesn't care. She doesn't see it…"

It was like Jack all over again. Watching a parent step all over her children's lives when all they wanted was love. It was so easy to love them, so why- why- couldn't the people who were supposed to love them and cherish them do that for them? Why did parents break their children?

"I know it's hard to hear this, but it's the addiction, Sharon."

She bit her lip and shook her head. That was something she already knew.

"They don't deserve to be hurt like that, Andy," she told him as she dried her hands. "But I can't tell them not to try and connect with their mother."

Andy traced his finger along her jaw and held her gaze. "But you can be there for them if it doesn't work out."

Those dark eyes were so deep and understanding that Sharon felt her anger melting away. He leaned down and gently covered his lips with hers. "Don't waste the time hating her."

She leaned into his touch. The man who once made a point for her life to be hell was not as cold and crude as she once thought. Andrew Flynn was soft and kind and hers. She would have never thought he would have seen him turn down a ball game to go to the beach with her, two kids, and a dog, much less spend nights kissing away her tears and assuring her that the sun will rise again tomorrow and it will be a new day.

"Those kids, if they have proved anything, it's their resilience," Andy assured her, taking her hand and leading her to the bedroom. It was time she took her own advice and sleep, but Andy had a few ideas of what could help her sleep.

The sparkle in his eye gave it away as she threw her head back and laughed at him. "I'm near tears and this is what you're thinking about?"

"Hey, it'll cheer you up," he quipped. "At least it usually does."

She laughed again.

"Sharon?" They both turned to see Riley opening her bedroom door, now dressed in pajama pants and a t-shirt. "Are you sure I can't go to Monica's party?"

Behind her, she could pretty well feel Andy smirk. Kids were resilient.

"We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?" Sharon replied trying to hide her smile. "Now go to sleep."

As soon as Riley disappeared behind the door Andy tugged Sharon back toward her bedroom and she made sure they locked the door behind them.

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