Disclaimer: I don't own the mentalist, blah blah blah

A/N sorry for the delay in updating, I am watching super nanny, it is rather interesting, makes me realise that my siblings aren't really that bad =] my well wishes to the victims of the Chile, I have a lot of homework, so updates may be a bit late sorry

Grace waved goodbye to Teresa and Patrick as she walked down her street, trying to figure out what she could say to her mom, she was terrified, what if it all went downhill, what if her father bet her about the alcohol, she wanted Wayne to pull her into his arms and say it would be alright, she wished that her family was normal.

'Gracie, guess what?' Hayley said snapping her from her thoughts

'What?' she asked

'At school today I got 3 stars next to my name for being such a good girl' she boasted

'Wow, that is real good Hayley!'

'Stars are so elementary school!' Joel said

'You were in elementary school last year Joel' Matt pointed out

'Just because you are still in it!' Joel yelled at him

'Boys, please, I can't hear myself think!' Grace said pinching the bridge of her nose

'You ok Gracie?' Hayley asked

'Yea, those brothers of ours are giving me a headache'

'Gracie, where is Autumn, why doesn't she walk with us?' Hayley said

'She walks with her friends, and she is home by now, I have to pick you guys up, so I take longer'

'Does Patrick love Teresa, he looks like he does'

'I don't know, maybe you can ask him tomorrow'

'OK, I will!'

'Come now, quiet voices, mommy might be napping' Grace hushed

'Yes Gracie' she whispered loudly

They walked in the door and put their bags in the hall closet and the younger children went to play outside or watch TV, Grace went in search of her mother.

'Grace, is that you?' her mom called from the sun room

'Yea, can I talk to you for a minute?' she said walking in the direction of the sunroom

'Sure, what is it?'

Grace walked in and sat down opposite her mother, cringing at the fact that she had an empty bottle of wine beside her.

'You know my friend Teresa Lisbon?'

'Was she the girl who came round to give you your jersey?'

'Yes, her dad hits her too, and when she saw that I was too, she said I wasn't alone, that I have options, do you know what he did this morning, he was on the phone, and Hayley came up to him and told him that she loved him, he kicked her in the ribs and told his own daughter to go away, I said to her, don't tell anyone what happened, I thought that he would never hit her, but I was wrong, and what do you do about it, nothing, you just sit there and drink our money away, I grew up the day Autumn was hit, when I was 10, I never got a childhood, this isn't fair, I am sick of being the one picking up the pieces, you are supposed to be telling me not to get drunk and be home before curfew, dad is supposed to want to meet my first boyfriend, make sure he is good enough for his little girl, instead I got a alcoholic mother, who I have to take the drinks away from, and put you in the recovery position so you don't choke on your own vomit, and an abusive dad that I can't predict, who probably wouldn't care if I was sleeping around, as long as it didn't come back on him, why is that I think that this isn't fair, how did this end up like this?' Grace said, by the end of it, she was crying

'Oh my, I am so sorry Grace I never meant for that to happen, for any of it to happen, I hate it as much as you do when he hits you, when he hit you the first time, I was so upset, I drank the rest of the vodka, I just wanted to forget it, I drink to forget, but I can't, I try to stop, but I see the chaos around me, and I can't help myself, help me Gracie, what do I do?' her mother said, also crying.

'I have been helping you for the last 6 years, and probably more than that, why can't you think of a solution yourself, I can think of three right now, why is it that you can't open your eyes and actually see what is in front of you?'

'Oh, Gracie, I try, believe me, I just don't know, please, help'

'Divorce him, get half of what is yours, get a job, join the AA, pour all the alcohol in the house down the drain, oh there is so much you CAN do, why can't you think of that?' she yelled exasperated

'Please Gracie, don't be mad, he is a sneaky man, he will get what he wants, and I will get no money, you know how he is'

'Mom, you need to try, try for your family, we don't deserve to be treated like this'

'Just, let me think about it, ok?'

'Fine' Grace said walking out and straight to the alcohol cabinet and opening it as her mother hadn't bothered to lock it

She picked up every bottle and walked over to the sink and poured every last drop down the sink, from the wine that cost more than her I pod to her mother's favourite gin, she just so desperately wanted it all gone. She put the empty bottles in the recycling bin and went upstairs to do her homework, dreading the moment her father came in. She called her siblings into her room, so when her mother confronted him- if her mother confronted him, they would all be safe. Hayley sat in the corner playing with her dolls, Matt was reading a book in her wardrobe, Joel doing math homework at her desk and Autumn sitting on her bed, not knowing what to do.

'Everything ok?' she asked

'Yes, no, I don't know'

'What's up?'

'School stuff, in a way'

'Go on'

'In gym today, I forgot my kit top and I had to borrow a singlet' she started, but Grace knew where this was heading

'They saw the bruises, didn't they?'

'Yes and they started making up rumours how I got them, they said they were from a vicious lover, and started saying I was a slut, they said I got beaten up because I stole other peoples boyfriends, they said my dad beat me , they wouldn't stop, I ran out at the end of the lesson and locked myself in the bathroom, I smashed the mirror that Aunt Louisa gave me for Christmas last year and it cracked in half, and then I did this' she said sobbing as she produced her slit wrists towards Grace

'Oh god' she muttered taking her sisters wrists and pulling her into her arms and hugging her

'I'm so sorry' she said crying

'It's ok, just promise me that you never do it again, come find me, I am always happy to see you, please, that gave me the fright of my life, don't do that to me again'

'I'm sorry Grace, I really truly am'

'It's ok, you know Lila Rigsby, don't you?'

'Yea, why?'

'I am dating her older brother and you would be surprised how much you would have in common, she has a bad home situation too, try talking to her' she advised

'Thanks Grace'

'It's ok'

Hayley came up and sat between them

'You have a pretty necklace Gracie ' Hayley said pointing out the necklace that Wayne had given her

'Thank you, my friend gave it to me' she said, not saying it was a boy, as Hayley was at the age where boys had cooties

Grace looked out the window and saw her father arriving home, and waited for what was going to come. He walked into the front door and called for my mom, who had tidied up after their talk then asked when dinner was, if we had done our homework and started ranting about the prick that had come in saying that his balance was all wrong, she said she would make him a coffee, but he protested and said that he wanted scotch, Grace froze, in her angry antics, she had poured it down the sink!

'Where is the alcohol!' he yelled

'I don't know, it was here an hour ago, I had a glass, oh no, Grace' her mom said

Grace prepared herself for what was coming, a most likely severe beating

'GRACE!' he yelled up the stairs

'Grace, what did you do?' Autumn asked

'A stupid thing, get me some ice, will you?'

'Sure'

'GRACE!' he yelled again

She darted down the stairs and into the sunroom, where he waited

'Did you pour my expensive scotch down the sink?' he demanded

She wasn't scared, she thought of all the good things in her life, Wayne, Teresa, Patrick, Cho, her siblings, she looked him straight in the eye, showing no scared emotion and answered him

'Yes'

'Why the fuck would you do that?'

'Because when mom drinks it, it seems depressing and when you drink it, you beat us'

'Liar' he said punching her in the head and knocking her to the ground

She still showed no emotion, looking her mother in the eye do something she was saying, but still her mother stood there, slowly backing towards the wall, as her father kicked her in the ribs

'MOM, DO SOMETHING, STAND UP FOR US, DIDNT YOU HEAR ME WHEN I WAS TALKING TO YOU EARLIER?'

He turned to her mom

'Sandra, what is going on?' he demanded

'I am sick of you hitting my children! That is not how a father supposed to act!' she yelled

'Bitch, you don't talk to me like that!'

'No, don't talk to me like that, I want a divorce!'

'You can't survive without me, you have no job and you drink your life away, you can't do anything'

'Watch me, get the hell out of my house, you aren't living here anymore, go sleep in your office and be the nice big shot you pretend to be'

'FUCK YOU' he said knocking stuff over as he ran out of the house

Her mother stood there and then collapsed against the wall. Grace walked over and wrapped her arms around her and cried

'Thank you mom, thank you so much' Grace muttered

Autumn, Hayley, Joel and Matt came down and joined in on the hug, all of them, finally feeling safe for the first time in years.

A/N gah! The laptop is being taken away from me, noooo! I have to do my homework =[ and I was going to work on the butchers red knife, sorry!