Many thanks to AlienGhostWizard14, Lady Cougar-Trombone, LabGirl2001, Jillie chan, AllAmericanSlurp, daphrose, and xxWasabiWarriorAlertxx for the reviews! I know I have yet to get back to two of you; I'll try to do that soon.

I just want to note something, because the thought had been bothering me a bit: I really hope no one thinks I'm bashing Chase by the way I write him. He's one of my favorite characters in the show. By no means is he a bad guy in this. He's just conflicted, and he acted in a way a number of us would have acted if we were placed in his situation. It's great to see that most of you guys understand, but in case you're someone who may have wondered about it as you read, just know that I respect Chase as a character. Dude is one of my dudes. (Figuratively.)

Anyways, it might take a while for me to update again. Apparently, as the temperature gets higher, so does the amount of workload and projects. Chapter Twelve should be posted sometime this weekend, but after that we may go on a break until May. Hopefully, by then, we can do a rapid fire with the chapters. ;)

Eleven.

Torrance wordlessly watched the beautiful Californian sunrise while the wooden garden swing gently rocked her back and forth. The view ahead awed her. The sky, bright and blue above and crisp and golden near the ocean line, was spectacular, and the waters, so deep and serene and constant, were breathtaking. The cool breeze that wafted through the garden, perfumed by the moonflowers and the hyacinths planted meticulously around the wide and colorful Davenport backyard, fueled the warmth she felt towards the nature that surrounded her. It had been a while since she last took the time to stop and actually see the world in its splendor. She was glad that this morning, she had that chance again.

She heard the door to the house click then roll open, but she didn't bother to see who was coming. She suspected it was Adam again, probably checking on her one more time to ask her if she was really okay.

However, who came towards the empty side of the swing was someone else.

Tasha smiled, holding up a plate of sandwich and a glass of milk for Torrance to see. "On my way up, I remembered that you haven't really had anything to eat since yesterday morning," she said. "You didn't eat much then, either." Torrance stared at the food. She opened her mouth to politely decline, but Tasha insisted, "Please take these. I made it especially for you."

Torrance was resolved to decline, but one look at the mother of the household prompted her to reconsider. The edges of her lips curled lightly into a grateful smile. "Thank you, Tasha Davenport," she said as she reached for the food.

"You're welcome," Tasha said. She gestured towards the empty space beside her. "May I?"

"Please," Torrance said.

Tasha sat down. She waited until Torrance had finished her first bite before saying, "You know, it seems like all that was ever made about you since you came are judgments. In my case, at least, because I don't know much about you."

Torrance said nothing; she knew.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Tasha said. Torrance waited for a weighted question. However, all she was asked was, "How old are you?"

Torrance looked at her, just to make sure she heard her right. Confirming that she did, she answered amiably, "I'm sixteen."

"Sixteen! Wow," Tasha grinned as she leaned back on the swing. "You're pretty much a new driver, huh?"

Torrance smiled, finding the mother's enthusiasm refreshing.

"But you're really good with computers," Tasha mused. "How did you learn how to do that?"

"My last foster father taught me how to," Torrance answered, deciding that Tasha didn't pose any threat and was therefore someone she could trust with information like this. "I started learning when I was nine."

Tasha nodded. "Do you go to school?" she asked.

Torrance smiled sadly. She shook her head.

Tasha nodded again. "Okay," she said. "I just asked, because you seem to be a really smart young lady. You must be. Adam told me that you said you also taught Leo how to do what you do."

"Leo already has a good start with it. All I had to do was build up on what he already knows," Torrance said.

"But he hacked into his stepdad's company all by himself," Tasha said in shock and amazement. "I don't really know the scope of what he can do prior to meeting you, but that sounded like he had to learn a lot. And he created an antivirus to destroy that dumb app? All of these in just six months?"

"Your son gets bored easily," Torrance explained succinctly.

"Ah, figures," Tasha said.

"He was also determined to keep on moving so he could find Douglas Davenport and destroy the app," Torrance added. "Even if the conditions are terribly hard, he kept trying, and so he learned."

Tasha smiled tenderly as she thought about her child. "Well, let's just hope that he doesn't use that to snoop around other people's business," she said.

Torrance took another bite of the sandwich. Afterwards, she washed it down with the milk.

"You know… Torrance, right? You know, Torrance, I've been meaning to ask," Tasha said, "why do you refer to people with their full name? Like, you call me Tasha Davenport and Adam Adam Davenport. Why do you do that?"

A great sadness overcame Torrance as she thought of the answer to the question. However, as always, she was able to conceal that emotion successfully. "It keeps everything in their proper place," she said quietly. "You cannot build friendships with someone you address constantly with formality."

"So, does that mean you and Leo are friends?"

Torrance looked at her.

Tasha smiled a half smile. "He's the only one you ever call by his first name," she pointed out.

Torrance broke from her gaze. Slowly, she turned away. "I cannot have friends, Tasha Davenport. They will only get hurt, because the load I bear is too much," she said. "The last friend I have ended up in jail, and that's because I put her there."

"I know this is not my place to say but—you're too young to be carrying things like these by yourself. You're just sixteen," Tasha said sympathetically. "You need to have someone to help you."

Torrance's lips curled into a faint, consoling smile. "That is a luxury I cannot afford," she said honestly but not meanly. "No matter how much I want to."

"You mentioned that you have a foster father," Tasha said.

"I had one, yes. Many years ago," Torrance replied. "He and his wife – used to be my foster mother – were very kind to me. But then things did not work well, and they gave me back."

Tasha allowed a while to pass by before speaking again, mostly because she needed it due to the things she was finding out. "Did you… Did you get to meet them?" she asked hesitatingly. "Is it okay for me to ask?"

"About my real parents?"

Tasha shook her head. "You know what? Maybe I shouldn't," she recanted with a smile. "Just forget I asked."

Torrance, again, said nothing. She looked up when she noticed a small group of birds flying above. She watched them as they traveled onwards to the ocean. "My mother died before I turned one. That's what the police reports said," she said. "One of the men Ernest Carlisle sold drugs to came over the house, looking for some. My mother told him that she didn't have any, and she didn't know where they were, but the man didn't believe her. He tried to come in, but she wouldn't let him. I guess she did it to protect me. There was an altercation, and then…she's gone." She took a deep breath. "The police arrested the man for murder and arrested Ernest Carlisle for possession of narcotics and for selling them."

"Ernest Carlisle, is he… He's family?" Tasha asked.

Torrance nodded weakly. "He's my father," she said.

Tasha leaned back further on her seat as a strong feeling of sympathy inundated her, truly regretting then that she even asked.

Torrance continued. "I had been in the foster system since then," she related. "He has made no attempts to visit me or get me back, so I've only met him through the pictures on the file. The same with my mother."

Even if she wanted to, Tasha avoided looking at Torrance so as not to embarrass her. Instead, she transitioned to her own story to lessen the unease the girl might feel. "You know, at one point, my first husband and I considered adopting a foster kid," she said, gazing ahead. "This is when we really thought we'd never have our own child. Things didn't seem like they would ever work out, and we wanted to have our own family. It didn't really matter to us what he or she looked like. We just wanted someone we can love. His family gave us a hard time about that, of course, but that's a different story. Anyways, we were on our way to get started, and then Leo decided to show up."

Torrance continued to watch her, listening intently.

Tasha smiled at her. "Now I'm wondering, if we had continued on, what are the chances of us crossing paths?" she said. "Because, I think, we would have been fortunate to have a daughter like you."

Torrance smiled back. The way she smiled didn't differ in appearance from the other times, but there was something in its warmth, in its purity and rarity, that told Tasha that what she said was appreciated by the girl.

The garden swing rocked slightly more when Torrance leaned back. She viewed the sun rise as the ocean reflected it, eating in silence to fill her stomach before the next round of intense searching began.

to be continued.