Lindsay slipped back inside, unnoticed.

You knew this was a long shot even before you told him your story. But she'd still toyed with the idea of having a man like Sam Swarek for herself. Now she knew better, so she could put away those silly schoolgirl dreams and really concentrate on her duties to her little protégées.

Telling her story hadn't been easy but it had been the right thing to do if only to show her girls there was life after brutality; but Sam had brought up a few valid points while he was at it. She couldn't let her father walk unscathed and expect her girls to denounce their attackers; which meant she had to go out there at some point and tell him and his partner that she wanted to press charges.

Maybe the statute of limitation had already passed and Martin Drake would still walk free, but at least she'd still be able to look herself in the mirror and know she was still a mentor to these people, a role model of sorts.

"Ms. D?"

"What is it Kerry?"

"Nothing; I just wanted to make sure you were okay because you left pretty fast back there and the girls were kinda worried… So was I."

Lindsay felt her eyes well up with tears but pushed them back bravely. She walked towards Kerry and put a light hand on the teenager's shoulder. "I'll be okay; we'll all be okay Kerry. I had to face a few facts I had avoided looking and I needed a minute on my own to do that."

"Like asking the cops to leave your dad alone?"

"Yeah exactly like that. I've been spending so many years putting him behind me that I didn't realize I was still letting him run the show from the shadows."

"So you told them to catch the bastard and put him in a jail cell with a big guy called Bubbah?"

Lindsay had to laugh at Kerry's mean streak. "I still have to talk to them but yeah, that's the general idea."

"That guy your father works for, is he like a mob lord or something?"

"Let's just say he's a bad dude and leave it at that shall we?"

"Well looks like Mr. Bad-ass cop has bad blood with him so I'd say chances are very good he'll only be too happy to go after your dad, especially if he can have a go at that bad dude."

"You're a smart girl Kerry; don't ever let what happened to you stand in your way."

"I'm not letting anything or anyone get in my way ever again," Kerry said with a combative glint in her eyes. "I'm going to make something of myself, just like you did Ms. D. Maybe I can even help other people the way you're doing now."

"Whatever you choose to be, I know you'll be great at it and you'll do it in a way that's best suited to you. I have no fear for you whatsoever. There's just one thing though: don't push everyone at arm's length in order to protect yourself because the only thing you'll accomplish is to be all alone in the world with no one to help you when you need them."

"You didn't need anyone, so I can do that too."

"You're wrong about that Kerry. I needed someone to help me, but I was too dumb to realize it at the time and now it's too late because I have forgotten how to trust people and let them close to me. Don't do that to yourself because life… that's a very long time when you're all alone in the world."

Kerry turned to look at her. "You're not alone Ms D. You've got me and the girls, and you're still young enough to find someone."

"I loved the small hesitation before the word young," Lindsay smirked. "Thank you for being there for me, it means a lot Ker. But you girls all have your lives and they're going to take you away from – and it's alright, this is the way things are supposed to evolve – and I'll still be here with some other girls to help. That's not a bad life, just not one I'd wish on you or anyone else."

"Then what are you gonna do about that?" Kerry asked, looking over Lindsay's shoulder as she said it. Lindsay turned around and saw Sam Swarek walk in trailed by Officer McNally. "You know, we all noticed the way he looks at her, but I saw the way you looked at him back in the room and I say if you want him, you should go for it."

"Kerry Morgan!"

"What? He's a lil too old for my taste but still not bad looking. Plus he looks like he knows a thing or two… about life and all you know?"

Lindsay shook her head and groaned. "You young lady have a wild imagination and a mouth that refuses to quit…"

"Yup and I also usually happen to be right and say out loud what other people think to themselves," she grinned.

"Well as you so aptly pointed out, you all noticed the way he looks at his partner."

"And we all heard them say they were only partners and not together. I might not have bought that line, but still I don't see a ring on her finger, do you?" She looked pointedly at Andy McNally's bare hand. "Just gives you something more to think about, no?" Kerry grinned and left Lindsay standing alone in the hallway with her confusing thoughts as company… and Swarek walking towards her.

"Lindsay, could I have a word with you if I promise not to glower and act like a raving lunatic?"

It was on the tip of her tongue to let him know she'd probably have had a word with him even under those conditions but it felt safer to let that go unsaid. "Of course."

"Do you have somewhere a little more private than this hallway?" At Lindsay's arched brow, Sam realized what he'd said and how it might have sounded to her. "Unless you're more comfortable standing out in the open..."

"Officer Swarek," it seemed a good idea to distance herself from him at least in her mind, "I wasn't afraid to be with you in a closed space before you knew my story; my circumstances have not changed since then."

Sam rubbed his hand down the back of his neck. "I'm not handling this well, I'm sorry Lindsay."

He looked so uncomfortable that Lindsay took pity on him. "Is my office okay?" she asked pointing four doors down the hallway. "It's away from the meeting room and the exit so that should be more private."

"That would be perfect," Sam nodded before turning to his partner. "I'll see you inside in a bit."

Lindsay had fully expected Officer McNally to come with them but she said nothing and instead walked to her office before she could hear what Andy had to say. She wished to hell she hadn't walked in on their little heart-to-heart out on the parking lot because now every conversation felt stilted and forced – at least to her.

She sat in her chair and waited for Sam to join her, which he did only a few seconds later. The way he stood by the door told her he felt as uncomfortable as she did although she highly doubted it was for the same reason.

"Why don't you have a seat Sam?"

"I won't keep you from your girls for long but I wanted to apologize for the way I acted in there. Maybe I should have done that out there in front of the group since I embarrassed you in front of them…" He obviously hadn't considered that angle before if the way his sentence dwindled into nothingness was any indication.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You called it right when you said I was doing exactly what I advise these girls not to do: protecting my assailant."

"Well yes I was right about that but I could have told you that when you were alone and not in front of all of them."

"That wasn't my brightest moment but it served to illustrate I'm human and just like them: I make the same mistakes they do and sometimes someone needs to shake some sense in to me. Tonight, you were the one to do it."

"Did I really do it? Will you press charges against your father?"

Lindsay nodded reluctantly. "Unless the statute of limitation keeps me from doing that."

"Don't back down now Linds," Sam said softly. "You really think I'd have brought this up if there was nothing we could do about it?"

"Probably not..."

"Damn right. There is no statute of limitation on sexual assault in Ontario so you are entirely in your right to press charges. I'm not gonna lie to you: it won't be easy to prove it happened because that was so many years ago and it will end up being a case of he said/she said if this goes to court…"

"I know," Lindsay said softly as she looked anywhere but at him.

"Look at me Linds." That scene reminded him of the way he'd had to coax his sister to look at him earlier that evening. Would he have to do that again tonight?

Lindsay took a deep breath and raised her eyes to his.

"You won't be alone, I promise you that. I'll be there and we'll make sure he pays for what he did to you."

"Why are you doing this Sam; because my dad might lead you to Anton Hill?"

"I'll admit that thought crossed my mind, but I was reminded there were more important things at stake here than just catching the son of a bitch so, if I get him I'll be happy; but it won't be the end of the world if he walks."

"Do you always get this invested in all your cases?"

Sam squirmed in his seat. "That doesn't happen too often anymore," he admitted reluctantly. "But this one feels personal to me."

"Why?"

"Because what happened to you also happened to someone I care about. Well not exactly what happened to you but… someone I know was raped when she was as young as you were and there was nothing I could do to help her."

"So you want to help me to make up for that?"

"Maybe…" Now it was Sam's turn to avoid looking at her.

"Sam, look at me."

She waited for his dark sorrowful eyes to come to rest on her but he stubbornly refused to look at her, instead settling his gaze on her desk. Every muscle in his body was tense, all the way to his clenched jaw. Lindsay circled her desk and knelt in front of Sam, forcing him to look at her.

"I just met you today, still I know enough about you to realize you wouldn't sit idly by and do nothing when someone you cared about was brutally assaulted." She saw him gulp and softened her voice even more. "Who was she Sam?"

"My sister," he finally croaked in a broken whisper.

Lindsay wasn't prepared for the pain that ripped at her chest when a single tear rolled down his cheek unchecked. She reached up tentatively and cradled his cheek, wiping the tear away with the pad of her thumb. "How old were you when that happened?"

Sam jerked his head away and ran a weary hand down his face effectively shutting her from his line of sight. Lindsay got the message loud and clear and stepped back behind her desk.

"I was nine when Sarah was attacked," he finally offered. "We usually went to the park together but I was sick with the chicken pox and Sarah went with some of her friends. She was walking back home on her own when these older kids jumped her."

Lindsay closed her eyes as Sam's words brought back the memory of her own fear and panic in a similar situation.

"She's never gotten over that, I mean how do you get over that?"

"One day at a time. You have to learn to let go of the guilt first; that was the hardest part for me. I blamed myself for having gone back to my father's, for trusting he'd finally keep me safe; it was that blame that kept me rooted in place, unable to move forward."

"But it wasn't your fault; not anymore than it was Sarah's fault."

"You know that and I realize that now, but maybe your sister is resistant to that notion. It's possible her mind keeps telling her if she hadn't gone without you, or if she had asked some girlfriends to walk with her, or if she'd just took the long way home instead of cutting through the park that day…"

"Then how do I help her get past that?"

"You can't Sam; that's something she has to do on her own. You can only lead her so far, the rest is entirely up to her."