Author: Thanks so much for the reviews you guys! Keep em' coming! Well here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Sm

Amara just about skipped her way down the hallway of her school and quickly made her way towards her classroom as she spotted Michelle sitting at her desk, pulling her school books out of her book bag. Grinning wildly, the short haired blonde skipped to her seat beside the aqua-haired girl, and sat down.

Michelle arched a brow at her friend's unusual giddiness. "What's up?"

Amara beamed up at her friend. "Ken and Elaine are going to let me race."

"Wow really? When?"

"I start training today, but my first race will be in three weeks."

"That's awesome! Well, let me know when and the time, I want to go."

Amara arched her brows in surprise. "You want to watch me race?"

"Of course I do…besides I want to see if you're as good as you say you are. " Michelle grinned, resting her chin on the palms of her hands. "Plus, you went to my violin recital, it's only right that I go to your first race."

Amara smiled, pulling out a notebook and pencil. "I wanted to go to your recital. I wanted to hear you play. "

Michelle arched a brow curiously. "So what did you think about it? You never did say…"

"I loved it…and the way you play is amazing."

Michelle blushed, looking down at her own notebook. "I'm not that great…I need to practice more."

Amara laughed. "I think you practiced enough…you play really good."

The aqua-haired girl smiled softly. "Thanks." She raised her head and looked towards the blonde. "So…did you have any more good news?"

The tomboy nodded. "Yeah, Serena and I are staying for good."

"What do you mean?"

"Ken and Elaine want to adopt us."

Michelle's eyes widened. "Wow! Really?"

Amara nodded. "Yep!"

"That's great, I'm happy for you."

Amara smiled as Michelle leaned back in her seat, drumming her pencil against her notebook. "Are you coming over today when Serena comes for tutoring?"

"No, I'll be at the Go-Kart track, but I'll be there when Ken picks up Serena from your house. You know how Ken and your mom like to talk; I'll probably be over there for a while."

Michelle nodded at how true the statement was with a smile. "Okay, cool."

Just than their teacher stepped into the classroom, telling her students to pull out their math textbooks and homework.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Serena yawned, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. She nearly screamed as she felt someone drape an arm around her shoulders and pull her tightly towards their body.

"Hey Serena!" exclaimed Mina with a wide grin.

Serena giggled, untangling herself from her cousin's grasp. "Hey Mina." She straightened her book bag upon her shoulders as the duo began to walk down the hall towards their classroom.

"I told Amara that you're here."

"Oh yea? What she say?"

Serena smiled. "She didn't believe me at first…I still don't think she does…not until she sees you for herself."

Mina laughed softly, shaking her head. "I'm not surprised."

"Yeah…plus I have some more stuff to tell you."

"Like what?"

Both girls stopped in front of their classroom door and faced each other. Serena chewed on her bottom lip slowly, averting her eyes away from her cousin.

"The Tsukinos want to adopt Amara and I"

Mina frowned deeply, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Adopt you…you mean you guys aren't going back to Uncle Wallace?"

Serena shook her head. "No we're not."

Mina's frown deepened. "Why…don't you guys want to go back?"

Serena involuntarily shivered at the thought of going back to her father. "I never want to go back."

Mina swallowed deeply at the tone of her cousin's voice. "Why not…did he do something to you guys?"

Serena slowly nodded her head, now gazing up into her cousin's eyes. "He's done a lot of things."

Mina couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that well in the pit of her stomach as she pondered whether or not she wanted to know the truth…but she just had to know.

"What kind of things?"

Serena shifted her gaze towards the doorway, spotting their teacher heading their way. "We need to go inside." Serena paused in thought before continuing. "How about I get Elaine and Ken to make dinner for you and Uncle Ronnie?"

Mina arched a brow. "Why?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "If you come over, than we can finally talk. I can also prove to Amara that you are really here and…I want you to meet the Tsukinos…they're really nice."

Mina slightly frowned, still not understanding why her cousins didn't want to back to their beloved father; though, she slowly nodded her head as she gazed into her cousin's hopeful gaze.

"Alright…I'll talk to my dad tonight."

Serena grinned, enveloping Mina in a tight hug. "Great! I'll talk to them tonight."

The bubbly blonde quickly released her cousin and made her way into the classroom as Mina slowly followed after her, a small frown on her face.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Elaine made her way into the cafeteria of the hospital and quickly found her usual table towards the back of her room where she saw her friend Amelia already seated. She took her seat, placing down her tray and purse and smiled up at her long time friend.

Amelia placed her fork beside her plate loaded with eggs and bacon and smiled. "So…how did it go?"

The lavender haired woman sighed slightly. "Well…Ken took the news about the pregnancy great…but the girls didn't respond to it happily.

Amelia arched a brow curiously. "How did they take it?"

"They were upset…very upset. Amara stormed out of the room."

The blue haired surgeon leaned back in her seat slightly baffled. "Why?"

"They thought that…by me and Ken having this baby…we wouldn't want them anymore. They thought that we would send them back to the orphanage."

Amelia couldn't help the laugh that escaped her and she tried to smother her giggles with her hands. "Are you serious?"

Elaine nodded. "Yeah…I just don't get why! Ken and I try our best to show the girls that we love them dearly."

Amelia smiled and placed a comforting hand upon the woman's shoulder. "You have to remember what Amara and Serena have gone through. They've been hurt deeply by someone they love full heartedly and we still don't know the extent of how deeply they were hurt or all of what they have gone through. They are always going to fear rejection from you and Ken or fear that you may hurt them just like their father had done."

Elaine slowly shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "What are we suppose to do to make them stop feeling like that?"

"Nothing."

Elaine furrowed her brows. "What?"

"You can't do anything…they have to come to terms with everything on their own. You and Ken just keep doing what you're doing and show the girls that you love them and will never hurt them. That is the only way to get through to them."

The lavender haired woman nodded in understanding. "Is that what you're doing with Lita?"

"Yeah…in a way; Lita is a completely different situation though."

"How do you figure?"

"While Amara and Serena had been going through their ordeal for a while…Lita's life was great. She had her family and she was happy…life according to her was perfect. Than one morning everything came crashing down in a matter of minutes and she lost everyone dear to her and nearly died herself. She saw her mother kill her entire family and the woman nearly killed Lita as well." Amelia shook her head, the ordeal still leaving her shocked till this day. "She has so much pent up anger and confusion inside her…and it kills me to see the pain on her face as she thinks of them and about what had happened. I'm just waiting for her to start lashing out."

"Has she?"

Amelia furrowed her brows in thought. "No…she hasn't lashed out at anyone…at least not that I know of, but I've seen her get this look upon her face."

"What do you mean?"

Amelia slightly shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes I watch her while she's by herself…and she will have the darkest look upon her face, her hands will be balled up in tight fists and you can see her body trembling with concealed rage."

Elaine's eyes widened. "What do you do?"

"I pull her into a tight hug…I know that she's thinking about what had happened with her family and now she's blaming herself for what had happened. I just don't know why though…it wasn't her fault…she couldn't have stopped anything…and I tell her just that; it wasn't her fault."

"How does she respond to it?"

"She cries the most heart wrenching sobs I have ever heard in my life."

"That poor girl." whispered Elaine.

"Yeah…she's getting better though. She and Amy are just about inseparable now."

Elaine smiled. "How are Amy and Michelle?"

The bluenette grinned. "Great…ever since Amara and Serena have come into their lives, they seem so much happier."

Elaine giggled softly. "Those two seem to make everyone happier."

"They really do." Amelia began eating again and paused. "We need to hurry up, our shift starts soon."

The lavender haired foster mom's eyes widened as she quickly picked up her fork and began shoveling food into her mouth as Amelia shook her head with a grin.

"If you keep eating like that you're going to be…"

Elaine suddenly gagged, her face turning an interesting shade of green. She suddenly stood from her seat, bolting out of the cafeteria and towards the nearest bathroom.

"Sick…" muttered Amelia, eating the last few bites of her food and stood, grabbing both her's and Elaine's tray and disposed of them. She went and purchased a bottle of water and headed towards the bathroom, knowing that Elaine was going to be grateful for the water.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Serena began to wash her hands in the sink in the girl's bathroom in her school. Once done she grabbed the paper towel and proceeded to dry her hands as the bathroom door opened. Tossing the now wet paper towel in the trash, she looked up, taking a startled step back. She furrowed her brows as she saw Beryl standing before her; a malicious grin upon her face.

The young blonde slowly licked her lips, taking a quickly glance towards the closed bathroom door before settling her gaze upon Beryl.

"Hi…" squeaked the blonde, silently berating herself for how weak she sounded.

Beryl grinned, cracking her knuckles and stepping towards the blonde. "Looks like I finally got you all by yourself."

Serena gulped, realizing that she was all alone. "Yeah…it looks that way."

"Perfect!" mused the fiery red head as she clenched a hand into a tight fist and without warning the older girl swung, her fist clipping cleanly across Serena's chin. The blonde's head turned painfully to the side and she dropped haplessly to the floor.

Grabbing at her chin, Serena didn't have time to react as Beryl stood over her, grabbing her roughly by the collar of her shirt and punched Serena in the face. Before the red head could make another hit, the blonde clawed her attacker across the face.

Beryl screamed out, releasing the blonde and grabbing at her now bleeding face. Serena took this opportunity to tackle the girl to the ground and attempted to head towards the door but as she scrambled to her feet, Beryl grabbed a hold of her ankle.

Serena flopped heavily to the floor as Beryl snatched her leg back and proceeded to crawl up the kicking girl and she snaked her arm around Serena's neck, pulling back and causing the poor blonde to gag and gasp for air.

Tightening her grip, Beryl smirked as she stood to her feet, pulling Serena up with her. She grabbed the blonde by the back of her collar and shoved her into the trash can. Serena went head first into metal trash can that was mounted into the wall. She hit the ground with a heavy thud and cried out when Beryl ran up on her and kicked her repeatedly in the side and stomach.

As Beryl attempted another kick, Serena grabbed the offending foot and twisted it, causing the red head to fall to the ground in pain. She quickly climbed upon Beryl's back, grabbing a fist full of red locks and pulled, making Beryl stand to her feet with her. She suddenly shoved Beryl forwards by the hair and rammed her head into the wall.

Beryl fell to the floor as Serena released the death grip she had on her hair and she grabbed at her side and slowly made her stand to her feet with her. She suddenly shoved Beryl forwards by the hair and rammed her head into the wall. Beryl fell to the floor as Serena released the death grip she had on her hair and she grabbed at her side and slowly made her way to the door.

Beryl grabbed at her head with a shaky hand and suddenly smirked as she looked towards the toilet. She turned her gaze over towards the blonde that was trying leave and she quickly stood to feet and rammed Serena in her back. The blonde flew forward and slammed into the wall and before she could realize what was happening, Beryl had her arm around her throat once again.

Tightening her hold, Beryl dragged Serena across the cold tiled floor as the blonde kicked and clawed at the opposing arm. Dragging the girl into the bathroom stall and towards the toilet, the red head pulled Serena up and quickly grabbed the by the back of her neck and head with both hands and attempted to push her head into toilet water. Fortunately, Serena's reflexes were faster and the young blonde latched both hands on either side of the toilet, desperately trying to fight against Beryl's attempt to drown her.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Mrs. O'neal looked up at the clock, realizing that Serena was taking a long time in the bathroom. Getting the suddenly feeling that something wasn't right, the elementary teacher looked towards her quietly working students, her gaze falling upon Lita as she caught the girl looking up at the clock as well.

"Lita."

The brunette jumped slightly and pouted, figuring that she was getting in trouble for not doing her work. The young girl quietly stood to her feet and she felt some of the students casting glances her way in curiosity. Making her way to her teacher's desk, the girl stood before the desk, looking down questioningly at her teacher.

"Yes?"

The teacher leaned closer towards her student, motioning for the girl to lean in as well. "Can you please go to the bathroom and check on Serena for me?"

Lita suddenly smiled and nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah, I can do that!"

Mrs. O'Neal smiled, handing the child the hall pass. "Thank you."

Lita nodded and quickly exited to the room and Mrs. O'Neal furrowed her brows as she watched as Diamond looked towards Serena's vacant seat and then up at the clock. He frowned slightly as he looked down at his school work as if he was lost in thought; Mrs. O'Neal frowned herself, getting the feeling that something must really be wrong.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Lita tried her hardest not to run as she made her way to the bathroom but she just had to make sure that Serena was okay. The blonde was taking a lot longer than usual and she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Coming to a sliding halt in front of the bathroom door, she pushed it open and her eyes widened in horror as she spotted Beryl trying to shove her best friend's head in the toilet.

An uncontrollable rage suddenly over took the brunette and the girl blacked out.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Serena could feel the sweat rolling down her face and the tears of fear welling in her eyes as she was quickly losing the battle against Beryl and her face was a mere few centimeters away from the toilet water. Just as she was about to give in, she felt Beryl abruptly release her and the blonde rolled away from the toilet, rubbing at the rapidly bruising neck.

She suddenly snapped her head towards the stall's doorway as she heard a thud and her eyes widened as she saw Lita ruthlessly pounding upon Beryl's exposed face. The blonde shivered as she saw the wild crazed look burning in her friend's eyes…it was as if Lita wasn't Lita anymore.

Serena quickly climbed to her feet as she realized that Beryl was no long struggling and Lita had yet to stop her vicious attack. Thinking quickly, the blonde lunged for Lita, pulling the girl roughly away from the unconscious Beryl and held the still swinging brunette tightly.

"Calm down Lita…it's over!" exclaimed Serena desperately trying to get through to Lita as the girl still struggled against her, but the blonde refused to release the girl. It finally took a few minutes before Lita was left spent and laid languidly against the blonde, breathing heavily, finally hearing her friend's soothing words that everything was alright.

Once Serena was sure that her friend wasn't going to try anything, she loosened her hold; Lita quickly crawled towards the sinks, staring down at Beryl's unmoving body, face visibly paling. Serena looked down upon the badly battered red head and she nudged her slightly and didn't receive a response. She shifted, rolling onto her knees and grasped Beryl's shoulder and rolled her towards her and gasped at the girl's bloody face.

Serena shifted wide eyes upon her friend whose eyes were welling with tears. "We need to go get somebody."

Lita shook her head fiercely. "No!"

The blonde frowned. "She's hurt Lita, we need to go get somebody."

"And get in trouble?"

Serena furrowed her brows and looked down at Beryl as the girl slightly stirred. "Let's clean her up…"

Lita smiled with a nod of the head. She stood to her feet and grabbed some paper towels and wet them in the sink. She squatted down and to clean the blood from the red head's face, quickening her speed as Beryl let off a soft groan and began to awaken.

Beryl suddenly shot up, causing both Serena and Lita to jump back. The red head looked around her surroundings cautiously before settling weary eyes on both Serena and Lita. With a snarl she quickly stood to her feet and unsteadily made her way to the sink and scowled as she saw the bloody mess of a face staring back at her. Gritting her teeth she turned on the water and began to splash water on her face as Serena and Lita had their eyes glued on her.

Once Beryl was finished she turned off the water and dried her face with a paper towel and glared down at the two younger girls. The whole left side of her face was nearly purple and swollen badly and you totally see that she was trying her damnedest to hide her pain. On top of that she had three scratches going from one side of her face to the other.

"This isn't over." growled the red head before she turned and stalked out of the bathroom, nearly tripping over her feet on her way out.

When the bathroom door closed, Serena turned to Lita, using the wall for support as she began to fully rise to her feet.

"We need to go."

Lita nodded in agreement, standing to her feet as well. "Yeah we do…are you okay?"

"I will be." muttered Serena as she gritted her teeth. She turned her gaze towards Lita, noticing the blood on her knuckles.

"Wash your hands…we have to make Mrs. O'neal think that nothing is wrong."

Lita nodded, quickly washing her hands. Once they were dried, the brunette turned towards her friend. "Come on…you sure you can walk by yourself?"

"I will have to." whispered the blonde with a wince. "We need to hurry up and get this over with."

With a nod, both girls quickly exited the bathroom, looking down the hallways to make sure Beryl wasn't there. Confirming that the red head was nowhere in sight they both made their way back to their classroom.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Mrs. O'Neal drummed her fingertips upon her desk, trying to decide whether or not she needed to check on Lita and Serena herself. They had been gone for a long time now and she was becoming extremely worried, especially with Diamond constantly looking up at the clock and towards Lita and Serena's empty chairs.

Looking up at the clock once more, she noticed that it was almost time for lunch. Just as she was about to stand to her feet and go find the girls herself, her classroom door opened and both Lita and Serena shuffled themselves into the classroom.

The teacher was about to berate them, but as she stared into Lita's pale face and Serena's bruised face, she bite back her remarks and concern once again overcame her.

"Take your seats…I want to talk to you at the end of school today."

Serena and Lita gulped as their attempt to act as if nothing was wrong blew up in their face. Nodding, both girls made their way to their seat, their classmates staring up at them and beginning to whisper. As Serena made her way to her desk, she and Diamond caught eyes and the young boy's face twisted in anger as he knew what had happened. Gritting his teeth he broke his eyes away from the slightly startled blonde and down at his school work.

Serena furrowed her brows as she stared into Diamond's angry eyes and turned away from him with a deep sigh.

"Great…now I'll probably have to deal with Diamond too." She muttered, making her way to her seat and flopping down heavily into her chair. She sighed once more as she felt Mina, Molly and Amy staring at her intently.

Just as she was about she shrink down in her seat, her teacher stood from her desk, announcing that it was lunchtime. Serena grinned and tried to head to the front of the classroom for the lunch line but her teacher stopped her, pulling both her and Lita to the side. She told the rest of her students to head to the cafeteria and that she would be right behind them. Once the students were gone, Mrs. O'Neal looked down at Lita and Serena.

"After lunch I want the both of you to head to the nurse's station." When the girls nodded, she smiled. "Okay, now go on ahead." She replied escorting both girls out of the room.

Author: Well that's all for now ^_^ Hope you enjoyed and please review!