Disclaimer: Updating this at 1am because I have insomnia and sleeping is not something that I do.

Chapter 28:

After arriving home and tucking Hotaru into bed, Setsuna and Michiru had gone to bed themselves.

While Setsuna had fallen asleep fairly easily, Michiru was finding it difficult to. She couldn't stop thinking about Haruka and she was missing her terribly.

It soon seemed though that she was not the only one who missed the tall blonde as her bedroom door creaked open.

"What is it hime-chan?"

Michiru asked, knowing even in the darkness who was at the door.

"Can I sleep in here with you tonight?"

"Sure."

Michiru then made room for Hotaru on the bed and she climbed into it. Hotaru then snuggled in close to her Michiru-mama.

"I miss Haruka-papa."

Hotaru's voice was filled with sadness and Michiru hugged her close.

"I miss her too hime-chan. We all do. Right now though she's where she needs to be."

"I know, I just wish she could be here with us."

"Me too hime-chan, me too."

"Why did she try to kill herself anyway?"

Michiru let out a long exhale. She had a feeling Hotaru would ask that question, but she was hoping she wouldn't be the one to answer it.

"Your Haruka-papa has been in a very dark place as of late. She was tired of hurting and wanted the pain to go away."

"Did I do something to make her feel that way?"

"Of course not, and don't you ever think that you have."

"I wish Haruka-papa would go back to the way she used to be."

"We all wish that, hime-chan. Hopefully with the right help she will."

"Will I be able to see her again before she gets out of the hospital?"

"Maybe. I'll call the doctor in the morning and ask if it would be okay for you to see her."

Hotaru gave off a small smile at the possibility of getting to see her Haruka-papa.

Michiru smiled as well. Glad to see that her little girl was happy.

"Hime-chan, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"At the hospital when you were saying goodbye to Haruka, why did you call her daddy instead of Haruka-papa?"

Hotaru looked away from Michiru and blushed slightly.

"Well that's basically what she is to me, but I won't say it again if you don't want me to."

"It's okay, hime-chan. I see nothing wrong with you wanting to call Haruka daddy instead of Haruka-papa."

"Do you think she'd be okay with it?"

"I'm sure she would. Do you remember how she reacted to you calling her Haruka-papa for the first time?"

"Yeah, she was really happy and she said it made her feel special."

Hotaru then let out a soft yawn.

"It's getting late, let's try to get some sleep."

Michiru then tucked Hotaru in and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, hime-chan."

"Goodnight."

Soon they were both fast asleep.

Meanwhile back at the hospital, Haruka had just woken up.

"Ah, so I see you're awake finally."

A nurse that came to check on Haruka said.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You cut yourself up pretty bad. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, just a little woozy. When can I go home?"

"In three days. The doctor wants to keep you here for a psychiatric evaluation. Once the three days are up and if it is decided you are no longer a threat to yourself, you will then be released into the care of your father."

Haruka instantly paled at the mention of going to live with her father.

"Are you okay dear? You don't look so good."

Haruka was unable to answer though as she was starting to hyperventilate.

"Hey, hey calm down. It's going to be okay."

The nurse said. Haruka wasn't calming down though and her heart rate was rapidly increasing. The nurse immediately called for help.

"What's going on?"

The doctor asked, noticing the state that Haruka was in.

"I'm not sure. I told her she'd be here for three days and then be released to the care of her father if it was decided she was no longer a threat to herself, and she suddenly became very pale."

"I see."

The doctor then turned his attention to Haruka.

"Haruka, Haruka I'm going to need you take a deep breath and calm down for me, okay?"

It was a struggle, but Haruka managed to do what the doctor asked of her.

"Alright now, what's wrong?"

"Please don't send me to my dad."

Haruka's voice was full of fear and she was trembling.

"Why don't you want us to send you to him?"

"I don't want him to hurt me."

"He's hurt you?"

Haruka nodded her head.

"How would he hurt you?"

"He used to hit me and yell at me, and he would...he would…"

"He would what? What would he do?"

Haruka broke down, unable to answer the doctor's question.

As he sat there watching her cry her eyes out, he got a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Haruka, did your father...did her ever abuse you sexually?"

Haruka's only response was to just cry harder, and the doctor immediately knew the answer.

"Oh god, he was here."

The nurse said, looking mortified.

"What?! Why was he here?"

"Don't you remember, sir? Hospital policy states that if a minor is brought in we have to contact a parent or guardian. So I did, and then he came to visit her."

"We have got to get that damn policy changed."

The doctor then turned his attention back to Haruka.

"Haruka, have you ever told anyone else about your father?"

Haruka gave a nod.

"Who else did you tell."

"One of my best friends and my girlfriend."

"Did you ever report him to the authorities?"

Haruka shook her head.

"Why did you never go to the authorities?"

Haruka shrugged her shoulders and cried harder. The sounds of pain and anguish ripped through her throat.

"Shh, shh it's going to be okay."

The doctor said, speaking in a soft voice as he rubbed Haruka's back. He then picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

"It's okay, it's all going to be okay. I won't let him hurt you."

"What are we going to do sir. Since what her father did was never reported he still has his parental rights to her. Therefore, by law we have to release her to his care."

"I'd rather lose my license. There's no way in hell I'm going to put an innocent child in danger."

"Well we could report him, but it's a long shot because we have no physical evidence of him abusing her. They might not take anyone's word for it that he did."

"Damn, you're right. I'm still not going to send her to him though. Does she have anyone else that she'd be safe with?"

"Well Setsuna Meiou is listed as her guardian. And she was here when Haruka was first brought in. However, she's not an official guardian."

"How is that possible?"

"Well she's not her foster mom or anything like that. She's just an adult that Haruka lives with."

"How did she come to gain guardianship of Haruka then?"

"I'm not sure. But sir, seeing as how she is not an official guardian and the authorities do not know of the past of Haruka's father, by law we have to release her to his care."

"Who the fuck came up with this shitty law?"

"I'm not sure, sir. Unfortunately that's how things work. Social services will often times not remove a child from their home, unless there is physical evidence that the child is being abused."

"Then how the hell was she removed from his home this time, if he was never reported?"

"He left."

A small voice mumbled. The doctor then looked to see that Haruka was half awake.

"What do you mean he left?"

"When I was 14, he left me five dollars and note telling me I was on my own. I lived on my own for a little while, before Setsuna took me in. She's be like a mom to me ever since."

Haruka then yawned loudly, before falling asleep once again. The doctor then took her and tucked her back into bed.

"I don't care what the law says, she's not going to live with that monster. Not now, not ever."

End of chapter 28:

A/N: Conked out halfway through writing this, but I least I managed to finish it when I woke up. I also based the nurse's knowledge of social services on my own. I still remember being 6 years old and pleading with social services to remove me from the abusive foster home I was in. They didn't though because there was no physical evidence that I was being abused. I still have nightmares to this day about extension cords. But enough about that, the next chapter will probably be up later today. So until next time, this is PokémonSoulMaster93 signing out.