Sara cried silently as she relieved the horrors of her past to Jesse and Becky, who were horrified over everything this young girl had been through in her short life. Never had they expected Sara's past to be as traumatic and frightening as what Sara had just told them. At only 9 years old, Sara had endured physical and emotional, as well as an occasion of sexual abuse. She had gone through her entire life searching for acceptance, attention and especially love from the only people she had to give it to her, but received nothing. Jesse and Becky were too shocked for words as Sara sat quietly, waiting for some kind of response.

"Sara, we're sorry." Was all Jesse could find to say at that moment. As the three sat in silence, Sara felt an overwhelming weight lifted from her shoulders, sensing she had done the right thing, and felt so much better after telling them. Though now she feared how they would react. Will they regret adopting me now that they know the truth? She thought.

"Sara, I don't really know what to say, except that you deserved none of that to happen to you. You're such an amazing girl, and you deserved so much better. You still do. No little girl should have to go through life wondering why her parents don't love her, or pay attention to her. No little girl should have to deal with any of the things you had to deal with. What happened to you left you feeling abandoned and betrayed. Now you feel like you can't trust anybody, but that's not true. There are good people in this world that will not hurt you. Jesse and I will never hurt you, we can promise you that. We love you so much Sara, and we will never leave you. You're too special, and we want to share our lives with you for the rest of your life." Becky said quietly and soothingly. Sara stared at Becky through glazed eyes, finally believing every word she was saying.

"Your parents really hurt you kiddo, but we won't. All we want is for you to be happy and we want you to know all the time that you're loved. Even if you get into trouble, or bring home a report card with all F's, we're still gonna love you because you've become our daughter and we're always gonna care for you." Jesse said, and Sara looked into his deep brown eyes, and believed him too. She couldn't believe how much had changed in just a half an hour, but as she stared into the eyes of Jesse and Becky, the people who had adopted her, she saw for the first time in her whole life, a mom and adad who would give her everything her real mom and dad would never give her. Something she desperately longed for from her parents was right in front of her now, in Jesse and Becky. Parents who would love her always, unconditionally, for the rest of her life, despite mistakes she would make. Sara looked up as she saw Becky holding her arms out carefully, looking at Sara with a small smile. Sara hesitated, but longed to be held; longed to be loved. She couldn't hide behind her anger or fears any longer. She fell into Becky's arms, and cried so much. Jesse joined them, wrapping his arms around his wife and his new daughter, and held on tightly. The three remained embraced for a long time, giving Sara a sense of safety she had never felt before.

In that moment, she knew she had found her place; her home.

After midnight, Jesse and Becky walked through the front doors of their house to find Danny sitting on the couch, with a cup of coffee. Sara wandered in shyly behind the couple and stared at Danny, who smiled carefully at her.

"You okay Sara?" He asked. Sara smiled shyly and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She said quietly. Danny nodded. Becky put her arm around Sara and began leading her upstairs.

"You must be exhausted." Becky whispered, hoping not to wake anybody in the house. Sara stifled a yawn and nodded. She felt so tired, and knew it was from all of the emotions she had let out that night, something she hadn't done in four years. As the couple and Sara made their way to the attic, a door opened quietly and Stephanie walked out into the hallway in a blue robe. Sara looked at her and Stephanie smiled a little.

"I couldn't sleep. I knew I wouldn't fall asleep until I knew you were okay." Stephanie admitted. Sara smiled.

"I'm alright Stephanie." She whispered, knowing that she had made a true friend in Stephanie. Sara approached her new friend and gave her a hug.

"Are you okay?" Steph whispered secretly, so that Jesse and Becky wouldn't hear them. Sara nodded.

"I am now." She admitted, feeling more confident in herself. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

Jesse and Becky followed Sara into her bedroom as Sara fell onto her bed, without changing into her pajamas. Jesse and Becky smiled.

"I knew you were getting tired." Jesse said with a smirk, but there was no response from Sara. She had fallen asleep within seconds. Becky smiled at her husband, and pulled Sara's covers over her, and leaned over, giving her a goodnight kiss. Jesse took Becky's hand and led her out of the room, shutting the door quietly as they tiptoed out of the room. Becky wrapped her arms around her husband and squeezed him tightly.

"You okay?" Jesse asked. Becky looked at him.

"I've never been better. Jesse, she's been through so much, and I think it will take her a lot of time to overcome the pain, but she's taken the first step. She talked to us; she opened up after four years of keeping it inside. She's going to be fine, I know it. We're all going to be fine now." Becky said with a smile. Jesse kissed his wife.

"You're right." He said. "We're a family, and we can overcome anything as long as we stick together."

That night, Sara had a familiar nightmare where she relieved the day her mom and dad left her, and Sara ran through her old house, screaming for somebody to help her. Usually, her nightmare would end with her falling through a great hole, with nobody to pull her out, but this time, something different happened. As the tiled floor of her old house opened up, ready to pull her into the deep pit of her past, to keep her locked there forever, two hands reached out and pulled her out, saving her from the horrors of her past. She looked into the eyes of her two saviors, Jesse and Becky Katsoppolus.

They had freed her, and they were going to protect her from now on.

The End!

Thank you everyone who has read and reviewed my story. It took a long time, especially after it got deleted, but I kept going. I couldn't have done it without your support. I'm thinking about doing a sequel but I need ideas. Any ideas from you awesome people?

God bless

Chrissy M. Dennis