"He gave me a choice," the girl sobbed now alone with Lilly.

"Baby Girl, you always have a choice. What's your name?

"I'm okay with Baby Girl."

"You want a new identity, huh? Fine, okay - Baby Girl. How old are you anyway?" She laughed heartily.

"Old enough…"

"Old enough for what, babe?"

"Stuff."

"Well, okay. Where's your mom?"

"Gone."

"You don't talk much, do you? Fine. Where are you staying? If your lost, I'll walk you back."

"I ran away."

"Why? What are you going to do? I bet your mom's worried sick."

"She doesn't know."

"Oh Baby Girl, I'm sure she'd notice you're gone." Getting only a shrug, Lilly continued, "I know I would be." She was acknowledged with a smile this time, so she ventured, "Where are you staying?" Another shrug was her only answer. This kid obviously didn't want her life right now. Raising the girl from her squatting position, she dragged her in the direction of her bungalow-like home. "Come on you can stay here tonight."

"I'm sure your mom wouldn't like that."

"She won't mind, believe me. Anyway, I'll call the cops tomorrow. They'll find-"

"No! I can find my own way. I'm not going back."

And she didn't. For nearly two month she stayed with Lilly. She learned a lot about 'Baby Girl' in her stay. She had nightmares - bad ones. It reminded Lilly of her own dreams. When she was attacked, it was the only thoughts to occupy her REM sleep. Now they were nearly none existent. She didn't really dream. She tried to hide the memories of her past, but sometimes in her subconscious, they were forced through to her dreams. Gone but not completely forgotten, like Baby Girl in a way. She had found her way into her heart and left like all the others; forced or not.

Baby Girl would only be alone with one member of the opposite sex, and that was Billy. He had said the right thing that day. He let her be in control. He let her decide. And she obviously needed it. Something had happened to Baby Girl. It explained a lot of her displacement and seclusion. The fourth day, however, she smiled. The sixth, she laughed. By the eighth she told Lilly she was in foster care. Her mom was in prison, and Lilly knew to leave it there.

Baby Girl seemed genuinely content and happy with her new life. She was now part of Lilly's family, and it seemed that these ways had always been. She had turned from the lost, helpless girl she once was. She communicated and learnt of the realities on the harsh Philadelphia streets. Lilly herself was a tomboy. Her sister, Chris, behaved like a call girl. Yet, Baby Girl still was the cleaver and innocent girl, she had been know for at the start. She even taught Lilly a thing or two.

Above all, Lilly was glad that her friend - no 'sister' - that's what she had become. She was glad her sister was staying true to who she was inside, instead of completely throwing her whole past away. Baby Girl lacked self confidence, and like Lilly, believed that she was not pretty. She obviously was. Everyone agreed…well the one's who weren't jealous of course. Lilly did not think of herself as pretty until Elisa told her so. She always believe it was cheap lines after Patrick. Still worked with Kite though…

Time heals all wounds though. Well at least makes a shot at patching then up, even if there are a few cracks for memories to seep through, in a moment of weakness. And also, with time, Baby Girl's confidence started to grow. Lilly didn't know if it was a re-building, or if it was merely the encouragement for her to believe in herself, that sprouted a sudden change. Either way, it helped tremendously on the streets. Then again, so did the combat practise the girls taught themselves.

"Baby Girl?"

"Yeah, Lil." She looked up from the books she loved to read.

"If you 'aint goin' no-where… are you gonna tell me your name?"

"I told you, Baby Girl's fine."

"Yeah, but when you're twenty, you don't wanna still be called Baby Girl do ya?" No broadcasts for a missing girl had come through. It seemed no one wanted this girl, and she damned well wasn't going to let anyone else feel that way.

"Guess not…How about… Ummm…I don't know."

"Well what's your name? I could just all you that."

"How bout Bridget? That's got a B and G in it."

"Oh, Baby Girl. What am I going to do with you?" She laughed. There seemed to be a lot more of that flying around since Baby Girl turned up; which was unusual. She wasn't the laughing type when she first arrived.

She continued calling the brunette Baby Girl. It was more fitting somehow, and it seemed that she preferred it that way anyway. The feeling that she now belonged somewhere sank into Baby Girl, and she was completely joyful. She was part of a family again, and, one that didn't rage into insanity. She was at peace. That was, until, a tall and scrawny boy caught up with her, a little over a month of her being there.