Chapter Two

Something is Not Right

Addison woke up with a start hearing the thunder rolling. Turning over and squinting at the alarm clock at her bedside she registers the time and wonders why she was awake. It was after 4am and something just felt off. Her husband was working the night shift so he wouldn't be home for another 4 hours. Normally on nights like this she slept soundly in their big bed and only woke briefly when he slipped in beside her. Assuming the storm interrupted her sleep, Addison lets out a yawn and decides maybe a cup of tea would soothe her back into dreamland.

As she is making her way towards the stairs she hears a key in the lock and the front door opening. She furrows her brow in confusion and hurries her steps, making her way downstairs quickly. Only a few people outside of Derek and herself had keys to their brownstone, and her husband was quite obviously at work. She was pretty sure Mark had mentioned having a date tonight and he was probably off getting laid. The last option was her youngest sister-in-law Amelia, who was only 14 and was unlikely to be out on her own this late.

That said, Addison knew the youngest Shepherd often found herself in trouble, and had been having a particularly rough year. Regardless, the redhead had always felt connected to her husband's much younger sibling, and loved her so much, almost like she was her own. She hoped that when her and Derek had kids, if they had kids, they'd be just as sweet and caring as that young girl Addison met nearly 3 years prior. Amelia was the reason Addison realized she wanted to be a mother.

Despite her confusion, Addison had gathered by hearing the key in the lock and the careful footsteps that she wasn't dealing with an unknown intruder. As she descends the stairs she can hear two hushed distressed voices in her foyer and recognizes them immediately.

"Amelia? Mark?" She asks, surprised. "How the - what is going on?" She demands. A creeping sensation of dread comes over her as she sees both of them standing there dripping wet. Both not wearing very many layers.

Mark glances at Amelia briefly before he responds.

"She ran away, got caught sleeping in the park by the cops, and gave them my address. Once they left she tried to run away again." He sighed, reaching over to squeeze Amelia's ice cold hand.

"Addie, she's completely sober." He states firmly. "But, she's scared to go home and you're the only person I know she trusts completely and she needs help. She needs to warm up; she's practically ice." He pauses, looking her in the eye. "So will you? Can you help?"

Addison swears she can feel her heart break seeing her sister so broken. She agrees without hesitation, meeting Mark's eyes with understanding and determination; her maternal instincts kicking in.

"Oh Amy, come here. You're staying right here with me at least for tonight, and after that we will figure something out." She reaches out, wrapping her arms around the shivering girl. Amelia looked so much younger than her 14 years at that moment, and she felt impossibly tiny and frail as she wilted into Addison's embrace. She seemed so defeated by life and the two young adults in the room shared a pained look as that realty struck them both.

"Come on sweetie. Let's get you into a nice hot bath and into some warm dry clothes, okay?" Addie cooes softly, stroking Amelia's wet hair away from her forehead and leading her to the stairs, an arm wrapped securely around her, all thoughts of tea now long forgotten.

"Mark? Take a shower in the guest bedroom and crash here tonight. It's too late and too dangerous to even consider going back home." She throws over her shoulder, making sure Mark knew it wasn't an offer but rather a demand.

Mark visibly relaxes now that he knows his sister is safe. Addison is the one person who has never even attempted to turn their back on little Amy. Even Derek as of late had grown too hardened and scarred by Amelia's youthful mistakes to love her through them.

As Mark heads to the guest room on the main floor, a room that was primarily reserved for him, he finally allows himself to relax.

Addie takes Amy upstairs to the ensuite in the master bedroom and sits the young girl down on the closed toilet lid before turning on the taps for the bath, letting the hot water fill up the tub.

"Can you get in by yourself or do you want me to help?" She asks carefully, unsure and tentative around the scared teenager. She doesn't want Amelia to be offended by her offers to help, but she decides she would rather have the girl feel embarrassed by being coddled, than the alternative of feeling unloved and unprotected.

The tiny brunette shrugs noncommittally, once again staring at the floor, having already shut down.

Addie sighs and with slow gentle hands, she helps Amelia out of the sopping wet clothes that drape her icey cold, pale white skin. Once she is undressed, Addison carefully grips her forearms and helps her step into the bath.

As soon as she's seated, Amelia instinctively brings her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, resting her chin on top. Her huge blue eyes find Addison's and a pained whimper escapes her before she can stop herself.

"Shh... You're okay honey. I've got you now. Everything's going to be fine." Addison soothed, grabbing a washcloth from underneath the sink and kneeling next to the bathtub. She gently dips the cloth into the warm water and carefully washes away any remnants of the park, the rain, and the tears..

Not wanting to have the girl linger too long in the water and risk catching another chill, Addison grabbed two big fluffy towels from the cabinet behind her and helped Amelia out of the tub, wrapping her in one towel while she dried the teen's chestnut brown hair with the other. She noticed Amelia slowly starting to lean her weight on her more and more as exhaustion set in.

When she's mostly dry Addie leads her back into the master bedroom and grabs some of her own PJs for her to change into; selecting a long sleeved Giants t-shirt she stole from Derek years before, and the smallest pair of sweatpants she owns. She knew she could have gone down the hall and found some of the clothes her sister in law kept there, more like Addison had an entire wardrobe just for the girl, But her instincts told her not to leave Amelia alone right now.

By the time she's gathered the clothing Amelia is half asleep sitting up in her towel, eyelids drooping against her will, body swaying slightly with the effort of staying upright on the bed.

Addison helps her into the clothes before peeling back the covers of her bed and tucking her in. When she goes to stand up, only to turn off the bathroom lights, Amelia frantically grabs for her hand and holds on tight.

"I am not leaving you sweetheart. I'm just turning off the lights. I'm coming right back." She promises, bending to press a kiss to Amelia's forehead, noting that she feels a bit warm but deciding to blame it on the bath.

After clicking the lights and softly closing the bedroom door, Addison climbs into her bed and takes the younger girl into her arms, holding her close. They'd talk in the morning. Derek will be pissed that she's here at first, but Addison will deal with that later. For now, at least she is safe and not on the streets or god knows where.

It wasn't unusual for Addison to have her surrogate baby sister spend the night in her bed. Addison had always recognized how lonely Amelia felt even surrounded by her own family, and so whenever she could, she kept the girl close. Often Derek would complain about his sister spending the night in their bed, but ultimately he always ended up giving in, joining them, and falling asleep himself.

She lays there watching the girl sleep. Unaware of how much time had truly passed. She was worried about the young girl. In the short 3 years she's been a part of her life she knew this wasn't her. This broken girl wasn't the full of life girl that got into mischief. The girl that believed in unicorns. She wanted to strangle her mother-in-law if she was being honest. Carolyn had checked out on her youngest child some time ago, effectively letting her slip through the cracks. Amelia wasn't like the other siblings. She needed someone more patient, more attentive and someone willing to listen and give her the support she deserved.

Addison had never asked, but she had her suspicions that after the passing of their father, their mother never took the time to get Derek, and especially Amelia, the professional help they likely needed to learn how to cope.

She's startled from her reverie, hearing someone call her name, and looks toward the bedroom door. "Derek? You're home already?" She asks, surprised to see him off early from work. He nods, frowning, eyeing the sleeping brunette in his bed.

"What's she doing here?" He asks harshly, moving towards the closet to change. Addie sighs knowing a fight was brewing, and she hoped she could prevent it.

"It's a long story and I don't have all the details. From my understanding she was found in a park sleeping, in the middle of a thunderstorm at 2:30 in the morning. They brought her to Mark's who brought her here. She's completely sober, Derek. But, she is so broken. I had to physically move and bathe her because she's emotionally shut down." Addison reveals, pausing as she feels herself getting choked up.

"She needs our help right now. She is still just a child. She is sober now and she can absolutely stay in recovery and put the past behind her - if we support her when she needs us most. You are her big brother, her protector, and you need to put your own feelings aside to help her." Addie whispers hoping he'd understand, or at least agree to think about it. She was exhausted but couldn't bring herself to sleep, not knowing what the young girl's mental state would be like when she woke up.

"Please Derek, I don't want to argue. Just come lay down and we can all talk after we get some sleep. Please." She begs.

Derek rubs his face sighing. Deciding it wasn't worth a fight right now he climbs into bed turning off the light surrounding the three of them into darkness.

He lays there trying to sleep, his mind racing with thoughts. Thoughts about what brought the teenager there. Just when feels himself starting to drift off, he's jolted awake by a shrill scream coming from his baby sister.

End Chapter.

Chapter Title: Something is Not Right from Madeline the animated series (possibly other variations as well but this is what I found on youtube)

Making a playlist if anyone is interested.