A/N: First of all, thank you all for your kind reviews and your support of me in the different social media platforms. I truly appreciate it. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others but it has some real milestone moments for Sharon and Rainie. Also, I have made a few timeline changes. I hope you enjoy it.

And of course, I wanna thank my fabulous beta reader and dear friend, blossom-of-snow (bloom-and-grow-forever of FFN).

The bottle of wine looked so appealing to Sharon. She couldn't wait to taste the crispness and dryness of the liquid in her mouth. It was one of those days when she needed a drink to help her decompress and let go of her worries and although she never went past two glasses, and most of the time stayed at one, today had felt like a double serving was necessary. However, the moment she remembered the root of her worry that she wanted to let go of, she realized that drinking would not be a good idea.

The letter. It was disturbing, to say the least. It may not have risen to the level of an actionable threat, but that did not mean that Sharon should dismiss the veiled threat.

As if the threat wasn't disruptive enough, Sharon hated punishing Rainie for something that wasn't her fault. Taking the car keys from Rainie and telling her that she couldn't drive it to school anymore was painful for Sharon. These were small concessions in the light of possible consequences, but they added up. Rainie's freedom and stability were being threatened. And the worst part was that the girl was now aware of Emma's threats to take her out of Sharon's custody.

Oh, Emma. That woman's disregard for Rainie's emotions and her constant frustration with Rainie's living arrangement made Sharon's blood boil. All the young DDA could see was the importance of the Stroh trial. She did not care about Rainie's well-being unless it served her somehow. Her injurious impartiality angered Sharon. It did not take a genius to understand that Rainie's emotional stability was at stake here. Handling her, especially when she was not at her best behavior, required a lot of sensitivity.

Now that the girl received a threatening letter, Sharon was even more worried about her mental state. The school year was over, and Rainie had a two weeks' vacation before starting summer school. Sharon had hoped that they would be able to take a short vacation together that would help the both clear their heads. They have been through so much stress and anguish together during the months they've spent adjusting to one another, and a vacation could help them to relax and take a breather. But the letter changed her mind. While it did not contain an overt threat, it was still an attempt at witness intimidation, and it was likely that Rainie would receive more letters. Sharon wanted to be on top of things, to know if the letters persisted. She couldn't afford to let her guard down, and for the time being the vacation would have to be postponed.

Sharon closed the fridge and sighed. She'll have to settle on another vice, such as ice cream, chocolate or tea. She filled the kettle and turned it on, and then walked down the hall to Rainie's room. The door was open, and Rainie was writing something in her notebook.

"Hi," Sharon said as she stood at the doorway.

"Hi," Rainie replied, her voice barely audible.

"I was wondering if you want to order pizza and watch a movie together," Sharon offered. Rainie raised her head from her notebook.

"I don't feel like eating, or watching a movie," the girl replied, her voice lethargic.

"Alright," Sharon said and looked around the room, noticing the calendar that Rainie hung above her desk. The first day of the summer vacation was highlighted in pink. "Your vacation is starting tomorrow, and I think we should go to the mall and buy you a swimsuit." Rainie shrugged in response. "You know that we have a wonderful swimming pool in the building, right?"

"I don't know how to swim," the girl still didn't look up from her notebook.

"I'll teach you. It's really easy," Sharon tried to sound excited about it, but her attempt at cheerfulness did not seem to have any effect on Rainie.

"I'm really tired. Can you turn the light off?" the girl put the notebook down on her nightstand and crawled into bed.

"Sure," Sharon switched the light in the room off. "Good night." She closed the door behind her. She hated it that Rainie's summer vacation was not going to be as exciting as she had hoped and that despite her involvement in the creative writing club, the girl had not found any friends she could hang out with outside of school. She had hoped the club would be more successful, but only a handful of students joined it, and Rainie didn't really hit it off with any of them. Sharon hoped that the girl would meet a friend or two at summer school, but until it started, she wanted to make the short summer vacation feel less gloomy.

Sharon walked back to the kitchen and made a cup of tea and carried it to the living room and then returned to the kitchen and pulled an ice cream tub out of the freezer. She grabbed a spoon from the cutlery drawer and went to the living room. Rainie may have not needed the distraction, but Sharon definitely did. She turned the television on and chose 10 Things I Hate About You from the DVR list. Emily had always liked this particular one, and even though Sharon had seen parts of it here and there, she's never seen the whole film. It was time to see what Emily's excitement was all about. She was surprised, however, when twenty minutes into the film she heard steps down the hall and Rainie emerged into the living room.

"Is it too loud?" Sharon asked.

"No, I… uh, I can't sleep," Rainie said and walked towards the couch.

"Grab a spoon," Sharon said before the girl sat down. Rainie went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a ladle.

"Do you think that's big enough?" she asked. Sharon paused the movie and turned backward. She couldn't hold back her laughter when she saw Rainie holding up the ladle. "I always say 'go big or go home.'"

"You are home, sweetie," Sharon said, only half-joking.

"Does it still mean I can't go big?" Rainie wondered.

"Well, not if you want the spoon to fit in the pint," Sharon smiled. She knew Rainie had a good sense of humor, even though the girl hasn't shown it that often. Rainie went back to the kitchen and returned with a real spoon this time. She took a seat next to Sharon who passed her the ice cream tub.

"Oh my God! You ate half of it!" Rainie gasped.

"I did not!" Sharon responded. Rainie narrowed her eyes and gave her a faux-stern look. "Okay, maybe I did," she admitted. She liked it when Rainie was in a goofy mood, and she normally played along. So often, she had to walk on eggshells when she spoke to Rainie, and it was exhausting. Moments like this made her feel like everything was normal, even though she was well aware that the mood could become serious again at any moment.

"Which movie is it?" Rainie asked.

"10 Things I Hate About You," Sharon replied.

"I've never watched this one," the girl said.

"Let me rewind so you can watch from the beginning," Sharon grabbed the remote.

Rainie stopped her. "No, don't. It's not such a big deal," Sharon gave her a quick nod and put the remote down. They watched silently, occasionally passing the ice cream tub between them. It was towards the middle of the movie that Sharon felt Rainie resting her head against her shoulder.

"Are you tired?" she asked softly.

"No," Rainie's voice was a barely a whisper. "I just feel… comfortable here, with you." The girl snuggled closer to Sharon. "Please don't send me away."

"Why would I want to do that?" Sharon asked and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"To keep me safe," Rainie responded.

"You're perfectly safe here," Sharon smiled at the girl.

Rainie thanked her, even though Sharon wasn't sure what the gratitude was for. She never had any intention of sending the girl away. Emma was not going to dictate Sharon's choices, and she was fully equipped to protect the girl if necessary. That Rainie even felt threatened by the option of being removed from Sharon's custody worried her. Did this girl really think that Sharon would give her up at the first sign of trouble? Didn't she prove that she would stick with her no matter what? It was devastating to realize how frail Rainie was. She paused the movie and turned to look at the girl.

"Rainie, this is your home. This is where you belong. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Rainie's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.

Sharon was relieved to see the girl's features slowly relaxing as the idea of having a safe home finally dawned on her. She knew that Rainie was still far from fully trusting her. One promise couldn't undo the years of neglect and abuse the girl has suffered, but it would be the first brick in the road they would walk together. Sharon knew that one brick would not mean much in the long run, but for now, it was a good start.

-TBC-

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