A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews and messages.
Some readers wondered about Claire Wineland, the girl I mentioned in the notes of my last chapter. Claire was a brave young woman with Cystic Fibrosis who had a YouTube channel and created a foundation to help other people living with CF. Even though she recently passed away, I encourage you to check out her YouTube and take a look at her Twitter. You can also get to know her life story through an episode of "My Last Days" that she filmed. I am sure you will be inspired.
But that is not related to this chapter in any way. This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but it's a meaningful one (at least to me). I hope you enjoy reading it.

Sharon tapped her pen against her notepad as she read Assistant Chief Taylor's memo about budget cuts and reducing overtime. She sighed, wondering how he expected her division to operate if she cuts down on their hours. She also wondered how she should explain to her team that they couldn't have the coffee and snacks they liked in the breakroom because Taylor has reduced their refreshments budget. Oh, this was going to be an unpleasant conversation.

A knock on her door made her raise her gaze from the memo as Buzz opened the door and poked his head in. Sharon motioned for him to enter and he walked into her office. His expression held a lot of concern.

"Captain," he said, his voice low. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, Buzz. How can I help you?" she asked. She had hoped that he wasn't about to quit, as he often seemed unsatisfied working in her squad, especially since she asked him to help Rainie with her homework.

"It's about Rainie," he elaborated. "She's been looking at photos of Brianna Mathis, and she's been getting upset, lashing out at Kris," he explained.

Sharon's fingers dropped her pen.

"I sent them to the super cubicle, but I think you might want to talk to her about it."

"Thank you, Buzz, I appreciate your concern. I'll talk to Rainie about it after Kris leaves." Sharon promised.

"If there's any way I can help," he offered.

"No, thank you, Buzz. I've got this." Sharon gave him an encouraging smile, even though her stomach was churning at the similarity of Brianna's background to Rainie's. No wonder the girl got upset by the photos of Brianna's body. Those photos were upsetting even for seasoned police detectives. Sharon felt a little queasy when she saw them for the first time and had to take a moment to compose herself.

Sharon was pacing around the office while reading new information her team gathered when she passed by the super cubicle. She noticed Kris putting her books away and zipping her backpack and exchanged a few pleasantries with her before the girl left the murder room.

"How's it going?" she asked and pulled the chair in front of Rainie.

"We finished reading 'All My Sons', so I guess we're making a good progress," Rainie replied.

"Did you like it?" Sharon asked, trying to think of a way to approach the heavier conversation they were about to have.

"It's okay," Rainie shrugged.

Sharon nodded. She vaguely remembered the play from the time Ricky studied it in high school.

"I know spending time here, you're exposed to the things that we do and the cases that we handle," she decided to take the direct approach. "As a detective, I often have to distance myself from what happens to the victims of the crimes in order to investigate their murders. It makes it easier for me to deal with all the evilness that I encounter." She looked at Rainie, trying to decipher what her thoughts were, but the girl's face was blank. "And sometimes some cases hit close to home."

"You're talking about Brianna?" Rainie asked.

Sharon hummed affirmatively.

"I won't deny that I can see some similarity between your situation and hers," Sharon admitted. "But Brianna didn't follow the rules. She let it slip that she was an FBI informant, and as a result, she was murdered to keep her quiet."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sharon could see terror spreading across Rainie's face like a dark shadow that hovered above her.

"Because I know how scary it is to see someone in a situation so similar to yours end up like this, and I want to assure you that as long as you follow the rules we set, then you are safe," Sharon explained. "It's important to me that you know that."

"I do," Rainie said.

Sharon was surprised that the girl didn't have any questions and didn't attempt to share how she felt about the case the Major Crimes Division was currently investigating. Rainie usually opened up about things that worried her, and this time, she remained quiet. Sharon wondered if it was because she took all of her stress out of Kris.

"Thank you, Sharon."

"It's my pleasure." For the first time that day, Sharon allowed herself to smile unabashedly. She pushed the chair back and grabbed the file that she read earlier. "Burgers for dinner?" she offered.

Rainie nodded, a soft smile gracing her features.

"Great, I'll finish off going over the evidence, and then we can leave," Sharon said and walked back to her office.

Sharon couldn't be more relieved to close the Brianna Mathis case. She couldn't deny that even after the conversation with Rainie about it, the case still got to her, and the photos which her team was filing away disturbed her. Seeing Brianna's beaten face reminded her of the night Daniel Dunn beat Rainie. And even though she tried to stop thinking of Brianna and Rainie as one being, she couldn't shake the fear that something wasn't quite right with Rainie. She knew that Rainie was going to talk to Kris and tell her about her short-lived relationship with Chris, and it was undoubtedly weighing on her. She could understand how hard it was for Rainie, especially considering the fact that she seemed to have feelings for Kris.

What Sharon did not expect was to see Kris sobbing and rushing out of the murder room. Rainie followed her and was visibly upset. When she couldn't catch up with Kris, she returned to the super cubicle, and Sharon noticed she was wiping her eyes as well. She expected a better reaction from Kris about the relationship between Rainie and Chris, especially because it has been so short. But an infatuated teenager might be less forgiving than an adult person. Sharon felt like she received a punch to the center of her chest, and her heart struggled to contain everything she felt. Rainie wanted so badly to keep her friends, and now it appeared like she lost both. Sharon couldn't help but wonder if her advice to come clean was a bad one. She truly thought that Rainie would at least manage to preserve her friendship with Kris and that the other girl was smart enough to understand the complex situation Rainie found herself in. Unfortunately, she was in the middle of a meeting with Special Agent Shaw and was not able to leave her office in order to comfort Rainie.

It was much later that evening when she and Rainie were on their way home that she had the chance to ask, but Rainie declared that she didn't want to talk about it.

"If you change your mind about it, you can always talk to me," Sharon said, and Rainie shrugged. For a moment her behavior reminded Sharon of the girl's first week with her when every attempt Sharon made to get closer to her was met with a thick brick wall. All she could do was to leave a door open for Rainie, in case she wanted to unload her burden. However, throughout the evening, the girl remained tight-lipped about the fight with Kris, and Sharon feared that interfering any further might damage Rainie's trust in her. She needed the girl's trust in order to keep making sure that she was healthy and safe. Maybe it was time for her to give Rainie some space to figure out how to handle the situation on her own. Sharon had to believe that Rainie knew she was going to be there for her no matter what.

-TBC-

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts about this chapter, so feel free to leave a review or send me a PM.