We left off with:

"Open the door you little brat!"

It was the Dottore.

Scipio's jaw clenched, as did his fists. For a moment, Rae thought that he wouldn't open the door. His shoulders tensed, his eyes flashed… But he turned; eyes ablaze with cold fury. Scipio gritted his teeth and turned back to the door, every aspect of his posture and expression screaming hatred. He gripped the doorknob and opened the door just enough to be able to see through the space with his right eye.

"It's open. What?" he asked darkly.

The door was thrown open and Scipio was pushed shoved backwards violently, only just managing to keep his footing. "What was the meaning of that comment?" the Dottore roared at his son. Rae didn't know what comment he was talking about, but it was probably something she hadn't been present for. "Tell me, you godforsaken brat!" Rae shuddered as the Dottore's voice swept over her.

Although Scipio did not cringe, Rae could see that he was ready to jump out of the way of an attack. "I thought you were smart. You know what I meant. You know exactly what I meant!" Scipio said, his voice dripping with venomous hatred and a cold amusement that sent chills down Rae's spine. The Dottore's face was turning deeper red with every breath Scipio took, and Rae's could practically see the sparks flying from the Dottore's eyes.

Scip, stop it before it's too late!

"You will do as I say! I will not have you turning out like--like…" The Dottore's voice was rising, and so was the danger. Don't say anything, Scipio! Rae pleaded silently. She didn't want her friend to send his father over the edge.

"Like you?" Scipio spat.

From behind the curtains, Rae saw something snap in the Dottore. There were no words, but she didn't need words to understand the horrid things the Dottore was thinking. The Dottore's fist connected solidly with Scipio's left cheek, the man's entire weight behind it. Scipio collapsed, gasping, and a white, shaking hand flew up to his face. He pulled his fingers away; they were sticky with blood. An old wound had opened again with the force of the blow. Rae almost cried out, but it caught in her chest as the curtains fluttered open slightly. Scipio's dark eyes shot up and met hers, mirroring her terror in their black depths.

A polished shoe swung towards Scipio's head, and Rae closed her eyes, backing away. Her hands clamped down over her ears, but the sickening Crack! seemed to penetrate into her very heart. The cry of pain that followed the blow simply shattered her, and her lip trembled. Tears streamed down her face, incited by the horrible things the Dottore shouted at Scipio's unconscious form, as he continued to kick the poor, limp boy.

She couldn't stand staying there, unable to do anything while running the risk of getting caught. Shaking, she stumbled to the edge of the balcony and swung off, landing on the wall—which was wet. Her sneaker slipped on the slick stone and she fell onto the cobblestones below with a loud thud and a burst of stars.

A sob ripped from her throat and she wiped at her face furiously. Shasta whined urgently and slunk out from the shadows.

This isn't the place to cry, Rae told herself, pushing herself up. Not here, not here, she repeated as she hurried back to the Stella.

When she finally got back to the Stella, she pounded on the door and waited. It was raining hard, washing away her tears and numbing her face. Both the girl and her dog looked like they'd been drowned in the canal, Prosper noticed as he opened the door. Mosca and Riccio peered around him.

"Rae! What happened?" Prosper asked, eyes wide in shock. "Why're you crying?"

Rae stumbled past, shaking her head and sending droplets of rain flying. She whimpered softly, scrubbing her cheeks. She did not go to the auditorium room, or anywhere she knew Bo and Hornet would be. Instead she found the stairwell and went inside. As Mosca and Riccio began bombarding her with questions, she slammed the door in their faces and locked it. Prosper, seemingly understanding that she needed to be alone at the moment, reprimanded his two friends.

Shasta went on ahead, leaving a trail of water behind him. Rae trudged her way up the stairs and finally made it to her 'room'. Numbly, she slid out of her coat and hung it over the back of a chair to dry, found her spare clothes and changed, putting the rest of the stuff underneath the table.

She toweled Shasta down, making him look like he'd been replaced with a giant Pomeranian. Then Rae flopped down onto her bed, burying her soaked face into her warm pillow. Downstairs, she heard Bo asking what was wrong. He sounded so worried about her that she felt worse. She lay there and cried, but soon her tears slowed and the rain against the skylight lulled her into a fitful sleep.

The crash of someone knocking over furniture woke Rae, and she sat up. "Who's there?" she asked, voice hoarse. After rubbing her eyes and squinting, she made out a familiar ponytail. "Scipio!" She gasped, standing up and rushing over to light a candle. When the candle was burning, she turned around and placed it on the table, gaping at Scipio. He was a mess.

Dried blood matted his hair, and the entire left side of his face was covered with browning liquid. An angry, fist-shaped bruise was painted on his cheek, and she could see fresh bruises around his neck. He was pale, and his eyes were hollow. As he looked down at her, she felt a pang of helplessness.

"What the hell happened to you?" Scipio asked softly, and touched her damp cheek. His voice was low and worried.

"I could ask you the same thing!" she said angrily, and pulled away from his hand. He shook his head—then stopped abruptly, a grimace on his lips. He put a hand to his pounding temple, swaying dangerously. Rae gritted her teeth and pushed him into a chair, then grabbed her first aid kit. "You're an idiot," she muttered and opened the kit with a snap. He let her clean him up, and accepted a crush-and-cold ice pack for his cheek.

"What were you doing at my house?" Scipio asked her as she ran her hands through his hair, trying to get the blood out with water.

"We were waiting for you to come, and when you didn't we waited. After about an hour or so we got tired and went inside. Then Shasta goes insane, tells me to follow him alone. So I do, and we end up at your house and I climb up and see…you know…" Rae trailed off, and knelt in front of Scipio, tilting his chin up so she could examine his neck. "You shouldn't have pushed him so far," she said softly.

"You don't understand," he whispered, lashes fluttering as he peered down at her; his eyes then flickered away and his face twisted as he remembered. "I knew he'd snap, I knew it would end badly for me… But I don't care! I just keep hoping he—hoping he'll… I just keep hoping that he'll see how much I care about him, I keep hoping he'd calm down and say 'I'm sorry' and be a better father!"

Rae stood and sat down on the edge of the chair next to him, wrapping him in a hug, pulling him close. He relaxed and rested his head on her shoulder, sighing wearily. Idly, she rubbed his arm. "I do understand," she said soothingly. "I understand more than you know."

He snorted softly. "Whatever."

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "So, why're you really here?"

"Only place to go," he replied dully.

She nodded and held him tighter. "You can have my bed for tonight," she said.

That got a real reaction out of him. He sat up and looked at her, surprised. "Your bed? Don't you have to sleep?" he asked.

She smiled bitterly. "I slept earlier. And I had nightmares. If I go to sleep again I'll have more. So I don't need to sleep, but you, on the other hand, do. Now, I'm going to go snatch a book from Hornet. You better be under the blanket when I get back, or else." She kissed his un-bruised cheek and then bolted out of the room.

Scipio remained sitting for a few moments, then took off his jacket and shoes and walked over to the mattress Rae had. He hesitated for another fraction of a second, but made up his mind and slipped beneath the covers.

Rae's POV

When I came back to my room, I assumed Scipio was asleep; he was lying under the blanket with his back to me and the rest of the room, curled up in a ball from what I could see. I thought he was asleep, but as I set a second candle on the table and went over to the mattress to see if I had any more matches, I noticed his shoulders shaking. I sighed and put my book down, moving closer.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Stupid question, Rae…

He sniffed and bobbed his head, completely unconvincingly. I pulled on his shoulder, hard enough to roll him onto his back. He was completely limp and unresisting, head falling to the side. Conveniently, he was facing away from me, which hid the fact that he was trying not to cry.

"What's wrong?" I murmured, and laid down beside him, propping myself up on my elbows. "Don't tell me 'nothing', either."

"You want to know? Look at me," he rasped. "My father hates me. He says I'm nothing, and it's true. I'm nothing but a speck of dust to the rest of the world, I'm a liar, I'm a loser. If any of the guys knew my secret, they'd agree. I am absolutely worthless."

"Don't say that!" I snapped. He didn't bother reply, sniffing again. I sighed and grabbed his chin, turning him to look at me. "Look at me, Scipio." His eyes snapped to my face. Tears rolled from the corners of his eyes and streaked down the sides of his face, and I promised myself that after I was done yelling at him I'd wipe them away. "You are not nothing. That man who calls himself your father is not someone who you should listen to regarding his opinion of you. And look at what you've done for the others! Given them a home, safety, food, and a life! Nobody likes being lied to, but it's in their best interest. If they'd known who you were before, they wouldn't have accepted your offer, where would they be now? If they find out, they'll understand that. They have to forgive you! If they don't, I'll sic Shasta on them and kick their sorry hides myself."

"You think you understand, Cara?" he asked stonily. A glimmer of the Thief Lord was in his eyes.

"For whatever reason you took those guys off of the streets, and for whatever reason you still do the things you do, you still did them. Eventually the others will come to the conclusion that you did it for their betterment, and I know there is no other reason than that. You're a very selfless person, Scipio." He sighed as I kissed his forehead, letting go of his chin so that I could gently wipe away his tears; I could feel his eyes on me as I walked back to the table and opened my book to read. Behind me, he continued to watch me for a few more moments before rolling over and settling down.

I hoped he would have better sleep than I did.

Sleep evaded him, and he was still awake when Rae closed her book and blew out the candle. He heard her bare feet padding across the carpet, and he felt a chill as she lifted the blankets and slipped in beside him. He was extremely aware of her small body curled behind his back, fingers brushing his spine as she settled down. The faint notes of a hummed lullaby reached his ears, and finally his eyes closed. He relaxed, the last of his tears beginning to slip down his cheeks.

Soon, the entire room was sunk in dreamland.

More than once, Scipio would toss and turn in a nightmare, waking Rae with a firm elbow to her gut. While he'd never wake up, she'd slide an arm around him and pull him close—both for her own protection, and to soothe him. Sometimes she'd run her hand through his silken hair, from his forehead down to the back of his head, and with a slight shudder he'd settle down and move closer to her side. Eventually, he sank into a dreamless sleep and relaxed completely, allowing her to sleep…

Maybe it was just her dreaming mind, but more than once she thought she heard Scipio whisper her name.