It took the Peacekeepers three days to appear in front of the Odair's house. Mr. Odair refused to open the door until they threatened to kick it in to get the girl they had come for. According to their information, Mrs. Cresta had come to them one day prior and had reported her daughter to be missing, most likely kidnapped by the Odair boys. Though no one truly believed, that two teenage boys would ever kidnap a child, the Peacekeepers had promised to bring Aylee home to her parents. The Odair's had no legal right to keep her at their home, something they were aware of. Instead of just handing Aylee over to the soldiers, they reported the child abuse they had witnessed and hoped the Peackeepers would let Aylee stay, but they only promised to investigate, which meant as much as no one cared and nothing would be done.

"They will act when it's too late, filthy bastards! After all they're just kids, huh? No one really cares 'bout them. One kid more or less in the slums, none of their stupid business", Finn heard his father hiss in the kitchen, after he had slammed the door shut behind the soldiers. His fist hit the kitchen table and he could almost hear his mother reach out to soothe him. "Don't speak like that, love. We will do whatever we can to protect Annie and Aylee. Gods, I'm so glad they only wanted Aylee back! How cruel at heart they are, to leave Annie here as if she never existed. As if they never had her in their care. Only demanding their own blood back, not the child they had sworn to raise. What a luck for her, though. Honey…I know that we are not rich and space is very limited here but…do you think that maybe…" Through the keyhole, Finn saw is father smile gently and brush a lose strand of hair out of his wife's face. "I know Rose. And yes, Annie may stay. Do you really think I would send her back to that monster or give that poor little soul to the authorities? One more mouth to feed more or less, who cares. We'll just have it a little more cosy in here. You'll see, she'll like it here. After all, Finn is here and he seems to care a big deal about her…" His voice trailed off and Finn hurried back upstairs before his parents could catch him eavesdropping. He slid into his bedroom to find Drew sitting next to Annie in his bed, a book in hand, reading out to the brown haired girl, who had fallen asleep. She had cried so hard after they had taken Aylee, that even Drew was desperately trying to find a way to calm her down. Reading had met the case finally, and even though she was asleep, he was scared to put down the book. Maybe she would wake up and start crying again.

When he saw Finn in the doorway, he finally closed the book and smiled triumphantly. "I calmed her down", he whispered and tried to remove Annie from his chest as gently as possible without waking her up.

"I see that. I have eyes, you know", Finn replied and sank down on the empty bed his sister slept in. She was at school right now, where Drew and he were supposed to be as well, but their parents had allowed them to stay home today. Annie needed him and Finn was never going to leave her side as long as she was so desperate and helpless. He felt for her, like he had never felt for anyone before. Her misery was so enormous, that merely looking at the pain in her eyes made his heart break. He was just a little boy, but he knew what it meant to really care about someone, and he cared about Annie. A few days ago she had just been a stranger, a girl he had met at school once or twice. Now she was his best friend, connected to him in a way that none of his other friends would have understood. He had been with her in one of her darkest hour and he had been by her side when no one else had. He felt as if his only purpose in life was now to protect her because nobody else did. Annie had no family like his own, no parents to rock her asleep, dry her tears and help her find her way in life. She had been all alone for so long that it was hard for her now to let someone in, but Finn was trying. He knew that one day, she would let him see beyond the walls she had built up so carefully to protect herself from breaking apart in front of him.

Another week passed in which Annie mostly slept. The doctor said she needed sleep to recover from her injuries and everyone in the household accepted it. After a week, they had all gotten used to speaking in low voices and tiptoeing around in the room so that she would not wake up. Whenever Finn was doing his homework on the little table next to Annie's bed, he couldn't help but watch her sleep. She looked so peaceful when she lay there, eyes closed, the sun dancing on her angel face. Serenity was something she only found when she slept and most of the times not even then.

One afternoon, Finnick had just finished his homework, his mother appeared in the doorway. Her face was pale, her eyes red as if she had been crying. "Finn, would you please come downstairs for a moment, I need to speak with you – you as well Drew", she firmly said in a low voice, leaving her gaze on Annie for a moment. Her sons exchanged looks before they rose from the table and followed their mother downstairs.

When Finnick sat down at the kitchen table, his heart was racing in his chest, his fingers damp from nervousness. What if they had to send Annie home?

Rose opened her mouth to say something, but the words died on her cracked lips and she turned to her husband, tears welling up in her eyes.

Liam sighed heavily and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder before turning to the boys.

"Boys…something terrible has happened. We wanted you to know before we are going to tell Annie as soon as she wakes up. This morning, when we went fishing, some of my friends, ya know, Old Martin and his sons…", his voice broke and he took a deep breath before he continued. "They found a corpse in the water near the beach. It has been verified that it was Aylee's dead body they recovered from the sea. As it seems, she either went willingly into the water or was drowned there and left behind to never be found. I'm sorry…I failed her", his voice was soft now, soft and full of sorrow for a child he had just briefly met.
Liam Odair was a strong man, tall and with muscles of steel. Finnick had always looked up to him, admired his strength and determination in everything he did. Right now he was a broken man, a father who was not willing to admit that the little brown haired girl with the sparkling blue eyes was really dead.

Dead and gone at the age of just six.

Rose wrapped her arms around him, trying to comfort him, while she herself was crying. "We both failed her. But we did the best we could. And we have to be there for Annie now. It'll break her heart. Bless her soul, that girl has gone through hell and back and now another person she lost. I don't know how to tell her…"

The boys at the kitchen table were silent. It was Drew who finally put his arm around his brother's shoulders and looked at their parents. "We will tell her. Don't worry Ma, we will do it as soon as she wakes up. It'll be alright."

Rose eyed her oldest son and wondered when he had become so mature. It was no message a child should deliver, but maybe it was good for Annie to hear all of it from someone she trusted.

Finn's heart felt heavy in his chest.

How was he going to tell Annie?

How was he going to make everything alright again?

Right now he felt as torn apart inside as his parents for a girl he had only known for three short days.

He remembered Aylee's little hand in his own when he had promised her that everything would be alright. It felt as if he had lied to her even though he had really believed the words to be true back then.

Thanks for your wonderful reviews! I love getting them and I appretiate every fav & like for the story as well! This one is a little shorter, I'm hopelessly busy but I wanted to at least give you a short update. Hope you enjoy it, let me know if you do 3 xoxo