"Miss. Lawrence? Can we get you a blanket?" One of the nurses asked.

Sitting in the chair, Brielle was curled up into my lap, fast asleep, my hand rubbing her back.

"Oh, yeah, that would be great, thank you."

The nurse nodded as she walked over to the closet and pulled out a warm, white cotton blanket.

"Here we are." She said as she covered the two of us up together. "Brielle's social worker should be here around eight."

"Social worker?" I questioned. The nurse sat down in the chair next to us and sighed.

"This isn't Marnie Davis's first go around with us. If I had to guess, this has been her fourth overdose in six years. She's had Brielle taken from her twice already. But somehow, though I don't agree with it, she always gets her back."

"Julia? You're needed in the E.R" a doctor poking his head out from the swinging doors declared.

She placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad to know she's in safe hands. Usually we find a spare bed for her up in peds. Please let us know if you need anything."

I looked down at the little girl asleep in my arms. Her head was pressed against my chest, and her arms were wrapped tightly around my neck. I could only imagine the things she had seen, had lived through in six short years of life. Things no child should ever have to endure. Holding her a little tighter, I kissed the top of her head.

"You're safe, sweet girl, you're safe."

Karen and Liam stood with their arms folded across their chests and heads cocked to the side as they took in the sight before them.

In a chair in the Emergency Room waiting room, Jennifer was fast asleep. In her lap, a small child was also asleep, her head resting on Jenn's chest and her tiny arms wrapped around her neck. A generic, white hospital blanket had been placed on top of the girls. With their breathing soft and even, they looked completely peaceful.

"A friend's daughter?" Liam suggested.

Karen shook her head slowly. "No, only two of Jenn's Kentucky friends have kids, and they're both much younger."

The pair continued to converse back and forth with each other, trying to decide whether or not to wake her when she finally began to shift, and her eyes fluttered. Liam is the first thing she sees.

"What are you...Dad! How's Dad?" She asks, immediately remembering where she is.

"Daddy's gonna be just fine. The surgery went well. He's in the ICU recovering." Karen assured her.

Jenn found herself able to relax for the first time since the moment she boarded the plane.

"Liam, what are you doing here?" She asked, going back to her original question.

"Uh-" He opened his mouth to answer, to tell her that he didn't want her going through this alone, but was immediately cut off by Karen.

"First things first, who in the world is this child?"

Jenn looked down at her, almost forgetting that this would warrant an explanation. "Oh...Uh, I robbed an orphanage."

Karen and Liam rolled their eyes, both of them used to Jennifer's sarcasm.

"Her mother overdosed on drugs. She was literally tossed out of a car, and left on the ground vomiting. Everyone was so focused on her, that Brielle was left behind. I wasn't about to just leave her standing there. Her social worker should be here any minute." She explained.

"Jenn..." Karen began.

"Mom..." Jenn replied, her voice equally as tense.

Karen knew exactly where this was headed, she could see it in her daughter's eyes. Jenn was going to get attached, she was going to want to keep her. Having been a nurse herself, she knew how these cases worked out. Parental reunification was always the goal. In the end, Jenn was going to be left devastated.

"Darling, no. Do not do this to yourself, this is a child were talking about, not a puppy." She warned.

In her arms, Brielle began to wake. Her eyes blinked, and she looked up at Jenn, slightly dazed. "Hey there pretty girl." Jenn whispered, pulling a few stray out of her face. Brielle yawned fully and stretched her body.

"Kathy!" She exclaimed as she jumped out of Jenn's arms and took off running. The three adults looked up to see a middle aged woman.

Dressed in a matching grey skirt and jacket, the short brunette sported a pixie cut. Her round face exuded kindness and warmth. "Hey there pretty princess!" The woman greeted, hugging Brielle. Walking back over, the woman shook Jenn's hand.

"Kathy Holt, you must be Jennifer."

"Yes, it's nice to meet you. Please excuse my coffee stained clothes and unbrushed hair. I'm a pretty hot mess this morning." Jenn apologized. Kathy dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

Getting down on her knees, Jenn bent down to talk to Brielle. "Hey you, are you hungry?"

Brielle nodded with a closed smile, her hair shaking as her head bobbed.

Jenn smiled. "I thought so. I'm going to talk to Kathy for a few minutes, but this guy right here," She explained, pointing to Liam. "This is my boyfriend Liam, and I know that he would love to take you to the cafeteria for some breakfast."

Brielle looked up at Liam. "You're the one that gave Jenn the pretty necklace."

He chuckled as he nodded his head. "That's right, I did. So what do you say, should we grab some food?"

Brielle looked up to Jenn and Kathy, as if needing assurance that this was the right thing to do. Jenn nodded her head in encouragement.

"Okay." She said, taking Liam's hand, and walking off with him. Pausing momentarily, she looked back at Jenn and waved. Smiling, Jenn felt tears well up in her eyes as she waved back.

In a spare conference room, Jenn sat at the desk, her hands against her forehead as she read through Brielle's thick file.

Brielle Katherine Davis

Date of Birth: 10/14/2009

"Born prematurely, low birth weight, marijuana in her system, three different foster homes..."

Leaning back in her chair, she sighed and looked up to Kathy. "Jesus..."

Kathy closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Yeah."

"Father?" Jenn asked.

She shrugged. "You're guess is as good as anybody's."

"I want her." Jenn whispered as she looked through more papers. "This little girl hasn't had a moment of stability since conception."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that. Jenn...listen, it's complicated. You are a phenomenal and well sought after actress. I know that you have more means than anybody to provide Brielle with the life she deserves. But there's still a lot of red tape and legalities to get through. This is a process that could take weeks. Terminating a person's parental rights is not an easy task. Marnie has been given several chances, so I am going to petition the court for full termination of her parental rights, but I need your patience."

Part of her couldn't believe she was about to jump head first into this decision. She hadn't even bothered to discuss things with Liam, her father had just nearly lost his life, and she knew already that her mother didn't agree with this. But the other part of knew it was love at first sight and that she was not leaving Kentucky without Brielle.

As she sat out in the waiting room, cradling this precious little girl in her arms, Jennifer had felt for the first time what it was like to love a child. She saw an opportunity to change this child's life, and it was worth whatever sacrifices had to be made. Suddenly partying until 2am in France and making six movies a year wasn't nearly as important as raising this child and loving her. Something had come over her the moment she set eyes on Brielle, and anyone threatening to take the little girl was going to have to pry her from Jenn's cold, dead body.

"I understand. I assume whatever legalities need to be sorted out can be done so from LA?"

Kathy looked over at Jennifer and reminded herself that she had never been through anything like this before.

"Sweetie...you cannot leave the state of Kentucky, not with Brielle, anyway. You cannot take an unrelated minor across state lines without parental permission. That's kidnapping. Now I am going to call the judge today and call in an emergency custody order until we can get this all sorted out, but even with that, until you have full legal custody, Brielle needs to remain in Kentucky."

Jenn sat in shock as she tried to process through everything. She most certainly wasn't going to go back to filming without her, but she also knew that she still had a week worth of filming to finish before her Christmas break could begin. She didn't know who was going to be more pissed with her, her director or her publicist.

"...9am? Okay, I'll let her know. Thank you your honor, we will see you then."

Jenn looked up at the clock. 8:25am. How in the hell was she expected to be presentable enough to meet a judge in thirty five minutes?

"Judge Harrelson will meet with us tomorrow morning at 9am Sharp." Kathy explained.

"Tomorrow?" She barked. "What about today? Can I take her back to my parents house at least?"

Kathy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I cannot release this child to you without a custody order in place, I'm sorry."

Jenn sighed, but nodded her head, knowing there was no point in fighting. "Where will she stay?"

"Because it's likely the emergency custody order will go through, and it's only for a day, there's no sense in placing her with a foster family. She can stay with me for the time being. Jenn, I know you love this little girl already, and there is no child that deserves your love more than she does. I've been with Brielle since she was born, and I'm going to take good care of her, I promise."

Jenn didn't have another choice, and she was grateful that Brielle would at least be with someone she knew. Getting up, she walked over and hugged Kathy tightly. "Thank you."

"No, thank you."

Jenn clutched a golden brown teddy bear as she watched Liam interact with Brielle from the side of the cafeteria. The small girls face was lit up in a smile as she laughed at the impressions Liam was making. Tears filled her eyes as her heart swelled with love. Knowing she had to be strong, she wiped the tears and took a breath as she began to walk over.

"Hey beautiful." Liam greeted through his laughter. Jenn smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Your boyfriend is funny." Brielle announced, still laughing.

"He is, isn't he? You think we should keep him?"

Brielle nodded with a big grin on her face.

"Jenn, is my mommy better yet?" She questioned.

Jenn softened and rubbed the top of Brielle's head.

"I don't know sweetie. But, I do know that you are going to spend some time with Kathy today. She is going to take you shopping for some new clothes, and you guys are going to have a lot of fun together." Jenn explained, trying to build up the event.

"I'm going to a new foster house, aren't I?" Brielle asked. Jenn watched as the child instantly slumped in the chair and deflated. She took her small hands in her own and briefly looked at Liam before turning her attention back to Brielle.

"No baby, no more foster homes. Kathy is going to get you a really nice dress, and we are going to all see each other again tomorrow morning when we go to the courthouse. And hopefully, a really nice judge is going to tell us that you can come live with me for a little while." Jenn explained.

Brielle's face instantly lit back up again as she jumped into Jenn's arms and hugged her tightly.

"Liam, will you be there too?" She questioned. Nervously, Jenn looked up at him. They hadn't had any time to really discuss what was going through her mind. He was certainly under no obligation to go along with this crazy, spur of the moment decision. Liam flashed a smile and gave a wink before turning his attention back to Brielle.

"I sure as heck will!" He exclaimed, his voice full of excitement. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Kathy began to walk over as Brielle was hugging Liam. Jenn knew it was time.

"This," She stated, handing over the teddy bear. "Is for you. Teddy will keep you safe until we see each other again tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, sweetheart."

Brielle walked over and hugged her tightly. Jenn closed her eyes and sighed. She wanted nothing more than to pick her up into her arms and take her home. Pulling back, Brielle gave a half smile as she clutched her bear. Taking Kathy's hand, Brielle waved.

"Bye Jenn, Bye Liam."

"Bye Brielle."

The couple stood there and watched until she was out of sight. In less than twenty four hours, Jennifer Lawrence found her life flipped on its head.

Liam took her hand in his. "Lawrence, this is by far your craziest idea yet." He chuckled.

Jenn nodded in agreement. "It is...This even tops going shot for shot of Kentucky moonshine with Lorde and Taylor Swift at the Catching Fire after party...and the spontaneous five day trip to Seoul, South Korea that followed."

Liam shook his head and laughed before turning to face her.

"What I was going to say was, this is by far your craziest idea yet...and I am all for it. I fully support you, I'm not going anywhere."

With tears in her eyes, Jennifer wrapped her arms around Liam's neck and kissed him passionately, pouring every ounce of emotion she had in her and not caring in the slightest who was watching.

"This is insane." She whispered.

"I know." He agreed, his lips barely leaving hers.

"We don't have the slightest idea what were doing." She pointed out.

"None."

Smiling against his lips, her heart beat rapidly. "I love you."

"I love you more, weirdo."

She debated turning the radio on to try and minimize some of the tension in the car.

Jenn had agreed to drive back home with her mom to pick up a few items, hoping it would give them a chance to talk. It was obvious from the beginning, however, that Karen was in no mood for discussions. Jenn looked over at her mother whose hardened eyes were focused solely on the road.

Taking a breath, she broke the silence.

"I don't understand why you're mad about this."

"Not mad, frustrated and confused." Karen answered shortly.

Jenn rolled her eyes. "What would you have me do? Send her back to a drug addicted mother so she could grow up in a poverty stricken, abusive household? I have the means to raise this child properly."

"You have the means to raise ten children properly, that doesn't mean you have to! This is a child we are talking about here for God's sake, I don't think you have thought through this enough. A life changing decision like this requires more time than just a couple of hours!" Karen shook her head, knowing it was useless to argue with her stubborn daughter.

"Jesus Christ, I am not stupid!" Jenn shouted, her defenses already up. "You think I don't know what this means?! Goodbye to saying yes to every script, goodbye to all night parties, goodbye to last minute trips to Tahiti. Hello to saving a life, hello to snuggles, hello to love, hello to motherhood."

"I just wish it wasn't such an impulsive decision. You have always been impulsive Jenn, you don't-"

"Here we fucking go again with the impulsivity!" Her Kentucky accent was in full force as her voice grew louder and louder.

Karen turned on the windshield wipers as the sky opened up and the rain began to fall, hitting the car forcefully. She hated fighting with Jennifer. The arguments were often loud, and filled with cursing and Jenn knowing best. Today, with a headache coming on and the stress she was working through, she chose to simply ignore her and not give in.

Jenn rested her head against the window as she watched the rain dancing all around her. In her mind, she knew the joy that came with being Brielle's mother far outweighed the sacrifices she was going to have to make in her personal and professional life.

"I know what I'm doing, and if it were up to me, I would be pushing things along even quicker. I may be young, but I am ready for this. A lot of my friends have kids, Jennifer Garner can..."

Karen did her best to tune her out. She knew it was wrong, but she was in no mood to hear about how easy raising a child in Hollywood was going to be. In her mind, Jenn was long overdue for a reality check.

The girls pulled into the garage, and exited the car. Karen immediately closed the car door, walked into the kitchen and began to rummage through the cabinet for some Aleve to help with the pounding headache she was experiencing. Jenn was relentless as she paced through the room and continued right on with the conversation, not at all caring that her mother was not providing any feedback.

"...celebrities adopt kids all the time! How is there not some expedited processes for cases like this?"

Pound...Pound...Pound. Karen's head continued to throb. Her husband had just been through open heart surgery, her son was stuck in New York, and though she loved her daughter more than life itself, she couldn't bare to listen to her complain about how difficult her famed life was for a minute longer.

"I mean, what do they expect me to do? Hang out here for the next few weeks while they figure all this out? I don't have time for this, people are counting on me! I gotta-"

Karen slammed the refrigerator door shut. "Damnit Jennifer! Can you pull your head out of your ass for five minutes? Please?!"

Jenn stood in shock. Instantly, she could feel her body heat up as embarrassment settled over her. It had been years since her mother had yelled at her, and suddenly she felt like a little girl being chastised for coloring on the walls.

"The world does not owe you a damn thing!" Karen yelled as she faced her twenty four year old daughter in the face. "No, they don't expedite adoption cases for celebrities. Believe it or not, terminating a mother's rights is just a bit more complicated than you think. I would have expected you to have even the slightest bit of compassion in this situation, but no. You are so far removed from reality, that all you can think of is yourself, and how everything is going to effect you, your life, your career. I hope I didn't inconvenience you at all by making you come back home on such short notice!" She cried out, burning hot tears dripped down her cheeks as she finally allowed all of her emotions to pour out of her.

Karen and Gary had watched as Hollywood slowly sucked their daughter into the dark, chewed her up, and spit her back out. They looked on as their young, bubbly, outgoing daughter became bitter, rude, and entitled. In their eyes, Hollywood had ruined Jenn, making her forget her roots.

"My God, it's like I don't even know you anymore." Her hand covered her mouth as she took a ragged breath.

Jennifer was fuming, despite the fact that she knew she was going to start crying.

She was sick of this, all of it. Sick of always having to be "on", always having to be funny, to be welcoming, to be gracious. In the media, bad days weren't allowed to exist. It didn't matter that Jennifer had a fear of crowds, that some nights she would wake up screaming from dreams of being surrounded by paparazzi with no clear way out. It wasn't supposed to matter if someone was being creepy or inappropriate, or making her feel in any way uncomfortable. All that mattered in Hollywood was making the public happy and giving them whatever they wanted, regardless of how it made her feel. With anger boiling inside of her and ready to explode like a volcano, Jenn picked up the glass and threw it across the room, sending shards flying in all directions. Karen just started at her, unable to move.

"I am so sick of being made to feel like such a bitch." She sobbed. The breakdown she was so desperate to have, had finally arrived.

"But you know what..." she looked down at her hands as she continued to cry, the pent up agony finally escaping. "Maybe it's true. Maybe I am a bitch. I have been in this business since I was sixteen goddamn years old, and yeah, it changes you. It changes you in a way that you cannot possibly understand unless you're in it."

Karen's heart broke at the sight of her daughter so upset. But, knowing she needed to get her emotions out, she stayed put, allowing Jenn to speak.

Jenn sat down in a chair at the kitchen table and continued to cry, feeling so destroyed. Karen walked over and sat down next to her, placing her hand on Jenn's. Swallowing, she continued as she looked up at their family portrait, the one taken in 2000 that hung over the fireplace.

"I was sixteen when I broke through. So yeah, I was young. I was the young, naive, country girl taking on the big city. And at first, when those first acting rolls started coming through, it was so exciting. I was getting noticed, I was making it, my hard work was finally paying off." Karen nodded, her hand gripping her daughter's.

"I wasn't prepared. After Hunger Games, everything changed. I was trapped, a prisoner of my own home. The paparazzi was everywhere. The fans, okay I get it, I understand. But the paparazzi, the random people on the streets snapping pictures and invading my privacy." Her shoulders shook in tandem with her crying.

"When those pictures of me got leaked to the internet..." Her blood shot blue eyes looked up to meet her mother's, whose own eyes closed in anguish. She had never been as angry as she had been at that very moment.

She remembered it all. She remembered getting the first flight out to LA. How she held her child, her baby girl in her bed as her tears soaked her chest. How Gary, Ben, and Blaine had gone on a verbal rampage and were ready to kill the asshole behind the leak.

Jenn felt completely violated. It was as if she had just been raped. She was beside herself with grief, anger, and embarrassment. The world had officially taken every last bit of her privacy. That moment, was the moment everything had changed. After weeks of nightmares, hardly eating, and a breakdown on the set of Mocking Jay, Liz, her personal assistant, demanded she see someone.

I knew I had to eat something as I stared at the selection of food in front of me, but I just couldn't. My stomach was cramping, and in knots. Though that was probably because I wasn't eating. We were working so hard, and I had so little energy left. I knew if I didn't eat something, I was going to pass out at some point during production. I guess I'll have the...

"Hey, I've been looking everywhere-"

A hand touched my shoulder, immediately causing me to jump and scream.

As a jerk reaction, I backed into the wall, almost instantly having a full blown panic attack. My hand covered my mouth as I sobbed, my body shaking as I tried to breathe.

Josh was horrified.

"Jenn...Jenn it's just me." He whispered, his hands up in defense.

I looked around the set to set that everyone had stopped dead in their tracks and was staring at me.

Elizabeth and Julianne, the closest in distance to me, immediately ran over.

"Hey, it's okay, Jenn it's okay, you're safe." Elizabeth assured me as I clung to her, sobbing.

Julianne rubbed my back softly. Pulling back from them, they took my hands in theirs, Julianne wrapping her arm around me as they ushered me off set.

Elizabeth looked over at the director. "Francis..."

Immediately, he raised his hand to stop her.

"Make sure she gets home safe, we can reshoot tomorrow."

Two days later, I was officially diagnosed with PTSD.

"I can't trust anyone anyone anymore. So yes, I've changed, I've hardened...because I am terrified, and on edge. I'm no longer the naive little country girl...this is the big leagues, and I have to protect myself. And if that makes me a bitch, then so be it."She explained, her breath shaking.

It wasn't how she wanted to be. Yes, fame had changed her, as it did to everyone. But it was the lack of privacy that caused her to question everything. Suddenly, people being nice to her had hidden agendas. Being a bitch was a defense mechanism. The only people deemed trustworthy were those also in the business who understood what it was like.

Karen got up and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I'm sorry, I am. It's been a long day, and I'm sorry for taking it out on you." She apologized, wiping the tears from Jenn's cheeks. "I know this is one of those things that you simply cannot understand if you're not in it."

"I just want to make you proud."

Karen huffed. "You have. You have made me proud since the day you were born. You're my only girl, and you and I will always have that, no one can take it from us."

Jenn nodded as she hugged her mother tightly.

"And now, you're about to embark on your own journey through motherhood. It is going to be one of your greatest experiences. I cannot wait to see you grow into the role of mommy, you're already off to an amazing start." She assured her.

"I'm ready for this." She whispered, tears dripping from her eyes.

"Yes, you are. Let's prepare the guest room, your daughter is coming home tomorrow..."