Months pass, and summer arrives. School has let out, and Peter could not be more pleased with this fact.

On one particularly warm day, (about as warm as Finland can be expected to get), Peter lounges around the house, relaxing on one of his first vacation days.

Both Berwald and Tino have work, so Mathias has been called in to help. He lounges around as well, a cool beer in his hand.

The phone rings suddenly, bringing Mathias and Peter out of their relaxed state. Mathias springs up to answer it, resting the phone between his ear and his shoulder.

"Hello?"

Peter watches as Mathias listens to the caller. His face remains relaxed at first, but as the speaker goes on, his face contorts into confusion.

"Peter Kirkland, huh? No, can't say that I've heard that name before. Sorry."

The caller says something else, but Peter doesn't hear. Mathias hangs up the phone, glancing at a now confused Peter.

"Who was that?"

"Dunno. Some woman asking about you. Might have been a telemarketer or something, so I said I didn't know you."

"It wasn't Ella, was it?"

"That little girl that you have over sometimes? No, her voice was a lot deeper, she was an adult."

Peter nods, dropping the subject entirely.

...

Days pass, and another lazy day is being spent at home. This time, both Tino and Berwald are home, so they are both taking the chance to spend time with Peter. They are all sitting around the kitchen table, chatting idly for the first time in a while.

The doorbell interrupts them, and Peter stands up.

"I'll go get it!"

Peter makes his way to the entrance, setting his fingers to the door handle. He swings the door open towards him, and the color drains from his face.

A woman stands in front of him, but Peter sees a monster.

A grotesque, evil monster.

Her chapped lips curve up in a twisted smirk.

"Ah, Peter, just who I was looking for," She snarls out her words, her voice dry and grating.

Peter's breaths pick up, and he feels his chest tightening painfully.

It's his mother.

Cold panic seeps into his bones. He can hardly breathe, but he forces himself to slam the door, locking it as quickly as he can. He sprints into the kitchen, his feet pounding hard against the wooden floor.

Tino's head snaps up as Peter comes crashing into the kitchen, nearly collapsing on to Tino's lap. Tino scoops him up, frantically asking him what is wrong.

"M-my mom...! She's h-here!"

Tino's face goes just as pale as Peter's. He looks desperately towards Berwald, who is already standing alertly. Berwald points towards the back door, connecting the kitchen to the backyard.

"Take Peter to the police station. I'll handle his mom."

Tino nods and runs for the back door, shutting it behind him. He sprints across the yard, holding Peter tightly against him, stroking his hair.

Peter's face is hidden in Tino's shoulder as they run. Tino runs as fast as he can, weaving behind houses and heading for the city.

Luckily the city is close to the neighborhood they live in, so Tino is able to get the police station rather quickly.

He pushes the door open, making his way to the counter.

"Please, we need help." Tino pleads.

...

Tino sits in the back of the police station, Peter still clinging to him. Peter's arms wrap around Tino's neck, his fingers toying nervously with the ends of Tino's hair.

Tino feels Peter trembling slightly. His heart clenches, he only wants to help, but he is clueless as to what else he can do besides sit and hold him.

"Peter...?"

"Hmm...?"

"She won't hurt you. Not anymore..."

Peter doesn't respond. His fingers still play with the wispy ends of his hair.

"What I said on the night you had that nightmare during your first week still stands. I won't let her hurt you anymore. Berwald and I would give our lives to keep you safe, we won't allow her to cause you anymore pain."

Tino feels hot tears splattering on his shirt. Peter's lip trembles as he lets the tears fall silently. Tino can do nothing but hold him tightly, rocking him as if he were still a small child.

...

It's not until hours later, when the afternoon is rapidly being replaced by the evening, that Berwald shows up at the police station. Peter is asleep by that point, and it takes all that Tino has not to gasp when he sees Berwald.

Berwald's right eye is quickly becoming a deep, splotchy purple. Tino's hand comes up to his mouth, his eyes burning.

Berwald holds up a finger. Tino knows that means to wait until later.

Berwald sits down in a plastic chair beside Tino, holding his hand and squeezing it tightly. Berwald's eyes linger on Peter's form, curled up in the crook of Tino's arm, his head resting against Tino's shoulder. As he did when he first met Peter, he wonders how in the world anybody would want to bring him harm. Peter is practically an angel, he didn't deserve the pain he grew up with.

Peter stirs about fifteen minutes later. He blinks slowly, his eyes landing first on Tino, and then on Berwald. Said eyes go wide as they land on the splotchy coloring around his father's eye.

"She did that, didn't she...?" Peter mutters softly.

Berwald can only nod meekly.

"I'm sorry... She likes to do stuff like that, I should have warned you." Peter's voice is emotionless and drained, and his eyes have none of the beauty or shine that they usually do.

"Don't blame yourself Peter, it's not your fault at all, don't believe that it is."

Peter doesn't even respond, he just rests his head on Tino's shoulder once again, his eyes drooping, but never shutting permanently.

Silence falls across the room, lasting for nearly half and hour, until a police officer approaches them. Tino and Berwald look alert, while Peter only looks up weakly.

"We've sent out a search team for Regina Kirkland. Until we find her, you may stay here at the station, we have cots set up in a room in the back."

Tino and Berwald thank him, and the officer turns away with a curt nod.

Tino nudges Peter gently. "Honey? Are you ready to go to bed?"

Peter nods slowly. "I guess."

Tino scoops him up, and holds him close as the three of them go to the back room. They all settle into cots, with Peter laying next to Berwald on the slightly larger one.

Peter is asleep within minutes.

Tino and Berwald exchange a glance, hoping that everything will be fixed soon. They just don't want Peter in any more pain.

A/N: Oh man, this is overdue. I thought I would be better at updating, but this took a lot longer than it should have, (even though it isn't even that long). Sorry about that. :/

I kinda lost the drive to write the end of this chapter. I don't know exactly why... It's not because I've lost interest in the story, because I definitely still love this story and how it has turned out, but I just hit a bump writing this chapter.

The next chapter is going to be... A bit more intense, I suppose. It's going to delve more into Peter's past, so of course the events that go along with that will be depicted to some extent, so it won't be as tame as some pervious chapters.

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this, despite it being a bit shaky (and very late!)

Thanks for reading!

-KayDubs