Kirin held Megan's hand as she explained, once again, why Kirin didn't speak. Thankfully, it was Saturday, so they only had morning classes- this was the last one. As she listened to her sister, she once again had the overwhelming sensation that something was missing from her story. She had to have forgotten something, but what? She thought back to the night her mother slipped into a coma- the last night she used her voice.

It was dark and rainy. She remembered how busy the hospital was, how she and her family sat in their mother's room as the doctor explained the situation. She was really sick- Kirin couldn't remember what they called it, but her mom had been in the hospital for a while, and had slipped into a coma. They had been talking together just hours before. The doctors had told her father, who had called James- their butler- and asked him to bring him to the hospital. The doctor said they didn't know when, or even if she would wake up. Kirin was upset- they all were, naturally- and she ran out of the room, down the hall and out into the rain. She kept running until she couldn't run anymore. She found herself in an old, empty park. She decided to swing for a little bit, because it always made her feel better. That was the last thing she remembered, until-

*flashback*

She ran down the street, her feet pounding the pavement, tears running down her face. It started to rain- when had it stopped?- and the raindrops mingled with her tears. Her whole body hurt, and she felt like she was going to vomit, but she kept running. She had to get away. She was confused and disoriented, but she knew she had to keep running. So she did. She ran and ran and sobbed and ran some more. Suddenly- slam!- she ran into someone. The person was big and strong. They grabbed her arms, and she freaked out. She kicked and flailed and tried to push the person away, but she couldn't! She was terrified, and she didn't know what to do but to keep kicking.

"Hey, calm down! I won't hurt you- I'm a police officer."

She froze in mid-kick. Police. Help. Friend. Dad's best friend was a police officer. They were the good guys. She was safe-

She launched herself at the man she had been trying so hard to free herself from. She latched onto him and sobbed until she was out of tears. The officer held onto her and waited for her to calm down.

"Hey, whatcha got over there, Nico?"

"This little girl ran into me. She seems pretty upset, Laura."

Kirin looked up as she heard someone walk over. She couldn't see either person in detail through the darkness, but she could see that the new person was a lady with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and that she had pretty blue eyes. The man also had blue eyes, and dark hair.

"Oh, Nico, she's not that little. I'd say, what, fourteen?" the woman guessed.

Kirin nodded enthusiastically.

"Fourteen, hm? Looks like I was right on the dot! My name's Laura- Laura Raine, but Laura's fine- and this is officer Mars-"

"Nico."

Nico… Kirin knew that name. She studied the man, but she couldn't see him well enough to tell if she knew him.

"What's your name, sweetie?" she asked.

Kirin opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. Her eyes widened, and she became frantic.

"I don't think she can speak, Laura…"

"Poor thing. Calm down, sweetie. It's ok. Did something bad happen?"

Kirin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"To you? Did someone hurt you?"

More hesitation, then a shrug.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head.

"Well, that's good."

"Hey, Laura, shine some light on her face—my flashlight's dead."

"Why?" Laura asked as she turned on her flashlight and shined it on Kirin's face."

"You're Kirin, right?"

Kirin nodded excitedly.

"How'd you know that, Nico?" Laura asked in surprise.

"Her dad and I have been best friends since elementary school. C'mon, Kirin. We'll take you home."

She shook her head vigorously. She didn't want to go home- she wanted to see her mom.

"Not home? Did something bad happen at home, Kirin?" Nico asked.

She shook her head again. She made a small cross with her fingers.

"A cross? Umm... A church?" he guessed.

She shook her head again. She held out her first and middle finger- H. She had learned the alphabet in sign language back in elementary school. Nico just stared, but Laura understood.

"That's an H, Nico. Sweetie, can you spell out where we should take you?"

Kirin nodded and continued spelling with her fingers. O-S-P-I-T-A-L.

"Hospital!" Laura exclaimed. "I thought you said you weren't hurt?"

Kirin shook her head and spelled out M-O-M.

"You're mom?"

She nodded.

"Ah, her mom's in the hospital, Laura."

"Oh, I see. You want to go see her?"

She nodded more enthusiastically.

"Ok, the hospital it is then!"

"She's in Cedars-Sinai," Nico informed his partner. He jumped up and led Kirin to a police car parked in front of a gas station. Laura climbed into the backseat, and Nico held open the passenger door for Kirin before sitting in the driver's seat. He turned to Kirin as they were driving down the road. "Hey, Kirin, you wanna turn on the siren?" he asked with a grin.

She looked at him for a moment before nodding slowly. He showed her how to turn it on, and then let her do it. Her face lit up in excitement as the flashing lights came on and the whooping of the siren started, and Nico let out a loud laugh. When they reached the hospital, however, her face quickly fell, and he became more serious.

Laura put her arm around Kirin's shoulders, gave her an encouraging smile, and the three of them entered the hospital together.

"Ah, Kirin. Your father has been looking for you," the nurse at the front desk said. Kirin smiled slightly and nodded, walking towards her mother's room.

"Kirin!" her father exclaimed, rising from his chair as they entered the room. He pulled her into a hug before turning to the officers. "Where have you been?" he asked.

"We found her running out in the rain, Laura informed him. "She was pretty upset, but she doesn't appear to be hurt."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. We enjoyed the spunky little tag-along," Nico grinned. Kirin stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh.

*end flashback*

She had become even closer to "Uncle Nico," and Laura was adopted into their family as well. She and her siblings had taken to referring to her as "Aunt Laura." She still found comfort in things that smelled like Laura's perfume or Nico's cologne; she was still drawn to blue eyes and blonde or black hair; she still loved police cars. She loved the rain, because it reminded her of them—yet, whenever there was a lull in a storm, she felt frightened and panicked, but she didn't know why. The same feelings affronted her any time she passed an old park or dark alley alone at night.

She wasn't sure how much of that day was missing from her memory, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling that it was extremely important.

So, I want to post at least biweekly, but I'm suuuuper busy with my senior year- AP classes, mentoring the lower orchestra (I play viola in the higher orchestra, and cello in the lower one, along with my little brother) and getting ready for college- so there's a good possibility that my posts will come in spurts. So, I apologize in advance. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please R&R! I love you all! :)