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Here's the next chapter! This story does have a happy ending, so don't worry too much. Thank you for the reviews :)

Derek woke in bed at eight o'clock in the morning. Breathing softly beside him on the bed was Penelope. She was still sound asleep. Kissing her softly on the top of the head, he got up and strode quietly towards the door. He entered the hallway and made his way towards Tala's room to check on her. Opening the door, he poked his head in the dimly lit room and found his daughter perched on her bed. Her chin was resting on her knees and she was making herself as small as she could. Her eyes flicked up to meet her father's.

Wordlessly he entered her room and sat down next to her. "Hi, Dad," she said mutely. She made no movements. She just sat there.

He looked over at her and her newly, self-cut hair and his eyes began to water. "Hey Baby," he murmured in a choked voice. Even though she was making no movements, he couldn't help himself; he had to hold her and let her know that she was safe with him. Moving closer to her, he pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes. He hated that this had happened to his daughter. He hated that she was hurt like this, suffering inside from something so terrible having happened to her.

Neither of them said a word. When Tala had first been born, Derek swore to whoever was up there listening that he would do anything to protect his baby girl from anyone who would ever try and hurt her. He had failed her, he had broken his promise and now his daughter was suffering more than he could ever imagine. There was no worse feeling in the world that that. With Lindy and Soraya, it was going better. They were healing much better than their eldest sister. The therapist was making process with them.

Tala had completely shut down though. It was like a ghost had taken over her body and she was nothing more than a shell of her former self.

He was her father and he had not been able to stop her from getting hurt. Her pain was from his weakness and his inability to protect her. Nothing made him feel more guilty than that. He couldn't stand if he lost Tala, not even for a little while, not when he had just gotten Penelope back. Not when their family was just starting to reunite. Nothing in the world, even catching scumbags and terrible unsubs couldn't keep him from protecting his family and the love he held for them

The world could be burning down crumbling around him and the rest of the human race and he would not give a shit; the only ones he would care about were Penelope and their daughters.

Suddenly something wet hit his arms. It was her tears. Soon he couldn't keep his own tears at bay and they started flooding down his face onto the top of her head. The pain was crashing down on him, weighing down as if he were being pressed by one ton stones.

"I love you, Dad," she wept quietly.

"I love you, too, Tala."

XXXXX

"What do you think you want to do with it?" Penelope asked Tala, running her fingers through her choppy hair. Derek had taken Lindy and Soraya to their therapy appointment, leaving Tala and Penelope alone in the house.

Tala shook her head at her mother. "I don't care," she said bluntly. "Do whatever you want to it."

Penelope met Tala's eyes through the mirror in front of them. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive," she said. Her expression was blank as she stared ahead at nothing in particular. It broke Penelope's heart.

"Okay." Then she began fixing her daughter's hair so that it would look like she had gone to get a hair cut rather than looking like she had taken scissors to it herself. When she was done, she set the scissors down and started brushing the small hairs off of Tala's sweater. She rubbed her back gently. "How are you feeling right now, Baby? Do you want me to get you anything?"

Tala shook her head. "I'm okay, Mom." She looked back in the mirror and observed her new haircut. She thought the haircut resembled Ginnifer Goodwin's hair on Once Upon A Time. She looked up at her mother again and smiled softly, the first real smile since she got home. "Thanks," she added. "I look like -"

"Like Ginnifer Goodwin on Once Upon A Time," Penelope finished. "I thought you might like that considering it's your favorite show." Her face softened. "You really like it?"

Tala nodded and wrapped her arms around Penelope's waist. She held her tightly. "Really," she said. "It was you who cut it. Not - not him. I knew it was you, and I trust you and know that I'm not something you would..."

Penelope kissed the top of her head. "You will never, ever be hurt by anyone again," she said. "That's a promise. If it were up to me, the bastard would be dead before he could ever stand trial."

XXXXX

"Lindy, Raya, I need you to sit in the waiting room while I talk to Dr. Janson, okay?" Derek said.

Lindy nodded and took Soraya's hand. "C'mon Raya," she said. "Let's go." She led her sister out of the therapist's office and closed the door behind her.

Derek turned back to Dr. Janson. She gestured towards the couch and sat down in the armchair next to it. "Please, Mr. Morgan," she said, adjusting her glasses on her face. "Sit. We can have a chat right now."

He sat. "Thank you for talking with me," he said tiredly. "Tala's..." He rubbed his face. "She's not talking to anyone. She's shut down. She keeps drinking and she cut off all her hair and..." His voice trailed off again.

She nodded in understanding. "I know it's been difficult," she said sympathetically. "She's not opening up in her sessions either. The drinking is a way to cope with her pain and the cutting her hair is a way to get rid of the feeling of Keith Roberts touching and styling her hair. Take the pain of guilt for fighting with her mother, the fact her sisters were taken along with her, and the pain of the possible divorce between you and your wife, it all became too much for her." She sighed. "She may take months, even years to find a way to properly deal with it. Until we can break through her defense system, I would definitely recommend removing all alcohol from your house."

"It's already been done," he said. "We don't know where she keeps getting it from. I'm fairly tempted to have a chat with all her friends. I won't because she doesn't want anyone knowing, but I can't have her drinking herself into oblivion."

"What does Penelope know about this all?"

"She found her at first. She's helping her with her hair. She's surprising her by cutting it like a character on her favorite TV show." He looked up at the doctor and asked, "Is that okay?"

"Things that are familiar to her are good," she said with a nod. "And I think having her mother doing it will be therapeutic for her. She'll know it's Penelope doing it and will be a step in the right direction towards helping her deal with the fear of her hair."

Derek nodded and looked at his watch. "I need to get the girls home," he said.

She rose to her feet and he did the same. "I'll see Tala at her next appointment," she said. "It's on Thursday. And if it's alright, I would like it if you and your wife joined us. I'd like to see if she'll open up."

"Yes, of course," he said. "Penelope always was the one who got her to talk. She even got her to say her first words."

"Something like that is precisely why I think it would be best if you joined us," she said, opening the door so that Derek could join his daughters to take them home.

XXXXX

When Derek arrived back home, it was already five o'clock. In the living room sat Penelope and Tala, both of them holding a pint of ice cream, Penelope with a pint of Cherry Garcia and Tala a pint of Late Night Snack.

Lindy and Soraya went into the living room, both of the wearing huge smiles on their faces. "Tala! Your hair looks so pretty!" Soraya cooed, touching her sister's head. Tala's eyes went wide, but she smiled uncomfortably for a moment.

"Thanks Raya," she said.

Derek went in and leaned over the back of the couch, smiling. "Baby, your hair looks so great! You look amazing."

Penelope smiled and reached her hand up to squeeze her husband's. Derek squeezed it back and looked at Tala again. "You happy with your hair?" he asked hopefully. He prayed she wouldn't be upset.

She smiled tightly and nodded. But then she saw the look on her father's face and her smile turned more sincere. "Yeah," she said. "Mom did a great job."

Just the little smile gave both Penelope and Derek extreme joy. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Their eyes met and warmth radiated between them. It was great to see Tala smile again. And even though she still had a long way to go, it made their hearts beat happily at that very moment.

Getting there! I swear we're getting there.