Jamie stood up slowly and brushed his pants off. He walked over to the mirror above the bathroom sink and looked in the mirror. His right eye was slightly swollen shut and turning a shape of purple. Jamie sighed and pulled his hood on. He walked out of the school bathroom and into the empty hall. Everyone had gone home. He walked quickly and tried not to limp. Jamie walked out the door to the school and started walking home. After a couple minutes a police car pulled up next to him. Jamie groaned. Danny rolled down the passenger window.

"Hey kid. Mom was starting to worry about you. Get in, I'll drive you home."

"No thanks, I'll walk." Jamie kept his eyes on the ground and kept walking. Danny parked his police car and jumped out. He grabbed Jamie's arm. Jamie tried not to wince, but Danny noticed.

"What's wrong kid?"

"Nothing, Danny." Jamie turned to keep walking, but Danny stepped in front of him.

"Jamie."

"It's nothing, Danny! Now leave me alone!" Danny pulled Jamie's hood off and gasped at the sight of his black eye.

"Who did this to you?" Jamie shoved Danny away and tried to walk away. Danny grabbed Jamie's arm again and squeezed. Jamie couldn't fight a yelp of pain. Danny reached for Jamie's sleeve and pushed it up. Jamie's arm was covered in bruises, some were fresh and some were at least a week old. Out of curiosity Danny reached for the hem of Jamie's sweatshirt and pulled it up, to expose his torso. Danny gasped. Jamie's torso was also covered in bruises. Tears filled Danny's eyes. "Jamie. What is going on?" Danny met Jamie's eyes and saw that tears were flowing down Jamie's cheeks. "Jamie, is someone at school doing this?" Jamie nodded slowly. "Who?"

"T-Thomas Williams."

"Why?"

"He used to beat up Mat, but he is disabled and it is not ok, so I told him to leave Mat alone. Now he beats on me. I used to fight back, but he's twice my size." Anger bubbled inside Danny.

"Get in the car. We have a stop to make on the way home."

"Danny, no."

"I'm not going to stand by as a punk kid beats on my baby brother." Jamie sank into the passenger seat.

Danny pulled away from the curb and called dispatch for the home address of Thomas Williams. Danny parked in front of the house. He climbed out of the car and pulled Jamie out of the passenger seat. Danny rang the doorbell and a blonde woman opened the door. She had a warm smile.

"Hello Officer."

"Hello Mrs. Williams. Is your son Thomas home?" Confusion crossed the woman's face and then she nodded yes and called for the boy. Thomas came running down the stairs and stopped dead cold when he saw Jamie in the doorway. Mrs. Williams welcomed Danny and Jamie into her home. She led them to the sitting room and motioned for everyone to sit.

"Mrs. Williams,"

"Please call me Kathy."

"Kathy are you aware that your son beats up fellow students after school?" Kathy's eyes grew wide in shock and then narrowed in anger and she turned to look at Thomas. Thomas shrunk into the couch. Kathy looked at Jamie.

"Has he hit you?" Jamie nodded slowly. Kathy gasped and fought back tears.

"Now, Thomas has two options. He can stopped beating kids for good or he can come with me to the stations and be charge for assault."

"Assault?" Kathy took a shaky breath. "Isn't that a little too much?"

"Too much?" Danny pulled up Jamie's sweatshirt to reveal the bruises. "Mrs. Williams, Jamie is covered in bruises and most of them are a couple weeks old. I do not think that assault is too much." Kathy turned to Thomas.

"You are not to touch another kid. And if you do, I will drive you to the police station myself."

"Wise choice, Kathy." Danny stood and handed her a card. "I'm going to call once a week to make sure he is staying out of trouble." Danny headed for the door and Jamie followed. As soon as the front door was closed, they could hear Cathy yelling at Thomas. Danny chuckled and walked to his car. Before they reached the car, Jamie crushed Danny with a hug. "What's this for?"

"For always having my back."