"If you touch me, I'll start screaming." Grace warned, sounding more confident than she felt when she noticed Sarah's hand reaching toward her. Sarah's eyes flashed dangerously, but she dropped her hand.

"Hmm. I thought I beat that attitude out of you a long time ago. I guess when you come home I'll have to beat it out of you again. Or maybe a session with the branding iron will teach you some respect."

Grace was too shocked to scream when Sarah suddenly moved like lightning and violently grabbed her by her hair, pulling her close. Grace looked into Sarah's eyes and tried not to remember the branding iron. Branding a submissive was illegal, and Sarah had never actually used the iron to brand Grace, but she had used it numerous times to terrorize Grace and instill fear. Sarah placed a hand on Grace's neck threateningly, and her hand traveled down her neck, down her chest, and cupped Grace's breast, cruelly twisting the nipple and making Grace cry out in pain.

"My Mistress is on her way here, she'll be here soon. You better get lost before she sees you." Grace tried to sound strong.

"Get one thing through your stupid head, bitch; I am your Mistress, you belong to me. You are my property and after the hearing you'll be forced to come home. That bitch you're living with isn't going to want you around for much longer, you are useless and I am the only one who will ever want you. And I will forgive you for running away and creating this whole mess… after you've paid the price."

"Ladies, move it along. There are kids around." a police officer ordered as he walked by, assuming that Grace and Sarah were engaged in consensual activity.

Grace was caught off guard once again when Sarah violently tossed her to the ground, sending her phone flying.

"Be a good girl, little one. I'm watching you no matter where you go." Sarah turned and walked away.

With tears streaming down her pretty face, Grace struggled to her feet and hurried to retrieve her phone. She was relieved to find that it wasn't broken thanks to the protective cover Olivia had put on it before giving it to her and Grace immediately sent the picture she had taken of Sarah to Olivia.

I'm on my way, baby. - Ma'am

Grace felt relief flood her bones as she read Olivia's words. She spotted the police officer that had passed by them earlier taking a break from his patrol and sitting on a bench eating a sandwich. She didn't approach him, but she found a bench to sit close to him, feeling safe knowing that he was nearby. Grace wiped the tears from her eyes only to make room for new ones.

"Where do you think you're going? We still have this entire thing to go through before Friday." McGrath held up a thick stack of files.

"It can wait, I've got an emergency to deal with." Olivia walked out of her office, "Amaro, Rollins; go arrest Sarah McPherson for violating her restraining order." Olivia ordered. Hearing the name Sarah McPherson, the two detectives jumped to do as they were told; even though it was Olivia's day off, their Captain was not a woman to be disobeyed.

Olivia drove to Central Park as fast as she safely could. Picking up her phone, she used the SubFinder app to easily locate Grace, still sitting on the same bench, though by now the police officer was gone. Grace looked up when she saw Olivia hurrying toward her and she ran straight into Olivia's arms. Olivia opened her arms to receive her distraught little one.

"I'm right here, my baby. Such a good girl for texting me right away when you needed help. Did she hurt you, sweetheart?" Olivia inquired with loving concern.

"She grabbed my hair and twisted my nipple. She said I'll be forced to go back to her after the hearing and she said… she said…" Grace choked on a sob, unable to continue.

"Look at me, sweetheart. Let me see those pretty eyes." Olivia waited until Grace looked at her, "She was lying to you, baby. This hearing isn't a placement trial. Regardless of whether or not she gets to keep her title, she has no legal claim to you. She severed her rights to you the moment she violated your safeword and broke your contract. You are a human being with options in life, and if you don't want to go back to her, you don't have to."

"I don't want to go to Coldwell Dormitory." Grace's lower lip trembled, assuming that was the only other option she had left.

"You don't have to go there either, little one. You will always have a home with me." Olivia lovingly caressed the side of Grace's face.

"You would keep me?" Grace whimpered.

"In a heartbeat. I would be proud to call you mine. I love you, little one." Olivia spoke without hesitation or reservation as she carefully examined Grace's head. There were a few small scratches where Sarah's nails had dug into Grace's scalp, but nothing that required medical attention.

"I love you, Ma'am." Grace replied hesitantly. She was afraid to hope, just in case she was indeed forced to go back to Sarah in a few weeks or Olivia changed her mind, but her heart leapt with joy upon hearing Olivia's words.

Upon their arrival home, Olivia drew a lavender scented bath, stripped Grace out of her clothes, and guided her into the warm water. Grace had already taken a shower that morning, but the distraught woman was in need of comfort, and a bath was the best way to do it. Grace needed to feel Olivia's gentle hands on her body to counteract Sarah's cruel hands, reclaiming Grace as Olivia's property, not Sarah's. Olivia used a cup to scoop up water and gently pour it down Grace's back to soothe her. Olivia then used the cup to wet Grace's hair, and then she lovingly shampooed Grace's head, replacing Sarah's violent touch with gentle touch.

"Dunk your head, little one." Olivia instructed, and Grace obediently dunked her head to rid her hair of all traces of shampoo. With that accomplished, Olivia used a soft cloth to gently wash Grace's body. When she was told to do so, Grace got up on all fours in the tub for Olivia to wash her bottom.

When Grace was calm and relaxed, Olivia guided her out of the tub and into a soft, warm towel. Grace stood while Olivia lovingly dried her hair and then kissed her forehead.

"Choose whatever bra and panties you want, and then come to the kitchen for lunch."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Dressed in a fresh pair of panties and matching bra, Grace went to the kitchen to help Olivia make lunch. Grace was still learning how to cook, and Olivia guided her through it and praised her for a job well done. When lunch was ready, Olivia carried two plates over to the table and sat down. Grace dropped to her knees at Olivia's feet and waited while Olivia took a bite of her own food before she offered Grace a morsel of food from the other plate. Olivia gave Grace a napkin, giving her the power to decide if and when to wipe her own mouth. Grace chewed carefully and swallowed, and then was fed another morsel of food. When her plate was nearly empty, Grace laid her head on Olivia's lap, indicating that she was full. Olivia gently stroked Grace's long brown hair while she finished her own lunch. After lunch, Grace cleaned the kitchen and then Olivia took her out to the couch where she sat down and cuddled Grace on her lap, tenderly rubbing her satisfied belly. In the hours between lunch and dinner, Grace usually tended to her chores, but Olivia knew that her sweet little submissive needed extra cuddling after her ordeal in Central Park, and Grace melted in Olivia's arms in response to her gentle rubbing as she laid her head on Olivia's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Nick and Amanda had located Sarah McPherson's home, but discovered that she wasn't there, so they sat in the car waiting for her return.

"How can you eat those? The salt is going to blow your blood pressure through the roof." Amanda scolded.

"They're good, want some?" Nick held out the bag of chips.

"No, thanks. I'd like to live to be an old woman, I have no intentions of dying from a salt overdose. There's Sarah." Amanda pointed to the car that had just pulled into the driveway of Sarah's house.

"Sarah McPherson, you're under arrest for violating the restraining order against you." Nick announced as the two detectives walked up to Sarah flashing their badges.

"I have every right to approach my property." Sarah spoke with a frightening lack of emotion as Amanda cuffed her hands behind her back.

"By law, Grace isn't your property anymore and you were told by the court to stay away from her. Let's go." Amanda ordered.

"Detective Rollins, how are your daughters? Jessie and Billie, right?" Sarah asked casually while the car was stuck in traffic. Fear gripped Amanda's heart and Nick immediately turned to glare daggers at Sarah.

"You don't have the right to ask that question. Shut up." Nick growled protectively.

"Testy." Sarah rolled her eyes, "I was just making conversation, detective, there's no crime in that. It looks like we're going to be sitting here for a while, we may as well get to know each other."

When they arrived at the precinct and Sarah was safely locked away, Amanda and Nick went to Elliot and told him about Sarah's veiled threat.

"There's no way in hell she could possibly know my girls' names." Amanda said, visibly rattled.

"Amanda, take the rest of the day off. Go home and see your kids. We know that Sarah has said before that she has a friend who works here, we'll do some digging and find out who it is. We've got your back." Elliot told her.

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Amanda gathered her things and rushed home.

"Mama!" Jessie and Billie cheered happily when Amanda walked through the door and they ran to greet her with hugs.

"Hi, babies! Are you being good girls for Lucy?" Amanda smiled lovingly, taking her babies into her arms.

"They are." Lucy smiled as she walked in the room, having heard Amanda come home, "You're early today." the nanny observed.

"I'll explain it to you later without little ears around. Hey, babies, listen to Mama. We are going to go on an adventure for a few days. Lucy and I are going to help you pack some clothes and toys, and we are going to stay in a big hotel for a while."

"Lucy too?" Jessie asked.

"I'm probably going to stay at my house, sweetie, but I will still be there every day to take care of you while Mama is working. We'll pick a hotel with a pool and we can go swimming." Lucy chimed in. She didn't know yet what was going on, but she sensed that there was a situation happening and she backed Amanda up. Amanda would fill her in on the details later.

"Swimming!" Jessie and Billie cheered happily.

It took a while since Jessie and Billie were little and easily distracted, but finally Amanda and Lucy managed to load them in the car with all of their suitcases. Amanda slid behind the wheel of the car and drove to the hotel with Lucy following behind in her car. When they arrived, the little ones squealed in excitement upon seeing the spacious hotel room, with a second room attached for them to sleep in. Amanda distracted Jessie and Billie with cartoons and filled Lucy in on what was happening.

"I booked this room for a week, if we need to stay longer than that we can. The drive here from your house is about the same distance as your house to our apartment, so you won't be spending any extra money on gas. You'll have the same hours and the same pay, just a different location for a while. I managed to talk the front desk into letting you have a key to the room. It turns out the badge speaks volumes." Amanda concluded, handing Lucy her key.

"Of course, that's what I'm here for. I love taking care of your girls." Lucy smiled, putting the hotel key safely in her wallet.

"Since I'm home early, you can have the rest of the day off. I can handle bath time and bedtime myself. We'll see you tomorrow morning."

Lucy said goodbye to all of them, left the hotel room, and walked out to her car to go home.

The next day when Olivia arrived at work, her detectives filled her in on everything that had happened in her absence the day before, and she was glad to hear that Amanda and her girls were in a safe place.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Amanda. Grace has been kicking herself, she thinks this whole thing is her fault because she ran away from Sarah." Olivia sighed.

"Oh, that's just silly. You tell her she needs to stop feeling guilty or I'll spank her myself." Amanda glared.

"You keep your hands off my property." Olivia laughed, "Has anyone interrogated Sarah yet?"

"I did yesterday, and it was like talking to a brick wall. She wouldn't tell me the name of her friend who works here, she just sat there with that stupid smirk." Fin said.

"I'll drag in each and every person who works in this department for interrogation if I have to, but let me talk to Sarah first." Olivia said.

Sarah was brought into an interrogation room in cuffs and told to sit down to wait. On the other side of the two-way mirror, Olivia watched as Sarah sat there casually. With a file in hand, Olivia placed a hand on the door to let herself inside.