"What's going on?" Ella murmured from the bed, alarmed upon hearing Damien scrambling to get his clothes on in the middle of the night.

"Nothing, love. Go back to sleep," Damien's efforts to calm his wife were futile, though.

"Damien," Ella sat up, checking their clock. "It's two in the morning right now. What's going on?" She blinked away any remnants of drowsiness, pushing the covers off upon seeing Damien reach for his wallet and cell phone.

Damien paused, conflicted.

"Mary's at the station again."

Ella's muscles tensed. This wasn't the first time. It was the second time, either, so Ella's heart wasn't racing as much as it had the first time she heard those words

"Will you wait for me?" Ella stood from the warm bed. It was the middle of October, and the night was chilly. Adding Ella's nervousness, she was already cold and her teeth began to chatter anxiously.

Regardless of it not being Mary's first time in trouble with the law, and likely not her last, it still made Ella worry and panic over what had gone down this time.

"Ella," Damien rounded the bed to her side quickly, pushing her small shoulders down with his warm palms, kneeling down by her feet while tracing his hands down her arms to stop at her hands. "We can't leave Sofia alone, and Stefanie is out of the country right now."

In the last occasions that they had to leave the house in the middle of the night, Stefanie had been able to rush to their home and stay with her niece, but that wouldn't be possible right now.

Upon seeing Ella's forehead crease with worry, her hazel eyes that Damien loved so much darkening with problems, he leaned up, kissing her lips tenderly.

"It's going to be alright. I'll just pick her up, sign a few documents, and we'll be right back home before you know it." Damien was no fool. He knew Ella wouldn't go back to sleep and would likely stay up and wait for them anxiously.

He grabbed Ella's chin between his thumb and forefinger, directing her troubled gaze back to his calm, forest green eyes.

"You trust me, right?"

"This is the fifth time this month, Damien. They told her-"

"Sh, sh, shh," Damien hushed her growing fears, trying to stop her precious tears from falling from her honey eyes. "I won't let it get to that, okay? You know how determined I am. Just lie down, and wait for me. I'll be back as soon as I can, amore." Damien pushed her gently back on the bed, tucking her under the covers. "Breathe. She'll be safe. Don't worry, my love." Damien kissed her forehead, caressing her cheek with his thumb, making sure she was calming down before he could leave.

"Okay. Go." Ella sniffed, not wanting Mary to spend more time at the station. "I love you."

"I love you." Damien promised, kissing her before leaving, locking up the house securely.

Ella, meanwhile, got up from the bed. It no longer felt comfortable or warm. Instead, she wandered out of the room, finding herself walking to Sofia's room.

Rufus perked up upon hearing footsteps, but upon sniffing Ella's scent in the dark, he laid back down, his tail wagging gently while he watched as Ella moved to crawl into bed with her daughter.

Sofia, only six years old, felt her bed dip. Ridden with heavy sleepiness, though, she barely even felt her mom wrap an arm around her, kissing her soft and curly, black hair.

Rufus only positioned his body to face the door upon feeling the waves of restlessness coming from his owner.

Ella, unable to fall back to sleep, could only ponder about how she could help Mary. She couldn't even imagine what she would feel if Sofia were in the same position as Mary, but somehow, Ella was sure that it would be strangely similar to what she felt right now.

Despite how much counseling she had given and occasionally still gave Mary, it didn't seem like it would ever help. Mary still was troubled, and she still was a young seventeen years old. She couldn't manage all of her strong emotions at such a tumultuous age combined with her traumatic childhood.

As soon as Ella heard the garage door opening and Damien parking his vehicle inside, she moved away from Sofia's bed and rushed down. Rufus stayed.

Damien had already unlocked the door and let Mary through by the time Ella made it downstairs.

Mary, decked in all black and with her makeup smudged, couldn't even look up. She felt ashamed to have the only people who ever cared about her see her in such a disheveled and pathetic form.

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" Ella asked, reaching for Mary's hand, moving a dark strand of hair from her face to see it clearly.

Mary grimaced back, not wanting Ella to see her dark bags and eyeshadow smeared. She also probably smelt like sweat and weed from having hung out in the parking lot with those other girls.

"I... I'm fine." Mary mumbled, glancing back at Ella briefly, but that was another pain. Having to see Ella's usually calm and happy demeanor now be distressed and pained hurt Mary more than she could handle.

"Do you want a shower? Your clothes are in the room." Ella offered, watching as Mary gave a short nod before leaving. She already knew which room Ella was talking about. Whenever she came over, which happened more often due to trouble with the law, that guest room near the back of the back of the living room practically became hers.

Mary trudged away, and Damien watched as Ella shook her head, a couple of tears falling regardless.

"She's so slim." Ella wept against Damien's chest since her husband had guided her into his arms as soon as Mary disappeared around the hall. "She's got a bruise on her lip, too."

"Love," Damien sighed, reaching to pluck her off the floor and guide them to the living room.

He had seen how much Ella cared for Mary and vice versa. Even him and Mary had gotten closer. He also felt quite protective and like a father figure over Mary, but that still didn't grant them the honor of Mary's adoption. Not if Mary didn't want it.

"I don't know how to help her." Ella cried, shaking despite her husband's strong hold of her trembling figure against his expanse chest. "I can't do anymore for her. I... I don't know-" she hiccuped, and Damien frowned.

He felt physical pain in his chest upon listening to Ella cry.

"Why don't we try talking to her again-"

"No," Ella shook her head firmly. "If we keep bringing it up, she'll push herself farther away. I don't want to pressure her."

Damien sighed, rubbing his hand up and down Ella's back, trying to soothe her.

"I'm really sorry, amore." Damien felt quite powerless and incompetent. He couldn't help his wife ease her pain, and that was frustrating him too.

Ella shook her head, cuddling closer to her chest, clutching his hoodie in her small fist as she tried to calm down.

Mary, however, was standing right by the door of the bedroom, listening to everything. Even though Ella had tried to keep it quiet, the house was deathly silent. Anything and everything could be heard in the early hours of the morning when the rest of everyone was still sleeping in on their Saturday morning.

After calming down, Ella had gotten up to get breakfast ready while Damien went out to get some fresh fruit from a nearby market. Mary had already showered and dressed and was sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the tv that hung on the wall.

Then, she felt it.

She looked down at her side.

Sofia had curled up beside Mary, practically tucking herself under Mary's arm, her big brown eyes staring at the tv with fascination while she pulled her soft, pink blanket under her chin.

Mary felt her eyes water, staring at awe at the beautiful girl that calmly rested her dark main of curls on Mary's arm, as if this was a normal occurrence.

Rufus laid down by their feet, his tail, once again, curling around Mary's ankle like the first time she had met him when she was only eight, almost an entire decade ago.

"Hey, love," Damien entered through the front door, three bags in hand while he leaned on the door to close it shut. "There weren't any strawberries that..." his voiced trailed off as he traveled to the kitchen where Ella was cooking... or baking. Mary could smell a fragrant and sweet scent emitting from there.

"Mommy said it's okay to cry really hard once to get all of the small dots of pain that grow into one big one inside." Sofia stared at Mary curiously. She had felt a droplet of water fall onto her hand, and when she looked up, she saw Mary crying quietly.

"Your mommy told you that?" Mary sniffled, smiling in embarrassment. Sofia nodded.

"She also told me that pretty eyes shouldn't be clouded with water. You have pretty eyes."

Mary couldn't help it anymore.

She wailed like a baby. And like a big baby, she accept Sofia's small, six-year-old hand that clutched her bigger, seventeen-year old one.

Mary also wanted stability. She also desired a family, a warm home, a pair of protective parents. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She tried to grow up alone, but she didn't want. She hadn't been wanting that for a long time now.

Ella, upon hearing such loud sobs quickly dropped her cooking utensils and followed the sounds to the living room.

Fighting her own tears upon hearing Mary's pained cries, Ella only kneeled by her side, placing a delicate hand on Mary's back.

"Can..." Mary sniffed, tears still streaming, her voice trembling as she looked at Ella's own hazel and warm eyes. "Can I c-call you Mom, too?"

Ella nodded, moving to hug Mary in a tight embrace. "You can always call me Mom." Ella brushed Mary's dyed, black hair while she smiled between her tears.

Damien stood back, feeling an overwhelming amount of relief wash over him upon seeing the heartwarming scene.

"We can share Papa, too." Sofia stood excitedly on the sofa, looking at her dad with bright eyes, excited at the prospect of having someone else call her mom and dad out loud just like her. Everyone else just called by their first names, and that was no fun.

Mary chuckled, wiping her tears. "I'm such an ugly cryer." She grimaced at the hoarseness in her voice. She really let herself go.

"Papa says the only pretty cryer is Mommy." Sofia proudly stated, staring at her beautiful Mom that was busy pulling herself together.

"I still stand by that." Damien chuckled, reaching to pick up a bouncing Sofia from the sofa before she ended up bouncing off and onto the floor. He couldn't handle more crying for now.

Rufus barked.

"What's that smell?" Sofia sniffed the air.

"The eggs!" Ella dashed into the kitchen, leaving everyone else behind as she quickly turned the stove off and took the pan away from the heat.

"Welcome to the family, Mary." Damien chuckled, pulling her for a warm hug.

After a couple of years, Mary had warmed up to him tremendously. Having seen how warm and loving he was with Ella and Melissa, his niece, she grew comfortable with him. Then, after Sofia's birth, she noticed that he had been treating her as a daughter long before he even had one, long before Mary even knew that she adored Ella and Damien as parents.

The morning passed with no other issues, and slowly, the rest of the days also passed while Damien and Ella as well as Mary initiated the adoption process.

"Stressed?" Damien asked Ella the night of Christmas, after the get-together they had at Fransisco's, where Sofia had begged to stay with Melissa.

"I just... my back hurts a bit." Ella sighed, her fingers rubbing on the back of her neck.

Damien replaced her fingers with his.

"It's been a couple of chaotic months." He mumbled, kissing her neck.

Ella parted her lips, already knowing this was going.

"Let me make you feel good." Damien turned her on her back, his strong hands already lifting her nightdress while he kissed his way down her body.

Let me cherish you, Damien thought as he loved Ella deeply that night. Let me cherish you forever.