Everything feels like a blur as Eunae, Jisoo and Jennei drive to the hospital/ Her mind felt like static ever since she heard the news.

 

God it felt like that night all over again. Except back then she had Chaeyoung’s strong presence beside her, holding her hand, comforting her as she dealt with the worst news of her life and now… now Chaeyoung is the one at risk.

 

Only when Jennie sits in the waiting room does she speak. “Evie?”

 

“She’s with Lisa. We were already babysitting her before I went to see you.” Jisoo explained.

 

“Does she know?”

 

“Not yet” SHe replied, shaking head. “They’re waiting to see how Chaeyoungie is so she doesn’t worry.”

 

Just then Euane makes her way back to them and musters a weary smile. “They said she’s out of surgery, and that she’s awake.”

 

“That’s great news.”

 

“Can we see her?”

 

Euane nods, and Jennie feels a rush of relief.

 

“Why don’t you go in first while Jisoo and I make sure Evie is okay?” Euane proposed with an affectionate squeeze to Jennie’s arm.

 

“Thank, Euane. I really appreciate it.”

 

The doctor leads her to Chaeyoung’s room, and she gives the two of them some privacy as the door closes behind her. The tall blonde is sitting up in the bed, bandaged and pale but very much alive.

 

The two look at each other for a moment, it is only after she notices Chaeyoung looking at her outfit that she snaps out of her trance.

 

“What do you think?” Jennie asks with a soft look.

 

The blonde smiles. “I think you look amazing.” She then waves closer and reaches out to take Jennie’s hand as soon as she’s close enough. “I’m sorry. I really wanted to give you the perfect date.”

 

Jennie chuckled softly. “Rosie, you got shot. That’s perhaps the best excuse to stand someone up I’ve ever heard of.”

 

Chaeyoung laughs but winces when she does so. “Ow…” She muttered. “Fair enough. I just wish I could have been there.”

 

“I know.”

 

Chaeyoung gives her a wry smile that makes her chest ache; it seems unthinkable that she’d be trying to comfort her at a time like this.

 

“How do I look?” Chaeyoung asked with a goofy side smirk.

 

Jennie manages to smile back at her. “Only you could take a bullet and still look beautiful.”

 

The blonde laughs with a slight blush, though she winces a little as she does. “You’re just saying that.”

 

“I mean it. You look much better than I expected.” Jennie replies, leaning down to give her a long, lingering kiss. Chaeyoung cups her face in her hands and deepens the kiss. The warm vanilla scent of her body wash surrounds her like an embrace. Finally, reluctantly, they part. Chaeyoung trails a gentle caress on her cheeks.

 

“I hope you weren’t too worried.”

 

“You were shot! Of course I was worried!” Jennie said, trying to keep her words light and teasing, but she can feel her brow furrowing with concern.

 

The blonde sighs, noticing her anxiety. “I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted was to scare you like this.” She said, patting the side of the bed. “Sit, close to me, please.” The brunette does so, not once letting go of her hand. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

 

“I do.” Jennie replied. “What happened out there, Chaeyoung?”

 

The blonde looks down at the sheets with a long sigh. “I was on my way home to change…”

 

----Flashback---

 

The country roads of Shadow Creek are snowy, but the blonde navigates them with the confidence that only years of experience brings. She tries to drive fast but carefully as she knew she was already late, but she got delayed due a domestic dispute and as much as she wanted to leave she needed to get the paperwork done.

 

She’s lucky if she shows up just in time. She told Jennie that she’d be there by six, and she intends to be a woman of her word. Jennie deserves someone she can trust.

 

A blur of movement in front of her car startles her from her thoughts. Whatever it is wanders out into the middle of the road, right into the path of her car. She slams her foot into the brake pedal and comes to a screeching halt.

 

“.” She looks in front of her with a frown and it’s then that she realizes it’s not a dog or a deer, but a little girl. “What the…”

The little girl stares wide-eyed at her headlights before beginning to wander away again. The blonde quickly parks on the side of the road and dashes after her.

 

“Hey! Wait up, kid!”

 

The girl slows down and stares back at the sheriff. She wasn’t wearing much more than a threadbare t-shirt and the blonde can see by the way the clothing hangs off her shoulders that she’s underfed, and her hair looks unwashed. She’s never seen her before...

 

How could someone be this neglectful? She wonders and as she does, the painful sight of the suffering girls feels all too familiar as Chaeyoung remembers her own childhood. She tries to fight the anger and contempt that rises in her for her parents as she speaks to the girl gently.

 

“Hey, sweetheart.” She said softly. Her hands in front of her to show the girl she was not going to hurt her. “Where are you parents?”

 

The girl points past her to an unplowed driveway that leads to a dilapidated ranch house. It’s only then that Chaeyoung notices her bare feet. Her anger rises up again, what kind of parent would let their kid wander into the snow with no shoes on?

 

The little girl shivers and the blonde gently lifts her into her arms, trying to bundle her up in her jacket. It’s startling how light she is. It’s been a while since Evie was her age, but she feels like the little girls should be heavier.

 

“Are there in that house?”

 

The little girl clings to her shirt and nods. Her eyes are glassy as she shivers against her chest. Taking a good look at her Chaeyoung notices she’s filthy and she looks scared.

 

“Let’s get you inside.” The girl says nothing but she clings thighter to her. “Hey, don’t worry. I won’t leave you alone.” She carries her up the snowy driveway to the ranch house.

 

As she approaches the door, she can hear angry voices shouting within. The little girl huddles closer to her as she knocks on the door. It swings open a moment later and an unkempt man stands in the doorway glowring at her.

 

“What the hell are you doing with my kid?!” The man asks, he reeked and Chaeyoung was sure he was drunk.

 

The blonde sets the little girl down so she can flash him her badge.

 

“Sheriff. Care to explain why she was standing in the middle of the road?” She asked, seriously though it was clear she was more than angry. “She could have been hit by a car, or frozen to death.”

 

The man continues to glare at her without so much as a flinch. “She likes to wander off.”

 

“Have you considered watching her?”

 

“Don’t you be telling me how to raise my kid!”

 

“You almost didn’t have a kid to raise.” Chaeyoung replied, raising her voice. “You’re lucky I spotted her.” The man continues to glare; the sheriff can tell he won’t be making this easy on her. “I need you to stand back from the door while I come in.”

 

The man swears under his breath, but does as she’s asked. The little girl makes no attempt to go to him as she steps inside, instead sticking close to her. Red flag.

 

The place was a mess, the stench of garbage and alcohol hit her like a wall. She grimaces as she leads the girl further inside, taking stock of her surroundings. It was warmed in here, but she couldn’t leave the little girl in this place. She barely has time to reach for her phone before a thin equally unkempt woman staggers into the room.

 

She looks wasted, and judging by the half-empty bottle of gin in her hand, she probably is. When she sees the little girl at her side, her face twists in rage.

 

“What are you doing with my baby?!” She takes a few threatening uneven steps towards the blonde.

 

“You need to calm down.” The blonde said with a firm voice, showing her her badge.

 

The woman cringes away from her, but she stills looks furious. Just then the man stumbles inside.

 

“This here’s the sheriff, Laura.” He says gesturing drunkenly at the blonde. “Apparently your mothering skills are lacking.”

 

Chaeyoung cuts in before she’s forced to listen to the mother’s retort. “I found your daughter out in the snow, freezing and shoeless, and wandering into the road.” She explained, The woman’s eyes widen, and she has the sense to look embarrassed, though not as ashamed as she should.

 

“Oh. Well, thanks.” The woman swayed slightly. “Now you can leave her and be on your way,”

 

Chaeyoung took a deep breath. “I’m afraid it isn’t that simple now, ma’am.” She said and guided the little girl away from her parents as she called dispatch through her radio.

 

“This is Sheriff Park, I need Child Services out here asap. Lincon Dr 227”

 

“Roger that. We’re on our way.”

 

It’s not a call she makes lightly. Sometimes flawed parents are better than the system, but she knows that this girl isn’t safe here. She wishes she could talk it out with them, but a look at the state of the house is enough to know they won’t listen to reason.

 

The drywall is cracked and punctured, there’s mold on the walls, and garbage is strewn across the room. The house isn’t fit for inhabiting, let alone for raising a child. Right now Chaeyoung calling child services is the best chance the girl got. She deserves better than this… better than what Chaeyoung lived with.

 

The moment Chaeyoung releases her radio, the little girl’s father lunges at her in a rage.

 

“You think you can just come in here and take my kid away?!”

 

“Sir, calm down.” Chaeyoung said, every muscle in her body tensing. “Nothing is happening....” Before she can say or do anything else, he snatches at the girl’s arm and twists it to drag her closer to him.

 

“Sammy, get over here!” The man yells.

 

The girl squeaks as he does, fear and tears filling her eyes.

 

“Let go of her!” Chaeyoung said she manages to get Sammy away from her father before he can hurt her more, but it only makes him angrier. He lunges again, this time to grab at her.

 

He may be angry, but she’s faster and fitter. Before he can lay a hand on you, you’ve taken the wind out of him with a punch to the gut. She doesn’t enjoy using force, but she doesn’t think anyone will say he didn’t deserve it. As long as it doesn’t escalate and the child is safe, that’s all she can ask for.

 

The man’s wife pulls him away as he wheezes to catch his breath.

 

“You need to calm down.” She warns. “Or I’ll have you arrested for trying to assault an officer.”

 

The man grimaces but nods at you. His wife scoffs.

 

“Now you’ve done it.”

 

“You shut up, Laura!”

 

“I need you two to stop arguing!”

 

The two of them glower at each other as they fall silent, she looks at them for another moment specially the father as if to make sure they will not try anything afterwards she crouches down in front of the little girl.

 

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

 

“Her name’s Sammy. She doesn’t talk.” The mom answers before the girl could even open .

 

Chaeyoung sighs and whispers to the little girl so only she can hear her. “Don’t worry, Sammy. You’re safe now.” Once again no answer.

 

Chaeyoung sits with the child by the window as they wait for Child Services to arrive, watching as her parents sulk on the couch. She shoots them a look and then brings her attention back to the little girl. Soon enough, she spots Child Services pulling into the driveway.

 

Yeri, a worker she’s familiar with, steps out of the car and waves at her. The little girl huddles even closer to Chaeyoung in fear.

 

“Hey, it’s okay, Sammy. You can trust them, they’re going to take care of you.” She said standing up to meet the woman in front of the house and explaining the situation.

 

“We can take it from here, Sheriff.”

 

She and a few officers go inside to investigate and speak with the parents as she stands out in the snow. It’s only after she looks at her watch that she realizes she didn’t text Jennie to let her know she’d be a bit late. So she walks a few paces from the house and takes out her phone.

 

For a moment she stares at the number, wondering what she’ll even say to her. She knows she’ll understand, still maybe Chaeyoung should apologize with flowers and chocolates. No one has ever said no to flowers and chocolate right? But first a text to let her know she’s still coming.

 

Chaeyoung has just started punching out her apology when she hears one of the officers shouting. Before she can turn around, pain shoots through her upper body, and the impact against her shoulder staggers her, she falls against the cold ground, the snow turning red as the blood pours out, she manages to turn in the direction of the gunfire in time to see one of the officers pinning Sammy’s father to the ground.

 

The world spins as she lays there, looking at the sky, watching as the snow fell softly as she begins to black out, her last thought is of Jennie and how she can’t lose her. Not like this. Not before they even had a chance to make things work.

 

It’s the thought of her driving out of her life again, rather than the pain of her wound that brings tears to her eyes. And so Chaeyoung tries to concentrate on the memory of her smiling face as the world slips away.