The sirens could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Curious heads bobbed out of windows while some stood at their front doors. Those of a braver caliber created a crowd around the home of 9253 Costco Drive. Several police cars guarded the scene, but that didn't stop the crowd from watching about five policemen pin and cuff a stout, drunken man to the ground.

Officer Ned Nicholas watched from his squad car as the one of the burly officers retained the man and stuffed him into his own squad car. Two other officers held back the crowd, telling them to back away and go home. Several paramedics had had been brought in, a stretcher between the two of them. Nicholas watched as they ran into the house in front of him.
"Nicholas?" A voice called from behind.

He turned to see Alan Derwood, a rookie walking to him. A little girl with a head of ebony curls wrapped in a brown blanket leaned against the car.

"What's happened here?" Nicholas asked.

"Remington's been taken into custody," The young man replied.

Gary Remington was famous for his drunken outrageous at the station. Nicholas never had the pleasure to deal with him, but he had heard stories. Remington usually stayed a night in the local jail to sober up.

"For?"

"Attempted murder."

"Murder?"

"That's what I said."

Nicholas's gaze fell back to the house. The paramedics had a woman lying on the stretcher. He could see red trickling down her cheek. From the corner of his eye, he could see the little girls intake of breath.

"Victim?"

Derwood stepped closer and answered in a low voice, "He had beaten the mother senseless. He was screaming at her, saying how when he was done with her the girl would get it."

Nicholas looked back at the girl. She had tightened the cover around her and held on so tight her fingers turned pink.

"Who called?"

"The girl."

"How'd she get to a phone?"

"Well we think she knocked him out with a brick, took up the phone and ran to a hiding place." The other man explained.

"You think?"

"The girl has been in a sort of shock, sir. All we know is what she told us in her phone call."

Nicholas nodded. It took a brave little girl to have knocked a raging, drunken man out and then call the police.

"Where's she staying?" He asked.

"That's where we're at a crossroads," Derwood answered.

Nicholas looked at the other man, waiting for him to go on.

"We don't want her spending the night at the station, what with all that happened to her tonight and she's in to much shock for a home this late at night." The rookie continued.

"What about the hospital?"

"Would you really want to be at the hospital where your mother might be dying?"

"Family?"
"No one nearby." "Then where is she staying?"

"Peters and I thought you might take her in. You've always had that paternal touch."

"Me? Take her in?" He thought about what Derwood was proposing. "For how long?"

"A day, maybe two. A week at the longest."

Ned viewed the little girl again. Her whole body was wrapped inside the large brown cover. Her head bobbled above the itchy fabric, ebony curls splayed around her pale head. Her gaze was on the house.

"It's all right if you don't want to," Derwood continued.

"It's fine. I'm sure that Valerie won't mind too much. And Ben is out at a friends house tonight."

Derwood patted Nicholas on the back, "Thanks." Turning to the little girl, he said, "This is Ned Nicholas. He's a friend of mine and he's fellow police officer. He's offered to let you spend the night at his home. Okay?"

Her face stayed blank as she nodded in agreement. Ned kneeled down and looked up at her.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

She nodded again, her face still blank.

"You sure?"

Again, she nodded.

"Would you like to get some clothes and things out of the house before we leave?" He asked.

She stared straight ahead.

"How about something to eat? We could stop by Wendy's if you like."

Her eyes stayed on the house.

"What's your name?"

She finally looked at Nicholas. A mixture of terror and anger filled her - were they violet? - eyes, "How's my mom? Is she going to be all right?"

"She's going to be just fine. The paramedics have already taken her to the hospital."

The girl's foot began to tap. At every word, her it would tap faster.

"And what about that drunken bastard? What have you done with him? Hmm? Well? Are you just going to lock him up for the night like you always do?" Her voice began to rise. Derwood stepped forward, but stopped when Nicholas signaled him to.

"He's in jail, sweetie. This time he should be in there for a while."

"Sure. Sure. And when he gets out Mom and I are screwed. Well we aren't coming back. You hear? I'm not setting foot back into that house!" The words flew out as fast as her foot tapped.

Ned kept his tone calm, "You don't have to go back in there. You don't have to. Your father's going to be in jail for a long time. A real long time. And it's all thanks to you."

The taps slowed down a bit, "Really?"

"Really. You'll have to come with me though. We don't want you being alone here and we don't think you want to go to the police station or the hospital."

She nodded.

"Unless you have any friends or family you can spend the night at tonight."

Her taps had ceased to exist and she shook her head, "He scared all my friends away. They don't like to hang out with me because they're scared. I've never met any of my aunts or uncles or cousins, so I don't know where they live. Most of His friends are to drunk to care and Mom was always so busy working, I don't even know if she's got any friends."

The poor little girl. Gary had prevented her from having the enjoyment of friends because of his disease. Stories he had heard about Gary's fiascos had always been of what funny thing he'd said or what he'd done. None had mentioned a daughter. Because of him, his wife worked to the bone and his daughter had grown an obvious hatred of him.

"Would you like me to go inside and get you some clothes?"

She shrugged, "You can, but you'll probably just find them all in pieces. He got to them all before her."

"Oh."

"All the money Mom and He earned, when he was sober, went into paying for the house." She continued.

"Well," Ned said, "I've got a son. He's not exactly your size, and neither is my wife, but you could borrow something of theirs if you like. If you have to stay for more than a day, my wife can take you out and get some clothes for you."

"I don't mean to impose," The girl said.

"You won't be," Nicholas replied. "Now, how about that meal?"

"I could use a burger," She said.

He opened the passenger door to his squad car. As the girl sat down, he asked her how old she was.

"I'm twelve."

"Twelve?"

"Yeah, lots of people are surprised when I tell them that. I'm just small for my age."

When he shut the door, Derwood came up, shaking his head.

"How the hell did you do that?" He asked. "No one could get a word out of her earlier."

"That's because you don't have the touch," Nicholas said, making his way to the other side of the car.

"Hell, maybe you'll be able to find out her name."

"You don't know her name? What kind of cop are you?"

Derwood shrugged, "Hey, no one does. She hasn't said a word until you started talkin' to her."

Nicholas peered through the glass at the small girl. She stared straight ahead, her arms wrapped around herself, the cover laid in a pool around her. She was so young and she already didn't trust people. It was a shame.

"Call me in the morning when they figure out what to do with her. " He said, opening the car door.

"Sure thing, sir," Derwood saluted the man as he and the young girl drove off.

The girl ended up spending more than a night or two at Ned Nicholas's home. For two weeks she slept on the overstuffed couch in the extra room of Ned and Valerie's home. Everyday she would ask how her mother was doing, but when asked to go for a visit, she would shake her head. Everyday, Ned tried to find out her name, but only got a cool stare.

She was a smart girl, though. She spent the first few days going through Valerie's old book collection. She would read and read all day long. One day, she asked if she could go back to school. So everyday before going to the station, Ned would drive her and his thirteen-year-old son, Ben to school.

Ben, being an only child, was not used to all the attention the small girl was getting. He was angry that his father had taken in a stranger and gave her all sorts of attention. But then, he didn't know her story, and his parents weren't about to tell him anything. So when the day came that the girl had to leave, he wasn't to upset.

Valerie, on the other hand, had taken a special liking to the little girl. It was as though she were the daughter Valerie never had. The girl had a passion for books just like Valerie did. So they spent their days going through her books and the local library. She even took the girl to the bookstore and bought her several books before she had to leave.

The girl's mother had decided to put her up for adoption; fully knowing she couldn't take care of her. Janice Remington made this decision knowing that while by law her daughter wouldn't be hers, she would always know that the girl was her daughter and love her more than anything. She did, after all, save Janice's life.

Ned had talked with social services about the Remington's case and they had finally decided on something. Because of wanting to be near her mother, the girl would stay in the Harris County area. The girl requested to have a policeman or woman as a parent and, thankfully, someone in the station freely offered to take her in. William Mac and his wife always wanted children and, while they already had a daughter, wouldn't mind having one more.

The day the girl was to leave, Ned gathered all her things, which all fit into one case, and drove her down to the hospital. The girl, despite not wanting to visit her in the hospital, loved her mother more than anyone Ned had ever known. Ned stood outside Janice Remington's door, so as the let them say their goodbyes in private.

"I'm so sorry," Janice whispered to her daughter. "I don't want to let you go, but I have to. I can't take care of you."

The girl stood next to the bed, "I told you we should have left long ago," She replied.
"We had no where to go."

"Because of your pride," the girl retorted. "You didn't want anyone to know our 'situation'."

"You know, I asked your Aunt Lettie to take you in. Until I could get back on my feet again."

The girl nodded, " I know. I would stay there, I really would, but if He gets out, I don't want to be somewhere where he'll find me."

"Honey . . ."

"I would love to stay with you though, Mommy," The little girls voice broke. Her arms, which weren't as thin as they had been just a couple weeks ago, wrapped around her mothers waist.

"Oh, baby, I know. But we can still call and write to each other. Just because I have to give you up doesn't mean you aren't my baby. You'll always be my baby. My one and only." Tears began to fell from the woman's brown eyes.

"I know Mommy, I know."

After the girl had given her mother one last, tight hug, Nicholas and her left. After they had gotten to the car, the little girl asked if he was taking her to the orphanage.

"No," Ned answered. "We found a family for you. Do you remember Bill? The man who visited the other day?"

The girl nodded.

"He wants to adopt you."

"Is he nice?"

"You met him. What do you think?"

The girl shrugged, "He doesn't drink? Does he?"

He glanced over at the girl. Her violet eyes watched him from underneath ebony eyelashes.

"No, he doesn't drink. He doesn't even smoke," He answered.

"Does he chew tobacco?"

Surprised as he was, he answered her calmly, "No, not that I know of. "

"What does he do?"

"He's a policeman."

"Really?"

"Yep. And he's got a daughter of his own about your age. Her name is Alice and his wife is about to have a baby boy."

"That's nice."

"You know," He said, figuring it wouldn't hurt to ask one more time. "You've been at my house for two weeks now, don't you think it's about time you told me your name?"

The girl looked down at her lap, "I don't think so."

"Why not?" Ned asked, pulling into the store parking lot.

"Where are we?" She asked, lifting her head.

"I want to give you a present," Ned answered. "But I won't unless you tell me your name."

It was a pet store, the little girl saw. She always wanted to have a little puppy or kitten ever since she was little. She wasn't able to keep the strays she found though. They usually ran away after experiencing Gary's drunken outbursts.

"My name is Lianna. Momma calls me Lia."

"That's a pretty name."

"Thank you."

"Come on."

Several minutes later, Lia came out of the pet store with a little Husky pup in her arms. After a talk with Bill, Ned and him agreed to buy her a pet to befriend. After all, Gary had prevented her from having a friend all her life. Now she had one. A friend and protector. A little canine guardian angel.