Introduction

Ryder sighs again and stands up to pace while he thinks. He knew by the look on Thirteen's face that she'd had another small setback - and this one was his fault. He had to fix this... he had to make all of this right.

"I'm gonna go over Reese's head," he states decidedly. "You're stuck in the system, and I'm tired of it. I don't care if I lose my job. You deserve better." He kept saying that... but he still believed it. Living at TJY was no place for anybody, let alone someone like Thirteen who had no mal-intent whatsoever. Ryder couldn't sense a mean bone in her body. She was lost, confused, and needed a bit more TLC, just enough to give her a boost so she could start being more independent. Maybe Ryder had gone a little too far this morning, but it was over and wouldn't happen again. He was growing more and more attached to Thirteen... he couldn't deny that... and he knew it was dangerous. But he wasn't going to shove her off onto someone else.

"I'm going to see to it that you don't have to stay at TJY any longer. You've given us all the information you can and there's nothing left. You don't deserve jail and they know that - otherwise you'd be there already."

Henry wanders into the living room, having been hiding out in Laura's room. He sniffs the air and rubs up against Ryder's legs, looking over to the couch uneasily. A little meow signals that he wonders what's going on.

Ryder bends down to pick him up, stroking the soft fur. "Henry, this is Thirteen." Shaking his head, he puts the cat back down and turns his attention back to Thirteen. "I'm going down to the police station. You can stay here alone or come with me. No one knows yet that I've found you so we shouln't have anybody from TJY clammoring to get you back."