Prevously in Scarlet Rose...

Her phone buzzed again, and she sighed at the message her friend had sent her.

"What did she say?" Kris asked nervously.

Ana frowned and showed him the message.

Ana, call me now. We have a problem.

Chapter 1: Can't we catch a break?

"We should go find her," Ana told Kris nervously, taking his hand in hers and leading him back inside the school. There, they found Lacey, who looked nervously at them. There was a girl behind her too, who looked just as nervous. It was obvious there was something up.

Ana looked the person next to Lacey up and down. The girl had curly brown-blonde hair that fell an inch or too past her shoulders, and piercing green eyes that matched her flip flops. She was skinny but had an athletic build, as if she ran a lot. But she also made Ana nervous the way she was looking around a lot.

"So what's your problem, Lacey?" Ana inquired, still looking over the "Anna" character skeptically.

"Anna's friend from school contacted her," Lacey replied, looking troubled at the concept. "He is having trouble at home, and he needs her help."

"What's wrong?" Ana asked, now curious of the dilemma at hand. For some reason, these things interested her.

"His teacher is molesting him," Anna replied sorrowfully. "And his grandfather just died a month ago. His teacher called him in after the death to try to 'sympathize'," Anna put air quotations around 'sympathize' with her fingers, "and since then he has been touching him every day. Now my friend is afraid that his teacher is going to hurt him or his grandmother because he hasn't been going to school. He wants me to come help get him and his grandmother to safety, since my parents already said he and his grandmother could live with us, but I can't do it alone. I only told my parents about the grandfather dying part, though," Anna told her slowly. "They don't know about his teacher. I told them they're having trouble making ends meet since the grandfather's death, and they need a place to stay."

"Okay," Ana replied, thinking over the new information in her head. She had now decided she could trust Anna... for now at least. "That's a very sad story. But where do we come in?"

"I can't do this alone," Anna replied repeating what she had said earlier. "It'll be hard to get the both of them out quickly if it's just me. Also, I need someone to stand guard in case the teacher decides to come around."

"Okay," Ana nodded. "So what's the plan? Hypothetically speaking, of course, assuming I say yes."

"We would leave tonight," Anna told them, "for JFK International. I can buy tickets for us for a low rate, and we could take the one-way flight."

"And when we get there?" Lacey asked. "What happens then?"

"My friend can text me directions," Anna nodded. "We can get a cab to the house, pick them up quickly, and fly them back to New York where my parents will meet us back at the airport. But it could take us a day or so to get back, because they live in Vermont."

"After we get back we report his teacher to the police," Lacey announced. "Anna showed me a picture of his teacher, Ana... He's freaking scary. Like, Hogan mixed with Godzilla scary."

"My friend is terrified," Anna told them truthfully. "He's literally scared out of his mind. His grandmother too… he needs our help, Ana. Will you help me save him, please? I just... I just don't want him getting hurt."

Ana thought over it, rolling the concept over and over in her head, examining every possible angle. There would be danger, of course. But if they got an adult to go with them it could ruin the entire element of surprise spiel. She could probably grab some cash, and she was sure Kris would lend her the money. A taxi sounded okay, and everything about the plan seemed reasonable. Not to mention the fact that she truly did want to help.

"I'll help," she finally replied, nodding her head.

"Thank you," Anna smiled, visibly relieved that she would have to go alone. The plan could still work.

"It will be dangerous, though, Rose," Kris told Ana worriedly. Ana turned to face him, having forgotten he had even been standing there. "Olivia will never approve."

"I don't have to tell her," Ana replied shortly, coming up with the obvious answer. "I'll write her a note; I'll take my punishment from her when I get back. But if there's one thing I've learned from being in the SVU, Kris, it's that the victims must always come first. I have to help this person, Kris. We could be his only hope."

Kris smiled, feeling overwhelmed with the emotional feeling of affection he had for her at the moment. He had always known she was brave, and now she was showing him her noble side. She was about to jump into a quickly thrown together plan to save someone she didn't even know and had only a new acquaintance's that this person even existed. But yet she was willing to take a risk for a victim of abuse; she was truly amazing.

"I believe you, Rose," he told her, his voice brimming with emotion. "Just promise me you'll be careful. No reckless gun fights, no jumping buildings, no sword fighting on bridges over frozen water… okay?"

Ana winked at him with a smirk.

"No promises."

Notes: Ahh, finally we get this out. :) Sorry for the delay, but it took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. Not to mention my internet wasn't working for a week or so due to a virus-infested scam called Best Malware Protection. It attached itself to my computer and screwed up internet explorer, and so I was without updating for over a week. We got rid of the virus and got protection before it got worse, but it was a very long time before I had the chance to even touch my account. I had to read fanfics and review from my iPod Touch, which I'm sure most of you know is NEVER fun. But no worries, I promise to try to not disappoint with my updates! And please don't forget to review, all! They inspire me to write better and faster. More reviews means a happy author means faster updates mean happy readers! You see how that works now? ;) Haha thanks and don't forget to let me know what you think!