"Here you go," Ben put down a cup of water down in front of Sarah before sitting down on his own chair. 

His adopted daughter gave him an unimpressed look, "Really?" 

"Hey, you're still growing. Unless you want to drink sweet tea," he rose his hands in his own defense. 

"Nah, that's not nice," she pouted. "Poindexter, don't be so mean."

He laughed seeing that, "No. Sorry. All the doctors in the group will have my head before that happens. Just take it, for crying out loud." 

She just rolled her eyes, "Fine Benny baby."

"Oh for crying out loud..." he looked ready to cry in a corner by now. "Can we just focus on why we're here?" 

"Hey, you're the one who's always dragging them out!" she threw her hands in the air, pouting all the while. 

He rubbed his temple, feeling the stress nearly overwhelming him. Why oh why did he have to get stuck with this? Wait, he knew now. He had been the one to recruit her. 

Right. 

"Alright, let's not fight," he held his hand out to keep her from any more snappy comebacks. "Let's leave that behind us, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but let her legs relax on the sofa as she nodded, "Fine then."

He exhaled in relief. This was going smooth so far, "Alright. You've been abused and kicked out of your own house. We've established that." 

"Yeah, that's right," she crossed her arms, feeling a bit nauseous when that was brought up again. 

Ben set the file down, and took a seat beside her, "Sarah, I know that we didn't talk about a lot of things due to the cases AND my work in the Rehab Center AND the entire Archean stone craziness, but I want you to know that my door is always open for you if you need me. I won't let you fall. I will always care for you. So, if you want to confess anything now, go ahead. I'll just listen."

Sarah's hand moved to cover her face, trying to hide the shock she was clearly feeling. All her life, she had been taunted, treated like a nothing, considered useless by her own flesh and blood. She had been kicked out of home, and had been taken in by the League of Villains, only for that to fail. 

It was only after Ben and the SRS had taken her in did she realise a lot of new things. She was clean, she was happy, yes, but she was now plagued with nightmares, fears of her mom's return. Every night, she cried herself to sleep. 

But maybe, just maybe, she could trust Ben with her night terrors. 

Playing with her fingers, she looked up to the red-haired male beside her, and suddenly hugged him, embracing him in such a tight way it was completely out of character. 

Ben's eyes had widened for a while, but soon they softened and he hugged back, "There, there, Sarah, it's okay."

Tiny sobs could be heard from within, filled with gratitude for everything. 

And that just made him hug her tighter. He loved her so so much. 

Nothing, not even death, could change that.