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Helga had spent more time than she'd like in police stations. From minor vandalism as a latchkey kid in '80s looking for attention to actual crimes that she'd been lucky enough to not get heavy prison time for. And, despite her dislike of authority, she'd made a few friends who wore the shield.

She kept thinking about that to calm her nerves as she waited in the precinct. Amethyst sat beside her, resting her head against her chest and being more visibly terrified. Not of the police. Despite the vole's fashion choices, she'd been a straight-laced individual when it came to the law. No, she was worried for the pitbull Helga found tied up and almost raped in the gym. Helga did as well, but she knew the cops in this town weren't...well enough weren't assholes.

"If we hadn't shown up," Amethyst muttered, only for Helga to silence her with a brush of her hair.

"We did. Stop worrying about what-ifs," she said, though Helga understood why Amethyst couldn't help but think about it. The girl had to hide under the dashboard when the thugs ran out, only hearing them panic as they drove off. Sometimes only hearing something is worse than seeing it. Helga didn't factor that in when she went inside.

She didn't factor a lot. Like if they had guns, or how many were really in there, or if she'd be lucky to find all of them in one spot. The pig shook her head away at the idea, silently cursing to herself that her sub's hindsight panic had rubbed off on her. Helga pulled Amethyst in closer, hoping to calm them both in the embrace.

"What should I say to her?" Amethyst asked.

Helga sighed, "I don't know."

"Haven't you been in situations like this before?"

The older woman blinked and thought back to her days on the road. Back when she'd been wilder and prone to violence at the drop of a hat. Angry at years of being in a shitty relationship and itching to lash back out to the world. Not the best bastion of good advice.

"Just don't imply it's her fault it happened," she said, "Be there for her when she needs you to be. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

She breathed a sigh of relief as an officer approached them. One of the few times she'd been happy to see a cop coming her way. Seeing who made it all the sweeter, leaving Helga to smile as a familiar face entered her gaze.

"Hi, Harper. How's the wife and kids?"

The sheepdog wasn't smiling back. Instead, she stared down Helga with bloodshot eyes, "Fine," she muttered before taking a sip from her steaming mug of coffee, "You'd think a small town wouldn't have enough work to keep me so goddamn busy."

Shrugging, Helga couldn't really argue. Ever since she met Amethyst, things had been more exciting in this town. Though the excitement could have been more positive, "So, you just come to say hi or?"

"What's your relationship with Rebecca Cunningham?" the officer asked, sitting across from the two. Helga took note of the little excess weight the dog had on since she last saw her. The pig knew Dawn wasn't a good cook, so the good old police dog must have been enjoying a few too many donuts. In another circumstance, Helga might recommend the gym she'd been going to. Or just to lay off the sugar.

"She's a friend," Amethyst said, "Why do you ask?"

"A friend, huh?" Harper sighed, leaning back into her chair, "You wouldn't happen to know where her father might be now, would you?"

Both shook their heads, letting another drawn-out sigh escape the officer's lips as she muttered to herself. Helga took a deep breath to calm herself so she didn't try to throttle her hardworking local detective for sounding annoyed over a potential rape victim.

"Great. Well, we can't reach her father, she's not saying if she knows where he is, and," she said before lapping some coffee from her cup, "she doesn't have any relatives nearby she can call. We also offered to use a rape kit, but she declined, saying that they didn't get a chance to penetrate her. We'll be checking the place out for any DNA samples we can find. But we also can't keep her here. Since her dad ain't responding...well," she said while looking in Helga's direction, "I don't think I need to tell you how antsy I feel about letting her go back to her place alone."

Looking back at Amethyst, Helga slouched her shoulders, "Can I talk with her?" she asked the sheepdog.

"Hold on, why are you talking with her?" Amethyst asked, "And about what? And you," pointing to the cop, "What do you mean her dad isn't responding?"

Rolling her eyes, Harper leaned in, "Well you see, kid."

"I'm in my twenties,"

"Kid," she reiterated, "We do this weird thing called, 'calling people' rather than send text messages. And when people don't answer their phones, we leave a 'voice mail' in their inbox. Her dad doesn't even have one set up."

Helga would have found Amethyst's furrowed brow cute in other circumstances, "Can I talk with her, Harper?"

"Well...neither of you are related to her. But you did call it in so I guess I could bend some rules if they apply here."

"You don't know?" Amethyst asked.

"I don't know the entire rulebook by heart, kid," said Harper, lapping from her cup, "That's why I keep it at my desk when I can be bothered to look through it. But Helga's a decent piece of shit, so I'll let her talk with Rebecca."

"Love you too, Harper." Helga said as she got up. Amethyst grabbed her hand, "I should talk with her."

"Normally I'd agree, but right now she's not in the best place of mind and still has a crush on you. I'm not sure it's best you go in there."

"So what? What makes you the right person to go in?"

"Comparison, that's what," Cupping her sub's right cheek, she leaned in and said, "Look, Rebecca's scared right now. I'm just gonna go in there and try to help her. Ok?"

She could tell Amethyst wasn't convinced. Not of Helga's intent to help Rebecca, but that she shouldn't go in there. But she nodded anyway, "Ok, Mama," she said while holding the older pig's hand tight. Helga smiled before giving a soft kiss to the vole's forehead. She'd been lucky to have her.

Becca looked at her in confusion as Helga entered the room. Not the 'why are you here' confusion. Rather, the pitbull looked at the pig with a mixture of hatred and thankfulness. The pig wasn't a stranger to glares, though they usually had a more solid foundation. She could tell if someone wanted to stab her or just didn't like her from, well not the faintest eye twitch but close enough. Given the situation and their past interactions, Helga couldn't really blame her.

Well, she could. But that wouldn't help the situation.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, pulling out a chair to sit across from the teenager. Becca looked away, hands tight around a cup of coffee with steam rising. "Yeah, I know. Dumb question," Helga sighed, "But dumb questions tend to make great icebreakers," she cracked a smile, but her humor didn't get through. The pig took a deep breath, beating around the bush wasn't going to get results.

"Do you know where your dad is?" she asked directly. Becca shook her head, still not looking towards the pig.

"Do you know who attacked you?"

The pitbull shook her head.

"Do you feel safe?"

Becca didn't shake her head. The terrier just stared at the window behind Helga, eyes unfocused, hands tight around the cup.

"Becca," she asked again, "Do you feel-"

"Safe?" the dog interrupted, "I was attacked by three men in masks and I can't reach my dad. Why the flying fuck would I feel safe?" she looked back at Helga, eyes like daggers, "Do you have any other stupid questions?"

Helga exhaled, then inhaled as her fists tightened under the table. The pig had seen this attitude plenty of times. Lashing back wasn't going to help her, no matter how much she wanted to teach the brat some manners.

Letting her breath go, she said, "If you want, you can stay with me and Amethyst until this blows over. I have a pullout couch you can use."

"What?"

"It's a couch that functions as a bed when you-"

"Not that. I know you're old but aren't you still supposed to have your hearing?"

She's scared, Helga. Don't take it personally.

Becca looked back out the window, now with her eyes scouring to find something. Someone. "She's waiting out there."

"W-who?" the pitbull asked, "I don't know what you're talking about." she hugged herself tightly and leaned back into her chair, "I'm just looking to see if my dad came in is all."

"Amy is out there," Helga said, taking note of the blush across the dog's cheeks, "and she's worried for you."

"S-she..." Becca gulped, "She is?" she smiled for a brief second, but it fell when she turned back to Helga, "S-so what? It's clear she's seeing someone else."

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Helga nodded, "Look, I get that you have a crush on her, and me asking you to stay with us hurts. But, and I need you to think about this carefully, the men that attacked you are still out there and the police can't reach your father. I'd say the cops will watch your house, but I'm not sure they have the manpower to do that all day, so, and I hate to say this, those fuckers might come to your home. I get that it's a lot to ask, but for your safety, I'm offering you my home until we can sort this out."

Becca blinked, "Why?"

Helga blinked back. She didn't owe this brat anything, and the pig certainly wasn't one for charity. So why give this annoying pitbull her home until things blew over? All thoughts pointed to Amethyst's shocked face when they saw the girl get knocked out. She knew her pet had been growing lonely ever since her upper-class friends graduated. Helga hoped she'd be enough for her. But it's clear that even as lovers, Amethyst needed to know other people.

Besides, Helga had a lot of friends. It wasn't fair to Amethyst that she didn't have any.

"Because she cares about you," Helga said, sitting up from her seat, "Just think about it. We won't leave until you've made up your mind."

She gave a final stress-relieving exhale as she exited the room. Amethyst waited for her outside the door, concern etched across her face, "Is she ok?"

"No," Helga wrapped her arms around her vole, "But I offered her a place with us until this bowls over."

"I see. I guess that's under-wait, what?" she looked up to Helga, "You did what?"

"We have a pullout couch, Amy. And you seemed worried about her."

Amethyst pushed Helga away, "And you just decided this on your own?"

"Well, would you rather I didn't ask her?" Helga asked, reaching for her pet only to be brushed aside.

"No! What kind of person would I be if I denied someone our home when they were in trouble?"

"My home, Amethyst. I pay the bills."

"Oh, so my opinion doesn't matter on the subject?" She stepped up to the pig, "I get that I like being at your feet, but this is a big decision and I'd like to be part of it before you make it."

Helga, now fully realized her mistake, sighed, "You're right. I went in without thinking about how this would make you feel. I'm sorry."

Amethyst stared daggers at Helga for a solid half-minute before giving up and planting her head between the larger woman's breasts, "Just ask me next time, ok?"

"I will, Amethyst," she brushed through her vole's green sidecut, "I will."

The interrogation room door cracked open. Helga and Amethyst turned to see Becca standing in its frame, clenching a blanket tightly over her head while still wearing her gym clothes.

"I think...I think I'd like to stay with you if that's ok."