After the first encounter, Dan had not been brave to approach Pam. It was always little Brisbane who came by his house. Pam was also beginning to feel shy about Brisbane constantly bothering him but she was more worried about her soon-to-be violent ex-husband's threatening messages that he would find her and Brisbane anytime soon. Who knows what he would do to them? She was only beginning to settle down in her new place and was glad to have met Dan but she was contemplating rooting up and leaving again.

Dan played with Brisbane a lot ever since they first met and he learned quite a lot about Pam's past relationship with Brisbane's father which was a horrible encounter. He recalled to himself the sad look on Brisbane's face when she told him about the screams she always hears from her parents and the sounds of her father hitting Pam. The one which struck the anger at his heart was when Brisbane told him she would cry whenever her father hits Pam till she could hear Pam crying out loud and couldn't move for a few days.

Dan even learned that Brisbane's grandparents had never liked her simply because she isn't a boy and they despise her mother and herself. Despite all that, Brisbane told him that she will stay by her mother's side and protect her.

Dan's eyes reddened at that thought as he recalled embracing Brisbane and comforting her for her courage. He regretted not taking the chances back then as he wondered how both mother and child's mental health was doing enduring all these events. He also noticed Pam's been very reserved and quiet to herself often.

However, after knowing about all of Pam's past, he then received news on the delivery of cupcakes from Jang's restaurant in Cravine had issues with Wai Tao. It was inevitable for him to not leave and resolve the distribution matter although he was very reluctant.

That gloomy cloudy morning, he finds it odd that Brisbane had not come over yet although it was nearly ten in the morning. It was raining heavily the night before that he wondered if she was probably still asleep. As he went to bake some cookies to bring over to inform Pam of his departure, the next door's last night's chaos was still unknown to him.

Last night when it was pouring, Alshton, Brisbane's father finally paid his family a visit. Sure enough, Pam was scared to death that she forced Brisbane to hide in a closet like usual. Alshton who was extremely furious didn't give Pam any chances to retaliate as he punched her one blow after another before leaving them and threatening to return again after emptying cash from her purse.

Pam was left trembling on the ground as she endured the pain the entire night. Brisbane was too scared to even barge as the thunder and heavy rain made it hard for her to tell if her father was still outside. Just like that, they both stayed where they were till the next morning.

When Dan walked over with the tray of cookies, he noticed the door was ajar as he entered. He called out to both mother and daughter only then did Brisbane dare to crawl out from the closet while Pam was found unconscious on the ground in the kitchen. Dan sprung into action and carried both ladies into his car one by one before he quickly drove them to the nearest hospital to get both of them treated. Pam remained unconscious the entire day while Brisbane who was not injured sat close by with him.

Dan was worried about Brisbane's mental health as she was hard to read. She had been staying quietly and obediently by his side while he ran errands. The doctors had confirmed it was an abuse case but Dan couldn't make the decision neither did he knew what exactly happened. All he could do was wait till Pam was awake. As for Brisbane, it was hard to get her to say anything to anyone as she kept quiet and kept staring at Pam hoping for her to be awake soon.

"Brisbane, are you hungry?" He asked her who had not been eating since morning as she shook her head and kept staring at her mother. As he ensured she stayed hydrated by drinking water from time to time, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. He attempted to coax her to talk again.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Brisbane…" He carried her on his lap and cuddled her. Her shimmering eyes were looking at him. "Could you tell me what happen?" He wrapped his arms around her to make her feel safe.

Brisbane stuttered at first but she began to calm down as Dan gently rubbed her back. "Slowly…" He coaxed.

"Daddy came … Mummy ask me to hide in the closet… I cannot hear anything cause the thunder was so scary. I… I didn't dare to go out 'cause daddy is scary…" Brisbane was trying to be strong when she explained to not cry but her tears couldn't help but slip as she wipe them away.

Dan subconsciously gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Good girl. You're very brave do you know that? It's alright to cry. From now on, don't worry. Uncle Dan will protect you and your mummy, alright?" Dan comforted her as Brisbane nodded but still sobbed in his arm.

"When is mummy waking up?" She asked as Dan smiled and patted her head.

"Let's eat first. It's nearly four now. I am sure you're as hungry as I am. Once we have eaten, I am sure mummy should be awake." He coaxed as Brisbane smiled a little and nodded.

From her explanation, it was too dangerous to stay over at his beach house and he did update the findings to the doctors but he still couldn't decide to make a police report as it was concerning their family matters. After they ate, knowing to not disappoint Brisbane that Pam wasn't awake yet, he drove back to quickly pack some belongings and brought both their dogs along. He initially wanted to head to his Wai Tao's house that evening but he had left Pam in the hospital closer to Cravine instead.

He couldn't bring the dogs and Brisbane to wait at the hospital either. Hence, he had no choice but to give Qiu Wen a call for help.

"Yo, bro!" Qiu Wen greeted cheerfully over the phone. "Hey, urgent. Help." Dan said as Qiu Wen's tone changed. "Yes. What is it?"

"Long story but I met Pam and she had encountered an accident and her daughter is with me. Could you do me a favor to look after her and our dogs for the night? I have to head back to the hospital to…" Dan was interrupted by Qiu Wen.

"No problem. Let me know the hospital's name. I will come and pick all of them up." Qiu Wen offered as Dan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, bro! I owe you one! I will text you the address." Dan said before he hang up.

Qiu Wen, knowing Dan after so long, whenever they both were in difficulty, none of them ever questioned much or hesitate to help the other party. Although Qiu Wen was curious about how he met Pam and what accident it was, he kept aside all those curiosities first and went to the hospital to pick up Brisbane and the dogs. After catching up shortly with Dan on the situation, on the way home, he quickly gave Xue Ting a call noticing it was close to eleven at night.

"Ting Ting, you're awake! Thank goodness!" Qiu Wen said as he drove.

Brisbane was half asleep with hers and Dan's puppy; Autumn and Brownie.

"Yes, what is it? You're alright?" Xue Ting asked with a concerned and worried tone as she sat up in bed rubbing her eyes.

"I would need to trouble you with some matters related to taking care of kids and dogs. We would need to babysit Dan's friend's daughter, Brisbane tonight. Something happened and erm..." Qiu Wen was searching for the words as he focused on driving but Xue Ting instantly caught on the point.

"Is alright, bring Brisbane home. Drive safe. We will talk later." Xue Ting instantly got up and went down to the kitchen.

She warmed up some milk and placed some teddy cookies she made for the twins who occasionally had sweet tooth. Just went the microwave timer went off, she heard Qiu Wen's car pull in as she went to greet them on the car porch.

"Hey, what happened?" She asked watching Brisbane who was asleep with two puppies looking at her from inside the passenger seat.

Qiu Wen who just got out of the car and was gently closing the car door as he slowly walked Xue Ting over to the passenger door. "Dan explained that her mother, Pam was being abused by her father and she is in the hospital now unconscious. Her father had run away and might return for them. So, it's not safe to leave Pam alone or return to their beach house. I'm not too about the rest of the news. I am still waiting for Dan to update me. Perhaps just in case, if Dan wanted to stay overnight here, you could sleep in my room and let Dan use the guest room with her cause they are at the nearby hospital?" Qiu Wen squinted before opening the passenger door as he pinched his tired forehead.

"Yes, sure thing. Are there no police reports made?" She asked but her attention then switched over to Brisbane who was asleep before Qiu Wen could answer.

"I think we should get Brisbane in first. She looked so haggard and tired. Has she eaten? Have you eaten?" She asked worriedly as she peered into the car to check on Brisbane as both dogs whine by her side. Xue Ting patted both dogs to calm them down.

"Good doggies. Come down buddies…" She coaxed them out of the passenger door as Qiu Wen carried them inside the house.

"No... Didn't have a chance." Qiu Wen said as he returned to Xue Ting who was attending to Brisbane. She unbuckled her safety belt as Qiu Wen tapped on Xue Ting's back to get her to move away before he carried Brisbane into the house.

"It's alright buddy. Come..." Qiu Wen comforted Brisbane who was stirring while carrying her into the house.

Brisbane then woke up halfway and was a little cranky so she let out a sob. Xue Ting let the puppy roam the living room and she quickly went to comfort Brisbane when Qiu Wen let her down on the couch.