Once they reached the edge of the cliff, the two men grabbed the woman under her arms to pull her up. She put the girl down, who immediately ran to her little brother and took him in her arms so that he could cling to her.

The children looked uncertainly at the blonde man who had helped pull them up onto the cliffs. The one with the auburn hair thanked him again before winding the steel cable back onto the winch while the woman spoke to the blonde.

"We'll have to leave as long they pay no attention to us!" the girl said quietly, but was aware that the woman hardly took her eyes off the two of them.

"But they promised us something to eat. And chocolate. And cocoa. I don't want to run away anymore. They're nice."

"They're just pretending. They might give it all to us too, but only so we can stay there and they can call the people at the orphanage."

"I'm hungry and I'm cold. I don't want to anymore," the boy whined quietly and tears welled up in his eyes. He didn't want to go to the orphanage, but they had been walking for days and had barely eaten, sleeping only in bushes and abandoned shelters. "I wish Mum was here."

"But she isn't and never will be again. She said we should find our aunt."

"Maybe they can help us find her."

"Adults don't help kids. They don't want us because we're annoying them. Why do you think Mom hasn't found a new dad for us?"

"You're so mean! I don't annoy anyone!"

"You're always annoying. I..."

"Hey, why are you arguing?" the woman asked them with a smile as she crouched down in front of them.

"He's annoying!" the girl muttered dismissively. She didn't want to talk to her. She didn't want to admit to herself that she think she was nice too. Her mother had told her what to do and she had to look after her brother. She only had him. What if they took him away from her as well?

"I'm not! You're annoying!" the boy replied and stuck his tongue out at his sister. They looked up at the woman in surprise as she laughed quietly.

"You remind me of my sister and I when we were your age," the woman then stated.

"Were you that annoying?" the boy asked curiously.

"More my sister was. She was the smaller of the two of us."

"You see? Little siblings are annoying!" the girl snapped at her brother, tears immediately welling up in his eyes.

"Big siblings but much more. I could always drive my little brother crazy," the man with reddish-brown hair chimed in. "But I'm still glad that I have him. He's my best friend. I don't know what I should do without him," he said, smiling as the woman stared briefly at the ground at her feet. The girl could see that she looked sad for a moment.

When she looked up again, she smiled, although it still seemed a little sad for the girl. "Shall we then go to the station and raid my secret hiding place?" she asked the two of them and the boy took the woman's hand without hesitation when she offered it to him.

The girl groaned in annoyance, but followed the woman and her brother while the man walked behind her. She opened the door of the fire truck and the girl saw that it only had two seats.

"We don't all fit in there," she noted.

"You and your brother will have to share a seat," the woman argued as she put the boy in the car.

"And where are the two of them going?" the girl replied and pointed to the two men.

"We're walking back to town," the blonde stated and nudged Sam in the stomach, who rolled his eyes in annoyance and rubbed the spot. "It won't hurt us, will it, Sam?"

"You can ride on the running boards. I'll be very careful, I promise," the woman objected and the children looked at each other questioningly after seeing her grin and the men's fearful looks.

The woman got in and the blonde stood on the woman's side, this Sam on the children's side and they both held on to the outside mirror as the woman drove off. It took some time until they got to the city, where they dropped the blonde man off at the harbor and then drove on to a huge fire station. The boy was amazed when Sam jumped off and the woman reversed the car into the hall.

He opened the door for them as soon as the car was stationary and the woman got out too. So they did the same and followed the man upstairs to the kitchen, where the woman immediately turned on the kettle, put a pot on the stove and got milk in and the remaining lasagna from the fridge in the microwave. Meanwhile, Sam was typing something on his cell phone before picking up a game and sitting down at the table with the children.

"What do you think about a game of cards while Penny makes us dinner?" he asked the children.

"What does this mean 'to us'?!" Penny turned to him in surprise.

"Don't I have something good for the massage earlier?!" Sam replied with a grin.

"What happened to the selfless hero next door?"

"He has a break today," replied Sam, still grinning, and the next moment he had a drying towel on his head. The boy laughed and even the girl couldn't help but smile.

"Women!" he just mumbled and they could see his smile until Penny took the drying towel from him and hit him again with it before she went back to the kitchen. But she also smiled.

They played three games until Penny served them all cocoa and a plate full of lasagna and the children began to eat hungrily. The portion of fish and chips the woman in the back yard had given them had done little to satisfy their hunger.

Sam and Penny watched them, surprised at their appetite, when they heard footsteps on the stairs and turned around. Just a moment later, a police officer appeared on the stairs and the girl jumped.

"You betrayed us. You lured us into a trap," she shouted, jumping from the chair to drag her brother with her towards the pole. It was the only way out with the policeman still blocking the stairs.

Penny reacted immediately and ran after them before they could reach the pole. She grabbed the two of them, but they kicked and screamed loudly. Sam stepped in and caught the girl who was tearing herself away from Penny.

"Nobody betrayed you. This is our friend Malcolm. Calm down!" Sam now objected.

"You said you wouldn't call the police!" screamed the girl in Sam's arms.

"He's a friend. He can help us find your family," Penny objected and held the boy close, who was wasting away in fear and could no longer move. She gently stroked his back and looked up at Sam, who was talking soothingly to the girl.

"We don't have a family anymore!" the girl replied angrily.

"There has to be someone. What about your grandparents?" Penny objected, confused.

"Our dad didn't have any parents anymore and our mom never told us about hers," the girl pouted.

"What about aunts or uncles? Your parents must have had at least siblings?" Sam now interjected.

"Don't Dad," the girl murmured quietly.

"That could be difficult," Malcolm sighed, perplexed.

"What's up with your mother?" Penny asked the two of them and the girl looked defiantly to the side.

"Mum has a sister. We should look for her," the boy whispered quietly and Penny gave him an encouraging smile.

"Shut up, idiot!" the girl hissed at her brother.

"I'm not an idiot!"

"No, you really aren't. That was very smart of you to tell us that," Penny objected diplomatically and the boy smiled hesitantly while the girl just snorted in offense.

"Show them the photo Mom gave you!" the boy demanded of his sister, who immediately looked down defiantly and freed herself from Sam's arms. He decided to let her go. She seemed to have calmed down enough to no longer have any thoughts of escape, especially since her brother was still cuddled up to Penny in her arms.

"I lost it," she murmured quietly and you could see something like guilt in her eyes.

"Hey, if you have a picture that can help us find someone to care for you, then you should show it to us. We really want to help you," Sam now said to the girl, thinking that she just didn't want to show it.

"I really lost it. The night before last in the dugout where we were sleeping," she replied snidely and Sam was startled a little by her tone.

"Okay, do you know anything else about your aunt? Her name or where she lives?" Penny asked the two of them. The girl remained silent, but the boy wanted to answer when the girl gave him a dirty look and he preferred to remain silent.

"I'll have to report this," Malcolm said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. He didn't know how to help in this situation. The information was simply too little.

"No! You didn't want to betray us! You tricked us to put us in the orphanage. Just like Mum said!" the girl protested again and Sam held her by the forearms as she wanted to attack Penny, to free her brother.

"Nobody betrayed or tricked you," Penny defended herself and her colleagues.

"Then why is he here?" the girl snapped, pointing at Malcolm.

"Because I asked him for his help," Sam admitted and Penny gave him a shocked look. If Sam had just told her, she would have been better prepared and could have prepared the children too. So he had let her run into the open with the children and destroyed the first emerging trust again.

"He's a friend. Malcolm will do some research and find out if you're missing and maybe he can find your aunt. Until then, you stay with me, okay?"

"Penny?!" the two men said cautiously, but she ignored them as she held out her hand to the girl and led them both back to the table so they could finish eating.

"Now you'll finish eating and then we'll have chocolate. I'll be off work soon and then we'll go to my place. You can take a bath there and sleep," Penny continued to talk to them until they devoted themselves fully to their food again.

Sam and Malcolm gave each other a worried look before Sam walked over to Penny who started doing the dishes.

"Penny, this is not the prescribed rule," Sam immediately reminded her quietly as he put a hand on her back and led her to Malcolm so that they could get a little distance from the children.

"I don't care about the rules. Can't you see what condition the children are in? Who knows how long they've been wandering around. They need a bath, food and a warm bed."

"They can get all of that in a orphanage where they belong under the circumstances until their relatives are found," Malcolm interjected, crossing his arms over his chest.

"As slowly as our bureaucratic mills grind, they'll be stuck in it forever," she replied and followed suit while giving him a dismissive look.

"Other children get along there too."

"I doubt that. They just doesn't ask them. These two are going with me!"

"Penny, you should really listen to Malcolm," Sam sighed resignedly.

"You too, Sam? I would have expected a little more understanding from you. What if they were your nephew and niece?" she replied to Sam in surprise and pointed to the children.

"I understand your point of view, Pen, but what you're about to do is a serious breach of the rules. It could cost you your job," Sam argued desperately. He didn't even want to imagine not being able to work with Penny at his side anymore. However, the look she then gave him made him flinch. He had never seen her look so angry.

"I'll have to accept the risk then. It's our job to look after people in need and these two are in need!" she replied angrily and turned away to go back to washing up.

"Gosh, I didn't know Penny could be so stubborn," Malcolm muttered.

"Me neither. But it doesn't surprise me. The children have touched my heart too. It's no wonder that Penny feels responsible for them."

"Let's hope this doesn't backfire. She should disappear with the children while Steele isn't there, so as not to drag him into this too. Of course I'll help you find their family, as best I can, but when push comes to shove, I'll play dumb. I don't want to lose my job too."

"Thanks Mal."

"It's okay," he waved and turned back to the stairs before looking up at the children and then at Penny. "I'll go through the missing person databases and get back to you, Penny." Penny just nodded in response and Malcolm left the station shaking his head. Hopefully this would all end well, he thought on his way out.

"It's only 20 minutes until the others come," Sam said as he went to Penny at the kitchen counter and took the dishcloth from her hands. She looked up at him questioningly. "I'm going to clean up here and write the report. Get out with the kids before anyone else sees them. I'll tell Steele that you weren't feeling well and that you left early. I'll leave the report for now in our drawer. That gives us a few days until Steele asks about it."

Immediately, Penny's face visibly brightened. "Thanks, Sam," she replied gratefully and he just smiled encouragingly in response before looking after Penny, who took the children by the hands and left the station with them.

----------------------------------------------------------

Penny's POV

"Sam, what are you doing here?" I asked him surprised when I opened the door and saw him standing in front of it with a large box.

"I went through James and Sarah's old things with Bronwyn. It felt like she had saved everything. I packed the most necessary things. She wants to see if she can find more. But this way the children have some basic equipment for a few days. It's all been washed and dust-proof packed up, so they can put it on straight away," he explained to me as he followed my silent request and came in. He went straight to the kitchen to place the box on the table so he could open it straight away.

"I...thank you, Sam!" I replied, completely amazed that he had gone to such an effort. After all, he was against my decision, which I still had to chew on a lot - including the fact that he had called Malcolm without my knowledge and contrary to my promise to the children.

"Are you getting along with the little ones?" he then asked me as he took a cautious look into the living room and I stood next to him to follow his gaze.

"It's going quite well. At least they're bathed and fed now. I never thought two children could eat so much," I replied quietly as we took a quick look into the living room, where the two of them were sitting on the couch staring intently at the television while they made themselves comfortable under a blanket and feasted on chocolate and chips.

I went back into the kitchen and grabbed two cups from the cupboard. Sam followed me and pulled out a kitchen chair to sit on.

"Who knows when was the last time they had a proper meal. From the looks of those two, they had been out there alone for months. Did they tell you anything?" I shook my head as I handed him some tea and sat down with him at the kitchen table.

"They don't talk at all unless they find fault with something."

"They are children. Considering how afraid they are of being deported to a orphanage, they must have heard some pretty horror stories about it. Who knows what they saw or experienced. I just wonder why no one is checking on them. Malcolm has accessed the missing persons database from across the UK. There are no children in it who match their description. Where is their mother?"

"They said her parents were angels. Maybe something happened to them while they were out with the kids," I wondered out loud.

"Possible. But as long as they don't talk, we probably won't find out. Should I investigate them?"

"We can't force them to do this, Sam. They don't have much trust in us anyway, so we shouldn't pressure them into telling us something that they might even prefer to forget. They would just shut down and it wouldn't be helpful", I replied to him and rubbed my eyes briefly. The day with the kids had been long and the lack of sleep thanks to the night shift was starting to take its toll. "Do you want to eat something? I still have enough left...," I offered to Sam.

"No, thank you. I just ate at the Cafe," he replied with a smile. "How are you going to look after the children and work? Aren't you afraid that they will run away when you leave the house?"

"I talked with Steele and took a few days off. You gave me a good excuse. Steele thinks I'm come up with something and he doesn't want to let it happen again like back then when I was sick," I told him with a smile and saw the corners of his mouth turn up as well.

"You seem to have everything under control," he then objected, as the children in the living room began to argue as if on cue."Perhaps we should go see what they're doing over there?" he then suggested hesitantly and I just nodded and sighed. It was probably about the television program again. We had to discuss this 5 times today.

"What are you watching?" Sam asked the two of them as we entered the living room and the two immediately fell silent and stared stubbornly at the television again. They weren't much more open to me, but at least they were somewhat open. Sam had to earn her trust again after his betrayal.

"Paw Patrol," the boy muttered as Sam sat down next to him while I did the same on the other side next to the girl.

"Paw...what?"

"It's a series about dogs that save people," the girl just mumbled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You don't seem to be very interested in that, huh? Do you want my tablet?" I offered her with a smile and took it out from under the table. I only used it as an ebook reader. At least that way it would be used properly. With a little more enthusiasm she took it from me and immediately started wiping on it.

"So short guy. Tell me. What's that about?" Sam then asked and put his arms on the back of the couch. He made himself comfortable, as if it was the most normal thing in the world that he was here. If I wasn't so surprised about it, I would have been happy about it.

"The dog with the spots is the fire department dog. He does everything you do. The blue one is the police dog. The yellow one has a bulldozer and always clears all ways. The orange one can dive and has a submarine and the green one always picks up trash and sometimes does something with it."

"Aahhh." I could tell Sam didn't understand much of what the boy was telling him, but he obviously decided to check it out with him. Anyway. I couldn't help but keep stealing glances at him, while his face always showed how confused and shocked he was at the sometimes strange missions and the fact that these talking dogs managed them. It was too weird. At least we couldn't complain about strange missions.

The girl next to me was completely lost in some YouTube music videos when suddenly a flash illuminated everything and a loud crash startled all of us.

The boy immediately started crying and pulled the blanket over his head. The girl jumped up and ran to the door. I heard Sam speak reassuringly to him as I jumped up and immediately followed her. She was out the door surprisingly quickly. Confused, I noticed her calling out to her mum over and over again as she headed straight for the next hill.

When I got there, I caught up with her and almost fell over her when she stopped abruptly. It was almost as if she expected to see something that wasn't there. The sky suddenly opened and I took her in my arms to quickly bring her back into the house.

"You can't just run out during a thunderstorm!" I warned her on our way back.

"Where is my mom? Why didn't you get her out? Why were you late?" she whined softly on my shoulder, over and over again, as she cried and sobbed bitterly.

"Hey, little one. Shhh," I murmured reassuringly as we stood in the hallway again, patting her back comfortingly while I just held her. "I don't know what happened to your mom, but I'm sorry that you lost her. I would have done anything to save her if I had been there."

"It's that stupid stuffed animal's fault. If we hadn't argued, Mum would have paid more attention."

"Bad things happen, sweetie, but never blame yourself or anyone else! It's bad enough living with sadness in your heart. Anger and hate don't make us better people. They paralyze us and keep us from things that are really important."

"And what is that?" she asked with a final sob and now looked up at me questioningly.

"Love, friendship, family."

"I don't have any family anymore." She looked sadly again at my shoulder, which I couldn't tell if it was wetter from her tears or the rain.

"Yes, you do. You have your brother. He needs you and somewhere out there is someone who you belong to and who will give you a nice home and make you a loving family again."

"Do you always think so well about everything?"

"It's more fun than just sticking your head in the sand, isn't it?" I replied with a smile. Children were able to change the mood and topics so quickly."Come on, let's go get a towel. The storm seems to be passing today and you're probably tired. Sam brought you clothes from his nephew and niece. I have put everything on the dresser for you. You can look for what you need there," I then explained to her as I grabbed the box and followed her up the stairs. While she went to the bathroom, I placed the box in a corner of the guest room that I had already shown them and made ready.

While she changed, I dried my hair a little and also slipped into something more comfortable. I was pulling my shirt over my head and was startled when the girl suddenly stood in front of my bedside table and looked at the photos on it. To my surprise, the boy was also standing with her. A quick look into the hallway showed me that Sam hadn't come up with him.

"Penny?" the girl asked, pointing to a 15-year-old photo of me and my family. "Who is that in the picture?"

"This is me as a child with my family. These are my parents and these are my two siblings."

"She looks familiar," the boy stated, tilting his head slightly to the side as he seemed to examine the picture more closely.

"Really?" I replied in surprise.

"Siblings always look alike. You only believe that because you know Penny, annoying thing," the girl replied stroppily.

"Not true!" he shouted and I jumped in before they could start arguing again.

"What do you think if we slowly get ready for bed? It's late and you must be pretty tired, right? I definitely am," I objected and when they both nodded, I smiled encouragingly." "Why don't you go to the bathroom? I'll see if Sam has brought some pajamas for you too," I turned to the boy, who hadn't yet complained about my shirt appearing oversized on him, but certainly didn't feel very comfortable with it.

They both nodded and went to the bathroom. I quickly found something suitable and had to smile when I pulled the blue pajama with fire engines on them out of the box. I quickly laid it on the bed and went back downstairs, where Sam was already waiting for me leaning against the wall in the hallway.

"I'm staying here tonight and sleeping on the couch. That way I'll know if they try to run away."

"Sam, you don't have to. What about work?"

"But I want it and I have the next two days off. Steele hasn't changed the roster despite your short-term vacation. The children are still at risk of escaping and they shouldn't be running around out there alone. Especially not when the weather is so unsettled and scares them so much."

"You didn't want them to be here at first. Why do you want to help me now?"

"It's not that I didn't want them, Pen. I just pointed out to you that we actually have to act differently, according to our rules. Personally, I absolutely agree with you that they'll be better served if they can relax in peace and build trust in someone rather than putting them in a orphanage with barred windows, locked doors and bare walls."

"Thanks, Sam," I replied, smiling and really grateful that I wasn't mistaken, when the boy from upstairs called and asked if I could read something to them. "I have to go up. Would you like to come with me? Then I'll give you bedclothes."

Sam nodded with a smile and followed me up the stairs. He stopped in the doorway to my bedroom, where I pulled the second set of sheets out from under the bedspread that was always there because the bed was never used anyway. But it was the only thing I had left now that the children had taken over the guest bed.

When I turned to Sam, I saw that his gaze was thoughtfully resting on my bedside table - or rather on the pictures on it. My heart beat faster as I thought about what was on one of them and with a quick glance I convinced myself that this one was still facing my bed and therefore not visible to Sam. The other one from my family, however, the children had moved enough so that he could see it.

"Pen?" he asked me quietly and I looked up at him. "Are you doing this because of this family matter? Do you feel guilty because contact has been broken?" he asked me and my heart literally felt heavy.

"No, Sam. Certainly not! One has nothing to do with the other!" I replied, avoiding his gaze as I handed him the bedclothes.

"Sorry, Penny. I didn't mean to offend you," was all he said. Had my voice betrayed me, that I didn't want to talk about it, that it hurt too much? I tried to put on a smile.

"It's okay, you didn't. I'm just...not very good at dealing with it when it comes up."

"Whatever it is, Pen. I'm here. I'll always listen to you and help you if you want, no matter how," he replied to me with a smile that was more than just sweet.

"Thanks, Sam. For everything." I was touched by the concern in his voice and eyes, and yet I wouldn't take him back on his offer. Not today."Sleep well."

"You too," he replied with a smile and I watched him go down the stairs for just a moment before I went into the room to the children, who were already lying in bed and waiting for me to tell them a story. Unfortunately, I lacked children's books to read to, so today I stuck with the story of the big storm in Pontypandy.

To be continued...