Disclaimer: I don't own the Sandlot. Just Terra.
Anyway, I've recently re-read this after forgetting about it, and I have decided that for the readers that like this so very much, I will update. I thank you all who read this. Thank you very much. Now, enjoy!!

Bertram had heard what Terra had muttered.

" Look, Terra, no one should have to go through that. It doesn't make you a baby for crying. Hell, if anyone of us were in that situation, we'd probably cry too. You should have told us" Bertram said.

" B-but I just met you" she stammered. Bertram smiled a sad smile.

" But you wouldn't trade us for the world, would you?" he asked.

" NO!! Not even Ham!" Terra exclaimed.

" That's good" Bertram said. " I know this hurts, but do you have any... you know, bruises?" he asked. Terra nodded, tears coming to her eyes.

" The last time was recently. Right before we moved here.." she said.

" I'm really sorry" he said. Terra shook her head.

" Don't be, it isn't your fault, and you found out as fast as possible" she said, trying to smile. Bertram, Benny, Squints, everyone else crowded around. Terra wanted to pull away.

" Look, we know how you probably feel about being surrounded by people, but you know we're not going to hurt you, Terra" Bertram said. She nodded, and smiled a real smile. " You know that, Terra. You know that none of us would ever do anything to hurt you. We only want to help you now, and we want to be there for you. Because you need people who will be there for you now" Bertram said. Terra smiled, and nodded.

" Thank you Bertram. Thanks a lot. I needed that" Terra said.

" Then I'm glad that I could help you" he said, smiling.

" Guys, I don't mean to ruin a sappy moment, but maybe we could play ball again?" Ham asked. Terra nodded, pushed her way out of the circle, and they started playing again.

Later, at the end of the day, everyone was packing up their stuff. Terra already had her stuff assembled, and was waiting nervously to see where she would be going tonight. She certainly hoped that, although the guys had promised, she wouldn't have to go home to her father. She grabbed her stuff when everyone was ready to leave, and they all walked slowly. They were passing in front of Terra's house, keeping Terra on the other side of them away from the house, when her father appeared at the large, living room window, and he looked furious. Terra was aware he could see her. She wanted more than anything to run away. She stopped, her father made a beckoning motion. She gave them her baseball stuff.

" Hold onto this for me, guys. No matter what. Bring it to the sandlot tomorrow" Terra said, as she marched into the house. The guys hurried on home.

The next day, the guys were waiting for only Terra, and they were sick to their stomachs with worry.

" Oh please let her be okay" Bertram said, and everyone else started saying it too. Then someone walked up to the sandlot, and all the guys could see who it was. " Terra!" they all shouted at the same time, but they didn't run to see her. She walked up to them, with a large purple bruise in the shape of a hand on her cheek. Her arms were black, brown and purple with splotchy bruises. She looked like she was about to cry, and on her forehead was a bandage. Her hair was clean and unmatted today, and she looked all-around cleaner. She began to cry when she reached the guys, and she sat on the ground. The guys bent down around her.

" He was so pissed last night, and so drunk!" Terra exclaimed through her tears. " And I'm losing all my nerve. I'm not going to have anything left!" she added. The guys looked upset.

" I don't know what to do anymore" Terra sobbed. The guys all exchanged looks.

" I don't know what you could do, but I know what you can't do again" Bertram said. Terra looked up at him.

" What? What can't I do?" she asked.

" You can't go home anymore" Bertram answered. Terra shook her head.

" I never want to go home, but where will I go?" she asked.

" I don't know" Bertram said.

" But you can't go home. We're not going to let you" Benny said. Terra nodded. She stood up, dried her eyes, and they started a game of baseball.

Well, everything was going good, until Eric Phillips and his team showed up. Everyone dropped everything they were doing.

" Phillips" Benny growled. Terra scowled.

" Who's the canary?" Phillips asked, and he laughed.

" I ain't no canary, and I wouldn't say it again unless you want me to bash your head in with a baseball bat" Terra snapped, causing the other team to take one step back. She let a low growl escape her lips.

" Nevermind, got a coyote mixed up with a canary. Man, that blonde can really fool a guy" Phillips said. " Oh, would you look at that. The coyote must really be a wimp to have someone paint her all those colors" Phillips added. Terra glared at him.

Suddenly, Phillips backhanded Terra across the face, on the cheek with the bruise. She dropped to the ground.

'That felt like the way my dad hits me' she thought numbly, completely collapsing face down in the dirt. All the guys were shocked, while Phillips was laughing, saying how she wasn't tough at all. Bertram and Benny stepped forward, and without thinking, both punched Phillips in the eyes. The other guys from Phillips' team pretty much jumped on them, beating them up. Terra was on her elbows and knees, when she grabbed the baseball bat. She immediately stood up, and without hesitation, she smashed three of the guys pounding on Bertram on the back of the heads. Of course she hit them hard, so they skittered away, afraid of being cracked on the head like that again. Terra turned and brained a couple of the guys beating up on Benny, and got the same reaction as from the first group. Bertram and Benny stood up, and Terra kept a firm grip on her bat. She began to laugh when Phillips and his team ran away.

" I told you you were the biggest badass I knew" Bertram said. " Because it would take a serious badass to do something like what you just did" he added. Terra grinned, and blushed. She high-fived him, and Benny, and everyone else. They continued their game, until it got late. Bertram helped Terra get all her baseballs, which were scattered around the sandlot.

" You didn't have to do that, Bertram" Terra said, grinning.

" Nah, I just wanted to" he replied, also grinning.

" Thanks anyway. So, since I don't actually have permission to stay anywhere, I guess I'll be staying here again" Terra said.

" I feel horrible leaving you here..." Bertram said.

" Oh cut the crap, Bertram" Benny said. Bertram scowled at him. Benny scowled back.

" I'll be OK, Bertram, Benny, everyone else. You should get going now though" Terra said. They all reculantly nodded, and went home. Terra sighed, and headed into the dug-out.