Disclaimer: Not mine, wish they where... no harm intended, just borrowing for some fun and to explore my creative side.

A/N: Yes, I know. With three other stories in the works, here I go again, cranking out another one. This is in response to a prompt over at LJ. I read it and my muse would not give it up, sending plot bunnies galore. This is the result. Enjoy.

Lean On Me

Chapter 1

Rachel is running late. With Regionals around the corner, Glee practice ran longer than usual, and now she has to scramble to go to her car and hope she won't be too late for her piano lessons. To save some precious minutes, she decides to cut through the football field. She is so distracted running the various routes she can take that she doesn't realise she is being followed by a group of football jocks until it is too late and they have her cornered near the back of the bleachers in a seemingly deserted football field.

"Lookit what we have here." One of the nameless jocks taunts.

"If it isn't the star wannabe." Another one follows.

"Great. As if I'm not already running late." Rachel mumbles to herself. "Could you guys please hurry it up and just throw your slushy or whatever it is that you have on you so I can get on my way? If I have to factor in cleaning up time I won't be able to make it to my lesson." Rachel says, resigned to another slushy attack. It's not until she looks around to see that they're not carrying any of the frozen drink that she feels a shudder of fear run through her spine. Surely they wouldn't do something like hanging a girl on the flag pole the way they have done to Kurt and other boys they don't consider cool.

"Awww, the wittle woser is going to wate for her wessons." A third jock mocks her, joining the others.

Rachel looks around and silently curses when she sees no one else around. Is it really too much to ask for a small break? She thinks to herself. She notices that there are still quite a few feet between her and the parking lot, and the worse thing is that they have her boxed in almost under the bleachers. Panic starts to set it, but she fights to keep a calm demeanour. She refuses to give them the satisfaction of seeing her afraid.

Unbeknownst to the jocks and the diva, Santana is hiding in the shadows by the side of the bleachers, witnessing everything. Sure, she makes fun of Rachel, and for the most part ignores her, after all, she has to keep up appearances, but ever since that day at Sectionals, when Rachel believed her without a reason to, she has developed a soft spot for the little songstress. Since that day, Santana grudgingly admits that Rachel is a beautiful girl, with legs that go on for miles and a voice that would shame angels. She is sure that if Rachel were alive in the time of the Greek gods, she would have been a siren, luring unsuspecting mariners to her with her beautiful voice. Perhaps she would be a muse, inspiring the many scholars with her beautiful songs to produce masterpieces. She knows she is in deep trouble because the more time spent observing Rachel, the more she realises that she is attracted to the girl.

After the debacle with Jesse taking advantage of Rachel, and Vocal Adrenaline egging her, Santana has quietly decided to keep an eye on their star. When the boys were ready to go and beat Jesse and the rest of VA, she was just about to get up and join them when Mr. Schue stepped in to stop them. Like everyone else in Glee, she knows that without her set of pipes, they do not stand a chance of winning Regionals at all. The memory of the dejected look Rachel has been sporting since then, has been slowly and systematically breaking Santana's heart. Oh, what wouldn't Santana do or give to see one of those dazzling smiles gracing that beautiful face. She is suddenly brought out of her reverie when she hears Rachel speak.

"Why don't you guys save yourselves the trouble and wait to do whatever it is you wish in order to humiliate me until tomorrow morning? Did it ever enter your miniscule heads that without the whole school witnessing this it will not do a thing to increase your status at all?" Rachel asks them. "Or have you taken one too many hits to the head without your helmets that you no longer have any functioning neurons left to process information?" She asks in that confident and superior tone she has perfected so well.

Santana can't help but stare in wonder at Rachel's attempt to defend herself and quietly wonders how long it will be for those losers to realise they have just been insulted.

The three jocks stare at her dumbfounded. Surely, this little geek isn't talking back to them. Granted they're not really sure what she is saying, but it sounds like an insult, but before they can say anything, Rachel opens her mouth to speak again.

"Do you boys need me to find a dictionary so you can decipher what I just said? Or is the simple act of using one is beyond your capabilities? Rachel continues on, hoping to confuse them enough that they will just leave her alone.

The Latina cannot help but groan internally at this. If there is one thing Rachel needs to learn is to keep her mouth shut, but before she can do anything, let alone think anything, she notices the jocks move around closer to the star in the making.

"I don't know where you heard this, but I DO NOT HAVE A LITTLE DICK!" One of the jocks roars in anger, face splotched red.

"Huh? What are you talking about you dimwitted brute?" Rachel asks confused.

Santana for her part cannot believe her ears. Only those morons would mistake Rachel's words as an attack on their manhood. She is about to make her presence known by bursting into laughter when once again, she notices movement around her.

That was enough to prompt the other two into action. All three now convinced that Rachel just insulted their masculinity.

"I will show you what a real man is like." One of them leers at the long expanse of legs her often short skirts reveal.

The other two catch on, and eye Rachel up and down. The hunger in their eyes is unmistakeable and Rachel truly begins to panic now. She could try and scream for help, but she knows it is pointless, since there is no one else around. She knows she can fight off one of the hulking brutes, but with three of them, she is not sure how long she will last. One thing is for sure though. She will go down fighting.

She slaps the first one hard across the face and kicks him hard in the shin, the one that made the comment, her mind supplies. "Do not dare come one step closer, you uncouth, wretched excuse for a human being." Rachel says as she prepares to fight for her life. She will die first, rather than let one of those parasites touch her.

"Why you fucking little bitch. I will show you what happens to sluts who disrespect me." The jock spits out, glaring at her, unbuckling his belt, and unbuttoning his pants.

The second Santana realises what they are about to do, she takes off as fast as her legs can carry her to a spot where she saw some baseball equipment left behind. She has never been so grateful for the laziness of those in the baseball team. She grabs the first bat she sees and sprints back to Rachel and the jocks, figuratively and nearly literally foaming at the mouth, ready to castrate them if they had laid a hand on her Rachel.

Santana explodes in rage once she gets back and sees the first jock with his pants down and gripping Rachel by the wrist, trying to push her to the ground, while his buddies look on, cheering him on. She thanks God she manages to get back in time to stop him from truly hurting the diva just as she swings the bat as hard as she can, hitting the first jock squarely behind the knees, causing him to fall in a heap by Rachel's feet. Santana follows by kicking him on the side of his face, knocking him out, and breaking his jaw in the process.

"Why don't you assholes pick on someone your own size? Or are you such losers that the only way to get some is to force yourself on a lady?" She taunts the other two, hoping to get their attention on her and away from Rachel.

The other two jocks are momentarily stunned by Santana's appearance and the sight of their buddy lying unconscious on the grass, so Rachel takes advantage of the situation and kicks the closest jock in his family jewels hard enough that has him dropping on his back, squealing like a pig. Rachel then proceeds to step hard on said jewels before the Neanderthal could grab himself, causing to scream in agony once again. It leaves Santana wondering if the poor sap will ever be able to conceive children. At least she won't have to castrate him, if his squeals are any indication of the amount of pain the pitiful bastard must be feeling.

The last one of the jocks seems to be shaken out of his stupor by his buddy's screams and tries to lunge at Rachel, only to be stopped by a baseball bat to his gut, and raging Latina. "Didn't your papa ever teach you to treat ladies with respect? You miserable motherfucker. Or is that how he treats your mama and you're just emulating him?" Santana seethes, bat at the ready once again.

Driven by rage and humiliation, the remaining jock once again lunges for an attack, this time at Santana. Her training as a Cheerio pays off, and with her quick reflexes she easily sidesteps the brainless moron. She then swings the bat into his knee with all her strength and she smirks at the sound of crunching bones. The third jock is left clutching his now shattered kneecap screaming in pain, with tears running down his face.

Once she makes sure that they won't be coming near them, she quickly runs the short distance towards Rachel and gathers the small diva into her arms, the bat still loosely held in one hand.

"Are you ok, Rachel?" She asks the smaller brunette in her arms, while she keeps an eye on the guys sprawled on the grass in front of them. She slowly guides her to the other side of the jocks, making sure Rachel has a clear way to run away should things get dicey, which she doubts, judging by the sight before her.

The third jock, the one with the shattered kneecap is hell bent on revenge now. "You fucking cunt! I will fuck you until you can't walk anymore and then I will press assault charges against you. You will be sorry you ever messed with us. By the time I am done with you, you will be even less popular than the freak here." He screams in rage, spittle flying everywhere.

Santana automatically pulls Rachel behind her and gets the bat ready. "You really don't know when to quit, do you? You fucking worm. It's no wonder that the football team only managed to win one game, and that is with the help of a Gleek, a gay one at that." But before Santana can say or do anything else, Rachel steps in to interrupt.

"You even consider opening your mouth to say anything to anything in this world, be it a living creature or a rock about what happened here or of pressing charges and I will make sure to go to the police and press charges against the three of you for sexual assault, unlawful confinement and attempted manslaughter. I will tell the police officers that we had to defend ourselves from being raped and killed by the three of you. Then I will contact my team of lawyers and file a host of lawsuits against each one of you. By the time they are done with said lawsuits your great-grandchildren will still be working on paying the monetary settlement. I will then contact the local ACLU chapter and have them file a lawsuit for the commitment of hate crimes to the daughter of a known gay couple and to a Hispanic girl. I will bury you." Rachel says as calmly as she can.

"I have taken pictures of your buddy with his pants down, lunging at me. I have pictures of his hand grabbing my wrist forcefully, and I also took pictures of the bruises he left behind. I took pictures of you lunging towards me just as Santana hit you in the gut in order to protect me. I have also recorded the threat you made against Santana so I would use whatever neurons you have left and truly think about letting this drop." Rachel adds, brandishing her cell phone to show one of the pictures she managed to take.

The boy panics, and tries to lunge for the phone only to be stopped by Santana one more time. "Think again, buddy." Santana says as she shoves him violently to the ground.

"You will be sorry." The second jock wheezes out once he recovers some.

"Oh, what do you 'boys', and I use the term very loosely here, think it will do to your precious reputation if word got out that in order to get laid you had to attack and force me, a Gleek and a freak, as you so eloquently put it. Besides, if word got out that a cheerleader and little old me beat you up and only ended up with this bruise on my wrist, imagine what that would do. I wonder what the hockey team would think of you." Rachel seems to ponder with an evil gleam evident in her eyes and a promise in the tone of her voice.

Santana just smirks and rests the bat she still has on top of her right shoulder, seeing the panic in all their faces (the other one finally regained consciousness) as Rachel's words sink in. "If I were you I'd stay quiet and forget the whole thing ever happened. BUT, you come near me or Rachel, actually, if you so much as look at us funny, I will rip off your tiny peckers and testicles and shove them so far up your asses that you will be able to taste them. That is just for starters." Santana says menacingly.

"I can guarantee you brain dead buffoons that this isn't an empty threat but a promise both of us will be more than happy to keep. By the time either one of us are done with you, you will both regret the moment you decided to attack me in such a heinous way and you will curse the day your parents conceived you. Be sure to keep in your tiny heads that the only reason I am not filing charges with the police is to keep Santana out of trouble for helping me against you brutes. I DO NOT take kindly to forced sexual encounters, so if you so much as think about a repeat performance with me or any other female in this planet and I manage to get to you first, you will pray for Santana to follow up with her promise." Rachel finishes off in a low monotone, a quiet rage in her eyes that lets the jocks know she means business.

The three jocks nod their heads and limp away with their tails tucked firmly in between their legs. Any thoughts of revenge driven out of their heads at the sight of barely veiled rage they catch in the eyes of both girls standing before them. Even they, with their stupidity know that it takes far more control to rage quietly like that, instead of exploding violently. They also realise that with that kind of control the planning and the execution of said threats will be slow and very painful. It is then that they believe that the female of the species is truly deadlier.

When they're finally alone, Santana grabs Rachel's hand and slowly guides her towards her car, bat still firmly in hand, just in case those imbeciles decide to do something. By the time they reach Rachel's car, their adrenaline rush wears off and shock starts to set in on the smaller brunette.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I missed my piano lesson. I need to contact my instructor and make sure he doesn't cancel on me next week. I have never missed a lesson in my life." Rachel starts to ramble only to be stopped by Santana dropping the bat and wrapping her arms around her in a comforting embrace.

"Calm down Rachel." Santana says once she sees the vulnerability Rachel is finally displaying. It is right then and there that she makes the decision to tell the world to go to hell and to give in to this thing she feels for Rachel. Popularity be dammed.

"Shh. I'm right here, Preciosa. Nothing happened, ok? Everything will be fine. We stopped them just in time." Santana says softly into Rachel's hair. She can feel the girl in her arms shaking and tears soaking her Cheerio uniform. She just hugs Rachel tighter to her, and eventually she grabs Rachel's face in both her hands and wipes her tears with the pads of her thumbs. "No llores, mi Nena linda. Those maggots are not worth your tears. You were so brave. You did exactly what you were supposed to. You didn't back down and you defended yourself. I am so very proud of you." Santana says, looking directly into Rachel's chocolate eyes.

Rachel just looks at her saviour, and nods. The reality of what could have happened and what did happen crashing into her mind and leaving her nauseous. She valiantly tries to hold on, but finally gives up the battle as images of what could have been assault her tired mind. She pulls herself away from Santana just in time to turn to the side to heave violently. She absently feels Santana holding up her hair and rubbing small circles on her back. Eventually, after she empties what little is in her stomach, Rachel looks up to face Santana, a grimace marring her face as she tastes the bile coating the inside of her mouth.

Wordlessly, Santana grabs her discarded bag and grabs a water bottle that she always has and hands it to Rachel so she can at least wash off the taste in her mouth.

The songstress gratefully accepts and takes a small sip of water to swish around her mouth to then as gracefully as possible spit it out. "Thank you." She whispers after she takes a sip of water this time.

"You're welcome." Santana says softly, afraid that if she speaks louder she will spook the girl in front of her. "Come on, Rachel. Let's get you home. I don't think you should drive, so give me your keys and I'll drive you home." Santana says as she grabs Rachel's bag and the discarded aluminum bat.

Rachel gives Santana her car keys without so much of a thought, feeling completely drained and grateful she can rely on the Latina to get her home.

The drive to the Berry household is done in silence, with Rachel looking out the windshield crying softly. For the first time since knowing Rachel, Santana wishes more than anything else to hear the girl sitting beside her speak her mind off, the way she usually does. Once they make it to Rachel's place and they get inside, she notices that it is already past 7 pm. She wordlessly follows Rachel inside the house only to notice that the house is empty, Rachel's dads no where to be seen.

"Rachel, are your dads still at work?" Santana asks once she confirms that they are indeed alone.

"Yes, they both have overnight shifts at the hospital and won't be home until tomorrow morning." Rachel answers, shock still evident in her voice.

"There is no way you're going to stay by yourself, so give me a sec ok?" Santana asks, after receiving a nod, she pulls out her cell phone and dials home.

"Hey Jorge, yeah, it's me, and yeah, I know I'm late. I don't have time for your shit right now. Just put Mom on the phone. Now! This is important." Santana says irritated. "Mami? Si, it's me. I know I am late and I should have called, but something happened to a friend and she needs my help. Yes, you know her. I'm at Rachel Berry's house. No Mami, her parents aren't home and she is sick. She has been throwing up most of the afternoon and… yes, Mami, I agree with you, she shouldn't be alone, which is why… good idea Mami. I should stay and keep an eye on her. I will see you tomorrow morning. I love you too Mami." Santana shakes her head as she hears nothing but the dial tone.

The sight of Rachel sitting curled up in the couch, looking lost and with a tear stained face breaks Santana's heart further. She automatically pulls the smaller girl into another hug. "I'm right here Preciosa. I will stay with you for as long as you need me to. You will not be alone." She says soothingly. Santana relaxes her hold once she feels some of the tension leave the body cradled snugly to her. She smiles at the feel of Rachel's head nestled against the crook of her neck and she is amazed at how well their bodies fit together.

Once Santana is convinced that Rachel is feeling less tense, she pulls away enough to be able to look at her, but makes sure she maintains her hands resting softly on the diva's hips. "I know that eating is probably the last thing on your mind, but we need to, if only to make sure to keep your body strong." Santana says softly. At the nod she receives, the Latina begins to get up, only to be pulled down to the couch again.

"Please?" Rachel pleads quietly. Once she receives a quiet nod of the head, Rachel takes a few deep breaths to calm herself and to put some semblance of order in her mind, while Santana sits beside her once again.

"Thank you. I know those words will never be adequate enough to show my true appreciation over what you did to assist me this afternoon. The thought alone of what could have happened to me, were you not there is enough to put me in a state of panic. You have my eternal gratitude and I will do everything I can to show it to you. I uh, know that we are not really friends, but, uh, do you think you can stay here tonight? I really don't think I can deal with being alone right now." Rachel finishes barely above a whisper, a tear rolling down her face.

"Of course, I called my parents and let them know that I am staying with you." Santana says as she reaches with her hand to softly wipe the tear from Rachel's face.

"Thank you." Rachel says, and on impulse, she leans in and kisses the Latina every so gently on the cheek.

Santana can't help but close her eyes when she feels the very soft lips on her skin. She can't help but wonder what it would b like to feel to kiss them. She mentally slaps herself at the thought because really, the girl in front of her was nearly raped. She forces herself to calm her rapidly beating heart and once again, she softly cradles Rachel's face in her hands. "There is no need to thank me. I am just grateful that I was there for you. I know I will do whatever you need, give you whatever you need in order to help you. You only need to ask. I like you Rachel. You have grown on me. I am sorry for the way I have treated you in the past. If there is anything you need or want, just ask me, and it's yours. I promise you that I will personally hunt down and destroy anyone who dares to hurt you. They so much as even think about throwing a slushy your way and I will end them." Santana says softly. She then brushes some of Rachel's hair from her forehead and kisses her softly and lovingly on the forehead.

"Come, Preciosa. Please show me where your kitchen is so I can fix us something to eat while you go clean up." Santana says standing up and offering a hand to a stunned and speechless Rachel.

Rachel, incapable of forming any coherent thought just nods and accepts the proffered hand. She silently guides Santana to the kitchen and before she can even think about saying anything, the Latina jumps in.

"Ok, I'm just going to rummage around and see what I can whip up. Now go! Shoo! Go get cleaned up and by the time you come back down I'll hopefully have something ready." Santana says with a wink and smile.

Rachel just nods and walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs in a daze at the recent developments.

TBC…