'Journey' happened a little differently here. Quinn's baby didn't go to Shelby. Her parents are still together. Title comes from Emmy Rossum's Slow Me Down.

Rachel was ecstatic to be starting a new school year. She had high hopes that this year wasn't going to be filled with drama although she knew it was kind of impossible because, after all, it was high school. Everyone seemed to have settled down over the summer, though. After Quinn's baby was born and given to a loving couple from Cincinnati the blonde moved back in with her parents. The entire glee club had bonded over the summer and Rachel was proud to call each one of them her friends. Quinn had even called her a few times to hang out.

A week into the school year and things were going great. There were no slushies and Rachel was enjoying her classes and glee club was exceptional and the music Mr. Schuster was starting them off with was actually rather enjoyable. Rachel was sitting in her room going over the music and making minor changes to best suit her vocal needs when her phone started vibrating. She smiled at Quinn's name and face flashing on the screen.

"Hello, Quinn! I wasn't expecting you to call today. From what I know about you I thought you might've dedicated your Sundays to church activities…"

"Berry, for once, will you let someone else talk?"

"Of course. How are you?"

"Can you come get me? Like…now?"

"Sure. Did you have a specific activity in mind…"

"I don't care, Rachel! Please, just…just come get me, okay? We'll go to the park or the movies or drive around or bowling or whatever. Just get here."

There was a hint of panic in Quinn's voice that Rachel didn't miss but the brunette didn't press the issue any further. Instead she agreed and tucked her sheet music into a folder and grabbed her car keys. When she pulled into the Fabray driveway Rachel got out of her car and timidly walked up to the door of the huge house. She knocked three times and Quinn's mother answered the door.

"Hello Rachel, I didn't know Quinn had called you."

Rachel smiled. "She sounded rather…"

Before Rachel could say any more another blonde had grabbed her arm and was practically running, dragging Rachel behind, toward the brunette's car. Quinn jumped in the passenger seat and Rachel looked back at the door in time to Quinn's father storming out of the house, yelling.

"Get back here! We're not done with this!"

"Get in, Rachel!"

Rachel looked in her car and quickly scrambled in. She threw it in reverse just as the man approached her car and she backed out into the street and drove away. Quinn sat with her arms hugging around her chest looking down at the floorboard. Rachel, despite the hundreds of questions going through her mind, remained silent.

After driving around for a good fifteen minutes Rachel made the decision to go back to her house and when she pulled into the driveway Quinn only got out of the car and followed Rachel to the front door and inside.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Rachel finally spoke.

"I'm kind of hungry."

Rachel nodded and led the blonde into the kitchen.

"We have leftover pizza from last night. I think there are a few slices of pepperoni and there's definitely some veggie delight left."

Quinn nodded and Rachel pulled the box from the refrigerator. The blonde quickly grabbed a slice of pepperoni.

"Quinn…I…I know it's probably none of my business but…"

"I told them I wanted to see the baby. And that I didn't want to go back to being a Cheerio. I'm not sure which one they were angrier about. It doesn't matter though, they'll both be drunk and forget about it by five. I hope."

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need."

Quinn shrugged. "Just for a few hours."

"Would you like to watch a movie?"

Quinn smiled a little. "That sounds great."

Rachel let the blonde pick from the plethora of movies in her entertainment center and they settled themselves in Rachel's room with a bowl of popcorn and the remainder of the pizza to watch Sweet Home Alabama and then Garden State. Quinn sighed when she looked at the clock reading just after six-thirty.

"I should probably go home," the blonde whispered.

"You can stay the night if you like."

"That would probably be a really bad idea. It'll be fine," Quinn smiled. "Can you like…not tell anyone, though? About picking me up?"

"I…guess."

Rachel had a sneaking feeling that it definitely wasn't going to be fine but she knew there was no way to convince Quinn otherwise so she took the blonde home. She immediately regretted it when Quinn didn't show up for school the next day or answer the many calls Rachel put in to her cell phone. She tried calling all night but only got Quinn's voicemail. Halfway through Tuesday and several phone calls later she still had nothing.

"I'm worried about Quinn," she confided in Santana and Brittany at lunch. "It's very uncharacteristic of her not to answer my calls even if it's just to tell me to leave her alone."

Santana shrugged. "Her parents probably took it away."

"She hasn't been at school and I happen to know that her father was very angry when I picked her up on Sunday."

"You picked her up on Sunday?" Santana's eyes got wide and she dropped her apple slice. "Why?"

"She said I shouldn't tell anyone but under the circumstances I think it would be safe for me to inform you. She called me slightly panicked and I went to her house. Her father was rather irate and was yelling when Quinn left."

"Shit!" Santana and Brittany both scrambled up out of their seats and took off running for the parking lot.

"What's going on?" Rachel called after them as she chased them to Santana's car.

"Why did you take her home?" Santana hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you, Berry?"

"What's wrong with me? What? What did I do?"

"Get in."

Rachel hopped in the back seat and Santana immediately sped out of the parking lot.
"Berry, never ever take her home if you pick her up and her dad is pissed, got it? Even if she begs you, don't take her home. Lock her in a closet or something."

"I'm not entirely sure I know what's going on here."

"Well right now you're on 'Rescue Quinn mission number four thousand'."

"Rescue?"

"Yeah, and it might get ugly."

Rachel was more confused now than she had been in her entire life. Santana broke six countable traffic laws before she pulled up about a block away from Quinn's house. She rummaged through her glove compartment and pulled out a tiny black case.

"Come on."

Santana led the way up the street and she looked around. Rachel had to run to keep up. Santana went around the side of the Fabray house and jiggled the handle on the gate to the back yard until it opened. Rachel followed the two Cheerios as they stayed along the side of the house and peeked around to the empty back yard. Santana crouched down and Rachel peered around the corner and watched her crawl to the sliding doors and look inside.
"She's so sexy when she's being a secret agent," Brittany sighed.

"That's…okay."

Rachel watched Santana pull something out of her black case and stick it into the lock on the back door followed by something else in the black case. When the Latina turned the two picks just right she pulled them out and motioned for the other two to join her. Rachel cautiously followed Brittany who was tiptoeing across the patio.

"I think that was a record," Santana said. "You have to be silent, Berry, think you can handle that?"

Rachel nodded. Santana pushed open the door and Rachel followed her up the back staircase in the kitchen and through the upstairs hallway to Quinn's room. Santana took a deep breath and Rachel furrowed here eyebrows at the nervous look on the Latina's face. Santana grabbed onto the doorknob and with one swift motion she flung the door open and Rachel followed the Latina and the blonde into Quinn's room.

Quinn shrieked and Rachel saw her jump up off her bed and back into a wall. The blonde's chest was rising and falling rapidly, her disheveled appearance concerned Rachel in every way possible and when she noticed the green, blue, and purple patch on her forehead she knew she had reason to be concerned. She watched Quinn's eyes dart between the three of them. Quinn practically jumped over her bed to latch onto the short brunette while Santana and Brittany started going through her things.

"Quinn," Rachel whimpered. "Quinn why didn't you tell me?" She cautiously wrapped her arms around the girl's body and stroked her hair.

"I'm fine, okay?"

"Come on Q," Santana said, picking up the bright pink duffel bag. It looked as though she had shoved everything in Quinn's drawers and half of her closet in there.

"S…I can't."

Santana groaned. "Blondie, I will tie you up and drag your ass to my car again like I did last time. Don't think I won't. You're going and you're not coming back this time. We'll get the rest of your shit later. She can stay at your place, right Berry?"
Rachel nodded furiously.

"No, no. I can't."

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." Santana unclasped the long strap from Quinn's bag and approached the blonde who was still clinging onto Rachel.

"Santana, I'm not sure this is necessary."

"Either she leaves here voluntarily or involuntarily. Either way it doesn't matter because she's leaving."

"I don't need to leave! Everything is fine."

"Yeah? How's your back doing, Q?"

Silence.

"You can't blame the bruises on Cheerios anymore," Santana said. "No one is going to believe you anymore. And now that Berry knows it's not a secret. She can't keep her mouth shut. She'll tell."

"Rachel," Quinn begged. "She's lying. It's fine, I told you. I told you I would be fine."

Rachel's eyes darted between Santana and Quinn and finally to Brittany.

"Santana doesn't lie," the taller blonde said. "She's not lying."

"Quinn?"

"They're both lying."

"Prove it," Santana said. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Prove that we're liars. I swear to God, Q, if you can prove to Rachel that we're lying that we'll leave. If not, you're coming with us."

Quinn backed away from Rachel and the brunette followed. When the blonde's legs hit the edge of her bed she sat down and stared up at the three girls surrounding her. Rachel sat down next to Quinn and reached around her. Before Quinn could move Rachel barely pressed the palm of her hand right between the blonde's shoulder blades and Quinn yelped.

"Please come with us, Quinn," Rachel pleaded. "Please."

Rachel looped her arm into Quinn's and pulled the now expressionless blonde up off her bed and out the bedroom door. Santana and Brittany followed close behind. They made it out the sliding door and through the gate and Rachel got Quinn into the back seat of Santana's car while the Latina tossed the huge duffel bag into her trunk.

"I hate all of you," Quinn mumbled.

"Cool," Santana said, throwing the car into drive. "Which way to your house, Berry?"

When they got to Rachel's house Brittany took Quinn into the kitchen to try and get her to eat something. Santana inspected the guest room window and frowned.

"What? Is it unsatisfactory?" Rachel asked while she put Quinn's things away in the spare dresser.

"Do you have a nail gun?"

"No…"

"You need to nail this shut."

"Santana I can't destroy the window. And we're on the second story."

"Doesn't matter. She could get down."

"I think you're being a little irrational."

"Listen here, Treasure Trail, she once jumped out of my bedroom window into a freakin' rose bush. For some reason that I have yet to figure out she keeps going back to her parents. She's not going back this time."

"Have you ever reported this to the DFS?"

Santana snorted. "The Fabulous Fabrays? Are you kidding me, Berry? They have connections everywhere. My parents reported it, Brittany's reported it, and every single counselor in middle school reported it. Nothing ever happened. We finally stopped trying and just tried to keep her away."

"It's been going on for that long?"

Santana snorted again. "The first time my parents reported it was in the third grade. What are you going to do about the window?"

Rachel sighed. "I guess she could sleep in my room."

"Be careful, Berry. Seriously. She'll say and do anything to get you to think she's going to stay but then she'll leave."

Rachel tracked every move the blonde made for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Quinn mostly just stayed on the couch and watched TV. While she was in the kitchen going through the refrigerator Rachel quietly explained the situation to her dads and they agreed to help and keep an eye on Quinn. When it came time for bed Rachel pulled Quinn to her room and the blonde growled.

"I won't have you running away in the middle of the night," Rachel said. "If you want me to sleep on the floor then I will."

"No…it's fine."

Rachel nodded and crawled under the covers, Quinn did the same. Rachel waited until she was sure the blonde was asleep before drifting off. She was awoken in the middle of the night by Quinn thrashing and groaning. Rachel turned her lamp on and carefully wrapped her arms around Quinn's shoulders and shook the blonde awake. Quinn's eyes flew open and she immediately clung to Rachel and gasped for air.

"It's okay," Rachel whispered. She ran her fingers through Quinn's hair.

"Don't let him hurt me anymore," Quinn sobbed.

"I'll keep you safe," Rachel promised. "But you have to promise me you won't go back."

Quinn buried her nose into the crook of Rachel's neck and nodded. "I won't."

"Then you'll be safe." Rachel repeated the mantra over and over again until Quinn's breathing steadied and she finally let herself slip into a deep sleep.

Rachel woke up alone.

Don't ask for a sequel, okay? Please? Seriously. If I want to write one, I will. As of right now there isn't one on the horizon. I have other things to deal with.