Trigger Warning: Includes past mentions of rape and rape associated injuries with NO graphic descriptions.

NOTE: If you or someone you know has been raped, encourage them to go to the hospital immediately and report the crime immediately; as hard as it might be it is the surest way to ensure the criminal is charged appropriately.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee

Rated T for implied rape and emotional reactions to rape. No descriptions of the act. Rating could change in the future due to sexual content of a romantic variety.

AU of the third season: Quinn and Santana find Rachel Berry in the locker room bloody and beaten, Santana finds herself in a position she never expected to find herself but what happens when their feelings for each other change? Can Rachel heal from such a trauma?

Includes character bashing.

Pezberry Romance.

Pain... More pain...

So much pain! How was it possible for one body to hurt so much? The sobs weren't helping but Rachel Berry was unable to stop her body from shaking as whimpers seemed to pour out of her with seizure-like intensity. She had used the very last of her strength to crawl away from where it had happened and now she was curled up on the floor near a bench.

She was unconscious and she wanted to be unconscious again; the memories from what had just occurred were now flooding her brain, churning her stomach. She just wanted to lay in her ball and have the whole world just go away. She wanted to go to sleep and not wake up again; not in this like and certainly not in this body. She could still feel his hands on her despite the fact that he was long gone and she could still feel the weight of his larger body against hers and she could still feel...

NO! Stop it! Stop those thoughts now!

Rachel curled tighter into herself, willing... no forcing herself to close her eyes and not picture his face; His sick and twisted face clouded with sick pleasure and joy at her suffering; her screams had given him pleasure and she hated that she gave that to him but she was unable to stop herself from reacting. She felt ashamed about not just screaming but her bodies reactions... It made her sick! She hadn't enjoyed it, she knew she hadn't enjoyed it. She wanted him gone and away from her every second and yet she'd still... She'd still...

No... don't think about it, Rachel. Just go to sleep. It's a dream!

The cold floor underneath her naked frame made going to sleep impossible and the pain now coursing through her entire body made it harder for her to keep her eyes closed and go to sleep but she was sobbing too hard to move. Besides, when she got home, she was going to be alone anyway; what was the point in rushing home? There was nobody there.

"You'll always be my favourite slut."

The voice crawled back into her memory like a tidal wave and she moved for the first time since she'd been discarded onto the floor and succumbed to her horrible nausea into one of the nearby garbage bins.

She wasn't a slut. She couldn't be a slut. He was wrong; no matter how her body reacted, she wasn't a slut. She didn't want what he had done to her. She knew that much. It was painful, it was embarrassing and so public. It was wrong and the reasoning behind it... It was all so very wrong but there was nothing she could have done to stop him and that was what hurt her the most.

When she finished, she collapsed into a heap on the floor again, once again breaking into weak sobs as she brought her knees against her bare chest and rocked herself; the muscles in her stomach ached horribly now and the bruises on her arms, legs and shoulder protested the movements but she couldn't bring herself to care. The pain kept her mind from focusing too hard on the past few minutes? Hours? Days? How long had she even been lying there?

She wanted to die right now instead of feeling the phantom sensations of his hands over her body and his...

Once again, she heaved her body up and threw her head into the garbage can as she felt slimy hands covering her body making her heave harder before her brain finally decided to stop the sensations for the moment. This nightmare had to end and it had to end soon. She couldn't keep up like this. Why was her body reacting like this? Did she have a concussion? She hadn't banged her head. She had a split lip and she knew her back was bleeding from him raking his nails down her back and she was sure she was bleeding elsewhere but she had not hit her head.

Once again, she weakly collapsed onto the floor, her body now warm from expelling her food once more and therefore the cold floor offered her relief but she still felt a chill in her bones. But she couldn't move, not anymore, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to move again.

She was about to try and go back to unconsciousness or at the very least clear her mind when she heard a door open; a sound that was followed by quick footsteps in her direction and cheerful giggles as whoever it was chatted away. Rachel, too weak to move but somehow her body still found the strength to let out a terrified whimper as the footsteps came closer.

The giggling stopped but footsteps paused for only a second before they seemed to speed up in what sounded like a run.

No, please turn around. Leave me alone to die. Please. Just go away.

Rachel's silent cries seemed to be in vain because seconds later, two frames revealed themselves and both seemed to freeze in horror and fear at the site before them. Their gasps where audible and from where she was curled on the floor she could see their faces paling as the covered their mouths with their now trembling hands.

This was clearly the last site they expected to see and it was clear they were completely unprepared for it.

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, to tell them to leave but instead her body seemed content just sobbing loudly as the two Cheerios watched with shock and horror in their eyes. Rachel watched as Santana Lopez and Quinn Fabray just continued staring before the latina's mind seemed to jump into gear. She knew she had to act.

"Quinn, get a blanket from the back and a bottle of water," Santana demanded, startling the blonde from her thoughts. Quinn jumped slightly but took off in a shaky run in the opposite direction.

Rachel watched the exchange and felt herself shaking despite herself. She wanted them to go away. It was horrible being seen like this and she just wanted to disappear completely.

"Rachel, it's me; Santana Lopez, I'm going to help you, okay?" Santana spoke in a clear voice that held no panic despite the very clear panic in the latina's warm brown eyes. Rachel found herself shakily nodding at Santana's words. Her eyes were warm, soft and comforting. So comforting. But she still couldn't stop shaking.

Santana took a couple of steps closer, keeping her hands up and where Rachel could see them at all times and Rachel appreciated it. There was something comforting about being able to see where her hands were, despite the fact that she knew Santana wouldn't hurt her. At least not the way she had just been hurt and by the look in her eyes, Rachel knew the Latina was not about to start throwing insults. Santana for a second looked terrified but she kept it off her face.

When Quinn returned, she handed the blanket and the water bottle to Santana; Quinn's face was still pale and her eyes were wide but now her skin had taken on a green hue as well. She had clearly figured out what had happened and she wasn't handling it half as well as Santana. In fact, the sheen of sweat on the girl's forehead made Rachel wonder if she'd been sick herself.

"Quinn, go find some clothes for Rachel," Santana said again as she unwrapped the blanket. "Call an ambulance."

"NO! No ambulance!" Rachel cried, desperate to stay away from the hospital where they'd ask questions and want to... touch her and who knew what else they'd want to do. "Please, no! I cant... I can't... Please! No Santana!"

"No ambulance, Quinn. Not yet at least. But go find clothes, please. Rachel deserves to have some dignity right now," Santana said, her voice once again filled with surprising warmth and calmness. Quinn bolted off, her footsteps were jerky and irregular compared to her usual smooth paced steps; Quinn was scared. Rachel didn't blame her and if she wasn't such a wreck, she would have tried to assure her but she was too stressed and scared to even come up with the words.

'Rachel, I'm going to wrap a blanket around you, okay. That's all I'm going to do; please try not to panic too much," Santana said, once again speaking slowly and carefully as she stepped towards Rachel, her hands visible as she draped the blanket out Rachel's naked frame. Immediately, Rachel felt herself flinch at the weight but she took a couple of shaky breaths and forced her body not to clench up entirely.

This was Santana, not him. Santana wasn't going to hurt her, not like he did.

"Rachel, I'm going to help you sit up so I can cover the rest of you. The cold floor isn't good for you, especially if you go into shock," Santana said. She reached down and helped Rachel onto a bench and every time she made contact with Rachel or moved her, she announced it beforehand and it made her so grateful to the latina. Even with the announcement, she still tensed at the touches but hearing her voice was what kept the flashbacks at peace. But Santana was patient and took no offence to it as she worked. It was like she knew exactly what she was doing.

Once Rachel was sitting on the bench, she found her body having difficulty remaining seated and despite her best intentions, she found herself leaning against Santana. She felt Santana tense slightly, probably expecting Rachel to cry or scream, before she heard Santana announce that she was going to wrap an arm around Rachel. Rachel nodded and accepted the arm which pulled her closer the Santana. At first, she went rigid and was ready to fight off the touch but then she smelt Santana and her brain relaxed.

She smelt nothing like him and her touch was different than his. It was soft and assuring where he had been cruel and hateful; her scent brought comfort and something about the way Santana held her, made her feel safe and secure, if only for a few seconds. Safe enough that she couldn't bring herself to even care that she was naked and bruised. The latina muttered soft words into Rachel's ears until footsteps alerted her of Quinn's return. When Rachel tensed and desperately gripped at Santana's arm, the latina did not yell or curse; instead, she made a hushing sound and pulled Rachel a little bit closer while whispered assuring words into her ears.

When Quinn went to hand the clothes to Santana, she violently shook her head before the blonde could step any closer.

"Set them on the bench and head out; I don't think she can handle anyone else's presence right now," Santana said, softly as she used one hand to rub circles onto Rachel's arm but Rachel could feel her using her other hand to try and loosen Rachel's grip on her arm.

"This is like when happened to..."

"Yes. It's just like what happened to her. Tell Sue I won't be here today and if she has a problem... well, I honestly don't really give two fucks," Santana said with a humourless laugh. "But I'm going to get her out of here before the other girl's show up because that will be way too much for her to handle right now."

"Okay, Tana. I'll call you later. Rachel... I..." The blonde left, tears now spilling down her cheeks as she bolted from the locker room. Santana stayed still for a moment before she Rachel finally loosened her grip on her other arm.

"I'm going to help you get dressed, okay. I won't touch you unless I have to, okay?" Santana asked slowly once again, as she stood up but keeping one strong arm on Rachel at all times to keep the brunette from sliding to the floor.

"Lift your arms," Santana said, lifting the blanket from Rachel's shoulder. "I'm going to check of serious bruises or cuts that could be potentially serious as I help you dress."

Santana looked at the bruises on Rachel's stomach, arms and shoulder, she looked at her back and arms and legs before she slid a shirt onto Rachel. The shorts were the hardest because they envolved Rachel standing up and once she did, she blushed when she realised she was still bleeding from below. Santana sighed sadly.

"You... you were a virgin," Santana stated simply, knowing the answer but Rachel's nod just made her sigh sadly once again as she pulled Rachel into an embrace as she began sobbing once more.

"I am so sorry you had to lose it like this. I promise I will make them pay for what they stole from you today," Santana said softly into Rachel's hair as she sobbed her heart out, breathing in Santana's comforting scent to keep herself grounding in the knowledge that she was not being held by him. "Do you want me to take you home now? Your fathers can..."

"They're not home; they won't be home for three maybe even four weeks... Maybe longer if things continued at this pace. They're in Africa helping with the Ebola outbreak and they just left yesterday and they're unreachable. I can't be alone, I'll stay here," Rachel sobbed into Santana's neck. They couldn't be reached in Africa and even if they could be reached, they would have to endure a month-long quarantine period before they could even be allowed to get on the plane to American soil. And it made complete and total sense. They couldn't risk them bringing such a fatal virus back to the states. Her fathers were part of Doctors without borders and even though they hadn't done international cases since Rachel was born, this outbreak was bad and they'd been assigned the case with their specific knowledge in disease control and prevention.

"Okay, I know where I can take you. But I'm going to pick you up, okay?"

Suddenly, Rachel felt hands under her knees before she could no longer feel the ground under her feet, making her realise Santana was now carrying her bridal style through the empty hallways. Glancing at a clock, Rachel realised it was five o'clock in the morning.

"What are you two doing here so early?"

"We were on prep duty for today's practice. That involves filling the water bottles, washing and drying the towels, ironing the uniforms and applying extra wax to the floor so it's trickier to stay standing; the slipperier the better," Santana said as she made her way out the door towards her car.

"But won't you slip?"

"That's why Sue does it that way, so we learn to do routines on slippery conditions. Once winter comes, we do them on the ice," Santana said. "You've never heard of a cheerio slipping and falling during a routine, have you?"

Once Rachel was securely fastened into the car, she leaned against the window and did her best not to sob; every muscle in her body was against her sobbing. And she just wished she could stop crying because this response did not make sense to her. She did not cry, at least not this much, to anything. And now, she was crying every five minutes. Maybe once she got some rest, her mind would clear and she'd stop acting like such a wimp. She felt a blanket around her shoulders before the car purred to life.

She must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes, she found she was being lifted from her seat and into Santana's strong arms; how did the girl manage to get so strong that she could just lift her up and carry her like she was a baby?

"It's okay, just relax. We're at my house, I'm going to take you to my room, okay?" Santana whispered as she carried Rachel into a large house and up a flight of stairs. There was no strain in the latina's eyes but Rachel still felt bad for Santana having to bear all of her weight.

"If I'm too heavy, I can..."

"Rachel, don't even finish that sentence; I throw girls heavier than you into the air on a daily bases. Coach Sylvester also makes us run a kilometre while carrying each other just like this at least every other day. I've got you, Berry."

Santana opened a colour which leads to a creme coloured room with blue accents, blankets and pictures. There were also pictures of Brittany, Quinn and Santana. There were also pictures of the glee club around the room too. There was a large TV sitting close to the bed with a DVD player and a digital box. Santana bypassed the bed and walked through a door into an adjoining bathroom.

She sat Rachel onto the toilet while she began filling the bathtub with warm and soapy water, once the water was where she liked it, she helped Rachel remove the gym shorts and massive t-shirt before helping the weak girl into the tub.

"I'm sorry, I know this is uncomfortable but I don't want the blood in my bed and I'm sure you don't want to lie in it," Santana said, guilt shining in her eyes. "Besides, the bath could make your muscles feel better."

Rachel found herself sobbing as she looked down and saw there was blood coming from... down there. It was so embarrassing because she knew it wasn't even close to her period. And now she was naked in front of Santana with all her bruises and scratches; she didn't want Santana to see how ugly her body was now. How ugly and filthy. She felt dirty and slimy and everywhere he had touched; it was like there were worms crawling over her skin. She didn't know it was possible to be so disgusted and embarrassed by her own body.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, I promise. I bled the first time too. It's normal," Santana said.

"You did?"

"Yeah," Santana said, biting back tears, probably not wanting Rachel to see her cry about this.

Santana helped Rachel wash up, while closer inspecting her slip lip and the large bite mark on her shoulder. Rachel shuddered and gagged when she remembered the moment he'd bit her. Once Rachel finished sobbing over that flashback and her hair was washed, Santana helped her into some of her old soft pyjamas and helped her into her bed. Rachel found herself oddly comforted by the smell of the girl and found herself nestling down as Santana tucked her under the thick comfortable blankets.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Rachel asked frowning. "I d-don't want to be a burden because I'm acting all nutso."

Santana sat down on the side of the bed and took Rachel's hand.

"I'm doing this because I want to and because I know it gets worse from here and you should not be alone right now," Santana said clearly speaking from experience. "You are not a burden and you're not acting nutso, either. Do you want some tea?"

"Yes, please. My stomach hurts from when I got sick," Rachel said frowning as she rubbed her stomach.

"You got sick?"

"In the locker room... Twice."

Santana frowned before she pulled Rachel into her arms once more in a gesture that comforted her deeply as she breathed in Santana's scent; a scent she had already begun associating with safety and comfort. And the fact that it was Santana's arms, even after what had happened, was enough to fill her with a bit of excitement. Santana suddenly stood up, making Rachel jump and left the room with a mission clear in her eyes. Rachel took advantage of the quiet to look around the room. It was nothing like she had expected Santana's room to look like. She felt really comfortable in the room.

When Santana returned, she had two steaming mugs in hand, she handed them both to Rachel before she crawled into the other side of the bed and took one of the mugs.

"It's ginger tea; it'll help soothe your stomach," Santana said sipping her own mug and Rachel sleepily followed her lead and just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt the mug being taken from between her fingers but she was far too gone to even wake up to investigate.