Name: An Innocent's Shadow
Author: blondezilla90/hot-male-lead
Rating: T (may vary)
Warning: Deals with child abuse! So don't read if you don't think you can handle it.
Summary: Lilly Mayer is not your average 4 year old. She carries secrets with her that no one knows about until Finn Hudson and Rachel Hudson Berry enter her life, a couple with struggles of their own. Maybe she can trust them in order to escape the hell she has to live in.
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"Lilly...hey," the boy Tim said as he walked through the big, grey hallways, no older than 13 years as it appeared. Lilly turned when she heard her name being called and she tightly clutched the little bear in her arms, looking up at the boy with her big, blue, shiny eyes.
"Hi." The little girl murmured, rather shyly, not a year older than four. Tim looked at her from head to toe and stared in her eyes, scaring her a tiny bit. Her eyes moved away from his and she snuggled her face into the bears head.
"Do you wanna come play?" Tim said, his tone less questioning than demanding. The little girl nodded and bowed her head down as she grabbed the hand he extended to her, following him up to his room. None of the adults were around, like every Sunday. Only Miss Mary and Mr. Max were there today, but they were always downstairs and never came up unless the kids were too loud.
Tim lead her into his room, making sure that Jim, the boy who occupied the other bed, was gone. He closed the door behind himself and pushed Lilly towards the bed. He moved his desk a little to the left, causing it to block the door and he smiled, turning around as he sat down on the bed next to her. His hand reached over for her bear, but Lilly shook her head and turned her body away.
"Nuhu...not Mr. Bear." She whispered and squeaked a little when he pushed her off the bed, ripping the bear away from her and throwing out of the window. Lilly watched the scene and whimpered, only to feel a sharp pain in her arm as Tim pulls her up on the bed again and stared into her eyes.
"Shut up. You know the rules." His voice was sharp, but he quickly let go of her and smiled brightly. Lilly relaxed a little and wiped away the tear that crept down her face, looking at Tim's hand that settled on her arm. It didn't stay long and soon it slipped down toward her thighs. She knew what was coming. He was going to touch her in places again that she didn't like. It felt good, but somehow it felt wrong. The little girl bit her lip as the plaid skirt she wore was raised and his hand disappeared underneath it.
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"Rachel?" Finn Hudson called as he walked into their apartment, throwing his bag on the floor while kicking off his shoes.
No Answer.
"Rach? Baby?" His eyebrow quirked up and he walked towards the living room, looking inside but not spotting his wife. Suddenly there was a sob followed by a little sniffle and his heart jumped in his chest as he rushed into their bedroom, his heart breaking at the sight. Rachel laid curled up on the bed, a white stick in her hand and a pillow clutched to her chest.
"Hey. Baby girl," he said as he scrambles over to her, crawling on the bed to lay down next to her. As if nothing had happened, Rachel kept crying, thick tears running down her face, her eyes bloodshot and her nose runny.
"What happened?" Finn tried again and reached to touch her face, wiping away the tears. That seemed to put Rachel out of her trance and her eyes blinked a few times while her lips parted.
"Finn...I...I thought I...and...it's not..." she stuttered and shoved the stick in his face, which caused his face to fall upset as he finally realized what was going on.
Another negative pregnancy test.
"Shhh...hey...come here..." he mumbled soothingly and pulled her closer, enveloping her tiny body in his arms. They had been trying for a baby for three years now and so far it had only happened once. The one time it had worked, exactly four and a half months into the pregnancy the doctor told them that their baby had no heartbeat.
No heartbeat.
The loss of their unborn child, after trying so long, took a toll on both of them. While Finn moved on from it and promised to try harder, Rachel was a wreck. She felt utterly guilty, knowing how bad Finn wanted a child, she felt guilty she couldn't protect the baby inside of her, that she let it die. Finn always reminded her it wasn't her fault, but Rachel deep inside couldn't stop the conflicting feelings. Ever since than she swore she would give him a baby, that she would protect it with her entire being, but now God seemed to punish her, not even giving her a second chance.
"It hurts Finn. You must hate me," she rasped out and buried her face in his chest, sudden sobs completely taking over her body, shaking her to the core. Finn's eyes filled with tears of his own, feeling a stab in his hearts when he heard her talk.
"I know it hurts. It hurts a whole lot, but baby...I didn't, I don't, and I am never going to hate you. I love you with every fiber of my being and if we won't have any children I can promise you with a 100 percent certainty that I will never, ever hate you." His voice cracks and he pulls away slightly to look at her face, looking deep into her eyes.
"I love you, Rachel. Nothing will change that. We're tethered remember? Destined to be together." He whispers rather softly and Rachel nods, her arms wrapping around his neck as she leans closer to him, pressing his lips fiercely against his. Her legs tangled with his as he rolls on top of her, his body pressing into hers as he kisses her softly.
"I love you so much. So so much," Rachel whispered and buried her face in his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could.
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Lilly raised her arms and wiped her face, her little tummy getting nauseated as she smelled his scent on her. His dried salavia covering her cheeks, neck and lips. She quickly pushed her skirt down and her shirt as well, looking at the window. Tim was putting on his shirt and pants and he moved away the desk from the door, opening it. He grabbed the little blonde girl roughly by her arm and pushed her towards the exit of his room, leaning down to her ear.
"If you tell, you'll die." His voice was low, low so only she could hear it. She nodded and bit her lip as he let her go, her little legs suddenly running on their own accord. She ran down the length of the corridor, climbing down the few stairs to outside. Her lungs burned, but she kept running, spotting the little white fluffy bear in the midst of a shrub. That's where Mr. Bear always was when he did things to her. She ran faster and stopped, trying to reach for him, but her arms too short. She sighed.
The shrub was poky and she knew if she got scratches again, Miss Mary was gonna yell at her. Tears burnt her eyes as the little girl debated. She needed Mr. Bear. He was her protector. When she had him, no one did anything to her. Not even Tim. Lilly looked around and took a deep breath, jumping into the shrub, grabbing Mr Bear in the process. She squeaked as she felt the thorns of the shrub dig into her skin, leaving huge scratches when she crawled back out again. With Mr. Bear tightly clutched in her arms she made her way inside again, where Mr. Max spotted her. He was so mean.
"Lilly what the hell are you doing out there? Didn't we tell you to stay INSIDE." His voice was mean and sounded mad, so she picked up her speed and tried to rush past him.
"Sorry Mr Max," she mumbled as she walked past her, a sigh escaping her when he grabbed her shoulder to stop her.
"Did you jump into the shrubs again? You know you are not supposed to do that. Look at you." He said disgusted as he pointed out the scratches, the dirty and her tousled hair. Lilly just shrugged.
"Sorry." She mumbled and avoided his gaze, biting her lip harder than necessary.
"Plus what is this flee infested bear? God disgusting. Give it to me." Mr Max tried to grab it and Lilly panicked. He was going to take away Mr. Bear and than he was going to do bad things, just like Tim. She suddenly felt scared, alone. She hated it. Tears sprung into her eyes.
"No." She whimpered and closed her arms around Mr. Bear's body. Mr Max rolled his eyes at her and ripped him out of her grip, holding him by his ear. That was it for Lilly and she looked at him with pure fright and rage. A loud scream escaped her and Lilly lunged forward, hitting him in the legs, jumping up to grab the bear. Mr Max is startled at the little girl, but moved the bear up in the air higher. Lilly screamed even more and leaned over to bite him into his leg, almost drawing blood. He screamed and dropped the bear, pushing Lilly away.
"Son of a bi...LILLY." He screamed at her as the little girl dropped to the floor to grab Mr Bear. She saw the rage in his eyes and she swallowed, pushing herself up. She started to run out of the door and she ran. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She soon reached the gate and ran out of it, running along the pathway, running faster and faster towards the bright lights. She heard Mr. Max scream her name, but that only made her run faster. Tears filled her eyes and she ran, she ran as fast as she could. It was dark outside, but she didn't stop, she ran past people, her lungs and legs burning.
Soon the voice of Mr. Max was gone, but she didn't slow down. She ran towards a dark alley. She felt tired, but her legs still moved until she took one step too far and felt nothingness under foot. Her leg got stuck in a grid and she tumbled forward, falling down to the ground. Her entire body got consumed by pain and she cried out loudly, while everything turned black.
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Finn jerked awake in the middle of the night as he hears his cellphone go off. He groaned loudly and rolled over, grabbing it and looked at the time. 3:47 am. Who the fuck called him that early? He was off duty for God's sake. Rachel next to him heard the sound and shuffling, grumbling as she sat up when he answered the phone.
"Hudson, I know you are off duty, but we need you. There's a girl trapped in a grid two blocks away from you, and we're short on people due to a massive fire in Manhattan. We need every person we can get and you are closest to that girl. We need someone with her until Tucker and his team arrive with the truck to cut the girl free."
Finn shot up and scrambled out of the bed, already looking for his uniform, jumping through the bedroom.
"How old is she?" he asked and silently thanked Rachel as she flicked the light on.
"She is supposed to be around four or five. Hurry Hudson. I'll text you the address."
Finn threw his phone away on the bed and grabbed his backpack, looking at Rachel whose face fell.
"I am sorry baby, it's an emergency. There's a little girl stuck in a grid. She is only four...I gotta go..." He kissed her forehead and hurried out of the apartment, checking his phone as he ran down the two blocks, his heart breaking. He saw a little tiny girl surrounded by paramedics. She was blonde and her body was covered in scratches and bruises, her foot awkwardly stuck between the bars of a grid. She was moaning in pain as the paramedics hooked up an IV.
"How is she? Finn Hudson, FDNY," he said as he came closer and kneels down next to her girl.
"Her foot is stuck in the grid and her leg swelled up and jammed her between the bars. She was unconscious, but she regained it. She seems confused and doesn't respond to us. She keeps whining about a bee." The paramedic shrugged and Finn leaned down to touch the girls face, which caused her to sigh.
"Beee...Beee..." she moaned again and moved her little body around, groaning in pain. Finn gulped as he tried to keep her still, leaning down.
"Hey, baby girl...it's okay...we'll help you...don't worry..." he whispers soothingly into her ear and wraps the blanket tighter around her body. The little girls eyes flickered and she looked at Finn, moaning and squeaking.
"Don't... hurt me...bear..." she spluttered out and Finn felt anger boil in his chest. Tears sprung to his eyes as he looked around, spotting a little fuzzy, in dirt covered, white bear.
"Do you want your bear?" he asked and Lilly squeaked, trying to raise her arm underneath the blanket.
Finn smiled a little and took the soggy bear, lifting the blanket to lay him in her arms. Instantly the little girl calmed down. Finn smiled a little and looked up as he sees the firetruck approaching.
"We'll help you soon little girl. Don't worry."
