"...can't. They'll find her. I can patch her up enough to move her, but we have to figure out our next step, Liv. Its your call." Huck's voice drifted through to Quinn before she could attempt to open her eyes. She found she could open both eyes now, so the swelling must have gone down. The pain was still there, hovering just under the surface like a lion waiting to pounce. She looked around, trying not to move. She was laying on a bed in a bedroom, the door was slightly open. She saw Huck pacing in the other room...Huck's old apartment? It looked like it, but she couldn't tell- she had obviously never been in Huck's bedroom, let alone his bed. He must have kept it even after...

His quiet voice drifted in to her again.

"Its a good plan... No, I got this. You and Abby start on that computer. I'll call you on a burner when we get there. Be careful."

Huck's looked through the crack in the bedroom door and, seeing Quinn looking around, walked in and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hey."

Quinn was lost for words for a moment. She cleared her throat. "Huck."

His eyes wouldn't meet hers. "I wouldn't try to move until I fix you up. You have some broken bones. I can tape them up."

Quinn nodded, wincing at the pain in her neck as she did. Huck went to reach in the closet and came back with a box full of first aid equipment. He gently lifted her right arm and as he straightened it, Quinn fought back the scream building in her throat. She tried not to think about it as he placed a splint on her arm and instead studied his face. He looked like the same Huck, but something about him seemed different. Guarded, almost. He still wouldn't look at her when he finished her arm.

"I'm going to need to have you sit up and take this shirt off so I can tape up your ribs. The back of it...it's bloody anyways." Quinn blinked, unsure what to do. She didn't have any other clothes, and all she had on was underwear underneath. Huck seemed to have read her mind. "You can use some of my clothes. It will feel better if you let me tape it up." Quinn nodded, still conscious of the fact that she was nearly naked. She reached for the bottom of the shirt, but Huck's hands were already there, and an electric shock through her fingers when she touched him caused her to pull back, and she let him slowly work the shirt over her head without disturbing her newly splinted arm. The shirt dropped to the floor. Quinn sat on Huck's bed, almost naked, and for the first time, their eyes met. When Huck's eyes locked on to hers, Quinn couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Was this even real? And slowly, his eyes slid down her body, taking in every inch of skin. She looked down at herself, and it was worse than she remembered. Bruises abounded all over her body, some fresh and some fading. The newest was a bright red, black, and purple bruise spreading from under her left breast and around to her back. Huck reached out to lightly touch a fading bruise on her inner thigh, which sent a jolt right into her core.

"What did he do to you?" He whispered, and Quinn wasn't even sure if he was talking to her until he spoke again. "Quinn, what happened?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine, Huck."

"No, you're not. Don't lie to me, Quinn."

"He beat me."

"Quinn, this isn't just beating."

"He raped me, all right!" She snapped. "He raped me, he chained me to the bed, he starved me, he whipped me, he hurt me. Stop pretending you care and tape me up so I don't have to sit here on your bed naked." Bucks jaw snapped shut and he promptly looked away; he didn't want her to see just how much her words pained him. No matter what she had done...he didn't want her to be hurt. Not like this. His torturing her was one thing, he had no choice, he needed the information, it wasn't personal, but this...Charlie had sunk to a new low.

As he taped up her side, he tried not to touch her skin. Every time his fingers grazed her soft flesh, he felt a tiny spark shoot through his fingertips. His hand grazed her breast as he wrapped, and he felt himself grow hard despite himself. Thank god he had the sense to wear his looser-fitting pants today.

"You're done, just let me find you some clothes." He rummaged in a drawer before coming up with a dark blue t-shirt and black drawstring shorts. He began to unfold them, but Quinn grabbed them with her good hand.

"I can do it." She scooted herself to the edge of the bed, placed her feet on the floor, took a deep breath, and stood up. Too fast. Her vision swirled as she felt her knees buckle beneath her...and suddenly she was caught in Huck's arms. He stared down into her eyes and she found that her thoughts had stopped. The only thing she could think about was him. Neither of them moved until suddenly, Quinn was acutely aware of the fact that Huck's hand had landed in the small of her back, close to her butt…

Quinn pulled away and sat back down on the bed gingerly. Huck reached for the shorts and held them for her to slide her feet into. He slowly pulled them up, his eyes never leaving hers. God, how he wanted to take them right back off and…

Quinn cleared her throat. "I definately need help with this." She held up the shirt with her good hand. Huck took it and slowly worked her splinted arm through its hole. He grabbed the hem and held as she threw her other arm in and pulled it down. His knuckled briefly grazed her nipples, and Quinn fought back a gasp, trying to make herself remember that he didn't want her, he hated her, and with those thoughts she found herself fighting off tears again.

Huck saw the pain flash on her face and stepped back, sure he had hurt her somehow - there were too many cuts, marks, and bruises to keep track of. Looking at her, sitting on his bed, covered in these marks, looking like a broken pile of bones and skin, the thought flashed through his head that he made a mistake choosing Kim over her, she wouldn't be like this if not for him..

No. He did the right thing. He chose his wife, his son, the family he wasn't allowed, the family he spent years praying he could come back to. But still….the ghost of that thought lingered in the back of his mind, curling up like a cat in a corner.

He knelt down in front of her. "Quinn, I'm sorry I couldn't take you to a hospital, but we couldn't risk it. Charlie will be looking for you, and if I took you to a hospital, I couldn't ensure your safety. We need to leave, we need to get out of town until we figure this out. But first I need to know what you know."

Quinn shook her head. "I don't know, I don't know what's going on. I didn't even know there was something going on until…" The memory tugged at the back of her head. "Until…before I blacked out and you...found me…Charlie said something. He was he wished he could kill me." She saw Huck's hand at his side ball up into a tight fist. " He said something….that 'it wasn't time yet'...what does that mean?"

"It means he's working for someone. Someone who wanted you as a hostage. You weren't just Charlie's hostage, you were...someone, someone who knows about Cytron and Defiance."

Quinn began to stutter. "But….why, I mean…I don't know anything, I was framed, I…" Huck put his hand on top of her good one.

"Quinn. We will figure this out. It's being handled. Liv and Abby have got this. I am supposed to get you somewhere safe. I have cash, we are going to a cabin in the woods, Liv called the owner, he's renting it out, I'm meeting him there and paying cash for a few months advance. Hopefully we only need a few days, but I wanted to be safe, I want you safe." Quinn felt her breath catch at his last words, but mentally shook herself, reminding herself again that it's his job, he's doing what he has to. Huck stood up and held out his hand for her. "Do you think you can stand?" She nodded, putting her hand in his. Slowly she stood, pausing for a minute to make sure she had her balance. She tried to take a step, and her legs began to shake underneath her. Huck put his hand under her elbow, supporting her. "I've got you, you won't fall." He put her splinted arm around his shoulders and supported her weight as she slowly made her way to the door, stopping only for Huck to sling a large black duffel bag over his arm before they made their way to his car.

…

Quinn jolted awake, frantically looking around. She didn't recognize where she was, just that she was in a car alone, it was dark and there were trees all around.

Two sharp taps sounded on her window and she shrieked in terror until Huck's worried face peered through the window at her. She slumped back into the seat, placing a hand over her racing heart. Huck opened the door and bent down.

"Quinn...it's just me...I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to help you inside. I already paid the landlord" He held his hand up, a key ring with two keys dangling from his finger. Quinn nodded, not trusting herself to speak after her fright. She took his hand as he helped her out of the car, which she saw was actually parked off of the gravel drive behind a row of bushes. Just up the drive, she saw a small two-story house, built to look like a log cabin. The front porch light lit their way, but Quinn couldn't help but peer down at the gravel, unsure if she could walk on it.

Huck read her face and bent down to scoop her up in his arms. Her lightness still shocked him - the weight she had lost in a few weeks...he couldn't think about it. If he thought about Charlie, it would only make his hands shake and he didn't want to drop her. Quinn wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek into his shoulder as he brought her up to the front door. He put her down lightly and opened the door for her to step through with his help. In front of her were a set of stairs leading to the second floor, beside a hallway that led to what looked like a kitchen. Beside that was a lightly furnished living room, a couch angled so one could see both the television and the front yard through the large picture window. Huck gestured to the stairs, and Quinn grasped his arm as they slowly made their way up.

At the top of the stairs was a small bathroom, and to the left, a bedroom. Huck guided her to the bed and helped her perch on the mattress. He bent down and helped her take off the sandals of his that he had her put on before they left his apartment, and then pulled back the covers for her to slide in.

Quinn lay in the bed, acutely aware of the ample space next to her, both excited and frightened at the prospect of sleeping next to Huck. "Quinn, are you okay?" Huck asked, sensing her uneasiness but unable to translate it.

"Yeah, Huck. I'm...well, I guess I'm a mess, aren't I? But...I think I'm okay. Better than I was a few hours ago…" her voice trailed off as she remembered that only hours ago she was being beaten to a pulp by Charlie. Her lip began to tremble as once again she fought back tears.

Huck nodded. He didn't want to push her to talk while she was still so fragile. He had never seen her like this, not even when she learned the truth about the Cytron explosion. Again he felt the twinge of regret, and pushed it back.

"Quinn, if you need anything, I'm going to be right downstairs. Yell for me, because I will have a gun, I don't want to accidentally shoot you if you decided to come down the stairs. Although I wouldn't want you to try anyways, you'll end up falling." He paused, and slowly his hand came up to tuck her brown curl behind her ear. Her hair was dry and dull where it had once been soft, shiny, and bouncy. The regret sprang up again, sending a pain shattering his gut. He stood up quickly. "I'll be on the couch. Get some rest." He turned off the light and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Tears danced in Quinn's vision as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. she was so sure he was going to…

A sob lept out of her throat as she turned her head into the pillow, not caring that her tears had begun to flow freely. She was a stupid girl, and she deserved to be alone.

Huck threw a blanket over himself. He was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling when he heard her light sobbing. He could barely restrain himself from running back up the stairs. 'She doesn't want you,' he told himself. 'She's been abused for months, of course she's going to cry now that she's safe.' He couldn't force his eyes closed, though. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling, even hours after the sobs had ended.

…

A/N: Thank you all again for your kind comments! I'm so happy to have even one person read and like my story. I have to admit, I've quickly gotten addicted to writing it. It's been a long time since I have written anything. I was in an abusive relationship a few years ago, and since then I haven't really enjoyed the things I used to, and so to be able to write again, and enjoy doing it, and have people genuinely enjoy my work means the world to me. Thank you all so much.

As for the story, I've definately made these characters my own, although I am still striving to keep their authentic voices. The way I hear this play in my mind, I hear it all in their voices, and I hope I'm doing them justice. Of course, there's some sexual tension in this chapter, but it wouldn't be Huckleberry Quinn without it. I'm really enjoying these characters - they're so much fun to write for!