Quinn spent her final period of the day daydreaming about everything from bacon, to her father, to the time she burnt bacon for her father, to Cheerios practice. That's what her mind was currently focused on. Three nights ago Quinn had accidentally gotten in Leroy's way in the kitchen. In Quinn's mind, it wasn't that big of a deal. They lived in an average sized apartment in New York City, the kitchens were small. It didn't make a difference to Leroy. He grabbed Quinn by the back of the neck and shoved her. Hard. She tripped and fell right into the corner of the countertop, her collar bone taking much of the force. She dared not cry in front of Leroy, so she took a deep breath and stood upright. Leroy had continued his business in the kitchen and without turning around told Quinn, "Whatever mark that leaves isn't even my fault. Clumsy."

Quinn sat in class and absentmindedly rubbed her hand over her collar bone. The bruise really started to show yesterday and after her shower this morning she felt like a purple spotted dinosaur when she took into account some of the smaller, healing bruises on her shins and elbow from other Leroy encounters. Cheerios was going to be an issue today if she couldn't lift her arms above her head without it hurting. And if she couldn't lift her arms up, forget any gymnastics she would have to do. Then again, this wasn't Quinn's first rodeo. She'd been injured and sore plenty of times this year and still managed to make it through practices. Plus, Santana always gave her advice on what to say if she wasn't performing up to Sue's standards. Coach Sylvester thought Quinn was the best Cheerio since Santana and had the potential to be even better. Quinn put her all into the team. She liked doing it, she was good at it, and she could channel all of her aggression into the stunts and routines. She prayed her shoulder wouldn't bother her too badly.

She was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of the bell and headed to the gym where they practiced in the winter months. She joined the group, front and center, and stretched out to Coach Sylvester's barking orders. Practice went fairly quickly and normally and her bruised collar bone wasn't too much of a nuisance, though Sue did call her out for not having sharp enough arms. Quinn silently berated herself and pushed through the pain to make her arms the tightest and sharpest they could be.

She was up in the air holding a pose when a flash of something caught her eye outside the gymnasium door. She could have sworn it was her father that just walked past the gym. Quinn suddenly lost balance.

"Whoa!"

She landed in the arms of her stunt group.

"You're supposed to fly UP in the air Q, not DOWN! Sloppy. On that sour note, hit the showers," yelled Sue from the top row of the bleachers.

"You okay, Quinn?" asked Kitty, the only other freshman on the squad.

Quinn nodded and tightened her pony. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Just lost my balance."

The other girl gave her a pat on the arm and jogged off towards the locker room. Santana and Brittany made their way over to Quinn.

"Hey Q, you may have fallen but you did it with a ton of grace, and that's something Sue is going to love for sure," said Brittany with one of her famous encouraging smiles.

Quinn kept her eye on the door of the gym. "Thanks Britt. Um, Santana can I talk to you for a sec?"

Santana exchanged a look with Brittany and just like that Brittany understood and headed toward the locker room to give the sisters their privacy. She waited for them to be finished before going inside to change.

"What's up?" asked Santana. She had never quite seen Quinn so distracted. Her sister remained focused on the doors to the gym. "Quinn?"

"He's here," she said. Santana's brow furrowed.

"Who's here?"

For the first time, Quinn's eyes connected with Santana's. "Dad."

"What? Where?"

Quinn watched as Santana's eyes swiftly darted around the room. "I-I don't know.."

"What are you talking about? Why would say you saw-"

"I did! I did see him. I- I'm almost positive it was him. He- he walked right past the door.."

Quinn's body was starting to heat up. She didn't do well with surprise appearances from her father.

Nine-year-old Quinn sat in her third grade class. It was Halloween and her teacher, like many others, held a Halloween pizza party for the class. Everyone's parent helped them cook or bake a treat to bring in for everyone to enjoy. There were eyeball decorated Munchkins, pumpkin shaped cookies, and all different sorts of candy. Shelby had told Quinn for days she would help her bake something, but just never got around to it. When Quinn had asked her the night before her mother snapped.

"Mom? If it's okay, do you think we can make something for class tomorrow now?"

"Quinn! You're really being a pest about this! Rachel needs my attention. I can't let her roam over all over the house unsupervised just so you can have something for school tomorrow! You have two parents. Ask your father."

When Quinn had asked her father he was in a drunken stupor half asleep on the recliner. He reached into his pocket and gave her a dollar. Quinn, knowing she would need more than just a dollar, took the ten dollar bill that was peeking out of his pocket. He must've meant to give her that, right?

Santana accompanied Quinn to the bodega on the corner and Quinn laid eyes on the most fantastic witch shaped sugar cookies. They came in a pack of 24 and she couldn't have more excited. Her class had 21 students and she bet no one would have anything as good to eat as these witches looked.

She sat in class at her party, slightly upset that her mother couldn't attend the party because she didn't feel well, but nonetheless thrilled about the cookies she had brought in. The classroom was abuzz with parents and children talking, eating, and sharing treats when she heard her teacher, Ms. Miller greet a visitor at the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked kindly.

"Hello, yes, I'm Quinn's father. How are you?"

"Mr. Lopez! What a lovely surprise! Quinn told me both of her parents were working today and couldn't make it!" Quinn turned bright red and froze. Why was her dad here? School was only ever a place where Mom came. She was happy here. The last person she ever wanted to see in her sanctuary was her father, and her teacher just unknowingly relayed to him a flat out lie.

"Oh, really?" said Leroy not missing a beat. A charming smile displayed on his face as he stepped into the classroom and over to Quinn. "Quinn, baby, did you really think I'd miss this?" He ruffled her blonde hair, and Quinn adjusted her headband. Ms. Miller smiled and went to mingle with some other students and parents.

Quinn didn't miss the fake smile Leroy kept on his face as her teacher walked away. She also didn't miss the way his eyes roamed up and down Ms. Miller's backside.

"Quinn," Leroy said. "Daddy has to use the bathroom. Can you show me where it is?"

She slowly got up. Leroy grabbed her hand and squeezed it a bit too tightly. Once they were out of the classroom the real Leroy came out. His voice hushed yet violent.

"You little cunt. How dare you steal money from the man who provides for you."

"What? No! Daddy I asked you and you gave me money and I-"

"I gave you a dollar. Who knew I was raising a thief. You took more than I gave you."

"But one dollar isn't enough for anything!"

He squeezed her ear tight. Quinn bent her head to the side in pain.

"You could've gotten a piece of candy like a normal kid and split it with the class."

Despite how rough Leroy was being in the empty hallway of school where anyone could come out and see the assault, Quinn fought back.

"Normal kids parents help them make something! Not give them money to buy something else!"

He smacked her across the face and the sound echoed. Quinn began to cry, unable to keep her tears at bay any longer.

"We're going home," he said with finality. Quinn felt glued to the floor.

Leroy left Quinn in the hallway and went back to her classroom to alert Ms. Miller that all the junk food had given Quinn a stomachache and that he was going to take her home. The teacher put together a bag of treats to send home with Quinn anyway and Leroy thanked her for her kindness. Upon exiting the classroom he tossed the treats into the nearest trashcan, tossed Quinn her jacket, and forcefully grabbed her hand to walk home. The beating she received that day when no one else was home was one of the worst Quinn had ever received. She was absent from school the next two days.

"Are you okay? Quinn, are you sure it was him?"

Quinn blinked back into reality.

"I- yeah. It had to be," she said sounding more unsure of herself. "Why would he be at school, Santana? He wouldn't come unless he had something to say or unless one of us really fucked up. Did you do anything? Did I? Do you think he knows about this morning?"

She felt her sister's arms on her shoulders keeping her calm. It was rare for Quinn to get worked up like this. "Hey, stop. No. I highly doubt he knows about this morning and I know neither of us have done anything he would deem punishable. Maybe it wasn't him. Go with Britt to change and I'll quick check the halls and outside. I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just someone else's dad," Santana said. "Go wash up, you smell."

With a quick 'okay' to her sister, Quinn jogged over to where Brittany stood outside the locker room. The older blonde looked at her with some concern.

"You okay? That looked a little intense. Are you hurt?"

Quinn put on that infamous Quinn mask. "No, no not at all. Just wanted to get San's opinion of what I did wrong in the stunt. She's always brutally honest."

Brittany looked skeptically at the younger girl. "Are you sure? Where'd Santana go?"

"Yes! I'm sure. I just said I was fine," she snapped, then retreated. "Sorry. Today's just been a really weird day. She went to..ummm.. grab a different shirt from her locker," she said. She wanted to change the topic. "Are you guys coming with me to get Rachel from Drama Club or are you.. doing.. other things?" she asked with a knowing smile. She wanted to act natural and play it cool and not have her outsides appear as paranoid as her insides currently were.

Brittany laughed. "It's okay. But actually, yeah. I think me and San had other plans for the next hour or so."

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I figured."

"So let me ask you this," Brittany started. "Are you like.. okay with me and Santana?"

"What do you mean?"

Brittany shuffled her feet. Quinn may only be fourteen but Brittany knew her long enough to know that the younger girl could be quite intimidating. She also knew how close she and Santana were and wanted to know where Quinn's thoughts were regarding her sister being into girls, namely her.

"Well, I mean you obviously know we like to, you know, have a little fun. It's pretty serious and I guess I just want to know if you're okay with that. She's your big sister after all."

Quinn really wished this conversation could be happening at some other time. Truth be told, Quinn couldn't care less if Santana was into guys, girls, or seven legged frogs. At this point she only cared about whether or not her father was currently in the building.

"It's fine, Brittany. It feels like I've known you forever and honestly you make Santana the happiest I've ever seen her. Just try not tongue her in front of me, okay?"

Quinn could practically see the relief in Brittany's face. "Deal," Brittany said. "Don't be so hard on yourself Quinn. You're really something special. You have a lot of talent so don't worry so much about perfection."

Quinn laughed internally. Her life literally depended on her being as perfect as possible, and she was always automatically ten steps behind Santana and Rachel because she wasn't even Leroy's kid.

"Yeah," Quinn said awkwardly. They stood in a semi-comfortable silence for another minute or so when Santana came back into the gym.

"Hey you," Brittany said. "Find your shirt?"

"Huh?" Santana asked, clearly confused. "What shirt?"

"Oh, Quinn said you ran to your locker to grab a shirt to change into."

Quinn made eye contact with her sister and Santana seemed to understand. "Oh! No, I was going to see if Sue had my Cheerios t-shirt that I left here on Friday. I don't know why you thought I was going to my locker," she said looking at Quinn. "Anyway, Sue wasn't in her office and I didn't see her in any of the hallways either," she said with a pointed look at her little sister. "So let's go change. I'll see if I can catch Sue tomorrow."

"Are you- are you sure you didn't see her?" asked Quinn. Brittany watched the sister's exchanged with curiosity. They were acting very weird over a simple discussion about Sue Sylvester and a t-shirt.

"Yeah, Q. I'm like, totally positive. It's all good, promise. Relax," she said.

Quinn still felt uneasy. She knew she had seen him. Brown, oversized leather-jacket-wearing piece of scum. She knew her eyes hadn't played a trick on her. Had they? Maybe all the nerves she didn't feel this morning were catching up with her.

She finished changing and left her sister and Brittany to do whatever it is they were planning on doing in the locker room. She bundled up in her jacket with her hat and scarf and went out to brave the nasty New York cold. It had begun snowing and the winds had to be at least 30 miles per hour. She was freezing. After what felt like forever, she trudged up to Rachel's elementary school and welcomed the warmth that greeted her on the inside.

She entered the auditorium and Rachel's play director got the little brunette's attention and told her she could go now that Quinn was here.

"Hey Rach, how was it?"

Rachel beamed as she put on her own jacket, hat-with a pom pom of course-, and scarf. "Great! I don't want to toot my own horn or anything but I think I'm going to be the best butterfly in the history of second grade performances."

"Of course you think that," said Quinn. "Not too sound too much like Santana, but make sure your scarf is on tight and your hat covers your ears. It's freezing out. I think I might hail us a cab."

"Kay," said the little girl. "Where is Santana?"

"She's staying at school to hang out with Brittany," Quinn said as they exited the building. Quinn stuck out her hand and hoped for an empty cab to stop soon.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Quinn asked.

"Why is she hanging out with Brittany?" Rachel asked. She made shapes in the snow with her feet.

"Cause she can," Quinn asked. She was getting irritated by the cold.

"But why is she?"

"Oh my God, Rachel. Why do you ask so many questions? They're friends! You have friends that you play with, right? Is this a new concept to you? They're just hanging out!" Finally a cab pulled up to the curb and Quinn opened the door. "Get in," she said to Rachel. "68th and Columbus," she told the driver. They were only a few blocks and an avenue away from home, but Quinn was relieved to be out of the cold.

Rachel piped up once they were settled in the back of the cab. "I'm sorry I ask a lot questions," she said sadly.

Quinn hated that she felt guilty. Rachel was flat out annoying, Quinn shouldn't feel bad for snapping at her. Big sisters always snap at little sisters. That was an unwritten rule of life. Still, Santana and Rachel were all she had and she didn't want Rachel to hate her.

"No, I'm sorry. You're fine. I was mean," Quinn said.

"Are you on your period?" Rachel asked with a whisper so the driver couldn't hear them.

"Rachel!" Quinn laughed. Rachel laughed too. When Quinn got her period last year Rachel had discovered bloody pad in the trash and almost called 911 to report an injury. Once Santana explained to her what it was, she had been fascinated and couldn't get enough of the concept of menstruation. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

Rachel was still laughing when the cab pulled up in front of their building. Quinn paid him with the cash she always made sure she had on her and the two made their way inside and to the third floor. For most people, coming home was the best feeling, for Quinn, her chest got tight and body always felt so much heavier. The air always felt thick. Rachel didn't mind it as much. She wasn't aware of just how bad things were. She, of course, never liked the sound of her father yelling or hitting her sisters or mother, but she never knew life without it. Her mother said he did it out of love. Maybe it was just a messed up way of keeping his kids safe. Still, she always made sure to be as perfect as possible for him.

Quinn took at her keys and went to open the door. Mondays were her favorite because they had an extra hour before Leroy came home from work. She was surprised to find the door unlocked. She peered inside and the entire living was destroyed. There was broken glass all over from what Quinn recognized to be two vases they had on display, couch cushions were overturned, there was paper scattered about and the TV was left on.

She quickly but quietly closed the door. And turned to Rachel. "Let's go downstairs," she said. It was more of a demand than anything else.

"Huh?" asked Rachel. Quinn grabbed her arm and pulled her to the elevator. "Ow! You're hurting me!"

At those words Quinn immediately let go of her sister's arm and apologized. "Sorry Rach. We just need to go call Santana."

"Why? What's happened? Why can't we go inside and call her?"

The elevator dinged and both girls got inside, both still bundled in their winter gear.

"Because something is wrong. I saw Dad at school today and I think there was a fight at home. We're just going to stay in the lobby."

Rachel was silent and scared the rest of the way down. When they made it to the lobby Quinn asked the doorman if he'd seen either of her parents. He responded that he'd seen their father in and out a few times that day but hadn't seen him again in well over two hours.

Quinn knew this was bad. Her father was out all night and didn't return home until the next day, clearly didn't go to work, the house was a mess, and she had no idea if her mother had slept through it all or was part of what was happening.

She quickly dialed Santana's cell praying she would pick up. She answered on the fourth ring with a slight giggle to her voice and breathless. "Q, you have the worst timing. What's up?"

Quinn motioned for Rachel to wait inside their building and Quinn went outside on the steps of the apartment.

"San, you need to come home right now."

She could hear Santana's voice change to one of full focus and concern. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I got home and the house is a mess and I'm downstairs and I'm scared. I don't know where he is Santana. I don't know where Mom is. I just looked inside and everything's a disaster. P-please come home. I don't know what to do. I-I need you.." she said frantic. Her face becoming red again.

"Okay, I'm coming right now," Santana answered. Quinn could hear her fumbling around, presumably grabbing her jacket. "Do you have Rachel?"

"Yeah, she's inside the lobby. I just-please- just please get here now. Take a cab," Quinn had been pacing so much that there was now a slab of visible concrete through the snow.

"I'm coming right now, Quinn. I'm gonna be there as fast as I can. Listen to me," she said firmly. "Stay in the lobby. Don't go upstairs and don't let Rachel out of your sight, okay? Stay together and I'm coming. It's gonna be fine. I'm sure he just freaked again," Santana said. Quinn could tell she was trying to play it down so Quinn herself wouldn't have a panic attack but she was hardly convincing herself.

"Okay. Please text me the whole time home, okay? Please come," Quinn cried into the phone.

"I promise. Stay downstairs," and with that Santana hung up on the conversation.

Quinn took a few deep breaths so that Rachel wouldn't see her totally lose it. She went back inside and saw Rachel sitting on the loveseat kicking her feet back and forth and staring at Quinn.

"Quinn, what's going on?"

"I don't know Rachel. Santana's coming and she'll tell us what to do. We just have to wait. It's gonna be alright."

"Is someone hurt?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I don't know Rachel! Please! Just.. just please. Please." Quinn didn't know what she asking for, but it's all that came out of her mouth. Her heart was racing. She prided herself on trying to be as independent and as self reliable as possible, but right now all she wanted was Santana's guidance. Quinn didn't know how to be the protector or how to make everything alright like she could. She wanted to give Rachel comfort and put her before herself like Santana always did for both of them. Instead, she was often jealous of Rachel and easily annoyed. She had even pulled Rachel forcefully by the arm just a few minutes ago. She knew children of abusive parents often turned out to be abusers themselves and she was seeing just how like Leroy she was becoming. She needed Santana to make it stop.

"Please, San..."

Hello again! Thanks for the reviews, yet again. They really do make a difference. I know these first few chapters have come quickly, but that won't always be the case. I've had the beginning outlined for awhile, so now that I've actually taken the plunge and posted, the first few chapters are coming pretty quickly. However, eventually I am aiming for an update once per week or once every two weeks. I work full time and life, I'm sure will get in the way, but I plan on sticking to weekly or every other weekly updates.

Please don't forget to REVIEW!

I also wanted to take a second to respond to reviewers from chapter two! I really appreciate you all so much. I know fellow authors know how big a difference reviews make.

- Thank you for reading! I hope you'll continue to love it!

bicuriosego- Thanks! There will definitely be Rachel-Brittany interactions in the future, so stick around!

Guest- First, I'm glad you think I'm a good writer! I'm far out of school and have never really written anything other than what was required for classes. I'm just a big reader! I understand what you mean about Rachel being the youngest in a lot of fics. I've read several where she is the youngest and am often turned off by them as well. For this story, however, Rachel had the only personality to fit what was needed of the character. If I'm being frank, Rachel Berry was one of my least favorite characters on Glee altogether. But, she's important and special to me nonetheless. I hope you'll continue to read!

beaner008- Wow! Thank you! I have to say, your Open Wounds is one of my all time favorite fanfictions EVER! To see you review this little story is a big deal! Santana is definitely the glue and Quinn is certainly feeling victimized. You may be on to something with Rachel but you'll have to read to find out. I hope you'll do me two favors: one, keep reading and two, treat us with an update to your story! I've missed it so.

WritingForMySoul12- Thank you so much! I appreciate it!

Thank you again for reading this story! I'd love to hear what you're thinking in a review :)