Well hello! Thanks for making it this far with me. Your response to the prologue and the first chapter for the most part was amazing and I am so incredibly thankful that you're still here! I know this story is hard to read, but if you'll just bear with me, it will end favourably.

As always, I don't own Finn, Rachel or Brody. I do own Ione and Ayla and the plot.

Chapter 2

"Watch me Mommy, watch me!" Ayla giggled from where she was positioned on the swing. She pumped her legs back and forth before squealing once more. "Look Mommy, look!"

Rachel looked up from the book she had brought along to the park with her and smiled as she watched Ayla pump her legs quicker in an attempt to propel herself higher on the swing at a faster pace.

"Way to go sweetheart," Rachel called with a small smile. She held her hand over her face so she could see better, framing her eyes away from the late autumn sun. "Hold on tight!" she added as an afterthought before dropping her hand and going back to her book. Ayla continued to giggle from the swing as she continued to play. Rachel turned her attention back to the book she was reading, desperately trying to soak in the quiet and peacefulness that being outside brought her.

She smiled when she heard Ayla call Ione's name over her squeals. Rachel turned her attention back to her daughters as she watched Ione dutifully stand up from where she was sitting on the landing of the structure to walk over to the swing set. She watched them interact for a minute, Ayla's giggles and encouragement were all Ione needed to get on the swing beside her. She watched as Ione started to pump her legs beside her, albeit a lot slower than Ayla was. She watched her two girls together and felt a slight warmth spread through her.

Rachel had thought the park would be a good idea. After a long first week of school and back to routine, she had been looking forward to spending a quiet weekend with the girls. But from the moment she opened her eyes, the mood in the apartment was indicative of anything but the peaceful weekend she had wished for. Brody was in a mood and had been stalking around the apartment mumbling obscenities that she didn't dare repeat. She had tried to brighten the mood by making a special breakfast for everyone and he turned her down, grabbing the cup of coffee she had made of herself and claiming the couch with a grunt. Things had been on edge for a few days, the air in the apartment had grown thicker as the clock moved along. She would be lying if she said she wasn't used to this, couldn't see or feel the signs of an oncoming explosion. She did her best every day to keep things smooth, and when moments like the ones this morning occurred, she felt like she was dodging minefields across the floor.

So days like today, she got out. She always tried to pack up the girls and leave. It was easier before, when they were younger, because the packing up literally meant - packing them up. Now that they were older, they had opinions and questions - some of which caused Brody's unhappiness to rise. Ayla was guilty of it the most, wanting to always know the whens and wheres and hows. Ione, for her part, stayed quiet. It was her role. She was the observer, the thinker. Always had been from the moment she had been born. She took after her father a lot in that regard, not that Rachel would ever tell her that.

She turned back to her book in that moment, choosing not to dwell on what could be waiting for her at home. She tried to enjoy these moments, the quiet moments that came few and far between. But the sharp drop that signaled Ayla jumping from her swing, something she had asked her a million times not to do, caught her attention and took her away from her book once more. She looked up in time to find Ayla starring at her with a grin on her face while Ione stood beside her with her hands on her hips. She closed the book and tossed it beside her on the bench before getting up and jogging over to the girls as Ayla began to giggle wildly and turned around to run away from her. She may have even spotted a smile cracking over Ione's features as she joined in to chase Ayla as well.

Monday morning arrived, and Rachel slowly opened her eyes. She took a few deep breaths as she blinked with her eyes pointed towards the ceiling. She tried to take in the silence that enveloped the apartment, silence that was interspersed by Brody's deep snoring beside her. He twitched in his sleep and she tried to maintain her even breathing, slowing working herself up to get out of bed. He hadn't been home when she went to bed last night, and for a moment she wondered when he had gotten in, where he had been, the usual questions that haunted her mind. She blinked up at the ceiling once more before she rolled over onto her side and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

She rubbed at her eyes as she padded out into the hallway, peaking her head in on the girls for a brief moment before heading to the bathroom to run the shower. She smiled for a second as she looked in on both of them, Ione with her hands curled under chin and Ayla with her duvet all tangled and her hair a mess. She closed the door behind her more before she crossed over to the bathroom to start getting ready for work. When she started the water the old pipes in the building roared to life and she sighed as it came beating out. The hot water droplets were a welcome prick on her skin, and she tried to allow it to relax her.

When she was finished she wrapped her robe around her body before heading back to her bedroom. She shuffled along the carpet to where she had laid her burgundy work uniform. The clothes hangers that held the long dress and her newly cleaned black apron clanged together accidentally.

"Can't you do anything fucking quietly?"

She cringed when she heard his gravelly voice, her movements frozen as the effects of his voice washed over her. She heard him shuffling on the sheets, angrily pulling at the comforter.

"Some of us are trying to fucking sleep here," he snapped once more.
She flinched when his voice hit her ears before she took a deep breath, grabbed for her uniform and turned to go for the door.
"That's right, get the fuck out of here," he growled before he turned himself over on the mattress so his back was to the door and to her.

She breathed a sigh of instant relief when she was out in the hallway once more, closing her eyes against the door for a moment with her uniform clutched to her chest. She felt her lip tremble a she tried to calm herself after his outburst. The tension in the apartment had been escalating since Friday night, though her and the girls had had slight reprieves with park trips and Brody's disappearing act last night. But it was always a shock to her system, and not the way she wanted to start off her day and week when he yelled at her first thing. She took another deep breath before she headed back to the bathroom to get changed and her hair done quickly before she went to wake up the girls.

"It's a new day," she whispered to herself in the mirror after she had pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail. "You can do this." She let the words die on her lips as she looked in the mirror before grabbing for her mascara and quickly coating her lashes in the dark liquid.

When she was pleased with how she looked, she quickly tidied everything she had used and headed once more across the hallway to wake the girls. She started with Ayla, because she was always easier to wake. Ione was difficult to wake up, with Monday's being the worst. But she had found over time if she gave her a few more minutes while she got Ayla going with breakfast and clothes sometimes things just went a little better.

She tried to keep them quiet while she made breakfast, using hushed tones and a soft voice to talk to the girls while she made them the oatmeal they had both requested before moving on to their lunches. She froze when Ayla laughed a little too loud at a joke she had made that had flown over Ione's head. She heard the bedroom door creak open and she sucked in a breath while she waited to see where the heavy footsteps that followed would go. When the bathroom door slammed she allowed her shoulders to slump and her hand that was holding the knife for Ione's jelly sandwich fell to the well worn counter top.

"Sorry Mommy," Ayla whispered before she looked down at the oatmeal that was in front of her. Rachel turned around to find both her and Ione staring back at her.

"What are you sorry for sweetheart? Finish your oatmeal, we have to get going..." she pasted a smile on her face before turning back around to finish Ione's lunch.

She could feel both girls eyes on the back of her head as she went back to her task, just as the bathroom door opened one more time. Rachel tried to keep herself occupied with the lunches instead of paying any mind to Brody's mood. When she heard the bedroom door slam she let out an exhale before packing everything into Ione's lunch bag and hustling the girls to finish their oatmeal once and for all.

The walk to school was quiet, even Ayla taking what seemed to be an oath of silence as they walked along the sidewalk. When they reached the school, she tugged both girls to a stop at the bottom of the stairs that led into the school. Both girls stopped and turned to look at Rachel, as she carefully bent down in front of them to be more eyelevel with each of them. Both girls looked down at her, hesitation in both of their eyes as they stared back at her.

Rachel reached forward and tugged on Ayla's jacket, pulling it down so it was a little less disheveled than it had become during their walk. She did the same to Ione, whose own jacket had done the same.

"You guys have a great day, okay?" she smiled as she looked at them. She tugged on the bottom of Ione's jacket. "And I'll be here at dismissal to pick you up, sound good? Maybe we can go get some ice cream..." she paused as they both continued to look down at her. "I love you both very much. Now go learn something!" she tried to grin as she tickled both of them. Ayla was the first to let out a giggle before she leaned forward to kiss her cheek. She turned moments later and ran for the stairs. Rachel stood up right and brushed off her uniform. Ione looked down at her feet for a minute.

"Come on, you're going to be late. And you don't want to be late sweetheart," Rachel tried to entice. Ione stayed rooted in her spot, but looked up at her after a moment. "Go on, Mr. Hudson's waiting."

Ione let a sigh pass her lips before she reached out to hug Rachel around the waist. When she let go, Rachel placed a kiss on her head before she took off for the stairs in a way that was less enthusiastic as Ayla's. Rachel sighed as she watched her and waited until Ione was safely inside the doors of the school before continuing on towards the restaurant.

Rachel blew her bangs out of her eyes as she rushed back behind the counter to submit another order. She'd been doing this for just over two weeks, and she wasn't sure if she was ever going to get used to the burning in her feet. She had to remember to pick up new shoes that were more supportive than the simple flats she was wearing, one day when she had the extra money. She sighed as she took a deep breath before she looked out on the small floor, and breathed deeply when she saw one of her tables waving her over. She pasted a smile on her face as she approached the table. When all they asked for was the check she breathed a sigh of relief as she headed over to the computer to calculate their tab.

When they were gone, she took a moment to grab herself a glass of water while she waited for some of her other orders to be ready to deliver to the tables.

"Can you believe how busy it is? I can't wait for three o'clock," her co-worker, Jessica laughed. She smiled tentatively at the other woman, who in the last two weeks seemed hell-bent on becoming her friend. The red headed woman was about her age and had been working at the Stoplight for a few years. Or so she's told Rachel proudly over the last few weeks.

"Yeah, me too," Rachel sighed as she took a swig of the cold water. It felt refreshing on her throat, as she had been starting to feel parched with all the running. She felt Jessica eyeing her from the side and she put the plastic cup down on the counter in the back. "What?" She wiped her hand across her mouth before she grabbed for her chap stick in the pocket of her apron. "Do I have something on my face? No wonder my tips have sucked today..."

Jessica chuckled. "No. Just...you're quiet today. Everything alright?"

Rachel tensed for a moment before putting her chap stick back in her pocket. "Yeah. Just tired," she forced a smile onto her lips as the bell dinged alerting them both to the orders that were up. "Not used to the pace still."

"Sure. You sure you didn't get up to something hot with Mr Brady last night?" Jessica chuckled as they both walked towards the front of the kitchen to grab their orders.

She stopped in her tracks for a moment, and turned to look at Jessica once more. "It's Brody," she paused. "And romance is dead when you have kids, you'll learn that soon," Rachel whispered quietly before she took the dish she had to serve and headed towards the intended customers. She blew out another breath as she carried the plates of hamburgers and french fries to one of her tables. She took a moment to check on the rest of her tables, getting refills for drinks, collecting payment for checks before getting the rest of them their own bills.

Her afternoon continued much in the same fashion, with the steady flow of customers filling the restaurant. She kept the smile pasted on her face through it all, even though her feet were killing her and she messed up two orders, mixing up sweet potato fries with regular ones not once but twice. She had to blink back tears when the customer yelled at her, and when she looked around the room for backup she found that she was the only waitress on the floor; her manager nowhere to be seen. She sighed and tried to apologize once more as another table held their hand up in the check please motion. She tried to keep a smile pasted on her lips but as the seconds turned it became harder to do so. She finally got away, beelining it back to the kitchen to get the orders sorted, before heading back over to the ready to pay table. As she was waiting for the credit card payment to go through, her eyes wandered over to the clock on the wall. She sucked in a breath when she saw the clock on the wall read 10 after 3, and she still had two more tables to collect payment from - not to mention the last mixed up one. She turned around once the transaction was completed and tore off the receipt. Her eyes landed on her manager who had finally appeared, standing by the hostess stand with the girls who were supposed to replace her and Jessica ten minutes ago. Well, her since it looked like Jessica had taken off already. She huffed as she collected one more check before going over to the stand and asking to leave. Her eyes fell on the clock once more and she felt her anxiety rising by the moment.

When she gained her managers approval, she bolted for the back to grab her things before taking off to make it to the school. She was so late.

Ione and Ayla sat on the front steps of the school, both of them watching down the sidewalk for their mother.

"Do you think she forgot us, Ione?" Ayla asked after a few moments with a sigh. She cupped her chin in her hands before leaning her elbows on her knees. "I think she forgot us."

"She didn't forget us," Ione whispered. Her eyes darted down the sidewalk a few times before turning to look at her little sister. "She would never forget us. She's Mommy," she sighed once more. "Maybe we should go wait inside."

"But what if Mommy won't know to find us there?" Ayla asked with big eyes as Ione stood up. Ione hoisted her backpack onto her back.

"She'll know. Come on, it's warmer inside."

Ione waited for Ayla to stand up to before she led her back into the school.

Finn Hudson was just getting ready to leave the school, his bag and books in tow as he locked up his classroom. He waved to another coworker, Sam, down the hallway who looked like he was deep in conversation with someone on the phone. He stopped short when he caught sight of one of his students sitting on a bench close to the front doors of the school. He paused for a moment as realization struck, and he determined that it was Ione, the quiet girl from his class. Her name stuck out to him, because it was the one he had struggled with for quite some time. He took a deep breath before he decided to approach her and who he assumed was her sister. He approached them slowly, and smiled when he saw Ione notice him, her eyes widening as he came closer. It didn't escape him how she scooted closer to the darker haired little girl beside her when he came closer.

"Hey Ione, what's going on?" he asked softly, placing his bag and things down in front of him on the floor. Ione's eyes dropped to her feet for a moment, before she finally moved to look up at him. She blinked a few times, staring at him with the eyes that he was used to seeing back at him in the classroom.

"We're just waiting for Momma. She's supposed to pick us up," she answered quietly as she looked back down at her feet.

Finn sighed, running his fingers through his hair for a moment.

Ione looked up at him at the sound of his sigh, "But don't worry. She's only late sometimes," she added quietly.

Finn watched as Ione looked at the little girl beside her once more, as she wiggled on the hard bench.

"Well, I'll wait with you guys until she comes, is that okay?" he asked softly, taking a seat on the bench beside her. He didn't miss how she moved even closer to the little girl beside her. "And who's this beside you?" he asked, desperate to get the quiet girl to talk. His mind was reeling, wondering why they were still here after school 15 minutes after dismissal. Ione wasn't on the after school care list, and he wondered briefly if the receptionist has called anyone - or if the girls beside him even know to ask for help.

"This is my sister," she answered quietly.

"My names Ayla," the younger one piped up as a smile crept up on her cheeks. "I'm 6!" Finn felt himself chuckle at the little girl, who didn't seem to have the same reservations as her older sister. "That's this many!" she giggled as she held up six of her fingers.

The conversation seemed to die at that moment, and Finn desperately tried to think of something to ask the girls. He frowned at how closed off Ione seemed, and how Ayla seemed content to play with the strap of her backpack while she swung her legs back and forth. In that moment the front door to the school flew open and the woman he remembered as Ione's mother, Rachel, came flying down the hallway, waitress uniform on, and her breath coming out in heaving, panting mouthfuls.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Rachel gasped as she placed her hand on her chest above her heart. "Got caught up at work and it won't happen again, I swear," she managed to catch her breath and clutched her chest as Ione jumped off the bench and threw herself at her. Finn stood up from the bench and stuck his hands in his pockets. He was about to say something, when Rachel's voice cut through and beat him to it.

"Thanks for waiting with them. It won't happen again, I promise," she reiterated as she placed her hand on Ione's head. He didn't miss how Ione clung to Rachel's side and her fingers seemed to tangle in her hair; he sighed himself.

"It's not a problem, really," Finn smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He bent to pick up his bags and slung them over his shoulder. "Have a good night."

"Thank you," Rachel whispered softly before she encouraged the girls to pick up their things and they turned to head out of the school.

He watched as the three of them left, Ione clinging to Rachel and Ayla bouncing beside them as they headed out of the school and onto the street.

As they walked home, Rachel couldn't help but feel tense. She tried to enjoy the short walk, watching as Ayla jumped over the cracks in the sidewalk and sang some song they must have learned in class. Ione stuck close to her side, clinging to her waist.

"Did you have a good day?" Rachel asked softly as they came to the pathway that led up to the apartment building they called home.

Ione was quiet, and didn't answer her at first. Rachel bit her lip as she looked down at her, trying to determine what was going on and what was bugging her.

"Are you okay Ione?" she asked softly.

"You were late Momma," she whispered as they got to the door of the apartment building.

"I know sweetheart, it wasn't on purpose..." Rachel sighed, grabbing for the door in front of her to usher the girls inside.

Ione sighed loudly.

"I'll try to be on time tomorrow, okay?" Rachel tried to soothe as they started the hike up the stairs towards their apartment.

Ione sighed once more and nodded. "Okay Mommy."

Rachel gave her own sigh before following her up the stairs. The tense feeling she had as they had walked home only intensified as she watched them walk up the stairs, her stomach gnawing knowing that Ione was disappointed in her.

Things were quiet as they approached the apartment, and Rachel couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as they came to the door. She recognized that they were late, but she was still shocked when she opened the door and found Brody sitting on the couch, staring at the front door from his spot. The sense of foreboding that had been gnawing at her from the moment they had stepped on their floor seemed to grow.

He was on his feet in moments, and Rachel immediately felt her back go rigid.

"Girls, why don't you go and..." she started as she tried to ignore the imposing stature of her boyfriend only a few feet away. She heard him take a step before she looked up and had confirmation. She ushered the girls to take their things to their room and get their school bags put away. She swallowed as she looked up as they started to make their way around the room, side stepping around Brody as he continued to take steps toward her. The girls hadn't even cleared the room when he spoke up.

"Where the fuck were you?" his voice wasn't very loud, but the deep timbre spoke volumes to her and she immediately swallowed hard. "I can't hear you..." He took a step closer to her, his eyes were blazing and Rachel took a deep breath. "You're fucking late Rachel, why the fuck are you fucking late?" his voice raised in volume and she didn't feel like she could meet his eyes. She dropped her gaze to her feet and allowed her hands to fall to where her apron was still tied around her waist. "I SAID WHY WERE YOU FUCKING LATE?" he screamed. She was still staring at her feet when he lifted his hands and shoved her, his hands colliding with her shoulders so that she stumbled slightly back on her feet, but didn't fall. She heard a chuckle fall from his lips as she stumbled. "You going to answer me now, bitch? I want to know why you weren't fucking here when I got home...huh? Tell me..."

She felt a shuddered breath leave her lips and she ran her hands over her sides, trying to keep herself calm. "I worked late..." she mumbled.

"What?" he snarled. "I can't hear you..."

"I said I worked late and I was late to pick up the girls..." the explanation rushed from her lips as she looked up in time to meet the fury in his eyes.

"You worked fucking late?" he snarled with a throaty chuckle. "You were fucking late to get the girls? And now you're fucking late getting my dinner?" he took a step forward, forcing her to take a step back so that there was a bit of space between them. He chuckled harshly and continued. "You were fucking late, do you know what that means?" he reached forward and grabbed for her biceps, allowing his fingers to dig into her arm. "Do you?" He shook forcefully shook her."Are you fucking listening?"

Her lip trembled as she tried to raise her head to meet him once more. "You're supposed to have my fucking dinner ready and you were fucking late!" he screamed. His grip on her arms increased threefold as she continued to stay silent against his verbal assault. "You fucking bitch," he roared as he slammed her body against the opposing wall that he had walked her towards. Her head fell back on reflex and slammed against the wall with an incredible clunk.

He stalked off when she hit the wall and she winced when she heard him stomp away, before slamming the door to the bedroom. She tried to slowly slide down the wall to meet the floor, and winced the entire time as she did so. She clenched her eyes shut when her butt met the floor as tears piqued in the corner of her eyes. She gasped quietly as she slowly pulled her legs into her chest, wincing at the pain that radiates in her arms from where he grabbed her. She bit her lip as the tears began to cascade down her cheeks. She bit down when she heard her bedroom door swing open one more time. She tried to pull her legs closer and tried to keep her whimper to a minimum. He stalked towards her and as she ducked her head, she immediately regretted it. He grabbed her by the arms in much the same fashion as he had before and picked her up just to slam her against the wall once more. She whimpered loudly as her back hit the wall once more, which in turn caused him to smirk. She didn't anticipate the hit that came next; his elbow collided with her stomach hard enough that made her lose all her breath. The smirk widened on his lips as he dropped her back to the ground, before he turned around to stomp out of the apartment with the door slamming closed behind him.

She felt tears pique her eyes once more as the aftershock of the door slam rippled through the wall. She tried to curl into herself like she had before he hauled her off the floor and she gasped against the pain that now radiated into her stomach as well. She winced once more before she slowly tried to haul herself off the floor again. The ache in her back was intense, and she felt the tears start to cascade down her cheeks as she shuffled her feet along the floor. She reached for the door handle and locked it securely, using the chain to further protect herself. She turned on her heel slowly and started what felt like the long walk to the bathroom. Her head throbbed from where he slammed her against the wall, and her arms felt like jelly and not the good kind.

As she tried to quietly make it to the bathroom she could hear soft murmuring coming from the girls room. She stopped for a moment to try and determine what they were saying without drawing attention to herself. She didn't want them to see her like this, she hated them seeing her like this and they already have much too often in their short lives. She continued to shuffle towards the bathroom and sighed out when she was safely in the confines of the small room. But it's her reflection in the mirror that causes her to let out a sob. Her eyes are red and swollen from the tears she has already let slip. She moved her arms slowly one by one into the mirror and she cried as she ran her finger over the spots that were already starting to bruise on her skin. She moved from her arms to her stomach, and gently ran her own fingers over the tender spot where he had elbowed her. She tried to strip herself of her uniform, letting the dress drop to the floor in a puddle. She stood in the mirror in a tank top, and raised the shirt to look at the spot. She winced when her fingers touched the tender skin. She bit her lip so she didn't sob again, but everything hurt and it was so hard in moments like this to be strong. She moved to grab a pair of pajama pants that were hanging off the back of the bathroom door and she wanted to cry when the movements made every limb feel like it was on fire.

Once the pants were on, she sat down on the toilet and moved to rest her head in her hands. She lets the tears roll down her cheeks freely and her lip to tremble now that her face is covered. Even in the protective walls of the bathroom she's only concerned about the girls hearing her. She never wanted them to hear her, it broke her heart enough that this was her life - that this was their life too. She rubbed her eyes with her palms, which caused the muscles in her arms to flex and the ache to return. She gave a watery gasp at the feeling as she clenched her eyes shut. Over and over thoughts of how she had failed everyone, failed herself and her girls started to swirl much as they always did after fights and explosions like this one, her tears fell faster at each thought.

But a timid and slow knock at the bathroom door brought her back down to earth and to reality. She wiped at her eyes hastily, but she knew that they were surely red and swollen.

"Momma?" she heard through the door, and her heart ached. The voice belonged to Ione, and that thought caused her heart to ache even more. She stood up slowly from the toilet seat and went over to the door and opened it to find Ione standing there staring up at her, her green eyes wide. "You okay Momma?" she whispered quietly. Her little hands fisted at her sides as she continued to look up at her.

Rachel bit her lip as she looked down at Ione, struggling against the feeling she had to cry out. She reached her hand out and rubbed Ione's head gently. "I'm okay," she answered slowly before she paused. "How do you feel about breakfast for dinner?" Breakfast for dinner was a rare treat, and she couldn't help but slowly smile as she watched Ione light up.

"Can we make pancakes with chocolate chips?"

Rachel felt herself laughing at Ione's excitement, albeit reserved, despite the fact that every fibre of her being wanted her to cry. "Of course," she answered just as Ione dashed off to go and find Ayla.