So this is the last chapter you all get to vote on. :) Current standings are as follows:

Yes - 24

No - 11

Unless there's a huge overwhelming amount of reviews with votes for this chapter, I think it's safe to say that the story will be just a tad bit longer. :) The memory at the end for Santana, was a spur of the moment thing to give some more length to the chapter. I was thinking that since you guys have to wait a week between chapters then I'm going to try to make them a little bit longer.

The first portion of this chapter is a bit of a touchy subject with some people... it doesn't go into great detail, but there's enough there that if rape bothers you... I'd suggest skipping it.

Also, with the first portion of the chapter...that's your last hint as to what my blind survey is about. If you read between the lines you should be able to figure it out. :)

Oh yea, this is also beta'd by me, myself, and I... I take credit for any and all mistakes.

The First 24
Chapter 3

December 22 – 4:00 AM

-2 days, 14 hours missing-

Quinn's eyes opened when she felt callous covered hands prying her thighs apart. It wasn't the first time it had happened. She was sure it wouldn't be the last. As long as he let her live anyway. She remembered every second of her trial. The trial that was supposed to have put him away for more than 30 years. Good behavior. Quinn let out a dry chuckle at her own thoughts.

"What's so funny faggot?" He let out a loud groan as he thrust into her. Her entire body clenched up at the unwelcome intrusion. There was no sign of sympathy for her pain. It burned. It always burned. It was similar to the pain she felt when she lost her virginity. The only difference is, it never faded away. The feeling was unwelcome. Every time it felt horrible. Every time she tried to think of something else. And every time she failed. "I asked you a question!" He shouted in her face.

Her fingernails pressed into the palms of her hands so hard she drew blood. "Just thinking." And she was. She was thinking of her lovely wife Rachel that was probably worried sick about her. She was thinking of her best friends Brittany and Santana and what her disappearance was doing to them. She was thinking of anything that wasn't Jim pounding into her.

"You love this don't you?" He grunted. His pace was picking up. His rough hands pushed her legs even further apart. When she resisted on instinct he slammed his hand down. His fist connected with her rib cage.

"Ah! Fuck!" She screamed out in pain. Each breath started to hurt more than the last. Her whole body trembled. She could no longer focus on anything but the pain in her ribs and the burning between her legs. At least it would be over soon. Tears stung the corners of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She couldn't let him know that he was starting to get to her. He was starting to tear down the last of her defensive walls.

It was to the point that whenever the door to her room opened up, she jumped. She never knew what reason Jim had for being in her room. There were several innocent times when he would just come in to get her water and feed her. He would even be civil and try talking to her. A conversation she never took part in. Then there were other times he would show up just to use her as a punching back. Or, times like now. She was becoming his sexual play thing.

With a loud groan, she felt him empty himself inside of her. It was over. Finally she could relax. Or so she thought anyway. He stood up and without a word landed two punches on her already badly bruised and swollen face. After a kick to her ribs, he was gone. When the door closed behind him she turned as best she could onto her side and let her tears flow.

She just wanted to go home…

December 23 – 9:30 AM

-3 days, 15.5 hours missing-

Brittany laid on the sofa, her upper body being held loosely by her wife, her lower body was covered by a flannel blanket. Rachel was still, as far as they knew, asleep in her bedroom. Santana was in and out of sleep herself. She had been most of the morning. It's been nearly four days since and of them had last seen Quinn. There was still no word from the police department. They were all starting to lose hope. Especially Rachel.

The blonde stirred some when there was a knock on the front door. The sound echoed into the living room. She glanced at her wife to see her head had fallen back against the sofa cushions. Her mouth hung open some. A sure fire sign that she was asleep. She carefully extracted herself from Santana's arms and made her way to the front door.

"Can I…" Brittany felt her heart rate speed up and all the air exit her lungs when she opened the door. "…help you?"

One of the two officers stepped forward. "We're here to speak with Rachel."

"She's asleep… What's this about?" Brittany's arms folded over her chest. Her nerves were on end and the sight of the officers wasn't helping.

The female officer removed her hat to get a better look at the older blond. "Ma'am, it's important we speak with her."

Not knowing what else to do she made her way back to the living room. The two officers followed her into the house and stopped in the foyer, having assumed that the woman would fetch Rachel for them. "San…" The blonde whispered closer to her wife's ear. She didn't stir. "San wake up…" Still there was nothing. Brittany sighed before settling herself onto Santana's lap and taking her face in her hands. "Santana!" She practically yelled. Making sure that she didn't draw the attention of the cops.

"What… what?" The brunette shot upright. She was awake now and very aware of a worried looking woman on her lap. She quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up completely. "What's wrong?"

"Cops are here." Brittany climbed off her wife. In a hurry to get out of her way.

Santana was instantly struck with a mixture of emotions. "Why?" She stood up. But before she gave her a chance to answer she was walking out of the living room. Well on her way to the front door. When the two police officers came into view she started to panic. "What's going on here?"

"Are you Mrs. Rachel Berry-Fabray ma'am?" The older man spoke. He never left the side of his partner.

Santana folded her arms over her chest with a scoff. "No, she's asleep. What's this about?"

"It's private business Ms…" He trailed off, hoping she would jump in with her name.

"Mrs… Santana Lopez. Rachel's my friend." By then Brittany had made her way back to the group. She stayed in the doorway and just watched. "I'm just wondering why New York's finest are here instead of looking for her wife."

The female officer took a small step forward. "Mrs. Lopez… I'm Officer Sanchez, this is my partner Officer Franklin." Santana didn't really care what their names were. "Quinn is the reason we're here ma'am."

Due to the fact that she never added anymore to her statement, Santana instantly knew why they were there. "Oh hell no. You can't be serious!"

Brittany finally spoke up. Coming to her wife's side as she did. "What?"

"Rachel's a suspect." Her eyes never left the officers' unwavering faces. The tone of her voice was dangerously calm.

"How? She was at her show and then she's been with us the entire time." Brittany matched her wife's gaze on the cops standing in Rachel's entryway.

Officer Franklin sighed. "We cannot disclose that information. If you could please fetch Rachel for us."

She wasn't sure when it happened. Or even how it happened. But she felt Brittany's strong arms around her waist while she attempted to lunge toward the officers. She'd finally lost her cool. So much time spent staying strong for everybody else had wore her out. The cops being there finally caused her to snap. "You idiots are here to bring a distraught woman even more pain! It's almost Christmas for fuck's sake. You bastards need to be out there looking for Quinn, not here bringing an innocent woman even more pain. She's got solid alibis. Fuck! She was at her last fucking Broadway show while lord knows what was happening to Quinn."

"What's going on?" A very tired voice came from the hallway behind them.

"Rachel Berry-Fabray?" Officer Sanchez approached the fragile woman. Rachel just nodded. Subconsciously she clutched her wedding picture closer to her chest. The photo hasn't been put down anywhere since she first picked it up. Except for the times Brittany or Santana forced her into a shower. "I'm Officer Maria Sanchez, this is Officer John Franklin… we need to ask you a few questions."

Rachel's brow furrowed some. "Why?" Her other arm came up to wrap around the frame that was against her chest.

Brittany pulled Santana away from the cops and Rachel. She helped herself to using Rachel's room. She needed to get her wife to calm down. Once she had them behind the closed door Santana completely lost it. Now that the tears had started, she wasn't sure she could stop.

"Can we sit down?" John asked. Rachel nodded before leading the way into the living room. "How are you holding up?"

That was the one question she hoped they wouldn't ask. "I… I'm scared. I want my Quinn back." She looked down at the floor when she sat down. Her seat of choice ended up being her wife's recliner.

"What do you have in your hands there Rachel?"

The brunette tightened her grip on the frame. "Our wedding picture." All of her words were soft. She really didn't want to be answering any of their questions. All she wanted was to go back to bed and be by herself. At least Brittany and Santana gave her what she wanted, except for meal time where they'd silently place a plate beside her bed and leave her to her thoughts.

Maria let out a heavy sigh before taking over the questioning. "Where were you at when you realized Quinn was missing?"

"Work."

"Rachel, I know it's hard, but we need you to answer our questions with all the detail you can remember."

Rachel frowned, finally lifting her gaze to look at the female officer. "You don't know how hard this is for me. You can't possibly begin to fathom what I'm feeling. Quinn is my life. Her and I have been together since we were 16 years old. That's 22 years. I've been with the same person for the better part of half of my life. You have absolutely no idea how hard this is for me. So don't you dare try to tell me that you do." Rachel suddenly cowered back into her seat.

"Alright, I'm sorry Rachel."

"I was in the middle of my last show on Broadway."

"Why didn't you stop when you realized something was wrong?"

Rachel felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. She was still asking herself the same question. She should have stopped when Quinn hadn't shown up by intermission. She should have stopped when Jeff told her that Deanna could finish the show for her. But she pushed through. She was selfish. "During intermission, I called Santana. She told me to finish up the last act in my show and she'd keep trying to call Quinn."

The officer's heart melted some. There was no way this woman was capable of hurting a fly, let alone planning her wife's kidnapping. But they were there for a reason and had to get to the hard questions. "Do you know anybody who would want to hurt your wife Rachel?"

"No, I don't. But I'm sure you're well aware of the fact that she's an attorney. She didn't make many friends in her job…" Rachel wiped her tears off of her cheeks.

She didn't notice the officers look at one another before looking back to her. "We've got very few leads on your wife Rachel. When we've hit this part of the investigation… we stop looking for the missing person."

"No!" Rachel shot up to her feet. "You can't stop looking for her! Why would you stop looking for her?"

"Her trail's run cold Rachel. There were no clues in or around her abandoned vehicle. We are, though, continuing with the criminal investigation."

"Then why are you here?"

John sighed before standing up. "It's common knowledge that the spouse is the top suspect."

"This is preposterous. How could you even think for one minute I would do this to my wife? I love Quinn. I love Quinn with every fiber of my being. And I think that you and your partner need to leave my house and allow me to continue to cry and sleep in my bed alone while waiting for you… you… jackasses to locate my wife!" It wasn't often the tiny diva cursed. But the simple fact that she was being blamed for her wife's disappearance had broken her last nerve. How was she suppose to have stayed calm while she was being accused. "We were supposed to be moving to Los Angeles after the first of the year. Quinn had already arranged to take the California Bar Exam. We've already closed on the house we're moving into. How can you even begin to think I had something to do with this?" She stood from her seat and gave both of them the best HBIC glare she could muster. "I do believe you need to leave me house and if you have any more questions for me then they can be directed through my attorney Mrs. Santana Lopez."

She was down the hallway, and up the stairs before either officer had a chance to say a word to her. She did, though hear her front door open then close behind them when they left. Her knees buckled under her and she found herself landing on the carpeted hallway. Rachel knew from her years with Quinn that the spouse was always the top suspect. But to actually hear it and to live it, was a totally different situation for her.

"Rachel?" Brittany popped her head out of the bedroom and frowned when she saw the trembling mass on the floor. Her heart was shattered enough and each broken piece shattered some more each moment she had to witness Rachel breaking down. She wanted to stop all her pain. She wanted to stop everybody from hurting. Her wife was hurting, her best friend was hurting, and she was hurting. She knelt down beside the brunette and wrapped her arms around her. "It's gonna be okay."

"H-how can i-it be o-o-okay? They thi-nk I did it!"

Santana made her presence known at that point. "I've got your back Rach, don't worry." She knelt down with her wife and friend and wrapped her own arms around the pair. She no longer tried to hold her own tears back.

The police were calling off the search for Quinn. There were no leads as to her whereabouts. There was nothing else they could do other then prepare for a possible trial to defend Rachel's innocence. The only thing they had pointing to the brunette was the fact that she was Quinn's wife. There was nothing else out of the ordinary that would lead a jury of people to possibly believe that she was capable of such a feat.

Santana was going to live up to a promise her and Quinn made to each other years ago…

July 20, 2025

-6 years prior-

Quinn groaned softly as she started to stir. She couldn't feel a thing from the waist down and was suddenly petrified. Her face was swollen – her eyes barely opening to look at her surroundings. She spotted Santana on the bed beside her, whispering softly to Brittany. She groaned again when she felt a familiar hand pick up her right one.

"Quinn?"

The blonde lazily turned her head to lock eyes with her wife. Rachel's own eyes were bloodshot and swollen. It was obvious she'd been crying. "What happened?" Her voice was dry but the first cough proved to be a bad choice on her part as her entire chest constricted under the action.

Rachel laced their fingers together carefully, taking care to bypass the thick bandages. "You and Santana were involved in a wreck." Her eyes flicked over to the Latina on the other bed. Santana and Brittany's attention had turned to look at them. "The person that hit you… hit you on your side. The car flipped from the impact." She slowed down her talking when she saw her wife's eyes close in concentration. "You've been unconscious for two days Quinn."

The blonde's eyes snapped open, as best as they could given they're bruised state. "I can't feel my legs."

"It's the medicine. They did nerve tests on you when they found the broken bones in both of your legs." Rachel stepped closer to press a chaste kiss to her wife's lips. "I need to inform the nurses that you're awake."

Quinn just nodded before turning her attention to Santana and Brittany. Her eyes locked with Santana and the Latina read the look like an open book. "Hey B, can you go get me a Hershey's bar from the vending machine?"

"Sure, I'll be right back." She stole a quick kiss before bouncing out of the room right behind Rachel.

"So what's up Quinn? I know that look." Santana turned herself on her bed. Her injuries weren't as severe as Quinn's. She had some bandages around her forehead and both of her arms. There were also unseen bandages covering her ribs and stomach.

The blonde attorney let out a heavy sigh before closing her eyes. "I need you to make a promise to me."

Santana frowned, she already knew where this conversation was going. "Don't even say it Quinn. Don't you dare say it!"

"I have to San. Please… promise me that if anything ever happens to me, you'll protect Rachel like I would."

The Latina frowned and closed her eyes to fight off tears. She didn't want to think about it. But in reality they weren't getting any younger and knew they'd eventually have had that conversation. "Only if you promise me the same thing for Britt."

"I promise."

Santana's eyes turned to look at a sad set of hazel eyes looking back at her. "I promise too Quinn."

Santana's eyes stayed closed as she relived the conversation she had with Quinn. On instinct her arms wrapped around the pair even tighter. She was going to step up and take over as Rachel's guardian until Quinn was found.

If she was found.

There you have it folks. Chapter 3, even though according to Fanfiction it's chapter 4. But that's just because of me having a prologue.

Don't forget your vote. Yes, or no :D This is the last chapter I'm accepting them for. Because I'm already nearly finished with chapter 8 and I need my answers before I start chapter 9. :)

See you all next week peoples!