Well hello all you wonderful, wonderful people, I hope this update finds you well! I'm sorry it took so long, but I seem to be keeping up my pattern of an update a month. A lot of time, energy and thought goes into each update to make sure that its as realistic as possible. The past few weeks have been insanely busy with work and as we speak, I'm getting ready to go to see Lauren for FIVE whole days! So I apologize in advance if the next update is a little longer to come together. In addition to being on vacation for the next five days with no computer access (a conscious choice of mine), the following two weeks at work are going to be busy with covering others vacations. So I hope that this update satisfies your craving for this universe - the update contains a lot of movement for ALL of our favourite players so hopefully you enjoy it! Special thanks to Lauren for her help, and to my mom for reading this late at night last night so I can post for you all before I leave.

Enjoy the show!

Chapter 9
 She just wanted to get out of there. As tears blurred her eyes, Ione raised her hand to her face to push some of her hair from her eyes. She felt her eyes burning as she ran, trying her best to duck and dodge around the nurses and other patients she saw in the hallway. Her chest heaved as she tried not to sob, but she sucked in a deep breath when she came directly into contact with someone. Her lip trembled as Mr. Hudson's hands came down to touch her shoulders and her breath came out in a shudder as she turned her watery eyes up to him. She had known Jessica was following her the entire way, she had heard her calling her name and the squeak of the rubber soles of her boots. But she didn't stop until she collided with Mr. Hudson at the other end of the hallway, all of her resolve and strength falling apart as she was hit with familiarity. She heard his voice rumble over her head that he had her, before Jessica's feet began to retreat and her sobs started again. She let Mr. Hudson gently guide her down the hallway, before they came to a stop at a small room with some couches and a vending machine.

"Do you want a drink?" Mr. Hudson asked softly as she heard him sit down beside her. She sniffled and rubbed her nose before shaking her head no.

"I'm okay," she whispered.

Finn sat beside Ione quietly, waiting for her to say something. He listened to her sniffle every few seconds, interspersed with rubbing her nose. He knew she would talk when she was ready, something he had learned over the course of the last few months.

He turned his attention to her when he heard her shuffle in her seat, tugging her knees up to her chest.

He almost missed it, when she started to talk a few minutes later.

"There's strange people in my Mom's room," she murmured.

"Strange people?" he asked slowly, trying to clarify what she said. He thought quickly about who it potentially could have been; the laundry list of people from the hospital was long - ranging from nurses to social workers and more. He didn't know what the situation was, with Rachel and the girls completely, but he knew in his heart that it was serious. So the strange people could really be anyone.

Ione nodded, her chin jostling against her knees. "Strange people that I've never seen before."

Her chin dipped further into her knees and Finn briefly wondered how she was able to do so bundled up in her winter jacket. "Did you ask your Mom who they were?"

She sighed and sniffed, before she rubbed her face against the fabric of the jeans she wore.

"She said they were her parents..." she turned her head so her cheek was resting on her knee. "She said they were Nana and Papa," she added quietly. "I don't know what it means to have a Nana and Papa..."

Finn took a deep breath. He ran his fingers through his hair for a moment, trying to gather what to say. The sadness in her eyes broke him then, as she stared back at him with her watery green eyes.

"Why did it take them so long to come find us, Mr. Hudson?" she whispered. "Aren't Nana's and Papa's supposed to help you, when your Mom and Dad can't?"

"Yeah, they are supposed to..." he breathed. "But they're here now."

She sat up then, stretching her legs out in front of her for a moment. She curled up on her chair again, but this time she leaned into his arm that was resting on the chair beside her. He didn't flinch at the action.

Finn looked down after a few minutes, as the quietness enveloped him. Ione quietly sniffled, but her tears had stopped with just a few stray tears and tracks lining her cheeks. She sighed heavily against his arm after a moment.

He waited another minute longer before gently nudging her with his arm. When she sat up and looked at him, Finn offered her a small smile. "What do you say we head back to the room, see what your Mom and Ayla are doing?"

Her eyes widened at the mention of heading back to the room.

"I'm sure your Mom wants to see you before I take you back to Jessica's..."

Her lip trembled once more as he stood up from his chair. He could see the hesitation in her eyes. Instead of sitting back down beside her, he extended his hand out for her to take.

"Come on, I'll come with you..." he promised.

A small smile played on her lips despite the evidence of tears on her cheeks and slowly slid off her chair to join him. She tugged his hand to stop before they left the room.

"Don't leave me, okay?" she whispered, with a shake to her words.

"I won't," he sighed before tugging her forward. "I'm sure your Mom misses you."

Finn lifted the bottle of beer his mother had placed in front of him to his lips and took a swig. He had been on his way home, dreaming of sitting on his plush leather couch and doing the very thing that he was doing right now - but instead he was here. He had unconsciously driven here, and parked his SUV in the driveway behind his mother's Range Rover and his step father's Audi. He placed the beer bottle down on the table as his mother cleared her throat.

"Is it okay, Finn?" Carole asked quietly, before cutting her own food. "If I had known you were coming for dinner I would have..."

Finn lifted the corner of his lips in a half smile. "It's great Mom. Perfect as always."

Carole smiled back with a gentle nod of her head. Finn watched as she threw a side glance at Burt, his step father before going back to her own meal. Finn reached for his beer once more to wash down the piece of steak after he lifted it to his mouth.

"How's work going son?" Burt asked when the silence of the room enveloped them. Finn chewed thoughtfully for a moment before looking over at his step father.

"It's going," he shrugged. "The first few weeks back from break are always quiet but I'm sure that's about to change soon enough."

"We were quite concerned about you the other night, not like you not to show up for dinner...especially a meal at Ivy," Burt chuckled as he reached for his beer. "You were missed. We were subjected to endless stories about Kurt's receptionist and her bad taste in men," Burt shook his head. "Could have used your opinion on the Islanders."

Finn shrugged once more. "Sorry I missed that."

"Did everything work out that night?" Carole asked quietly. "With your student?"

Finn swallowed the invisible sip of beer he had in his mouth.

He didn't know how to answer that question. Frankly because he didn't really know the answer to it, because as far as he knew the situation was far from over. He also knew his mother, the way she was, her line of work. He had come for comfort, a way to distract himself from thinking about Ione and her family's situation -something that has consumed his thoughts from the moment she entered his classroom in September.

"Everything...everything is fine," he started softly. He grabbed for his beer and this time took a long pull of the liquid to sooth his racing thoughts. '"Everyone is safe, everything is fine."

He glanced across the table and found his mother staring at him, her fork in her hand clutched tightly. He could see the questions dancing across her features. She was never one to shy away from the tough questions, and he tried to keep work at work but the situation was burning him alive. He knew he had done the right thing, calling CPS a few days ago but the look in Ione's eyes, the way Rachel had looked each time he saw her in the hospital burned him to the core and innately he felt somewhat responsible. He had driven here tonight unconsciously because he needed the distraction desperately but he knew his mother was going to try to get it out of him. And he needed to talk about it.

The moment came after dinner. Burt offered to load the dishwasher and his mother grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the main floor office that had been hers for as long as Finn could remember. He dropped his full weight on the dotted arm chair and instantly rested his hands on his knees. Instead of sitting herself on the opposite side of the large desk, Carole sat herself on the matching chair beside him and immediately reached for his hand.

Instead of talking, Finn took a deep breath and hung his head so it was faced toward the ground. His mother waited in silence, waited for him to come to her. He remembered moments just like this throughout his childhood - whenever he had needed to talk she would just calmly sit beside him until he was ready to talk - and then the questions would start.

"So I had to make, 'the call', the other day," he sighed after the silence began to eat him alive. He didn't want to reveal names, any distinguishing factors. His mother was good at her job, and he was probably crossing lines by telling her this much but he needed to get it out - needed to talk - it was too much - he felt too much.

"Okay, I'm sure you did the right thing Finn...if that's what you need to hear," she answered calmly. She started to run her fingers over the knuckles of the hand she held.

"I know I did the right thing - I just," he lifted his head and sighed before leaning back in the chair so his body was upright again. "I can't get...I can't get her out of my head."

"Finn, look at me," Carole answered calmly. He dropped his head so he was looking at her directly. "Who can't you get out of your head?"

He squinted, tightening his eyes before opening them once more and eyeing his mother. "All of them," he whispered.

"Finn," his mother warned with a sharp look. He knew that look. He had seen it before. Finn inhaled sharply before exhaling just as quickly.

"Mom, you don't understand..." he shook his head.

Carole took a deep breath. "Well make me understand then,"

And with that he started from the beginning.

Rachel wanted out of this stupid room. She was tired of looking at the same four walls, flipping between the same pages of the magazines. It was hard to flip the pages with her arm casted and the longer stayed in bed, the more the ache in her hips rose from sitting in one place so long. It had been two days and she was going to stir crazy, her emotions were at a boiling point and she just felt like she wanted to cry all the time. She leaned her head back on the bed as she tossed the magazine she had been trying to look at across the room in utter frustration, her eyes clenching as tears started to rise. She was alone, her parents hadn't arrived at the hospital even though they had promised last night to return first thing in the morning. She couldn't sleep anymore because as much as the pain medication was helping, she felt restless and unable to just sit there any longer. The more she sat, the more she stared, the more her emotions got the best of her because she couldn't focus on the pain. Her pain had been a distraction and now all that was left in its place was a feeling of frustration, of disappointment in herself, and most of all she felt anger. The tears piqued at that moment as the anger bubbled up further. She was angry about a lot of things. Anger at herself was most prominent, because she felt so stupid about all of this - how she had let everything get this far. She had let him touch Ione; had let him hurt her - in more ways than one. She clenched her eyes closed tightly, her frustration and devastation over the entire situation got the best of her. She raised both her hands and groaned when she felt the hard plaster of the cast on her hand come in contact with her skin. She screamed in frustration and growled as she threw down her arm against the mattress once more, growling in anger at the wave of dull pain that rolled through her bones.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a knock tapped out on the door. She tossed her head back in frustration and squeezed her eyes tightly together in a wave of remorse, at the feeling of pain the action caused. She stumbled over her words, trying to usher whoever was on the other side in. She figured it was her parents, but when the two uniformed officers from the past two days walked more into her room she sat up more in her bed despite the ache in her hips and the throb in the back of her head.

"Miss Berry, we're hoping this is a good time," Officer Buckley started carefully as her and Officer Duncan took steps towards her.

"Now is as good a time as any," she mumbled as she adjusted herself once more on the bed. She grimaced at the ache it left.

Both of the officers came closer, and as Officer Buckley shuffled the file she was carrying, Rachel began to grow nervous. She tried to sit up a little straighter and clenched her good hand, before using her fingers to play with the edge of the frayed blanket.

"Miss Berry," Officer Buckley began. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Rachel sighed as she tangled her fingers around the edge of her blanket. "I'm okay," she started quietly. She watched as the two officers passed a look between them that she couldn't read, and she waited for what they were about to say next.

"We've made an arrest in your case, and we would like to discuss your options going forward with you," Officer Duncan began. "As you are aware, as a result of your statement from yesterday we were in pursuit of a Mr. Brody Weston, who you indicated as the perpetrator in your assault two days ago," he paused to look up from the information he was reading. "In the last 24 hours we have been able to locate Mr. Weston and have moved to arrest him. When we did locate him, Mr. Brody was intoxicated and at first resisted arrest. But he is currently in our custody and will be until he is formally charged and bail is set."

Rachel felt a rock hit the bottom of her stomach. She felt a knot form as she listened to the words they were saying to her. She stayed quiet, steeling herself against what she had just learned. She looked down at her hand, covered in the cast. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, before opening her eyes once more and focusing her vision on her casted leg. She tried to breathe through her feelings. He did this to himself, she tried to remember. He is the reason I'm like this
she forced herself to think. She swallowed hard and bowed her head and tried to steel herself against the emotions that were bubbling. She clenched her eyes and thought of every slap, every kick, every punch that she had endured at his hand. She took one more breath and looked at the police officers that were both trying not to stare at her too intently.

It was Officer Duncan who spoke next. "Do you still wish to press charges?"

She clenched her fingers around her blanket before letting out a shaky breath. She slowly nodded her head, before speaking quietly. "Where do I sign?"

Both of the Officers nodded before sliding a piece of paper in front of her. She signed her name hastily, with a shake to her hand.

She blew out a breath when it was finally done.

She had done it.

She took a stand.

She was going to move on with her life.

She was going to protect her girls.

She closed her eyes to embrace the feeling of relief that flooded through her. Only she felt everything but relief.
She flinched when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She jerked her head up and saw Officer Buckley staring back at her.

"You're so brave Rachel," she sighed quietly. "You're doing the right thing."

Rachel could only bite her lip and look back down at her hands.

They took pictures of her injuries after the paperwork was signed, and Rachel cringed at the thought of how they must look. She chewed her lip as Officer Duncan took photos of her casts, before asking her to turn her head so they could take pictures of her swollen eye. She felt vulnerable and exposed as the camera continued to click. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were finished. Officer Duncan left first, while Officer Buckley hung back to one again reiterate that they would be in touch with any news.

And once again she was alone.

Alone with her thoughts, alone with her pain, alone in the world. She tried not to let that thought bother her. She took a deep, cleansing breath and as she blew it out she turned her eyes to the ceiling and just stared for a few moments, taking in the moment of quiet of the moment. But it wasn't all quiet. Her mind raced with the information she had received. Brody was caught. The cops had Brody. She was safe. The girls were safe. But for how long?

She let out a gasp when the door to the room swung open and her mother rushed in, arms laddered with bags from the bakery around the corner. Her father carried a tray of hot coffees that she could smell from where she sat on the bed. She clasped her good hand to her heart as they flooded into the room and sat the items on the small table beside her.

"We brought you some treats," Shelby grinned as she fussed with the bag. "Thought you could use a few sugary things to lift your mood sweetheart." Shelby pulled out a few individual packages and put them on the table. "And maybe put a few pounds on you sweetheart," she smiled sympathetically. "We got your favourite - chocolate eclairs and a few apple fritters. They're still warm!"

Rachel blinked slowly at her mother for a few moments. Leroy made himself comfortable in his chair with his coffee and nodded at Rachel.

"How did you sleep Songbird?" he asked quietly as Shelby continued to fuss about. He turned his attention to her for a moment "Shelby, relax would you? She'll eat when she wants to." He took a swig of his coffee as he looked at Rachel.

Shelby's eyes widened as she looked at Leroy before brushing her hands over her jeans and turning to sit down beside him. She smiled apologetically at Rachel before she grabbed for her coffee and slowly opened it. Rachel could practically taste the flavour of the drink on her tongue.

Leroy lifted the cup to his lips and took a swig before placing it down on the table beside them. "How was your night Songbird?"

Rachel shrugged a little bit. "Fine," she sighed. She reached for the glass of juice that was left over from her breakfast and hesitantly took a sip. She needed the distraction for a moment.

"Is something bothering you sweetheart?" Shelby's voice raised an octave as she spoke. Rachel shook her head as she leaned over to place the juice back down.

Her mother reached forward to help her, causing Rachel's hand to jolt.

"I can do it," she snapped. Her eyes clenched when her mother pulled her hand back sharply. Shelby backed off with a stunned look on her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered when she saw the look on her mother's face. "Just...just been a rough morning."

"It's okay," Shelby plastered a smile on her face. "It's fine, I'm fine."

Rachel turned her head so she was looking away from her parents momentarily. She stared at the window that was still covered by the curtains that weren't much help at blocking out the winter sun. She sighed heavily, trying to bring down the racing in her heart. Her parents started whispering between themselves. She tried to block out the sounds, and squinted her eyes shut for a moment. It wasn't until she heard her name, along with the girls come up that her eyes flew open, her head snapped up and she turned to look at her parents.

"Don't say their names," she snapped as she looked back at them. Both of her parents looked at her, their jaws dropped. Her mother's shoulders dropped and her father sat up straighter. "You don't get to say their names. You don't get to pretend like you care," she snapped.

"Rachel," Leroy started. He moved to stand up to go over to her but she held up her hand.

"Don't, Dad," she stammered. Leroy backed off immediately and sat back in his chair. Shelby grabbed for his hand as Rachel stared at them.

"Songbird," he tried as Shelby squeezed his hand.

Rachel's eyes flipped between both of them, her eyes starting to water. The feeling was contradictory as she felt her fingers clench around the bar that lined the side of her bed.

"Songbird we do..."

"You don't get to say you care!" she scrambled. Her voice came out broken, speaking at a volume she hadn't spoken since the assault. It ached. "How can you sit there and pretend like...like this...like this is something you can just fix with being here," she murmured. "Where were you, huh? Where were you when he would slap me, huh?" Her lip trembled as she watched them. Neither of her parents blinked as they looked at her, waiting for the next blow. "Where were you when he would punch me because I didn't keep the girls under control? When I didn't have dinner ready on time?" She closed her eyes then, remembering as every punch, every kick flooded her mind not for the first time since she was hospitalized. "Where were you when he grabbed Ione and left finger prints that caused the school to call Child Protective Services? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU?" she screamed. Her tears were coming fast and hard now, her entire face was covered with tear tracks and was red from the effort behind her words. "I needed you and you left me...you left me and my girls and we needed you..." she heaved as she rested her head back on her pillow. She closed her eyes again, squeezing them tightly as bursts of sobs left her mouth one after another. "We needed you and you didn't come."

"Rachel," Leroy was the first to speak once she stopped screaming. She opened her eyes slowly and she watched as he stood up from his chair and squared his shoulders. She tried to move away from him as he came closer, but was restrained by the limits of her hospital bed. "Songbird, we've...we've never stopped worrying about you..." He stepped closer and tried to touch her face, but she flinched. Leroy settled for placing his hands on the bar around the bed.

"Bullshit," she spat. She tried to back herself as far away from her father on the bed. "Why didn't you..."

"Rachel," Leroy leaned forward. Rachel recognized the shake in his lip as he stared at her, the look in his eyes. He reached his hand off the bar once more and held out his hand. Her eyes followed his gesture and she didn't budge, waiting for him to make the next move. He gently moved his hand closer, using the palm of his hand to cup the side of her face. She closed her eyes at the touch and let a temporary calm envelope her and dispel the rage in her heart. "Rachel," he started. "We have wanted nothing but to see you and the girls over the last few years, nothing." She finally looked up and met her father's eyes, before quickly darting them away from them again. "We have hoped and prayed and wished..."

"So much good that did," she spat as she turned her gaze on her mother. She shook her father's touch away from her face and didn't miss the heartbroken look in his eyes. Rachel's lip trembled. "I waited. Every day in that stupid apartment in Tribeca...through colic and chicken pox and fractured ankles and bruises and burns," her emotions caught up to her. The sob rose in her throat and pushed forth. "I waited every day and you never came. So please, tell me, just tell me why now..." she paused to swallow.

"We came now because the moment that phone rang, my heart stopped," Shelby interrupted. "The moment that phone rang I felt everything fall apart in my world and simultaneously pulled back together."

"I NEEDED YOU!" she screamed. "I NEEDED YOU TO BE MY MOM. I NEEDED YOU TO BE MY DAD AND SAVE ME!" Her words failed her at that moment as deep wrenching sobs that took her over. Her shoulders shook with powerful tremors and her ribs instantly ached with the movement. "I needed you and you ignored me and I was all alone with that monster.." she sobbed. She cried until she began to dry heave, and instantly tried to suck in a breath to prevent herself from throwing up the juice she had drank.

"Leave please," she gasped as she got her breathing under control. Both of her parents were stunned. At her change of attitude, at her mood swings, at the whole situation.

"I want to be alone. Leave. Please. Now," she stammered as she turned away from them. She took a deep breath and bit her lip as she waited for her parents to respect her wishes. She waited a few beats, listening as their feet retreated from the room. She started to cry once more, when she heard her Mother start on the other side of the door.

"How are you doing today Rachel?" Mercedes asked quietly.

"Why does everyone keeping asking me that?" Rachel snapped. She turned her head to face the well dressed woman who was sitting across from her. She had asked to move to an office, a waiting room, anywhere that got her out of her room. She was going stir crazy and the fixtures in her room, the flowers and cards reminded her of the situation - reminded her of the blow out she had with her parents earlier this morning. She needed a change of scenery and Mercedes had obliged. They sat in an office of sorts, but it was sterile and impersonal. She assumed it was used for situations just like this. The wheelchair felt weird, the seat was worn, and the fake leather was pulling. It felt weird to bend her good knee, and even weirder to have her bad knee propped up. But she was out of the room, and that's all she wanted at the moment.

"Well, everyone keeps asking because we want to know how you're feeling," Mercedes paused. "And we can only find out if we ask."

"I'm just great," she sighed bitterly. "I'm trapped in this place - I don't get to see my girls like I want to - my parents are here and we just duked it out, but I'm fucking great," she spat. "Good news is Brody was arrested. We'll see how long that sticks." She turned her head for a moment to stare at the painting on the wall.

Mercedes jotted down notes as the silence filled the room, only the buzzing of the heater could be heard from the far wall.

"I want to talk to you about your future plans."

"I don't have any future plans," she spat instantaneously. "This is my future," she gestured to her leg with her bad arm, wincing as she did so.

"Yes, but you're going to be released from the hospital soon. And now that Mr. Weston has been apprehended, we should talk about what the near future looks like for you. We need to have a plan in place so I can arrange supports for you and the girls."

Rachel's eyes dropped to her lap, and she used the fingers on her good hand to play with the edge of the handle on the wheelchair.

"I've spoke with Dr. Paterson who gave me an update on your progress."

"I talked to him too. He said I was healing nicely," she replied sarcastically. "Guess I got lucky with bones that heal quickly. Sure served me well over the last few years."

Mercedes stayed quiet as she vented.

"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered, her voice shaking as she looked at the other woman. "It's been a hard day already and it's not even noon."

"It's okay," Mercedes offered her a smile. "It's more than okay. You've been through a lot, especially in the last few days."

Rachel nodded and swallowed.

"Why don't you tell me what Dr. Paterson said to you, about your progress?"

"He said that the team had discussed it and that my injuries were healing well enough that I would be released from the hospital early next week as long as everything continues to go as well as it has," she paused. She blinked a few times before biting her lip. Her lip trembled at the thought. As mad as she was, as angry as she was at the situation - how angry she was at Brody, at her parents, at herself even - the thought of a future that was different from what she had been living for the past 6 plus years scared her. It scared her to death.

"I...What am I going to do?" she asked quietly. She said it under her breath so lowly, that she felt like Mercedes might not have heard her.

"That's what we're going to figure out," Mercedes smiled kindly.

"I'm scared," Rachel whispered after a few minutes. "How am I going to take care of my girls like this?" she murmured with her eyes on her casted leg. She drew her lip into her mouth once more and bit down."How am I going to keep them safe?"

Mercedes leaned over and gently took her good hand. "We're going to get you the help you need. Starting with a rehabilitation hospital to get you back on your feet, while we find you and your girls safe housing."

Rachel felt a tremor make it's way through her body. She fought the urge to cry, while a wave of panic flowed through her veins. Rehabilitation, they thought she was so broken she needed another hospital stay, at another hospital. She laid her head back on reflex, but jolted when her neck pulled hard to keep her head up when she remembered that she wasn't in bed. She winced at the feeling and rubbed the back of her neck with her casted hand.

"The rehabilitation hospital was a suggestion that was made by the orthopedic doctor who has been assigned to your case, Dr. Remington. While your knee is healing, there is concern that overexerting yourself if you are moved to housing immediately would cause further injury," Mercedes tried to add gently. "It won't be for long, a few weeks at most and they have a more open visitation schedule so the girls..."

"Who will take care of them? I can't ask Jessica this has already..." her words came out in a rushed stammer, as the panic and fear that she had been trying to dam burst forth. "My girls...I need to be with them..." the sob that she had been holding back started, and tears fell from eyes at a rapid pace. "I can't go to another hospital...I need...I need to keep them safe."

Mercedes pulled a tissue out of the box that was sitting on a small table between them and handed it to Rachel. Rachel took it gratefully and wiped at her eyes while her throat swelled with emotion. "I can't."

"Rachel, it's time to concentrate on you. You need to get healthy so you can take care of your girls and you can all have the best future going forward." she paused. "Now your parents are in town..."

Rachel shook her head vehemently. "I can't ask them..." her voice quieted. "Not after I screamed at them this morning..." her voice shook with regret. "How am I supposed to trust them?" Mercedes stayed quiet. "They didn't help me when I needed it most..." she added wistfully.

Mercedes adjusted herself in her chair, crossing and uncrossing her legs for a moment before speaking. "Rachel, I know it's been a trying few days. And an even longer few years for you. But believe me when I say, that your parents are here now, in the present and they want to help."

"How do you know that? You don't know them. They..."

"They came," Mercedes answered simply. "They came running when they finally heard about you and the girls being in trouble. They hopped on a plane and got here as fast as they could. That must mean something, right?"

Rachel's eyes fell once again as she chewed her lip. It did mean something. It didn't mean it made the feelings of abandonment and anger disappear any quicker. She loved her parents, and she felt bad for lashing out at them but she couldn't help it. Not everything was easy and perfect, life sure wasn't and that was something she had learned over the years.

"It does. But...but it's hard," she whimpered.

"I know. But like I said, it's time to concentrate on you. We need to get you the help you need, so you can be there for your girls. And that starts with going to the rehab hospital and getting yourself better. And letting your parents be a part of that getting better..."

She closed her eyes and dropped her head, her neck aching as she did so. It was hard to let go, hard to grasp that after all these years her reality was changing.

When she looked up, Mercedes was looking over at her with a kind expression.

"It's okay to feel overwhelmed, or sad, or scared, or even angry at the world, Rachel," she started. "The first step is always the hardest. But the rest of the steps will fall into place once you take the first one. And you've already done that, so let me help you take the next ones. Me and your parents."

Rachel was overwhelmed when she returned to her room. As the orderly pushed her chair back, she wrapped her arms around her middle. She winced against the pain, it was time for another dose of her pain medication and for that reason alone she couldn't wait to get to her room. She wanted a nap; her eyes felt heavy and full with tears as she thought about the upcoming few days. When the orderly pushed her into her room, she instantly felt her parents presence in the room. She dropped her head so she stared at her lap, avoiding the gazes that she felt immediately. She allowed the orderly to help her out of the wheelchair while trying her best to avoid her parents gazes.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling slightly at the orderly. He nodded, before taking the wheelchair and leaving the room completely.

A cloud of silence enveloped the three of them. Rachel took a deep, shuddering breath as she waited for the next thing to happen. She clenched her eyes closed as she waited for movement, for the next explosion, for any sense that would tell her that her parents were mad at her.
But it never came. She opened her eyes wide with a gasp when she heard the scrape of a chair against the floor. She turned to the side and she nearly sobbed when she saw her mother standing beside her bed, her own eyes red rimmed and glassy.

"Mom," she whispered as her lip shook. She swallowed hard in an attempt to continue to speak but it became too much as her emotions took over.

"Sweetheart," Shelby whispered. "It's okay..."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. She held out her hand and waited for her Mother to take it.

"It's okay, Rachel, it's okay," her Mother's voice was laced with tears as well.

"No it's not," she let go of her Mom's hand, raising her good hand to wipe at her tears. Shelby reached over and handed her a tissue. "I said..."

"Baby, listen," Shelby started.

Rachel closed her eyes tightly and blew through her lips, trying to calm herself down. "Please don't call me that," her lips trembled. She opened her eyes and stared directly back into Shelby's. She mouthed 'sorry' back to her. "But what I mean is...there's nothing, at all to be sorry for. This is..." she swallowed. "This is on me and Dad, alright? We should have..." She paused as she cleared her throat. "But we're...we're here now and everything is going to be okay, you hear me?" Shelby reached forward and gently touched her chin. "Everything is going to be fine."

Rachel's lip trembled as her eyes watered. She met Shelby's eyes. "Promise?"

"We promise," Leroy stood up from where he was sitting quietly behind Shelby.

Ione followed quietly behind Ayla and Jessica as she walked down the hallway towards her Mom's room. She was tired, she hadn't been able to sleep well last night because her stomach hurt from the McDonald's they had had for dinner. She'd barely stayed awake during the morning, and Mr. Hudson had let her go lay down in the nurses office during recess and for the next period until lunch. She wanted nothing but her Mom.

She perked up as they got to Rachel's room and Ione allowed herself to smile. But the smile fell from her features when she saw the two people from yesterday - Nana and Papa - sitting beside her Mom's bed. She reached for Ayla's hand, but she was too late. Ayla had bounded over to her Mom's bed, regardless of the presence of the older couple. She grabbed for Jessica instead, who sighed when she touched her hand but took it anyway. Her eyes dropped to the floor as she heard Ayla start to talk to her Mom about her day, telling her some silly story that had happened during gym class. Ione couldn't bring her feet to move from behind Jessica, she felt stuck in place. Jessica tugged her hand forward when she heard someone call her name. She didn't recognize the voice. She hadn't stayed long enough to hear the man her Mom called Papa speak yesterday, and the deep tone of his voice shocked her.

"Ione, want to come sit with us?" the older man turned to her, and she tried to take off in the other direction, just like last night. But Jessica's hand pulled her back, and she stumbled into Jessica with a crash.

"Let me go!" she stammered. "Let me go!"

"Ione, sweetheart, come here," her Mom's voice broke through the sound of rushing water in her ears as she tried her hardest to pull away from Jessica. Ione paused her movements and stood still, drawing her eyes to look at her Mom.

Rachel stared back at Ione and held out a hand. Ione shook as she stepped forward, being careful to move around Nana and Papa so she could stand on the other side of the bed, opposite them. Rachel sighed and turned her body slightly, so she was sitting more in the middle of the bed so she could see everyone.

"Hi sweetheart," Rachel sighed as she looked down at Ione. She reached out her casted hand and slowly moved her fingers to brush them against her forehead. Ione still didn't look up at her. "You okay?"

Ione nodded slowly, still looking down at her feet.

"Can you say hi to Nana and Papa?" Rachel asked slowly, running her fingers over the hair she could touch.

Ione slowly lifted her head and looked at the two people across from her. She studied them for a long time, staring at the two of them. She hadn't had a lot of time to do so last night, she had been too overwhelmed. She bit her lip and watched as the woman who looked just like her Mom smiled.

"It's okay Ione," Shelby smiled gently. "We're going to get to know each other very well over the next little while."

Ione's eyes flew to Rachel's in an instant. "Mom?" she questioned as her voice shook.

When she looked across the room, she saw that Jessica had stepped out, leaving their backpacks that she had been carrying by the door. Ione started to feel her heart start to beat wildly in her chest as she looked between her grandparents, the backpacks by the door and her Mother. "Mom?" she repeated.

"Nana and Papa are just going to take you out for dinner, how does that sound?" she asked quietly.

Ione shook her head, just as Ayla started to squeal and clap her hands. She had caught the attention of Papa, who was enthusiastically talking to her about what she wanted to have for dinner. "No."

"No?" Rachel raised an eyebrow as she looked at her. "Why not?"

"I want to stay here. With you," her voice stammered. She grabbed for Rachel's hand and gently wrapped her fingers around the casted arm. "I don't want to go anywhere. I want to go to Jessica's."

"Jessica's got a busy few days coming up with work and some family stuff. So you're going to stay with Nana and Papa at the hotel..."

"No!" Ione stammered. "I don't know them Mom...I don't want to stay...I don't want to go to a hotel..."

"Ione, Ione, it's okay," Rachel tried to placate. But when she backed further away and Rachel couldn't reach her both of them started to tear up. In the moment Shelby stood up and walked around the bed, slowly walking over to her. Ione started to cry as Shelby crouched beside her. She didn't touch her at first, and everyone in the room grew quiet as they waited with baited breath for what was to come next.

"Would you like to pick the place we go to for dinner?" Shelby asked quietly. Ione stopped her tears almost immediately, stunned by the question.

"Can we get chicken fingers?" she asked quietly as she looked over at Rachel. "And can we bring something back for Mom?"

Shelby smiled as she looked over at Ione, before reaching out to touch her hand gently. Ione backed away for a second, putting space between them before taking her hand finally. "What do you think we should bring Mom?"

"She really likes tacos," Ione tentatively laughed as everyone else in the room joined in.

"And how about, since it's the weekend, we pick up a movie that, you, me, Papa and Ayla can watch when we get back to the hotel?" she tried.

Ione looked at her skeptically, before she turned to look at Rachel.

With tears in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide and a smile plastered on her face, she nodded at Ione's gaze.

"Any movie?" Ione asked.

"Any movie," Shelby assured.

"Then okay. But we have to bring Mom her tacos first," she ascertained.

"Of course," Shelby leaned forward and whispered in Ione's ear. "And maybe we'll pick up some chocolate ice cream for her too, sound good?"

Ione slowly smiled at the suggestion before allowing her Nana to hug her for the first time.