Thank you degrassiluver15, fashionandstylegurl, TonksLupinLiveOn1234, Eclarexoxo, Moxxy, Crissychan350, The Cliffhanger Girl, mur xo, ZebraDolphin, degrassieclare23, micblueeyes, and marciarose for your reviews. Here's the newest chapter! It's a bit longer since I haven't updated in a while and I want a buildup to the next chapter (which should be awesome thanks to a certain individual). Read, review, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi.

Chapter Ten

Clare spent the Christmas holidays with Jake and his family across town. It was peaceful and Jake kept his temper all through the holidays, much to her relief. Unfortunately, his dad noticed the bruises on Clare's body, but she just told him that she was a klutz and she sometimes got hurt while trying to break up fights between her students. Every time she told this lie, Jake would grin at her in appreciation and she smiled back.

The two weeks of Christmas break passed quickly, but most of her bruises had a chance to heal. On the last day before Christmas break, the two of them had a horrible fight at their apartment and the result was a bloody lip. The following day, Jake gave her breakfast in bed, flowers, a card, and hundreds of kisses on each of her cuts and bruises. Clare did not forgive him immediately, because the scene was starting to become too familiar and she did not want to end up in the hospital again. She told him that if he hurt her again, she was going to stay somewhere else for a couple of weeks until he got his act together. He must have heeded her warning, because this was the last time he laid a violent hand on her.

When the first day of the new semester came, the first student Clare saw was Scout Goldsworthy. The young girl asked her how her holidays were and she said they were fine before asking her if she had been hurt anymore. Clare assured the child that she was uninjured, but Scout was very determined. She asked the teacher if the man who hit her apologized, and Clare told her the truth and informed her that he did. Before Scout stopped asking her teacher all these questions, Scout gave her teacher a hug, which was oddly comforting to both of them.

It was now Wednesday evening and Eli and Scout had just got done eating dinner when he realized that they were almost out of everything food related; due to the worry he had for Scout and Clare on top of the holiday season, he had completely forgotten to keep on top of the grocery shopping. Not wanting to feed Scout leftovers for breakfast the next morning, Eli called his best friend Adam and asked if he could babysit for an hour. He agreed, considering he was the godfather of Scout and because he did not have any children of his own so he loved spending time with her.

Eli was now walking through the grocery store getting all the necessary items and tossing them into his cart. He was at the produce section, almost ready to go when he noticed a familiar face looking at some green vegetables at the end of the aisle. Clare Edwards was standing there, completely unaware of his presence. Seeing her, Eli felt three emotions.

One was sympathy. If he just saw her in passing, he never would have guessed that she was being beaten. She either was forcing that smile on her face and holding her head high, or she was truly in denial about the situation. No matter which one it was, Eli felt sorry for her, because no one in the world deserved to be hurt by someone they love and care for.

Another emotion was anger. He knew it was unreasonable to a certain extent, but he did not like the fact that she did not leave her person forever. If she did, his daughter would not have seen Jake hit her teacher, and he wanted to shelter Scout from that for as long as possible. He held Clare a bit responsible for Scout seeing what she saw, but he knew it was ultimately not her fault; if she truly loved Jake, she would have been willing to give him a second chance.

The final feeling was one he did not expect, especially now of all times. He felt . . . warm. Seeing her face gave him a feeling of happiness, security, and trust he had not experienced since Julia was around. He did not understand it at all; he had always found Clare to be pretty, but now she seemed attractive and it took his breath away. He wanted to tell himself that this was because he was worried about her and that he longed for her safety due to the fact that she was Scout's teacher, but he was not so sure if that was the truth.

He scolded himself inwardly for having these familiar feelings. He had just lost his wife not too long ago, his daughter was still coping, and he was still not certain if he was able to bear with the loss himself. It was also not fair on Clare for him to develop this infatuation with her while she was in this relationship with someone who abused her. He looked down at his wedding ring, which he had not taken off since he and Julia were married and he felt guilty for having these feelings. He still loved his wife, but they talked about this before Scout was born and they knew that it would not be fair for the other one to be alone for the rest of their life and leave their child without some of parental figure.

Eli agreed with this completely; he just thought it was too soon and he was not even going to consider dating again until Scout was better. Scout would always come first . . . no exceptions.

However, whether he had romantic feelings for her or not, he was concerned for her safety and he wanted to know if Katie eventually convinced Clare to leave Jake. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he took the long walk to the end of the aisle towards the teacher.

"Long time no see," he said, appearing at her side.

Clare turned her head towards the person speaking to her. She was surprised and slightly worried to see Eli Goldsworthy by her side. Her heart leapt painfully, praying that he would not mention what Scout saw the last day of school before winter break. But at the same time, she wanted to know if the child was okay and if he was angry at her for letting his daughter see Jake's bad side.

"Eli," she said, too shocked to give him a more formal greeting.

"Clare," he replied with a smirk, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I see we've finally broken the habit of calling me Miss Edwards," she observed, pleased that he remembered. "Is Scout here or . . .?"

"Her godfather is watching her while I get a few things. Restocking, you know."

She grinned at him as he noticed that she had few yet specific items in her basket.

"Trying out a new recipe?" he guessed.

"Making dinner," she explained. "My boyfriend and I have been living on Ramen and takeout for the last couple of days, so we figured it's time for a home cooked meal."

Clare noticed the flow of red that entered Eli's cheeks when she mentioned Jake; wishing that she excluded that information, her face drained of any remaining color. Desperate to get out of this territory that they were in, Clare hurriedly changed the subject.

"How were your holidays? Scout didn't really talk about it."

"It was hard since this was our first Christmas without my wife, but we got through it. We had family come over on Christmas Day, so that made it a little better."

"That's good," Clare said with a grin.

"Did Christmas go alright for you?" he asked. She had already confirmed that she and Jake were still together, but he wanted a sign that he did not put her in harm's way.

"It was great," she answered honestly; she looked in his eyes as she did, hoping that he would see that she was safe.

"Good," he nodded, believing her but still highly concerned. Clare was relieved that he did not pry; unlike Katie, he did not bombard her with questions, accusations, and advice that she did not need.

"Um . . . I should go," she began turning around, not wanting to risk any difficult questions being asked.

"Wait," Eli spoke and he noticed as she turned around hesitantly. "Scout's worried about you."

"I know, but I'm fine," she eased him, wanting to leave before he could say anymore. He did not want him to ask questions, accuse Jake of being a monster, or tell her that she caused Scout more pain. She could not hear that . . . she refused to. "I really need to go."

She began walking quickly around the corner to the next aisle of food, but she heard footsteps behind her.

"Clare, please," Eli said. "She doesn't want to see anyone else she cares about get hurt."

"Don't tell me how to live my life," she snapped at him, trying not to draw any attention to them as she skimmed the aisle.

"I'm not. I'm just telling you that if you need anything –."

"I don't need your help, Eli," she barked, facing him in the process. "I'm fine, I'm safe, and I'm happy. So you just take care of your daughter and let me take care of myself."

She passed him, returned to the aisle of produce, and left him standing there, unsure of how to react to what had just occurred.

()()

The following day, Eli was still worried about Clare. The way she acted in the grocery store made it clear that she was avoiding the issue on purpose, which proved to him that she was certainly being abused by her boyfriend. He did not know what to think and he felt useless; first he could not help his daughter and how he could not help Clare. It was as though all the women in his life were cursed were to be dead or miserable and he could not do anything to change it.

He was downstairs making himself coffee to have a few minutes to himself before he woke up Scout. Hoping that it would get his mind off Clare, he picked up the remote to the television that was in the kitchen and turned it on. The news was on, but the last thing he wanted to hear about was more devastation in the world. He was about to change the channel when the journalist began to report a story that would change it all . . .

"Last night, an ambulance was called to an apartment in downtown Toronto. Clare Edwards, a grade one teacher at Benet Elementary School, was found beaten in her living room. It was a neighbor who discovered Edwards bruised, bleeding, and unconscious on the floor."

Eli watched with a speeding heart rate and an agape jaw as the scene switched to a middle-aged woman who must have been Clare's neighbor.

"I heard yelling for ten minutes, then I heard someone gasping in pain, then crying, and then I heard glass breaking. I went over, but when no one answered the door, I went in and saw Clare on the ground and a broken window."

The journalist continued to speak, but Eli did not need to hear it; he already knew what must have happened. Jake had beaten Clare, he broke a window to escape, and left her for dead.

"Edwards is currently at Toronto General where she is being treated for her injuries. The police are in an ongoing investigation to find the person responsible. It has also been announced that Benet Elementary School will be closed today to allow police to question –."

Eli turned off the television. He felt numb, yet he felt pain at the same time. His heart was hammering and he was shaking; terrified, he vomited in the sink. He could imagine Clare being sprawled out on the floor, covered in blood and bruises. The fact that someone she loved did that to her made him sick and he wanted to beat that son of a bitch within an inch of his life.

It was not only Clare he was concerned for thought. Scout was worried about her teacher and he would have to confirm one of her worst fears. He did not want to do this to her . . . he did not want to tell her that something terrible had happened to someone she cared about . . . not again.

But he did not have a choice. Taking a shaking breath, he rinsed out his mouth and sink of all puke before going up the stairs to Scout's room. Unfortunately, he actually had an idea on how to break this news to her. He gently knocked on her door before cracking it open to see that she was still asleep. She seemed to be resting peacefully as she held on to her stuffed hippo and he did not want to take that away from her. She had suffered enough and the idea of making her suffer more broke his heart. But he would need to give her some explanation as to why she would not be going to school today and why her teacher would probably be missing for a few days.

Ready for whatever Scout would do, Eli opened the door all the way and sat on the edge of her bed. He gently slid some of her black hair off her face before caressing her cheek with his thumb. He saw Scout begin to open her eyes and she grinned at him; he tried to return it, but he was unsuccessful.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" she asked him.

"Baby girl . . . you don't have to go to school today."

"Really?" she asked as her face lighted up slightly. If she did not go to school, she would not have to see bullies or sit alone while everyone else played together. Eli nodded, wishing that the reason behind it could have been trivial like too much snow or an infestation of termites. But that would not be the case.

"Um . . . honey, Miss Edwards is in the hospital."

Scout's face fell, her cheeks lost any existing color, and tears came to her eyes.

"Why?"

Trying to keep himself composed, Eli looked at Scout and began to speak.

"Last night, someone hurt her really bad and she has to go to the hospital to get better."

Tears came out of Scout's eyes, terrified about what could happen. The last time she heard that someone was hurt, that person died and she never got to see her again. She did not want history to repeat itself.

"Is she going to die?"

Eli did not even think about that; the news did not mention anything about her severe the injuries were and they did not say if she was close to death. But they mentioned that she was unconscious when she was found, he doubted that she would be better again anytime soon.

"I think she's going to be fine," he told his daughter, believing it himself even if it was just a little bit. "But the police are looking to find who did this and they need to talk to the teachers at school, so that's why you can't go today."

"What should we do?"

"You can sleep in a bit if you want," he told her.

Scout, who doubted if she would be able to get back to sleep, sat up and looked at Eli.

"I'm scared."

"I know. It'll be okay," he promised her, rubbing her back as she sobbed into his chest. "They'll find that man, put him in jail, and he'll never hurt her again."

Scout continued to cry and Eli could not blame her. He sat there with her for some time, never letting go of her; he kissed her head and smoothed his hand up and down her back until she was out of tears. By the time she was done crying, Eli noticed that she had fallen back to sleep. He kissed her head a final time before easing her back onto her bed and covering her with the blankets. He watched her for a second, glad that she was temporarily escaping the real world. He left the room as quietly as possible before going downstairs to call his boss. Going to work today would not be an option, not while all of this was going on and with his daughter needing him.

Since his boss was a father of three and they had lost one of their grandparents within the last year, he was very empathetic and allowed Eli to have the day off. Thankful, Eli hung up the phone and sat down on the couch, trying to clear his head. That failed, and therefore he tried to figure out what he could do. He soon realized that there was nothing.

He wanted Scout to get better, but he could not take away her pain. He wanted Clare to be safe, but he could not protect her. They were the only ones who could learn to cope or stay strong; he could be there when they fell or he could be a crying shoulder, but he could not change the way they felt on the inside. It was up to them if they wanted to feel better, be happy, be free. He could not change that . . . although he desperately wished he could.

()()

Scout spent the majority of her day in Eli's arms. She did not talk, she did not color, she did not cry. She simply allowed herself to rest in her father's embrace. He tried getting her to talk to him, but she declined. She allowed herself to get lost in the millions of thoughts that should have never existed in her head.

Hours later, Eli and Scout were walking down the street to get to Scout's therapy appointment. He was carrying her today, considering she was still too shocked to walk. He was honestly surprised that she still wanted to go to therapy today; he told her that he could cancel for today if she would rather stay home, but she told him differently. Eli figured that she trusted Katie enough by now that she wanted to talk to her about Clare being in the hospital again.

They arrived on time and Katie was waiting for them; the office was closed during the holidays, so this would have been the first time Eli would have seen Katie since he told her that Scout saw Jake hit Clare. They exchanged stares, knowing that they had both heard the news about Clare. The trio sat in the office, ready to begin; Katie sat in her chair as usual, Eli sat on the sofa, and Scout sat next to him.

"How were your holidays, Scout?" Katie asked, deciding to slowly ease into the issues.

"Okay," she answered. "Um . . . can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course," she nodded. "Is it about Miss Edwards being hurt?"

It was not the first word Scout said that surprised Eli . . .

"No."

It was the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth . . .

"I want to talk about Mommy."

Next chapter will include an idea the lovely eclarefanxxx gave me, so if the next chapter is super awesome, it's because of her. Until then, review!