A/N: Thank you all SO much again for all of your kind words. They truly mean so much to me. Writing is a secret passion of mine that only one or two people know about in my life. As I am not able to share this with the rest of my friends or my family yet, it is so humbling to have all of you give me such wonderful compliments and reviews.

This chapter was quite difficult to write, so please be gentle and read with caution.

Chapter 14

When I snap out of my daze I realize I am already in a hospital room. There is a doctor standing next to me in scrubs and my mom is standing in front of me. I shift my weight and hear crinkling noises. I look down and notice that I am already sitting on a doctor's table covered in that annoying crinkly paper. My legs are swinging freely as they hang over the side. I'm so confused. How did I get here? I feel like I just woke up, but I hadn't been sleeping.

I look at the doctor in front of me. She is a rather large woman clad in light purple scrubs with her thick dark hair pulled up into a bun. Her lipstick is a tacky pink that clashes with her bright pink blush. We make eye contact and it snaps me out of my zombie like daze, "Rachel…" I clear my voice, "My sister needs to be checked." It is the first thing I think of.

I look at my mother. She looks shocked that I am speaking. Was I really that out of it? I watch as her brows furrow as she is trying to process what I am saying. Then I watch as panic starts to cover her face. I quickly clarify, "He hit her head…her head…it hit the wall really hard." My voice was barely above a whisper. I watch as my mom's face slowly relaxes a bit. That is when I notice that Rachel isn't arguing about the doctor checking her. My brows furrow. I sit up taller and look around my mom. The room I am in is small. There is only one chair in it, and Rachel is not in it. I look behind me. There is nothing but a wall full of medical tools and machines. My breathing starts to quicken, "Where is she? Where is Rachel?" I quickly snap my head back to my mother, "Mom?"

I start to try to slide off the table when I feel my mom put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "San. Santana..." She brings her other hand to cup my cheek, forcing me to focus on her. "She's in the waiting room with Ruth. She is ok. She is with Woowoo."

I get lost in my mother's eyes. I feel myself release a breath I had been holding. Rachel is safe, I repeat to myself. She is with our godmother. Ruth is my mother's best friend and the other owner of her practice, I remind myself. 'Woowoo' as Rachel calls her. When Rachel was a baby she couldn't pronounce 'Ruth'. Somehow over the years, Woowoo stuck and became our godmother's nickname. I instantly feel myself relax; Rachel is safe as long as she is with Woowoo.

I look away from my mother and over at the female doctor standing next to me, "You need to look at her head." I state again firmly.

The doctor nods her head, "Ok we will give your sister a physical but first Santana, I need you to stand up. I am going to help you change into this gown and we are going to bag your clothes."

She is going to help me change? She wants to take my clothes? I shake my head as tears fill my eyes again. "No…no first you need to check my sister. It was her head…" I look back at my mom.

My mom grabs my hand in hers, "Ok Baby, she will. I'll go make sure someone is helping Rach. But, I need you to do this. I need you to let the doctor help you. I'm going to step out of the room-"

I cut my mom off, "No." I feel my chest start to heave. She can't leave me alone.

My mom grabs my other hand and squeezes them both gently, "I will be right back. You need to get changed. When I come back you'll be in that gown." She points at the paper gown the doctor is holding out towards me, "Ok?"

I continue to stare at the gown in the doctor's hands. It is made of paper. It is really thin and flimsy. I'm supposed to undress and get in that? I look up and the doctor is smiling at me kindly with her tack lipstick. I can't return the smile, I'm freaking out. This doctor is going to see my stomach. She is going to see the mark he left on me, my new title. I look back at the gown. It will barely cover me. The doctor is going to see everything. I look over at my mom and she nods at me reassuringly with sad eyes and a small smile. I remind myself that Rachel needs her head checked out and look back at the awful paper gown again. "Ok," I hear myself reply quietly.

My mother steps closer to me and plants a soft kiss on my forehead. She squeezes my hands one more time before quickly turning and leaving the room. I watch as she wipes tears from her face before the door closes leaving me alone with the doctor...and that paper gown.

Ruth had been waiting in the waiting room with her eight year old goddaughter. She looked over at Rachel again for what felt like the millionth time. She had no clue what was going on. All she knew was that her friend called her sobbing and asked for her to meet them at the ER entrance at St. Joseph's Hospital. As soon as she got there she was sent with Rachel to the enormous waiting room as Shelby and Santana went with a few doctors in the opposite direction. Rachel hadn't said a word since arriving. She had a magazine opened on her lap; it was on an article about 'Brangelina' or whatever they are called, and their family of adoptees. Rachel was staring down at it, but Ruth knew she wasn't really reading it. It had been on that same page for the past hour.

When Ruth looked up from Rachel she spotted her best friend entering the long lobby waiting room from the opposite side. As soon as she saw her best friend, Shelby started to speed up her walk. Ruth saw the look in Shelby's eyes and turned to Rachel. "I need you to stay sitting in this chair ok Boo boo bear?"

Rachel looked up at her with worried eyes. "What?" Her eyes started tearing up, "No." She looked straight ahead and saw her mom walking in their direction. She was walking quickly. Rachel started breathing quicker. Her mom was alone, where was her sister?

"Rach, look at me," Rachel looked back at her godmother with questioning eyes. Ruth continued, "I need you to just sit here. Just give me 5 minutes with mama ok?" Rachel continued to look at her with pleading tear filled eyes. Ruth sighed and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and handed it to the eight year old, "Here. Time me. In five minutes you can come get me and mama ok?" She saw the hesitation in Rachel's eyes. "Do this for your Woowoo, please baby?"

Rachel quietly looked at her mom who was quickly approaching, she looked straight down at her godmother's phone, "Ok...five minutes." She said quietly.

Ruth planted a quick kiss on Rachel's head, "Thanks angel." With that she stood up quickly and raced across the lobby to meet Shelby away from the eight year old, out of her hearing range.

"Ruth…Ruth…Ruth…" Shelby is repeating her name as she nearly breaks into a run the closer she got to her friend.

Ruth could see that Shelby's eyes were brimmed with tears and that her chin was quivering. Her best friend looked like she was about to lose it completely. "Shel?" She felt her best friend slam into her. Ruth wrapped her arms around her pulling her into a tight hug and began to rub circles into Shelby's back as her best friend buried her head into the nook of her neck. "Shel…Shel…" Ruth repeated quietly.

Shelby picked her head up from her friend's neck and looked through her clouded vision into her friend's eyes, "If you keep saying my name I am going to break down into a puddle on this floor, Ruth."

Ruth combed her hand through Shelby's hair, tucking a loose strand behind her friend's ear, "Oh really? Me saying your name is going to do all that?" She shot Shelby a small joking smile which fades as soon as Shelby's does a second later. Ruth pulled her back into a tight hug, "Deep breaths." She whispered into Shelby's ear, "What is going on, hun?"

"He…he was in my house. He was there and I was at work."

Ruth instantly pulls Shelby out from the hug to look at her directly in the eyes. "What?" Ruth finally breathed, "He he, meaning… him?" Ruth knows that Shelby understands her question...even if to a passerbyer it wouldn't have made any sense. She watched as her friend somberly nodded her head.

"He…" Shelby drew in an extremely shaky breath, "He attacked Santana… again…I…I d-d-don't know how far he got yet though…" She shook her head as her mind traveled back to the state she found her daughter in merely hours ago, "but she was a mess when I got there, they both were." Shelby looked over Ruth's shoulders at her youngest daughter who was looking eagerly down at Ruth's cell phone.

Ruth cleared her throat trying to recover from the shock of what her best friend just told her, "Did they get him?"

Shelby simply shook her head in response and covered her mouth with one hand to try to contain her sob. She failed. Tears resurface to her eyes.

Ruth released a breath, "Ok…ok. Shelby, focus on me." She quickly put her hands on Shelby's shoulders and bent down to catch Shelby's eyes with her own. "Focus. You can't break down right now." She took a deep breath, "We probably have one more minute until your little girl comes running over here, and you can't be crying when that happens." Shelby nodded her head slowly in agreement and begun to wipe her eyes when Ruth continued, "Serious question for you…"

Shelby furrowed her eyebrows waiting for her friend to continue with her question. She looked her in the eyes as she wiped more tears from her face.

Ruth continued, "Do you need me to make the Grinch face right now?"

Shelby couldn't help but let out a small quiet laugh. Her friend always knew how to help her and what to say. The infamous "Grinch face" always made Shelby laugh and seemed to make everything better. To do it, Ruth rolls her upper lip over her teeth and twists her mouth into a silly crazy grin while crossing her eyes…something they dubbed the "Grinch face" back in their resident years.

"Seriously, I'll do it." Ruth reiterated.

Shelby shook her head and finally dropped her smile, noticing that her tears were now gone from her eyes. She pulled Ruth into another hug. "Thank you, Woowoo."

Ruth's voice was in her ear, "Seriously, it's only cute when Rachel or San call me that Shel, but you are welcome. You know I am always going to be here for you and the girls." She said as she rubbed gentle circles into her friend's back again.

"Mama," Rachel had suddenly ran up and slammed into her mother, holding her tightly around the waist.

Shelby took a second to pull her baby girl's head into her side tightly before she squatted down to be eye level with her daughter. She grabbed Rachel's hands and looked into the young girl's worried eyes, "How are you feeling boo? How does your head feel?"

Rachel ignored her mother's question, she was breathing quickly and felt extremely on edge, "How is Sanny? Where is she? Is the kit done?"

Ruth had been standing next to Rachel and Shelby watching the exchange. She saw her goddaughter's anxiousness and could tell that she was freaking out by the look in her face. However nothing could have ever prepared her for hearing her innocent eight year old goddaughter asking that last question. She unexpectedly sucked in a breath sharply, getting choked up on the air. "Oh Shel…" She whispered quietly to herself.

Not as quietly as she thought apparently because Shelby released her eye contact with Rachel to look up at her friend. After a second she refocused back on her daughter. She chose to ignore Rachel's questions. "Rachel baby, I need you to tell me how you are feeling."

Rachel's eyes searched her mother's. She was trying to find out how her sister was, why was her mom so concerned about her? She was so confused. Santana was the one who was beat up…not her. "I-I'm fine. I'm fine...how is sissy?"

Shelby sighed and continued to hold her daughter's hands. "She is doing ok Rach, I need to get back to her though." She continued to look into Rachel's eyes, "Sanny told me that your head hit the wall?" Shelby was trying her best to keep the tears out of her eyes as she looked into her daughter's. She had to focus on keeping her voice even and calm in this moment too. She didn't want to break down in front of her daughter. Now wasn't the time, and this certainly wasn't the place. She could see that her eight year old was panicking, if she broke down then it would add to the young girl's stress and worrying.

Rachel looked downward at the floor to avoid her mom's gaze. She didn't want to talk about herself; she wanted to hear more about her sister. She wanted to know what was happening. She wanted to know why Santana's friend had come back and why he was so very mean. She wanted to know why Santana told the cop that he wasn't her friend, when he had told Rachel that they were friends that one time in the kitchen. She wanted to know why Santana said he had hurt her before. Talking about how her head felt didn't get her any of these answers. Her head did hurt a little though, "Yea…" Rachel absentmindedly reached her hand up and gently touched the back of her head. "He made me hit it on the wall, and then he slapped me and I fell. I'm not bleeding or anything though…"

Shelby chewed her lip and took a deep breath to keep her emotions at bay before she raised Rachel's chin so she could look her in the eyes. "Ok baby. I'm going to have Woowoo take you to have one of these nice doctors look at you ok? We want to make sure you're ok. Woowoo will be there the whole time." Shelby looked up at her friend silently asking if this was ok. When her friend nodded her head in agreement she looked back at Rachel. "It won't be scary at all, I promise."

Rachel didn't really care. She only wanted to know about her sister, "Are you going to go back to Sanny?"

Shelby stood from the squatting position she was previously in and fixed her shirt, "Yes boo, I am. I actually need to get back there now."

"I want to come with you." Rachel's voice was so desperate sounding, it broke Shelby's heart. Rachel reached out for her mother and grabbed her hand tightly.

Shelby forced herself to keep breathing, "Boo, I have to go back by myself right now. You have to go with Woowoo…. You can see sissy later, I promise."

The eight year old's eyes started to water, "But…why can't I go now? My head is okay. Why can't I see her now?"

Shelby chewed her lip as she looked up at her best friend who stood next to them silently. Ruth was looking at Rachel with sad eyes. Shelby looked back at her daughter, "Baby, I can't discuss this right now, I have to go-"

"Is she hurt? She really is hurt? Is Santana okay? What is happening mama?" Rachel was full fledge crying right now. It made it extremely difficult to swallow the lump that was in Shelby's throat. Her own eyes started to prick with tears.

Ruth suddenly squatted down next to the crying eight year old, "Rachel, your sister is doing fine…" She looked up at her best friend who was standing in stunned silence with tears in her eyes as she starred at her baby girl. She continued, "You and I will go see this doctor and then when we are done, you'll be able to see Santana, okay?"

Rachel sniffled and looked deeply into her godmother's eyes. She paused, "You…you promise? As soon as we are done? I…I just want my sissy."

Ruth looked at Rachel with sad eyes and nodded her head as she cupped the young girl's cheek. She gave her a small smile, "I know you do boo. I promise as soon as we can we will let you see your sister, okay?" Rachel looked at her skeptically. Ruth stood and pulled her goddaughter into her side for a hug, "Have I ever lied to ya, kiddo?"

"No…" Rachel mumbled into Ruth's side.

Ruth looked back up at Shelby who quickly wiped the few tears that managed to fall from her face. She saw her best friend mouth the words 'thank you', so she smiled in reply. Ruth squeezed Rachel one more time, "So we are gonna let mama go back to Sanny now because the quicker she gets back to her, then the quicker you can see her okay?"

Rachel nodded her head as she grabbed onto Ruth's shirt. She turned her head to look back at her mom.

"So you are ok with Woowoo?" Shelby caressed the side of Rachel's cheek as she asked the eight year old.

"Yea." Rachel replied quietly and simply as she clung to Ruth's side.

Shelby watched her daughter slowly hug Ruth around the waist. She finally looked up and nodded at her best friend, "Ok, So you'll take her, Ruth?"

"Of course, we will do that right now."

Shelby nodded her head again, "I love you both. I'll have my phone on me. We are in room 104 if you need anything at all." She looked down at her youngest daughter. Rachel looked so sad, torn and confused. She didn't want to leave her looking like this, but she had to get back to Santana. She looked at Rachel's sad eyes again. It broke Shelby's heart to see her like this and not be able to do anything about it. This subject was so tender. It wasn't something she knew how to explain to her eight year old baby. Shelby forced the thoughts out of her head, "I love you to the moon and back boo."

Rachel replied quietly as she clung tightly to Ruth's side, "And then back again…"

With that Shelby turned and started walking back across the long lobby towards the room that Santana was in. The rape kit was going to be extremely difficult. She had to be strong, she reminded herself. Santana needed her to be strong. As she retreated she heard footsteps running after her.

"Mama!" Rachel yells.

Shelby turned around just in time to have Rachel slam into her body and hug her tightly again. Shelby could see that she had tears in her eyes, "Tell Sanny that I love her too." This broke Shelby's heart. She hugged her daughter back strongly as Rachel continued to speak into her stomach crying a little harder now, "Please make sure she's ok. I love her too much for her not to be okay. Please, mama...make her okay."

Shelby blinked her eyes quickly trying her best not to fall apart as she held her baby girl. "I promise baby, I promise that we will all be fine." She couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or saying it to convince her eight year old…or to convince herself. They would all be fine right?

My mom came back into the room. She had been crying, but she put on a brave face for me. It made my heart hurt. She walked up to me and kissed me on the head again. "Thank you."

I looked down at my lap. She was thanking me for changing into the paper gown. My mind drifted back to the mere minutes earlier where it was just me and the doctor, Debbie, in the room. I looked up again and notice all the brown paper bags that littered the floor now. Each brown bag held a single article of my clothing in it. My torn shirt was in one. My purple bra in another. My sweatpants in a separate bag. My underwear had its own bag. Even the flip flops my mom put on me before leaving Rachel's room was in another. Debbie the doctor hadn't been able to hold in her gasp when she saw my stomach. She apologized. I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the present again.

My mom and Debbie were standing in front of me as I sat on the edge of the table again. Debbie opened her mouth, "Ok Santana. I need you to tell me what happened as best as you can. Include as many details as you are able." She saw the hurt and sadness on my face. "I know this is going to be very very hard for you, but me and your mother are right here for you and will be the entire time." She glanced over at my mom who nodded her head in agreement. "Every detail is important."

I felt like I was an exhibit at a museum; something interesting to look at. My mom and the doctor's eyes were both focused on me so directly. I feel so exposed. Here goes everything…

"I uh…" I take a deep breath and look at my mom. I want her in the room with me, I can't be alone right now, but saying everything with her here is going to be extremely hard. I can't look at her while I talk about it, so I look over at Debbie. "He was looking for Rachel. When he didn't find her in her room…he got really mad. He uh…he back handed me across the face…it sent me down to the floor…"

"Is this why your lip is split open?" Debbie asked. I simply nodded my head. I watched as she pulled a camera off of a counter. It was one of those old Polaroid cameras. I didn't think they still made those. How old was this hospital? Debbie's voice made me focus on her again, "I'm going to be taking pictures to document your injuries that he inflicted alright?" She didn't wait for me to respond before she snapped a picture of my face. The camera spit out the image immediately. She took it and wrote on it then set it aside. She nodded her head for me to continue.

I sat in silence for a minute. She was going to take pictures of me? I had to just be okay with that? I looked at Debbie again, she urged me to continue my story, like nothing just happened. I looked over at my mom who also gave me a reassuring nod. I shook my head and tried to think back to Rachel's room again, even though I didn't want to. "He…he spit on me…"

"Where did the spit land?" Debbie inquired.

I looked at her silently. Why was she asking? She raised her eyebrows waiting for my answer. I slowly looked down at my lap before answering, "On my face." I closed my eyes, "I…I was too scared to wipe it off…it dripped down my left cheek while he yelled…"

I opened my eyes again to see Debbie retrieving a q-tip from a drawer. She stepped closer to me and swabbed the side of my face with it before putting it into a small tube container and into a plastic baggie. She scribbled something on it, and then looked up at me to continue.

I looked over at my mom; she was looking at the baggie with the q-tip still. Staring at it. Her eyes were wet. My eyes watered. I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe I am talking about this. I close my eyes again so I don't have to look at anyone. "He…he sat on top of me. I…I tried to get him off…but I couldn't make him move."

Debbie stopped me from going further, "Santana do you mind holding out your hands for me?" I opened my eyes and looked at her questioningly as I extended my trembling hands. "I'm going to scrape underneath your nails. You might have been able to scratch him, so some of his skin cells could still be there." She explained as she began to scrape underneath my nails onto a piece of paper. She was fast; she did both hands and was sealing the scrapings into another baggie before I could comprehend what she had said. Maybe she wasn't as fast as I was slow, I corrected myself. I still feel like the world is moving at a supersonic speed around me.

I looked back at my mom. She was looking at the baggie with the nail scrapings in it that was set next to the baggie with the q-tip swab of his spit. Her arms were folded across her chest. Her mouth was closed tightly. She looked like she was trying to soak all of this in. She looked like she was trying not to cry in front of me. I watched as she refocused back on me. She tried to give me a small smile, but I could see her chin quivering. I closed my eyes again. The faster I said it…the faster I can get this over with and get back home. Faster is better for everyone. This was killing my mom; I can see it all over her face and all through her body language. I hate that.

I took a deep breath, "He… grabbed my wrists…and held them over my head so that I couldn't fight him anymore." Debbie motioned for me to hold my wrists out. She snapped a few pictures of the bruising that had started to return already. Once she was done I placed my hands back in my lap again and looked down at the bruising pattern as I continued, "He…pushed his fist really hard into my stomach…h-h-he started t-twisting it-t back and forth as he p-p-ushed down. I couldn't do anything to stop him." Tears were flowing freely down my face. I didn't even bother to wipe them anymore. I knew what Debbie was going to want next and the thought made me nauseous.

"Santana, I'm going to have you lay down for this ok sweetheart?" Her voice was laced with an apologetic tone.

I slowly nodded as I gently laid myself down on the bed. My mom walked up and started aimlessly combing her hand through my hair. She grabbed my hand tightly with her free one and smiled sadly at me. "I am so proud of you my daughter." Her voice cracks.

I nod my head and change my focus to Debbie. She is standing on the other side of the table and has a cart pulled up next to her that is filled with medical supplies and her camera. I watch as her gloved hand hovers over my covered stomach. "I am going to rip this gown ok?"

I bit my lip, blinking back the new wave of tears that cloud my eyes and slowly nod my head as I grab my mom's hand tighter. Debbie rips a big hole in my gown so she can see my stomach. She takes a deep breath and then grabs her camera. She looks at me apologetically. I close my eyes and turn my head to face my mom. I try to focus on her hand in my hair as I hear the flash of the camera go off multiple times. After every flash I can hear Debbie scribbling words onto the picture and placing them onto her table before flashing again.

"Is this an old wound?" Debbie asks.

I'm not able to answer this time. My eyes are closed tightly and my hand is squeezing the life out of my mother's hand. I hear my mother clear her throat, "Yes. He did this after he attacked her the first time. It looks like it was done with a small blade. Some of the cuts were deep." She cleared her throat again, trying to stay strong as she spoke to my doctor, "I irrigated the wound the night following…and put topical on it and showed her how to wrap it and keep it sterile."

"I see," Debbie responded. "It looks like he definitely reopened these scabs here. There is some bleeding. It looks like part of the 'w' might have an infection actually. Santana, has this been hurting a lot recently prior to tonight?"

I slowly nod my head, "It…it always hurts." I say quietly.

"Ok, Santana, I am going to clean this up. It might sting quite a bit but this will help it heal properly." I heard her say as she snapped on a pair of gloves.

"Santana," My mom's voice was in my face. I slowly opened my eyes to look at her. She had tear stains down her cheeks, her eyes were puffy. "You should have told me this wasn't getting better baby. I could have helped with this."

"Sorry," this was the only response I could choke out. My mom bit her bottom lip as her chin quivered. She bent over and kissed the top of my forehead before she resumed running her fingers through my hair. Suddenly I let out a loud hiss as Debbie started cleaning my stomach. I closed my eyes and clung tightly to my mom's hand. Tears rushed out of my closed eyes, a few sobs escaped my lips before I bit my bottom lip to try to keep as quiet as I can. I could hear my mom sniffling next to me, trying and failing to cry silently so I wouldn't hear her.

Once my stomach was cleaned and redressed, Debbie and my mom helped me sit back up. My mom backed up behind the doctor again and crossed her hands over her chest. "Ok Santana, what happened next?" Debbie asked again.

I felt my shoulders deflate. I wasn't done yet. This was all so exhausting. I looked back up at Debbie; she was waiting patiently for me to continue. I drew in a deep breath, "He ripped open my shirt." I cleared my voice to make it stronger, "He um...he started touching me…" My eyes darted down towards the floor, "he grabbed me, over my bra..."

"Ok, I'm just going to pull down the gown for a quick second to get a picture ok?" Debbie asked quickly as she reached for my paper gown.

All I could do was watch as she gently exposed my breasts. My arms instantly flew up and covered myself instinctively. My eyes were full of questions. She wanted to take a picture of my breasts?

Debbie stepped back, "Santana sweetie, I will be really quick I promise." She looked into my eyes and nodded her head.

I looked past her at my mom who now had one hand over her mouth and the other pulled tightly over her chest. My mom looked into my eyes and nodded her head silently. Her face was so full of sadness. I have never seen my mom this upset before. I had to do this. I slowly nodded my head in response and took a deep breath before slowly lowering my arms leaving me exposed from the waist up on the table. I instantly looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes. I could hear the camera flashing a few times. She was taking pictures of me. People were going to see these pictures. Random doctors and police officers… people I didn't know were going to have access to these and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I bit my lip again to keep from sobbing out loudly.

"It does look like there is some bruising that is starting," Debbie stated, "And an old would that is healing…from the previous attack as well?" I felt her lightly touch the area he had bit nearly a week ago.

All I could do was nod my head as I continued to look up at the ceiling. Debbie slowly pulled my gown back up and tightened it to cover me again. I brought my head back down to look at her again.

She nodded.

Almost done, I reminded myself. I took a deep breath again, "He um…he kissed me. He made me kiss him…"

"Ok," Debbie said as she reached for another q-tip swab. "Can you open your mouth for me?" Once I opened my mouth she swabbed the inside of it and shined a flashlight in to look for any cuts. Finding none, she put the swab in its own tube and baggie and then asked me to continue.

My eyes darted side to side. That was basically it. He had gone back to groping my chest before his hand trailed down… I shook my head. I'm not saying that. Nothing happened. "T-that's it," I say quickly as I look down at my knees.

"Santana is there something you aren't saying?" Debbie asked cautiously.

I looked up at her. How did she know? I looked over at my mom, she was watching me carefully, "San?" My mom took a step forward, her eyes piercing mine.

"I…I…" I shook my head. "No...That is basically it…"

"Basically?" Debbie asked.

Shit. I'm so stupid. I wipe my eyes with my hands, but it doesn't do any good as more tears instantly replace the ones I just wiped off. "I…he…um…" I look at the doctor then at my mom then down at my lap again, "He started to touch me…" I took a deep breath, "down there…" I looked up at Debbie sharply, "But it wasn't for very long and it was over my sweatpants. He wasn't actually touching me," I added quickly.

My mom let out a sob and my heart broke even more. She mumbled her apologies from behind the doctor. Debbie looked into my eyes, "When you say 'touching' what do you mean?"

"What?" I asked in a soft cracked voice as tears cascaded down my face.

"You said over your sweatpants…?" Debbie questioned.

I nodded, "Yes…" I hiccupped and looked down at my lap, "It was…he rubbed… circles…between my legs…over the material…"

With that my mom swiped at her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She sniffled and cleared her throat before walking up and standing next to the doctor directly in front of me. I watched her carefully, confused. She was standing up straight. Debbie turned to face her. "She needs to have a pelvic exam done," My mom said to the doctor in a strong voice.

My stomach felt like it flipped and then dropped. My eyes bulged; I looked at my mom, "No. Mom." I began to protest. My breathing was quickening. "Mom, I don't need one. I said over my sweatpants…he didn't actually…touch me." I drew in a very shaky breath, "I promise. I'm not lying, mom. It was over my pants. It was just for a minute…and then Rachel came in and pushed him off me." I was crying hysterically but didn't break my eye contact from my mom.

My mom turned to face me and gently cupped my face. Her eyes were so sad. "Santana," Her voice was strong, I started shaking my head already knowing what she was about to say. "This isn't up for discussion baby-"

"But he didn't…I don't need one." I cut my mother off.

"You do." My mom nodded at me as she continued to cup my face. "You need one from the first time-"

"There is no 'first time' because there was no second time, mom." I pushed her hand away from my face. "He didn't do that…he didn't make it that far." I swatted at the tears that were like waterfalls down my face. "After the night in the woods…Quinn took me to the clinic. Remember? I did one of those already." I was begging my mother.

"I understand that but San, I can see you are still hurting. I need to make sure you don't have an infection and that you are healing properly. I need to make sure he didn't set back any healing with what he did tonight. I need to know that you are ok physically." She cupped my face with both of her hands and forced me to look directly into her eyes. I deflated. She wasn't going to let me get out of this. This was going to happen. I felt like I was crumbling. "You are doing this," She continued, "I will be here the whole time."

I couldn't respond. My hysterics had calmed, now I just felt like an empty shell with an endless water supply for tear ducts. My mom pulled her hands from my face and turned to face the doctor again, she nodded her head.

I watched Debbie nod her head in understanding. "Ok then Santana, I'm going to have you lie down again, and scoot towards the end of the table." I watched as Debbie walked around to the end of the table and pushed up two levers, the places where my feet were going to rest. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest.

All of a sudden there was a soft knock on the door. Everyone in the room turned to look at the closed door. I looked at my mom questioningly. She shrugged her shoulders and then turned to the doctor, "Excuse me," She then turned to me and grabbed my hand. "Lay down, I will be right back." She looked back at the doctor, "Don't start anything without me please."

"Of course," Debbie answered respectfully as she pulled a stool around the end of the table for her to sit on. Debbie looked at me, "Let's lie you down so you are ready for when your mom gets back ok?" She offered her hand for assistance. I uneasily accepted it as I watched my mom walk towards the door.

This was really happening? I looked at the stirrups at the end of the table. In a few minutes I was going to have to open my legs and rest my feet on those. The thought made me nauseous. A sob escaped my lips as I started to lie down on the table. I can't believe this is really happening. Everything is such a mess. None of this is supposed to be happening. I'm not supposed to be here. My sister and my mom and my Woowoo…none of them were supposed to be here.

Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

Ruth looked at the number on the door, 104. This was the room Shelby said that she and Santana were in. She had knocked and was waiting for someone to answer it. She shifted her weight between her feet nervously. Shelby had said 104 right? As soon as she started questioning herself her best friend opened the door slightly and squeezed through closing it shut behind her.

Worry etched her brow immediately when she didn't see her youngest daughter with Ruth, "What happened? Is Rachel ok?" She began to look down the hallway to see if she could see her daughter anywhere in sight. Her breathing started quickening when she couldn't.

"Shel," Ruth called to her friend to bring her down from her panic, "She is fine. The nurse brought her to the desk to get a lollipop for being so great."

Shelby slowly nodded her head and released a breath, "What did the doctor say?"

Ruth didn't beat around the bush, "Rachel has a minor concussion-"

Shelby grabbed her friend's hand and cut her off, "What?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, "A concussion? She-"

Ruth cut off her friend before she could freak out anymore, "It's very minor. We just need to keep an eye on her for the next 3-4 hours." She squeezed her friends hand and made sure that Shelby was hearing what she was saying, "It is no big deal, Shelby." She reiterated again, "She isn't slurring her words, she is alert, she isn't dizzy or nauseous…it will be fine."

Shelby took a deep breath to get her breathing back to normal and slow down her racing heart. She was a pediatric doctor. She knew that concussions were usually not a big deal, especially minor ones but she felt like all of her nerves were on fire in this moment. Everything seemed to be setting them off, she felt like she was on high alert. She had seen thousands of concussions in her career, but it was different now that she was being told it was her baby girl who had one. She shook her head. It was minor she reminded herself. "Ok…ok…" Her eyes glaze over as she thinks about all that is going on. Her and her best friend are standing in the middle of the hospital hallway talking about her youngest daughter's concussion while her eldest daughter is waiting to get a pelvic exam to complete the rape kit in the room behind her.

Ruth grabs Shelby's other hand and squeezes them both tightly to bring her friend's focus back to her. When Shelby snaps out of her daze, Ruth continues cautiously, "Shel… the cops really want to question Rachel." She watched her friend's eyebrows furrow. "I tried to tell them that this wasn't a good time, but they are insisting…with her young age...they want to get her statement before too much time has passed to prevent her from forgetting any details that she remembers now."

Shelby pulls her hands from her friend and throws them up in the air in frustration, "Well, I can't. I can't leave right now, they have to wait…" She motions to the door behind her, "I can't be in two places at once! Santana needs me here." She rested her hands on her head and continued to try to keep her breathing at a regular pace, it wasn't working. It seemed like it was one thing after another and it was getting to her.

Ruth watched her friend freak out, "They understand that Shelby. They just really want to get Rachel's statement to try to catch this asshole."

Shelby didn't mean to get loud with her friend. She looked gently at the closed door behind her then looked back at Ruth, "Santana…she is about to get an exam…"

Ruth's eyes grew wide as tears instantly clouded her vision, "An…exam exam?" Again if someone passed them and overheard her question they wouldn't have known what she meant, but she knew that Shelby did and that was all that mattered. She watched as Shelby slowly nodded her head as tears brimmed her eyes as well. Shelby looked up at the ceiling and begun to blink rapidly to stop them from falling. Ruth felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. It felt like there was no air in her lungs. Her voice was just above a whisper, "He…he…he got that far…again?"

Shelby brought her focus back down from the ceiling instantly to her friend again, "No." She cleared her throat as she watched her friend breathe a sigh of relief, "No…it's just…from the first time...I just…I need to make sure she is…healing. He didn't get that far… again." She brings her hands down from her head and folds them across her chest, "Santana says she is fine…I can tell she doesn't want this…but she has this limp when she walks, its barely noticeable...but it is there. It's just killing me knowing that she is still in pain." Her voice cracks at the end.

Ruth nods her head, "Ok, no that makes sense. You are doing the right thing, Shel."

Shelby shakes her head slowly, "Am I? I just…I can't leave her...not when they are about to start the exam."

Ruth nodded her head again in agreement, "No you need to stay, absolutely."

Shelby looked down the hallway in the direction that the nurse's station was in, "But what about Rachel?"

Ruth looked at her friend. Shelby's face was so sad and etched with stress and worry. "I'll sit with her." Ruth offered, "I can be there during the interview. It is the same officer that was at the house with the girls apparently…Detective White?" Shelby nodded her head, "I can sit with her if you want me to."

Shelby looked at her friend hesitantly and then looked back over her shoulder at the closed door. She needed to be there for San's exam. But she also understood the importance of Rachel giving her statement as soon as possible. She felt stuck, "I don't want to ask you to do that Ruth."

"You aren't asking Shel," She replied quickly, "I am offering. I will sit with Rachel while she talks to the detective. I am here to help. Let me help, hun."

Shelby looked her best friend in the eyes, "I just…I-I…" Her voice was cracking; she immediately looked down at the ground with hunched shoulders. She felt defeat overtaking her body. Her eyes watered uncontrollably.

Ruth watched as her friend slowly crumbled before her eyes. She quickly pulled Shelby into a hug, "Not yet. No crying yet you hear me? You need to go back into the room and be there for Santana…" She could feel Shelby nod her head into her neck. Ruth continued, "And I need to go make sure that mini-you is not haggling the nurses out of all their lollipops."

Shelby released a short laugh then pulled away from her friend's hug and nodded her head, "You are right." She wiped her eyes, "Ok. You'll sit with Rachel?"

"Yes."

"And you'll tell me everything?" Shelby asked desperately.

"Of course."

Shelby nodded her head. She looked back at the closed door behind her again. "Ok…ok. I need...I need to go back to San."

"Yes. Go on, I love you Shel." She leaned forward and planted a friendly kiss on Shelby's cheek, "I will ring you when we are done."

Shelby nodded gently and then took a deep breath. She stood up a little taller and then turned around and entered the room she had previously exited, back to Santana.

Ruth watched her friend slip back into the quiet room. She took a deep breath and then paused, still standing in front of the door. She could hear a female doctor through the door, "Alright Santana, let's put your feet in these notches for me…..Good girl….Now let's scoot you towards the end of the table."

The only response Ruth could hear was a loud sob from Santana. Hearing Santana cry so loudly instantly brought tears to Ruth's eyes. She took a step forward and put her open palm on the door softly. She waited another minute and then heard Santana's squeal rip through the room and down the hallway followed by the sound of her sobbing hysterically. Ruth shook her head and quickly pulled her hand from the door. She needed to be helpful. They needed to catch this bastard. No sixteen year old girl should have to go through that, especially not her strong Santana. With that she nodded her head and sucked her tears back into her eyes. She turned away from the door and headed down the hallway towards the nurses' station to get Rachel and bring her to the cop for her questioning.

Santana's cries faded into the distance the further down the hallway she walked. She needed to be helpful. They had to catch the monster that did this to her best friend's family; to her god daughters.

A/N: let me know what you think…thank you for reading. -E