Disclaimer: I only own Cass and Maeve! Nothing else… the rest belongs to Shondaland!

LyssLovesTiva33 chapter (:

So this chapter is pretty self explanatory. Last chapter you were all very happy with us because Mer and Der are now Cass's foster parents but are also mad because Maeve is still missing along with Eileen and David. Well… this chapter begins to resolve that, kinda… ;) This is very much like Let Me Find You, where there is a long road ahead for Cass, but it is not as long as you will think.

A/N: This chapter includes an explanation major violence against a minor in italics. Don't like, don't read the italics, you will still understand what happened without it… read my disclaimer at the end if you really don't want to read any of it…

Two weeks later…

"NO! HELP ME! PLEASE! MEREDITH!" Meredith was jolted awake as the cries echoed throughout her house.

"Cass," she hissed and ripped off the covers, feeling her husband shift in the same way. It was still abnormal to hear another voice in their house than her and Derek's. She had become accustomed to the silence that came with having no children and the longing for it. Things were different now.

The first week with Cass had been great. She finally had another person to take care of, another person that she loved. Derek fell in love with her too, and together they fell even more into love with the joys of parenthood. Or foster parenthood. Once Cass healed, Mer spent time giving her all her parents could never give her because they were so cruel.

They went shopping, they went to the park, she taught her how to ride a bike with training wheels because she never learned, she got her confident enough to go to school for two days in a row before taking a break. Basically she tried to dissipate the memories from that night. It had worked too, during the day at least.

It was at night where Meredith could not protect her. Where Cass's dreams of the beatings, the taunting, the danger she was put in were relived. Specifically, the night that finally brought them together.

By now, Meredith and Derek knew the pathway to the once forgotten bedroom where their foster daughter lay sleeping by heart. It was every night that they did this, every night since her nightmares became vocal. God knows how many nights she woke up in a sweat but had not gone to get them.

"Cass sweetie," Mer murmured and stroked her now long curly blond hair. "It's okay." Cass sobbed in her sleep. Derek sat down next to her and rubbed small circles on her trembling back.

"Shhh," he whispered comfortingly. "We're here. Not them."

"MEREDITH! DEREK!" she sobbed and her eyes flew open, her chest heaving.

"There we go," Mer gave her a small smile as Cass's teary eyes locked with hers.

"Me-Meredith," Cass whimpered. "De-Derek."

"Cass, you're okay," Derek reassured as she wrapped her arms around Meredith tightly.

"Please don't let them hurt me again," she begged. Meredith locked eyes with Derek and he nodded. This would be the first time they were going to do this.

"Would you feel better if you slept in our bed Cass?" Mer asked. Cass looked up at both of them and nodded silently. Meredith placed her hand on the girls back and led her to their bedroom. Cass fit perfectly in between them and Meredith and Derek were not looking forward to the day she would no longer be there. Cass, not having slept well since she was home from the hospital, succumbed to sleep immediately with no words or sounds, other than residual tears and sniffles.

"Meredith, we can't go on like this," Derek said.

"With Cass… Derek I-" Mer began.

"Absolutely not," Derek shook his head strongly. "Mer; I will never forgive myself for doubting you and putting her back into that house. She could have died all because I didn't believe you. If they didn't have me as a witness Cass would have never been put on the stand and scared so much that she lied. She's staying right here." Mer smiled slightly but again pressed upon an issue Derek could not let go.

"I don't blame you Derek, you had no idea," Mer sighed. "Cass knows that too. She's still safe."

"What about Maeve," Derek choked out. "She's a baby girl and she belongs with us. God knows what those monsters are doing to her, did to her. And she can't complain because she can't even talk, she can't even say no."

"We can't change the past Der… we can only protect Cass and let the police find them; they couldn't have dropped off the face of the earth," Mer said, glancing down at Cass. "It's kind of nice, isn't it?"

"I feel like a dad," Derek smiled. "A foster dad."

"One day Derek," Mer nodded.

"We need to talk to her," Derek said. "We can't just let her go on without getting this checked out. When they did the mandatory psych eval before she left the hospital, she was on sedation and was too knocked out to have dreams, let alone nightmares. She needs to talk to someone. She only talked about the physical, the emotional that she couldn't hide. She's hidden so much for so long, she's an expert."

"Derek," Mer murmured. "I-I don't think she'll talk to anyone but us."

"Then she'll need us tomorrow," Derek looked down at the young girl too. Now that he was her foster dad, he couldn't understand how anyone could hurt a girl as sweet, bright, and bubbly as Cass was. Despite how hard he tried not to, he had hopelessly fallen in love with her.

"How?" Mer whispered.

"Tomorrow is our last day off before Cass needs to go to school every day, that's what Arizona said: two weeks," Derek said. "We'll spend the day with her; reassure her she can talk to us."

"Did you ever imagine this Derek, she- she's not our daughter," Mer sighed and shook her head.

"She's someone we care about," Derek reminded her. "What we've done since she got to the hospital has only prolonged this. We've indulged her, we've given her the taste of what life should have been for her but her bastard parents couldn't. Melanie said that she would repress everything, as she did when she was in the group home before, but this time it would be worse. Cass is a strong girl, whenever we began to push, she pushed back. This time we don't let her. No one knows what happened; just that it was David who did the stabbing from the fingerprint on the knife."

"I don't want her to stop trusting us," Mer whispered fearfully. "I don't want to push her too hard."

"Don't you remember Mer," Der sighed. "Cass wasn't completely unconscious when you found her. I ran upstairs and she looked at you, just for a second, and all I saw, instead of fear, was trust and love. It was as if she was saying. 'She's saving me, the person I trust most is finally saving me.'"

"I don't feel like anything will be right until Maeve is safe too," Mer grimaced. "Cass feels guilt, I can tell. More than you and more than me."

"We'll talk tomorrow Mer," Derek told her, kissed her cheek, and watched as Mer placed a kiss on Cass's hair. "Everything will be fine."

"Okay Der," Mer nodded and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Meredith, Derek, can we get ice cream," Cass asked as she rode her bike on the bike path, Meredith and Derek riding behind her.

"When we get back to the ferry so we can bring it back home, alright Cass," Mer called ahead of her. "Don't go too far ahead."

"You guys are slow," she informed them. Derek chuckled and sped up to peddle next to her.

"Really?" he questioned.

"Derek, that's not fair, you're older, of course you are faster than me," Cass mumbled.

"Well when we can get those training wheels off your bike I'm sure we'll be exhausting trying to keep up with you," Derek encouraged.

"Doubt it," Cass murmured.

"What?" Mer asked, riding up next to her.

"Nothing," Cass said, trying to bike faster but it was hard to with training wheels. She saw Meredith and Derek share a look.

"I have a better idea than getting that ice cream," Mer said. "Let's go to the store and get whatever kind you want and we'll make sundaes at home."

"Really," Cass smiled.

"Yupp, you and me will run in while Mer waits outside with the bikes," Derek said, turning off the bike trail and onto the sidewalk of a back road. As quickly as Cass could keep up, they got to the store and Cass picked out chocolate chip cookie dough, strawberry, and coffee. She liked all three and Mer and Der could both suffer through the others. Luckily, the ferry was about to leave as all three arrived at the dock, so the ice cream did not melt as Cass tried to convince Meredith and Derek it would be fun to try and ride her bike on the ferry boat's deck.

By the time they got home, it was already lunch time, so they made it a picnic near the cliff. The part of the land that was Cass's favorite. Meredith made them sandwiches and Cass gulped hers down so that they could go inside and get the ice cream. Derek went inside while Cass lay out on the grass, looking longingly in a surprisingly clear blue and sunny sky.

"Meredith, where do you think Mae is?" she whispered. Meredith looked up shocked, it had been their own plan to talk to Cass about what happened, but Cass had surprised her once again and brought it up herself.

"I think-" Mer began.

"Do you think she's dead," Cass's lips quivered.

"Oh no Cass, she's not," Meredith protested.

"How do you know," Cass muttered. "Cause you don't! She could be! They could have killed her so she wouldn't give them away."

"Is that what they told you they were going to do Cass," Derek's voice made both of them jump. Cass immediately looked down and began picking at the grass. "Is it?"

"No," Cass whispered.

"Cass, no one knows what really happened, except you… not even the police," Meredith spoke up, moving closer to Cass who in turn moved further away.

"They hurt me again, it was routine," Cass sighed.

"Nothing is routine about that Cass, a parent should not do that to their child. It's against the law," Derek said strongly. "They tried to kill you."

"And that's what they've always tried to do; but this time my Mom was involved too," Cass said.

"Come on Cass, please tell us," Meredith begged. "We want to help. We love you and we want to help. We can't fully help Maeve unless you tell us."

"I thought they loved me too, but I learned all too quickly that love hurts," Cass bit her lip.

"Not that kind of love," Mer whispered, reaching out to tuck a piece of Cass's hair behind her ear. "Love hurts when you're heart is broken by a boy you love. Not when your parents- They- They were bad people."

"They didn't love me… who could love me," Cass whimpered.

"We do," Derek said. "Meredith and I do. Meredith has loved you since you left the hospital the first time; and the second you… you looked at me when you saw your bed for the first time… that's when I started."

"Why didn't they love me," Cass cried.

"Oh Cass," Mer sighed and pulled her into her lap. "They were not good people. Your parents were evil people. They don't even love themselves or they wouldn't have hurt the two most special things in the world to them."

"They didn't deserve a girl like you Cass," Derek told her.

"I always wanted them to love me," Cass sobbed. "But the harder I tried, the more I got hurt."

"Is that why you lied in court honey?" Meredith asked.

"I wanted to give them another chance to love me, all I ever wanted was to feel loved," Cass closed her eyes. "If I'd known how much I would love being here, away from there, I never would h-" She broke off with a louder sob. "If Mae's dead it's all my fault!"

"If she's dead," Derek said softly. "It's no one but your parents fault. If anyone dies as a result of this it's all their fault. Never yours. You're an eight year old girl who should not have this much responsibility."

"He got drunk," Cass whispered. "Like always when I got a really bad beating. I was in the basement for five days after we got home, only have lunch and being forced to hear Maeve's cries when my Mom was on the phone and no one would get her. When he let me out… he was still drinking and told me to go into the kitchen; that it was time for my real punishment. My Mom was drinking too, and she had a switch in her hand. My dad disappeared and…"

"Get over here," Eileen growled as she sat at the kitchen table, the switch smirking at Cass.

"No Mommy, please," Cass begged.

"NOW!" she boomed. Timidly Cass moved closer, when she was in reach, Eileen grabbed her harshly and threw her across the chair. She yanked down her pants and underwear, leaving her backside exposed. One hand on her back and her knees holding down her legs; Eileen let out a flurry of smacks with the switch. Cass let out a wail of anguish.

"This will teach you to NEVER tell on us again!" Eileen exclaimed. "You're so stupid Cass; you thought you could get away with it!"

"STOP!" she screeched. "Please!" Every swipe of the switch burned and stung like something she never felt before. "I'M SORRY!"

"You will be when I'm done with you," David said, taking the switch. Now Eileen held her down on the floor while David gave out an even harsher punishment. Sobs didn't even describe the sounds coming out of Cass's mouth when David was finished five years later. All she knew was that her entire back end was covered in blood, splinters, and undoubtedly bruises.

"Cass baby, we know that not all that happened," Mer sighed.

"I-I know," Cass shut her eyes.

Cass had not moved from her bed since her mother picked up her hysterical form off the floor and placed her into bed. That was two days ago. She ate in bed, she cried in bed, it hurt too much to do anything else. It also hurt that her baby sister cried a lot, but was often silenced by the basement when her father was home. That was another part of the punishment, she was hurt too much to do anything about it and her parents knew how much it killed her.

"Cass, it's time for you to get up," Eileen said at the door. "Meet us in the kitchen." Wincing, Cass did as she was told and watched as her mother set food out for her after forcing her to sit down on the chair which hurt her backside even more. Cass ate and noticed the absence of her father and the amount of wine her mother was drinking. Things were too quiet.

"Mommy, where's Maeve?" Cass questioned.

"In the basement," she answered stoically. "You're father's feeding her and bringing her back up. Her punishment is over." Cass's hands began to shake because under those words she heard 'yours isn't.'

"When you hear is footsteps up the stairs, you will go stand facing that corner until we tell you, understand?" Eileen said. She was calm, despite the amount of alcohol in her system, and that scared Cass. When she heard her father's footsteps, she abandoned her food and stood in the corner. She was too terrified not to and had no idea how long she was standing there, just that it was eerily quiet. When she heard her father's voice say, 'turn around,' she didn't expect what was in his hands.

"He was holding the knife and said that I was too much trouble," she cried. "I was to be dealt with and that they were going to run away with Maeve and start life over with their better child. A child that could still be dealt with their punishments." Cass started shaking. "I ran upstairs, grabbed the phone, and locked my door. He followed and began banging on it, my mom too. " Meredith held her tighter and Derek's fists clenched. "That's when I called you." She looked up at Meredith. "I know you hung up after my mom start kicking me and my dad started punching me because of the dial tone but- I knew you were coming so I just stopped fighting it. He stabbed me, hard, I don't know how many times but no matter how much it hurt, I just laid still until they left. I held my breath so they thought I was dead. I thought I was going to die but I didn't want to die thinking of them. I held out until I could see you again."

"Oh Cass," Mer cried.

"I am scared because I relive that night every night… because when I was just lying there, bleeding out, I heard Maeve crying when they left," Cass shook her head. "I thought you'd find her body too because she wasn't capable of trying to stop crying if they hurt her too."

"Cass, you are the bravest person I know," Derek told her. "I am so incredibly proud of you but-"

"You want me to see someone else, don't you?" Cass whispered.

"Meredith and I need to go back to work, and you need to go back to school," Derek told her. "We need to know you're going to be okay in school, we need to know that if there is a night that only one of us are home, and if we are not awoken by your cries, you'll be alright."

"I don't want to be a burden, you don't have to do this for me," Cass said.

"You Cassandra Scott are far from a burden," Meredith said, lifting her chin to look at her. "You're the strongest eight year old I have ever met and it is a privilege for you to be living with us. I'd do anything for you without a second thought. We are here to teach you that not everyone in the world is like that. The world is not that cruel of a place. You are loved Cass, not a burden."

"I love you too," Cass said and buried her face into Meredith's shirt. Derek wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"You'll be safe with us Cass," Derek said. "I promise."

The ice cream had been forgotten after their picnic because Meredith and Derek had ended up sitting on the couch with Cass, talking more. This time, about what they could do for her. All of this reinforcing the fact that they really do love her. Cass was going to spend most of her school day the next day with the guidance counselor and this weekend they scheduled an appointment with a child psychiatrist. She was also going to have a long talk with Melanie, her social worker who was trained to work with kids like her.

With so much out in the open, Derek and Meredith decided to reward Cass by getting more ice cream because the original ice cream melted.

"Thank you for talking with us Cass," Mer smiled at the young girl as the two of them were in the kitchen, gathering supplies for ice cream.

"I never told anyone except you and Natalie what they did," Cass looked down. "It… it felt good to get it out."

"Who's Natalie?" Mer questioned.

"The friend I made at the group home," Cass said. "I kinda miss her."

"Well maybe she got placed just like you did," she smiled at her.

"I hope she's as happy as I am then," Cass sighed. "I never imagined I'd ever be this happy." Mer smiled even bigger than before. "Thank you. I don't think I ever said that to you. And I'll say it to Derek too."

"We know your thankful Cass, we don't need to hear it," Meredith reassured.

"But it wouldn't be right… I need to make sure," Cass said, reaching up to grab a bowl but ended up tipping one over and it shattering on the floor. Cass jumped, turned around to Meredith, and winced.

"I'm not going to hurt you sweetie," Mer placed her hand on her shoulder before lifting her up on the counter. "And I don't want you getting cut on the pieces; let me get a broom to sweep it up."

"Do you really know how much Meredith?" Cass whispered. Meredith stepped around the broken pieces and looked into Cass's eyes. She cupped her face before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I do Cass, and Derek does too," Meredith murmured. "I'm convinced that you are the perfect kid. The most well behaved kid. And the sweetest kid I have ever met."

"Besides Maeve, she's a baby so she's the cuter one," Cass smirked.

"Yeah, she's a baby, but she also cries…"

"I cry too," Cass looked down.

"Do you hear me complaining Cass? Cause I am not. I am glad you told us everything, it makes it easier to know how to help you," Mer reassured. "That's all I ever wanted to do, back when I was your doctor, when I was your friend, and even now…"

"Thank you Meredith," Cass smiled brightly.

"Now-"

"Mer," Derek burst through the door. "Where's Cass?"

"Right here, Derek, what is wrong?" Mer looked at her husband shocked.

"Cass honey," Derek said, his voice shaking as he grabbed her slip on shoes and slid them on her feet as well as handing her a jacket. "You need to get out of here."

"Derek, what are you talking about?" Mer's head snapped up towards him.

"Take this sweetie, get as far away from the house as you can and call 911," Derek said, placing his cell phone in her palm.

"Derek, what's going on?"

"Derek," Cass whispered fearfully.

"Go out the door sweetheart, the back door, and run down the driveway, out of sight but don't go into the woods," Derek whispered urgently. "Tell the operator someone is trying to break into your house, tell them to send several units. Can you remember that?"

"Derek I'm scared," Cass cried.

"Don't be," Derek sighed, lifting her off the counter and kissing her head. "Please Cass go and try to remember." Eyes wide, Cass did as she was told.

"Derek," Meredith whispered.

"It's Eileen and David, they are outside and coming in, I heard them," Derek told her.

"And you sent her outside," Meredith cried in dismay.

"In the opposite direction," Derek said.

"Derek, what's going to happen?" Mer rushed up next to him. Derek wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll protect you as I did Cass, it's going to be okay, and the police are coming."

"Oh, it's too late for that," a new voice said. Meredith and Derek looked up to face the bastards who almost killed Cass. Eileen and David, guns in both of their hands, how they got them god knows.

"You'll be dead by the time they even show up… now where is our daughter?" David hissed.

Before you grab your pitch forks, etc. We want to promise you this… this IS the second to last cliffhanger (well chapter after the next may have a small one but not as severe) this story will have… evil ones anyway. Any other will be happy or, promote happiness. We swear ;)

With that side note, how did you like it? Drop us a review, I know you want to. Now that If Only I Knew is finished updates will be coming faster at least on the LLT side!

Next chapter this cliffie WILL be resolved by none other than the amazing iSeriouslylovegreys! Stay with us…

Other Disclaimer: Again, this story is not promoting child abuse, it is not condoning it… it is promoting awareness of it and how severe it can get if left out of control. If Cass had not had someone as caring as Meredith, she would be dead. Recognize the signs as Meredith did and fight for the child… would you rather have a restraining order against you for going overboard or would you rather have a hurt child? Don't let what happened to Cass happen to a real victim of child abuse, that is not how far things need to go in order to stop it…