A/N: There were a lot of emotions after yesterday's chapter...but I'm glad that they were mainly positive. I know that I was attempting to make this a shorter story but then this plot bunny hit me and wham!

A few more chapters and I won't keep you waiting.

Oh and btw...there is a possible mention of some triggering things...but nothing graphic.

Tread lightly.

Enjoy! :)

The Child Is Gone (Fiona Apple)

Santana's POV

I laid in my bed for the first time in almost a year with my wife tucked securely in my arms.

Even in her sleep, she continued to whimper and mumble to herself.

Which made me ache in a way that I don't think that I had before that moment.

I hadn't been able to get much out of her, other than there being something wrong with Beth.

When I had carried her out of the cab, she had insisted on walking and then proceeded to stumble into the house and straight into the bed.

Being back in the house felt almost eerie because really, aside from our dinners in the dining room, I hadn't been to any other part of the house in forever.

It seemed like I was stepping into an empty shell.

The house seemed cold and even the bedroom seemed barely lived in.

Dust covered things and from what I could tell, the sheets were barely touched.

Britt had seen all of this because usually it was her that brought Ali to Quinn when she couldn't pick her up which is probably why she had been so adamant about me coming back.

She saw what this was doing to Q and just how much I was missing.

My refusal to come home had meant that I hadn't even passed the threshold...

Why had I been so stubborn?

"San?"

I kissed the side of her face and pulled her into me.

"I'm here, baby."

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she pressed a kiss to my collarbone.

I shuddered as heat took over my body.

"Shhh...sleep a while longer." I whispered as I rubbed her back and kissed her forehead.

"Okay." She mumbled before sighing and falling back into a fitful sleep.

I needed to stop neglecting her.

Ali hadn't been the only one that had become distant from Quinn...at least they still saw each other every day...

Sometimes, if the gigs were as crammed as they had been, I could go a week or two without seeing Q at all.

That had been Britt's point.

Being away from home was making it worse.

And now, with something wrong with Beth...who knew how much space would exist between us.

Seeing her hurt, hit me deep down and from what I could see...this was enough to make her go over the edge.

After everything that she has done for me...I knew in my heart that I couldn't let that happen.

Quinn's POV

I had forgotten how it felt to be wrapped up in her arms.

How is that even possible?

And when I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing and she was still holding me, I felt honored.

"Do you want to get that?" She asked as she looked into my eyes.

I smiled and shook my head.

Right now, I just needed this moment with her.

The world outside was a scary place and in that moment, I didn't feel strong enough to deal with it.

At least not alone...

"Just don't let me go yet." I mumbled before leaning forward and kissing her lips.

She froze as our lips met for the first time in almost a year but she was quick to kiss me back.

The passion still radiated from her and that relieved me more than I thought it would.

Her arm was wrapped around me and her hand came to rest half on my face and half in my hair.

I soaked in the feeling of having her legs tangled with mine as she deepened the kiss.

And when I nibbled on her lip, she let out a deep moan that had me fiending for more of her.

It was like we were getting a drink of water after a long trek through the desert.

The need that existed was one that demanded that we not let go of each other.

That we hold on tighter and sink deeper into one another.

It felt good and even though it was random...it was timed perfectly.

My wife was home...

In our bed...

With me and that was more than I could have wished for.

It had been exactly what I had been longing for.

Our loving was slow and comforting as she absorbed my pain.

So much had been going through my head all night long but as she worshiped every inch of me, I felt like she was restoring a vacant part of me.

"There." I whispered as her hands scratched at the pale skin of my thighs. "Yessss." I hissed as she continued to work me up.

I buried my fingers into her hair and kept my eyes closed as the tears poured from me.

The sobs that left me as I cried were threatening to drown me but she held me even now.

Her hands rubbed at my legs and hips as she continued her ministrations.

When my orgasm ripped through me a few moments later and I gripped her hair so hard that she bit down on me, it nearly caused me to pass out but her hands kept me in the present.

Never did she not touch me.

Even as she crawled up my body and proceeded to kiss my wet cheeks, she made sure that her hands held me tight.

I was feeling like I was losing myself and she was doing everything that she could to keep me with her.

The last year seemed to completely disappear and was filled with only that moment.

Just me and her.

Gone were the thoughts of what had happened to my baby girl, replaced with a feeling of calm that pervaded my senses.

"Thank you." I whispered just before I fell into darkness, wrapped in the warmest cocoon of safety and love.

A/N: So I'm going through things...I wanted to do more here but in this state of mind...I'd kill everyone with some alien meteor attack and so I'm stopping right here. :) Errors are all mine...glee is not. Until next time...ciao!

-A