Chapter 29

Filmaddict - I am sorry for making you cry. This chapter is not as depressing but yes unfortunately these things are true. I thank you for sticking with the story even though it is depressing. Thank you so much for your review.

Hazelstar - Thank you for reviewing and taking the time to read this heavy fic in a three-day sitting. Exhausting. :) There are a few good Puck moments here and coming up. It's going to be a long road for all of them. Brittana has a long road. Their cuteness is adorable but they certainly have a long road. Thank you again.

Anon - Thank you for reviewing. I don't plan on stopping this anytime soon but some chapters are more difficult to write than others.

Sally - It is a challenge for Quinn to ask to be held - and she desperately wants it. I have a friend who can relate to this so much - there was no hugging in her family and she struggles with it everyday. Shelby will help her with this as will all of the Corcoran family. Thanks for reviewing.

dixxxiiejane - Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am sorry those awful things have happened to you. I am glad you are finding some comfort in my story. Thanks for the review.

JustHoldingOn – First I am totally impressed that you wrote your fabulous review on your phone! Now that is impressive. I am sorry this chapter was a tough read for you. It was a tough write for me. I do not feel the show did or is portraying the Brittana scenes properly and I wanted to do it the way I think is more natural so I am glad you like it. The flashbacks from NY will San/Rachel and Noah will happen periodically in this story because they are important to show how everyone evolved. Quinn's guilt is a killer and Elyse and Shelby will help her more and more to release some of it. Finally, Shelby on the show was portrayed wrong in my eyes. She came back looking for Rachel but then one sentence by Rachel's glee teacher and everything changes and she walks back out. Not realistic. Then she adopts a baby from Rachel's classmates comes back to have them in the baby's life and then abruptly leaves again – again not realistic in my eyes. She was portrayed as a strong leader one minute (with VA) but yet a very weak woman the next (can't make up her mind what she wants so she runs). Hated it so I changed it and I am glad you like it. Thanks so much for the review. It means a lot.

Filmaddict – I hope you are still enjoying it – 20 more chapters and you will be caught up. I hope you also got some sleep though. Thanks for taking the time to review.

Iuterpi – Your review was tremendous. Thank you so much. This chapter and the coming chapters are really difficult ones for Rachel. She is so torn about what to do – she knows she should tell the truth but at the same time being threatened that she will lose her family if she does tell the truth. And on top of that to be physically assaulted by the creep. Yes it is intense. These kids do have a lot of times when they are "normal" teenagers – they just have had so many bad things happen to them so they struggle with some real adults issues as well. I am glad you are taking the Corcoran ride with me. I hope you will enjoy it even though it does get really bumpy sometimes.

hypegurl- Thank you for reading every update. Unfortunately you are correct these things do happen in every day life. Thank you so much for your kind words. I am striving to make this story as real as possible.

Tcathing – There are many reasons why people didn't listen or trust their instincts and hindsight is always 20/20. I will tell you that she will not be going back for any lessons with Will. They don't believe what she is saying. Quinn will be a help with Rachel but they are two very different people and while she will offer her advice and love and protection, she needs to also deal with her abuse and trauma. Thank you for your praise, this story will continue for awhile and it may get more uncomfortable but there is justice in the end.

theluckyclover – at first I was confused by your review but then I realized it was after chapter 19 so I know you must continue to read on to see what happens. I hope you continue to enjoy. Thanks for reviewing and Finn is somewhat different than Finn in the actual show.

Random Dice – Thank you for saying that. I do worry a lot about my reader's reactions. This story is far from over but there are some very heavy and emotional chapters. I put the warnings there for a reason and I really do want my readers to use caution. This is a very angst filled story however, I hope to also relay the message that people can also heal. Thank you for your review.

– Thank you.

Jay-Leigh17 – Your first line – made me chuckle – thank you. I am humbled by your words. I do work with children that have suffered trauma and who think they are broken. It is very sad that there are so many in this world. While all these kids have had horrific things happen to them – I also try to show that they have love and while this story has quite a way to go before coming to an end – I hope I can show that there is always hope.

Shauna – Sorry for the punch. Unfortunately the hate letters that Judy Fabray left for her daughter are based on real life experiences in my field of work. People are cruel and selfish sometimes and Judy is one of the most selfish cruel people there is. Yes the letters are kept as evidence. Regarding Will – it remains to be seen what will be his reaction but if you would like I can PM you and give you the insider scoop. As much as the older kids would like to hurt Suzy – they all know that it is not her fault so no harm will come to Suzy from them. And thank you for noticing all the good people in this story – each one of them brings something to each other. Thanks for reviewing.

B Cruce – Thank you so much! More Bear and Joey this chapter.

Gleek1990- It was an awful thing for him to do to Rachel but it shows how low he will stoop to get her to listen to him. He is playing with her mind in such an evil way. Thank you so much for your review. I am glad you enjoyed the chapter.

rachelfabray – I try to update as fast as I can but it seems it is on a weekly basis so I make sure that I cover all the facts – and make sure all the emotions and reactions are realistic. Thanks for your review.

Drea LuRuiz – He is playing some harmful tricks with her mind as well and he has also let it know to her that he knows a lot about her so she may continue to keep up the lie for as long as she can because as much as she wants to tell she doesn't want to break up her family. Florida will bring some happy moments but not as much as there could have been had this stuff not been happening. Thank you for reviewing.

j1020 – Sorry I made you sick. There is light at the end of the tunnel but it is a long tunnel. I am just putting that warning out there. I hope you stick with me but I do have an ending to this all prepared its just not for a while. Thanks for reviewing and sticking with this story.

Cookie – Writing this story has gotten me through this ridiculous hiatus as well. Brittana has a long road ahead and it will be bumpy but in the end I hope I do it the justice it deserves. Flashbacks will come for the kids – so that you see a little more of how they got to be who they are today. Thanks for reviewing.

OTHangels – Glad you liked it. There has to be a little more evidence for Mr. Schuester to get arrested. Hope you enjoy this chapter – thanks for reviewing.

Kimberlli – Well I would say that I am sorry that you will look at Mr. Schue in a different light now on the show but I am not really a fan of his so – my mission was accomplished. Quinn is finally seeing what the word family means. Noah is an amazing brother so it will be interesting to see what he will do. Thanks for the review.

missingviolet – that's the plan. Thanks for the review.

krbutler98 - Well Mr. Schue is a person to hate. It was intense and hold on – Thanks for the review.

hersheysforever – thank you my goal was to handle it with sensitivity because it is such a delicate matter. Thank you for reviewing.

kristine24 – I am sorry that you hate it. It is a harsh scene. It has quite a while to go though so if you would like to PM me I can give you the ending that I have envisioned.

marinka4 – I will let you be one of the first to decide will's punishments ok. I don't know the theories in your head but there are several more things for this story. This story though isn't finished by any means, I have no idea how many chapters are left but it is not ending anytime soon, but I have ideas for a sequel. Quinn is a lovely addition to the Corcoran family though.

sillystarshine – I am glad you recognized the control Will has over Rachel. Is will be extremely hard for her to tell the truth right now as much as she really wants to – and trust me she does but she is so torn. Yes I have thought about a sequel but this one is not over for a while. Thanks for the review.

Wentzie72 – Thank you so much for your kind words. Its reviews like yours that make me keep going and make me want to only post my best work. It is very heartbreaking.

WittyNinja – While the threat is there to Rachel that they would separate the family it would not happen because the abuse is from outside the family and Shelby is a trained professional. However, Rachel is eleven and already been through so much so these threats are very real to her. The sequel is down the road a bit but yes I want to do one. Thank you for the review.

amandaes417 – yes Rachel will take something to calm her for the flight – because of her anxiety around loud noises they have found that best to sedate her so she doesn't freak out during the flight – you will see that in this chapter. Rachel is going through a very very tough time and sometimes Shelby has to be a little harsher than she likes because it will eventually make Rachel grow. Brittana is a slow process but with the right approach should grow into a healthy relationship. As much as I want the updates to come out sooner – I need to be satisfied be with what I write before I post. Thank you so much for loving my story.

Gleeauthor11 – Please do not punch anyone. I do love my job. And I do think that it is not for everyone because the stories that I see in my job are heartbreaking and beyond explanation most of the time. Idina would have done a fabulous job as this Shelby but unfortunately the writers of glee wanted to take it in a different direction. Thank you for always reviewing.

crackship-queen – I will always give you the ending if you really really want it but only if you PM me. But it would be like reading the last page of a good book. Do you want to do that? Hmmmm. I hope you are back to being able to speak in sentences again. I think Quinn would add a couple more people to her hitlist too. Thanks for the review –

GLEE5678 – Thank you so much for the review and the nice words. Again I get humbled by the reviews. They mean so much to me and make me want to do my very best. I feel besides telling a good story – character development is so important. I am sorry look differently at Mr. Schue now.

SuzQQ – They are not going to let her near him again but that scares her just as much because he has already threatened her in so many ways that she wont know what he is up to – in one way she will be relieved but in another way she won't if that makes sense. She and Santana will always be close but some of that is from an unhealthy need – Shelby sees this and it will be addressed. Noah will get some quality male bonding in the next chapter or two as well. Judy is a piece of work but I think as much as Quinn now sees that her mother is rotten – she is still her mother and does feel a sense of obligation to visit her. Santana is anxious about telling anyone about her relationship with Brittany – she is not comfortable with it herself so having it known to more people and especially to people she loves, is frightening to her. It is the fear of the unknown. She has no idea how her grandmother will react but she would prefer not to face that right not with everything going on. And as always – I look forward to your reviews.

NayaFan – Awe Nayafan! Thank you so much – I read your stories all the time and love them. I am amazed that you can write several of them all at once. I have trouble keeping two stories going at the same time. I always love seeing your reviews so thank you!

val-cb Thank you for the review

piecesofyourheart – I am sorry that that chapter made you so sick. It is my intention to tell the story with passion and to make sense and to make you feel the characters and their actions. A sequel has been on my mind for some time now. I have so many things that I would love to explore when Rachel is in high school but this story has a ways to go before that happens but it is definitely something that I want to explore. I can assure you that this is the last session with him. From now on the family is not going to let him alone with her. As always, thanks for your review, they are always appreciated.

Dave – Thank you so much for your review. You are correct there are millions of real life children that endure this every day. I see it in my field of work all the time. If this story in any way helps people out there identify signs of things happening around them then it makes me truly happy.

sachiiko yuri – Its ok that you skipped parts – that's why I put the warnings in the beginning. This story will be a hard read for some and I completely understand that. Rachel is in a very tough position and she is only 11 so she is definitely confused so her telling someone is not that easy for her. Rachel is one of my favorites too. Thanks for the review.

needscoffee – Thanks so much for your review. It is dramatic and that part will not end yet.

NinjaGleek21 – I have put you on the list of people that want to kill him and when the time comes, if the time comes, I will get a hold of you. Please do fail your tests for this story. Thanks for the review and the cookies.

Stevensone – Thank you so much for the review. I love this family too and I always hoped that my readers love it as much as I do.

JackyKay – Quinn does have a lot on her plate right now – she has so much going on with herself and her new found feelings. Will is a very vile man who apparently stop at nothing to get what he wants. Thanks for reviewing.

Marauderette96 –Your welcome – I understand that it is a hard read for everyone but you are correct it does happen to a lot of people out there and I wish I could get it to stop. Thank you for your review.

othlvr16 – will and Judy do need to go into a hole together and die but that is not going to happen anytime if ever. Noah will figure things out I promise. Thanks for reviewing.

Ryoko05 – Wow – thank you so much for your review. Yes I do get nervous on how my readers are going to respond to a chapter. This was a very emotional chapter and I want to make sure that I get all the characters reactions correct. Abuse does affect people differently and it is not that easy to have a blanket fix – life doesn't work that way. People don't work that way. I am humbled by your words for me. Thank you so much – reviews like yours inspire me to do more and to only put out my best work so thank you so much for that.

Renata – I am sorry I made you a hot mess- Thank you for sharing my story with a co-worker though. It is a very difficult read and is not for all. You will not like Will in this chapter either he is a predator that will stop at nothing to get his prey. I love my Brazilian reviews! Thank you

HPbookfan – Thank you for the review. I try not to leave cliffhangers but I do try to keep it suspenseful.

Hmm – Yup it is

Survivor – I was reading your review and I was sad to hear that you have heard those words said to you but then I saw your name and I thought to myself – yes you are a survivor! I am so happy to hear that you are a survivor and will never be a victim again. I am glad you can see the realism in the story that even with the knowledge it can still happen. There are people out there that twist everything to get what they want. In my story – they will be survivors and the evil people will not prevail. So thank you again for sharing a piece of your story.

broadwaybound2016 - Will is a sick man. Quinn is learning and while it is slow – I think it is natural. Thanks for your review.

Old Man Panda – I am sorry for your family's history. It is terrible what people do to others in this world. I hope that they have learned to deal with their abuse and have moved on. Thank you for your review.

HIsland429 – men like the 3 you named are evil but as you can see – Bear, Gus, and Noah are 3 strong men that makes us all believe that there are good ones still left in the world. Rachel will not be going back to lessons with Will – but that won't make her anymore comfortable because she knows that he will be angry with her. They will be going to FL this chapter but unfortunately it will not be as happy as it could have been because Rachel's head is so full of doubt. Thanks for reviewing.

banjojd – Judy is an awful human being. Quinn will become a much better person getting as far away from them as possible. She is having feelings that she never has experienced and they are good ones so that is so confusing to her right now. Eating is an issue for poor Rachel and for Quinn and I think Shelby is going to use the both of them to help each other through it. It is hard for the both of them. Brittany's letter is only the beginning of this relationship – Santana is going to struggle with it – she wants it but she doesn't understand it. It is frightening for her as it is for Brittany too. As the story progresses you will see more flashbacks for the kids. The story has a long way to go so there will be plenty of opportunity for the flashbacks to happen. I do worry that I may lose readers because this is a hard read for people so that is why I put the warnings out there. I want to make the characters as real as possible so thank you for letting me know that you enjoy my work.

Bueller – I want to hug Rachel all the time. Will is evil and if the family has anything to do with it he will never be around Rachel again. Thank you for reviewing

GleeFanatic1988 – Thank you for your review. It is hard to write a scene like that for one of the characters that I love so much – Brittany's letter was one of my favorite things to write.

thisisnutz – I tried to be as realistic as possible in the scene. It is a very hard write but the hardest thing about it is knowing that in real life it does happen. You are correct, I also wish there wasn't a need for people to have such jobs. There will always be evil but I hope show that there is also hope and triumphant over evil. Thank you for years of work in the field. And Thank you for your review.

Stepheyy – I have to say I am totally confused by your review. I am glad you are watching out for your friend.

J.A - Thank you for finding my story and reviewing. More is going to happen – unfortunately with people like Will they rarely just walk away.

Lammy – Thank you for taking the time to review. I appreciate all my reviewers !

Karissa – There are many reasons why it will be hard for Rachel to tell on Will. But you are correct – Will is a bastard. Thank you for reviewing.


Chapter 29

First of all, I want to thank you all for supporting this chapter. I am blown away that we got such a HUGE response from this chapter. Over sixty reviews, whoa... my mind is still in shock. Thank you! I feel badly because now that we have hit such a high level of responses, I can't help but think it can only go down. You know what they say, once you hit the top, the only way to go is down. haha Thank you all. I am humbled everyday for your support for this story. You continuously inspire me to tell this story with a greater grace and care. Thank you. I was fearful about posting that last chapter and all of the support eased my fears. Thank you thank you

Not as dramatic, heavy and exhausting at the previous chapter, but still slightly so. Please be aware that this chapter maybe slightly trigger-ish toward the end. It's a long journey.


Santana's eyes fluttered open. She felt a weight on her chest. She looked down and Rachel was curled into her side and resting her head in the crook of her neck. She reached over and instinctively ran her hand through Rachel's hair. The girl jumped away and effectively broke Santana's heart. it was all happening again.

Rachel rolled onto her back and looked up at her sister. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hey there," she said kissing her softly on the temple. She searched the tired brown eyes. She licked her lips and paused. "You wouldn't lie to me would you?" she asked finally. She took care not to break her gaze from Rachel's dark eyes, but instead of revealing an answer, they bulged in fear and looked away.

"I told you," she whispered.

Santana wanted nothing more than to silence her instincts. She wanted nothing more for that not to be true. She watched Rachel closely and shook her own head slightly in the dawn light as the tiny girl attempted to hold in her tears. The Rachel in front of her wasn't the same as the one who she had talked to yesterday afternoon. She bit her lip. Maybe she could get an idea about what happened with creepy-curly Q-tip man if she knew what Rachel was remembering. She took a deep breath.

"What are you remembering Rachel..." She sifted through her words. "A-about the room."

"Santana," a new voice said the from door. Both girls looked up and Shelby was staring at them with gentle, but stern eyes. "Rachel, we need to get ready to leave." Santana watched her mother come into the room and handed Rachel some clothes. "I'm not sure what you wanted to wear."

Rachel looked at her clothes. "These aren't for bootcamp."

"You're not going to bootcamp this morning," Shelby said sitting at the end of Santana's bed. "Elyse was able to get you in for an appointment at seven-thirty."

Rachel looked at Santana and then back at her mother. "I don't want to go," she finally said. Her eyes began to pool again. "I'm not lying. I'm just …. I'm just having an extra bad... day. Couple days."

Shelby searched Rachel's eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. We're going."

"Come on, Rach," San began and reached to pick up Rachel off of the bed.

"No," Rachel said, snapping away. "I'm not," she said with ferocity. "I'm not going. I don't need too."

"Either you get yourself dressed or I'll do it for you," Shelby said.

"No," she said with a frown. "No," she said; this time it came out more softly. She crawled back onto her bed and scooted into the corner. She turned her back away from her mother and sister.

Shelby swallowed this felt all too familiar.

Shelby opened her eyes. First Day of school. First day of school for the new year and most importantly: First day of school with her. She now had her children living in her house. This was going to be just fine. They had celebrated the new year and this year would be great. It would be okay. She walked down the hallway. Noah was still snoring in his new room. They had redecorated all the kids rooms in her apartment; she wanted them to start over.

"Noah," she said shaking him slightly. "Noah, it's time to get up."

"Mmmm," he groaned. "Isleepingsleepingisgoooddd," he grumbled into his pillow.

"Alright," she said pulling off the comforter. "Get up and get dressed. Breakfast."

"Mommmm," the ten year old whined

"Noahhh," she echoed. She kissed him softly. "Please get up."

"Kay," he grumbled sitting up and trudging toward the bathroom.

One down two more to go, she thought to herself. She opened the door to the girls' room. They had been sleeping together lately it was a battle she wasn't ready to tackle quite yet. Baby steps, she reminded herself. She looked over at the bed that they shared, despite the fact that there was another bed in the room made just for Rachel that was always untouched. Her still physically fragile and emotionally reserved three year told told her a few days prior that she loved the new princess bed that her mother bought for her but that the stuffed animals preferred to sleep there and that Santana's big girl bed that stood across from it needed her.

Shelby sighed and made her way into the room and looked toward Santana's bed.

It was empty and made her heart skip a beat.

"No, I don't like it," Rachel said with a clear frown in her voice. Shelby turned and her daughters were standing outside the large closet. Rachel pulled at the overall strap and shook her head.

"You look nice, Rachel," Santana said standing up admiring her work. She noticed their mother standing behind them. "Look, Mom. We're up and dressed and ready."

Shelby looked at her eight year old with a smile trying her best to show that she was proud but not too much. Santana had been forced to care a lot for Rachel while they were living with that man and regardless of what Shelby told her, Santana was always still taking care of Rachel and here she had dressed, done her hair, and Shelby was sure Rachel had on a fresh diaper. On top of all that, Santana was dressed and ready herself. Shelby tried not to remember how her older daughter would sleep too much like her brother. Now she was waking up before everyone and playing the role of Mommy.

"Thank you, Sanny," Shelby said. "You didn't have to do this. I could have -"

"I wanted to!" Santana said quickly, forcing a smile.

Rachel looked up at Shelby with a frown that revealed eight layers of distaste. "Mumma, I don't like this," she said pulling on the overall strap. "I no wanna be a farmer."

"Rach, overalls are cool," Santana said with a sigh.

The tiny toddler frowned and shook her head pulling at the straps more in an attempt to release what looked like confusing, pinching contraptions to the three year old. "No farmer...Mumma, I don't like."

"That's alright, baby," Shelby said as Rachel reached her arms up to her mother in a request to be picked up. Shelby scooped her up willingly. "We just need you to wear these clothes long enough to bring your brother and sister to school and then if you still don't like it, we can change."

Shelby rested on the side of the bed with Rachel in her arms. The girl looked up at her in panic. "What?" She looked back at Santana. "I wanna go with Sanny."

"You can't, baby bug," Shelby said gently. "Sanny has to learn and I need my Rach to help me here."

"I wanna go with Sanny," Rachel repeated.

"It's okay, Rachel," Santana said. Shelby noticed that the girl also looked slightly deflated and she wondered if both girls thought that Rachel would be going to school with Santana.

"No," Rachel said shaking her head and reaching out for Santana. Shelby watched the eight year old take the toddler into her arms with such care that it was clear that it was a habit. She was sharing her role as the mother with her eight year old daughter.

"Rach, I gotta go to school and you get to stay here with Mom," Santana said gently.

"Don't leave," Rachel murmured. "Don't leave."

"Come here, bug," Shelby whispered some how managing to pry Rachel from Santana's arms. "Let's go downstairs and make breakfast."

Rachel reached back to Santana from Shelby's arms. "No," she cried. "I wanna stay with Sanny."

"I'm sorry, bug," she whispered as she straightened as she carried Rachel out of the room. "San, needs to have her own space too."

She hated the look that both girls were giving her. She felt as if she was prying them apart. however, she knew she couldn't keep encouraging the behavior Santana acquired simply out of necessity to survive. Shelby was told by CPS, the employees at the shelter the girls stayed at and the therapists that Santana's relationship with Rachel was beyond over-protective in the case of a sibling; it had transformed into something almost on maternal. And it clearly restrained Santana's own ability to play and interact with her peers. She had alienated everyone at the shelter from wanting to be her friend. Everyone was working with Santana on it and she had made noticeable strides since the children had been removed from Hiram. However, Shelby couldn't encourage this. Santana needed to know that it wasn't her job to take of Rachel. The eight year old didn't need to be the mother anymore she needed to have a normal childhood. They all did.

Shelby returned to the present. "I'm sorry, bug," she whispered as she crawled behind Rachel. "We're not arguing about this." She pulled Rachel from the bed and stood her on the ground. "Go get changed please."

"Mom," Rachel began again.

"Rachel, enough," Shelby said. "You know why you need to go. I am still trying to wrap my thoughts around why you think it was okay for you to lie to everyone about Kurt attending these lessons with you. I'm not arguing with you about going to see Elyse. You're going. I love you, bug, but this lying stops now." She cupped Rachel's face gently and brought her gaze up to hers and searched her daughter's eyes. "Do you understand?" She saw a minor flash in Rachel's eyes. "You're okay," she whispered gently. "We're going to make everything all right."

"I'm fine, Mom," Rachel murmured, sneaking a glance up at Shelby and then over at Santana. She opened her mouth to promise that she was, but saw her mother's eyes. They all know she wasn't; she couldn't even pretend. Mr. Schuester was right. She was a bad actress.

Santana watched from her bed as Rachel disappeared into the bathroom. She stood up next to her mother. "This is bull, Mom," she said with a shake of her head. "And you know it. He didn't just grab her. He … He couldn't have."

Shelby looked over at her daughter. "We're not going to assume one way or the other, Santana." She took a breath. "I'm going to sit you older three down later, but I will tell you now that you cannot push her. This needs to come out organically whatever it is. She honestly might be remembering. We don't know." She searched the girl's dark eyes. "She's going to be okay because we're going to help her through this. We're all going to be okay."

Santana took a step back from her mother. "We've never been okay, Mom," she said quickly as she rummaged through her things. "We were just trying to survive and now we're back to square one because we missed something!" she slammed her dresser drawer shut. "WE missed something and because of that she's broken. She's broken and we can't fix her!"

"Santana, stop," Shelby hissed and pulled Santana into her arms. "Just stop," she whispered. She knew that Santana wasn't talking about Rachel completely. She knew that. She knew she was mostly talking about herself. However, her instincts told her that the shadow of the tiny girl on the other side of the door wouldn't believe the same thing.

…..

Quinn watched with her hands on her hips as she watched the Range Rover back down the drive way. Noah had such a deep set frown that the blonde was sure the skin between his brows had been super glued.

"Start the laps, sloppy babies," Sue commanded. "You all look terrible! Move it!"

They started to jog and Quinn found herself jogging behind the power not-sure-what-we're-calling-ourselves couple and next to frowny-face.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said as they ran around the corner.

Frowny-face turned to her. "For what?" he asked.

"Leaving her with him," she said.

He shook his head. "I'm not mad at you. She lied to all of us." If she thought it wasn't possible, he proved her wrong by frowning even more. "I'm not mad at you."

"STOP TALKING!" Sue screamed through her megaphone surely waking the whole neighborhood.

Santana ran around the block. Her head was so full of doubt and there seemed to be no promise in sight. She could feel Brittany's eyes on her. The letter she had written as she sat on the floor next to Rachel's bed had been less directly written to Brittany and more of a verbal vomit of words. She couldn't sleep; so instead she wrote.

"Are you okay?" Brittany whispered after they lapped Sue.

"I'm fine," Santana said with a shake of her head.

"Really? Could have fooled me," she said.

"I'm just... something happened and I... I don't know," Santana said picking up speed. However, Brittany kept up.

"Talk to me," she said as she kept the pace.

Santana shook her head. "we've been best friends for a long time, Brit." The blond nodded. The brunette kept her attention forward with a stoic gaze. "And I haven't told you a lot about my family."

"I know that," Brittany said. "But I also have been your best friend for a long time." She looked at her softly. "and while you haven't told me a lot, I still have been around."

"I don't know if you're ready for all of my baggage," she said, still refusing to meet her gaze.

"Won't you let me be the judge of that?"

"Tweedle Barbie and Tits McGee, shut it!" Sue bellowed.

"I guess," Santana whispered and continued to run out her anxiety as the note burned in the pocket of her zip-up.

…...

Rachel finally was in the car. Her heart was racing. What was she going to tell Elyse? She leaned against her mother who decided to sit with her in the backseat. Lying was exhausting. They pulled into the office and she slowly climbed out of the car. Her big sister thought she was broken and what Rachel hated about that was that she knew that Santana was right. However, she knew though that she wouldn't allow her brokenness to break her family apart. She needed to do something right.

She walked a step or two behind her mother and aunt as she walked into the familiar building.

Suddenly, it was like everything was going in slow motion. Looking around casually and simply be chance, she spotted him.

Will Schuester was sitting outside the cafe attached to the building, concealing his torso with a newspaper. The paper was lowered enough so Rachel could see his face; he was watching her. He was grinning at her. She moved instinctively closer to her mother and aunt. He smiled and shook his head and she felt her breath get caught in her throat. She wasn't an idiot. She knew he was warning her, intimidating her; he was reminding her to be quiet. She shuddered in defeat as they walked through the door and she took one last glance at him. It was working.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked pausing inside the door. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'm fine."

Shelby waited anxiously outside the office. Joey had driven them. Rachel had finally curled into Shelby's side. Her need for comfort and assurance scared her. Primarily because she knew that could mean that all sense of security had been taken away. She kept wondering if she was catching Rachel almost offer a confession or burst, as if the truth was aching to get out but the girl's look always disappeared back into her. Shelby squeezed her eyes shut; she hated that she was so sure that her daughter, her baby bug, was lying. It was just too instinctive. She was just too sure that it wasn't true.

She never felt so off as a parent. She missed the part where Rachel was lying; she missed when Noah gave up for wanting more for himself; she missed the silent pleas for help over the years from Quinn. Her thoughts surged at the thought of Santana. She missed the part where she thought that Santana had it together. She knew that her eldest daughter always struggled. She definitely knew that. However, she knew that the girl was tougher than nails, even though the armor was just to protect how fragile she still was. She knew all of that and in all honesty she'd always known her daughter's sexuality. However, that wasn't her biggest concern. It was everything in addition to her daughter's own internal struggle with accepting herself. If Shelby could control the world around her children, she would, but she knew its impossibility. She worried more for Santana and what more she'll face: the questions in her head and the doubt in her heart as well as the hatred of the ignorant.

Shelby felt like a failure all over again not only because she couldn't protect her four children from world, but she couldn't protect them from themselves.

"You're thinking so loudly I can't concentrate on this article," Joey said. "Brad and Angie might be preggers again. Clearly, newsworthy."

Shelby turned to yell at her, but the door opened and Rachel stepped out.

"Hey," she said smiling weakly at Rachel. She looked past the girl to Elyse, who looked at her with a heavy sigh.

"Thank you for talking with me so early, Rachel," Elyse said as Rachel stood with her head bowed slightly. Rachel didn't respond. "Shelby, can I speak with you?"

Shelby watched Rachel for a moment wondering how she could be so blind. She leaned down and kissed Rachel on the forehead and tried not to grimace when the girl flinched.

"Sorry," Rachel whispered.

"It's okay," she said swallowing her anxiety. "I'll be right back."

Shelby closed the door behind her and sat across from Elyse. "What can we do? What can I do? What do I do?"

The woman looked at her with sympathy. "Shelby, I have to call the hotline," Elyse said finally. Shelby knew which one she was talking to. They were all mandatory reporters because of their jobs; they were required by law to report any case of suspected child abuse or neglect.

"So you think she's lying." It wasn't a statement, but it wasn't a question.

"I think someone shut her up to be quite frank." The woman looked at her colleague. "She's not speaking to me. She spent most of the time crying about how her family doesn't believe that she's not lying. Her story is shaky and it's not her."

"How do you know?" Shelby asked putting her head in her hands.

"The same reason you do," Elyse said after a few moment's pause. "I don't know if he did anything to her, but I have reason to believe that her story isn't accurate."

Shelby caught the air of the woman's words. "You're going to call. That's what you're saying to me." She put her head in her hands.

"You should still go to Florida. I'm going to recommend it. However, we are both bound by law to call if we have ANY suspicion," Elyse said.

Shelby stood up and shook her head. "I know that. I know what it means to be a mandatory reporter!" She gave a heavy sigh. "But it's one thing about clients, it's another when it's my kid. I know how to file a critical incident. I know how to call the CPS hotline."

"I know that it's not going to threaten the custody of your kids, Shelby," Elyse said. "That's not what they're going to investigate and you an I both know they probably won't even look into it. She'll go to the bottom of the pile because there are more immediate and obvious reports of abuse or neglect." She searched Shelby's eyes. "You and I know how this works." She took a deep breath. "I just wanted you to know."

Shelby scoffed. "Well great." She sat down and looked at Elyse. "What do we do?"

"Go to Florida. Rachel needs to get away. Don't push her. None of you can. Just like with Quinn." She saw a flash in Shelby's eyes. "It's not the same. I know but the approach should be. She's not going to see him again but clearly things are going to come back to her and some have already have." She took a deep breath. "This is going to wait for you until you get back. Take a vacation. You all need it. I'm sorry, Shelby."

"I told you," Shelby said with a weak smile. "Don't be sorry for me."

"I'm not," she replied. "I'll be on call the whole time while you're gone. Don't hesitate to call."

Shelby nodded. "I know."

…...

Santana lay breathlessly on the ground. Her mind was racing and she was so unsure. One second she was thinking about her words that she put in her little note to Brittany; mid second she was thinking about Rachel and the whimpers in her sleep. She stuck her hand in her jacket pocket and rolled the piece of paper in her fingers. A car horn honked interrupting her thoughts. She tilted her head up and looked at the street. From the ground everything looked upside-down. It felt like a metaphor, and, her baby sister told her that metaphors were important. She saw Mrs. Pierce's car at the curb. She lay back down and tilted her head and looked at Brittany. She gave a weak smile. She received a weak smile in turn.

"Hi," she said finally pushing herself to a standing position. She held out her hands. "Here," she said. "I don't really even know what you wrote," she began to ramble. "But there's so much that I didn't say... And you need to know that...You need to know what's not in there." Brittany looked at her with a look that Santana could never read. For some reason, she went on; it sounded like her own voice, but she didn't feel as if she had any control. "I want you to know that I want to tell you things …. you know those things that aren't in there... and I want to to tell you... i want you to know that...I hope that means something."

"It does," Brittany assured. "San, I-"

"I'm going to miss you while I'm gone," Santana went on. "I know that I made fun of you and said that it was only four days... but...I'm going to miss you. I miss you like you miss me...I just... I'm not good at saying it."

"Santana," Brittany tried again.

"That's all I think... well, not really. I just wanted you to know that there's more that I want to say I just don't know how to say it."

Brittany leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. Santana wasn't sure what that hug meant.

"Good thing we have more letters," the blonde finally said.

"Good thing," Santana replied hugging her back.

Brittany pulled away slightly and looked at Santana. "So I'll see you in four days?" Santana nodded taking a step back slightly. "Will you write to me while you're gone and we can exchange letters?"

Santana hated that she was not as hopeful as Brittany was. She hadn't thought about writing in Florida, maybe she would. She frowned, but what if she had nothing to say, she thought to herself. She gave a slight nod. "I'll try my best."

The blonde looked at her for a second and looked back at her mother waiting on the curb in her Chevy Malibu. She took a breath and stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Santana. She felt the brunette hesitate but finally hug her back, tightly. She leaned her ear on Santana's shoulder.

"I miss you already," she whispered. She pulled away and ghosted the lightest kiss ever offered on Santana's cheek.

The brunette paused for a second not even sure if the kiss actually happened.

"I'll see ya," Brittany said quietly. She smiled and walked away from Santana. She threw Santana once last smile over her shoulder before she climbed into her mother's car. Santana watched her drive away, hating that she would have so much to lose.

"Santana?"

"What?" she asked with a sigh turning to find Noah and Quinn on the ground.

"We've been calling you for the last few minutes. You even missed Sue saying bye in her own cheerful way," Quinn said from the ground.

Santana sighed and silence fell over them. They stared at the sky.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said quietly.

"What?" Santana asked propping up on elbows.

"I shouldn't have left her," the blonde said quietly.

"Quinn," Santana said with a gentle sigh. "This isn't you."

"How would you know?" she snapped.

Noah looked up at Santana and watched his sister's face fall.

"Quinn, we get guilt. We do," Noah said.

"This isn't you," Santana said. She frowned. "This just... why is she lying to me?" She sat up. "She wouldn't do that. Rachel wouldn't lie to me...She talks to me. She always has."

She frowned and paused. Remembering when she did.

Santana looked at toward the playroom. She could barely see her baby sister. There were so many police in the hallway. The woman sat down across from her. She worked at the shelter and she had been nice to her, but Santana was rarely kind to her. Nevertheless, she was always kind. Now in the hallway full of people she didn't know, Santana couldn't help but look at her and want to thank for for being nice, but she couldn't find the words and didn't seem like it was the time.

The eight year old looked over at the police. Her mother was inside but she couldn't see her. All she heard were the grown ups' mumbles. That wasn't what she was listening for though. There was a lady in there talking to Rachel. Rachel just turned three. What was she going to say?

"Santana?"

She looked up and her mother was standing there. Shelby walked over to Santana and knelt down in front of her.

"Rachel's asking for you," Shelby said holding out her hands.

Santana stood up immediately. "I'll go," she said quickly.

"Santana," Shelby said quickly. "We're trying to ask Rachel what happened. You can't talk for her. She needs to talk on her own."

She laughed. "Mom, she's a baby."

"She's not, Santana," the lady that was talking to Rachel said from the door. "But she would like to talk to you."

"I'll talk to her," Santana said. She started for door. She paused and turned to the lady and her mother. "If she talks to her will you leave her alone. She's little and she has nap time soon. It takes them awhile to get her to sleep...Do you think they'll let me help her sleep since you guys clearly messed up her schedule?" The detective gave a soft smile and looked at woman that worked at the shelter.

"Can that be arranged?"

The woman nodded.

The lady detective turned back to her. "We need Rachel to tell us what she can remember."

"Ask me," Santana said puffing out her chest.

"But we need Rachel to tell us because you've already told us," the woman explained. "It's important to get everyone's story." She sighed and held out her hand. "My name is Ellen." Santana looked at the hand and shook it with trepidation. She sat down in a chair nearest Santana and went on. "She won't talk to me. She just keeps playing with her bracelet and asking for 'Sanny.'"

Santana smiled. "I gave her my bracelet. I made it before..." she looked at the ground. "I told her that the beads were made of magic." She gave a sheepish smile. "I know it's dumb but...it made her feel better..."She gave another shrug, trying to avoid her mother's eyes. "She hasn't let go of it since …."

Ellen smiled. "I know," she said quietly. "What I'm saying Santana is that she's not holding on to the bracelet because the beads are magic. She thinks you're magic."

"I'm not," Santana said quietly.

"You are," Ellen said. "To her you are."

Santana looked at her carefully. "This is dumb," she said. "You said you wanted me to talk to her. Why are you telling me that I'm magic when we all know that's a lie."

"San," Shelby said quietly. Santana looked at her mother with a frown. She hadn't been sure about her mother. She was so freaked out that her mother would leave. She didn't understand why they were still in the shelter and she hated herself for being okay with the fact that they were. Because they were still in the shelter and her mother kept coming back, meant that she wasn't leaving. "Rachel needs you. I love you so much. We're telling you Rachel thinks you're magic because you're the only one she trusts right now." She saw her mother's eyes water. She had only seen her mother cry one time before this: when she saw her first and this moment.

Perhaps if she wasn't eight she would feel the weight of the situation and would understand why her mother was crying and why all the adults were staring at her. However, she didn't because she was eight.

"Of course she does," Santana said shaking her head feeling herself frown. "You guys are scaring the shit out of her!"

"Santana," the woman from the shelter and her mother said at once. The girl looked at her mother and the woman from the shelter with a scowl as they both looked at each other in surprise and exchange another look that Santana didn't understand.

"No! You're scaring her," she said simply. "You gotta leave her alone. So when I get her to talk to you, you'll leave her alone."

"Santana, I can't promise that people will stop talking to her," Ellen said.

Santana searched the woman's eyes. "Promise me that you will talk to me first or even my brother. Talk to her last."

All the adults were looking at her funny. She wasn't sure why they were looking upset. She was the one that was angry.

"I promise to do my best," Ellen said after a few moments.

"Fine," Santana said starting or the door. She stopped and turned and looked at the grown ups. "Nap time is soon. So go quick when I get her to talk."

Santana walked into the playroom. Normally there were tons of babies running around but Rachel was the only one in there, even though she couldn't see her. There was a plastic playhouse in the corner. She knew exactly where Rachel was.

"Rachel," Santana said.

"Sanny?" a little voice said from inside the playhouse.

"Can you come out of the playhouse?"

"No," she said quietly.

"Rachel, you need to come talk to the lady."

"Dont wanna," Rachel said quietly.

"Rach, I'm right out here," Santana said sitting outside the door. "Come out here please."

The plastic shutter opened slightly. Rachel's soft brown eyes looked back at her.

"Hi," Santana smiled. "You gotta stop running into this thing, Rach. They're going to put it away if you keep hiding in here during playtime."

"I'm not," Rachel whined.

"Come out here and talk to me, bug."

Rachel bit her lip and slowly emerged from the house and paused. Santana followed her gaze. Ellen, the lady from the shelter and her mother were staring from the door. Santana rolled her eyes at them and turned and pulled Rachel into her lap. She watched as her mother and the lady from the shelter put their hands up in protest. So what if she still had her cast from her broken arm. She was still strong enough to hold her baby sister. Someone explain to her that it wasn't the cast but that Rachel was still fragile. Santana didn't understand why that mattered. She knew how to be gentle with Rachel.

"She's fine!" Santana said with a sigh. "The nurse said I can pick her up and hold her." She looked at Ellen. "They think I'm going to drop her." Rachel looked up at Santana from the older girl's lap and leaned into her.

"Look," she said to Santana showing her the beads with pride. "I have them."

"I know," she said rolling her eyes. "I've seen them."

"Rachel, you need to talk them and then nap time," Santana said.

"No nap," she said shaking her head.

"Yes," Santana said. "If you talk to the lady Rachel, I can help you at nap time."

"Sanny, look," she said holding up the beads and a bright smile despite her still bruised face.

"Rachel, I see the beads," Santana said again withe a heavy sigh. She always thought Rachel was weird because she talked obsessively about one thing over and over, but now living with a whole bunch of other babies in the shelter, she knew that that was the norm for all kids her age. It was exhausting. She looked at Rachel. "You need to talk to the lady. Will you do that?"

Rachel looked at the women and then back up at Santana.

"Santana can stay, Rachel," Ellen assured.

Rachel looked up at Santana and leaned in more. She smiled at the beads.

"Sanny, the beads are magic?" The three year old said it in an up-tone. It wasn't really a question but it was.

Santana sighed. "I know, Rachel," she said tiredly. "Will you talk to the lady?" She shook her tiny head. "Why?"

Rachel shrugged and looked at the beads on the bracelet.

"Rachel, can you tell me what happened with Papa Hiram?" Ellen attempted.

Rachel's dark eyes began to pool with tears and she shook her head.

"No," she said burying her head into Santana.

"Are you scared?" Santana whispered. The tiny girl in her arms sobbed and continued to look at the beads. "Know what's so great about those beads?" Rachel sniffled and looked up at Santana patiently. "They make you brave." Rachel looked at the beads.

"Really?"

Santana nodded. "He's not going to hurt you anymore." She bit her lip. "See, Mom's here." Santana knew that night after night Rachel wished on those beads for their mother to come back. "Magic works."

Rachel looked up at Santana and then over at her mother. "Kay." The tiny girl held up the beads to Ellen. "Magic," she said quietly. "Here. hold them?"

Ellen sat down the the girls. "You can keep them, Rachel, but thank you." She sighed. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

Santana felt Rachel look up at her for the millionth time. "It's okay," she assured. "You can do it. I'm right here."

Santana didn't have any magic beads to bribe Rachel with anymore. Rachel realized they weren't magic when she tried to make herself disappear while standing in the middle of the street. Shelby had to explain that while the beads once had magic they didn't anymore and cars' magic was too strong for bead magic. However, she knew that they were still in Rachel's jewelry box in her room.

She frowned. Rachel wouldn't lie to her unless it was a good reason. She couldn't even lie when she took Santana's Power Puff girl and played who-can-sing-the-loudest-while-being-flown-over-the-banister. Needless to say the doll did not make it. However, Rachel always told the truth unless it hurt the family.

"She's lying," Quinn said interrupting her thoughts.

"No, she's not," Noah said. "She couldn't do that. She couldn't hide kittens in her closet."

Santana looked at Quinn, with a frown. "Unless she thought she needed to," she said to herself. She may not have magic beads to confuse Rachel with but she was Santana Corcoran and she had a way with words.

"We're going to talk to him," Santana said. "We're going to McKinley." She stood up. "Let's go."

…...

Bear hung up the phone. Gus would meet him at his house and …. He lost his thought. Sue told him goodbye when he picked up the phone to call Gus. Three teenagers and the house was silent.

"Guys?" he called out.

Suddenly he heard the garage door opened and the car started up.

"Crap!"

He ran out to the front and out the front door hoping to catch them in the drive way.

"Santana!" he yelled seeing her in the driver's seat. She would be in the driver's seat and backing down the driveway. "SANTANA LOUISE CORCORAN! PUT THAT CAR IN PARK NOW!"

He watched as the girl looked over her shoulder as if she was going to continue backing out but then stopped because Shelby's car started to pull up behind her. He couldn't hear her but she saw her groan in frustration and bang her head into steering wheel in frustration. He looked over his shoulder and watched Joey lead Rachel into the house. He felt a surge in his stomach. There was something different in Rachel's eyes. She wouldn't look at him. He didn't see his niece; he saw another victim at the station.

Shelby walked over to car with her hands on her hips. "All three of you, out, NOW"she ordered.

Minutes later the three of them were in family room. The kids sat down and she paced.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You were going to talk to him weren't you?"

Noah and Quinn's eyes wandered over to Santana.

"Mom, you know she's lying," Santana argued not denying it.

"Santana, that is not the point and that does not mean that you go over there and confront him!" She shook her head and sat across from them. "It's not your job, Santana. Any of you."

"It is my job, Mom," Noah said. "There's something wrong and you expect us not to do anything?"

"Yeah, we do," Bear said from the door. "I know you guys think you can get something out of him, but it just sounds like trouble."

"So why aren't you doing anything?" Quinn asked looking at Bear. "I mean isn't that your job?"

"Quinn," Shelby said in surprise.

"No, she's right," Santana said. "We all know there's something going on. We can see it."

"Rachel needs us right now," Shelby said. "But she doesn't need us pushing her. You cannot push her. We're leaving in a few hours. We're driving to the airport and we're going to fly out."

"We're still going after all of this?"

"We all need to get away," Shelby said.

"We're running away," Santana said. "We need her to talk to us."

"We're not running away," she assured her daughter.

Santana put her head in her hands. "We need to fix this" She looked up at her uncle. "You can't possibly think that he's going to just sit here and wait. He's going to run." She sighed not waiting for an answer. "I know we don't know what happened, but we cannot deny that something did and we need to-"

"Give Rachel her space," Shelby said again.

"She's scared. He scared her," Quinn said with a slight shake of her head. "You think space is going to make her less scared?"

"This is not an option," Shelby said. "We have been predicting this would happen for awhile, that things would come back to her." She watched and Noah and Santana's gazes went down. She looked at Quinn, realizing she didn't know what happened. "While living with Hiram, the kids' stepfather, he took Rachel into a room, telling the other two he was changing her diaper and -"

"I don't need to know about that," Quinn said quickly, putting her hands up to stop Shelby from speaking. "You don't need to tell me I mean."

Shelby searched Quinn's eyes and felt badly about not realizing that this is a topic that no one, certainly her children, would want to talk about. "I'm not saying that I don't understand what you're saying, I'm scared too, but there is nothing we can do until Rachel is ready. I know the three of you don't like being pushed. Until Rachel comes out with it on her own, if she does, there is nothing that you can do about it. She is not going to see him again alone. You can not do anything to him just because he scared her - I appreciate your protectiveness but leave it to the adults right now." She gave a slight warning look to her brother-in-law, telling him in silence that same went for him. She looked back at the kids. "Also, you cannot badger her. I know you want to know what happened, but something as little as a touch or a feeling can cause Rachel to remember. You can support her by not questioning her or prompting her to tell you." She looked particularly at Santana. "Rachel will come to us when she's ready."

"No, she won't," Noah interrupted. "She always comes to us after someone pushes her."

Santana shook her head. "I don't know what you want us to do, Mom? I can't just sit here. And we're flying out tonight and you don't want me to ask her."

"She feels safe with you, San. With all of you, just spend some time with her and not push her. It's not that hard. She needs you guys to not act like the rest of the adults are acting." Shelby's tone was careful. "Now like I said we're leaving here in a few hours. Why don't you guys go upstairs and get packed. Quinn, I set your clothes from your mother on your bed."

The blonde nodded and looked at her hands. "Kay," she said quietly. Suddenly, she remembered everything her mother had said to her. She looked up and caught Santana looking at her. She knew she was thinking about their conversation from the night before.

"I know this may go without saying, Shelby said. "However, it only 'may' so just in case I wanted to tell you three that if Rachel says anything to you about what she remembers or what happened, you tell me immediately. You cannot promise her that you won't tell me."

Santana searched her mother's eyes and spotted something. "What aren't you telling us?"

"We're figuring things out, Santana and -"

"What happened at Elyse's?" Quinn asked.

Shelby felt suddenly like she was under fire. "She didn't say anything different."

"But," Santana said.

Shelby straightened and put on her work-face. "But we are concerned and we're being cautious."

"Cautious how?" Noah pushed.

"We're being cautious," Shelby said standing up. "That's all you need to know."

She didn't want to worry her children. She couldn't. She didn't want to tell them that CPS might step in and do an investigation. She especially didn't want to have to explain that due the the absence of any accusations from Rachel or proof that Rachel's case would probably be put ranked with a low priority. It would upset them that there were ranks; it would upset them to know that Shelby alongside Elyse, as a mandatory reporter had made reports that were never investigated. Those reports were filed. There were too many reports coming in and sifting through which accusations were the priority was not always a fool proof system. It was anything but. She didn't want to get into that. She knew that Sue had reported to the hotline when she suspected Quinn was being abused and the person they sent over to investigate dropped the ball. Shelby didn't want to admit how many times she had seen that happen.

"Mom," Santana started.

"Go pack, guys," Shelby said dismissively.

…..

Gus and Bear pulled onto the street.

"Thanks for coming with me on this," Bear said.

"What exactly are we doing here anyway?" Gus asked as he looked around the quiet street.

"My niece had a lesson with the guy and she came home different ….." he trailed off. "I think something happened." He saw his friend frown and look at him. "She's acting how she did awhile back when we got her back."

Gus paused. He knew some about his friend's niece, but it was something that no one talked about so he didn't push it. Gus searched his friend "You mean hurt her?"

"She came back acting like a traumatized victim," Bear said, staring straight ahead. He pointed at the house. "Here it is."

He frowned immediately. Will was in his driveway washing his piece of crap car. Bear felt his blood boil at the sight of the man. He instincts were never wrong and they couldn't help but explode.

"You want to question him?" Gus said watching the man as they continued to it in the car.

Bear nodded. "I need you to help me warn him. I'm just going to talk to him but I have a feeling that I haven't been able to control about this guy. Something's off and Rachel's behavior is pushing me to believe that more and more. I have no proof, but I need you to come with me because I don't trust myself alone with him. He needs to stay away and he needs to know that I'm watching him. But that's it. I'm afraid that I'll want to do something."

"You know this is a bad idea," Gus said. He looked at his old friend. "But I also know that I can't convince you out of it."

Bear nodded. "Yeah," he said. He climbed out of the car and watched Will stand up.

"How can I help you, officers?" he asked with a smile wiping the soap off his hands.

"We need to talk to you," Bear said.

"Sure," Will shrugged with a smile. "Is this about what happened during the lesson yesterday?"

Bear felt his fists tightened. He frowned at the man.

"Why don't you you tell us what happened?" Gus said stepping in.

Will shook his head with a sympathetic smile. "We were dancing and she slipped and she fell. When I caught her, she became jittery. Knocked over coffee even."

Bear glared at the teacher. He wasn't telling them he was taunting them. He shook his head remembering their last conversation. He pointed his finger at him accusingly. "We asked you! We asked you if Kurt was coming. You lied to my face. You lied to her mother!"

Will kept on his smirk. He laughed heartily. "I understand why you're upset, but i think it's less at me and more at Rachel's unfortunate reaction. -"

"Shut up!" Bear screamed. "You're not fooling anyone with the story." He took another step closer to the man

"Does Rachel say something different?" Will asked gently.

Bear caught a glimmer in his eyes and took a step closer to him. "I'm going to-"

"What are you going to do?" Will smiled and shrugged. "I may have lied about that boy coming but I did it because she begged me. I was being sympathetic to a needy child and I'm pretty sure lying isn't a crime..."

"If I find out you did something-" Bear said stepping forward but Gus stepped in front of him.

"Now I know threatening is kinda on the iffy side in terms of crime," Will said with a casual shrug. "No one could have predicted how Rachel reacted and for that I'm sorry. I should have known though with her history and all."

Bear couldn't hold it in anymore. He launched at the man, but was pulled back again.

"Enough," Gus said yanking him back. "We're done here. We're watching you, Schuester."

"I look forward to it," Will said.

Gus pulled Bear by the arm back to the car. Bear shrugged it off but continued for the car.

"Oh and tell Rachel hi for me," Will called after them.

Bear stopped mid-step. He took a deep breath.

"Get in the car," Gus pushed. Bear didn't move. "Get in the car, Bear!"

Bear turned and looked at the smiling teacher. He took a step forward but was stopped when Gus placed a hand on his chest.

"He's not worth it," he hissed into Bear's ear. "Get in the car."

Bear took a step back. "Stay away from my family," he said pointing at him. "Watch yourself."

"I don't take kindly to threats," Will said with a chuckle.

"You're not seeing Rachel again. You are no longer her teacher. I'm going to make sure you don't have any of the other kids in class either. None."

"Bear, that's enough," Gus said. "Get in the damn car."

"I'm so happy that you lead our police force," Will called again.

"Hey, knock it off and shut your mouth," Gus yelled. "Bear, in the car!"

Bear climbed into the passenger side. Gus drove away fast down the road and pulled over a few blocks away. Gus looked at him; he didn't need to ask him if he was upset. That was clear.

"Remember when we were called down to Columbus, Baker?" he asked finally. Gus looked at him. How could he have forgotten. "That case..." He trailed off and shook his head. "After we got back from that case- Remember we were in Columbus for over a month?" Gus nodded. "My boys were older then. You know the age when they wouldn't let me hold them. Noah and Santana too... But Rachel..." He shook his head. "That case was about a boy her age and it freaked me out."

"It freaked the whole state out.. Country even," Gus said.

"I didn't let her out of my sight. I was always offering to pick her up and check everyone out." He shook his head. "Shelby had to tell me to stop hugging her so much and asking the other kids where she was. She said I was freaking her out." He looked at Gus. "I don't want the squad from Columbus to run this case."

"Bear, it's not a case," Gus said.

"If something happened," he said steeling his gaze, "It will be." He became quiet again. "My family can't handle that, Gus."

"Go to Florida," he said. "I'll look around here."

Bear nodded. "What do you think?"

"I think he's a creep," Gus said. "But we can't do anything just thinking he's a creep."

Bear nodded.

…...

Rachel looked at her closet. She hated flying. She hated going to Florida and coming back from Florida, but being there wasn't that much of a problem. She enjoyed her time there, but now she didn't feel like she was enjoying anything. She looked back back over her shoulder. There wasn't anything in her suitcase except Noah's jersey and Santana's sweatshirt.

"Rach?"

She looked up at the door and her mother was staring at her. Shelby looked over at bag.

"Bug, we can save on money if you and I share a bag," she said sitting down on the bed and peaked into the bag. "You need to pack more than this, sweetheart."

Rachel shrugged and stood in front of her mother and leaned onto her shoulder, slowly hugging her mother, resting her head on her shoulder. Shelby wasn't surprised but wrapped her arms around her daughter enjoying the embrace.

"I don't wanna go," she whispered.

This didn't surprise Shelby. Rachel was usually like this before they left for Florida. "We'll have fun, Rach. We normally do."

"I don't wanna go," she said again. "Can't I stay here?"

"With who, honey?" Shelby asked quietly.

Rachel shrugged still hugging her mother. "Please, can't we stay. Please?"

"I know you don't want to fly, Rach," Shelby said.

"I don't want to take the pills... I don't want to not feel..." Rachel pulled up and looked at her.

"You don't have to take the pills if you don't want to, Rach," Shelby said searching her daughter's eyes.

Rachel looked down at her hands. "I don't know how to do that..." she said quietly.

"We'll help you, Shelby said cupping her cheek and kissing her lightly. "Let's get you packed okay?"

"Mom, I don't want to go," Rachel said again.

"You're going, Rach," she said opening the closet. "Now, let's take look for what to wear."

…...

They arrived at the airport with plenty of time on their hands. Shelby had made sure of it. She had learned long ago that traveling with her children, especially her children, required a lot of time. After about two hours of driving and only three and a half bicker fights about stop signs, music on the radio, and Noah's snores.

They piled out of the car. Bear and Joey were taking a later flight and were getting in the next morning. It was only the five of them. The only highlight about having all the kids grounded, meant that their carryons were practically nonexistent. There were no computers or phones to worry about. When discussing carryons the only things that the kids wanted was a book or two, but that was only after failed negotiations for all other desired items.. Shelby reconsidered as she looked at the kids' solemn faces at the house as they crossed the street in the present. They wanted at least an iPod, but the negotiations of grounding didn't allow any iPods. Therefore, Shelby only carried a couple books, a package of ear plugs for Noah, Rachel's medicine, and sunglasses for the older girls. Santana explained, "We don't want people to know we're sleeping." She didn't understand but she catered to it. It was the lightest her Longchamp had ever been.

"Stay together please," Shelby said as they walked from the parking garage and into the busy airport. She looked over her shoulder. Santana was sporting a hoodie as if it was the crack of dawn and holding Rachel's hand. Quinn had her arms folded across her chest. Noah was teetering in the back frowning at people as they looked in anyway at the family as he hauled the couple suitcases. His and Santana's; Santana always managed to bribe him to carry it. Shelby pulled the large suitcase as Quinn carried her duffle on her shoulder.

Rachel looked around. Santana's hand seemed fit perfectly in hers and wouldn't let go. Columbus was much bigger than Lima and the airport presented a greater chaos than the small town. She leaned into Santana's side as she looked around. Noah and Shelby were checking in at the counter and getting their bags checked and weighed . She, Santana and Quinn stood next to them like idle posts. There were lots of people in line. She looked at all of them wondering who would sit in their row or in front of her, wondering what their stories were and fearful if they could guess hers.

"Excuse me," a man said walking past the girls with his rolling carry-on. He was in a hurry and pushy. They cleared a path.

Rachel moved back and looked up at Santana, who gave her a weak smile.

"No, we all need to be in the same row," Shelby said to the woman behind the desk. I clarified that."

"I understand, Ma'am, but-"

"No, buts," Shelby said. "Make it happen please."

"Mom," Noah began. "I really don't mind-"

"She'll make it happen," Shelby said dismissively. She looked over at the girls. "You alright? Quinn?"

Quinn gave a nod. Rachel reached her free hand out and took it. "I don't like to fly either," she said quietly to the older girl.

The blonde chuckled. "I don't mind the flying part. It's getting on the plane that I hate."

Rachel looked up at her and realized that she didn't know what she was thinking.

"Are you mad at me?" Rachel asked quietly.

Quinn looked at her for a moment. "Not really," she replied.

Rachel looked up at her. "Yeah?"

Quinn looked at her again and paused as if she was about to say something else. Rachel watched her as she exchanged a look with Shelby, Noah, and Santana.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Alright, we have our boarding passes. Security and then food," Shelby said walking them toward the long, winding line. Santana's hand still hadn't let go.

People were chatting to the front of her and side of her. Everyone was taller than her and it was hard to see. She caught of someone waiting near the doors. There were hundreds of people, but the person standing near the doors to the street made her pause. It was a man. His sweater vest and his leather sachel over his shoulder made him look normal. He was speaking to someone with his back to her, but even a few hundred feet from him, she knew who he was. She felt her heart beat faster. The line moved and Santana pulled her gently with her. She turned and looked over at door, searching for him. She froze. He was looking at her.

Will Schuester smiled at her and waved.

She heard his voice in her ear. She felt his hands on her body as he told her what would happen if she told. She felt no sense of control. He had told her that he was his now. He was everywhere, simply to remind her of that.

"Rachel," Santana said quietly.

She jumped and looked at old brunette. "What?"

"You okay?"

She nodded ansiously. "Yeah."

She looked back over her shoulder as the line began to move again. He was gone. Maybe she was imagining it. He wouldn't have driven all the way to Columbus. Right?

"Come on, Rach," Shelby guided. "Alright, shoes and things in here," said the mother pointing to the bins. "Santana, you're going to have to take that sweatshirt off. Noah, don't forget that belt and to empty your pockets. Quinn, make sure to take off your rings too." Shelby turned to her youngest. "Alright, Rach, ready?"

Rachel looked back over her shoulder and through the crowd at the door. He wasn't there anymore; he was gone.

"Come on, sweetheart," a man said waving Rachel through the metal detector. Santana, Noah and Quinn were at the metal detector next to them and Shelby and Rachel were at the other. She looked over at Santana, who gave her a reassuring nod.

Rachel walked through the detector and felt a sense of relief when nothing went off. She was fine. She could put on her shoes and her jacket and -

"Step aside please. Follow this woman," the man said pointing to a tall bulky woman. Rachel looked back at her family, but she couldn't see them.

"You're not in trouble," the woman said with a calm smile, but wasn't able to ease Rachel's quickened heartbeat. "You were just randomly selected." The woman touched her back and she flinched but followed the woman behind portable wall. "I'm going to pat your legs and then your middle then arms okay?"

Rachel didn't respond. She bowed her head and couldn't control the tears that slipped from her eyes as she felt the woman pat her leg. She started at her ankle and made her way up her leg. As she approached the top, Rachel released a sob.

"You're going to do what?" Santana voice echoed from the otherside. Rachel looked up tearfully. She could see on the other side of the barrier another pair of boots like the woman who was patting her was wearing and then she recognized Quinn's gray socks on the other person's feet.

"Quinn, you're going to be okay," Santana said from the other side.

"Miss, I need you to step back," Rachel heard.

"Random my ass," Santana began.

"Santana!" Shelby scolded. There was a paused and mutterings. "I'm sorry," Rachel heard her mother say in her HBIC voice. "You pulled my eleven year old daughter and my sixteen year old daughter both for pat downs. RANDOMLY? This is ridiculous."

"Ma'am, we need you to calm down. You're welcome to stand between the partitions. You'll be able to see both of the girls, but you cannot interrupt. They're almost finished.-"

"You don't know anything about these girls and what they've been through," Shelby growled lowly, but Rachel could still hear her.

Rachel jumped as the woman patted her abdomen and sides. "Lift your arms please." Rachel did and felt the tears begin again.

Shelby walked into the enclosed area to where she could see both of the girls. It broke her heart. Both girls stood, separated from each other, their arms out, legs slightly parted and heads bowed to hide their tears. For rich ironic icing on the cake, Shelby noticed that the woman patting down Quinn looked vaguely like Judy. Crap, Shelby thought. This is not what they needed.

"Alright finished, Quinn," the woman said on Quinn's side. "Are you alright?" the woman asked.

Quinn frowned and frantically wiped her tears. "I'm fine," she said storming out.

"Wait for me on the other side please," Shelby called catching Santana's eyes before Santana ran after Quinn. She turned to her youngest. "Rachel?" The woman had left but Rachel's chest was still heaving and her tears were still rolling down her cheeks.

"I wanna go home," Rachel whispered.

"I know, bug," Shelby said. "I'm sorry." She held out her hand to Rachel. "Come on," she said quietly.

"Mom?" she asked with her head still bowed. "I think...I think i might want to sleep during the flight..."

"You sure?" Shelby asked, knowing that the sedative would knock her out which was better than the alternative. Rachel didn't fly well. There was too much noise and chaos to get lost amongst. It caused her to panic. "Let's get settled at the gate first."

"Excuse me, miss," an officer said. "This dropped from your pocket."

Rachel looked up at the young officer. She didn't have anything in her pockets. She was about to protest but was interrupted. The officer clarified. "A man in the line said he saw this drop from your pocket. Would you like me to throw it away?"

She shook her head and took the note from the officer. She saw her mother's look. "It's silly."

"Can I read it?" Shelby asked. Rachel shook her head, frantically. "Let's get to the gate."

Rachel lingered behind her mother and opened the note. Shelby was speaking to Quinn, or trying to, as Santana stood in arms length of both Rachel and Quinn. Rachel turned her back to her family and opened the note.

"Miss you-I will be watching. Be a good girl. :)"

Rachel looked back through security. She couldn't see him at the windows. She balled up the note in her palm not noticing her brother's eyes. She was shaking. She saw him; she hadn't been imagining it. Her heart beat out of her chest. Was this what it would be like from now on? She felt herself losing control.

"Rach?" Noah started.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she said hurriedly, not noticing that Quinn had just sprinted in followed up by Santana or that Shelby was going after her now.

Rachel ran quickly into the rest room. She saw a flash of Santana in an open stall next to Quinn. She heard someone throwing up as she raced into an empty stall. She slammed the door shut and locked the door. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw the note in the toilet and flushed it. She leaned against the stall door and continued to squeeze her eyes shut hoping for it all to go away.

"What happened?" she heard Santana ask and her mother's quickened footsteps.

"Santana, let me stand up," Quinn grumbled. Rachel heard the water running. "What's wrong with Rachel?"

"Rachel?" Shelby knocked on the stall.

"Mom?" she whispered.

Shelby looked over her shoulder when heard Rachel snuffling. "San and Quinn, why don't you wait out there, okay?"

"Mom?"

"San," Shelby said again.

"Come on, Quinn," Santana said and headed out of the room.

Shelby exchanged a look with Quinn, who only looked away. She caught Quinn's arm before the girls headed out of the room. She searched her eyes. Quinn gave her a reassuring nod but pulled back her arm.

"I'm fine," she said. Shelby narrowed her eyes slightly watched the two older girls disappear. She took a deep breath and adjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"Rach?" she asked. "It's just me and you. please open the door."

She watched the door open slowly. Her little girl looked up at her tear stained cheeks. She watched as Rachel released a shaky breath and looked back down at her feet.

"I-I...I...I had an accident," she stammered.

Shelby looked at her daughter. Her jeans were wet in the crotch. She hated to admit to her but she expected this. She had a change of clothes for Rachel in her bag. Ever since Rachel said that she didn't want her pills, she knew that Rachel might be jumpy. For the same reason they didn't go to crowded places like the movies or fairs often was the same reason why they didn't fly often. It was too much for Rachel.

"I brought some yoga pants and a change of underwear," she said quietly coming into the stall.

"Y-y-you knew this would happened?" Rachel sobbed.

"I was just being prepared," Shelby said gently. "Let's get you changed."

"It was the …. lady...I didn't like being checked by the lady," Rachel stuttered as her mother helped her out of her clothes.

"What did the note say?"

Rachel searched her mother's eyes. Be a good girl, she heard echoing in her mind. The lie tumbled out of her mouth. "It was phone number. It wasn't mine. I flushed it down the toilet."

Rachel watched her mother's eyes wondering if she believed her. Shelby watched her daughter from the corner of her eye. "Okay," Shelby said as she kissed her gently. "Okay."

Shelby put the clothes in a plastic grocery bag and tied it up. Rachel put her hand on her mother's arms. "Mom?" Shelby looked at her daughter. "I don't want to keep those," she whispered.

"Rachel, you used to wear these jeans all the time. It's just an accident. We can wash them at Nana's and Pop-Pop's." She searched Rachel's eyes.

Rachel shook her head frantically. "No, I don't like them anymore."

Shelby watched Rachel carefully and sighed. "Let's wash up and go find the gate, okay?"

She nodded and followed her mother.

Santana and Quinn stopped around the corner at the sinks.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Santana asked finally as Quinn washed her hands meticulously.

"What do you think?" The blonde said with a frown.

"Sorry," the brunette mumbled.

"Is Rach okay?" Quinn asked reaching for a few paper towels finally.

Santana looked around the corner. "She will be," she said finally.

The two turned when they saw Rachel and Shelby round the corner to wash their hands. Santana tried to be subtle, but noticed that Rachel had changed. She felt her blood boil. Random selection, my ass, she thought as she unconsciously washed her hands again. Rachel finished washing and drying her hands and leaned into Santana's side.

"Let's go."

Noah watched as the woman exited the restroom. He stood up straighter. "Hey," he said as casually as he could.

The five of them walked quietly to gate. Rachel was leaning into Santana's side. She looked up quietly at Noah, who was looking down at her, but trying not to be noticed. Rachel felt badly because he felt guilty because of something she caused. She looked down at his still bruised hands. She wondered if he would break the bones in his hands if he ever found out about Will. He couldn't play football if he didn't have hands. She slipped her hand into his as gently as she could. He looked down at her with a soft smirk.

"Alright, here we are," Shelby said managing to find an area where there were five seats clustered near each other at the gate. "I'm going to get us something to drink." The four kids settled into the seats with heavy gazes. "Santana, Quinn, come with me please."

"Mom," Santana side with a furrowed brow and a scowl painted with indignation.

Shelby ignored her. "Rach, you want to go with us or stay with your brother."

"Stay," Rachel said leaning into her brother's side in the uncomfortable seats.

Quinn followed Shelby down the wide hallways of the high ceiling, sky-light lit airport. Like she told Rachel, she didn't dislike flying. Being above the world made her feel like her problems were on earth and not in the sky. Looking down on the houses below, reminded her that something might be going on in them, something similar to what went on in hers, and it made her feel more from them and less for herself. However, while still here on earth, her problems remained present.

"Are you alright?" she heard Shelby ask once they stopped at a drink and snack kiosk. Santana was browsing candy and chips. She looked over at the woman who had the patience of the saint and a body of a graceful athlete. She didn't look like a woman who had been to hell and back and back to hell again. "Really," Shelby said again. "how are you really?"

Quinn shook her head on instinct. "I'm fine." She saw Shelby's eyes watching her closely, wavering slightly in concentration. "I just... that was unexpected."

"After we get these drinks, let's talk about it," Shelby said still watching her.

"What is there to say?" Quinn whispered, watching Santana weighed her options between a snickers bar and Swedish Fish. "I felt uncomfortable. I got upset." Quinn shrugged tearfully. "What else is there?"

"Santana, no candy," Shelby said. She looked at Quinn. "There is more if you want to say more."

"I don't know," Quinn whispered.

"Well, you and I can walk through the airport after this. We can leave the three misfits alone for a bit," she said with a small smile.

"Don't you need to talk to Rachel?" Quinn asked.

Shelby shook her head. "No," she murmured. "Santana, grab a bottle of water please and I'm serious no candy." Santana shot her a look and Shelby gave her a look back. "Careful, Santana. You and I both know that your Nana's going to feed you all enough crap until God knows when. No candy."

"Why don't you need to talk to Rachel?" Quinn asked as Shelby rang them out.

"Because she's going to drug her," Santana smirked but it faded when Shelby shot her a look. "It shouldn't be funny, but it is."

The blonde frowned. "What do you mean drugs?"

Santana chuckled. "You should see what Noah and I do and it is -"

"Santana," Shelby said sharply. "I'm not going to warn you again. You know that Rachel does not need that right now and -"

"But she won't really remember because she's sleeping and -"

"Santana," Shelby and Quinn said simultaneously.

She shrunk back. "It's kinda funny," she mumbled. She looked at her mother. "Not funny..."

Rachel leaned against her brother. Noah was trying his best to not push her. He knew she was grumpy. He knew that she was upset. He was afraid to push her. Particularly, he was fearful of being responsible for that. He didn't. As they watched the other three walk away she nestled into him more ultimately breaking the barrier she didn't intend to build before. He pulled her closer and kissed her lightly on the forehead. They sat there in silence watching the people go by.

"Noah?" Rachel said suddenly.

"Yeah, Rach?"

"Where will you be next year? Will you meet us in Florida like Griff and Dex?"

Her head was leaning against his upper arm. "What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.

"Where are you going to be?" she asked again as if it was a simple question.

"Rach," he began, but it came out more as a question. Why was she asking him this? She had been so quiet lately. Ever since yesterday, when everything felt like it was falling apart again, he was reminded that he needed to be here, failure or not. What was she asking? She spent all night crying with Santana. He heard her down the hallway. He heard Santana have to sooth her back to sleep again and again. Then she freaked out in the airport. None of it make sense. They were all falling apart. How could he be expected to leave?

"Who said I was going anywhere?"

Rachel sat up with a frown. "What?"

He gave her a soft grin. "I'm not leaving, Rach. College isn't for me and -"

"What do you mean?" she interrupted.

"I mean I'll probably still be here," he said with a light smile. "I'm never going to leave you, Rach."

Rachel pulled back and looked at him. Noah felt like he was under the light of scrutiny. He didn't understand what she was thinking. He could hold Rachel and comfort her until the end of time. He just wanted to support her, but now, looking at her. He felt far from her again. She was supposed to be the easy sister to support. Santana and Quinn required getting past an army of emotional security guards. Rachel and him were buddies. He would do anything for all of them, but now watching Rachel watch him he realized that she would do the same for him and he was horrified because she was eleven years old.

"I don't want you to," she said quietly. She shook her head looked at him. "You're not staying because of me. are you? Because... because I'm incapable?"

He looked at her in shock. "What? Rachel, you're-"

"You have to do something, Noah," she whispered. "You can do anything."

"I'm doing what I want," he said gently. "You never have to worry about my being happy."

She frowned up at him and leaned back into his side. Noah above her was looking around in confusion.

"Noah," she whispered.

"Yeah?" he asked quietly.

"We can't be those kids," she whispered.

"What?" he asked with a frown.

"You know... those kids on tv," she muttered.

"What kids on tv?" he asked with a frown.

"You know, the ones they do specials on..." She trailed off again. "I... don't want this to change my life."

Noah sat up, still holding her in under her arms. "What 'this,' Rachel?"

"You know..." she said looking down. "With... um... uh... Papa Hiram..."

He frowned and looked down at her. Don't push her, he heard his mother again in his mind. There were questions on the tip of his tongue that he knew he shouldn't ask.

"Noah, you're going to do good things," she shrugged. "I don't know. I just imagine us all coming together in ten years with lives as grown ups." Noah chuckled. "Well, you're already a grown up, but you know. Maybe you'll get married and have children and Santana and Quinn will be obnoxiously successful. I'm sure Santana will be arguing with someone, so maybe a lawyer. Quinn, I don't know about yet, but she's so smart and caring even though she pretends she's not. I just don't want..." she looked up at him. "You're not meant to stay here and rot away."

"What about you?" Noah said trying to avoided the topic of him.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"You are one in a million, bug," he whispered. "Just sometimes you all need a reminder."

"Who tells you?" she asked.

"You," he shrugged.

She frowned. "No, I don't."

"In your own way," he said, hugging her again.

…...

Rachel was knocked out against Noah about forty minutes later. Santana was lounging with her legs across the seats. Quinn and Shelby were making laps around the gate area. Santana frowned and noticed that they weren't chatting. She frowned, maybe their mouths weren't just moving.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Santana asked her brother setting down her book she wasn't pretending to read.

He shrugged. "I dunno." He motioned down to Rachel. "I'm freaking out."

She shifted and looked over at them. Rachel's mouth was open and she was snoring slightly.

"She's going to drool on you," she chuckled.

He shrugged. "Whatever. I don't care." He shot Santana a glare. "At least, she's not vomiting all over me."

She frowned. "That was a bad case of the flu," she said with a scowl.

He smiled. "You were exploding like Old Faithful. Dex and I were sure you were going to vomit on the stewardesses. Wait, did you I don't really remember?"

"Shut up," she grumbled. She shrugged. "Anyway, the whole trip back I think you, Dex, and Rachel had it on the way back."

Noah huffed. "Yeah, thanks for that." He searched Santana's eyes. "I'm kinda freaking out."

She looked over at Rachel. "I know," she said quietly. She looked over her shoulder and Quinn and Shelby were still walking. "She's lying."

"We all know she is," he said back. "But why?"

Santana shook her head. "I..." She bit her lip and shook her head as the looked down at the floor. "I can't... She can't... remember the room, Noah." He saw her eyes stinging. She shook her head and looked down at the floor again trying to suck in her tears with a shaky breath. "She can't remember that."

He watched her carefully. He wasn't sure what he could say. He learned a long time ago that his words were at most empty in an attempt to comfort Santana. He was never in that room and Rachel and Santana spent a lot of time in there. He sighed, pulling Rachel closer, he remembered telling the court how he had heard the screaming in the room and that's when he managed to break the window and run out. He didn't stop anything from happening besides the girls from bleeding out from injuries. He rested his cheek on Rachel's forehead. He lied to himself for so long before the trial. He didn't want to think about it,, but in that moment all he could think of was think about it.

The lawyer lady in her tall, pointy shoes and wrinkle-less skirt walked around him. She had been trying to be his friend. He didn't need a friend. He was ten years old and he was tired of all of this. Grown-up after grown-up had asked how he felt. He had been asked that so many times that now he just felt tired.

"Noah, do you know why we need to talk?" the fancy lady asked.

"Because of next week," he said.

She nodded. "You nervous?"

He shook his head. She sat across from him. "I need to know if you haven't told me things," she said. "They're going to try to throw you off your game."

He nodded. "Like fake me out," he said. "You want to know if there is something I didn't tell you."

She nodded. "I know that you've talk to a lot of people and -"

"Santana can't play softball. Did you know that?" He looked at the woman. "Not anymore. The doctors said that...At least she can still do gymnastics." He shrugged and looked at the floor. "Rachel doesn't smile anymore." He felt his eyes sting and he wiped the stray tears. "I can't be faked out by that guy."

The woman smiled at him. "Okay."

He watched as she watched him. She didn't speak for a long time.

"I need you to tell me what you know about your sisters and what happened in that room," she said carefully.

He gave a shrug. "I told you," he said. "I...told you...When I heard what was going on I went for help."

She looked at him for another moment. "Noah, you lived with him for how long?"

"Too long," he spat back.

"And you never heard anything else from that room?"

He looked at her. He had been asked again and again about what Hiram did but he didn't know. He had only told them what he knew, which was practically nothing. Now she wants to know things that he didn't know for sure.

"I need you to know that I am blown away by your courage and your bravery," she began.

"Stop," he said. "Please."

"Noah, you're not in trouble," she pushed again gently, but he didn't see her catch his mother's eyes behind him.

"I know that," he said tearfully. "But I should be."

She looked over at the one-way mirrors. He shook his head and looked down.

"I didn't tell the police before," he said quietly. The mask of his bravery seemed to be slipping away behind all of the tears.

"Tell the police what?" she pressed.

He looked over his shoulder and looked at his mother. "I can't do this while you're in here," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

Shelby choked back a sob and left. Noah started losing count at how many time he had made his mother cry.

"There were always noises," he said quietly.

"Noises where?" the lady with the pointy shoes asked.

"From that room..." he whispered. "And from the bed."

She frowned, but Noah didn't see it because he was staring at the floor that had become blurry with his tears.

"I didn't want to sleep with them... they're my sisters. I'm ten …. I wouldn't share a bed with them..." he trailed off. He looked up at her and wiped his eyes. "I pretended to be asleep... He would take them out of the room..." The tears stung his eyes. "Sometimes together... Sometimes separately … " He shook his head. "Is this what you want?"

"Yes," she said after a few moments. "I need you to tell what you remember. We're trying our best to make sure that everything your stepfather did is brought to justice."

"I just want him to go away forever," he said simply.

"That's what we're trying to achieve, Noah," he said nodded. "I'll tell you what you want to know." He said wiping his tears.

"Why didn't you say everything to police before?" the lady asked.

He looked at the floor. "I didn't know how to," he whispered after a long moment. "I didn't want to tell them how many times I didn't do anything." He wiped his tears. "Do you know what it's like when your little sisters are braver than you?" He looked at her carefully. "I ruined it." He looked away and then back at the ground. "Maybe if... Maybe if I did something earlier, San could play softball. She was the pitcher. Best one too... even though she was the youngest on the team... I never told her she was the best... didn't want to boost her ego. It used to be really big."

"Noah, you can't blame yourself. You said that wasn't the first time you tried to escape-" she began.

"It's doesn't matter," he said quickly. "Now what do you want to know?"

"Noah?" Santana asked bringing him back to the present.

"Yeah?" he asked shifting Rachel's weight.

He watched as Santana bit back tears. "Do you think she'll only remember some and... and not all?" she finally asked.

"I hope so," he replied after a moment.

Quinn wasn't sure if this was originally how the seats were assigned but somehow it's how it was managed. Rachel woke up briefly to get on the plane. The rows were five across. Three on one side and two on the other. Santana and Rachel would surely be together and Quinn assumed the Shelby would take the third and Quinn and Noah would sit and banter the whole way there. However, the semi-comatose eleven-year old gripped onto Quinn's hand and had her sit with her and Santana. As soon as Rachel was in the seat she was out like a light.

"Good thing," Santana said buckling and lifting the arm rest between her and Rachel so that Rachel could rest on her. "When she was little, we didn't get her to sleep before take off. If the plane wasn't in the sky, they would have asked us to leave."

The blonde nodded with a slight frown. "What's the big deal?"

"She just really doesn't like loud noises," she said simply. "She used to panic and we and had to used to the Neb." She took a deep breath. "Are you nervous?"

"No," she spat. She looked at Santana's challenging look. "Of course, I am."

Sorry for the delay on the chapter. I have the plague again; it just keeps on giving. I hope this chapter isn't too disappointing. I know you all had expectations based on the seeds that I planted in the last chapter. Again, I have an idea of exactly where I want to be in the story when Glee comes back... and I have a feeling that you won't see it coming. Please review. It means to world to hear what you think.