AN: So, in the last chapter, the abuse was implied and happened off-page. In this chapter, the abuse is explained and talked about, but not graphically. If this is triggering for you, please proceed with caution.

I saw Luke's truck pull up outside of the diner, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to run out there. I watched Luke help her out of the truck, being a bit too short. She winced as she was set on her feet, but she took off immediately, running into the diner and my arms.

"I'm so sorry, Mommy," She cried, and my heart clenched; She hadn't called me Mommy since she was five and starting school.

Luke followed her in, his face a picture of concern. He kissed my cheek, and put a hand on Rory's back, "Go and sit down at your table. I'll get you a burger."

She nodded and went and sat at her table, taking off her jacket. As she did, she winced again and then I saw it, "Luke..."

He turned to look at her as she pulled her coat back on, and his face reflected how I felt, barely catching what I had seen, "Actually, you're both going upstairs. I'll get her burger, and then we'll talk."

I nodded, silently walking over to her, "Hey sweetie, Luke wondered if you might be more comfortable upstairs? The whole town knows you went missing so it might get a bit busy if they realise you're back."

I was making it up, hoping she'd buy it. She stood up gingerly, like her whole body was in pain, and let me pick up her bag, "Mom, I'm tired. Can I go to sleep once I've eaten?"

"Did you hit your head when you fell?" I asked, not wanting to tell her I knew what happened.

She thought for a moment, "My head hurts but I don't remember hitting it."

I swallowed once, trying to keep control, "If I let you sleep, I'll have to wake you regularly to make sure you're okay."

She nodded before climbing the stairs to Luke's apartment. She immediately aimed for the sofa, pulling her knees up to her chest. I grabbed the blanket we kept there for her and draped it over her shoulders, sitting next to her, "You know you can tell me anything, right? And you can tell Luke anything if you don't feel like you can talk to me."

She thought for a moment, "I know."

Luke came in at that moment with a burger. Rory went to stand up, probably to sit at the table as Luke preferred, but he stopped her, "I'll let you eat there this time."

"Thanks, Luke," She said sadly. Once she started eating, he beckoned for me to join him in the kitchen.

"Has he ever been violent before?" Luke asked quietly, and it was my turn to hesitate.

"Not with Rory, once with me," I admitted, "He hit me in the stomach once, the day before I found out I was pregnant with Rory. It's partially why I turned down his marriage proposal, not that I'll admit it to anyone else."

He wrapped me up in his arms, not saying anything. I fought back my tears, wanting to focus on Rory rather than myself, "I can't believe he'd do that to his own kid, though."

"Can you terminate his parental rights? Is that something you can do?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

"Mom?"

I looked over to her, and she had finished her food. I re-joined her on the couch where she snuggled into my arms, and Luke took her plate from her before kneeling in front of her.

"Rory, did your dad do this to you?" I asked softly, rubbing her unbruised arm. She looked up and away from us, blinking a few times as tears slipped down her face.

Her silence was telling, and Luke put his hand over hers, trying to comfort her, "What did he do?"

"He was pleased to see me at first, but the moment he realised I wasn't there to give him that money he asked for... He yelled a bit and then took my arm and threw me out of the building."

I looked away from Rory and at Luke – his jaw was tight, and I could see how angry he was. He moved to sit on Rory's other side, wrapping his own arm around her. She buried her head into his shoulder as large sobs wracked her body.

I had seen her cry many times after Christopher stood her up or failed to care, but I had never seen her this hurt. I noticed that both of her hands were grazed, and her clothes were dirty, likely from literally being thrown away like a piece of rubbish. There was a large rip in the side of her top, showing more bruises and a friction burn, by the looks of it.

The fact that she trusted Luke enough to call him when something was wrong had warmed my heart a little earlier, and despite the circumstances, I wanted to smile at the fact she was comfortable enough with him to cry on him, even though I was here and an option.

"I need to check on her hourly, she doesn't know if she hit her head and I don't want to risk it," I told Luke after putting Rory to bed. He had driven us home after the dinner rush and had promised Rory we'd both be there in the morning, so he was staying again.

"It's been a long day, do you want to set an alarm, just in case we fall asleep?" He asked, his eyes already closed.

I sighed, joining him on the couch for a cuddle, "When it comes to things like this, I can't sleep. I can't do it. Last year, she had the flu, and I didn't sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time for 3 days because I couldn't get control of her fever and was checking it hourly. And that's not an exaggeration, it's a parent thing."

"Why didn't you take her to the hospital?" He asked, concerned.

I laughed, "The fever has to be higher than 104 degrees or it has to last longer than 5 days for it to be a concern. It was between 101 and 103 the whole time, so it wasn't quite dangerous, but dangerous enough for me to be concerned. This is the same, so I won't be sleeping much."

"Do you want me to make a pot of coffee?" He offered and my heart fluttered.

"Somebody knows the way to my heart," I said with a wink, and he laughed. He leant forward and gave me a kiss before getting up to put the coffee on. As he did that, I picked out a film for us to watch, knowing that it would help me stay awake; not being able to sleep doesn't stop me from getting sleepy.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think. And I've started posting a new story every Friday, so go and check out 'My Saving Grace' - it is M rated and has a bunch of trigger warnings, but it's good (in my not-so-humble opinion). Thanks!