Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do own most of the OCs, with exception to those that are reader-summited.
Spoilers: If you are not caught up to current chapters of Is It Worth Giving Up? (37 and before), PLEASE do NOT read this.
Rating: T

Notes: This deals with what was revealed at the end of chapter 29 (What Happened That Night #2). If you have not read that chapter, this one will not make any sense. Please go and recheck if you are unsure of what this is about!

Notes 2: This is set BEFORE December 14th. That means, they are still at school, and not at home doing online schooling. This also has Santana's point of view! I wanted to try something different since I have not done any first person except for Quinn one time. Let me know what you think!

Enjoy! :)

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

*Afternoon*

It began as an ordinary day.

Santana spent the night with Brittany, which means she rode to school with her this morning. Today is Tuesday, and Rachel and Quinn were able to make it all day without going home.

Honestly, Santana is so proud of her.

Brittany is proud of her, and she would love to actually say it, but…

There is one little problem.

Santana has not seen Brittany since lunch.

It is now nearly five-thirty in the afternoon. She had to do Cheerios practice by herself but that is not even close to something she is worrying about right now.

No, because right now?

Right this very moment?

Santana's mind is spinning thoughts around, and none of them are particularly comforting.

She makes a list of what she knows:

She and Brittany were together this morning because Santana spent the night.

Everything was fine; they went through their usual morning routine, made French toast with Lexie, helped Amara and Maddie with their shoes, and got a ride to school from Michael.

They then got the Gym set up for Cheerios practice because they are now having it indoors.

The two of them met up with Noah, Finn, Mike, Rachel, and Quinn directly after practice. The four girls walked to their homeroom together.

Everything was fine.

Everything was…

It was fine.

So why isn't it now, you may ask.

Well, because four hours later, during lunch, Britt went off to check with her tutor, Miss Lisa, about something. Santana waited in the hallway until Mike came to get her because the others were worried about her not showing up in the Choir room, where they were having lunch, and it was then, that Santana was first worried.

She tried texting the dancer. Then calling her. And from lunch on, the five of them took turns doing each of those things.

Santana tried to think logically. Surely if something did happen, Jennifer would have told Carmen, who would inform Santana and/or the others.

Right?

For probably the billionth time today, and that is not even exaggerating a little bit, Santana speed-dial #1, Brittany's number.

It rings a total of six times before going to voicemail. At this point, Santana does not even bother leaving one; it would only be a vague copy of the other dozen she has left.

She sighs out, shakily, slowly, trying not to freak out. There could be any number of reasons Brittany is not answering her phone, or why she was not there during Cheerios practice, or why no one has seen her since before lunch.

There could be any number of reasons, but that does not stop Santana from grabbing a sweatshirt and storming downstairs where, for the first time in her life, it is eerily quiet.

Normally, Maya would be at the dining room table doing her homework. Matthew would be singing along to SpongeBob on the couch, and he would usually have Miranda beside him, the toddler easy to watch even by her four-year-old big brother.

And Carmen and Carlos would be at work. She and Britt would be left to watch them once they were done with practice. They and the younger kids would be picked up from school and Daycare by Gabriel, and dropped off at home.

Only, that is not what she finds.

She finds her big brother at the dining room table, beside both their parents. Miranda is in his lap, pacifier in her mouth, stuffed llama in her arms, and watching her biggest brother talk with their Mamí and Papí. Matthew and Maya are nowhere to be found.

"Gabriel."

It is not exactly unusual to find her big brother here. But lately, a lot of things have been out of the ordinary, and she can just feet that this is different from a routine visit.

"Santana, there you are," Carmen motions for her to come over. She does, taking Miranda from Gabe when the toddler reaches out for her. "We have some things we need to discuss…"

*1 hour later – Santana's point of view*

I step of Mamí's car an hour after she said she and Papí had something to discuss with me. Afterwards, she said that Josiah and David had offered to let me stay the night, which is weird because, usually, we don't even need to ask; not recently, that is. And they certainly have not requested that I come over.

Still, I grab my Cheerio's duffel bag and walk up the front door of the house that became like my own while growing up. I go straight inside, something telling me not to knock on the door.

"Hello?" I call out, stepping further into the little Foyer. "Rach?"

It is quiet, eerily so. Like, seriously. This kind of quiet is the type that no one wants to hear. No sounds from the TV in the living room, so laughter upstairs from the girls playing with Rach and Q's Foster Kitties…

You can't even hear Zeke playing with his toys in living room. Zeke is like a dog – he absolutely loves squeaky toys, and would drive you insane with a toy that constantly goes squeak! squeak! squeak!

But there is none of that; and the silence is scaring me more than

To my surprise, several moments after calling her name, Rachel steps out into the hallway from… the kitchen? Usually, she would be upstairs, or even down in the basement.

I step closer to her, once, twice… And once I am just a few feet away, I can see that, well, she looks pissed off about something.

Great, I think. What's happened now?

"Hey, Estrella." I take a step closer. "Why do you look like someone pissed in you cheerios?" I try to lighten the mood with joking, but it backfires majorly, when I get closer and see that both Papa Josiah and Papa David are in the kitchen behind Rachel.

That's when I realized I just cussed in front of them, and immediately, looking sheepish, I try to backtrack.

"I-I mean, why do you look so… upset… ?"

But Papa David just shakes his head. I wonder… is he mad about me cussing, or about something else? It is becoming obvious this is not a "normal" visit. Something has happened and now, my worry about Britt, about why she disappeared today is magnified.

"Okay, will one of you please tell what the hell is going?"

Papa Josiah finally speaks up.

"Brittany and Quinn are waiting upstairs with Noah and the others. There is something the five of you need to discuss. Afterwards, please come down here so we can also speak to you about it."

Ok. Now, now I am really concerned. I look to Rachel again and I see it this time. She looks pissed off but that is only on the surface. I can see it in her eyes; the fear, the knowledge of something that I don't have, of something that has happened, or will happen, and it not being good.

Her posture softens as she meets my eye. It freaks me out because now she looks as if… she is more exhausted than ever, and there is a tinge of… no. I refuse to finish that line of thought.

Rachel walks away then. I follow her upstairs. Neither of us say much, and that familiar feeling of dread is starting to pool in my belly. What is it that is going to be behind her bedroom door? Was Brittany hurt earlier? Is that why she left school and why she has not been returning my calls?

Puck is here; that isn't unusual, but still. Did something happen to Q? To him? To his sisters, or his mom? Papa Josiah said "and the others" but who could he mean besides Noah and Britt?

Rachel stops directly in front of her bedroom door. However, I do not know this until I literally run straight into her back.

"Watch it!" I bite out before I can censor myself. Rach just looks at me, the exhaustion still there, as she warns,

"I just need you to prepare yourself, T." My body chills at the words. "What we are about to discuss is not something that can be forgotten quickly."

And then, without a nothing word, she twists the doorknob, and pushes it open.

I have no idea what I was expecting to see. But my heart begins to race, and that anxiety is only growing. I am sick to my stomach with worry that something actually happened to Britts, or worse, to Q. I prepare myself for the worst — bruises, bloody lips, — because it is the only thing that comes to mind right now.

The room is packed. Everyone is here: Britts is laying on the bed between Q and Finn. Puck is in the floor, looking as if he is halfheartedly playing a game of COD with Mike and Tina. Hell, even Karofsky is here, with Azimio, over on the beanbags.

My mind does not allow me to really pay attention to them because my eyes are on one person only…

My girl.

She is laying in front of Q and Finnocence is next to Quinn on the bed… sitting upright with his arms crossed, and a not-so-placating look on his face.

My eyes are drawn to my girl, however. Q is leaning over her, doing something. I can't tell really; it looks like some kind of weird pattern of some sort. Q is tapping Britt's face, her fingers, and is going back and forth with it. I wonder if this is a weird version of the Morse Code Q does with Rach.

I can't tell if Quinn is actually speaking, since she is leaning over Britt in a way that her hair covers her face, but I do myself.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" I toss my duffel bag to the side, roughly, feeling the emotions rear up. "Why does it look like half the school is gathered in your bedroom, Rachel?"

Okay, at some point, I will understand that I deserve the eye-roll Rachel gives me, but right here and now, it just pisses me off.

"Don't do that. Don't–" I stop, eyes flickering over everyone. "Britt-Britt?" Slowly, I make my way to the bed. Finn stands up, and it… his eyes scream of things that I am not privy to yet.

At her name, the blue-eyed girl shifts in Q's arms. She turns over to face me, and my breath is knocked away.

"Hi, Sanny," Her blue eyes are red-rimmed, and honestly, Q doesn't look much better They both look me in the eye, and I struggle to say anything.

"Hi, baby." I don't even care about the other people in the room, about them hearing this term of endearment, not when Q immediately shifts off the bed so I can take her place and Britts basically curls up in my lap.

I look around the room, at everyone gathered here, and I don't even try to hide the fear that seeps into my voice as I place a hand on Brittany's head, and ask,

"What's going on?"

My eyes flicker to each person. Finn is sitting backwards in Rach's desk chair. Puck throws the game controller aside but says nothing. Azimio and Karofsky both give me a look a sympathy, and Tina and Mike stay facing forward; I can see their reflections in the TV. Q is now on one of the beanbags with Rach laying against her.

Right as I go to snap at someone to fucking answer, Britts speaks up.

"He showed up at the Elementary school."

Her voice is hoarse, whispered, but it echoes loudly in the silent room, and it has a ripple effect on the people around us, though I do not notice right away because…

My mind shortens out.

I hear 'he' and the first person I think of is…

But no.

Because if it was him, then… Then that would mean– How would he have gotten out? The Judge denied his bail, and–

There is no fucking way he would have escaped and if he did, why go to the Elementary? Why not come for us?

That means…

"San?"

Britts's voice breaks through, and I blink, focusing on her. I don't even know I am crying until she swipes them away with her thumb, and my eyes fall shut as I fight with myself over whether to let my walls down or to keep up that protective armor.

"What did he do?"

The words fall out without permission and for some reason, I look to Karofsky for the answer. I have no idea why, but he speaks anyway, answering with,

"He spoke with Alexis." Those words chill me, but I hold eye contact, and he continues, "She was apparently inconsolable and Britt's mom had to be called. Alexis told them who talked to her, and what he looked like, and it was concluded that the man was — is — this so-called "Mystery Man" you all have been talking about."

I shut my eyes, and am barely able to contain my anger as I grit out, "What about Maya and Matthew?" I look to Azimio. "Thomas?" Then Puck, "Addie?"

Lila-June was safe. She does not go to the Elementary, instead, being in a special classroom at the Preschool, where other kids who are nonverbal, behind in Speech & Development, and so on, go to school.

They have Aides who go outside with the kids to make sure they are safe since they usually would not be able to actually call out for a teacher and ask for help if they were hurt, or if something else happened.

"Thomas was fine. He was inside because it is too cold for him to go to recess. Maya was with him. Your brother was fine; he was playing with some friends on the opposite side of the playground."

I nod and look to Puck. Adeline is in the first grade with Lexie. It is very possible that she saw the man, too, because they are as close as Rach and Q are, sticking together all day long.

After several seconds of staring at the back of Puckerman's head, Mike finally speaks up.

"She was with her." He turns slightly to look at me. "He touched her." I blink, stunned at the venom apparent in his voice, and the disgust written in his face. "Addie tried to go get a teacher, and he fucking grabbed her shirt through the chain-link fence."

Everyone is silent after that. The anger inside me boils up as I realize that it is not just us, just me and the girls, who are being stalked, effected. It is our family. Our friends' family.

If he has the guts to not only show up at the fucking Elementary school, but also to grab Adeline, what will he do next? Actually break into one of our houses? God, what about Thomas, Azimio's brother and Maya's best friend?

If the man would have said to follow him, Thomas most likely would have. He does not understand "Stranger Danger" like most 9-year-olds. His comprehension that that man is untrustworthy, a bad person, and not to be followed, it's not at the same level as Maya, or Lexie, or Adeline, and the rest of us.

Plus, he sees the good in people, and tries to find it in everyone. Sometimes he believes in it too much. Especially with me…

Thomas would have probably followed him out of the playground, never to be seen again. And Maya would have went after him. Both of them gone, just like that. Thomas doesn't even know there is a man who is bad and is out there. According to Maya, that is. So he would have no idea what the person looks like, what to do if he was seen.

Thomas, he is just so trusting; he wants to believe in the good of people so much. He is vulnerable, just like the rest of us, and it is only a matter of time before that fucking asshole realizes that and goes after him, since going after Lexie, a six-year-old, was obviously unsuccessful.

There is a knock on the door after that. We are all called downstairs; everyone's parents are here, and they sit us down for a very important conversation.

It is unsafe for us to be in school, they say. We are going to finish this week at school, and then possibly next week, maybe, we will be pulled from school. We'll be doing online schooling here, at Rachel's house, with a police cruiser out front, which is about as safe as we can be. As for the others, the little kids…

"We are going out of town," Mamí says. "And we are bringing the littles with us." Mama and Papa Pierce say they are taking Lexie and the twins out of town, as well.

Even Finn's mom says she is going to be staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Dayton, with Alex and Jordan, who has been put on leave to stay with, and protect, his family.

Fuck.

I think it cannot get any worse. How could it?

But then Mike's parents say they are sending their youngest children, Kathy, 17 months, Jamie, 5, and Eddie, 13, to relatives out of state. We are too close to them. If this man has made Lexie and Adeline a target, it is only a matter of time before he realizes Britts is incredible close to Mike.

That is four of the eight families in this room. Noah says his brother, David, is in England with Charlotte, and Adeline and Lila are being pulled from school, and will go with go with Mamí and Papí.

I look to Azimio and Karofsky. I know they have siblings. Karofsky's sister, Chloe, is 10, and his brother, Cole, is 17. They also have an adopted sister, Cheryl. Chloe is homeschooled while Cole goes to school with us. Maybe we should invite him to Glee. I bet him and Artie would get along great, as he is in a wheelchair, also.

It is determined that they will be staying in Lima, so they get a police detail, as well as Azimio's family. Besides him and Thomas, they have Laurie, who is 17, and Muriel, who is 12. Muriel is blind like David Puckerman. They'll get the police detail, but will not be pulled from school.

"And what about you?"

I direct the question towards Tina's mom and dad, who are the only ones to not say anything. I do not know if Tina has any siblings, or if she is an only child. However, Mr. and Mrs. Cohen-Chang say they are staying here. They say Tina is not close enough to us to be in danger, and they turn down the offered police detail.

God, how I hope they are right; because if that man finds out Tina is so much as in the same school club as us? Who's to say he will not go after her, or her family?

"Okay, now that that is all settled," Papí says. "Santi, sweetheart, your mamí and I need to know what you want to do."

I blink, not keeping up.

"W-What?"

"Would you like to come with us, or do you want to stay here, with the girls and Noah?"

I look to Britts, who is tangled up in blankets and in-between Q and Rach on the other couch. Her blue eyes give me the answer I need; she is staying so obviously, I am, too.

"I'm going to stay. This asshole is not going to scare me off."

"Language, Santana!"

Of course Berry is the one to snap it. I see Mamí close her mouth, she probably was going to do it also, and Q chokes on her hot chocolate, trying to cover up that smirk on her face. I roll my eyes.

"Whatever."

"Ok. That's settled. San, we leave on Saturday. If you change your mind, just let us know."

"Great." I'm feeling snarky all of a sudden. And I stand up, declaring, "If I feel like being a wimp and running from all my problems, I'll let you know." I then execute a perfect Diva Stormout©, complete with stomping up the stairs and slamming the bedroom door.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*Normal point of view*

"She lasted longer than I thought she would." Finn comments to Noah, who agrees with, "Way longer." with the added overdramatic wide-eyed expression.

On the other side of the room, Carmen sighs.

"I'm sorry about her." She apologizes though, she does not know why. Josiah and David have basically been co-parenting Santana with Carmen and Carlos since the young Latina was nine years old.

And to prove that, David waves his hand.

"Don't be. That's nothing – we've seen those Diva Stormouts© with Rachel so long, that it does not even bother us anymore."

"I can hear you!" Rachel scoffs from her place on the couch, which is followed by Brittany and Quinn giggling.

Carlos exhales, glad the tension was broken somewhat but knowing it is about to be strengthen again. And it is so with Jennifer saying,

"I guess you girls can tell her this but, we need to get going. Britt, babydoll, come give Daddy and I a hug, ok?" She waits until her oldest daughter is across the room in her arms before continuing, "Papa Josiah and Papa David have offered to let you and San stay here. You be good, okay?"

Her heart aches at the tears on her daughter's face.

"Please don't cry, sweetheart. We are going to get this man, whoever he is, wherever he is. And in a few months, all of this will be over. Okay?" Jennifer swipes at the tears as Brittany leans forward, and she wraps her arms around her beautiful little girl, who she promised would never feel pain like this again.

"Do you want to come with me and Daddy for tonight?"

Brittany sniffles and pulls away, and instead of answering, she gets up and goes back to the couch, next to Rachel, practically curling up in the smaller girl's arms. Rachel threads her fingers through loose blonde waves.

"Britt, what's the matter, Love?"

It's muffled but Brittany responds, after a few moments, with, "Non voglio andare a casa." I don't wanna go home.

"Sweetheart," Rachel brushes her hair from her face. "No one is making you go anywhere you don't want to."

"Neanch'io voglio restare qui." I don't wanna stay here, either.

"Piccola, cosa vuoi?" Baby, what do you want?

Brittny just shrugs to this, and Rachel presses a kiss to the top of her head.

"Okay." She looks to her left, where Quinn is watching the two. "Let's go see Santana, yeah?" Rachel suggests while moving just enough that Brittany pulls back also. She hates the sad and broken look in the dancer's eyes, and longs for that sparkle to light up her blue eyes again. "Come on."

The three make their way to the stairs after Jennifer says she and Michael will stay down here for a bit longer. They find Santana in the bedroom, reading a book that was assigned to their English class.

"Hey, T."

Santana nods back as Brittany crawls onto the bed. Rachel and Quinn follow suit, and the four of them just lay there, with Zeke, as the other kitties are downstairs. Britt turns to face Santana, and the older girl smooths her bangs from the dancer's eyes, watching her closely.

As she does, Rachel watches her while Quinn starts to braid a random strand of brunette hair. She picks up on the way Santana's eyes dance over Brittany's face, scrutinizing every minute facial expression, how she looks at her in a way that best friends usually do not look at each other.

Most people think that Rachel was probably born an observant little girl. That she clocked details many people would overlook or simply not pick up on. The truth is, she become this way very quickly at 5 years old. She had to learn how to observe a room, pick out the things or people that would trigger Quinn, and help her best friend either avoid them, or help her through it to come out stronger.

Quinn started depending on her the moment they met, and it has been her job since then. She knows what her silence means, and she can read every line of Quinn's anxiety-induced blank stare, and, slowly but surely, she is learning when Q needs to be pushed to the point of tears, and when to actually let it go.

She isn't perfect, but who is? They have been through a lot of fucked up shit in the last several years, and there is a man out there who has no fears, who is brave enough to do anything to hurt them, but now they are together.

Now, it is the four of them, and sometimes plus, against the world, and boy, are they going to show people who the real boss is.

The "Mystery Man" was mentioned in this chapter. He showed up at the Elementary school where the little kids are. He spoke to Lexie and Adeline, and he was in the only area of the playground that was not covered by a camera. This man is incredibly smart and takes actions that would normally be considered a risky move in terms of someone who is trying to evade the police. This will make it harder to catch it, but not entirely impossible!

I went back and changed up Rachel's birthday chapter a bit. Lexie is no longer in school. The part where the parents are at the Berry Residence on Wednesday the sixteenth, this is because the adults still need to work. And then they all come home for Christmas. (This should cover all the continuance errors.)

Please review and let me know what you thought! :) For IIWGU, I officially have the next chapter finished. I have two different Christmas chapter versions — one Faberry, the other Brittana — and once I have those completed I will begin updating again!