Ted agreed to stay at the hospital, while Paula took Michael and Diamond and went home for the night.

Following the hospital visit was a quick stop at a Carl's Jr. restaurant (which got a lot of stares), succeeded by the three-hour drive to the sheriff's department in Boulevard (the closest law enforcement office to Ocotillo); Caitríona followed the two police officers in her car, with Rafael and Ivaleigh in the backseat (his arm around her and a thick blanket over them both), and Lailea on the front passenger side, with an equally thick blanket covering her up to her shoulders.

Rafael had already decided he would be cutting school for Tuesday, determined to stay with Ivaleigh as he was; he also hadn't called Benita yet to tell her anything, since he had no idea how to even start such a conversation. I can hear my ears ringing now.

Leaning against her boyfriend, Ivaleigh asked tiredly, "What did ya mean, what you said earlier, that I probably hate you?"

Rafael exhaled, shivering and livid. "He told me to keep away – shit, even you said we shouldn't. I didn't listen and look what – "

Ivaleigh gave him a hard nudge, her eyes sparking. "Don't you dare! D'ya have any idea how happy I am ya ignored them? How happy it makes me that you give a damn 'bout me in spite of everythin'?!" She pressed closer, kissing his cheek. "You make me hope, an' ya ain't liable for what he CHOSE t' do!" She then yawned widely, exhausted, her nerves humming. Rafael smiled some, the guilt still burning as he laid a gentle kiss on her mouth, her words turning over in his mind.

The three of them did sleep for some of the way, and Lailea told Caitríona, with a sad smile and trusting eyes, "I'd like for you t' adopt Diamond."

Caitríona couldn't quite hide her wide grin. "You're sure?"

Lailea just about smirked at her expression. "Yes. She likes you, I know you can take care of her. You're a good mother."

It was just after 11 p.m. when they arrived at the sheriff's office, where Guillermo was sitting in a cell by himself, with two broken fingers, a split lip, and a black eye. Lailea, Rafael, and Ivaleigh each gave their statements, making sure all the dots were joined, after the girls identified Guillermo as both their kidnapper and the one who assaulted their grandparents.

Caitríona, meanwhile, managed to get a hold of Bastian at his hotel room in Newark, New Jersey, waking him up in the process; she rather thought, given his tone of voice after hearing of what had happened, that it was a good thing that he was on the other side of the country, thereby avoiding a risk of Guillermo finding himself with a broken neck for harming Lailea.

Back in his cell, Guillermo faced Rafael through the bars. "You stay with that little perra, son, and I'll – "

"Shut the hell up, you fat fuck bastard. You're not in any position to say anything to me." Rafael snarled through gritted teeth, before he spit in Guillermo's face. "I'm not your son anymore. You're dead to me. Before you threaten me with money, I'll tell you to choke on it. You can be the one to explain this horseshit to Mom." Leaning closer, Rafael hissed, with a cold smirk, "What do you think the cops will find if they really start digging?"

It was 2:45 in the morning before Caitríona, Ivaleigh, Rafael, and Lailea made it to a hotel, via a police escort – or, more specifically, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite on the fourth floor of the Palm Canyon Resort (compliments of the escort), ten minutes east of Boulevard, just outside of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Caitríona helped Lailea clean up in one of the bathrooms, while Ivaleigh and Rafael were in shower of the other, with Rafael standing under the spray with his jeans on, neither of them in the mood for trysting; every piece of clothing that the girls had been wearing for the last day and a half had been thrown out, and the resort concierge had provided them all with pajamas and bathrobes. It was four-thirty before they each finally collapsed into bed, Rafael and Ivaleigh in bed in one room (they fell asleep immediately, arms and legs wound together), and Caitríona and Lailea on separate beds in the other.

Lailea gazed out the window towards the half-moon for a few minutes, then murmured, "D'ya think Ivaleigh and Rafael are makin' it in there?"

"I doubt it. All three of you have been through too much in the last few hours. But why do you ask?"

Lailea didn't answer, her breath catching, and Caitríona prodded gently. "Say what's on your mind, Lailea, you have the right. This isn't New Augusta."

Lailea sobbed, then let the words pour out. "Sometimes, yeah, I got mad at her, for not bein' there, for not havin' t' get pulled back. I put it in my head that she found a safe place, a sane family. Instead, it was somethin' else. An' part of me feels mad at her for that, too. How many guys has she fucked, willingly? She ain't afraid, of anything! That bastard Guillermo ... she didn't even blink when he was shovin' the money down her pants, she just stared him in the eye before she kicked him in the nuts – "

Caitríona snorted and laughed, "Good girl.", then blinked when she saw Lailea's expression, livid and utterly heartbroken. "Lailea?"

"I was cowerin', afraid of what he would do." she bit out, shivering.

Caitríona leaned across the space between the two beds and gripped Lailea's hand in reassurance. "Dear, I'll bet you one hundred dollars that Ivaleigh was scared, too. Even if she didn't show it. Everyone's afraid of something. And I don't believe for a moment that she went so willingly into this mess of being a prostitute." Caitríona then teased carefully, "And weren't you the one who threatened her life if she didn't back out?"

"I know." Lailea whispered rawly, almost feeling like laughing. "I just ... felt stupid. I don't wanna be afraid of sex, of some animal thinkin' he can have me. I wanna be able t' hold my ground, like Ivy did."

Caitríona nodded, pulling her hand back. "I understand. Michael's sister Genevieve is on her way, I'm one hundred percent certain she'd be glad to teach you self-defense." Caitríona almost smirked. "Actually, I think she'd make it a personal mission."

She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Perhaps you should talk with Ivaleigh about how you feel?"

Lailea exhaled deeply, sleep closing in rapidly. "Prob'ly. She's had sex, I have questions."

Caitríona peered closely at the girl, and thought she understood. "You don't want to be afraid."

Lailea shook her head a little, fighting to keep her eyes open for a minute more. "I know the way Bastian looks at me. I think 'bout him, too. I get a funny twist in my gut when he smirks at me." She yawned hugely, slipping under. "... too much moral t' try ... "

That gave Caitríona a few things to think about before she dozed off herself.

In the middle of the following afternoon, after a decent brunch and a quick go-round at the clothing store within the resort lobby, the drive back began; it was going on 8:30 p.m. when Caitríona pulled her car into the hospital parking lot. Walking into the Miller's room, Ivaleigh and Lailea were thrilled into shrieking at seeing their grandparents awake and waiting.

Lailea just about flung herself at Gwyneth, while Ivaleigh hugged Stanton tight, tears from both of them leaking again. Caitríona and Rafael heaved sighs of relief, before either of them took note of the small family standing near the window – Leonard, with his wife, Scarlett, and their seventeen-year-old, Brielle (who, like her mother, was a full-figured sweetheart of a chatterbox, dark red hair, cobalt eyes, and all). Ivaleigh and Lailea recognized them from the pictures and both gave a quiet, "Hello."

Brielle took one glance at her cousins' faces, seeing the bruises, and complained with a sweet smile at both of them, "Mother, Daddy, no fair that Ivaleigh and Lailea are so much prettier than me.", with not an ounce of malice in her voice. She gave Rafael an impressed once over, her smile turning a bit wicked. "And hot dang, you're cute."

Ivaleigh noticed the direction of Brielle's stare and laid down the law. "Turn the flirtin' off, red, he's mine."

Rafael smirked in pleasure, and Brielle nodded, smiling, dismissing any lusting thoughts, going on with, "Yes. I love your accents. The both of you absolutely have to come shopping with me during spring break in Manhattan, I know all the best stores, you'll really love Broadway and Times Square! And if you like amusement parks we can go down to Coney Island, there's a lovely boardwalk there with plenty of shops, restaurants, and rides. I work at the Sawyer's Grille in the La Guardia airport, travelers come through all the time, plenty from the south, like Alabama, talking about buttermilk biscuits and jambalaya and sweet tea and southern fried chicken, they make it sound so delicious, I'm a big fan of oysters myself, but they're expensive, so usually they're just a treat for my birthday and Christmas."

She paused there, drawing breath (Lailea, Rafael, Caitríona, and Ivaleigh each exchanged amused glances), and Leonard intervened, almost laughing. "Brielle, angel, one thing at a time."

Lailea and Ivaleigh stared at their uncle, their aunt, and their cousin for a moment, before looking back at Gwyneth and Stanton, who gave them both tired smiles.

"Our doctor said it would be at least a week before we can leave. Broken wrists, dislocated shoulders ... " Gwyneth let out a tear-choked sigh.

Stanton looked over at Rafael. "Your – "

Rafael shook his head, saying darkly, "He's nothing to me. Do whatever you feel is necessary."

"Paula kept us informed. Have you spoken with your mother?" Gwyneth asked.

"Not yet. I don't think he has, either. I don't know. I had very little to say to him at the station in Boulevard." Taking a few steps closer, he kissed Ivaleigh's cheek. "I have to go see Mom. Where are you gonna be? Cos this isn't going to go well."

"Here."

"You don't need to be staying here with no beds to sleep in, either of you." Stanton responded firmly. "Your aunt and uncle will see you checked into a room at their hotel. They aren't staying far off. And Ivaleigh, you still have to get this school situation figured out."

"I'm goin' down t' talk t' the principal tomorrow. I don't know right now which way would make me feel sane. But what 'bout you, Lailea?"

"Well ... I ... what you said, about which way is sane." Lailea looked at her grandparents, drained and high-strung at once. "I told Caitríona I want her t' adopt Diamond. The next step is a family lawyer an' an adoption social worker. Bastian checked before he left, he said I don't need t' worry about any consent but mine, since paternity can't be determined."

"Excuse me, but visiting hours are almost over. You can all come back tomorrow morning at nine." the candy stripe nurse informed them from the doorway.

After the goodbyes for the night, Lailea and Ivaleigh went with Leonard, Scarlett, and Brielle, and stayed up with them until nearly two in the morning getting acquainted – Lailea and Ivaleigh thrilled to the fact that the three of them were genuinely good people.

Caitríona drove over to the Olsen house to see Diamond, who was asleep on the bed in Sandy's old room; she stood gazing at her daughter-to-be for a few minutes before joining Paula and Ted in the kitchen for some coffee; Michael was in his room, finishing up his homework after spending a good four hours down at the cycle yard – the frame was finished, polished and gleaming, the tires and fenders were next.

Rafael, meanwhile, walked into his mother's room and was immediately dragged into a squeezing hug, before Benita started shaking her finger in his face, yelling loud at him in Spanish for worrying her, and that he should have called, "¿Dónde diablos estabas? ¡Estaba medio loco de preocupación! ¿Por qué no llamaste cuando llegaste a Boulevard? En cambio, tuve que escuchar todo – "

"How did you know I was in Boulevard?" Rafael glanced around the room, and everyone was there, minus Julio: Pilar, Juan, Sofia, Daniela, Elena (whom he arched his eyebrows at), Sara, Diego, and Enrique.

Benita answered in a cracking tone. "When you didn't come back, I started calling police stations and hospitals. No one knew anything. Then Guillermo called me this morning ... his one phone call ... He told me ... " Benita shivered. " ... everything – "

"Did he tell you that I said I no longer consider him family? Did he tell you that the Millers are going to be in the hospital for at least a week? Did he tell you that he shoved a dollar in Ivaleigh's pants to start sucking him, because, according to him, that's all she's good for?"

Elena made a disparaging noise, and Rafael didn't have the patience to start screaming at her. "Why are you here? I thought Pilar and Juan tossed you?"

Elena almost smiled, her eyes hard, her expression stony but satisfied. "We've had a long discussion about it. I agreed to repent everything at our church. One of the priests said he would hear my confession, and that he could see to my baptism." See? I'm a good girl.

Rafael didn't answer, and looked back at his mother. "Stanton and Gwyneth Miller were awake and talking when I saw them at the hospital just a bit ago. Lailea and Ivaleigh are with their aunt, uncle, and cousin now. I told the Millers to do whatever they felt was necessary. Which means Bastian is really going to have his hands full when he gets back from New York."

"Not if the grown-ups can help it." Elena answered coolly, her arms folded.

"What?"

Benita took a breath, crossing herself. "Rafael, dear, we have to protect our family. We can't let the police investigate him, he's one of the main handlers, we have to – "

"What?"

"We'll have to help him disappear. We'll do it in a way that doesn't draw suspicion to us. Then, after Sofia, Daniela, and Enrique graduate and are off to college, we'll move. Diego looked at an atlas, we can settle between Denver and Colorado Springs."

"What?"

"Rafael, we can't let our family fall apart. If we adults get caught and sent away, what happens to you kids? Yes, you'll be eighteen soon, and so will Elena, but Sofia, Daniela, and Enrique ... "

"So you're all to become Judas." Rafael breathed, his rage and horror flaring higher and higher.

Everyone blinked at his accusation, and Sofia stared at the floor, while Elena snapped back, "Better than being some devil's advocate. This is us protecting our family. Let Ivaleigh deal with her own mess, she got herself into it, she'll have to fuck her way – "

Rafael erupted, thundering, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU COLD-HEARTED BITCH?! DO YOU EVEN HAVE FEELINGS?!" He turned his narrowed eyes on his mother, Pilar, and Sara. "And you three are sitting there, condoning what he did?!"

"No, but – "

"What if had been Daniela," – he gestured towards her, " – or Sofia," – he gestured again, " – or even this miserable sack of lies?" He pointed a finger at Elena. "Oh, but it's all right if it's my girlfriend and her sister, cos Ivaleigh's just a hooker from Skid Row, and Lailea got knocked up at thirteen by her rapist, is that it?!" he snarled, red-faced and wild-eyed.

"No!" Benita gripped his shoulders tightly. "Rafael, that's not what this is about! It's a stupid, unforgivably selfish thing that Guillermo did – ",

"YOU'RE DEFENDING HIM!" Rafael shouted.

Benita kept talking, as loud and as calm as the shaking allowed, tears forming. "And I'm divorcing him eventually, and believe me, I'll clean him out. Diego and Juan will make sure he's demoted, but we have to think about Sofia, Dani, and Enrique! Who's to look after them before they're of age, if something happens to us?"

"And Ivaleigh and Lailea and their grandparents? With the cuts and bruises and broken bones?" Rafael demanded.

"Gwyneth and Stanton are parents. They would understand."

"You just have to keep your mouth shut." Elena spelled out. "Or we'll have to make you disappear too, to some place. You'd never be able to see your precious Ivaleigh ever again."

"Fuck you." Rafael sneered, taunting. "What that must be like for you, that she came at me with open arms, and wouldn't give you the time of day."

Elena rose halfway from her seat, teeth bared, and Pilar stopped her, muttering sharply in her ear in Spanish.

"Okay. Elena, be quiet. Rafael, you're my son, we are your family. Family comes first. Diego – "

"If family's first, what about Julio?!" Rafael shouted.

Sara inhaled sharply, torn between heartbreak and disgust, while Diego swore, "Julio is no longer family, do not speak his name in front of me."

"Why, are you going to turn on me next?"

Enrique and Sofia stared harder at the floor.

"No. Drop the matter, Rafael, Julio will just have to take care of himself." Benita continued in a low voice. "Diego has already been in touch with someone from El Salvador, they're going in soon to move Guillermo to an undisclosed location."

"You're having someone break into a police station to move a thug in two-hundred dollar shoes." Rafael said slowly.

"We're doing what's necessary to protect Dani, Sofia, and Enrique! After they're eighteen, your ex-father can go to hell for all I care!"

And Rafael knew it would be pointless to argue – he could have protested about Ivaleigh, Lailea, and their grandparents until cows flew, and how what was happening was wrong, both morally and legally, and it wouldn't have made a difference – just like it would be pointless to try and leave now, with everyone here. He would just have to find a way to sneak during school the next day – tell the principal? Call the police from her office? Tell Carrington, who could pass the word onto Bastian?

Sofia turned out to be the answer: She snuck out through her bedroom window at four a.m. (Wednesday, November 30th), and rode her Vespa over to the Northridge police station. She didn't mention anything to the two lady officers about the greenhouses and everything connected to them, or the person coming in from El Salvador, but all else was fair game.

The coming fallout was inevitable.