A/N: Another kind of short chapter. This is a heavy chapter, guys. I figured I'd put it all in one and leave it where I left it.

WARNINGS: Slurs, emotional abuse, and slight violence.

The next day did not go over well for Quinn. After hearing about where Quinn had run off to, the night before, Judy was livid. She hated to think about Quinn in such a sinful way that she wouldn't stop at anything to get the girl "cured". Quinn knew that this was her mother's mindset. It had been in the woman's head ever since she was a little girl. It didn't shock her that her mother would act like that. Her grandparents were highly homophobic, but unlike her mother, they at least attempted to learn sign language.

She knew that her father would of never treated her like her mother had been.

She was enjoying a nice morning with Rachel in her arms when it happened. The sun had just rose on the horizon, peeking through the New York skyscrapers and making the blonde realize just how much she missed sound. When he was .little, she would wake up before the birds to eat cereal on Saturday mornings and watch cartoons with her brother. SHe'd enjoy the laughter that came with the cheesy jokes and the way Sam would occasionally clank his spoon against the ceramic bowl. Then their dad would take them to the park, and they'd sing along to Disney classics on the way.

She really, really missed her dad.

Her dad wouldn't of threatened to send her to a "straight camp" if she tried to tell anyone but immediate family (which included Blaine) that she was gay. Her dad wouldn't nag her about how photography wasn't a "real career" and beg her to go into pre-med. Her dad wouldn't judge her for slowly falling in love with the small brunette starlet in her arms named Rachel Berry.

"Hobbit- why the hell is there an angry old hag yelling at our door?"

Her dad wouldn't of woken Santana from her slumber.

In hindsight, she only knew what Santana said because Rachel had jumped in her arms at the sudden voice, then proceeded to explain what actually woke her. Quinn groaned in response- she knew it was her mother.

As Rachel stood and pulled on a pair of sweats, Quinn reluctantly followed, ruffling her hair that already resembled a lion's mane. Once they were in the living room Quinn sighed in guilt, seeing the sleep-ridden faces of Kurt and Santana. She looked at Rachel, hoping that her girlfriend was ready to translate before she motioned for Santana to open the door. Immediately they were met with Judy Fabray barging in, with words going so quickly that Rachel was struggling to keep up.

"I can't believe you just left me there last night with your brother and his fag of a friend. Oh God- is Sam one too? Did that Anderson boy turn the both of you? Oh, he'll pay for that- I will not have my children being converted to such sinning ways-"

"Listen lady, I don't know who the hell you are but you don't have any right coming into my home and saying those words. You are offending everyone here. You need to leave, now." Kurt interjected, his patience thinning.

"I don't need to listen to you, fairy boy. This," She pointed to Quinn, "Is my daughter, and she and I will be leaving. I didn't tolerate this behavior in California and I still will not tolerate it now. I should've known New York was full of… homosexuals. Photography is not a real career, Quinn.. You should know that by now."

The way Judy said the word sent a chill down Santana's spine. It was as if the word itself was an insult; a disgrace. The Latina looked to Quinn who seemed to be fuming. Rachel was still trying to translate, despite the blonde not watching her. She knew that if they wanted this chick out of her house, then Santana would have to step in. Kurt was too nice, and Rachel was busy.

"You're not doing anything. Here's how it goes, bitch: Quinn here stays in New York with her brother, her girlfriend, and her four gay best friends- Me, Lady Lips, Bilbo Baggins and Britts. You're going to take your scrawny old ass back to California where you can wallow in your hatred for who she is. That will never change. She is here following her dreams to prove you wrong and that is exactly what she is doing."

Everyone gasped when Judy's hand was slapped across Santana's face.

"You bitch-" Santana lunged for the older woman, but Kurt grabbed her waist.

Judy was about to speak, but Quinn stepped forward. 'Leave.'

The older woman looked at Quinn, then to Rachel, expecting a translation.

"She said leave."

"Quinn-"

"LEAVE." Quinn yelled, causing Rachel to jump behind her. Santana stopped moving, her eyes widening as she looked at her blonde friend. Kurt was surprised, but let go of Santana reluctantly. He believed that they were all too shocked to try and attack Judy.

Judy, however, looked like she had tears in her eyes. Never in her life had Quinn talked to her in such a way, or even talked to her at all. She looked at her daughter, shaking her head a moment before she tried to speak.

"Leave. Now. You are not my mother." Quinn explained, her voice quieter. It was disgruntled and hard to make out, but Judy got the message. With a nod she turned, leaving the apartment.

The apartment fell quiet after that. Kurt and Santana just looked at Quinn, not out of fear, but confusion. They didn't expect that from Quinn, someone who seemed to always be so calm and collected. The blonde stood in place, her fists clenched together as she stared angrily at the open door. She didn't know what came over her- she was just so angry. Her blood was rushing in her veins and her breath was heavy.

Rachel, despite her fear at the blonde's sudden outburst of anger, hesitantly stepped forward, placing a hand on Quinn's shoulder. Her fingers met the familiar cloth of the shirt she had clung to the night before while she slept; right after Quinn had told her that she was proud of her for standing up to Judy, but now.. Now it was Rachel's turn to be proud of Quinn. She stepped forward then in front of Quinn, looking up at her slightly taller girlfriend.

With a small smile, she spoke and signed. "Quinn? Are you okay?" She asked quietly, the hand on the blonde's shoulder trailing down her arm to gently take the woman's hand.

Quinn just looked down at Rachel. She wasn't sure if she was okay or not. The words that her mother was using to describe her, to describe her friends; it had set something off in Quinn. Judy had been using those words her entire life and for the most part, she ignored it. She knew that it wasn't true, so she used being deaf to her advantage and blocked out what her mother was saying. But the moment Judy laid her hands on Santana.. Quinn knew that the woman that had stood in the doorway was no longer her mother. Across the hall, Judy had left Quinn's apartment with her luggage in hand, stopping only to look at the interaction between the two.

Quinn leaned forward, pressing her lips to Rachel's gently, then nodded.

Judy shook her head and left the apartment building, going back to California.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sam didn't know a lot of things. He was dyslexic, wasn't the smartest one in the group and barely knew the difference between the real dictionary and urban dictionary. But he did, however, know when something was wrong with his baby sister.

It wasn't the fact that he saw his mother in a cab when he walked back from a meeting that morning, and it wasn't the fact that he had gotten a message from Brittany saying that there was shouting coming from Rachel's apartment. No.. He just had an off feeling.

The night before with his mother at home wasn't the best one. She was being homophobic, and it got so bad that Blaine actually offered to go with Kurt to work for a little while. She would go on and on about how Sam needed to find a job, and how they shouldn't be living with Blaine, or how they should just go back to California with her.

But he knew better than that.

His mother wasn't the best person in the world. Ever since his dad died, she had been a lot more.. untolerable. It wasn't that bad at first, she would only have a few drinks here and there and then she'd shout out things that he couldn't exactly remember, but then that would be it. Then the drinking got heavier, and she'd bring home guys that Sam barely remembered the next morning. That was around the time that she started getting more and more strict on them about their grades, their appearance, and when Blaine came out, the people they associated themselves with.

"It's about appearance, Sammy. Who's going to want to be around you when you're being seen with homosexuals and people who look like they belong in a dumpster?"

He never believed her, no. There wasn't a reason to. He liked Blaine- they were best friends and had been for as long as he could remember. For the dumpster comment, Sam had another friend named Joe. Joe didn't go to school- he couldn't afford it. He was homeless, going from halfway house to halfway house and no matter how many times Sam offered to help him, Joe always refused, saying that "God had wanted this for him".

His mother always agreed.

He was having a rather good morning that day. He had gotten up early for a meeting with a potential job offeree, and in the end after hours and hours of photoshoots and interviews, he got the job. He was going to be the next model for Calvin Klein- the New York branch. It was a big achievement for someone like him. Sure, he'd probably start off doing small odds and ends jobs, but it was a start. He was going to do what he always wanted, just like his friends.

When the feeling hit him, however, all his joy was gone. He moved quickly, jogging up the torn carpeted stairs until he got to his floor. He saw a light coming from the apartment across from his- the door was open. He walked forward and peeked his head in, seeing Kurt talking to Santana and Brittany. Not wanting to eavesdrop, he knocked once, smiling awkwardly when the two turned towards him.

"Everything alright?" He asked, stepping into the apartment.

"Everything's fine, Sam." Kurt stated, crossing his arms. None of them seemed to be dressed yet, but he did spot a dark red mark forming on Santana's cheek.

"Doesn't look like it." He mumbled, walking up to face the two girls. Something was up, and they weren't telling him. The apartment fell silent again and Sam had to shift in place so that his shoes would break the silence.

"Are you going to tell him?" Brittany asked, more to Kurt and Santana. She was dressed in a tank top and sleep shorts, odd for it being January, but Sam didn't think much of it.

"I don't know, B.. It was just.." Santana trailed off, reaching for Brittany's hand.

"Your mom hit her." The four of them turned towards the hallway, where Rachel was standing in the threshold to her bedroom. She had a water bottle in her hand and took a sip of it as she entered the living room.

Sam looked appalled. "What?"

"Santana stood up to her, and your mother slapped her. It was.. Pretty intense." Rachel started to explain, walking up to her friends. She took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders, licking her lips. "Then Quinn yelled at her."

"Quinn yelled at her?"

Rachel nodded. "She's been in the shower ever since your mother left."

"Is she okay?"

Rachel just looked at him. "I don't know, Sam. It.. It was something I don't think she had expected herself to do. It just.. happened. Your mother wouldn't stop, she just kept insulting us and saying that she was going to take you and Quinn back to California with her.. It was a mess. I.. I was actually afraid for a moment."

"Of Quinn?"

"Of you guys leaving."

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. He couldn't believe this- his mother had gone way too far this time. He made a mental note to block her number from Quinn's phone later- heaven knows that Judy was going to try and call Quinn later.

"She said that Judy wasn't her mother, Sam." Kurt spoke up, looking at the distressed man.

Sam swallowed. "Rachel.. could you please go check on her? I.. I'd do it, but well.."

"She's in the shower-"

"Please? I just.. I'm worried about her. She's.. Just please?"

Rachel nodded, noticing the man's worried tone. She turned towards the bathroom and slowly opened it, banging lightly on the wall to send vibrations towards the bathtub, just so Quinn wasn't surprised. She stripped herself then pushed back the shower curtain, her heart stopping a moment when she didn't see Quinn standing there.

Then she looked down.

Her heart slowly started to break for her girlfriend as she saw the blonde in a ball on the floor, the water from the shower raining down onto her back. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head was resting on them; it was obvious that Quinn was crying from the way her body was shaking.

Rachel slowly stepped into the shower behind her girlfriend and sunk to the floor, snaking her arms around Quinn's frame. The blonde jumped in her arms but relaxed when she realized that it was Rachel, and let herself continue to cry. Rachel pulled the girl into her arms and just held her, rubbing her arms across Quinn's arms and back, and placing soft kisses on the girls' neck and shoulders. It was the most she could do to help the girl.

Rachel wasn't sure how long they sat there. At some point the water had turned cold, but Quinn hadn't finished crying. It wasn't until she heard knocking coming from the door that Rachel knew they probably needed to get out before they shriveled up like raisins. She kissed the girls cheek gently and tried to get Quinn to look at her while she reached to turn the water off. She smiled sadly when she met hazel eyes, and Quinn only signed 'sorry'. Rachel shook her head and stood up, getting them both towels. As much as she wanted to see Quinn naked then and there, it was not the time.

When they left, both wrapped in a towel, Sam gave them a hopeful look. Hopeful because he wanted his sister to be okay. He wanted Quinn to not beat herself up about this. Their mother wasn't fit to be a mother. The way that Judy had treated them wasn't how people were supposed to be treated by the people the cared about. He waited patiently for them to get dressed (he had made a quick run back to his apartment to get Quinn some clothes) and when they emerged from Rachel's bedroom, he immediately wrapped his sister in a hug. Quinn had returned it after a moment, almost stiffly.

He had that feeling that something wasn't right still.

Pulling back, he smiled sadly at his sister. "Are you okay?"

Quinn only shrugged and stepped back. She still hadn't smiled.

Nobody blamed her; it was a hard thing for her to do. Sticking up to her mother like that, especially when she never talked, it had to of taken a lot out of her. She looked around at her friends and gave them all a half-assed smile, then turned to Rachel. 'Can we go out? Please?' She asked, her eyes hopeful.

Rachel nodded and grabbed her bag, then took Quinn's hand. If she couldn't make the blonde better right away, the least she could do was help her along the way.