-1A/NL I'm not really entirely sure about this chapter. I've been debating it and fighting it for a couple weeks now, and it's kicking my ass. I thought about just leaving the whole thing out, but thought that some of it was necessary. So after much wrestling, this is the result. Tell me what you think.

Disclaimer- Duh.

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The next morning Cassie woke up screaming but with her mouth closed like someone had their hand over it. Someone pulled her close to their chest, rubbing her back, whispering in her ear.

"Shhhh. It's okay. I'm here. You're okay. I'm not letting you go." The figure kept whispering over and over in her ear as she calmed down.

She looked up to find Jess laying with her. She didn't remember when he got there. She didn't remember much of anything. The last thing she remembered was… well she didn't want to think about the last thing she remembered. She didn't remember him stopping. She didn't remember Jess coming. She didn't remember getting into pajamas. But she was. She was in her Pjs, there were different sheets on her bed, and her hair was soft and dry like someone had combed it out and blow-dried it.

"Hey." Jess said softly, but Cassie couldn't respond. She felt like she had cotton in her mouth and there was a lump in her throat and the space between her legs hurt like no other.

She buried her face in his warm chest and got as close to him as physically possible and Jess got the hint wrapping an arm around her back and pulling her to him further, almost hugging her too hard, but not quite.

She couldn't stay in the apartment. She couldn't stay anywhere He had been. So even still in her pajamas Jess took her to his apartment and she spent the entire day in his bed while he laid with her, comforting her as memories from the night before came flooding back.

Jess called her mother and told her Cassie had fallen asleep over at his apartment and he would bring her back the next day. It wasn't rare that they stayed over at one another's place. It was actually quite frequent.

By the next day as Cassie dressed in some clothes that she left at Jess' just in case. She was fine. More like she was acting like she was fine.

"You have to go to the doctor."

"No I don't. I'm fine." She pulled on a sock.

"You're not fine. No one's fine after that. I'm going to kill him." Jess tried to reason before letting some of the anger get the best of him.

"Well I am. And no, you're not. It's my fault. I provoked him." That's what He had told her over and over again Cassie remembered when everything came back.

"Cassie, it's not your fault. Nothing you could have done deserved that."

"Obviously it did." Tears started to prickle behind her eyes but she refused to let them go.

"Cass."

"No, Jess. I gotta go."

"Where?"

"Out." She finished tying her converse and left the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Jess just sighed and collapsed on the couch.

She wasn't mad at him. Cassie knew she was acting like Jess was the one who did something wrong, but she didn't know how to act after something like that happened. It hurt and it was embarrassing, and she didn't want to be the girl who spent the rest of her life crying over it. She was never the helpless girl and she didn't plan on starting.

Given, she didn't know what she would've done without Jess, it didn't feel right to cry all over him 24/7. He didn't deserve that. He'd helped more than anyone could imagine and Cassie knew it took an emotional toll. Jess was good at hiding when he was hurt or hurting just like she could, but he couldn't hide it from her. He hadn't slept at all the previous two nights, making sure that she was okay.

She just needed to get out. Get some air. Let Jess sleep a little and let her mind wander.

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"Cassie." Jess called through the bathroom door. "You've been in there for two hours. What are you washing?"

"Jesus!" She yelled. "I'm gross."

"You're not gross. You're cleaner than anyone on this Earth, and Jesus, trust me."

"No, I'm not. I'm dirty." It still felt like he was all over.

"Cassie, I'm coming in if you do not get out of that shower right now."

"I'll come out when I'm clean!"

Jess quickly picked the lock and opened the door. She was at his apartment because she refused to shower in hers because Hitler showered there. Liz was never home anyway, so it worked.

"Come on." Jess opened the shower door.

"No! Don't look at me, I'm disgusting." She was losing it. Every once in awhile she would. She'd get completely irrational and scream and hit until she wore herself out and cried herself to sleep.

"I really didn't want to have to do this." Jess wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, carrying her out of the bathroom.

"Don't touch me!" She shrieked, punching his chest. He put her down on his bed, sitting up, entwining their fingers, holding her hands so she could calm down.

He'd learned the hard way that you couldn't just hold her hands together, and you couldn't leave them free. If you held them when she was already in this state it'd get worse, and she'd start think Jess was Hitler and scream more, and kick. But if you just let them be she would hit you. It was a fine line when she was like this, and it was at these times that Jess was glad he lived in a bad neighborhood. No one would call the police because she was screaming.

"Shhh." Jess stared into her eyes, calming her down. "You're not disgusting. He's not here."

"No." Her voice was a whimper now. "He's still on me."

"No he's not. The only people here are me and you. No one else."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Can you erase him?"

Jess knew exactly what she was asking. "Baby, you're still too hurt. It's too new. You need to heal."

"I'm fine. I need you." She looked at him, and Jess didn't know what to do. Cassie kissed him softly, tugging on his shirt. He let her take it off along with the rest of his clothes. He laid her down and hesitated. "I won't break." She told him, and Jess knew that he couldn't break her anymore than she had been.

He still entered her gently and watched her wince just slightly before smiling softly and nodding.

They'd never gone that slow, but after they had both climaxed, Cassie smiled at him and kissed his lips sweetly whispering how much she loved him. In those moments it seemed like everything would be okay.

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A/N: (cringes) Don't hurt me?

Watergurl123- Intense in a good way?

Squealing- I was glad to hear nothing like that happened to you, but it's terrible that is happened to some of your friends. Am I portraying it well?

Xo- I'm glad you like Cassie. I like to write characters that the readers will like. I think writing characters people will hate is pointless. You just get people worked up for nothing. Keep reading and reviewing.

Hollowgirl22- Haha, was that a portrayal of your face while reading that chapter? It was cute. Thanks for the review.

Dragon Dreamer3- Sorry that this was not such a quick update. This chapter was extremely hard for me to write. The next chapter should be up much sooner. I think Cassie will be okay. I'm glad that you think I approached it well and that you feel something for a character that I just introduced. It's a compliment to a writer when they can make the readers feel something. Thank you so much.

Curley-Q- Yes, poor Cassie indeed. Not a fun experience by any stretch of the imagination. There will be a Rory/Cassie scene coming up in a few chapters. I hope you enjoy it.

Just A Girl- I'm glad you liked it even though it was sad. This one was kind of sad too. Watching someone you love fall apart is one of the hardest things in the world.

Aiden86- Her step-dad is exactly that. (Glares) We haven't been on at the same time lately, and it's making me very sad. My ego is shrinking because you're not there to feed it until it's endlessly fat. I'm thinking we need to start messaging on myspace again because the iming is working out. Hope you liked this chapter too.

Exitlight- There will be I think just one more flashback, and you will find out if she was raped more than once soon. Thanks for the review.

The Warner Sister Dot- Thank you very much! It is devastating and I don't think people ever get over the pain of it. It's very good to hear I'm portraying it well.

Amy- Thanks. Music can be very powerful.

Gilmoreintraining- Thanks. I'm actually going to finish this story. Amazing, I know. But I am.

Contygoldbarg- Thank you very much. I'm not so sure about this chapter, but I hope that it was worth the wait.