Before I start writing this, I should warn you: this is a very dark chapter with heavy themes of abuse. If that's not your thing… well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter.

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Jack looked at everyone around him as they stood there, not knowing what to do or what to say. They were feeling extremely guilty, as they had been for the past few months, ever since they discovered it. Why didn't we figure it out before? Jack agonized. It was obvious in retrospect. The signs were there, the behavior was there. I thought I'd be smart enough to figure it out, but I guess I was wrong.

Ordinarily, waiting for so long meant they would have been bored out of their mind, but under the circumstances, they were just afraid. Jack paced around nervously, driving Vlad crazy, but he couldn't bring himself to scream at him. He wasn't in any better shape, after all.

"So what do you think's going on happen?" Jack wondered. "Do you think they'll be convicted?"

"I really hope so." Vlad admitted. "This is my fault."

"Don't ever say it's your fault, V-man." Jack snapped at him. "You didn't do anything! They are the ones responsible!" He put a hand on Vlad's shoulder, trying to give him some support. Both of them testified in court about what they saw, what had happened.

"They better get what they deserve." Vlad snarled.

"Oh, I don't think there will be any doubt of that," Mr. Masters replied. He was a man of around 50 with white hair and brown eyes. He and his wife were there to provide moral support to the trio. This truly surprised Vlad, since they rarely did anything for him, much less his friends. "How are you holding up, son?"

"How do you think I am?" Vlad snapped at him. Ordinarily, he would never dare raise his voice to his father like that, but after everything that had happened in the past few months, his parents didn't scare him much anymore. "This is my fault! I should have seen something earlier, been able to figure it out!"

"Vladimir, do not blame yourself" His mother declared firmly. "If you want to blame someone, blame them. You didn't have any control over it."

"And from what Jack told you, you two ran in there when you saw she was in danger." Mr. Fenton tried to reassure him. Over the years, he had come to see Vlad Masters as a surrogate son. "If it wasn't for you, this might never have ended."

"I just hope this finally ends." Jack shook his head. The door opened and Maddie came bursting out in a frenzy, nearly running into them. Her hair was a complete mess, tears flying out of her eyes. She didn't spare them a second glance, running out of the building.

"Maddie!" Jack and Vlad exclaimed.

"Where is she going?" Jack asked. The duo followed her down the steps of the courthouse, but she had gone out of sight. "How do we find her?"

"Why are you asking me, Jack?" Vlad snapped at him. "I don't blame her for running! I'm amazed she was able to testify at all." Vlad had to admit to himself that if it had been him, he would likely not have had the strength. Admittedly, the two of them encouraged her and with the addition of Alicia's testimony, hopefully, this would end permanently.

"So how long are they going to be locked up for?" Jack wondered.

"Not long enough, not even close." Vlad snarled. No amount of time would ever be enough!. An idea just came to his head. He might know where she had disappeared to. Vlad started running down the rest of the steps.

"Wait up, Vlad!" Jack declared, trying to catch up to his friend. "Are you telling me you know where she is?"

"I might, but Jack… let me do this alone." Vlad asked his friend.

"Hey, she's my friend too!" Jack protested.

"I know, but this has to be between me and her." Vlad sighed. While Jack was close with Maddie, he wasn't quite as close to her as Vlad was. "I could be wrong, but I think I know where she is."

"Sorry, V-man; we're all in this together." Jack laughed. "I look forward to being the best man when you two get married!"

That was the last thing on Vlad's mind right now and part of the reason why he wanted to do this alone. While he was very fond of him, he had the annoying tendency to make light of situations. It wasn't what any of them needed right now. And I can relate to her better than Jack can. Vlad told himself.

He was only mildly surprised when he found Maddie. It was their old spot, where they played on the swings together every day many years ago. She was just sitting there, eyes haunted, saying nothing. "Maddie?" Vlad asked, trying to get her attention. She turned her head towards him, but said nothing. Vlad started swinging, hoping to get her to talk, hoping to remind her of happier memories. Unfortunately, it seemed to be ineffective.

He turned around when he saw her lips move, even though he wasn't able to hear what she said. "What did you say?" he asked, hoping she'd talk to him.

"I was 10." Maddie stated, audibly but softly.

"This has been going on for close to 5 years?" Vlad gasped in surprise, nearly falling off of the swing. Maddie nodded slightly, still finding words difficult. "Why didn't you tell us anything?"

"I was scared." Maddie admitted.

"We could have protected you, Maddie; we could have gotten you out." Vlad informed her. Granted, their efforts at rescue nearly ended in disaster, but even so, they could have done something. "Did you tell anyone?"

"Yes, my mom."

"Did she do anything about it?" Vlad extended his hatred to another member of Maddie's family.

"No, she ignored me." Maddie teared up again. "I thought she was just in denial, that she'd help me when she learned the truth. One day, though, when he was… touching me, she walked in. I thought she'd try to help me, grab something, demand that he leave me alone, but… she just told him that dinner was ready and walked out. She didn't… she didn't care at all."

Vlad felt rage course through his body? Her mother knew and she did absolutely nothing? How could she abandon her own daughter? However neglectful his mother often was, if she learned that someone was abusing him, a teacher, a relative, she'd be ready to kill the one responsible. "What about your sister?"

"He was hurting her too. Alicia sometimes took my place, trying to protect me from him. Eventually, she ran away and it got worse."

"They can't hurt you anymore, Maddie. They're going to prison for a long, long time." Vlad promised, trying to hug her, but she immediately pulled away, falling off the swing in a heap. Maddie was on the verge of hyperventilating, curling into a ball. "Maddie, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just trying to help." He tried hugging her again, but she pulled away with even more fear. Okay, touching her is a bad idea. "Come on, Maddie, let's get back. The others are worried about us."

Maddie shook her head, refusing to move. Vlad sat down beside her, trying to offer what comfort he could. Obviously, he couldn't offer any kind of physical affection. He sat down silently, looking at concern, concern almost overflowing out of his eyes.

Difficult as Vlad's home life frequently was, there was something he now understood. His parents screamed at him, were very hard on him, especially when he dared shed tears (a habit he broke about 4 years ago) even hit him at times, but they loved him. Maddie's parents had never loved her, seeing her only as a tool, something to be used and thrown aside.

"What are you doing here, Vlad?" someone laughed at him. He turned out and saw his tormentor at the high school. Great, just what we need at the moment. "You know this place is for babies, right?" Thomas got a look at Maddie curled up in a ball and crying. "Dude, what did you to her?"

"Get out of here, Thomas, now." Vlad glared furiously. "I'm in no mood to put up with your bullshit." Vlad was 5'3 and weighed only around 120 pounds, so Thomas would see little reason to find him intimidating. However, he severely underestimated Vlad's current anger. "Go!"

"I don't think so, wimp… unless you think you can make me." Thomas laughed. Taking another look at Vlad, along with the kind of state Maddie was in, he raised his hands. "Fine, I'll let you off this once, but just wait until tomorrow." He moved closer to Maddie, who was barely making a single sound. "Dude, did you actually hit her? You make me sick, Masters."

"I haven't touched her." Vlad hissed, really, really wanting him to leave so he could try to help his friend. What was he being accused for, anyway?

"Is there a problem here?" Jack glared at him. Tom glanced over at him. He could beat Vlad, even in his enraged state, but knew he had little chance against his larger friend. Tom left, still not sure what was going on. "Maddie?"

"How did you figure it out?" Vlad asked.

"It took me a while, but then I remembered how we first met." Jack admitted. "I decided to take a guess and what do you know? I was right!" He turned serious again. "How is she holding up?"

"How do you think, Jack?" Vlad snapped at him, waving his hand towards Maddie to emphasize his point. They both approached her, but she wasn't moving. Vlad cautiously poked her on her leg, hoping he wasn't going to make her feel frightened again. She stirred slightly, but otherwise didn't move.

"Well, Dad's willing to take her in until they can find a foster home." Jack sighed. Ever since her parents were arrested, she had stayed in the foster care system while they attempted to place her with someone. Vlad talked to talk his parents into letting her stay there, but while they felt a rare bit of sympathy, they refused. Vlad was worried, not only because of the state Maddie was in, but because he didn't want to lose her. She was one of his best friends and held a special place in his heart. He admitted he would rather she have stayed with him, but at least she was going to stick around.

"You think she's going to recover from this?" Vlad worried.

"Maddie's a strong girl; she'll move past it." Jack reassured.

Vlad continued looking at her. "When this started, I would have agreed with you. Now, though… I'm not so sure. This isn't something you just forget. I don't think we should move her."

"We might have to; it looks like it might rain. Maddie?"

"It looks like she's asleep." Vlad sighed. "We're going to have to move her." He moved close to Maddie. Even in sleep, her face was contorted with pain. "Maddie?" He nudged her gently. Maddie gasped, swinging her hand around, but stayed asleep. He was reluctant to wake her up.

"Vlad, we need to move her."

"I'm not waking her, Jack."

Jack walked over to Maddie and started shaking her awake. Her eyes widened and she swung her limbs around, crying: "No, please don't! Leave me alone! I don't want to, Daddy!" Each word felt like another knife in Vlad's heart. She eventually realized she was out of her house and near her friends, not her parents.

"We've got to go, Maddie." Jack informed her. "Sorry to wake you, but we need to get home. I think there's a storm blowing in." She nodded and got up, keeping a distance from both of them. They walked into Jack's house, where Maddie was escorted into the guest room.

Vlad sat down next to the bed, looking at her, not saying anything. He didn't think there was anything to say. Mr. Fenton walked in, saying that it was time for dinner. It was eaten mostly in silence, with all three of them trying to get Maddie to speak, but she didn't do anything but nod or shake her head.

Afterwards, Jack went into his room. Vlad refused to leave Maddie, so Mr. Fenton reluctantly allowed him to stay there, bringing in a mattress for him to sleep on. Vlad's parents were informed that Vlad was going to stay there. Maddie didn't react at all, except when she started shaking when the door was closed, so they decided to leave it open a crack.

"Maddie… you know I'm not going to hurt you, right?" Vlad asked. Is she actually scared of me? Does she really think I'm going to hurt her?

"Yes… I know." She replied to him. Eventually, she ended up going to sleep, but Vlad was unable to do. Part of him still blamed himself for not doing anything sooner. He didn't know how much time passed, but he saw her in the middle of a nightmare, shaking off her blanket and flailing her limbs. Vlad simply sighed, trying to look away, but he found that he couldn't.

After closing arguments, it took the jury less than an hour to find her parents guilty. Alicia hovered around Maddie, suffering just as much as her younger sister, but expressing it with anger instead of fear. She warned both of them: "You so much as kiss her, I'll put a fucking bullet into your brains. Understand?" To prove she was completely serious, she showed them her gun. Jack and Vlad both gulped and nodded.

Since Alicia didn't have a place of her own to story, Maddie stayed with the Fentons. Mr. Fenton provided all of them with as much support as he could, but Maddie absolutely refused to be alone with him, for any reason at all. She never said that much and only spoke single word answers for a long time. Even after that, there was little noise coming out of her, except for the nightmares.

During all of this, she seemed to feel safest around Vlad. He still couldn't touch her at all, but she didn't immediately panic when left alone with him. There were times she talked to him about what happened. About how Alicia kept her father from touching her more often, how she sacrificed her own body to protect her sister, how some days they bandaged their wounds and cried together. She told him about her mother's indifference, how she pleaded with her to protect her from him, and always the same apathy.

After Alicia had enough and ran away from home, it became worse. On the rare occasion she tried to resist, she was beaten. Every time she spoke about it, Vlad became enraged. He almost never left her side. Even when his grades suffered for it and his parents shouted at him, he refused. Jack stayed by her as well, though she said less about her experience to Jack than Vlad. He reacted pretty much the same way, though.

Gradually, she started talking about other things, trying to get back into a semblance of a normal life. Maddie still couldn't handle being touched, however.

"Glad you're able to help her." Jack look at his friend. "You're going to make a great couple one day." Vlad groaned; he was getting tired of that joke.

"Yeah, I've been a great help." Vlad sneered. "I was so helpful, I left her in that hell for 5 years!"

"She's talked to you about her experience far more than she has me." Jack reminded him. "You're helping her, Vlad, more than you think. You've run yourself ragged trying to do everything for her." That was putting it mildly. He was nearly failing a couple of his classes, as his mind was almost solely focused on her. Jack felt left out at times, but knew the reasoning behind Vlad's actions.

"I know, but Alicia scares the hell out of me." Vlad admitted. "I don't think she was joking when she said she would kill us."

Maddie's grades, on the other hand, were outstanding. She threw herself into her work, trying to find something else to focus on. People quickly left her alone after Jack and Vlad tore into her main bully. She spent a lot of the time away from everyone else, just reading one of her textbooks or writing a paper.

Jack dealt with his guilt by going into football, eventually becoming the star defensive lineman. He offered to get Vlad a place on the team, but he declined. While Vlad enjoyed watching the packers, being chased down by morons wasn't what he wanted to spend his afternoons doing. They'd love to use him as a target.

On the day of the sentencing, her father was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, while her mother was sentenced to 10. With a look of pure revulsion, the bailiff took them away.

"They're not going to hurt you again, Maddie, I promise." Jack told her. Her father looked at her and grinned. Mr. Fenton's response was to put his fist next to his hand and from the looks of it, he was all but begging for an excuse to pound him. He gulped and turned away.

"They found a family willing to take you in." Mr. Fenton informed her. "If anything happens over there, you let me know, ok?" He looked into Maddie's eyes. He was nervous about letting her go. The poor girl had already suffered more than most people did in their entire lives. Mr. Fenton did not want her dealing with more pain.

"Thanks, Mr. Fenton." Maddie gave him a very rare smile. Over the past couple of months, she was able to be alone with him without losing her mind, although she was still nervous and ready to dart for an exit at the slightest warning. "I'm grateful for your help."

"We're all here for you, Maddie." Vlad promised her. They were hoping that her parents being sent to prison for a very long time would help provide closure and allow her to heal.

But for Vlad, that wasn't enough. He wanted blood and he swore that one day, he would get it.

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