sorry it's been such a long time… sooooo busy… here ya go!

A/N: written by me, mArTiNaMcBrIdErOx91. I hope you enjoy this chapter, we're really sorry about the long wait. April's POV written by Broadway Babe WA

DISCLAIMER: We own nothing. Except the plot of this story.

WILL'S APARTMENT

Debbie's POV

Will has no problems getting April into bed, but Rachel is another story. She fights, and freaks out because she's still having nightmares of the attack. I have to sit with her until she falls into a very restless sleep, but at least she's trying.

April's doing much better, I really don't see any problems with getting her to eat or sleep, except the occasional nightmare that she does have. She will be able to finish school, but will need a little more support than most of the kids in her class because she has been through so much.

I'm still sitting with Rachel since she asked me to, and it's really hard for her to relax. I just wish she'd open up a little more about what happened so we could really help her. I want to get her into counseling but I just don't think she's ready.

THE NEXT MORNING

Will's POV

I only heard Rachel scream once last night, which is good. Thankfully it didn't wake April up, she was sleeping like a baby all night. She even slept through my alarm, which she almost never does.

I go into the kitchen to see my mom making breakfast. "I think April should stay home again.."

"I really want her to…" she replies.

"she was sound asleep all night, she barely moved. And she slept through my alarm, which she never does. So I really don't wanna wake her up" I tell her.

"that's fine. Rachel actually got some sleep last night. But she still won't talk about anything though" she tells me.

"I'm gonna talk to Emma today and see if she knows anybody that would be willing to work with Rachel, we both know she needs counseling." I say. This is not easy for her to deal with and she needs somebody to help her work through these feelings.

"she'll barely talk to me, so I'm not sure how well that'll work, but she really does need it. I won't talk to her about it until after you've talked to Emma." She says.

I glance into the hallway and notice April dragging herself into the kitchen. She pulls herself up onto the stool and glances at the cinnamon rolls my mom is pulling out of the oven.

I walk over to her and rub her back, "you can stay home today if you want to.."

"I've already missed once this week… I can't. Science quiz." She yawns.

My mom puts a cinnamon roll and a big glass of orange juice in front of her and she smiles.

"sweetie, you're exhausted. Your teachers know what's been going on and they won't be mad if you take another day to rest." I explain to her.

She takes a big gulp of the orange juice, "but, I don't want people to think I dropped out again. And there's that Glee performance, I have to be there to practice…"

"you've only missed one day. It's not a big deal…" I reassure her.

She yawns, "I'll be fine Will. I need to go to school"

I rub her back, "I'm leaving in twenty minutes, think you can be ready?"

She nods, and takes another bite of her cinnamon roll before getting up to go into the bedroom. Mom walks into the guest bedroom to go check on Rachel. I wait another ten minutes and decide to check on April. The clothes she was planning on wearing are laid out on the bed, and she's laying down without any covers on, sound asleep. I cover her up with the blankets and hang her clothes on the closet door. I turn out the light as I grab my bag to leave for school.

Debbie's POV

I managed to get Rachel to eat some cereal and drink a small glass of juice. Will comes in to tell me he's going to school, and that April fell asleep again. I get Rachel settled with a movie and decide to call Greg and let him know how things are going.

After I talked to him for about an hour, I notice April come into the living room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"where's Will?" she yawns.

"he went to school. You fell asleep again after breakfast and we both decided you really needed the rest" I tell her.

"I was fine. He could have woken me up and I would have gone to school" she says.

"I don't think so, you could barely hold your eyes open at breakfast and Will told me you were sound asleep all night" I tell her.

"whatever. I guess I don't have a choice now.." she pouts, sitting next to me.

I gently rub her back, "maybe this afternoon we can work on some of the stuff you need to turn in.."

"fine…" she yawns, curling up on the couch.

I put a blanket over her and she just smiles at me. "want me to put a movie in?"

She just yawns again, "is this what it's like to have a mom?"

My heart breaks for her when she asks me this question. She's nearly 40 years old and has no idea what it's like to have a family.

I gently run my fingers through her hair, "yeah sweetie, it is…"

"I've always wanted one since I was little…" she sadly says.

I keep running my fingers through my hair, "I know sweetie, sometimes things just happen"

She sighs and pulls the blanket around her. "it's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong… at least I think I didn't"

"I know it isn't fair. But I want you to believe me when I tell you that it wasn't your fault. You did absolutely nothing wrong. It wasn't your choice when they left" I tell her.

She whimpers, "nobody's ever said that…"

Now I kinda have a better understanding of why she has such a huge fear of people leaving her and had a hard time accepting help from other people. She was just abandoned and nobody ever cared enough to explain to her that it wasn't her decision for them to leave or that she had nothing to do with it.

I keep running my fingers through her hair. "I really wish someone would have sweetie. Maybe things would have been easier for you"

She gives me a small nod. "I never really told anybody anyways. Definitely not teachers. I tried really hard to make it look like everything was perfectly normal, when really, I had nowhere to live and nobody that wanted me.."

"were you scared of people finding out?" I ask. most of the time that's why people don't talk. I know that Rachel's that way right now. She's too scared to say more than a few words at a time.

"yeah.. I didn't want them to call the police" she sighs.

"It can be kinda hard dealing with them when you're by yourself. So I understand why you didn't wanna tell" I say.

She just sighs, "there were a couple times in the beginning I almost did. But I just starting convincing myself that it would be okay.."

I gently rub her shoulder and she sits up to hug me. it's a really good thing she's talking about this, it seems like it's been pent up inside of her for way too long. I'm not gonna pressure her to say much more if she doesn't want to.

I gently hug her and rub her back. She's not crying, but I do hear a tiny whimper or two. I put a movie in but never pressed play after she started talking. Since Rachel's been occupied for a while now with some movies, I can focus a little more attention on April.

"everything's gonna be okay, I promise" I quietly say to her, rubbing her back.

She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder, grabbing the remote. She just needs a positive role model in her life for once, and somebody that is willing enough to show that they care.

I can tell she's starting to trust me because I know she wouldn't open up to just anybody about this. I doubt she's even told Will. I'm not gonna bring it up to him because I want her to be able to keep her trust in me. If she wants to tell him, she can.

She falls asleep during the movie so I gently lay her down on the couch, and go to check on Rachel. She's just laying in the bed staring at the ceiling. I don't want to startle her by trying to get her attention. I can't get that conversation I just had with April out of my mind. She was just a little girl and her family just had to abandon her. Things could have been a lot better for her now if someone just took the time to show they cared.