Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.

Chapter 3: Finding Refuge Is Not Enough

Here they are, parked outside of the Berry household. He knows they should come in, because Rachel might wake up any minute now, but he can't. Not yet.

He doesn't know what will happen when she wakes up, and he's not sure when (or if) he'll get an opportunity, so he slipped out back and sat carefully on the side, placing Rachel's head in his lap. He felt warm just by doing that. He felt home.

"Why did this happen to us, Rach?" he asked, knowing full well that she can't hear him. He stroked her hair lovingly, like he always used to. He chuckled when he saw her mouth was open, drooling a little on the side.

"You didn't even change." He said, still chuckling. "Same old cute drool." He wiped the corner of her lips and let his finger linger there. He can feel his small smile fade into a bitter frown.

"You have no idea how much I miss you." He whispered intensely. He stroked her cheek as he lowered his head to whisper softly in her ear. "Come back to me, Rach."

After a few moments, he carried her and knocked on the red door. Leroy Berry immediately opened up, not letting Sam finish his third knock.

"Sam," Leroy said, looking shocked for a moment. He snapped out of his stupor and stepped inside. "Come in."

"Where's her room?"

"I'll show you."

The brown-haired dad led the way upstairs. He opened the second door to the right and let Sam some in with an unconscious Rachel. He watched as the blonde boy placed his daughter's head carefully on the bed, took off her shoes and arranged the pillows. He then began to stroke her cheek softly and kissed her jaw with affection. Leroy doesn't need to see Sam's face to know that it's full of love; he'd seen the sight before. The scene before him would have been so perfect for the couple if not for the situation they are in now. Both he and Sam knew that they need to talk, but not with Rachel on the room, unconscious or not. So he decided to go down first, giving them a well-deserved moment of privacy.

Sam finally came down after a while and went straight to the living room, where he sees Leroy.

"What happened to her?" Rachel's dad asked worriedly.

"She passed out." Sam answered. "I'm not sure why."

"Sam," Leroy tried to calm the tension but Sam interrupted.

"Five months," he said, voice hard. "I didn't know anything for five months. No one knows where Rachel is. I suspected Mom knew, but she won't talk about it. I know what you did was for the best and I'm not really blaming you." He took a deep breath to maintain composure. "But what about me? What about me and her? You know how much I love her."

Leroy looked at Sam with sad eyes. "I know, Sam, and it breaks my heart that it happened the way it is. But if we stayed there, if she remembered, you know how it could possibly go. You heard the doctors."

The blonde took a deep breath again and blinked back tears. "Yeah I did. But it's just—it's just-"

"Unfair. I know." Leroy finished for him. And it's true. They're so young, and this is just not fair for them. Especially Sam. "We all know. And it's not right to just leave without saying anything to you-"

"So why did you?" he asked, voice becoming hard again.

"Because that's easier. More practical." A voice said from behind. They both turned to look at Hiram Berry, who just came in the door. "If we told you what were planning on doing, would you have agreed?"

Sam really thought about it for a moment. Hiram's right. He probably wouldn't have at first. But he would have given himself a benefit of the doubt.

"The least you could do is say goodbye. Even if just on paper."

Hiram smiled bitterly. "Would that really stop you? Do you honestly think that if we did that, you could go in with your life?"

"Well you did otherwise, and yet I'm here." Sam countered.

They had a few moments of silence.

"You're right." Hiram finally said. "You're here now because of this, but what about Rachel? If we said goodbye, you would have stopped us right then and there, cause commotion, and who knows how she'll go."

Sam didn't say anything.

"Look son," Hiram patted him on the shoulder. "Life hasn't been good to you recently, both of you. Everything wasn't your fault and yet, you're suffering. We always knew you'd find us sooner or later. We knew you'd never give up on her. We saw you at the hospital, remember? We know."

Sam's jaw was clenched. He felt his throat tighten and he was blinking back tears. "If you always knew that, why'd you still do it?"

"Were trying to give you a way out, Sam." Leroy said softly. "That way, you won't feel guilty or burdened. We left. She left. She wasn't going to be your responsibility anymore. I'm sure at some point you knew that it was a chance to start over, no matter how hard."

Sam sank down on the couch, unable to keep his emotions any longer. A tear slid down his cheek and he wiped it furiously. "I couldn't." he said silently. "I wouldn't. She's Rachel. She's my Rachel."

Leroy sat beside him for comfort. Sam looked so broken, and both of them couldn't blame him. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything about it either.

"Patience, Sam." Hiram said from his other side. "And hope of course."

A few moments of silence emerged, letting it sink in on Sam's head.

"How did you find her, anyway?" Leroy asked.

"Lima, Ohio is not that big."

Hiram smiled wryly. "You know we're not talking about that."

Sam pursed his full lips. "She once told me you're from here. I figured you'd go back, since it would be too difficult to start over completely."

Both the fathers nodded in acceptance.

"And entering McKinley High? How were you sure that she was there?"

"Rachel wouldn't like home-schooling." Sam answered immediately. "And you're keeping it as normal as possible."

Hiram and Leroy kept silent.

"Though it wasn't how it's used to be isn't it?" Sam said, knowing that he was voicing their thoughts. "She's not like how she was before."

Leroy sighed. "I miss my baby girl." He said quietly. Hiram patted him on the back for comfort, while looking on a far distance.

"She doesn't deserve this." Sam agreed, remembering Rachel on Glee club.

"Neither do you, Sam." Hiram said softly. "But unlike her, you can get away. You can have a much simpler life. You can still choose."

"Hiram," Sam said, looking up. "This is my choice. I choose her."

Leroy moved closer to look at him intently. "You have to understand that she may never remember."

"Then I'll start all over again." He replied. "This is a twisted life, but it's what I want."

"Okay," Hiram said, smiling faintly. "But you need to be careful. You know what you have to do, and what you need to avoid."

Sam nodded.

"Do they know you're here?" Leroy suddenly asked. "Your parents."

"Dad knows, mom doesn't."

"What does she know?" Hiram asked.

"Football scholarship."

He narrowed his eyes. "In Ohio? They know were here."

Sam shook his head. "In North Carolina."

Hiram pursed his lips. "Okay," he said finally. "But if she asks us, we won't lie to her Sam."

Sam somehow knew he was going to say something like that, so he nodded.

"Where are you living and with who?" Leroy asked worriedly. He knows that Sam doesn't know anyone from Ohio.

"My dad helped me with that." He explained. "His close friend is from here, and I'm now staying at his family's house."

Both Hiram and Leroy nodded. Then, Hiram asked. "What's your plan?"

He just furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not yet sure. I've just gotten far long as seeing her, in my head. Everything else is superficial."

"Well," Hiram said. "That's not enough and you know it. Whatever you may decide, do it quick but just make sure to keep calm and stay objective. It'll soon be fine."

Hiram seemed to be talking more to himself than to him and for that, Sam felt deeply sad for them. She may be his love, but she's their daughter.

Well, he thought, at least she remembers them.

And like a lighting bulb, he remembered something he should have told them from the very beginning.

"She said my name," he finally said in clarity, as if he's just realizing it too. "Before she passed out. She called me Sammy."

Leroy looked at him wide-eyed.

"What?" Hiram sort of hissed in disbelief. "That's far from possible."

"Yeah." Sam answered, still in a daze. "Yeah, she did. And she looked at me as if she really knew who I am."

"Sam." Hiram looked at him intently. "You're not lying, are you?" he's worried Sam might be hoping too much.

He just shook his head determinedly. "I wouldn't lie about this."

So he told them what happened in glee club, what she looked like when she saw him the first time until the very end.

"Dazed?" Leroy asked, repeating what Sam used as a description on Rachel's expression.

"Something like that. I can't really explain." Sam answered. "I'm sure something was going on in her head, I just don't know what it might be."

Leroy looked at his husband. "What do you think?" He asked worriedly.

Hiram was quiet all the while. He's not sure what to do. Never, in this past five months ahs Rachel shown any sign of remembrance, she just got quite... silent.

"Let's play by ear." He decided. "We'll talk to her first. Check for anything significant. Then we'll talk again."

"You're really gonna allow me to stay here?" Sam asked, mildly surprised.

Hiram nodded. "You're here, aren't you? You found her after everything. Maybe there's hope." He smiled at him. "I always knew you'd show up here, boy. It's just a matter of time."

AN:

I'm sorry for the grammatical errors and misspelled words. I know it took me a while to post this, but I hope you enjoy :D it's not much, just the discussion of Sam and Rachel's dads so you can see the level of communication that they have and probably helped you guys fill in the details regarding their past.

I hope you guys review! By the way, thank you for those who added this story to your favourites and alerts! Please continue to support and review! I'm looking forward to it!

The title of this story is a line from Panic! At the Disco's song 'Memories'. I'm thinking of posting my mixtape for this story, what do you think?