Author's Note: Not as many reviews this time, but that's okay. I guess fluff isn't for everyone. With that being said...there'll be more fluff, but some other stuff as well. This chapter is more about acceptance and breaking free from the nightmare for Quinn.

I don't own the characters. Just borrowing them. The song is "The Last Song I'm Wasting on You" by Evanescence. Not mine either.

Chapter 9

It was early afternoon on a beautiful spring day when Santana and Quinn decided to go to the park. Quinn's wrist healed mostly, and she generally could get around better in her chair, occasionally using her crutches around the house. She was in her chair at the moment though, San deciding that she didn't want Quinn to overdo it on their first outing since the blonde got out of the hospital nearly a month ago.

It was a short walk to the park down the street, and the two decided to have lunch there, overlooking the little pond. There were children feeding the ducks pieces of bread, running around and playing with one another as their parents looked on. The sunshine felt wonderful to the blonde, who felt like she went a few shades paler during the two weeks she spent in the apartment.

Santana kissed Quinn chastely, then walked away to get them something to eat from the vendor nearby, giving Quinn a moment alone to lose herself in her thoughts. A song she'd heard on San's iPod the other day has been running through her head on repeat, so she brought it with her to listen to the haunting words closely while she waited for her brunette.

Sparkling grey,
They're my own veins.
Any more than a whisper,
Any sudden movement of my heart.
And I know, I know I'll have to watch them pass away

Just get through this day

Give up your way, you could be anything,
Give up my way, and lose myself, not today
That's too much guilt to pay

Quinn's stomach knotted, and she held her breath without realizing as the part that really hit home approached, the song basically summing up the last several months of her relationship with Jared.

Sickened in the sun
You dare tell me you love me
But you held me down and screamed you wanted me to die
Honey you know, you know I'd never hurt you that way

You're just so pretty in your pain

Give up my way, and I could be anything
I'll make my own way
Without your senseless hate... hate... hate... hate.

So run, run, run
And hate me, if it feels good.
I can't hear your screams anymore

She felt her heart clench and a few tears fall from her eye, as she stared of into the water of the pond. About that time Santana came back with their lunch, a frown coming over her features when she sees the tears on the blonde's cheek.

You lied to me
But I'm older now
And I'm not buying baby

The Latina sits the bag of food and the drinks down and kneels in front of her girl, rubbing her legs gently, her mouth moving but Quinn not hearing her, feeling her mental and emotional strength massively rise when she realizes that she is finally free from his abuse.

Demanding my response
Don't bother breaking the door down
I found my way out

And you'll never hurt me again.

"Quinn, baby, are you okay?" Santana repeated, after the blonde didn't respond the first time. Quinn's eyes shot up to Santana and she shook herself out of her thoughts, pulling the brunette into her for a deep kiss, yanking the ear buds from her ears.

"I love you Santana. I love you so much." she mumbles into the surprised woman's lips.

"I love you too, baby. Are you okay?" San asks as she rested her forehead to Quinn's.

"I am. I had an epiphany. I'm safe now...WE are safe now." she answered softly.

"You're safe with me, always." Santana smiles softly as she wipes the wetness from the blonde's cheek carefully. "I'll always keep you safe."

"I know. You always have taken care of me. Even when I didn't realize it." Quinn tells her before pecking her lips again and pulling back so that they can have their lunch.

The girls enjoy their sub sandwiches and make small talk, enjoying the weather and scenery, when Quinn's phone begins ringing. She pulls it from her little clutch purse that she has wedged between her and the side of the seat of her wheelchair, and answers when she realizes that it's her lawyer's office.

"Mrs. Logan, hello." She answered as she put the device to her ear.

"Good afternoon, Miss Fabray. I have some news for you." The older woman on the phone told her. "A court date has finally been set. I have spoken with the judicial office and he has already pleaded not guilty. We have more than enough evidence to put him away. Are you wanting to sue him, or just put him behind bars?"

"I don't want anything from him. I just want him out of my life." Quinn stated simply.

"Miss Fabray, I would highly recommend at least suing him for your medical bills, if nothing else. I would personally get every penny from him that I possibly could after what he put you through. We can get him for physical and emotional distress as well. You may not want anything from him physically, but the reason you are in that wheelchair is because of him."

"Fine. Yeah, get him for whatever you can." Quinn concedes, nodding, even though the older woman can't see the motion over the phone.

"I will. You can count on that Miss Fabray. The court date is one week from now at 10:00 in the morning. I should like to meet with you the day before however to go over the case with you, if that is possible."

"Yes, of course. What time should we be there?"

"How about we do lunch that day? The cafe beside our offices?"

"Sure, that's perfect. We will be there at noon. Thank you Mrs. Logan." Quinn tells her before they say their goodbyes and hang up, looking to Santana. "Court is in a week. At 10 am. We are meeting Mrs. Logan for lunch the day before. He pleaded not guilty."

"Of course he did." Santana replied with an eye roll. "He won't get away with it. We have too much on him."

"I know. We're gonna sue him too, for medical bills, physical and emotional trauma or distress or whatever." Quinn tells her, drinking her water.

"Good. You deserve to get whatever they can milk out of that low-life bastard."

Quinn just nods and puts her phone away. "Can we go somewhere else? I'm enjoying being out of the house. I'll roll myself so you don't have to."

Santana nods and smiles, happy to see Quinn slowly getting less and less withdrawn and depressed, quite surprised that it's happened so quickly. Then again she always has known Quinn to be strong, so all in all, it's really not surprising the more she thinks about it. "If you get tired of wheeling yourself, I don't mind to push you baby."

"I know, and I promise I won't overdo it." the blonde tells her with a playful eye roll at Santana, chuckling at the protectiveness from her girlfriend, further proof that the brunette really does love her. She smiled affectionately at San. That kind of protectiveness is reserved for only the most special people to the Latina. Sure, she's protective of all of her friends, but she's extra caring and sweet to Quinn, like she had been at one time with Brittany.

Now most of their inner circle know about them dating. Rachel and Brittany of course, but they had come out as a couple to Mercedes, Puck, Sam, Tina, Artie, Kurt and Blaine the week before when everyone got together to celebrate Rachel's new role. So obviously, they found out about what happened to Quinn as well. All of their friends were supportive, some even muttering out "Finally" when they were told.

Quinn unlocked the brakes on the wheel chair and allowed Santana to at least roll her out of the grass and onto the sidewalk, since it was easier. Once she took over, the pair made their way through the park and decided to do a little shopping, using the upcoming court date as an excuse to get some new clothes.

Santana gave Quinn a laugh when she strutted out of a dressing room, acting like she was putting on a fashion show with some truly hideous pieces, before causing her jaw to drop with some that were breathtaking. Santana bought every one of those pieces, loving the reaction it got from the blonde. She also helped Quinn try on some things, holding her up in the dressing room so that she could see if things fit her properly.

Quinn didn't buy quite as much as San, but she did buy a few things at the brunette's encouragement. She wouldn't admit it, but she only bought them because Santana basically drooled at the sight of her in some of them. Both women also bought a couple of sensible outfits for court and the lunch meeting with their shared lawyer.

After a long day of shopping and generally have fun together, the girls made their way home, bags hanging from the wheelchair, some in the basket with San's purse, and a few more in Quinn's lap. Once inside, Santana took them all and went to put them away in the bedroom that had basically been used only to hold the blonde's clothes, as Quinn was sleeping in her bed every night.

"I don't see why we don't just put all of our clothes in the same room." Santana told her as she heard Quinn roll up behind her.

"I don't want to take up your closet space, babe." Quinn told her.

"I have plenty of room...plus I kinda don't want you to go back to sleeping in here when this is all over."

"I don't want to either..."Quinn said softly, then smiled. "Let's do it. Let's move me into your room. My stuff I mean."

Santana smiled back at the response and turned to kiss Quinn. "You got it gorgeous."

Quinn helped Santana as best as she could to get the clothes from today, plus the others that she already had moved over to their now shared bedroom. Santana wasn't kidding when she said she had plenty of room. Her closet was huge, much bigger than the room that Quinn had been in previously.

"I'll have someone help me move your dresser in here next time they are over. It's to heavy for just me to move."

"Okay. It's been a long day, can you help me with my shower?" Quinn asked softly, in case San didn't feel like it.

"Of course babe. You know I like seeing you naked." Santana winked, causing Quinn to roll her eyes but chuckle. She followed the blonde to the bathroom, helping her undress and wrap her cast in the bag, taping it securely so that the plaster didn't get wet. It amused and endeared Quinn how meticulous Santana was about it. She always checked it three times, wanting to be perfectly sure that the cast didn't get wet.

The brunette then stripped herself down, and turned on the water. As always, Quinn found her eyes roaming the woman's perfect body. She wanted her, but she was afraid. Her mind may be clear of worry with Santana, but flashbacks still happened from time to time, along with nightmares. She didn't want to have a flashback in the middle of doing something with Santana.

"Like what you see?" Santana teased when she caught Quinn basically eye-fucking her. The blonde blushed and looked away. Santana guided her chin back around to look at her and kissed her lips softly. "You can look all you want, it's all yours."

"I want you San...but I'm scared. I don't want to freak out on you." Quinn tells her, swallowing hard.

"Q, I told you, don't worry about that." Santana assures her, helping her out of her chair and helping her into the shower, keeping her from putting her weight on the broken ankle, and keeping it out of the direct water stream. She began to wash Quinn's body carefully, as their usual routine consisted of.

"San...I want it." Quinn told her as the brunette rinsed her off.. "I want to feel your hands on my body, I want you to replace the memory of his roughness and...what he did, with your gentleness and love. San...I want you to make love to me."

Santana swallowed hard as she listened, knowing she wouldn't be able to turn down that request. However what she didn't realize, was that Quinn meant now. She helped Quinn out of the shower and sat her in the chair after she dried off, then stepped back under the water to wash herself. She didn't expect for Quinn to reach to her and grab her hand.

"San...please?" Quinn asked with a vulnerability in her voice that Santana recognized as fear of rejection. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to upset the blonde, to hurt her. And to be honest, she really, REALLY wanted what Quinn was asking. All she could do to reply was nod, looking into the beautiful hazel eyes that were pleading.

The brunette rinsed the soap off of herself and turned the water off. She towel dries her hair a little, then dries herself so she wouldn't drop Quinn from being slippery when she picked her up bridal style from the chair and kissed her passionately, carrying her to the bedroom they now shared.