Alright. Survey time again! Don't you all fret though it's not a blind survey. What Glee character would you like them to run into when they get settled into L.A.? I want it to be someone they recognize. Not like how Sam was a stranger, I want the person to be someone they all know.

I need to make a correction to the date in Chapter 3. The flashback says "6 years prior" it should say "7 years prior" I was checking all my dates and it didn't line up with their ages and where the story is currently progressing.

One last thing. Thank you to my new beta Jennception who checked this out for me and is helping me with future ideas and chapters. :D

The First 24
Chapter 8

December 27 – 11:30 AM

Now, with Rachel's arms securely around her, she didn't want to move. She couldn't move. Rachel was keeping all the 'bad' away. If Quinn really thought about it, then she'd realize just how childish that thought truly was. Why should she care though? Sure she wasn't at home, but at least she was finally where she belonged… in her wife's arms.

Quinn hadn't really taken much notice to anything other than the gentle touch of Rachel's fingertips on her arm. Or the light whisper of hair that brushed her face every time the brunette moved. Most of all… the scent that belonged to nobody but Rachel Berry-Fabray filled her senses. Staying completely focused on her wife helped ward off any incoming memories.

But… every once in a while one would break through and the attorney would silently cry on Rachel's shoulder. Nobody asked her what had happened – what had sparked it. Quinn couldn't have been more thankful. The people she was closest to were giving her the time she needed to disclose the details.

Rachel's heart broke just a little further with every outbreak of tears from Quinn. The tiny diva knew there was nothing more she could do other than to hold the broken woman. She was at least thankful to be able to do that given how Quinn shied away from her when they'd first arrived at the hospital. The fact that Quinn was allowing her to hold her as she cried showed huge progress. She'd even allowed Brittany to give her a hug before her and Santana left to get lunch for everybody. And, just before they walked out the door, Santana promised a bacon cheeseburger and fries. Quinn's favorite. Rachel wouldn't be surprised if they got her a chocolate milkshake too. Rachel never understood how the blonde could devour a cheeseburger while drinking a milkshake. But, the strange combination made Quinn different in Rachel's eyes. It made her love her that much more.

Rachel hummed one of the songs from her Broadway show while she gently rocked Quinn back and forth on the bed. The song she picked was her wife's favorite. She couldn't stop the first genuine smile in days from taking over her lips when she felt all of the muscles in Quinn's body relax. Rachel even swore she felt the soft vibration of her wife humming along with her. Rachel opened her mouth to sing softly to the last verse. It became the only sound in the room.

A sound Quinn thought she'd never hear again. Just that thought sent her into another round of tears. "I love you Rachel." It was the first time she'd spoken since the nurse administered the rape kit an hour ago.

With those few wimple words it was Rachel's turn to cry. After all the trauma of the past week, the diva was convinced she'd never hear those words again, let alone right from Quinn's mouth. "I love you too Quinn." She buried her face gently in the crook of her wife's neck. She was mindful of the bruising and cuts that seemed to cover every inch of Quinn's body. The last thing she wanted was to cause her any more pain then she was already dealing with.

"I never thought I'd hear you say it again."

Rachel took a few deep breaths to will herself to stop crying. Especially now. Now it seemed like Quinn wanted to talk. Her mind already started running a mile a minute, conjuring up various questions and various forms of the same question that she wanted to bombard her wife with. But… she told herself that she had to keep her inquisitive side at bay. Quinn needed to take things at her pace. If the pace was set for her she might shut right back down. And that was the last thing the brunette wanted. "Me either."

Quinn's eyes opened the moment she felt a hand on hers. Her heart felt like it was beating its way up into her throat. Rachel would never hurt her. After a few seconds of repeating that over and over again in her mind, she was finally able to calm her heart rate and push it back down into her chest. Where it belonged. "He taunted me."

"About what?" Rachel's fingers carefully laced with her wife's and she shifted until Quinn could rest her head on her shoulder.

"About you… about being gay. He kept telling me… that you didn't love me." Her voice cracked some at the memory.

"That little slut of yours doesn't love you." He laughed bitterly down at Quinn. "You're just her cover so she can screw around with her co-stars. You're just too stupid to see it."

"You're lying! You don't know her like I do!" Quinn dared to fight back. But was swiftly dealt a back-hand across her already badly injured face.

"I'm sure if I ever got to meet her she wouldn't hesitate to open those pretty little legs for me." He unzipped his jeans and knelt on the mattress between the attorney's thighs. "Maybe when I'm done with you I'll head into the city and pick her up."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Quinn suddenly bit her bottom lip to fight off the pain he caused her.

"I – I…" Quinn closed her eyes to regain her thoughts after just sharing the first segment of her capture with her wife. Rachel sat there in silence, simply waiting for her to be able to continue. "I told him to do whatever… whatever he wa-wanted to me… just as long as h-he didn't to-touch you." She forced out between shaking breaths.

Two conflicting emotions hit Rachel within a split second of one another. Her heart swelled with love for Quinn, knowing she'd give her own life to make sure she was safe. Yet, at the same time, her heart physically ached at hearing the same horrible things that the attorney had to listen to and deal with. Regardless of how much you love somebody, or that somebody loves you, hearing such derogatory things can make anybody question that. Rachel suddenly realized why Quinn was shocked that they'd driven through the night just for her.

"I love you." Rachel turned to look into one of Quinn's hazel eyes. She noticed how dull and lifeless it was. Her wife appeared to have lost her spark. She lifted her hand to touch the swollen skin around her other eye before leaning in to press her lips against it. The sharp intake of air told her it was too much too soon. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around her wife and laid in a silent room with her.

"Baby steps Rach…" Quinn whispered as her eyes closed. She was exhausted. The lack of sleep from the night before and all the nights over the past week was finally starting to catch up to her.

"I know. Try to get some sleep honey. I'll be right here when you wake up."

December 27 – 1:14 PM

Santana leaned over to place a kiss on her wife's lips. Ever since they entered the room they hadn't said a word. They were both too afraid that even the slightest of noises would wake up the sleeping pair on the bed. She wrapped her arm around the blonde's shoulder to keep her close.

"I love you." Brittany whispered against her wife's ear.

Santana smiled before placing another gentle kiss on Brittany's lips. "I love you too B." Then there was silence again. Her eyes traveled back over to the pair on the bed. She couldn't help her grasp as it tightened around Brittany's hand. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hard all of this was for Rachel, let alone Quinn.

None of them, save for Quinn, knew the extent of what happened. They only knew the main pieces. Quinn was raped, she was beaten, and she escaped into the winter evening in nothing but a coat and a pair of old boots. Santana wasn't sure if Rachel knew what Quinn had said. About wishing she hadn't been found. Brittany had informed her of the words when they'd gone to get lunch for everybody. Everything was because of one person. Jim Fields. A 47 year old man who should still be in jail.

The more Santana thought about it, the more she was losing faith in the American legal system. How could they have deemed him fit to return to society? After only ten years mind you. A third of his sentence. Her blood began to boil at her own thoughts. What she hated most was the fact that when it all would go to trial… she knew she wouldn't be given the case. As much as she wanted to be the prosecuting attorney and make sure he was sent away for the rest of his god-forsaken life… it was too personal for her. Santana wanted the chance to beat him within an inch of his life. Much like he'd done to Quinn.

A loud scream then a thump of a body hitting the floor drew her away from her thoughts. Brittany was out of her chair and at Rachel's side before Santana exhaled her breath. Quinn's body was still thrashing about on the bed. Her hands were desperately brushing at her own body.

"Quinn." Santana called out to the woman on the bed. But there was no response. Even though her eyes were wide open, she stared right through Santana. "Quinn dammit, look at me!" She was nearly shouting now. She had to pull Quinn's attention to her. She had to pull it away from whatever it was she was seeing. She had to be the strong one… again. Rachel was a crying mess on the floor in Brittany's arms. She'd be no help.

"Get away from me!" Quinn smacked frantically at Santana's hands. Everywhere she looked, it was him. His hands were on her. His voice was filling her ears. She was back in her prison all over again.

"Look at me… Look at me!" Santana cupped her dear friend's cheeks. They were promptly smacked away. Had it been any other situation, Santana would have snapped over being hit. But that only would have made things worse. "Q, please." She begged. Once again she reached out to cup the blonde's cheeks. This time she finally stopped thrashing. The nickname seemed to have broken through her subconscious. "There she is." It was probably one of the most gentle tones the Latina had ever used.

Quinn's eyes slammed shut while she took several deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again she found herself starring into deep browns. "San?" The Latina just nodded. "W-what happened?" She finally turned her head, not enough to pull away from the gentle touch, just enough to look at her wife on the floor. "Did I… oh god."

Rachel stood up from the floor and reached to place her hand atop Santana's on her wife's cheek. "He can't get you baby. It was just a dream." Her words were soft. She watched as Quinn's body physically relaxed under the combined touch. "We're all here for you, baby. None of us are going to leave you. Ever."

"Yea Q. Listen to Rach." Santana made herself comfortable beside her friend on the bed. "Besides… he better sleep with one eye open. Because if I ever see him…" She growled softly through grit teeth. She couldn't even put into words the things she would do to him if she ever saw him.

Quinn allowed her eyes to close and her head to rest against Santana's shoulder. Her hand came up to take Rachel's into her own. Her other hand reached blindly for Brittany. "I love you… all of you." She whispered before her body started to shake with sobs. She was barely able to hear their replies of love over her straggled breathing. "He hurt me so much." The room was silent again. "Not just physically… He made me question everything."

"About what?" It was Brittany's voice. She sat down beside Quinn's legs at the foot of the bed and watched her.

"About love. About my own life." She took a heavy breath. Each of the three woman with her were silent. They waited patiently for her to continue. "I… I wanted to come home." She did… for the first two days. "Then… I didn't." Silent tears slid down her cheeks and started to soak through Santana's plain blue t-shirt. "I didn't want to come home… I wa-wanted to die. It was the only way… t-the only way to… to get him away from me… to get him off of me…" Her voice trailed off. She was done talking.

What she wasn't expecting though, was three sets of arms to wrap around her suddenly tense body. These were her friends. Her life-long friends. She forced herself to handle their proximity. Deep down, she knew they needed the comfort of Quinn's contact just as much as she needed the comfort of their contact.

Their moment was interrupted by a knock on the door before it was pushed open. Soon, a very shy looking Sam Evans appeared to them. He wasn't alone though. To his side was a slightly shorter brunette who was holding the hand of a blonde haired boy. He looked like a mini Sam. "I, uh, hope it's okay we stopped in…"

Quinn's body locked up at the sight of him. Not so much the sight of Sam, but the fact that Sam was a man. "It's fine." She spoke softly.

The woman at Sam's side stepped further into the room. "My name's Lisa. This is our son Thomas." Quinn only made eye contact with her to let her know she heard her. "Sam told me what happened. Are you doing alright?"

Rachel stepped in to save her wife from having to speak too much. "She's doing exceptionally well given the…" she tossed a glance down at the boy, "circumstance."

Brittany and Santana had moved away from the bed and made their way back to their previously abandoned chairs. Neither spoke a word. Instead, they just observed the interactions of everybody in the room. Santana mostly watched for any signs of discomfort from Quinn. At the first sign she would make sure to usher everybody that wasn't family or friend out of the room.

"I made this for you." The boy finally spoke before bounding over to the bed. In his hands he held a folded piece of blue construction paper.

Rachel held her breath, as did Brittany and Santana. All of them waited to see how the woman would react to him approaching. But, instead of freaking out and going into another bought of memories, like they all expected, she smiled. Quinn smiled at the boy. The child brought their Quinn back to them. "What is it?" She finally asked before taking it from him. Her smile only grew when she read the front of the card.

Git well soon

She laughed softly at the misspelling, but didn't say anything about it. After all, Thomas was still just a kid. "I love it."

"Really?" His eyes lit up at her words.

Quinn handed the card to her wife to look at before motioning for the boy to come closer. "Yes really."

Thomas helped himself to sitting on the bed by where Rachel was seated. "My daddy helped me write it."

"You're daddy's a great man Thomas." Quinn looked up at Sam who still hadn't moved from the doorframe. Swallowing back the lump in her throat she spoke up again. "Sam, you… you can come in and sit down if you'd like." She was just as shocked as everybody else was when the words left her mouth.

"Are you sure?"

"You saved my life Sam. I think I can trust you." The reassuring hand on hers told her that she was alright. It reminded her that nothing was going to happen and Sam wasn't going to hurt any of them. The room fell silent as the attorney closed her eyes and rested her head on Rachel's shoulder.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" The smaller woman whispered against Quinn's ear.

She was fine. Sam wasn't going to hurt her. After she repeated that to herself a few times she sat back up. "Yea… I'm gonna be alright." She smiled again. It was just a small one that her wife and friends knew was fake. But, at least she was trying.

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Also don't forget to answer my question. Whoever gets the most votes will be put into the story once they get to Los Angeles.