Mrs. Lopez signed the discharge forms at the front desk. He daughter was on crutches behind her, beside her eldest daughter. She had been delighted when she had heard Alex could come home.

Santana kept her hand on Alex's lower back as the younger girl leaned on her crutches. She still looked incredibly weak and broken, and Santana was afraid she would collapse any minute.

As their mother finished the paper work, the Lopez family left the hospital. It took some time, for Alex couldn't go much faster than a hobble. But both Latinas were patient, and helped the youngest one get into the car when they finally reached it.

Alex was happy to be home when they pulled into the driveway. Santana helped her out of the car and into the house. She escorted her up the stairs, keeping a vice like grip on her arms the whole way up. Alex appreciated the help, but secretly hated how weak it made her feel. But she didn't say anything about it, and lied down on her bed, exhausted.

Santana crawled up next to her sister on the bed. "Alex, do you want to talk about anything?" She asked. Santana wasn't sure how to go about this with her sister. She had seen her get raped right in front of her. Santana couldn't imagine how humiliating it had been for the young girl, and didn't know if she would want to talk about it.

Alex thought for a few moments before shaking her head. She could not think of anything she wanted to discuss with the Latina. Not right now anyway.

Santana didn't like the way Alex had been acting. She had retreated into herself, and built up a protective wall. It was understandable, and Santana couldn't blame her for it, but she really needed to find some way to bring her out of it. She understood that it would take much longer for the mental scars to heal than the physical, though neither would ever be gone without a trace.

"Alex, you know you can talk to me about whatever you want. I know we haven't known each other for very long, and most of the time I treated you like shit, but I promise I'm here for you now." The oldest girl said, turning to look her sister in the eye.

Alex took a deep breath before speaking. "Santana, I was terrified the whole time. But the time I was most scared was when he mentioned you and sent you the picture. Because I thought he would hurt you." She admitted.

Santana felt her heart break when her sister said that. She wrapped and arm around her and brought her in close. Alex nestled into Santana's side and wrapped an arm around her abdominal.

"San, you have to promise me something." Alex said quietly, still resting her head on her sister.

"Of course, anything." The Latina replied quickly, running a hand through her sister's hair.

"If he comes back for me, you can't get in between him and me." The 14 year old said in a small voice.

"No, Alex. I told you that I wouldn't let him-" Alex sat up, wincing, and cut her off.

"Santana, this isn't your fight. You could have gotten shot coming after me. He could have raped you instead of me." She said, her voice getting louder.

Santana stared at her sister's still bruised face. She wasn't sure how to reply to it. Santana knew she would step in between Alex and her father if it came down to it. But she couldn't have her sister worrying about her.

"Alright, I promise." Santana lied. Alex seemed to calm down, and curled back up against her sister's side. The 14 year old fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

The next few days passed in the Lopez household. The bruises faded some on Alex, but she still had trouble with the pain in her chest and groin. Santana was always there to help her get up and down stairs, or to held her get up from the couch. It wasn't until her third day home that Santana said something she was quite unsure of.

"Artie really wants to come see you. He's worried." She said one morning as they were both eating breakfast.

"He is?" Alex asked, looking up from the bowl of cereal she was eating.

"Yeah. But I wasn't sure if you'd be ok with….you know, a guy." Santana said carefully.

Alex shrugged. "I'm fine with it. I mean its Artie." She replied, turning her attention back to the cereal.

Santana was surprised and pleased that Alex didn't seem to have a problem with guys. She had heard about people who had been raped that couldn't go near men for a long time, even if they were family members. So it was a good sign.

Artie came over the next day, with Brittany pushing his wheelchair. He presented a bouquet of flowers to Alex, and she smiled one of the few smiles that Santana had seen since the attack. The five teenagers sat in the living room and talked about nothing in particular. Santana kept a careful eye of Alex as she went to hug the crippled boy goodbye, watching for any flinching or uneasiness. But the 14 year old seemed perfectly fine as she hugged him.

I can't sleep! So I updated. And I won't update again until I get 95 reviews. So there. And I love you.