Chapter 3- Falling Awake

"Baze!" Cate yelled as she raced after the two main men in her life, her heels clashing against the wet, concrete ground. "Baze!"

"I'm going to kill him." Baze spoke calmly, and that scared Cate more than if Baze had just been angry.

Ryan grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop, and Baze spun around, yanking his arm away furiously. "Stop, man."

"That little punk raped my daughter!" Baze yelled, more to Cate than to Ryan. "He's dead."

Baze climbed into his car, and tried to pull his door closed only to be stopped by Cate. "Baze, stop. Don't do this. Don't do this to Lux."

Baze paused, listening as Cate continued to beg him to stay. "He raped our daughter, Cate. How can you not want him dead?"

Baze pushed Cate's arm away, sending her stumbling back into Ryan, shocked. "No, wait, Baze!" Cate yelled after him as the jeep skidded out of the car park. "Baze!"

"Cate." Ryan called to her, coming over to stand beside her. Cate was bent over, hands on her knees, as she sobbed. "I'm going to follow him. You should go back to Lux."

Cate nodded, standing up and leaning into Ryan's chest as she tried to compose herself. Ryan kissed her head comfortingly, holding the position for a few seconds before pulling away and rushing towards Cate's car, speeding off in the direction Baze had left.

Had it not been for the fact that Cate had asked Ryan to pick up Lux from Jones' house the previous week; he would've had no idea where he was going.

Ryan pulled to a stop seconds after Baze did, neither turning off their cars as Ryan's raced after a still furious, apparently unstoppable, Baze.

Baze found Jones within a minute despite the fact that the place currently held a blaring party; the teenage boy was the center of attention, Brynn and a few of her friends surrounding him, which only infuriated Baze more.

"You little punk!" Baze yelled, punching Jones square in the nose, making the blonde teenager stumble backwards and the rest of the crowd look on shocked. "You think you can rape my daughter and get away with it?!"

Jones held his head back, trying to stop the bleeding. "Hey, man, I didn't rape anybody."

Before Jones could speak again, Baze's fist collided with his face once more, this time throwing Jones to the ground with Baze on top of him. Ryan struggled but finally pulled a calmer Baze off of the teenager. Baze held his hands up, signaling he was fine and walked away when Ryan turned to Jones. "You go anywhere near Lux again, and I guarantee you he won't be the only one you'll have to deal with."

Ryan's look said it all and Jones backed away, Brynn comforting him, with the rest of the teenagers looking on in shock.

Ryan made his way back to his car quickly, realizing Baze had left. "Shit." He swore when he noticed Baze's car was gone.

He pulled out his cell and speed dialed Cate's number as he climbed into his car and drove off.

"Hello?" Cate's voice was thick with tears and Ryan knew she had been crying again.

Ryan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Babe, I lost Baze."

"What do you mean you lost him? I thought he was headed to find Jones." Her voice held no anger, only concern and exhaustion.

"He was. I think he broke the little bastard's nose." Ryan smirked a little before continuing. "He drove off before I could follow him. I'm going to head to the bar to see if he's there."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out here in case he comes back."

"How's Lux doing?"

Cate sighed. "She's sleeping, and not peacefully. I've been trying to get a hold of Tasha and Bug but I don't even know where to start." Cate's voice hitched as she choked on fresh tears. "I don't know how I'm meant to handle this, Ryan."

"Just be there for her, babe. She'll let us know what she needs. And I'll be there the entire way." He paused. "Baze too."

Ryan knew that Cate was nodding in agreement. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both taking comfort in the other's presence. "The doctor's here. I've got to go."

"Okay. I'll let you know if I find him. I love you, Cate."

"I love you too." Cate replied before hanging up. Baze threw his phone on the passenger seat and hit the steering wheel frustrated. He was furious; not at Cate or Lux or even Baze, but at the whole situation, and at the fact that the little bastard had broken the girl he had come to think of as his daughter.

"Mrs. Bazile?" A new doctor greeted Cate as she walked into the room, Detective Trudeau following her.

"It's Cassidy. Cate Cassidy." Cate replied, standing up to greet them but not leaving Lux's side.

"My apologizes. My name's Doctor Sampson, I'm here to talk about Lux." Cate nodded for the doctor to continue. "We received the blood test results. It turns out Lux consumed a large amount of alcohol, and we found traces of Rohypnol, also known as the date rape drug, in her system."

Cate gasped and covered her mouth, fresh tears running down her face as she looked down at Lux and lovingly stroked a piece of hair from her face. "What does that mean?" Cate asked through tears. "Is she going to be okay?"

The doctor nodded. "Physically, yes. But I suggest organizing some form of professional emotional support. I'll provide you with a few numbers of counseling programs that the hospital offers.

"Thank you." Cate nodded thankfully. She hadn't even thought of looking into therapy for Lux.

The doctor nodded, smiling sympathetically. "Now we need to do a rape kit first, but I don't see any reason why Lux can't go home in a few hours."

Cate looked up at the doctor, surprised. "Really? I mean, are you sure she'll be okay?"

Doctor Sampson smiled. "Lux will probably experience some stomach discomfort, and pain while urinating for a few days. There may also be a little bleeding but nothing to worry about. I do suggest keeping a close eye on her, and if she starts to experience any other symptoms such as heavy bleeding or pain, make sure to bring her back immediately. She'll be required to come back in for a check up in three days anyway, but I suggest organizing a counselor for Lux as soon as she feels ready."

Cate nodded, looking between Lux and the doctor. "Is there anything else I should know? About how to help her?"

Doctor Sampson sighed, pulling up a seat. "In cases like this, rape cases, and especially when they involve teenagers, the victims need to heal at their own pace. It is extremely hard to predict how they're feeling, and most of the time all they want to do is forget that the assault happened. My suggestion is that you just listen to Lux. Let her move at her own pace, and listen to her, love and support her."

Cate nodded, looking down at Lux and stroking her hand. Doctor Sampson stood up and looked down at Cate sympathetically. "She should wake up in a half an hour or so, and I'll be back in to do her rape kit then. I'll leave you two alone for now."

"Thank you." Cate kept her eyes on Lux as the doctor exited the room. She stroked her daughter's hair, and wiped her tears away, though that didn't stop new ones from flowing.

"You're making my top wet."

Cate looked up surprised, forcing a smile and swiping away her tears. "Hi."

Lux pushed herself up on the bed, looking at Cate confused. "Where are Baze and Ryan?"

"Uh," Cate moved from her chair to sit on Lux's bed, taking a hold of Lux's hands. "Your dad left and Ryan followed."

Lux sat up straight, pulling her hands from Cate's and shifting in the bed. "What? You said you'd keep him here. You said you'd stop him! What if he does something?"

"Lux." Cate stood up, trying to stop Lux from getting out of the bed. Lux ignored her, pulling out her IV and not caring when blood dripped down her arm. "Lux!" Cate yelled, grabbing Lux's arm. "No, sweetheart, you need to stop, okay?" Lux ignored her, pulling on a pair on track pants that Ryan had brought for her. "Lux, stop!"

"Lux!"

Both Lux and Cate stopped and turned towards the voice, both with fresh tears in their eyes. "Daddy." Lux whispered.

Baze closed the distance between himself and Lux, wrapping his arms around the crying teenager. His eyes were red and he starred at Cate, both unsure of what to do. "I'm here, kiddo. It's okay. It's going to be okay."

A/N: Sorry. I know that was an extremely boring update, didn't include what I said it would and I'm sorry it took so long but life's been insane. I'll update as soon as I can. Please review