Hey guys thanks for all of your reviews! I really appreciate them. Sorry for the lack of CJ lately but there should be another storyline based on them after this one's finished (That is you don't think this story is getting boring and repetitive because of its length. I really didn't expect to be writing this many chapters. I was planning on 15 at the most lol. This is by far the longest fic I've ever written so I'm not sure if it's getting a bit...Repetitive?). Anyway hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 68

"I don't know what to say to her" Charlie admitted as she sipped tentatively at her coffee "I don't know how to ask her if what he's suggesting actually happened"

"Just ask her" Joey advised quietly "There's really no easy way to ask somebody a question like this so..."

"What am I supposed to say though?" Charlie asked nervously "Hey Summer when you were away did Grant by any chance...I don't even know how to say it!"

"Aren't you meant to be used to this?" Joey asked "I mean when I was raped you didn't seem to have a problem asking the hard questions"

"I know" Charlie sighed miserably "But back then I hardly knew you whereas now I'm emotionally attached..."

"And because you're emotionally attached to all of us including Summer it's hard for you to ask those questions" Joey muttered in realisation "Of course...I should have known that" she moved closer to Charlie and wrapped her arms around her waist "I'm sorry..."

Charlie released a heavy breath and leaned back into Joey's embrace "I wish I could just ask her and get it over with but...I don't think I'm going to like the answer"

"What did Cameron say?" Joey asked quietly "About the note, I mean?"

"Um...I didn't show her it" Charlie responded hesitantly.

"What?!" Joey exclaimed as she pulled away "what do you mean?!"

"I know I should have" Charlie said as she turned around "I just didn't want to upset her if I don't have to...Grant could be making all of this up"

"You mean you hope he's making it all up" Joey remarked.

"Don't you?" Charlie countered "Can you honestly even tolerate the fact that Summer might have been raped, Joey? Because I can't stand the idea..."

"Wouldn't Summer have said something though?" Joey asked "Or...Ruby would have! If this secret was that serious Ruby would never keep it from you"

"That's my point" Charlie said "I don't want to upset Cameron unless we know that something's happened. Which means I'm going to have to ask Summer first..."

"Ask Summer what?" Summer herself asked as she walked into the room with Ruby right behind her.

"Um...Nothing" Charlie stated wide eyed "It...It doesn't matter"

"Right" Summer nodded slowly, though she still appeared confused.

"Charlie!" Joey whispered as she nudged her wife lightly.

"What?" Charlie asked turning her gaze to Joey.

"Just ask her" Joey mouthed silently.

"What's up with you two?" Ruby asked as she observed their exchange "You both seem weird..."

"Nothing" Charlie answered "Summer? I have to ask you something...About Grant"

"Oh..." Summer's eyes widened in alarm "I was just heading out...To my place. I need to pick some stuff up"

"You do?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"What about Grant?" Charlie asked in concern "I think we should stay here..."

"What about Cameron?" Summer pouted "She's never in. She practically lives at work!" at Charlie's wavering look she looked at Ruby for help.

"I'll go with her" Ruby offered reluctantly "And we'll stick to crowds"

"Yeah" Summer nodded in agreement "Pleeeasse can I go?"

"Fine" Charlie sighed "But be careful..."

"Thanks!" Summer called before she grabbed Ruby's hand and pulled her out of the room.

"See?!" Charlie exclaimed as she motioned to the door and glanced at Joey "I have no idea what to say to her..."

"And she's avoiding you" Joey muttered sarcastically "That's great"

---

"So you're not going to tell her than?" Ruby asked breaking the silence that had engulfed them as they walked (Or in Summer's case limped) down the beach.

"It didn't feel like the right time" Summer sighed "And it's not exactly an easy thing to tell somebody you know..."

"I know...I'm sorry" Ruby reached out and grabbed Summer's hand bringing them both to a stop "I'm just worried...That's all"

"I know you are" Summer smiled lightly "And that means a lot to me Rubz...But it doesn't feel like the right time yet..."

"Will it ever feel like the right time?" Ruby questioned gently.

"Probably not" Summer mumbled quietly "It's just...I don't really want them to know"

"You have to tell somebody" Ruby said quietly as she squeezed Summer's hand "It's important"

"I'll tell her" Summer relented reluctantly "Just...Not right now okay?"

"Fine" Ruby sighed as they continued walking "But...promise me you'll tell someone?"

"I promise" Summer said sincerely "I'll tell her later"

"I thought we were going to your place" Ruby frowned suddenly "But we're walking in the opposite direction"

"That was just an excuse to get away from Charlie's questions" Summer chuckled lightly "Do you seriously think I would be walking anywhere like this if I had a choice?"

"We should stop" Ruby said as she stopped, again causing Summer to stop with her due to their still joined hands "Or you're going to hurt yourself"

Summer nodded and sat down on the sand with Ruby next to her "This is going to be an awkward conversation to say the least..."

"You'll be fine" Ruby said comfortingly as nudged Summer lightly mindful of her cuts and bruises "It's only Charlie..."

Summer nodded and they fell into a short silence.

"I miss the rain" Summer complained suddenly "And snow, wind...I miss cold in general"

"What?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"I used to live in England, remember?" Summer smiled as she looked over at Ruby "Where it rained and snowed a lot...This is way too hot for me"

"You're weird" Ruby laughed at Summer's statement "And random..."

"Thanks!" Summer grinned.

"Weirdo..." Ruby chuckled.

"Hypocrite" Summer countered teasingly.

"Whatever" Ruby pouted "You know you love my weirdness"

"If you say so..." Summer rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Are you saying you don't?" Ruby asked in mock surprise.

"No Ruby...I love your massive amount of weirdness"

"Better" Ruby laughed as she lay back on the sand, looking up at the sky. They fell into a small silence for a moment before she broke it "You do that a lot"

"Do what a lot?" Summer asked as she looked down at the other teenager. She shifted slightly so she was lying on her side next to her.

"You hum random songs without realising you're doing it" Ruby said with a warm smile "It's cute"

"Cute?" Summer narrowed her eyes at Ruby in a mock glare "I am not cute Buckton"

"Yes...You are" Ruby giggled as she reached out an tapped Summer's nose playfully "You might as well admit it"

"Never" Summer grinned.

"The woods..." Ruby said suddenly, her gaze turning thoughtful "You were humming in the woods too...I completely forgot until now"

"Yeah" Summer laughed softly "And then you made me sing which I absolutely can't do"

"You can sing" Ruby disagreed "I don't know why you think you can't. You're actually really good"

"Well..." Summer shrugged modestly "If you tell anyone..."

"You know..." Ruby said innocently though a mischievous smile tugged at her lips "Your glare kind of reminds me of when a Bunny Rabbit bares it's teeth. Not really intimidating just..."

"Don't say it..."

"Cuuuute!" Ruby gushed playfully.

"If I wasn't incapable of moving right now..." Summer sighed wistfully.

Ruby grinned at Summer's statement "You wouldn't hurt me anyway...You like me too much. So what were you humming? Am I lucky enough to get you to sing it today?"

"You really want me to?" Summer grinned.

"Yeah"

Summer cleared her throat before she began to sing "...There is nothing I need except the function to breathe, But I'm not really fussed, Doesn't matter to Meeee...."

"Oh My God..." Ruby chuckled "On second thoughts..."

"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, and Do ya Do ya, D ya, Do ya know what you're doing, doing to me, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ru..."

"Okay!" Ruby held up a hand and managed to speak through her laughter "You can stop now!"

"Told you I couldn't sing" Summer laughed as she lay back down next to the younger girl.

"Did I say that?" Ruby questioned with a grin as her hand dropped back to Summer's between them "Because I don't think I did..."

Summer sighed contentedly as they fell into a comfortable silence happy for the distraction from Grant and admittances.

---

Charlie stirred in her sleep and blinked fuzzily unsure as to why she had woken up. At the sound of a short clatter she shot up in bed and held her breath apprehensively. She glanced quickly at Joey to see she was asleep before she climbed out of bed. She quickly grabbed her gun from the bedside table and walked slowly out of the bedroom. Another noise from downstairs caused her to raise the gun in front of her as she crept slowly down them. Noticing the kitchen light was on she walked in and came face to face with...

"Summer!" Charlie exclaimed, relaxing slightly "What are you doing?"

Summer whirled around at the mention of her name. Her eyes fell on the gun and she raised her hands in the universal sign of surrender "Charlie! I thought you were sleeping or something" she eyed the gun warily "Could you put that down?"

"Oh...Sorry" Charlie smiled sheepishly as she lowered the gun to her side "I heard a noise and woke up. I guess I panicked and jumped to the conclusion that Grant had broken in"

"Sorry" Summer muttered guiltily her eyes dropping to the ground at the sound of his name.

"So why are you awake?" Charlie asked as she put the gun on the table and stepped closer to Summer "It's like..." she glanced at the clock before looking back at the girl in front of her "4am"

"I couldn't sleep" Summer said softly "I guess my head's too full or something. I can't stop thinking enough to actually relax"

"What are you thinking about?" Charlie questioned as she watched Summer closely "About what happened at the house?"

"What do you mean?" Summer looked up sharply "I told you nothing happened at the house"

"Yeah...you did" Charlie nodded in response, her gaze focusing on Summer's forearm "So how did you get that bruise? It kind of looks like a handprint"

"Um...I don't remember" Summer shifted uncomfortably.

"Look Summer..." Charlie sighed at the younger girl's reluctance to talk about what happened "I'm going to ask you something and I need you to answer me honestly okay? It's important..."

"But..."

"When you were at the house with Grant..." Charlie cut off Summer's protest "I need to know...Did he do anything to you? Did he touch you in any way because right now with everything he's saying and everything you're not saying it seems like he did...But you don't want anybody to know"

"Fine" Summer released a nervous breath and shifted uncomfortably "I'll tell you"

"Okay..." Charlie nodded apprehensively "Let's go" she offered her arm to assist Summer out of the kitchen and led her into the living room.

"Before I do this..." Summer murmured as she fidgeted nervously with the bracelet around her wrist after they had sat on the couch "You have to promise me something"

"What is it?" Charlie asked quietly.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell Cam about this" Summer said as she finally looked up into Charlie's eyes "I don't want her to know"

"I can't do that" Charlie responded instantly "If this is something big I can't not tell Cameron. She's your sister. She deserves to know"

"She can't know!" Summer argued insistently "If she finds out do you have any idea how she's going to feel?!"

"Do you?" Charlie countered without thinking. She internally cursed herself when Summer fell silent and her expression saddened "I'm sorry Summer. I didn't mean it like that...Of course you know...I'm sorry"

"I know more than you think I would" Summer mumbled quietly "I know exactly how she would feel if she finds out..." when she noticed Charlie's questioning look she quickly continued "So will you promise?"

"I can't" Charlie sighed helplessly "I don't want to lie to you and say that I won't tell her but... I can't lie to her either. You have to understand Summer. If anything were to happen to Ruby and somebody didn't tell me I'd be furious" when Summer remained quiet Charlie spoke up again "How about we come to a compromise? Is this isn't serious we don't tell her but if it is...You tell her yourself"

"That's meant to be a compromise?" Summer frowned "That means I'll have to tell her anyway"

"Summer..."

"Fine" Summer rolled her eyes "I'm going to tell you..."

"Right" Charlie nodded and focused intently on the teenager waiting for her to start speaking. However no answer was forthcoming and Summer merely looked at her at a loss for words "Summer?"

"What? Oh..." Summer bit her lip nervously "This is awkward"

"Just tell me what happened" Charlie suggested softly as she placed her hand comfortingly on Summer's "I'm not going to judge you or anything. I swear"

"Okay..." Summer closed her eyes briefly for a moment trying to sum up the courage to speak "The first time he said he was bored or something so he kind of pinned me to a wall and..." she coughed awkwardly and flushed crimson.

"its okay" Charlie murmured comfortingly "I'm a cop remember? I hear this kind of stuff all of the time..." despite her statement she was livid that Grant had touched somebody else she cared about.

"He was touching me and...I was struggling" Summer admitted softly "But then he whispered something and I stopped fighting him?"

"You stopped fighting him?" Charlie asked in shock "What...what did he say to you?"

"Um..." Summer hesitated for a moment knowing that Charlie was going to be furious at Grant for even suggesting that he would go anywhere near Ruby "He said something like Since he doesn't think of Ruby as his biological daughter I should stop struggling in case he decided to do the same thing to her. He said something like she's weaker so..." she trailed off as Charlie inhaled deeply "Charlie?"

"He told you that he was thinking about..." Charlie trailed off looking livid and sickened at the same time "I mean...Ruby?"

Summer nodded slowly "He didn't though...I did what he said. I stopped struggling"

"Wait a minute" Charlie's anger faded slightly and she looked at Summer in amazement "You...you were going to sacrifice yourself to keep him away from Ruby?"

"Well...Yeah" Summer answered with a small shrug "I would have done anything to keep him away from her...To make sure that he didn't touch her. I mean you know Ruby is...I mean you know she hasn't..."

"Uh-huh" Charlie nodded shortly still surprised at Summer's adamant protectiveness "I know that"

"I didn't want that to happen to her" Summer stated strongly "For him to take anything from her"

"Wow..." Charlie murmured quietly "That's...Wow. So you decided to stay quiet because Ruby hasn't and you...Have?"

"What makes you think I have?" Summer chuckled thankful for the break in conversation "Are you suggesting something?"

"Oh...No" Charlie responded, alarmed "I just assumed that..."

"Well I haven't" Summer shrugged "But it made no difference to me".

"Oh" Charlie frowned "So...Wait, what happened? He didn't..."

"He didn't get that far" Summer spoke quietly "Ruby yelled at me for not fighting him and sort of...Shoved him off me. I think he was so surprised that he just walked out...But after that there was a kind of deal between me and him...I give in willingly and he wouldn't touch Ruby"

"Did Ruby know about this?" Charlie frowned thoughtfully "I can't imagine her being happy with the idea that you were just giving in..."

"She did and she wasn't" Summer answered "She said that we should fight him. The next time he came in he had been drinking. He ordered me to get up or something but Ruby wouldn't let me go..."

"so what happened?" Charlie pressed in concern.

"He got pissed and started to walk over to us" Summer replied "He pulled me away from her and I made a stupid comment" she thought intently for a moment "I think I called him a psycho because he had more of less yanked my arm out of its socket" she motioned quickly to the hand print on her arm "Anyway he said that because of that he was going to make her watch. He started touching me again and I didn't fight back until I noticed the beer bottle in his hand...I asked if I could borrow it and he just gave it to me..." she laughed lightly and shook her head "Idiot...I waited until he had gone back to what he was doing and then I hit him on the head. Knocked him out"

"And that's when you and Ruby escaped?" Charlie asked hopefully "He didn't actually get to go any further..."

"No" Summer shook her head "He didn't get that far". She was caught by surprise a moment later when Charlie threw her arms around her in a tight hug but returned it nevertheless.

"I'm glad he didn't" Charlie murmured quietly before she pulled away "And...It really means a lot to me that you were trying to protect Ruby but..."

"Are you going to tell me I should have fought?" Summer questioned "Because Ruby already told me after the first time..."

"Thank you for looking after her" Charlie smiled gratefully at Summer "If you hadn't been with her she might have...I don't know what I would do if I lost her"

"Yeah well..." Summer shrugged modestly "That makes two of us..."

"You really care about her..." Charlie observed with a warm smile.

"Of course I do" Summer said as she looked away nervously "She's like...My best friend. I care about her a lot"

"Hmmn..." Charlie nodded thoughtfully.

"So what are you going to do about Grant?" Summer asked apprehensively in an attempt to change the subject "When you find him?"

"I'm going to kill him" Charlie answered simply, anger sparking again in her eyes "If he thinks he can just get away with what he did..."

"Not literally though, right?" Summer asked nervously "Because that's kind of illegal and you'd end up in prison..."

"No" Charlie shook her head "Probably not literally unless I had to. In which case I wouldn't go to prison..."

"Um..." Summer frowned still looking worried at Charlie's statement "Right"

"Don't worry" Charlie said reassuringly as she squeezed Summer's hand "It'll be fine"

"Okay..." Summer nodded and stood up from the couch "I'm going to head back up then...Ruby's probably still asleep so..."

"Summer?" Charlie stopped Summer from leaving.

"Yeah?"

"Tell Cameron" Charlie suggested quietly "It helps if you're honest with her"

Summer sighed but nodded anyway "I'll try...'Night"

"Night" Charlie responded as she watched Summer leave the room. A moment later she released an aggravated breath and clenched her hands into fists at her sides her mind involuntarily thinking back to what Grant had done as well as what he suggested he was going to do "I swear to God you're going to pay Grant..."

TBC