Chapter 47
SadPanda13 – Thanks so much. I felt like Brittany needed a little explaining. Quinn's meltdown won't be her last I am sure of it but Shelby is already more of a mom to her than Judy has ever been. Shelby is caught in quite the dilemma. We all wish someone would shoot Will but that is the easy way out! Thanks for reviewing. And I may be moving again real soon. But this will be the last time for a while. Glad you are back.
AUS – It would not have been good for anyone if Quinn was also there. Whatever progress she had made would have been gone. But luckily that did not happen. Sorry for your heart rate. Hopefully it will be brought back to normal with this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.
Abbie – Thanks so much – sorry it brought back memories for you. I am glad you were able to get through it. Thank you for reviewing.
NayaFan – Santana and Quinn do make quite a team and they have grown so much. Sorry you were a sobbing mess with Rachel describing her funeral – my beta was a mess as well. Thank you for liking the way that I am writing Brittana – I hate the way that it was done on the show so I am trying my best to make it more realistic. It means so much from you that you love the way that I write. I hate Schuester so I am so glad I am getting that point across – but I will say that my beta hates him too so it does help bouncing ideas off of her. You are not alone in liking the fact that Judy is dead. She was no good in Quinn's life and would have always been a thorn in Quinn's side. Again thank you so much for taking the time to review my story – it helps me more than you know.
littleredwritinggleek – Oh how I would love a video trailer for this – I have so many characters in mind to play these kids and OC's. I would love it – Its ok to dream right? Thanks for the review. You will find out the fate of Noah in the very beginning of this chapter.
MrsArgon01 – Sorry for the cliffhanger – you will see in the very beginning what happens to Noah. Thanks for reviewing.
Renata – Sorry for the panic attack – and I did mean to get this chapter out a lot sooner than I did but I moved again and this time a lot further than I did the last time. Plus I got caught up on the sequel and writing some things for that. My apologies. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for your review.
UnholyUnderBoob – Michael is a great dad and you will see him more in this chapter and how much he protects Shelby. After all she is his little girl. Holly will be appearing again don't worry because Rachel is not in school yet so she still needs to get her work done so she doesn't fall behind. Not everyone knows that Russell is the father yet so it will continue to create problems for Quinn but even if Finn had been the father it was the lesser of two evils. Thank you again for your compliments regarding my writing. It makes me continually look for ways to improve my skills.
Lea – Sorry this update took so long. I was expecting to get it out a lot sooner than I did. Thank you for reviewing.
Cookie07 – Sorry for frustrating you. I sincerely do not mean to do that. If things are bothering you about the story please feel free to PM me and I will certainly try to clear things up for you. Thanks for the review.
cbell123 – I am sorry for that – I hope you like this update.
Fangirl44 – This was meant to be out a lot sooner than now. Sorry I made you wait so long with a cliffhanger to boot. I hope you like this.
Kimberlli – Sorry for the cliffhanger – again it was not where I had originally intended to stop the chapter – it just happened that way. I am sorry that you are now a crazy lady. I hope you have had time to calm down and I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for the review because I love reviews even if they are from crazy people.
Dave Green – I hope this is not too long of a wait because I can not bear knowing that my readers hate me. Thank you for reviewing.
FlatWeasley – I will say no one dies in this chapter or in this story. Well I mean none of the main characters that is – And there is a sequel so while I am not saying if anyone dies in that one (I have not written anyone dying) I can just tell you that no one dies in this one. Thanks for reviewing and sorry that I made you shout.
alopez208 – Life did take over for this next update and I wanted it out a lot sooner than now but I can't always get what I want. I am glad you like the girls scene – it is very much where they are right now. Just trying to figure themselves out and where everyone fits.
Lexie-Rae – Thank you so much for another thoughtful and well thought out review. Rachel is still 11 and she has had to deal with very very adult issues. So her regressing will be in and out. She wants to be older and stronger but she is still so scared and hurt that it is so hard for her and her emotions. Joey and Quinn have a similar relationship with each other that Joey and Santana have – Joey loves them both dearly but she does not have the same style as Shelby and she can be a bit brass but the two of them need that in their lives. They need someone to call them out and keep them on their toes. Santana has been the one constant person in her life aside from Noah so Rachel will forever reach for her first even though she has Shelby and Nana – but she needs to try and reach for her mom first. Quinn does have the full support of the Corcoran family. She is there forever and while she will have ups and downs this will always be her family. Frannie will reappear this chapter – lets just see how loving she is. Thank you for picking up the fact that Quinn was almost at the dealership with them. That will come out this chapter as well – Noah proved once again that he is a protector to his sisters and his mother. He will do anything for them. Thank you again for the review. It amazes me that my readers put so much thought into their reviews.
Guest – Will Schuester does appear again only to do more damage! Thanks for reviewing.
stars4redvines – Thank you so much. Brittany doesn't really want to know all the details of what happened. Brittany is too kind of a soul to know such details and her and Santana will have to work on that part of their relationship and it is a very fine line.
Filmaddict – I am sorry I left it there. But I had to – I needed to get that update out and I would not have given the aftermath true justice it deserves. I will let you know when the torture of Will needs to happen so you can help me with it. Thanks for the review.
blueashke – Noah does NOT die. Sorry for the cliffhanger. Thanks for the review.
OTHangels – Noah is safe. Thanks for the review.
look4me – Wow you read the first 13 again - impressive. I do it too and so does my betas - I think it helps us remain focused and keeps us in line as to who the characters are. Shelby will never let Quinn go and she is the first mom that Quinn has had but it is too early for this discussion so it will be some time. But its coming. Santana and Quinn are very close but watch out when they get to scheming - there is no telling what they will do. I am glad you like it. I am glad you follow me on tumblr and thank you for liking my story so much. Thanks for reviewing.
Ryoko05 – Thank you for reviewing. You are correct this is on the news but Rachel is never going to be on the car lot. Shelby doesn't have to make that choice. It's a choice no mother should ever have to make. But how the girls react to this on the news is another thing. I hope you enjoy.
Dave Green – Sorry I apologize for the cliffhanger – It just couldn't be helped. Thanks for the review.
thelastcenturian – Yeah sorry for the cliffhanger – I tried my hardest to get this chapter out sooner but it just didn't happen. Thank you for continuing to love the story though. Thanks for the review too.
NinjaGleek21 – I hope you are still living because this update took longer than I expected. I thank you for the review and cookies though.
Guest – Well I certainly appreciate that you like my writing and I am sorry about the cliffhanger. The whole family is going to continue with counseling – trust me and Shelby will be getting her own one on ones shortly. Thanks for the review.
Karissa – Noah survives trust me I love Noah. Thanks for the review.
dolphinluver46 – Noah does hurt him but not to the extent that we would all love him too. Thanks for the review.
TommyH – Yes sorry for the cliffhanger – but I needed to stop there. Thanks for the review.
Lucyq – Don't be sorry – I do try to give all the main characters focus and some tend to take a back seat. I really try and take them each individually and make it flow correctly with the story. I hope you will continue reading and will enjoy the story. Thanks for the review.
marinka4 – Noah lives – no worries. He was never going to die. Just a little drama although I will say that this shows you even more how strong Noah is. Thanks for the review.
amichelea – My apologies for making you cry each and every chapter. I hope some of the cries are good cries. Thanks for reviewing.
Gleek101 – Noah doesn't die and Rachel was never ever going to that lot. Thanks for reviewing.
Marauderette96 – Thank you for your review. I am glad you liked it.
silvrd21 – Noah is very much alive! Thanks for the review.
nikiki500 – NO screaming! Sorry about that. Noah is alive ! I would not kill Noah I love him. Thanks for the review.
OutOfNoWhereHereIAm – I am glad you liked it. Hope you like this one. Thanks for the review.
Stace – Thank you I wish I had that umbrella drink and a personal mover! I have to move again but it will be the last one for a while. Thanks so much for the review.
A/N: I hope you enjoy this and are not disappointed, but it's alright if you are. I appreciate you taking the time to read.…. It's just the top of the hill….
Her heels clicked loudly on the wood floors of her old room. She set one year old Rachel down in the playpen in her bedroom and changed into more casual clothes. She tried her best to look like a person when she was around the small town. It was her home town and she needed to remind people she had moved on. It felt strangely comforting being back in her parents' house in Lima. It was just for a vacation from the bustle of the city, but it was enough. As she pulled on her sneakers, she frowned. The house was quiet. Joey and Bear had brought over their boys. There should be noise in this large house. Why wasn't there noise? She picked up Rachel.
"Where are those rascals?" she asked the baby as they walked through the large house. She looked out the window at the top of the stairwell.
"Noah! Do it!" she heard Griffin call outside, but she couldn't see the kids.
Jesus, she groaned. That boy. She loved her nephew but he had a talent of finding her last nerve, which she took so much care to hide. She held the baby closer to her chest as she bound down the stairs. Her sister was milling around the kitchen. She frowned deeper and grumbled to the baby.
"Are you watching them?" she asked Joey accusingly.
The slightly older woman nodded, but a lifetime of sisterhood told her that Joey was in the mindset of Lima where it was safe to let the children run around and get into their own trouble in the backyard.
Shelby walked outside with a sigh as she balanced Rachel on her hip, the baby cooed at the sight of Santana and Noah. Santana ran over to her with a big smile.
"Mumma!" she smiled. "We're the Rescue Heroes!" Santana's big, frizzy hair was only mildly tamed and bounced as she ran.
Shelby arched her brow. "Is that so?" She let out a laugh.
Six year old Santana nodded. "Yup!" She nodded with pride.
She looked around. "Where is your brother?" Santana pointed toward the tree. The oak stood high in the backyard.
Shelby looked up the twenty foot tall tree, thankful that the portion one could climb only went up approximately ten feet. She was thankful because in the crock of the tree, was her son. She sighed in anxiety and exhaustion. At least she changed. Her nephew was below chanting and egging him on. She glared at him.
"Do it!" Griffin shouted.
Shelby used her free hand to take Santana's hand and go over to the tree. "Griffin, stop! Noah, freeze! What is going on?"
"We found a baby bird and Noah's putting it back in the nest," Santana said simply poking Rachel in the stomach as she cooed in response.
She gave a sigh and walked Santana a few yards from the tree. "Sit on the ground," she instructed. Once Santana was situated on the ground and sitting cross legged, she sat Rachel down in the six year old's lap. Leroy was always sure that Santana could hold the baby but Shelby still hadn't gotten used to the idea that her baby girl could hold her baby bug. "Stay here," she ordered.
Shelby walked under the tree so that she could see under it more clearly. There was her eight year old at the tip top of the tree, approximately ten feet in the air. He was climbing with one hand, a baby bird was balanced in his other.
"Noah!" she shouted. "Come down this instant!"
"Ma! I'm almost done! I'm almost there," he said from way up in the tree.
"Noah! Don't move!" She said as she pulled her hair up in a quick bun and started up the tree.
"But Ma, I'm almost there!" he shouted down the tree. "I got—"
He didn't finish his sentence. He fell out of the tree.
Shelby jolted back to reality. That day Noah fell ten feet and broke his shoulder yet still, without surprise, his only concern was that the bird made it back into its nest. For the entire six weeks while he had his arm in the sling, Noah was constantly asking about the bird. When Shelby received a call from her mother informing her just a few days after they left Lima that the baby bird was dead, she didn't have the heart to tell her son. Maybe she shouldn't have protected him from dead baby birds. Maybe if she did, he would stop being the hero. She shook her head. She couldn't save her son from who he was.
She saw the man who had terrorized her daughters hold her son in a choking grip. One arm wrapped around his neck while another held a dirty knife. She couldn't think. She couldn't focus. She couldn't breath with the knife at her son's throat. She had actually stopped breathing when he tackled the monster to the ground. She wasn't there. She just couldn't move. Nevertheless, she heard herself screaming, pleading with the monster to leave her son alone. She simply wasn't there. She felt arms around her midsection. She wanted to move forward. She just wanted to get to him. She had to get to her son.
"Don't come any closer!" Will Schuester screamed. "I want Rachel and I want her right now!"
Shelby tried to take another step forward, but was held back. She frowned when she looked over at Gus and Michael. She looked at them in alarm. They were looking at her. She couldn't read them.
"I'm not sacrificing ANY of my children today," she hissed.
She turned her attention back to her son. He was frowning. It was his poop face. Coined, of course, by Santana. It was the same face he made when she thought too hard. She snapped her head and looked at the man holding her son at knife point. She frowned. His lips were moving. What the hell was he saying?
…
Noah felt the knife dig in his throat. The worry on his mother's face was too much. He just wanted to tell her he was fine. However, he wasn't fine; his own heart was exploding from his chest.
"She's a pretty one that mother of yours," a voice said in his ear. He felt the man's lips move against his ear.
He struggled to get free but the knife held him in place. "I'm going to get Rachel," the man hissed. "They're going to give her to me. You wanna know what I'm going to do to her? What she and I will do together?" Noah's anger heated deep in his chest. "Also, that Santana." Noah felt him shake his head against his. He went on. "What a spitfire. Glad I don't have to tame her, but I would if I needed to. She would behave. Now that Quinn. I don't want her. Too dirty and used for my taste. I'm more of a brunette guy so you can have that blonde slut." Noah struggled more. He was struggling so much he couldn't feel the knife digging deeper into his throat. All he was focused on was him. He was going to kill him if it was the last thing he did. He let out a groan in Noah's ear. "I can't wait," he practically moaned into Noah's ear. "To finally feel Rachel, to be inside her. To hold her life in my arms and then take it. To-"
Noah felt his anger reach a point that he couldn't recover from. It was that blind hatred that he couldn't control. He grabbed the hand with the knife in it as hard as he could causing the man to flip over his shoulder. He could hear policeman yelling instructions, but he couldn't process any of the words. He leered his foot back.
He stood breathless as the man on the ground struggled to find air. He brought his leg down on the man again and again. The man even tried to reach up slashing his knife at Noah again but the football star just let his anger control him. He saw Santana fighting the teacher as he backed her into a closet. He felt frozen anger as he pictured Quinn fighting against the curly haired man in the choir room. Then all Noah saw was Rachel. He heard her screams at night. He didn't need to imagine her pleas and her horrified sobs as this monster terrorized her. It was as if he had been there and had seen it all. The man that lay on the ground gasping for air didn't give Rachel mercy. So why should Noah give him mercy? He didn't realize he was sweating until it dripped into his eyes. He held the knife to him and that's when he noticed that his hand was shaking. He pointed the knife at him again and screamed.
"I will kill you!" He felt himself shake more and his vision become blurrier. "I will kill you! Don't touch my sisters! Don't come near my family!" He suddenly saw police swarm him and haul him away. He heard Will's words echo in his head. He was going to kill her. He was going to rape her and he was going to kill her. He dropped the knife as he felt his knees buckle.
He felt around around him as he was turned around and he let out a sob as his mother let out a sob of panicked relief. He leaned into her as she cradled him in her arms. He was taller than her but she rocked him like he was eight years old again. And he was grateful for that.
Shelby cradled him in her arms, thankful that he was alive. "Oh, God. Oh, God," she repeated over and over as if it was a mantra that brought deliverance.
"I'm okay, Ma," Noah whispered finally breaking from his stupor. "I'm okay." He pulled away slightly. "I'm okay."
Shelby looked at him with a tiny smile, but it soon faded when she noticed blood on the front of his shirt and the deep but not massive cut on his neck. She reached and lifted his shirt. There was a gash about 6 inches long across her son's side.
"Help!" she called. She looked around and watched as a paramedic and a policeman stepped in. They were all surrounding them. Had they been there the whole time? She turned back to her son. How did he get cut there? "My son is hurt!"
She watched as Noah followed her gaze, his eyes bulged slightly before he recovered and looked back at her, "Ma, I'm fine. It's just... um... It's a cut..."
A paramedic walked over and lifted his shirt as well as examine his neck. "He probably got you when he swung at you."
Noah frowned. "When was that?"
Shelby looked at her son. "When you were trying to get away, he swung at you," she muttered as she remembered. She looked at the paramedic. "He's going to be fine right?"
The paramedic nodded and informed her that all her son, her only son needed was stitches. She was ready and eager to inform the young paramedic that her son needed so much more than that. She looked at Noah as the paramedic dressed his wound. The paramedic informed them that they would stitch him up at the ER.
"Are you alright?" she asked when she noticed he was staring at the ground. "Noah," she said more gently when he didn't look up. "Noah," she said again
He looked at her with a pause and a deep frown. "Why didn't you tell me that he was going to kill her?"
Shelby felt her face fall. "He said that?"
"He didn't need to," he said quietly. He shook his head ignoring the paramedic that was cleaning him up and readying him for the trip to the hospital. "And I know now that you didn't tell us the full truth about Quinn or what Will did to her..." He looked at his mother with a frown. "You can't protect me." He pointed to where he had just been standing. "I can take care of myself! I am a man! I've been one for a long time." He looked at her with a frown. "How can you-How... I …." He put his hand on his chest. "I am a man, Mom! I don't need you to protect me!"
"Noah," she began.
"No, don't Noah me!" he said making the paramedic jump as the poor man attempted to dress the wounds. "I have a right! I have a right to know that he was going to kill them! I have a right to know that he fantasized about them! I have a right!"
He stared at her with a frown, his anger was at a boiling point. However, in her silence he found that it slowly lowered to a simmer. He was going to kill them. He frowned and chewed his lip. "He wanted to kill them," he whispered. "I... I …." He looked at his mother with a frown. "I want … I want to go home. I want to see them. I want to see San. I want to hold Rachel. I want to tell Quinn she doesn't suck and that's she's worth it."
Shelby looked at him with tenderness. "They will be okay because of you. We will go home and see them."
Noah looked at her with a frown. "We need to go now. I need to see her. I need to see them. Where are they? Should we check the house? Should we stop there first?"
"Noah, " Michael said coming behind them. "Let's get you taken care of. They're fine."
Noah looked at him. "How do you know?" Shelby mirrored his look.
"I called," he said gently. He looked at the paramedics. "Let's get going please. We have a family to get home to."
…..
Quinn frowned as she woke up. Rachel shifted into her side, but Santana's elbow as the elder brunette reached across her to find the remote was what really woke her up.
"Gah," she frowned. "Santana," she said through gritted teeth. "What are you doing?"
"I am awake and I want to channel surf," she said with a matter of fact tone. "Go back to sleep."
"I can't," she said with a frown. "You woke me up," she glared.
Santana scoffed. "It's your fault that you woke up," she smiled. She turned the TV on and began to surf.
"Turn it down," Rachel muttered as she snuggled into Quinn and took Santana's hand. "You're supposed to be grounded."
"We aren't grounded today," Quinn said. "We have the day off due to sympathy."
The blonde gave the young girl a matter of fact shrug.
"Oh," she muttered.
Santana continued to channel surf as they all watched in silence.
"Nothing scary," Rachel muttered.
Santana scoffed and continued.
The phone rang and it echoed through the house. "PHONE!" Santana yelled.
"Thank you, dear," Helen said as she peaked around the corner. "Turn that thing off. If you're awake, it's time for homework." She frowned and reached for the phone. She heard the sound lower but it was still turned on. Phone first then scolding. "Hello?" she said as Joey walked into the living room pointing to the girls to turn the television off.
"Helen?" Michael's voice came through the phone.
"Hey, handsome," she smiled.
"Are the girls alright?" he asked. Helen could hear the slight tremble in his voice that took forty-nine years of marriage required.
"Yeah," she said catching her eldest daughter's eyes. Joey looked at her mother in surprise and headed back toward the kitchen as she stood between the two rooms, in ear shot of both. "What's up?" she tried to ask casually. Helen peaked around the corner. "Girls, turn it off. If you're awake enough to channel surf you're awake enough to do homework." She leaned back into the kitchen out of earshot. "What's going on?"
"We found Will," he said after a deep breath. "Don't tell the girls yet, but-"
"MOM!" Joey called out from the living room. Helen looked around the corner to see BREAKING NEWS flashing across the screen. Helen sighed. Too late. "SANTANA!"
Helen's gaze snapped in the direction towards the front door as it slammed against what she guessed was the table next to the door. She looked back at the screen with the phone moving slowly from her ear. Rachel's breaths were hitching as the eleven year old stared at the screen. Quinn stared at the screen and then back at the foyer. She looked around Joey was gone.
Helen squeezed her eyes shut. "Tell me they're okay. Tell me what you know and fast," she said to her husband as she gripped the phone tighter.
The television reporter's voice seemed to echo deep through Quinn's head. "Will Schuester was caught this afternoon at McNeil's Nissan Dealer. SWAT teams were called in. More news to come at six o'clock."
Quinn looked at the floor. She frowned. She could feel her anger that seemed to roar like a lion explode and simmer slightly within her. She felt it. It suddenly all began to hurt. There was so much pressure on her chest she felt like her heart would explode. It was going to explode. Today, the woman who gave birth to her went into the ground. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. The simple thought, this whisper of the possibility of having to bury Noah or Shelby made it feel like her heart was going to fall out of her mouth. Was this love? Was this panic? Or was this simply family?
She heard screaming and walked like a weightless ghost to the foyer; she continued to watch like she wasn't there.
Santana sprinted from the living room out through the front door once the news man had made the announcement. There was no logic; there was no reason. She just ran. She ran down the steps of the porch, down the driveway. She had to get there. She couldn't let this happen.
She suddenly felt a pair of arms around her waist. "Let me go!" She spat as she pushed Joey away. She managed to wiggle out of her arms and run a few more steps before she was caught again. She couldn't move. She fell to her knees as Joey looked at her with a frown. She shook her head. She couldn't do this. She couldn't be here. She couldn't … this couldn't be another part of their life. This couldn't be it.
"Santana," she heard her aunt calling. All the noise came rushing into her ears. "Santana!"
She looked at her aunt with big eyes. "He can't hurt my mom too! He can't get my brother! I can't be here!" She screamed. "I can't be here!" She screamed again. Santana felt her breaths freeze in her chest and make them solid. She couldn't breathe. She looked at her aunt. "I can't be here," she repeated through clenched teeth.
"But you are," Joey whispered. "You're here and we need you here. You can't go there."
Santana released a sob but her chest still ached. She was hoping for release, but it didn't come. She looked at her aunt. "That man took so much from Rachel. He took what we all have taken nine GODDAMN years rebuilding and mending! And from Quinn … he makes her think all of those things that she whispers to herself are true." She wiped her tears vigorously.
"Santana," Joey said again. "You need to breathe. I know you know that you need to stay here."
"But I can't stay here!" She sobbed as she hit her legs with her hands. "I CAN'T STAY HERE!" She shook her head. "You don't know!" She shook her head again and looked at the ground. "He chose them," she whispered. "He chose them and he should have picked me! It should have been me!" Santana pointed at the house. "He chose them because they couldn't fight back. Rachel couldn't fight back and Quinn... Quinn maybe could but... I .. I could have fought back. I'm not weak! I could fight back! I could! I'm strong! I could do this!"
Joey looked over her shoulder quietly at Quinn who was looking at them silently from the opened front door. She turned back to Santana.
"It's not that you were strong and they were weak, Santana," Joey said quietly. "I think you know that too."
"I get it! I know! THEY are the strong ones! They are the strong ones and I can't! I can't be here! I would rather be hurt than have to deal with this. He needs to come after me. He needs to hurt me." She looked at her aunt. "Why didn't he choose me?"
Joey looked at her with a deep-set frown. "Oh, San."
"They don't need anymore hurt," she whispered as she gazed at the ground. "He can't hurt my mom or my brother. He just can't. Not them too." She looked back up at her. Her sobs engulfed her. "It should be me. It has to be me."
Quinn watched absently from the step of the stairs. She looked back over her shoulder when she heard the heaving breaths. She turned and saw that Rachel was still staring at the television. Her breaths were caught in her chest. Quinn looked at the television and the newscaster was still replaying the three second clip of Will Schuester being walked to the police car, handcuffed.
Rachel's breaths hitched in her chest. She couldn't do this; she was shaking. She tried to look away but she couldn't. He was looking at her. She couldn't hear what he was screaming about as he was led to the car, but she knew he was yelling her name. He was yelling about her.
Nana suddenly shut off the television, but was still on the phone. She gave Rachel a paper bag to breathe into as she walked briskly up the stairs with her ear still into the phone.
Quinn vaguely heard the older woman telling her to sit down. However, she couldn't focus on the words. All she could hear were Santana's sobs outside the house and Rachel's hitched breathing inside the house. She looked over at Rachel and her breaths were continuously getting hitched in her chest. She couldn't breathe. Quinn finally snapped into action and walked over to Rachel and rubbed her back.
"Look at me, bug," she whispered. "You're safe and you're here." Quinn took Rachel's hand. "Rachel," she whispered. "Look at me."
She quivered and looked slowly at her sister. She opened her mouth and tried to speak but labored breaths continued to stick. "I-I-I-I..."
Quinn didn't realize her instincts had kicked in, or even that she had instincts, until she pulled Rachel into her arms and allowed the girl to lean into her chest. She rubbed her back. "You're okay," she whispered. She met Santana's eyes as the girl reentered the room with Joey and paused. "We're okay."
…...
The ER doors swung open with slam. Shelby in a wheelchair as Noah lay on a gurney behind her.
"I'm fine," she said pushing the doctors away. "I need to see my son! I demand to see my son!"
"He's right in front of you, Shel," Bear said next to her.
"No!" she said as they were brought to the same curtained area. "He needs to be stitched up. I'm fine! I'm fine!"
Bear leaned forward close to his sister-in-law. "You're not fine and you need to calm down."
"Calm down?!" she shook her head and stood stroking her son's hair. "I'm right here, bud," she whispered.
He gave a smile as the nurses began hooking him up to a few machines. "I'm fine, Mom," he said quietly. "It's no worse than that time that I hurt my shoulder. Actually," he smiled weakly as they put in an IV. "That hurt more."
Shelby smiled at him weakly with tear-filled eyes. "You needed stitches that day, too," she said weakly as she pulled up a stool next to him. "You were stubborn for climbing that tree that day," she said as she leaned her forehead against his temple. "You were angry and stubborn today, too," she whispered with a slight shake in her voice. She took a deep breath. "You saved that bird," she lied quietly. "Just like you saved yourself and your sisters today."
He brought his hand up and hugged her head against his.
"I just ask," she said with a smile. "That you try not to make a habit of this when you're angry and stubborn." She kissed him softly on the temple. "Imagine what you can do when you're clear headed."
He turned and looked at her with a grin. "I'll always kick their asses if they mess with our family."
She smiled. "We're Corcorans. We don't walk away without a fight, remember?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
Shelby smiled and sat down and felt a nurse hook up a monitor. She swatted her away.
"Hey," Bear hissed. "If you won't sit on a bed, they're going to examine you in a chair. Please just cooperate."
"Ma, just get on the bed," Noah urged as the nurse adjusted his IV. She sighed and stood up.
"Her heart rate is elevated and her blood pressure is high," the nurse said to the doctor as they began to examine her.
The doors swung open.
"Thirty-nine year old man, possible internal bleeding, fractured ribs, pressure is up. We had to sedate him on route, he became violent."
Shelby looked up and watched as Will Schuester was wheeled into the next curtain. She pushed the IV away that they were trying to put in. She began to walk over to him. "Fucking bastard!" she hissed. She felt arms around her waist. "Let me go!" She looked over at Bear. "He deserves to die. He tried to destroy our family!"
"Calm down," Bear muttered into her ear. "Just... calm down," she frowned.
"No," she hissed pushing him away. "No! No!" She looked at the man. "He hurt them. He hurt my family. I can't … He can't be here. He can't be here in this hospital!"
Michael pulled her close and leaned his cheek against her ear as he hugged her. He had been standing back slightly, but he had been watching closely. He knew his youngest daughter and he knew she was about the break. "You... You need to calm down. I can't be in the room with him just like you can't be in here, but your boy is here. And he needs you. Your girls need you at home. You need to take care of yourself and calm down."
"I'm fine," she hissed.
"You're not," he muttered. "Now go back and sit on that bed, because if you want to leave, you need to stay on this side of the curtain. Judgement is not today. Right now you need to calm down."
She frowned and turned into her father but looked over her shoulder at her son who was grimacing at the stitches. She took a deep breath and turned back to her son. She combed her hand over his face.
"I love you a lot," she said with a kiss to his temple.
"Yeah, yeah," he smiled. He motioned toward the curtain. "If it'll make you feel better you can punch him," he said quietly, with a hint of worry.
Shelby sighed and looked at her son with regret, knowing she needed to regain her composure.
"I'm fine," she muttered.
"You're not," he said honestly. "You're shaking you're so mad."
Michael put his hand on her back. "You need to let the doctors examine you."
"Why?" she barked feeling her son jump. She looked at him apologetically as she stroked his hair again.
"Because you're on edge," Michael said slowly. "You're scared and it shows physically. You're sweating and... You need to calm down."
"I'm fine," she hissed.
"You're not," Bear said coming to the other side. He looked at the doctor that stood next to them. "You need to rest."
"No, I don't," she snapped again.
"Shelby," Michael said looking at the monitor they stealthily managed to put on Shelby. "Your blood pressure is dangerously high," he said quietly in her ear. "With everything that happened, not just today but everything all together... you need to sit down, you need to lay down." He watched her carefully. "I bet if you stepped back," he continued more slowly. "You would realize you're dizzy and you have a headache." He leaned forward, even closer to her ear. "Your son is scared because you're scared. Sit down."
The doctor stepped forward. "We can give you a relaxant and you can rest for three to four hours and get your body back-"
"No," Shelby pushed. "I need to take care of my son and get home to my girls. They're scared I need to get home to my girls."
The heart monitor began to beep more rapidly.
Noah looked at his mother, her brow was heavy with beads of sweat. "Mom," he whispered. He couldn't even feel the stitches anymore.
"No, I can't wait here for four hours," she insisted as she looked at her doctor. "My son needs to get home. I need to get home," she said hurriedly as the heart monitor quickened.
"Ma'am," the doctor interrupted. "Blood pressure this high can lead to serious problems like heart disease, kidney failure, stroke and even blindness and dementia. Honestly you..."
The doctor trailed off when he saw Noah's look of panicked fear as he looked at his mother. "Mom," he said quietly.
Shelby took a deep breath and looked at her father and slowly sat on the bed while still holding Noah's hand.
"Okay," she whispered. "Tell me what we need to make this go away."
"Well, first off, it is very important that you watch your diet," the doctor said.
"She will," Noah said.
"You'll need to focus on reducing saturated fat, red meat and added sugar from your diet while paying extra attention to your sodium intake. High sodium levels have been directly linked to high blood pressure and hypertension."
Shelby sighed. "Fine, I can do that but I'm not staying here overnight. My girls are freaked out and -"
"We'll call them," Bear said. "I'll go see them."
"All three of them must be out of their minds. Bug must be so scared. Santana and Quinn are-"
"Mom, they'll be more scared if you have a stroke at home," Noah said sharply looking at his mother. He turned to the doctor. "She'll stay here." he looked back at his mother. "You have to. You've been stressed for the past nine years. You have to take care of yourself."
Shelby looked at her son in surprise. She paused for a minute, soaking in his words. "Alright," she said looking at him. "Okay."
He looked at his grandfather. Noah narrowed his eyes. "Call my sisters and tell them everything's okay."
Shelby looked at her son with a mixture of guilt and regret with pride, hating that he was in so many ways her co-parent. She looked at the doctor. "Do what the man says."
Shelby looked toward the curtain that she knew Will was behind. She wanted to kill him but she had to stay here with her son. She had to stay here because she couldn't let her son lose her too. She frowned as she saw her brother-in-law's shoes behind the curtain. However, it was silent. She knew that he wasn't torturing Will Schuester but she hoped he was.
Bear looked down at Will Schuester. His body beaten as the doctors worked around him.
"Don't say a fucking word," he hissed. He looked at the doctors and leaned closer. "My sister in law and nephew are in the next room and I will go to jail for the rest of my life if it ensured that they remained safe."
The injured man just looked up at the chief of police with a weak grin."I would love to see you try" He leaned up. "I'll always get them. I'm already there." He smiled. "I've already won."
"How the hell do you think that?" Bear hissed.
"I'm already in her head," he smiled. "I'll always be there." He smiled wider. "I was inside of her and I will always be."
Bear leaned down and wrapped his hands around his neck for barely a second before the captain and a few other doctors pulled him away.
"That's enough! Sedate him already!" a doctor ordered. He pointed at Bear. "Get him out of here."
Bear fought but let himself be pulled away. "Son of a bitch," he hissed forcing himself to be pushed past his family. He couldn't look at them. He couldn't do that. He couldn't look at them. All he could do was force himself to breathe and not lose it.
He leaned against the wall of the busy hospital hallway. He closed his eyes and realized in that moment that catching him wasn't going to go away anytime soon. He was going to linger as he fought against the charges. He was going to eat away slowly at them until there was nothing. In his head he always thought that he could just capture him and throw him in jail. He had seen people like him rip families in two, embed themselves in their lives even though he would never harm them. However, as Bear leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling of the hospital, he realized that was impossible. He would always be in Rachel's head... in the back of her mind or forefront, in her nightmares. He would haunt her just like Hiram haunted them. Just like Russell and Judy would haunt Quinn. They were wrong to think they had ever healed from the past. The past still lingered; it simply wasn't as loud.
"What happened?" he heard Noah ask from the the room.
"I don't know," Michael covered.
"Is Mom already asleep?" Noah looked over in the bed and saw that his mother was in fact asleep. "That was really fast." He looked at his grandfather and he could see his uncle around the corner. He shook his head as he looked at his grandfather again, "I can't... leave them. This is why."
"No this is why you have to move forward," Michael said leaning down. "If you go and live your life you won't be leaving them behind."
"Yeah, I will," Noah urged.
Michael shook his head, "If you don't move on, if the girls don't move on you'll just sit and marinate in the past. You're all a team, remember?"
Noah shook his head. "And teams stick together, you don't just run off."
"You're not a team now when you're all in the same place. You're not talking to each other." He sighed and looked at the boy. "If you always have everyone benched, not only will you never play but you'll never learn how to."
"What if they suck at it?" Noah asked. "What if I leave and they don't need me?"
"They'll always need you, Noah," Michael smiled. "Your mother has fought for your lives since you all were born. She wants you to live them. If you all get stuck trying to protect each other from an unlived life then what's the point of her fighting for you?"
Noah chewed his lip and looked over at his mother. Maybe it was the drugs maybe it was the day, maybe it was everything. However, he saw her. He saw how sad she was. He saw that she had no one.
"I want her to be happy," he whispered. "I want her to marry someone and be happy." He frowned. "But not a dick-"
"Language," Michael frowned. "What you want for her and the girls is what we want for you." Noah stared at the ceiling. "Time won't stand still, Noah," he whispered. "It'll move on no matter what. I want you so desperately to move with it."
The boy sighed and looked at his uncle who had come quietly into the room. Noah looked at him questioningly. "What happened with that bastard?"
Bear looked at him honestly and understood that Hiram and Will would never go away, but they could still move on from them.
"He pissed me off," Bear said as he walked to Noah. "But he's just a bastard."
Noah nodded. "Yeah," he muttered. "He is."
….
Once Rachel finished the nebulizer, she sat silently on the backs of her heels as she rested her chin on the back of the couch while she looked out the window.
"They're okay. They're okay. They're okay," she whispered almost silently as her eyes darted down the street. She bit the side of her lip.
Santana watched her from the couch as Quinn sat next to her. The brunette frown deeply and pushed her tongue into her cheek nervously. "We can't let her sit there like that. She's been sitting there for twenty minutes."
Quinn looked at her with an arched brow. "Do you know what to say to her?" She shook her head. "Nothing we say will make her stop worrying."
"I'm worried too," Santana said with a bit of a snap. "But I can't watch her sit there like that and worry. I can feel her panic and her...defeat." She watched as Rachel's brow furrowed more deeply and her mantra forced her to move her lips but barely any sound came out. She was only saying it for herself now.
"Rachel," Santana attempted. "Come over here and watch this show with me."
Rachel looked over her shoulder with the furrowed brow and silently shook her head at Santana before returning out the window. Santana sighed in defeat and Quinn just shook her head slightly.
"Let her be," the blonde said quietly. She continued as she looked at the small eleven year old. "Nothing you say will make her feel better."
Santana sighed. "Fine," she whispered. "We know they're fine...but... I just... "
Quinn put her hand on hers. "I know," she sighed. "I think we'll be okay."
"What?" Santana asked with a frown. "How? How can it be that easy?" Santana asked.
"I..." Quinn said with a deep set frown. "I never …. I never had hopes for my life other than to get out of Lima and pretend it never happened." She paused. "I …. I put Judy Fabray in the ground and a man who made me feel lower than dirt in prison. And now this." She sighed and looked at Santana. "I don't feel better or worse. I feel different. For the first time in my life...I want to make plans." Santana stared at her for a moment. Unsure of what to say. "They're okay, Santana. Just because they're not here doesn't mean they're not okay."
Santana sighed. "I don't know... too much has happened."
"And because of that you should know what panic looks like," Quinn pointed out. She turned and pointed over the back of the couch at Joey and Nana, who sat casually in the kitchen. "That's not what panic looks like." She looked back at Santana. "Things can only get better."
Santana scoffed. "You totally just jinx it."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "I really think so." She looked over at Rachel with sad eyes. "That over there is pure unadulterated panic."
"I know," Santana sighed. "We have to calm her down or at the very least distract her. If she keeps this up, she'll have to go on the neb again."
She stood and walked over to the chair where Rachel was sitting. "Can I sit here?"
Rachel looked up at her and gave a tiny nod, still silently moving her lips to the mantra. Santana reached down and rubbed Rachel's back, the girl jumped in surprise but then looked at her embarrassed.
Santana gave her a reassuring nod. "It's alright." She followed Rachel's gaze wondering how she could possibly distract her and Brittany's words echoed in her head. "Hey, Rach, remember when we were little and we used to make those big forts?"
Rachel's lips stopped moving as she looked up at Santana with a questioning frown and nodded.
"Can we make one now?" the elder girl asked quietly. "You can still come back to the window but...I need your help."
"I know you're just trying to distract me," she muttered.
"Is it working?" Santana asked.
Rachel looked out the window again as the elder girl leaned closer to her. "They're alright, Rach. Don't you think Nana and Aunt Joey would be freaking out more if they weren't?"
The eleven year old looked back out the window and then back at her sisters. "You're moving the furniture," Rachel said quietly. "Quinn and I can't move furniture." She looked back over the couch. "And you have to be quiet because they will be upset if we mess up the living room."
Santana smiled and looked at Quinn who nodded. "Noted."
…..
Shelby blinked her eyes opened and looked around. She felt strangely rested and relaxed. It was freeing for the split second before her reality rushed back and hit her. She looked around.
"You slept for awhile, Shel." She looked up and the doctor and her father were smiling at her.
"Where's Noah?" she asked sitting up.
"He's still asleep next to you," Michael assured sitting on the hospital bed.
"What time is it?" she looked around. "The girls must be out of their minds."
"They're fine," he said gently. "Bear went home to be with them. You've only been sleeping for three hours."
"I should get home," she said.
"Yes, you should, but you should slow down," Joey said appearing suddenly. She smiled. "Bear tagged me out. Thought you might want some company on the ride home."
Shelby smiled. "How are they?" she asked honestly. "Really, how are they?"
"They're panicked but they're okay. When I left the girls were sleeping in a fort that they made in the living room." She sighed and saw her sisters eager gaze. "The girls saw it on television." Shelby started to sit up. "But they're okay. They're scared but they're okay. I'm here to help you get home."
Shelby searched her eyes. "But...," she said slowly. "There's a but... What aren't you saying?"
"You need to talk to Santana," Joey said quietly. "I mean you need to talk to Rachel and Quinn too but..." Joey looked at her hands. "I had to chase Santana down the street... She wanted to get to you guys... she …. She doesn't understand why that bastard didn't choose her..."
Shelby closed her eyes. "Of course, she doesn't," she whispered.
"We'll figure this out." Joey said encouragingly.
"I hope so," Shelby said looking at her son. Without breaking the gaze, she went on. "I almost lost my boy today."
"But you didn't," she whispered.
"I know," she muttered. "But I almost did. I can't do this again."
Joey sighed and pushed Shelby gently to make room for her on the bed. Shelby rolled her eyes and moved over on the bed and made room for her sister. She leaned on her sister as her sister pulled her closer.
"You are doing remarkably well, especially because I know that this is eating away at you," Joey whispered. Shelby looked at her with a frown. "I know you, Shel," he smiled. "Ever since the kids were taken away, you haven't been the same since the kids were missing. And I'm not saying I expected you to be the same, but... All these things keep eating away at you-"
"How can they not?" she asked with a sigh. Shelby leaned back into her sister. "This isn't how I wanted my life to be."
Joey pulled her sister close and tucked her head under her own chin. "I know, but your kids are so strong and-"
"I hate that they've had to be," Shelby muttered. "I just want them to be happy but … I can't... Rachel can't sleep alone. Quinn is just learning how to sleep through the night. I …. And Santana... I just keep thinking over and over... did I mess things up with her? I've always known she has stuff to work through but she's a girl that does things in her own time.-"
"Yeah, she does," Joey scoffed. "Twenty-six hours of labor! Seriously, I cannot get over how that baby basically refused to come into this world. Meanwhile, Noah arrived right on time and one hour and then Rachel was so eager to be apart of the world she arrived two months early. Little dork." Joey laughed at the memory and shook her head. "Don't even get me started on my boys. The miracle of life my ass."
"You're so eloquent. It's astounding," Shelby laughed.
A silence settled over them.
"You should really talk to someone," Joey said interrupting the moment.
"I don't... I need to focus on them," she began.
"You've been sedated in the hospital," Joey said straight to the point. "You're not. You need to slow down and ask for help. So this weekend, Mom's enforcing a lockdown."
"I'm sorry, what?" Shelby asked pulling away from her sister.
"Yeah, she wants you to rest and the kids to rest and now with that asshole in jail we should be able to sleep," Joey explained. "Then Noah and the girls are starting school and practice on Monday. They need to rest up and -"
"I think I will go to the practices, don't you think?" Shelby said interrupting her sister . "I just... I should just watch them and -"
"I don't know we'll think about that," Joey said with a frown. "Everyone is already watching them. They don't necessarily need their mom in the stands too."
Shelby leaned back and looked at her son. "I feel far from him. I don't know what he's thinking or really understand what's going on. He thinks he's a man. He's my boy."
"No, he's not," Joey said simply. "He's a man in so many ways but still a boy in others, especially after today."
"I know," she said turning back to her sleeping son, whose snores echoed through the room. "He's still my boy."
Joey followed her gaze and gave a weak smile. "I know." She sighed. "You need to talk to someone. These days are not like the others, yes, but even though you manage to keep it together, you can't possibly do it all the time." She sighed. "Just think of it this way: if you lose it in front of the girls, they won't take it as well as your son is or is pretending to," she said quietly.
Shelby took a deep breath. "I know," she said quietly.
"Do you really?" Joey asked. "If any of the girls see you lose it," she started, "if you snap, especially now, it would be bad. If it were in front of anyone else they would get it, but not the girls." She paused as she continued to look at her younger sister, " If I know Noah, he is going to think about this. All of this..." She looked at Shelby. "Now that the doctor has put it in his head that you could possibly have a stroke if you continue like this, it will be in the back of his head at all times... He will worry about you. Like I worry about you."
"I can't lose them," she whispered. "I don't know how I would get through it."
"I know," Joey whispered. "But they won't survive losing you." She took a breath. "The girls know that you were asked to rest here for a bit..."
Shelby groaned. "First you tell me that my children can't handle things, and now you're telling me that you told them Mommy had to be drugged because she was so stressed out?!" She sat up, remembering that she had changed into a gown. "I need my clothes. Where are my -"
Joey handed her a small tote. "I brought you another change of clothes too."
Shelby frowned, but took the clothes and began to change.
"Shel, at least promise me you'll go talk to someone," Joey urged again.
"If I have time," she said quietly as she rummaged through the clothes that her sister brought.
"No. You'll make time," Joey clarified.
Noah stirred in the bed and opened his eyes. "Can we go, Ma?" he asked quietly.
Shelby nodded, kissing him softly on the top of his head. "Sure," she said making eye contact with Joey. "Okay."
….
The girls lay inside under the fort they built in the living room. The blankets draped over the tops of the furniture. Rachel's eyes flickered open. She was laying on Santana's chest and Quinn was laying next to her. She looked at each of her sisters, grateful that they were asleep. They worked so hard to take care of her that they rarely took care of themselves. She pushed herself up on the backs of her heels. She frowned, kissing both of her sister's softly on the forehead. Santana smiled and turned over on her side while Quinn swatted at the small kiss.. She frowned and crawled quietly out of the fort slowly on her hands and knees.
"Hey pumpkin," Helen said as Rachel emerged from the fort.
"Hi," she muttered as she went to the window and curled up in the chair next to the window and watched out front window.
"Rachel, let's go into the kitchen for a snack," she pushed.
"No, thank you," she whispered. She leaned forward slightly so her forehead rested on the window. She strained to see down the street. "Where are they?" she asked quietly.
"They're coming, bug," Helen reassured as she sat next to her youngest granddaughter.
"She's stressed out?" It was a question but it was also a statement.
Helen sighed and rubbed Rachel's back. "Yes, but it's the situation. It's nothing you kids did."
"I think that she might get sick," she said still looking out the window. She didn't think it on her own. She had heard Quinn and Santana talking quietly about it when they were making the fort. She wasn't sure if they meant the flu or if they meant something bigger, but they had stopped talking about it when they saw she was watching.
"She's going to be okay," Bear said sitting on Rachel's other side. Rachel leaned into her uncle's side.
"We all have to take care of ourselves," Rachel said with a thoughtful frown.
"That's right, bug," Bear said.
She looked at her grandmother. "I'll have a snack, Nana."
Bear smiled at his mother-in-law over Rachel's head.
"Yeah?" Helen smiled. She stood up and started toward the kitchen. "What do you think? Apple sauce and crackers? Or some nuts and dried fruit?" Rachel turned away from the window for a moment.
"I don't know," she muttered returning to the look out the window.
Helen smiled. One step at a time. "Well, I think that-"
Rachel gasped causing Bear and Helen to turn sharply and instinctively. She scrambled out of her chair and sprinted out of the room and into the foyer. She flung the front door open and the bang caused the sleeping girls to jump awake. Rachel sprinted out into the dark evening. The car had pulled into the driveway and turned off just as Rachel spotted them outside of the house. Bear hot on her tail, not knowing why she was doing but knowing that she was sprinting out of the house. Once he spotted his wife's car, he knew. The driveway wasn't long, but it seemed long in that moment. Shelby climbed out of the passenger side of the car.
"Mumma!" Rachel shouted as she ran to Shelby.
The mother forgot the bag in her arms and dropped to her knees pulling her Rachel up and into her arms. "Oh, bug," she said pulling her tightly to her chest. Shelby immediately felt Rachel begin to sob in her arms. She rubbed her back softly hushing her. "It's okay," she hushed. "We're okay."
Noah climbed out of the car and came to the other side. Rachel let out a sob of relief when she saw him and began reaching for him from Shelby's arms. Noah took her carefully just as Santana and Quinn rushed out of the house almost plowing Shelby over. The mother engulfed the girls, assuring them that they were okay.
Finally, Shelby and Joey managed to bring the kids into the house. Rachel leaned back in Noah's arms and laced her fingers together on the back of his neck as she looked at the cut on the side of his neck. She looked at him with worry.
"Are you okay?"
He smiled. "I'm so much better now."
"Are you okay? What happened? Are you okay?"
Shelby took a breath as they settled in the kitchen. She sat quietly and looked at the kids. Rachel leaned forward and into Shelby, quietly lifting Noah's shirt to look at the wound.
"Rachel," Shelby said bringing the girl's attention back to the table. She cleared her throat, "Okay, he's in jail and he's going to stay there."
Rachel looked at her carefully frowning deeply. She didn't feel relief. She didn't feel safer. All she felt was a surge of panic. She would have to testify. She would have to tell everyone what happened as he sat there and stared at her. She felt her mother rub her back and she jumped slightly. She leaned closer into her mother. Catching him wasn't the end of the road. It was barely the top of the hill. She still had to come back to earth. It was like that scary ride at the amusement park; the one that lifted you and dropped you. You never knew when you were going to fall, but you knew you had to. Rachel nodded. It was like that. . She felt her breaths get more shallow. She felt her mother pull her closer and she felt her breaths calm slightly.
"We're all okay. We're going to go to bed," Shelby said with a deep breath. "Alright."
Santana looked at her brother and mother with a frown. Quinn looked at her hands but mirrored the same look.
"It's late, girls," Shelby said again. "We're okay. We can talk about this more in the morning, but for now its' time to sleep. We'll be okay in the morning." Santana continued to frown and look at her mother. Shelby caught her eye. "Bug," she whispered at the little girl. "Go upstairs and get changed for bed."
"I want to stay here with you and Noah," she said quietly.
"I'm going upstairs, bug," Noah smiled.
"Me too," Quinn said starting toward the stairs. Rachel looked back at her mother, but let herself be led upstairs.
Santana turned back to her mother as Helen followed the girls up the stairs. Joey and Bear had left a few moments earlier. It was just her and her mother. Santana looked at her with tearful eyes and a shallow breath. Shelby moved closer to her eldest daughter. She wrapped her arms around her bringing Santana closer to her chest. The girl let her walls crumble as she let out a sob. It was all too real. It was all too much.
"I know, Taz," she whispered into her hair.
I'm not sure if you're disappointed and I apologize for the wait. I just moved cross country and am in the process of changing jobs, but staying in the same field. Please be patient, but know this. I am committed to this story and these characters. I hope you stick with it. Thank you for reading. Furthermore there are no words for the fact that we're up to 1435 reviews. It's beyond appreciated.