Open Wounds

by 216BLT

AU: The past is the past. Puck, Santana, & Rachel Corcoran have moved on from theirs, but when their mother decides to take in a teen, old memories resurface. Also, new scars are made as they navigate through adolescence, ones that might not heal.

51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Thank you thank you! I want to thank Lovecanbesostrange for allowing me to use one of her brilliant idea for these characters. I also want to thank amandaes417 and pcall006 for your feedback! Thank you! Thanks as always to my two awesome betas! I appreciate it so so much. I would be lost without you and you know it.

A/N: I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm so sorry for the delay.

Please read this chapter with caution. There is at least one intense dream sequence that can be very hard to read.

Guest - I try to update consistently. I was updating every week and then it was more like every 2 weeks and now it has been a little longer because I have a new work schedule and I moved but I hope to get back to more like every 10 days. Thanks for the review.

Lexie-Rae – Thank you so much! I can't believe I am at 50 chapters either! I am there because of you and each one of my reviewers and I will be forever grateful to all of you for allowing me to share my story. Your words humble me and I thank you so much.

fbedit – Thank you so much for finding the story and taking only 5 days to read it. I am honored. I thank you for your review and your kind words. I strive to keep the characters as true to the story as possible.

lovecanbesostrange – Never apologize for not reviewing. I am grateful for everyone that does - they mean so much to me and they keep pushing my writing and making me want to post nothing but my very best. I am so glad that you are still reading and enjoying the story. That makes me so happy - you have no idea. Thank you for taking the time to post the review and telling me your thoughts on the chapter - I really do love it.

Iuterpi – Thankfully it was Quinn that found the note. It might have been disastrous. Quinn now knows what happened but it didn't change the way Quinn thinks about her new sisters and brother. It basically just solidified that they are all truly in this fight together forever. Noah never wants his sisters contacted by this monster so he felt he had to make the trip but you will see more of Santana's reaction in this chapter and why she has reacted like this. Quinn's head is all over the place. She knows that she is loved and in this new family forever but it is a whole lot of change in less than a year so she doesn't really know what she is doing right now. The family may go back to singing but it is a little way down the road. You shall see. Thank you for your review and sticking with the story.

Scout88 –Reading this in 4 days - wow that is dedication! Thank you so much for you very detailed review. When I see reviews like yours I am so overwhelmed. You are so kind and thoughtful to share your thoughts with me and make me see that when I write something it truly is taken the way that I meant it to be taken. I try to update every 10 or so days but as you can see this chapter has taken a little longer than expected. I am still working on my new schedule so thank you for being patient. Again I am humbled by your words and I am so glad you are enjoying the story.

Lolathe17th – Thank you for your continued reading. Will is in jail however, you will see he is still doing damage from inside. It will take some time for all of them to feel relief even though he is in jail. Noah is a great son and brother, sometimes though his methods of doing things are not the best. You will see what happens to Santana – she does not lie to Shelby though. Yes Sue is fierce and while she is tough and a little crazy she is an ally to the Corcoran family. Never apologize for a long comment – keep them coming. Thanks for the review.

broadwaybound2016 – I am sorry I always try to get these updates out sooner than they are coming out lately. It's not because I don't want to post – life has just gotten in the way a little more lately. But thanks for sticking with the story and thanks for the review.

dolphinluver46 – Rachel and Holly will take a couple of field trips. You will see what happens to Noah in this chapter. Thanks for the review.

look4me – I feel like I am taking forever to update the chapters but I really like and try and keep the chapters around 15k- 20K words. As much as I would have liked Quinn to go a little more skank – Shelby is her mom now and there is only so much that mom Shelby is going to let her get away with. Judy did leave the money to Quinn because deep down Judy knew what kind of parent she was to Quinn. Right now it just confuses Quinn too much. Thank you for the review and loving the last chapter, I hope you find this chapter just as "epic".

Gleefanficfan – Sorry for the delay – You can beg but I try as hard as I can to get these chapters out as quick as possible. Trust me I do not hold back at all. Thank you for the review.

thelastcenturian – Sorry to make you wait. Thank you for the review. love your stories as always keep it up :)

Renata – The will was a surprise for everyone. Quinn is just so confused over it and it will cause her some emotional turmoil that she will have to work through. Noah is going to see Hiram not Leroy – Hiram is the monster but the question is will he get to see him. Rachel is not really ready for friends – you see how hard it is for Santana and Quinn it would be just as hard for Rachel to have friends right now and while it is nice to play and forget she has to grow a little more and feel safer before trying that again. Rachel is sleepy because of a lot of reasons. She is still recovering from major surgery, she is underweight, she is on medication, she does not sleep through the night so she is sleepy but it is not a good sleep. Thank you so much as always for your reviews.

Kimberlli – Quinn reaction will take some time to really play out. It is overwhelming for her. Noah unfortunately can't and won't get the closure he is looking for. Please remember that Hiram is a pedophile that has been sentenced to a long prison sentence so his visitors are limited. Thanks for the review.

BMontague – Hiram is a known child molester – so he is basically kept in solitary confinement. With Sue as vice principal and Shelby as her mom – Quinn's truancy won't go far but she will push it. Gus will find his way back to Shelby I promise. Thanks for the review.

alopez208 – Holly is good for Rachel and will continue to push her. It was very fortunate that Quinn picked up the note. It will only solidify her relationship with Santana without Santana actually having to ever speak the words to her. Never apologize for the length of your review I love them – no matter how long or how short. Thank you for your patience. I try so hard to stick to my weekly schedule but it has really been pushed to two weeks lately. Thanks again for reviewing.

A C one – I am sorry about the semi-cliffhanger. Shelby is going to have a lot of different reactions to Noah's trip – but it is something that he felt he had to do. Thanks for reviewing.

Drea LuRuiz – Holly will continue to help Rachel in her wacky way. Sorry for the cliffhanger. Thanks for the review.

raelynne9 – OK? thank you?

NinjaGleek21 – Thank you for the review and the cookies. I love them both.

Filmaddict – I am glad you are still reading but why are you saying I lost readers? I am sad hearing that but I guess it happens. I am thankful for all my readers. Quinn has a lot of soul searching but with the right people around her she will get there. Thanks for reviewing.

OTHangels – Thank you

Fangirl44 – Frannie's childhood was similar to Quinn's in which she had cold parents but she was not abused by her parents – she may have been spanked but she was not sexually assaulted and she felt more love than Quinn ever did. However, I would not say it was a happy childhood for her either. Thanks for the review.

marinka4 – Noah will be in lots of trouble when Shelby gets a hold of him. Thanks for the review.

Ryoko05 – Thank you Thank you !

littleredwritinggleek – I am sorry for the tears. Sorry for the cliffhanger too. Thank you so much for the congrats. I could not have done it without all of my readers and reviewers so thank you so much!

Edilsdnal – I promise to limit the cliffhangers. And to be honest I really really try to not do them but sometimes its just where I have to end the chapter. Thanks for the review.

hersheysforever – I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the review.

TommyH – As always thank you!

---

Brittany stared at Santana. She was now sitting in the passenger seat with her head bowed. She hadn't stopped crying since Noah and Mike had left. Her eyes were glazed over; she was just staring at the ground, numb to the world around her.

"Santana?" Brittany called for what seemed like the millionth time. "Santana?"

Brittany couldn't know that Santana was so deep in her head that she couldn't hear her. She was thinking about what happened not only in this moment but every moment for the last nine years.

"Santana?"

The sixteen year old brunette let out a sob. She couldn't do this. She couldn't let him do this. But why then was she paralyzed to this spot? She let out another sob as every memory that she had attempted to forget rushed back to her in vivid detail.

"Santana?" Brittany called again.

The brunette only let out another sob and bowed her head a little lower.

"Santana?"

Seven year old Santana looked up with a tear stained face. Her baby sister was looking at her with a frown. Noah was holding her hand.

"Sanny?" Rachel asked around her pacifier, which she was holding with her teeth on the side of her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Noah asked looking at her.

"Nothin," Santana said fiercely wiping her tears. She couldn't tell them that she was looking through one of the few storybooks that they had brought. She had remembered her dad reading to her and the simple memory made her cry. She missed him so much and he was gone and everything had been ruined because of it. She was brought back to the present as Rachel crawled into her lap and wiped her tears. However, the movement only caused her to cry harder. They should be out doing fun things. They should be playing on the playground. Santana felt another lump in her throat. They should be with their mother. She cried. Where was her mother?

She felt Rachel tense in her arms and she looked up. Hiram was glaring at them from the far end of the hallway. They need to learn to close the door, she thought to herself. Santana still felt the tears on her cheeks but could only stare at him. She couldn't get the courage to even wipe her face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he hissed.

She saw Noah walk in front of her. "She's fine."

"You think you're such a big man, don't you?" he hissed as he stomped down the hallway. Hiram combed his hand through his hair and glared at the girls. Santana felt Rachel lean back further against her as Hiram nudged his foot at them where they were sitting on the floor. "Look at me!"

Santana and Rachel both looked up. He yanked Rachel's pacifier away and threw it across the room.

"You don't need that!" he spat as he turned back to the girls. "You're fine," he hissed. He pulled Santana's chin up higher with his chin. "I'll give you something to cry about if you want to cry!"

"I'm fine," she said quickly.

He narrowed his eyes. "You miss your father, cunt?" He threw her face back down and stood up straighter. "Well you shouldn't. He was a bastard. He wasn't worth all the hype." He swaggered with a slur. "Your father was nothing. You're nothing."

Santana looked at him with a steeled gaze. "He wasn't nothing!"

"Oh, getting feisty," he said with a laugh. He narrowed his eyes. "Crying over him won't bring him back!"

"I know that," she said strongly,

"Not if you're crying about it! You obviously don't!" he screamed.

Santana felt Rachel lean back into her again. She wrapped her arms more tightly around her.

"Your father didn't love you. He hated you." He narrowed his eyes and leaned over close to the kids. Noah stepped closer to them instinctively. "Say it. Say he hated you."

Santana didn't break her gaze from the man but she heard and saw Noah from the corner of her eye move even closer to her and Rachel's face. Rachel squirmed closer to her.

"SAY IT!" he screamed, he raised his arm back so that the back of his hand looked as if it swung down to hit Santana and Rachel.

"HE 'ATED YOU!" Rachel sobbed.

"Stupid cunt!" he yelled louder, raising his arm higher.

"He hated us," Noah said as he pulled his body closer, practically on top of the girls.

Hiram arched his brow and looked at Santana. "Say it," he said with a challenging tone.

Santana bit her lip. "He hated us," she muttered.

"Like you mean it," he continued to taunt.

She looked at him with a deep hatred in her heart. "He hated us," she said with more fortitude.

"You the most though," Hiram said as he straightened and took a step back. "Say that. You'll remember this, Santana."

Santana bit her lip and swallowed the lump in her throat but she couldn't blink back her tears. "He hated me the most."

Hiram chuckled. "I know," he said casually. "He told me all the time." He turned away from them. "I'll give you something to cry about, Santana if you start crying. Rachel, I'll be back for your diaper change soon. Whatever filth is in there now you can sit in for a bit."

He shrugged and strutted down the hallway and they heard the front door slam and lock. Santana couldn't look at her brother and sister. She could only stare at the ground.

…...

Brittany sighed. She had called out Santana's name more than she could count. She couldn't get her attention. It was like the girl she loved was somewhere else. Should she hug her? Should she even touch her? What should she do? She's sixteen! She felt so out of her element here. Neither of them were old enough to deal with this. She quickly pulled her phone out.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Corcoran?"

"Brittany?"

The blond could hear the frown from the mother. "I … I … Santana needs your help."

"What happened at school? Sue hasn't called me. Are you alright?"

Brittany heard the woman's heels as she walked briskly into another room. Rachel was probably in hearing range. She cursed herself; Rachel didn't need more stress. Neither did Santana, she reminded herself.

"We're not at school," she said quietly.

There was a pause on the other end. "Where are you?"

"... At the rest stop... off of the highway..." she said darting her eyes over to Santana who had yet to respond.

"Are they both with you? What happened?"

"What? No, Quinn's at school. We um... we went after Noah."

"What?" Shelby asked without hesitation. "What do you mean went after him?"

"He um... he and Mike are on their way to New York. Santana figured it out... and we followed and ….. " She paused. "They fought and he drove off anyway... and …. and now …..." She looked over at Santana.

"Brittany!" the mother called from the other end. "What's going on with Santana?"

"Nothing. Nothing is going on with her. She literally isn't responding to me. I've tried...I've tried to call her name...She just...she just is crying. I've...I've never seen her like this before." She paused. Santana still wasn't responding. "I don't know what to do. What do I do?"

"Stay right where you are. Are you in a parking space? Off of the road? Are your seat belts buckled? Are you driving while you're talking?" Shelby asked in panic. Brittany could hear Michael or Bear talking in the background.

"We're not driving. We're in a parking space at the rest stop... um... we're unbuckled," Brittany said with a frown.

"Stay right there. We'll be there to pick you up in twenty minutes. Stay on the phone with me," Shelby ordered. "Try giving the phone to Santana."

Brittany held the phone out to Santana. "Santana? Your mom's on the phone. She's on her way. Santana?" The blonde took the phone back. "She didn't .. she didn't do anything. What's wrong with her?"

"Brittany, do you have a blanket?" Shelby asked. she could her a car starting up in the background.

The blond looked behind her. "Yeah..."

"Just drape that over her and stay on the line with me, okay?" Shelby said calmly. Brittany frowned. It was fall but it wasn't very cold outside. "I think she might be in shock. She needs to keep warm."

Brittany followed her directions and nodded. "Okay..."

"You're doing awesome, sweetheart. Tell me what happened, Britt," she said calmly.

Brittany took a deep breath and tried to recount as much as she could remember. As she rehashed the story, she began to worry that she put too much pressure on Santana. She always tried to treat her the same, as the girl she knew. Not just the idea of this girl. She didn't want to be on the long list of people who had failed her, but she didn't know how to make it better. She remembered reading the story and because of it she realized she didn't need the information in it. She loved her just the same. She already knew that Santana was strong. She didn't need to know why.

"Brittany."

She looked up and Shelby was climbing out of the car.

"You okay?" Shelby asked looking at Brittany as she crossed in front of the car. The blond exited the car and nodded as she she watched Shelby make her way toward the still silent girl.

She watched as with special tenderness that only Shelby Corcoran could offer, she opened Santana's door and leaned down slowly.

"Sanny?" she said gently. "Honey?"

Santana continued to be unresponsive. Shelby reached out and pulled the girl's gaze up to meet her own. Once their eyes made contact, Santana let out a shuddering breath and wrapped her arms around her mother. Brittany could hear her sobs and see her back rise and fall through the windshield. There was so much separating them right now. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Santana's grandfather standing there.

"Thanks for helping with this-" he began.

"Don't try to convince me not to stay. Don't treat me like an outsider," she said still staring at Santana's sobbing form. "I'm in this."

"I didn't say that you weren't." The man looked at her quietly. He paused and searched her face before he continued. "It's just a lot to take in."

"I know that," Brittany said. "But I'm not leaving her. Even though you are her family. She's... She's the one thing that I can't imagine giving up. I know... I know that ….. I know that loving a girl might be new to you but we're not just best friends... and loves - but that sounds so cliche, but whatever-She's like my arm!" Brittany frowned at her outburst, but recovered. "She needs you now. She does... but I need her too... and... I'll stand back...I'll even...stand far away... but... I'll still stand with her and I -"

"Brittany," Michael said softly. "I get it. What you two have is special. I admire and am so inspired by your relationship. You two are just so afraid of doing wrong by each other that you miss all that you do right. You're right by her. As someone who also stands with but not next to … I get it."

The young blonde nodded. "You must think I'm this crazy, doe-eyed-"

"I think you're pretty great," Michael said gently.

….

Shelby felt her daughter's body in her arms. She had known her daughter better than either of them wanted to admit. She knew that it was coming. It was like a storm whose clouds were on the horizon but she didn't know how to stop it. Santana did worse with people badgering her; she acted more compulsively. Shelby knew that Quinn entering into their lives wasn't the tipping point as much as it was feeling helpless about Quinn and everything else. Santana needed to feel needed. She always had. She needed to feel needed or else she would go to that place in her mind that was still stuck back in that awful room in the brownstone apartment. Shelby had tried to talk to her as best she could when things were tough and get her to open up, but there was only so much she could do to push Santana. It was her fault that she didn't know about the boys. She knew that. Santana hid it; she followed the rules, for the most part, and hid it on purpose. It was a recklessness that Shelby hated herself for not looking for. She made a mental note to watch more for that from her children from now on.

Shelby had a feeling this breakdown was coming. She didn't want to be right. She didn't want there ever to be another point. Her daughter had reached bottom too many times. While Noah felt bursts of emotion, Rachel was usually transparent and wore her emotions (or at least she used to.) Santana would let it build and build until she exploded. She pulled Santana tighter into her chest as she felt her shirt become damp from her daughter's tears and cries. Noah sparked this. She looked behind her and handed her phone to her father.

"Call Noah," she said quietly.

She continued to rub Santana's back. She needed to get it together. She needed to hold them together.

"Taz?" she whispered as she pulled her closer. They were now awkwardly sitting in the passenger seat together. She held Santana and the girl shifted so that she was squeezed half on the center console and half on the seat. She leaned onto her mother's shoulder as Shelby kissed her softly on the forehead. Her heavy sobs had finally subsided.

"I just let him go, Mumma," she whispered. "I tried... I tried.. but he... he just left."

Shelby looked up and saw that Michael was still on the phone shaking his head.

"Okay," she said softly. "Your brother is on his way..."

"To New York," she shrugged, not seeing her mother's face fall. "He's just... I don't know... it was a letter... It's because he's eighteen... I think it was him who contacted him … I told him no... and he just hugged me and told me to get back in the car... and..." Her eyes began to tear up again. "I …. I can't... I don't know what to do, Mom," she said with tears running down her cheeks. "I don't understand. I just... I don't understand." she shook her head and looked up at her mother. "Why did he want to go see him? … I .. I don't understand." She straightened. "You're going to stop him right? You're going to stop him."

Shelby reached over and wiped her daughter's tears. "I'm going to go after him, yes."

"Can you stop him?" Santana asked.

She searched her daughter's eyes; they wouldn't stop crying. "He's eighteen. And even though, to me he's not an adult, to the police and everyone else he is. I'll fix this. He'll be okay." She paused, even though her heart was racing about the possibility of her son seeing that bastard again. "I'm so sorry, San."

"Why?" she said crying again. "I'm ruining everything...I … I can't handle anything... I … can't do any of this... I -"

"You are doing a fantastic job," Shelby said.

"You're bias. You're my mother," she said. "If I robbed a bank, you would support me."

"Well," Shelby said with a slight frown. "That's not completely true..."

"You did though," Santana interrupted.

"You robbed a bank?" she asked with an arch of her eyebrow.

"We stole all of that candy. And planned a getaway car," Santana said.

"First of all... It was Rachel's Little Tike Car-

"The red one with the yellow roof," Santana said wiping her tears.

"Toddler cars don't really count as getaway cars," Shelby clarified. She smiled softly. "Santana, you and Noah were in a lot of trouble for that. I didn't let you get away with it. -"

"But you told off that stupid woman and .. you fight for us and..."

"Santana, I'll always support you," Shelby said, still not getting what her daughter was saying.

"That's what I'm trying to explain," She said heavily. "We could do the world's dumbest stuff and you still support us even when you shouldn't."

"Well, I'm sorry sweetie," Shelby said softly. "But that's my job."

Santana frowned and lowered her gaze again glancing up and looking for the briefest moment at Brittany. She shook her head. "I need you to be mad at me for letting him go. I need you to be mad at me for letting everything happen the way it happened." She let out a sob. "I was outside on the field...I was in the closet.. I was-"

Shelby cupped her face. "I love you, Santana. You need to stop blaming yourself, honey, because I promise you, you're the only one in this world that blames you. And I hate that."

"You don't understand," she said with a sob.

"I do," Shelby said. She looked at her with a strong gaze. "I do! I get it. I blame myself everyday for what happened to the three of you... To Quinn too. Everything that I didn't see. Everything that I missed and what happened because I missed it... Because I wasn't there." Santana paused and watched her with tearful eyes. "I …. I …. I think about it everyday. I … I...break a little inside. I get how you feel."

Santana nodded. "That's how I feel. That is it exactly." Santana said as tears flowed down her cheeks. "What do you do?"

"I … I wake up," Shelby said quietly. "I realize that I do feel guilty but that won't help me... it won't help you. It doesn't me. It won't help Rachel sleep through the night. It won't help your brother not hit people and it won't help you forgive yourself. I … I can't change anything that happened as much as I wish I could..." She looked at her daughter. "Guilt it just... it's an ugly cycle. It doesn't help-"

"It's not supposed to help anybody," Santana said quietly. "It just is. It's there."

"That is true," she said said gently. "It is just there, but it can get bigger. We'll work on it. We have been working on it for years. And... you are incredible, but I promise you won't feel this way forever."

Santana bowed her head. "Mumma, can we go home? I want to see Rachel. You have to go after Noah and …" She looked up and stopped talking once she saw Brittany. "Um... Yeah... Please..."

Shelby followed her gaze. "Sweetheart, do you want Brittany to stay with you at the house for a little bit?"

She bit her lip and watched the blond whose arms were tightly folded in front of her. "It wasn't her idea. It was mine. She can't get into trouble. Okay?"

"She won't," Shelby said gently. "She's worried about you. She's not worried about anything else."

"She should be..." She muttered. "She's not."

"If she wants to stay, do you want to talk to her?"

Santana didn't respond verbally, but nodded. They finally climbed out of the car. Shelby decided that Santana and Brittany would follow Michael and herself back to the house. Shelby wanted to give the girls time alone but she wanted them to follow her so she could control their speed and arrival.

"We'll see you at the house, okay?" Shelby asked. "If you need anything, have Brittany pull over."

"I'll be fine," Santana said glancing up again at Brittany. She looked back at her mom. "Were you home... when … When Brittany called?" Shelby nodded, unsure about the question. "So Rachel was there when you ran out of the house?"

Shelby sighed and looked down at her. "She's fine. She's going to be okay." She leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You ready to go home? We can wait here as long as you need."

"I'm ready," she muttered.

Brittany approached the car and climbed in silently. Santana reached back and buckled her seatbelt as her eyes darted around the car to look at anything but Brittany. The blonde remained silent too as she buckled her seatbelt and started the car.

Santana reached out and put her hand on her forearm. The blonde paused and looked at her slowly. "You okay?"

"I'm sorry," Santana whispered.

"Santana," she started putting her hand over Santana's. "Please don't be sorry."

"I lost it," she whispered. "Why are you still here? Why do you still..."

Brittany smiled and captured her lips softly as she cupped her cheek, silencing her. Santana eased in and kissed her back. She pulled away slightly and rested her forehead on hers.

"It wouldn't feel right to leave you when you needed a kiss the most," she said with a smile.

Santana smiled. "I've been a jerk."

Brittany laughed. "Yeah, it's not one of your more endeared qualities." She let her smiled fade and she looked at her. "I'm here for you just like you've always been here for me." Santana looked at her with a frown. "I haven't had things as big as what has happened in your life, but... you have been there for me. Just do me a favor and stop questioning it for a second and remember that I'm here."

Santana leaned over and kissed her again. "I'm sorry." She let her lips rest barely on Brittany's.

"I know. I forgive you."

She leaned back in the seat with her hand resting on hers. She turned the key and they began to drive forward.

…

Rachel waited eagerly at the window. She knew something was wrong and she didn't care about her work. She had said those exact words to Holly, preparing for a fight, but Holly simply nodded and told her that she would wait with her. The street was quiet in general,but every time Rachel thought she heard a car pull down the street she felt a flutter in her chest of panic mixed with relief. Every time she was shot down. It wasn't them.

She was shaking in anticipation. Her Nana came in to try to comfort her but it didn't work. Joey came in too but her attempt at kind words didn't help either. She let out a small squeal when she felt someone begin rubbing her back, but looked up and saw that it was her uncle.

"They're okay," he whispered, sitting next to her on the window seat. She leaned against him and he pulled her into his lap. "I promise they're okay. San is coming back right now."

"Just San?" she asked looking up at him.

He nodded softly. "I promise that everything will be explained to us. Okay?"

"She's okay?" Rachel muttered. "What about Quinn and Noah?"

Bear sighed. "Your aunt is calling the school now and Noah is-"

A car pulling into the driveway interrupted him. Rachel's gaze snapped to the front of the house. Santana was in the front of Brittany's car behind their mother's Land Rover. Rachel scrambled off of her uncle's lap and ran to the door. She saw Santana's head was bowed as Brittany was looking at her from the driver's seat, but she only saw it briefly as she sprinted toward the car. Brittany pointed at her and Santana looked up getting out of the car and reaching down to get her.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Santana picked her up and stood on the front lawn with the eleven year old in her arms, the heels of her her polka dotted flats feet dangling off of her feet. Rachel continued to cry softly and ask with a panicked, shaking voice, "What happened? Are you hurt? What's going on?"

Shelby climbed out of the car and watched her girls carefully. Santana's eyes were squeezed shut and her brow was knitted. Her saddened face looked so much older. Rachel pulled away slightly to wipe away tears that Santana hadn't realized she had shed. She smiled at her younger sister's actions and held her around the waste.

"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked again.

Santana looked back at her mother and then back down at Rachel. She was too shocked for words. When she started thinking about the events she began to tear up again. Rachel saw this and looked around frantically. "What's wrong?"

Brittany came behind them and encouraged the older girl to set Rachel down and the distant teen complied.

"Britt," Rachel asked with a confused frown. "What's wrong?"

The blonde looked at Rachel with pause and then looked quickly back at Santana, unsure if she could answer Rachel honestly and be the rock that her girlfriend needed. She hesitated but opened her mouth to respond.

"Let's get inside," Santana said suddenly. "Come on, bug," she whispered taking her hand. Rachel nodded and followed her, but after a couple of steps, Santana stopped and turned back toward Brittany who was still rooted in the same place next to where Santana had been previously standing. The older brunette held out her hand. "Will you come inside with us?" she asked quietly.

Brittany gave a tiny smile. "Of course."

…..

Quinn leaned against the back of the window sill. She was sketching silently in the notebook that Elyse had given her. Perhaps she should have been in history but her concern about the situation didn't invoke enough motivation to return.

"What are you drawing over there, Monet?" Dylan asked from the other window sill.

Quinn looked at Dylan with a frown. "He was a painter."

"Whatever," Dylan shrugged. "What are you doing?"

"Just sketching," she said returning to her drawing.

"Can I see?" Dylan asked hopping down and looking over her shoulder.

"I guess," she muttered.

"That's pretty good. A lamb?" she asked.

She closed her notebook. "Forget it."

"Clearly means a lot to you," she said returning to her own sill. "Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?"

Quinn looked around. "Where did that come from?"

"My sister just opened a tattoo parlor," she said.

"I wouldn't really open with that," Quinn frowned.

"She's been doing it for years, but this is her own place with her partner," she shrugged.

Quinn frowned and looked down at her notebook.

Dylan continued. "At least you should show her your designs. She might pay you for some of them. Your lamb is pretty awesome. It's classic but not too much. It has it's own flare." She frowned. "If it's something important to you, do you have a date to go with it?"

One immediately popped into Quinn's mind, but she tried to remain coy. "Why?"

"Because you can put a date on it," she said quietly. "It can mean more."

Quinn thought for a moment. She had never really thought about getting a tattoo but now in this moment she wasn't against it. She frowned. She knew immediately where she would put it. She wanted it to be small on her hip. She wanted to remember this moment in her life. She wasn't sure she would forget, but just in case.

"How much would it be?"

Dylan laughed. "You're an easy sell."

Quinn shook her head. "I'm not sure when I would have time but..." She shrugged. "I'll think about it. Do you have a phone?"

"No, I use the squirrels for communication," Dylan replied snarkily. She jotted down her number and handed it to Quinn.

The blonde looked at the number. She gave a little laugh to herself. "I don't have any money..." she trailed off before the events from the lawyers office flood back to her mind. "Well, I do now," she muttered. "... but not really...I just..."

"Well, we could probably trade. I have to ask my sister, but they're always looking for new artists. She'll be around tomorrow if you want to come over. Just give me a call."

The door suddenly slammed open. "Quinn!"

The girls looked up. "Coach?"

"This is not history," she hissed. She glared at Dylan. "Who are you?" The girl opened her mouth to speak. "I don't care. Get out! Go to class! Quinn let's go!"

She marched out of the room leaving Quinn barely any time to collect her things.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she walked hurriedly down the hallway.

"Your aunt is coming to pick you up," she said shortly.

"Just me?" she asked as she followed.

"Noah and Santana are gone. Things happened and when we needed to find you, you were nowhere to be found." Sue closed the door to her office. "She's going to come in here to get you."

"What's going on? Are they okay? Is it Rachel?" Quinn asked with a frown.

Sue shrugged heavily. "I don't know why she is picking you up. I was told to retrieve you from class and bring you to my office to wait. She will be here soon." She sighed before looking at the blond with a hardened gaze. "What are you doing?" she asked with frustration.

Quinn immediately took the defensive. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't mess this up, Quinn," she said simply.

The blonde tried to not let her face fall. "Why? Do you think she'll kick me out?"

"No," she said quietly pinching the bridge of her nose. "Quinn, you want to be there. Shelby wants you there. Why the hell are you skipping class?"

"It doesn't matter. Pretty sure that I'm still ace-ing that class," she said folding her arms. "Why? Are you going to kick me off the Cheerios?" She pulled at her uniform. "Because I don't care anymore." She held out her casted arm. "Look. It just... I'm just there as a sympathy card."

Sue put up her hands. "I get that you're going all Mt. St. Helen," she said causing Quinn to frown in confusion, "but there's no need. I'm not going to kick you off Cheerios."

"Don't you get it?" Quinn asked in frustration, unsure herself where her explosive anger was coming from. "I don't need you to keep me together. It's making things worse keeping me on the sidelines. It's crap."

"Hey, kudjo," Sue said putting her finger up. "Now wait a minute."

"You're not hearing me. I don't care! Kick me off! I don't care if you tell Shelby!" She stepped forward toward Sue. "I. Don't. Care!"

To her surprise, Sue smirked. "With that kind of fire, how can I kick you off?"

"What if I quit?" Quinn countered, still unsure about how this conversation came about.

A knock on the door interrupted them as Joey walked in. Quinn turned to the door.

"What's going on?" she asked with frustration.

Joey motioned for her to come toward her. "Come on, let's go."

Quinn started out of the room but Sue's voice rang out, casual and icy. "Q, you are to report to my office next week every free period."

The blonde girl shakes her head. "Bullshit."

"Knock it off," Joey said. "Let's go." The woman nodded at the coach and they exited. "What was that about?" she asked the girl as they walked down the hallway.

"Nothing," Quinn dismissed. "Just Sue being Sue."

…..

Rachel watched silently from Santana's side as they pretended to watch a movie in the living room. Brittany was on Santana's other side holding her hand and Quinn was on Rachel's side. The adults were all talking in the other room Rachel knew everyone was listening just how she knew Brittany was unsure of what to say to Santana and the fact that Quinn was mad about something. She didn't know how to fix any of the tension so she reached out and took her sister's hand lowered the television as they listened to the conversation in the kitchen that was growing intensity.

"Well, he's eighteen, no state police is going to pull him over. He's not picking up his phone and neither is Mike. Mike's parents know what's going on and he's still not picking up." Shelby said heavily from the kitchen. She looked at her phone. "I'm going to try again but..." She shrugged with defeat. "I don't know what to do." Her voice trembled.

"Well, honestly, if he gets there, he probably won't be able to get in," Joey said honestly. "He needs clearance at that prison and..." She trailed off.

Shelby looked up. "What?" she asked sharply.

Joey looked over her shoulder at the living room and closed the sliding doors that separated the family room and the kitchen. Rachel's baby brown eyes looked at her with worried questioning look. THe aunt gave her a small smile but then closed the doors completely as she felt a tiny pang in her heart. She returned her attention to the room.

"What?" Shelby asked again, annoyed. Her eyes darting between her parents, sister and brother-in-law.

Joey licked her lips and folded her arms. "I know that you didn't want to know what happened to that man. Once he received his sentence, clearly we would never see him again..."

"Cut to the chase, Joanna," Helen said annoyed.

"Bear and I have kind of …." Bear cleared his throat. Joey went on. "We have unquestionably kept tabs on him."

"In prison?" Shelby asked. "Why?"

"To know what he's up to if he's up to anything. I'm happy to report that what they say about child rapists in prison is true," Bear said lowly. "For the most part he's in solitary confinement. He usually gets himself into trouble. He doesn't play well with other."

"In solitude, they don't have privileges," Joey continued. "Besides, Noah needs to get approved for visitation which could take months. What I'm saying is that even if he was approved, he wouldn't be able to see him." She paused for a moment and went on. "After the accident, Rachel made that comment about a letter from New York. I guessed that it could be him. I contacted a few of my colleagues to try to get more information on the legality of him contacting and if there is anything we can do. I'm still waiting to hear back. But I also sent Kate an email because she's in Bronx now, right?"

Shelby stared at her sister for a moment before she shook her head. She shouldn't be surprised at anything that her sister did. She gave a flustered nod. "Yes, but... " she shook her head. "It's Kate. The kids don't really talk to her very often. She doesn't call... She only emails and texts once in awhile." They all knew that it wasn't that she didn't love the kids. It was just all too hard for her. She had attempted to help after the children were returned to Shelby's care but the kids trauma was just too much for her to handle. She sent Shelby a long apology via email but then immediately went backpacking around Europe for almost 3 years so contact had been extremely limited. Eventually Shelby heard word of Kate returning to Denver and then was notified recently that the woman had accepted a job in New York. Many words were never exchanged between the family and Kate unfortunately. It was just one of the many things that had seemed to change following the trauma caused by Hiram.

Joey nodded. "Well, Kate never responded. Surprise. Surprise."

"Don't," Shelby said knowing that Joey and Kate had a tension because Kate wanted to remove herself for the situation.

Her sister sighed but went on. "Everything happened with... Rachel and I … I didn't push my colleagues to follow up with me...I was too distracted. It slipped through my hands."

She looked at her with understanding. "I need to bring my son back here but I refuse to chase him on the highway," Shelby said. "I'm not going to

"We'll fly," Michael said. "We'll beat him there." He looked up from his laptop that he had open for a few minutes. "A flight leaves from Columbus in a few hours. That'll give us time to get there. It's a quarter to ten. We should try to leave at noon."

Shelby looked at him with mild surprise. "Okay..." She looked at the closed door to the family room. "The girls are a mess."

"They'll remain a mess until Noah is home," Bear pointed out. "We'll take care of them. They want you to handle this."

She sighed and put her head in her hands. Should she get Elyse here? She should have her move in, she joked to herself. She was unsure what her next move was. She felt paralyzed. She felt stuck. She needed to get it together. She had to.

"Mom?" she looked up. Rachel was in the doorway. She gave a little roll of her eyes. Typical move by Santana, Send Rachel in and get answer.

She gave her a weak smile and walked over to her and cupped her face kissing her lightly on the top of her head. She looked at the other three girls in the family room. She sighed. She led Rachel into the living room. "Let's talk," she said quietly.

The air was tense. Brittany and Santana knew what had happened, but their mood seemed to plummet even more. Rachel was just looking back and forth between everyone. She looked so unsure and confused and overwhelmed. Quinn wasn't sure what she felt. It was all too much. She simply wasn't sure. Maybe someday she would see Russell, but …. She looked at Santana, she looked so broken and so unlike herself. The reality of everything that Quinn had read about in the story Santana wrote made more sense and became more achingly real. However, she thought back to what Noah had said, "I'm not apart of it." That's how she felt in that moment. It wasn't her experience. Just like Quinn and Rachel's experiences were slightly similar, but they weren't same.

"What does this mean?" Rachel looked quietly at her mother. Her question hung in the air like a falling feather, waiting for someone to catch it. "Where's my brother? Where's Noah?"

Shelby pulled Rachel close, seeing the impending breakdown. "I'm going to go get him."

Santana's head shot up. She had remained silent for most of the exchange. "I'm coming with you," she said simply.

Shelby looked at her eldest daughter. "You're not," she replied just as simply.

"Mom, I have to go," Santana pushed.

"You don't and you won't be going," Shelby said. "You'll be staying here with Nana and Joey and Bear and will wait for your grandfather and me to bring him back home. It'll be fine." She gave a small nod to Brittany. "Your mother and I talked and you can come and visit anytime while we're gone. You're even welcome to stay if that's what you and Santana decide. I'll leave that to you."

Santana looked at her mother and Brittany but didn't have time to soak up any joy from that news. She looked at her mother. "I have to go..." She looked at the ground. "I need to be there."

Rachel looked at her from her mother's lap with a questioning look. "Why?"

Santana looked at Rachel and then looked at her mother. "I need to be there."

Shelby knew her daughter. She knew that her strength was beyond any measure and her ability to protect the people that she loved was fueled by an unending energy. However, she never invested the same energy in herself. That was Shelby's job.

"You're staying here," she said again without argument.

Quinn looked at Santana with hesitation. She knew that she didn't need answers but her wounds were gaping open whereas Santana's had a thick scar tissue and had been reopened again. Quinn couldn't wrap her head around any of it. She felt so out of control, but she felt stuck all at once, paralyzed. However, still she felt like this fit. She looked at Santana.

"You need to stay here," she heard herself say suddenly. Santana looked at her with pause. Quinn lowered her voice. "I don't think that it'll make things better for you. Noah just needs to come back." She took a deep breath. "He didn't want you there." Quinn glanced briefly down at Rachel before she looked back at Santana. "It'll be too hard for him."

Rachel looked up at her with a frown and then Santana looked at her as if understanding and allowing herself to understand for the first time. Rachel's eyes began to tear up.

"Please don't leave too," she whispered. Santana shook her head but nodded slightly and looked at Rachel.

"Okay," she whispered. "Okay."

Shelby packed a bag and wrote lists. Now she was making a list of what needed to be done. Elyse had been called and would stop by early the next morning. Sue was going to stop by and take Santana out for a run to clear her mind. She knew her daughter and she needed a distraction. She zipped up her bag with purpose, making sure to pack a few extra things for Noah. He had forgotten his toothbrush so she grabbed other things that she knew it was lost. She looked over her shoulder. Rachel was back to check on her. She had been going back and forth between Quinn, Santana and herself.

"Come here, bug," she whispered. Rachel frowned and went to her sinking into her arms. "Thanks for keeping an eye on everyone. It means a lot that you're looking after your sisters. I know that they appreciate it. You okay?"

Rachel looked up at her mother and let out a tiny sob. "No..."

Shelby held her more tightly. "Bug,"she muttered as she rocked her gently.

"It's still ruining us..." she muttered trying to wipe her tears.

"Bug," she whispered, pulling her closer. "This is not your fault."

"It's because of me," she whispered. "It's because of me that Noah is doing this... and Santana is sad."

"Rachel," she tried again.

"I know he hurt Sanny more than she says," she said quietly. She looked up at her mother. "I know what she had to do and I know what she did with those boys." Shelby looked at her in surprise. "You and Aunt Joey talk loudly," she said simply. "Seeing him won't make it go away right?" She searched her mother's eyes. "He's not sorry is he?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "But it's something your brother shouldn't do alone."

"Will he hurt us?" she asked.

"No," she said quickly. "I won't let that happen. That's why I have to go."

"Mom?" Rachel asked quietly. "Can I... Can I meet him someday?"

"No," she said quickly again. She watched Rachel recoil. "Rachel closure isn't easy. I think right now that he could hurt us simply by his words."

"By manipulating us," she finished.

Shelby nodded. "Yes."

Rachel shook her head. "How could he do that? How could he think he could do that alone?"

"I don't know," she muttered. "We'll be okay, baby."

Rachel leaned against her mother more, lost in thought. Would they?

"I'll call the house all the time. I'll give Santana back her phone and you can send me texts while I'm away. It'll be like I was never gone." Rachel turned and looked up at her mother with a deep set frown. "I promise that I will be back before you know it."

She hadn't realized it before this point but she hadn't left her kids behind for more than a few hours before. She kissed her softly and looked up watching as Quinn passed the room.

"Go downstairs and keep Sanny company, okay?"

"Is she okay?" Rachel asked quietly.

Shelby looked at her daughter with pause. "I think she's trying really hard to pretend to be." She touched Rachel's nose with her finger. "Keep an eye on her for me."

"Okay," she muttered as she made her way slowly out of the room.

"Quinn," Shelby paused following her into the the girls' room.

"I'm just getting some stuff. I thought I'd do some work." Quinn paused for a moment. "I have a history project."

"You do?" she asked.

Quinn nodded. "It's with my friend Dylan. I know that now isn't a good time... with everything but... she might be available this weekend?"

Shelby looked at her with trepidation. "I'll tell Joey. I would love to see your progress in this project." Quinn nodded, bowing her head. "How are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I'm fine. Santana looks like she's going to stab someone or cry a river." Shelby didn't smile like Quinn had hopped. "She'll be fine. I'll pick up any lamps that she breaks," the blonde said quietly with a smile. "She'll be okay."

"I know," Shelby said quickly, realizing this isn't a conversation she should have with her sixteen year old daughter. "We need you here too, you know," she said with a smile. "I know you're still mulling over everything that happened," she went on. She watched as Quinn's devious smirk disappeared. "To me you'll always be my daughter and if you decide that you need to go on a sporadic road trip, I hope that you'd bring me along-"

"I'm not going to do that," she said quickly. "I'm not. You'll never have to worry about me."

Shelby chuckled. "I'll always worry about you. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"I'll be fine," she said said again.

"Quinn, what will make me not worry is if you actually take your medicine instead of pretending to," Shelby said arching her brow. "That will really remove one of the many things I'm worried about." Quinn looked at her in surprise. "I'm serious. I love you too much and I don't want you to get worse."

"But I'm fine," she said for what felt like the millionth time.

"And I never want you anymore worse than fine."

Quinn realized in that moment that she had been more of a burden by trying to be fine and avoiding people's care. It didn't relieve them but it made them worry more. She didn't want to do that to Shelby. She could see the exhaustion in her eyes. She didn't want to add to that.

"I just..." she whispered. "I'm scared about the dreams."

Shelby's eyes widened slightly at the admission. She pulled the girl gently to sit on the bed.

"You're afraid you'll have the night terrors again?" Quinn gave a nod. "That's understandable," Shelby replied as she wrapped her arm around her. "You took it last night right? How'd that go?" Quinn frowned, indignantly. She had slept fine. "If you have any bad dreams, you tell one of us and we'll see if we can change the medicine again."

Quinn leaned against Shelby and for the first time, she realized she would miss Shelby.

"You can call if you need anything," she said quietly.

"It's only a day," Quinn said lightly. She shook her head. Shelby would be back she wouldn't have to worry. She stood up and walked toward the door. She paused and looked at Shelby and then at the ground. "You um... You should pack a snack …. for the plane. I heard no one feeds you on the plane anymore."

Shelby smiled. "I love you, Q-bear."

Quinn nodded and looked at the ground. "Yeah... um... And a pillow. A small one. You should bring one for the plane." She met her eyes hesitantly and chewed the side of her bottom lip. "And gum... So your ears don't pop."

"Hey, Quinn," Shelby said gently. "We'll talk more when I get back. I'm really happy that I am coming home to you."

Quinn nodded. "Yeah...Bye."

She smiled once she turned and left back down the hallway.

"You about ready?" Michael asked peeking into her room.

She nodded. "Yeah I just have to say goodbye to San and probably, Rachel four or five more times and then I'll be ready." Michael nodded and started to carry her suitcase down the hallway. "Dad, can you pack a snack or two for us. Quinn reminded me they never feed anyone anymore on the planes."

He smiled. "Definitely."

Shelby opened Noah's bedroom door and saw Santana barreling through his desk drawer mumbling to herself.

"God!" she hissed as she slammed it shut.

"What are you looking for?"

"Just anything," she said starting to collapse on his bed but then frowned knowing it was disgusting. She looked at her mother. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Because you're you and he's him," she said softly. "Listen, Bear said he would take you out tonight to the batting cages or something. If you'd like to go, that is."

Santana frowned. "Who's going to be here with Rachel?"

"I called in Sue Sylvester to watch her," Shelby said casually.

"What?" Santana glared.

"I'm kidding," Shelby said. "Your aunt and grandmother won't be far away. Quinn will probably hang out too. Casts make it hard to hold a bat."

Santana continued to frown. Shelby pulled her close.

"I know that it feels like everything is falling apart, but we're going to be just fine," she said kissing her softly on the temple.

Santana's eyes teared up. "No, we're not," she muttered.

"Why do you say that?" Shelby asked quietly.

"Because I feel more broken than before," she said simply. She looked up at her mother with tear brimmed eyes. "I hear him all the time," she whispered.

Shelby squeezed her eyes shut and held Santana close.

"I've noticed you haven't been sleeping," she whispered.

"I don't know how to function like this," she muttered. She let out a small sob. "Please let me come with you. Is it too late? You can buy me a ticket. I'll pay for it." She rethought. "I'll find a job when I get back and I'll pay for it and -"

Shelby cupped her face. "Sweetheart, no. You need to stay here."

Santana lowered her head and put her hands in her lap, pulling away from her mother. "I never... I never thought about seeing him again..." she muttered. "Because I never forget him... Not ever..." Her bottom lip and chin trembled. She suddenly wiped her tears fiercely and sucked in her sadness, burying it in the special place that had grown larger with age. "You need to go," she said with great fortitude and strength, almost aloof. "You'll miss your plane."

She stood and walked toward the door.

"Santana," Shelby called out to her daughter. She stopped but didn't turn to face her. "Don't push everyone away."

"I'm fine," Santana said. "It's not me you should worry about."

"I always worry about you, honey. All of you, I do, but you-"

"Mom, I'm fine," she whispered defensively. "I'm not going to have some mental breakdown I'm just sad."

"Mom?"

Shelby and Santana looked up and Rachel was standing at the door holding George. "You should take George." she said quietly.

Shelby smiled down at her youngest. "You need to keep him, bug. Okay?"

She shook her head. "No, you should take him." She reached out and took Santana's hand. "I have San."

"You do," Shelby smiled. She looked at her eldest daughter. "You do have her."

Shelby took the stuffed animal and hugged Rachel softly. She cupped her face gently. "I love you so much."

"I love you most," she said hugging her tightly.

….

Shelby's leg shook with anticipation as the passengers exited the plane at a snail pace. She needed to get to her rental car and she needed to get there now! She had her phone on frantically calling Noah again, hoping that he would answer. Again, nothing. However, after a few moments and a few people moving in front of her, her phone beeped. She looked down.

There were five text messages from Santana. She opened them. She gave a small smile. They were all from Rachel.

4:01pm: Hi, Mumma. It's Rachel. You're taking off now, right? Do you know when you'll be back tomorrow?

4:15pm: I hope you remembered to buckle. You always should even when the pilot turns off the seatbelt light.

5:04pm: Charlie just peed on the living room carpet, but Brittany and I cleaned it up. Do you think we can get a dog? Perhaps, a hamster? Or a guinea pig.

5:16pm: When do you land?

5:43pm: Santana just told me you'll get all of these at once when you land. Is that true?

5:53pm: Will you please text me back when you land?

Shelby smiled texting Rachel back assuring her that they wouldn't be getting a pet anytime soon, that she landed safely and asking the little girl to give everyone a hug for her. She turned off her phone and groaned in thanks as she was finally able stand. She had her things collected in her lap and she stepped on the heels of the slow snails in front of her.

She finally made her way out to the gates. She looked around frantically and began to walk. She suddenly stopped approximately 100 feet away from the gate. Her father. They had to sit in different seats because they booked the flight so last minute. She turned sharply and practically ran back to terminal. She watched with panicked breaths as she watched the last few people exit. Her heart began to race more when she realized her father wasn't on it. She lost him? He wouldn't have fell out of the plane. He boarded with her.

"Shelby, I'm right here," Michael said calmly.

She turned and looked at him with relief. "Let's go. Hopefully, they received my reservation and have a car available," Shelby said quickly.

"I just called down there and it's reserved," he said with a gentle tone. He smiled at her. "Now, we just have to see if you can still navigate around the city."

"Trust me. I can," she smiled. A chime from her phone interrupted them, expecting that it was her baby girl she looked down but was surprised to see that she had a new voice mail.

She opened it and brought the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Ma. It's Noah. I know you're pissed...but it's weird to not pick up. Mike and I are fine. I'll be home tomorrow. Love you." She sighed and started to shakily call him back when she saw another voicemail come in. Damn the stupid delay, she thought to herself. She pressed play. "Hey, Mrs. C. It's Mike... Noah's in the bathroom, but I wanted to let you know we're okay. We are stopping at the rest stop for the night in my car in um... uh... Oh... It's off of highway 80... Mile marker... um... I'll text it to you. I think we're almost there. We're fine. Sorry for not calling or picking up. We'll be back tomorrow. He's coming back. See ya."

She sighed and looked at her father. "I know where they are." She looked heavily at her father. "They're staying about an hour or two out of the city." She looked at the text from Mike. She knew exactly where they were. "They're staying at a rest stop. I can't even think about what they'll encounter there."

"Shelby, they're staying at a reststop not a back alley way in Harlem," Michael said as they rode the escalator down to the baggage claim.

"I know," she said sharply as she approached the counter. "But my kid, while oddly and unexpectedly resourceful, is not staying in car for the night. Also. He and Mike are six feet tall at least. I haven't measured Mike recently but … Last time I checked, Mike has a Camry and -"

"Okay," her father said putting his hand up and handing the rental car attendant his confirmation paperwork. "We'll get there."

….

Quinn stared at her work. She was idly sketching her lamb again as she pretended to work on her work. Santana was still gazing off into space. She had even stopped badgering Rachel about taking her phone. Therefore the eleven year old turned to her.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked looking over at her. "That doesn't look like science." She smiled in confident knowing. "Is that your lamb? Does she have a name? Or is he a he? ….." Rachel frowned. "Or is he transexual?" Quinn frowned at the eleven year old. "I watched something on VH1 once."

"I haven't really thought about my lamb's sexual orientation," she muttered. She looked at Rachel. "You should do your own work."

"I've been doing work today. What have you been doing?" Rachel asked. Quinn looked at her in confusion.

"Rachel, you have your work too," Joey called from across the room. "Stop bothering Quinn." She looked at Quinn. "Don't you have a history project to work on before your meeting tomorrow?"

Santana looked up. She had been very quiet for most of the afternoon. Brittany had gone home for the evening but had promised she would be back the next day. All Santana could do was nod and kiss her softly before watching the blonde walk towards her car. That was it.

"What project?" she asked quietly.

"A history one... with Mr. Weatherbe."

Santana frowned. "Yeah? What on?"

Quinn frowned. "Why does it matter?"

"Because school just got back from Fall break. Isn't it a little early in the second quarter to already have project assigned? Projects are usually the product of lazy teaching disguised as new engaging learning initiatives," Rachel said simply looking at Santana for approval.

Santana nodded and pulled Rachel closer.

"I guess Mr. Weatherbe is a lazy teacher then. I don't know what to tell you." Quinn looked back down at her sketch.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.

"Fine," the blonde muttered. "It should only take a few hours at the most."

"You're going over there?" Santana asked distantly. "Who is it?"

"Dylan something," she shrugged and rolled her eyes. "It was assigned. I didn't pick her."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Rachel muttered. "She might be excited to work with you."

Quinn just shrugged, hating how Rachel made her feel badly about thinking bad thoughts that used to be regular.

Rachel turned back to her sister who had turned back to staring off deep into her own school book again. She had been acting so different. Something was wrong.

Joey's phone beeped causing Santana to jump. She looked at her phone. "Your mother landed and is going to pick up your brother."

"Sure, she is," Santana muttered. She backed up abruptly and slammed her hand on the table causing Rachel to jump. She glared at Quinn, and ignored everyone else's surprised stares "And you don't know any Dylan? It's total bull and you know it."

Rachel looked up at her big sister in surprise. She had no clue where the sudden burst of anger had come from. One minute Santana was almost catatonic, the next she was yelling at Quinn?

Santana licked her bottom lip and stared intently at her book as her eyes began to water. She could feel herself shaking. Her emotions were running so thickly through her veins. She didn't know what to say. She needed to control something and all she could control was yelling at Quinn.

"Stop looking at me," she snapped to the room without breaking eye contact from Quinn. Suddenly, she felt a small hand rest on top of hers on the table. She looked over at Rachel and instantly bit her lip with regret. She could see the fear Rachel was trying to mask in her young eyes. She had done that with the loud sudden slam of her hand. "I'm sorry," she muttered. She shook her head. "I'm... uh... I'm tired."

Rachel hopped off of the stool. "Do you want me to lay with you until you fall asleep?" she asked quietly.

"Sure," Santana nodded as she blinked back her tears. Rachel took her hand silently and led her out of the room.

Quinn looked sharply at the two older women remaining. "Are you just going to just get used to that behavior?"

Joey looked at her. "Cut the attitude." She rinsed off a few dishes. "We're not going to get used to it or let her get away with it, but we're not going to snuff it out. We didn't with you did we? You screamed many a time in your stay here and I guarantee you it won't be your last. Life is frustrating."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "You're frustrating," she muttered.

…..

Noah frowned and looked at the change that he had found on the floor of Mike's car. He looked at the vending machine. Hmmm, he thought silently. Chips? Do I have enough for chips? Eighty-five cents. Chips? He frowned. Seriously?

"Noah, that is not a complete dinner," Shelby said from behind him.

He froze. "Crap."

He turned and looked at her. She stood and stared at him with a mixture of feelings that he couldn't read. He leaned his head back away from her, knowing that he had identified at least one: anger.

"Noah," she said with a shake of her head as she wrapped her arms around her son in a tight hug. "What were you thinking?" she asked into his shoulder.

He pulled away from her with a frown. "I was thinking that I never want Rachel or San to get a letter in the mail." He sighed and looked at the ground. "I gotta do this, Ma," he said with a strength in his voice that Shelby hadn't heard before. "I'm going to."

"Come sit with me," she said guiding him over to a bench. He sighed in annoyance but followed.

"You can't make me go back without doing this," he said. "I'm eighteen. You can ground me tomorrow, Ma, but I will be doing this."

Shelby gave a quiet nod. "I'm furious, Noah, there's no doubt about that, but the fact of the matter is you can't."

"What? You can't stop me!" he said as he stood up.

"I know that, Noah," she said. The fact that you drove 500 miles after abandoning your little sister at a rest stop shows me that I can't stop you."

He gulped and sat down slowly. "So... so then what?"

"Noah, they won't let you in. You can't just walk into a prison just like you can't simply walk into a school-"

"You can't?" he asked. He frowned and nodded. "No, I've done that you can just walk right in."

She frowned. "To a prison?"

"No, school," he said with a frown.

She took a deep breath. "Noah, because of the level of incarceration, because of the charges, he can't see just anyone. There is a process." She watched her words sink in. "Plus... he's been put in solitude. He couldn't accept visitors even if you had already been approved and gone through the necessary process."

Noah looked at her, confused. "He's in like a time out?"

Shelby nodded. "Basically."

His shoulders sagged. "I …. I was supposed to do this..." he shook his head. "Is San okay?"

She nodded. "She's really upset and she's just trying to understand it, but..."

"She's mad at me," he said simply.

"No, she's not," Shelby said. "I mean, I'm not happy with your decision. Do you understand how big this is?"

"Why do you think I did it?" He shook his head. "If Santana opened a letter from him what the hell do you think she would do? She's a wreck now just from... just from... whatever." He waved his hand. "This was a wasted trip." He stood up and began to pace. "I need to help, Mom! I feel so useless!"

"Noah," she said walking up to him, only to have him push her away.

"No," he hissed. He kicked a trashcan in frustration. "This is not how it was supposed to be! This was my one chance to get it right! Dad always told me that you get chances and when those chances are gone you can't get them back."

Shelby frowned and looked at her son. "Sweetheart, when he told you that he was talking about the flavor of the month at Dairy Cone. And it was a joke." She gave a soft smile. "But you were five and didn't think it was funny because waiting until next year for Pippy Peppermint Ice Cream just seemed too long." She watched her son's eyes, realizing that's not how he remembered it. "Do you remember what you and your dad did?" He shook his head. "You went down to the Williams and Sonoma store downtown and bought the most expensive ice cream maker and you and your father spent the next three hours failing at making your own version of Pippy Peppermint Ice Cream."

Noah shook his head. "I don't remember that." He leaned back away from his mother. "I don't remember that at all."

She shook her head. "No, you remember him telling you about how chances are fleeting. Your father took you seriously, Noah. He had a heart that blinded him from logic and so many other things. But when it came to the three of you. He was always spot on. You always put too much pressure on yourself to get it right and when you didn't you beat yourself up about it."

"He taught me to protect them, Mom," he said softly. "I couldn't ever do that. I never did that!"

She looked at him with saddened eyes. "You've always done that, Noah. You shattered a window and climbed down the fire escape and sprinted for a mile to the police station." She watched as he looked back at her as if it was nothing."

"I could never save them from anything... ever...I was just there..." He put his head in his hands. "I never... I never could do anything. Even at the funeral … I couldn't do anything." He looked up. "We couldn't stand near the grave... We uh..." He shook his head realizing he had never told her this. "We um... he kept us in the car for most of the time... he just stood there at the grave … but … when he finally came back... Santana demanded to say goodbye..." He frowned. "I didn't do anything. She was able to get out of the car... and she ran over to the grave... and …. She stood there and cried. There was another funeral going on... like... near us... but not really... and … so he didn't grab her I guess. but... she was the one that did that. Not me... " He visibly gulped. "I never said goodbye. I didn't fight for him and I didn't fight for the girls."

He felt his mother's hand on his. "Well then let's go visit your dad tomorrow."

Noah looked at her tearfully. "Yeah?"

"Absolutely."

Exhaustion ran through Shelby's body. Noah was finally asleep. They had checked into a nearby hotel. Noah and Mike were in an adjoined room and her father and Shelby next to them. They boys were quiet and asleep, so she could finally settle. She sighed and unzipped her suitcase. She gave a small smile. There in her suitcase was Rachel's George, Quinn's lamb, and Leroy's shirt that Santana always wore. She looked at her father in surprise.

He barely looked up from his book from the other bed in the room. "Quinn wanted me to slip it in when I was carrying it downstairs and as Rachel was saying goodbye to you, San snuck the shirt in." He smiled. "They wanted you to have them. Just in case."

…..

Santana lay in bed later that night. Rachel was laying on top of her. She had been quiet most of the day; Santana could tell she was still navigating her fears about it. Something that had always been present but never really real was now even more real than ever. It was confusing. She understood that. She had been kicking herself for scaring Rachel. She wasn't going to do that. She knew that her mother had George and so she in this moment needed to be Rachel's George. However, her feelings were clogging up her arteries. She just couldn't sleep. She couldn't breathe. She kept trying to imagine what she would say to him if she saw him again. She kept trying to grasp onto those snarky words.

She sighed and held Rachels' sleeping head to her cheek. In all honesty, she didn't know what she would say. She squeezed her eyes shut, simply hoping that she wouldn't be helpless.

Santana awoke in a cold sweat to a bang. She opened her eyes and her bathroom door had slammed against her dresser behind it knocking the things on top of it over. She stared at the figure in the door and her blood ran cold.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

Hiram was standing in the bathroom doorway staring back at her. She could see behind him, into Quinn's room. Quinn lying in a pool of her own blood that was primarily coming from her lower region.

"Quinn!" Santana called out. The girl only moaned in pain.

Santana could feel her body trembling like it used to when she was in his presence. "You're... you're in prison." she managed.

"Not anymore," he smiled looking at Rachel,who was awake and now scrambling to stay in her arms.

"Help!" Santana screamed. Where were Nana and Joey? Surely, they had heard Quinn screaming. "Help!" A sinking feeling in Santana's stomach punched her hard. No one was coming to their rescue. It was just like last time.

Hiram walked toward the bed and Santana attempted to move out of it holding her sister tightly.

"Oh, come on," he taunted as he laughed with amusement. He raised his hand and waved his fingers. "Come here."

Santana and Rachel clamored away from him until they were close enough to the door that Santana was sure she could send Rachel out of it and it would be okay. She just needed to get her away.

"Rachel, I want you to run, okay?" she whispered hurriedly in her ear.

"Don't even try," Hiram said suddenly slamming the door. He began to unbuckle his belt. "Undress her for me Santana. Just like you used to."

She frowned and pushed Rachel behind her. "No! You're not touching her!"

Hiram laughed. "Don't worry, Santana. I'll let you watch this time."

Santana looked at him in disgust. "What?"

"Isn't that what you always wanted?" he said with an edge as he pulled down his pants. "You were always in the closet or down the hallway. You heard all the fun, Rachel and I were having... but you never got to watch... Now as a dyke you must want to... You've always wanted to watch. Haven't you Santana?"

"No! No! That's not it!" Santana screamed. "I wanted to be there for her and you locked me out!"

Hiram drew closer to the girls, now only in his boxers.

"Get away from us!" she spat.

He effortlessly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her away from Rachel who let out an agonizing scream. He used his belt to bind her wrists.

No, no, no, no! she screamed as she tried to get loose. He yanked her toward his closet. "I hope you don't mind," he said with a smile. "I put a new door on."

Santana's eyes grew wide as she saw a glass door had been put on her closet. Her heart leapt into her throat as she was thrown in and the glass door was locked.

"No! NO! This can't be happening!" she screamed as she watched him turn to go back to Rachel who was scrambling unsuccessfully away from him. "Leave her alone! She's too little!"

She let out a panicked sob. That's what she screamed the first time. She watched in horror as Hiram grabbed Rachel by the hair and yanked her over to the bed. Carelessly ripping her pajamas off her body. He left her nude, smiling at her underdeveloped body.

"My my my, my little girl grew up," he smiled. He turned Rachel toward the glass door. "She's so pretty, Santana."

"Please," Rachel sobbed.

"Let her go! Please take me!" Santana screamed.

Hiram grinned. "You'd like that. Wouldn't you, Santana? To be the hero? To be wanted by me. I never wanted you and no one ever will." He turned back to Rachel with a grunt. "Bend over the bed, Rachel."

She looked at him with a tear stained face. "P-p-p-please no."

He gripped her neck and pushed her over the bed so that Rachel's legs dangled off of the side. Santana banged against the door with her shoulder.

"No!" she sobbed "No! No!"

Rachel's head was tilted to the side so that she was forced to look toward Santana. Her brows were knit in pleading horror.

"No, please!" the little girl screamed as he lowered himself to her.

Santana watched in horror as Hiram sheathed with strength and power his entire member into Rachel. She shook as she watched Rachel let out a blood curling scream and continue to scream as she tried to move away from him. He only grunted in satisfaction as he thrusted harder and faster into her. Santana banged against the door attempting, but more weakly to get to her.

"Rachel, you feel so good," he announced with a harsh thrust.

Santana watched as Rachel gave up and her whole body only shook from her trembling fear. She didn't have anymore fight in her. Santana slid back against the wall, only able to watch with her hands tied behind her as innocence was robbed from Rachel once again. He screamed in climax and suddenly the glass door was thrown open and Hiram stared down at her as if she were lower than dirt. He kicked at her legs.

"Open your legs and I'll give you a try," he smiled down at her.

Santana felt her breath hitch in her chest as he reached down and grabbed her.

She shot up from her bed with a silent sob. She couldn't catch her breath. She looked over at her closet. It didn't have a door. It was just a nightmare? It had felt so real. She couldn't do this. She looked over at Rachel who was still sleeping soundly next to her but had wrapped her arms around her more tightly when she felt her jump. She picked her up effortlessly and walked through to Quinn's loft bed. She lay Rachel next to Quinn silently, thankful that Quinn took her medicine and didn't stir when Rachel wrapped her body around her. She paused and looked at Quinn who was sleeping peacefully. She squeezed her eyes shut as the image of Quinn bleeding and crying on the bedroom floor filled her mind again. She opened her eyes and refocused on Quinn's calm face before she looked at Rachel's, thankful that it was only a dream.

Santana still felt her heart beating insanely in her chest. She needed to get out of here. She needed fresh air. She couldn't be in here. She pulled on her Uggs and walked down the hallway and almost screamed when she ran into someone.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked with a hiss.

"I-I need... I need to get out of here. I can't breathe. Please. Please.. I just.. I …. please."

The girl's panic caused Joey to melt. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay."

They made their way downstairs. Joey grabbed her coat and keys. She motioned for Santana to put on her coat as she wrote a quick note on the counter. She pressed the buttons to the alarm, as soon as it was shut off Santana ran out of the door like a bat outta hell, without warning. Joey took off after her, the moonlight guiding her. She let her long legs keep up with her athletic niece with every stride.

Santana sprinted as fast as she could away from her house. She finally stopped at the small wooded area that stood at the end of the street, a block away from her house. She fell to her knees into the grass. She didn't notice that she was in the woods. She didn't notice that her aunt had followed her. She could only focus on one thing.

She didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't fight him in her dreams. She couldn't face him in her dreams. She couldn't even cope with him in her memory. She let out a sob. She just couldn't do this. She couldn't do this at all. She felt a sob shake her body. She felt so out of sorts. She didn't have control over anything. Her brother was going to see the man that ruined her past, present and future, and all she had left in her …. all she could do was sob in the grass at the end of the street. She let out a scream of anguish as another sob wracked her body. She wasn't sure if she would wake anyone up or draw attention to herself. However, in this moment she didn't care. All she could do was scream and clench the grass and the forest brush beneath her hands as tears poured from her eyes.

Joey slowly wrapped her arms around her niece, attempting to hold on to her and help get her to the next moment. She let Santana continue to scream into the darkness as she pulled her tightly into her own body. The cries and screams broke her heart, but she knew it was something Santana had to get off her chest. She would hold her for as long as it took. She would hold her until her muscles cramped and these damn pine needles sunk into her bones. She would hold her until she was ready and if she needed to they would go find another wooded area and scream there too. She would do whatever it took because Santana was her niece. She held Santana tighter knowing that loving Santana meant letting her scream.

As usual, this chapter was supposed to be longer. I was going to do all of Saturday and its scenes. However, I realized that I haven't posted since the 9/12/12 and I left you on a cliffhanger. I'm so so so sorry. I hope that this is okay...

Also, I hope to have at least a small update by 10/3/12. One of my awesome betas and I began talking on that day. An update is mandated. ;)