Bury the Past

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: I love all the speculation so far, some of you have good insight and quick eyes. Keep it up. I will say the list of suspects someone mentioned, while truly intriguing, some of those listed such as Gary or Martin are unlikely. You have to remember they are a few hours away from LA. Gary's not as strong as he once was, and Martin has a pretty solid alibi: having sex with his wife the night of the murder. Great suggestions though, they're out-of-the-box, and I like it.

Chapter 2 (Home Invaders)

Trina's forehead wrinkled and strained as her eyebrows came together and her body began to shake in the bed. Beside her, her husband lay on his side, peering down at her with great concern.

She felt his hand on hers, and her eyes shot open as an abrupt gasp escaped her lips. Her body jumped and she only relaxed when she saw Martin. "You okay?" He asked. His hand rose towards her forehead and slid carefully through her bangs. "Bad dream?" Trina exhaled and moved her head against his chest.

"Yeah."

"I'm here. If you want to talk about it."

She smiled and closed her eyes, all that mattered was his presence. That he should be there made her feel safe. "It's not something I'm ready to talk about." This was the truth. "Those two thieves we stopped. That night brought something back, something I'm not ready to discuss."

"I understand. I'm here for you either way."

"Thanks." She curled up against his warm body and hummed softly. "I love you…"

It was the night she was going to prove to the SST and the Sheriff's department that her instincts about a string of robberies were being performed by two workers of an air conditioning company. Commander Chapman didn't want to listen to her due to whatever personal feelings the woman had about her, and she didn't want to go over the woman's head by going straight to Deputy Chief Perez.

Martin found some proof that the workers she'd been staking out were prior felons with a hefty record, so tonight the couple had followed them out to a home. Their van was hidden in a dark and wooded area, so the couple pulled up behind them.

"Get a picture of the plate," Trina said while pointing to the van. "They have to be in the neighborhood somewhere, hitting some house." Looking around, she spotted a gated fence atop a hill, and a home with large windows. In the windows was the light of a flashlight moving about.

It was the home invaders.

She caught her breath and nudged Martin. "Over there." She began moving, ignoring Martin calling after her. They crouched to get a better look. "I'm calling it in, you start filming."

He nodded and raised his camera phone a bit, frowning as the light stopped moving and turned off. "Where'd they go?" She didn't hear him and was too busy informing the police about a burglary in progress.

"Hang up the phone!" Someone shouted. Trina's eyes widened and she twisted around, startled to see the two robbers surrounding them, one holding a gun towards her. She rose slowly, tensing as she knew she had no protection on her or any means of defense.

"I'd do what the man says," the other thief said. His words sent a shockwave into her, sending her mind reeling with flashbacks. Frozen in place, she started shaking her head and wishing she had a gun. The man grabbed her phone out of her hand and threw it to the ground, then followed up with Martin's.

"How 'bout we take a walk." The main robber had a moustache and chin beard, and short combed hair. His partner had a buzz cut and was more muscular. They walked them to the car, and the man holding the gun started to chuckle. "I remember you. You think you're a slick little volunteer, don't you?"

"You're not going to get away with this," Trina replied with a shaky voice.

"You just let us worry about that."

Her arms were folded over her waist and her eyes were rolling skyward as she fought a terrible memory from her head. "You really think it's wise to turn a simple property crime into a full on kidnapping?"

"Well you kind of forced our hand now didn't you." The man pushed the gun against her back and she flinched, groaning softly. Her eyes looked around, picking up the environment that she was in so she could mentally stay on top of the situation.

"How long have you been preying on these poor people?" She hissed, thinking about the vulnerable elderly living among the community.

They motioned to the car, telling them to get in. Martin stopped and turned towards them, clearly picking now of all times to get tough and protective. "We're not doing that." Trina's eyes widened and she immediately grabbed the arm of the second robber, pushing him down.

Just then Martin crumbled to the ground, having been punched in the stomach by the armed man. "Martin!" She gasped and threw her hands over her mouth as the man pointed the gun at her.

"Get in the car!"

To her surprise, she heard Gary call out. He struck the bigger guy with a large branch, knocking him to the ground. Tears welled up in Trina's eyes as she watched him aim his own gun at the armed robber. "Drop the gun!"

The robber lowered his arm and turned, surprised and confused. With that, Trina spun and raised her leg, performing a sweeping kick against the man's armed hand. She then dropped her heel and punched into his abdomen, causing him to double over. When he was down and unarmed, she picked up his gun and backed up towards her godfather, aiming at him.

"Stay on the ground," She ordered. She breathed heavily, watching as the robber put his hand up and nodded. Martin stood up, groaning softly. She looked at Gary, asking how he knew to show up. He grunted and moved to scan the perimeter.

"Just because I'm grouchy doesn't mean I don't think your instincts are right."

After that night, Commander Chapman off the SST suspended her, but the next day Deputy Chief Perez was impressed enough that he created a position in mind for her as a deputy liaison between the sheriff department and the SST.

Trina made her way to visit Gary and Carol and waved when she entered the home. Gary was in the living room, resting with his back reclined and feet propped on the coffee table. "How's Carol?" She asked, referring to the heart attack the woman suffered a while back.

"She's fine now. Recovered. I think she's too used to having people do things for her now…" Trina sat on the end of the couch closest to Gary, laughing at the thought of Carol sitting around while Gary grabbed everything for her. Used to be, the woman would try and do everything-whether it was getting a glass of milk or cleaning the house.

"Well, you should have seen it coming when you started babying her after her heart attack, but I'm glad she's doing better."

"Yeah." He picked up a bottle of beer from the end table next to him and raised it to his lips, sighing as his eyes studied it. "How about you? How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"No." He turned his eyes sideways and she leaned back. "You're not. Martin called while you were on the way over, he said you were having another nightmare. That's been happening ever since you got those two robbers." She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, groaning.

"Home invasions. God." She didn't want to be babied, not like her godmother. "You know, you'd think they wouldn't bother me."

"Yeah." Gary took a sip of the beer and closed his eyes. "Maybe it's the elderly community suffering from home invasions that triggered it, combined to what happened to you and Martin."

She pulled her hair back and slumped in the chair, hanging her arm over the leather armrest while looking out the window to the right. "Maybe. I just hate being vulnerable." She was just glad the robbers didn't hurt anyone during the process of their robberies. "God knows the citizens in this community were luckier than my grandparents were…"

"Because they had you looking out for them." Gary pat her shoulder and smiled with pride. "You know as well as anyone, there's a good chance it could have elevated in their crime. Those two had prior assaults on their records."

"It needs to be said. I wasn't afraid of them." She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "I was afraid of something else."

"I know sweetheart." Once Gary showed up, once he was able to protect and do something, she felt safe and strong again. "You're much stronger and braver than you realize, more so than when you were a little girl. Back then, you know your father…" Trina dropped her gaze and Gary grumbled a couple times.

"He hasn't talked to me in a very long time, but he'd get mad at me over these last few years. He wanted to know where his daughter was and was so sure you would have told me, but because you asked me to, I never told him you were with me." Gary rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow. "He'd move heaven and hell to protect you, you know he would. It kills him to not be able to do so. That night…at your grandparents…I don't know, maybe that's something the two of you should have dealt with together."

"He couldn't even look at me after that night."

"Ever think maybe it was because he felt the same as you? Powerless? Guilty? He wasn't able to protect you or his parents, and that had to hang over his head for a long time."

"Then he should have talked to me. He shouldn't have just cast me aside like some ugly trash and treat me like a secondhand person."

"Ever think he didn't know how to approach you?"

"It would have been nicer if my entire family didn't avoid me because they didn't know what to say."

Gary chuckled softly and took another long swig of his beer. "They avoided the elephant in the room by ignoring it, you ran away from it. Neither way is a good way to deal with the problems and struggles you face in life. Eventually it'll all come back to you, and you may not like how it happens."

"Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

There was a long pause where Gary looked as though he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to approach. Occasionally he'd look at her, mutter and look back. Eventually she'd had enough and motioned for him. "You have something on your mind?"

"I do. Deputy Chief Perez has something he wants to talk to us about, and he knows I'm not your actual father." Trina raised her eyebrows and started to question, but thought better of it. It wouldn't be hard for a man in Perez's situation to figure that out, all he needed was a background check and a comprehensive look at Gary would have led him to know Gary never had a true father. Instead, he would have appeared on documentations as being a godfather to the daughters of David Vega. "He asked about you, said I should probably be there too…"

"Do you know what he wants to talk about?"

Gary dropped his shoulder and exhaled. There was a note of pain and distress in his breath, but Trina didn't ask, figuring he'd tell her soon enough if need be. "I'm afraid so. You should hear it from me, but I need him there too."

"Why? Is it bad?"

"Worse. There's no easy way to say it."

"So why can't you tell me right now?"

"I haven't had to do something like this in so long I don't even remember how. It's too hard on me." He was serious, and that scared her. She knew if he couldn't wrap something around his mind enough to end up needing someone else's help that it was bad.

She had no choice but to wait until the next day, but that waiting period didn't ease her mind any. Martin was subbing at the school, so it was just her and Gary. They met up with Chief Perez who flashed a smile for a moment when he saw her.

"So it seems there is more to you than meets the eye," Perez said, "What should we call you here at the office?"

"Ellie's still my name. It's my middle name. If you want to refer to me as Trina, you can." She sat across from him at the desk and looked up as Gary took a seat beside her. "He said you had something you wanted to tell us?"

"Yes, but I think Gary would prefer to tell you himself…I'm here for support." She furrowed her brow and felt her heartbeat pause. Turning to Gary, the man's sad old eyes drifted into hers. He took her hand in his, then folded his other hand over hers.

"Something's happened, Trina. Something in LA. To your family…" Her heart sank into her stomach and a bout of nausea started to swirl in her gut. "Tori had two of her friends over, visiting Holly…"

"And Dad?"

"David and Holly divorced." Her eyes widened and Gary took a deep breath. "Not long after you left, actually. He was working another homicide at the time." She held her breath, terrified and unsure of what was coming next. "Somebody broke into the house, Trina."

"No," she whispered.

"They weren't caught."

"No. I don't want to hear this."

Her voice started to rise and panic gripped fast her heart. Gary closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. "Your mother. She's gone." Her hand trembled before her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes. "Tori isn't faring much better. She's alive but comatose."

"No." She couldn't believe what she was hearing, nor did she want to hear it. Something like this shouldn't happen. "No, no, that can't be-"

"I'm sorry." She pulled away, sinking back in her chair. The shock was still settling in, leaving her unsure how to react. They were still a part of her whether she was estranged or not. She never wanted anything bad to happen to them.

"What about Tori's friends?" She sat upright. "Who was there? Are they okay?"

"Jade West is in critical condition, but Andre Harris was dead on scene. Your mother was pronounced dead at the hospital."

Her tears ran silently down her cheeks and her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Whatever caused this to happen, whoever was responsible, she wanted to know. Even still, there was much too much to process.

Perez stood and she looked up to the man. "If you would like, I can grant you some time off to see your family."

"I…" She looked down, her eyes flitting back and forth. "I don't even know if they'd want me around right now." All that was left was her dad, if what she heard was accurate. "My father and I are estranged, Deputy Perez. We haven't spoken to each other in ten years…Not even my husband knows about the man-or about my mom and sister, to be honest."

She wanted to tell Martin all about them, and had been hoping for a chance to let him know everything. Now was a hell of a time for such a talk, and she couldn't gauge his response.

To think, her worst nightmare happened, but not to her. This time it was her own family, her mother and her sister. Perhaps it was more than that, but one thing she was certain of, it was hell; and she had no idea what to do.

So what are your thoughts here, what observatoins have you? We have a little potential insight onto Trina's past. Also the scene you're shown in this chapter, the memory, is what occurred in "When Duty Calls". While a fantastic triumph for her, that moment clearly stirs up and triggered something long past-probably the event Tori spoke of and what Gary was talking about here.