Disclaimer: I own nothing everything is owned by RIB and Glee.

Thanks again to my friend and beta, 216BLT, for all of your support.

TW: Implied sexual abuse of a child, implied physical abuse

Santana woke up well before her alarm clock the next morning. She didn't need to open her eyes to work out just how early it was. She also didn't need to open her eyes to figure out exactly what had woken her up. She could hear the rise and fall of Quinn and Rachel's voices as they surrounded her, clearly in the midst of an argument. They were always arguing. She couldn't quite work out what they could possibly have to argue about at this ungodly hour. The familiar sounds of their bickering had become so commonplace that it was almost white noise to Santana. Even now her foggy brain could only make out the sounds of their voices and not whatever it was they were actually arguing about. She just wanted them to shut up so she could get just five more minutes of sleep.

Santana reached one hand over in the direction of the sound of Rachel's voice. She cracked open one eye and was able to make out Rachel's form, pressed up against the wall, bouncing slightly as she delivered an impassioned argument. She clapped her hand over Rachel's mouth to silence her as Rachel let out a squeak of surprise. She could hear Quinn snicker from her bed at Rachel's protest. Santana used her other hand to pull the pillow out from under her head before she flung it in Quinn's general direction. She couldn't help the smirk that graced her lips at the sound of Quinn's indignant squawk as the pillow hit its mark.

"Would you two please shut up?" Santana snapped, "It's not even dawn, what in the hell could you possibly be arguing about?"

"She started it!" Quinn protested. Santana could feel Rachel's lips move against the palm of her hand though her words were muffled, she knew her baby sister was also placing the blame on Quinn. Santana rolled her eyes as she moved to sit up. Rachel took that opportunity to lick the palm of Santana's hand. Santana pulled her hand away from Rachel's mouth as if she was burned.

"Ugh, gross, Rach," Santana complained as she wiped her now damp palm off on her blanket.

Quinn and Rachel could barely contain their giggles at the look of indignation on Santana's face. Rachel scrambled off the bed before Santana was able to make any move in retaliation. The small girl practically dove on top of Quinn. Quinn for once didn't complain as Rachel invaded her space, she just pulled the younger girl against her in an attempt to protect her from whatever retaliation Santana had planned.

Santana rolled her eyes as she took in her younger sisters' antics. Of course, the only time they would stop arguing for five minutes would be when they were annoying the hell out of her. She reached for the other pillow on her bed as she prepared to launch it at her giggling sisters. Her intentions changed when she saw Rachel flinch at the quickness of her movements, and only seconds later, wince as Quinn squeezed her just a little too tightly.

Santana felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of the room as reality came crashing down. All it took was a flinch and a slight wince for all of the events of the previous evening to come rushing back. It had been nice to just forget for those few moments, to forget about the bruises, the fear, and the anger and just be a teenager, annoyed by her little sisters' antics. Santana saw the flash of fear in Rachel's eyes as Rachel flinched. It was that flash of fear that made Santana realize at that moment Rachel was somewhere else and to her, Santana was someone else. Santana recognized at that moment that Hiram's treatment of Rachel had left more than just a physical imprint on her baby sister. Santana dropped the pillow to the floor. She averted her eyes staring at the shapes that played in the shadows on the walls, hoping her younger sisters were unable to see the tears that had pooled in her eyes before she was able to look away.

Quinn's eyebrows knit together in confusion at the sudden shift in the air of the room, the air thick with a tension that hadn't been there only moments before. She felt Rachel trembling against her side and she didn't understand. She didn't understand why Rachel seemed so scared and Santana seemed so upset. She frowned deeply as she glanced quickly between her sisters trying to work out what had shifted between them.

"Rach?" Quinn questioned, bending down to try to meet Rachel's eyes, "What's wrong?"

Rachel didn't respond just shook her head until her hair was cloaking her face. Quinn reached over to try to brush the hair back from her baby sister's face. Rachel flinched again, her body stiffening momentarily as her breath started to hiccup with panicked gasps. Quinn pulled her hand back quickly, able to recognize that the little girl was somewhere else. Rachel was somewhere in her mind that Quinn couldn't reach.

Nothing made sense to Quinn. Rachel was panicking and Santana was frozen, sitting statue-still and staring at the wall. It was just a pillow. Santana was just going to throw a pillow at her and then everything changed. Rachel panicked and Santana got quiet and Quinn couldn't ignore the way her stomach clenched with concern. She may want to murder her younger sister ninety percent of the time but watching her struggle, watching her panic, made her uncomfortable in a way she couldn't quite identify.

Quinn reached over and turned on the light bathing the room in soft white light, causing Quinn to blink rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, "Rachel, you're okay. Just breathe."

Quinn's words seemed to have the desired effect as Rachel drew in a shuddery breath. She blinked rapidly and shook her head as she met Quinn's eyes, "I'm okay, Quinn."

"What happened? Where-where'd you go?"

Rachel shrugged, sliding off of Quinn's bed, her cheeks burning with shame, "N-nowhere. I'm-I'm fine."

Quinn wanted to protest. She wanted to stop Rachel, force Rachel to talk to her but she couldn't find the words. She could only watch passively as Rachel whispered the smallest, saddest "I'm sorry" to her oldest sister. Santana did little more than hum in acknowledgment at Rachel's words as the little girl slipped from their bedroom. Quinn waited until she could hear the soft click of Rachel's bedroom door closing before turning her gaze to Santana, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Santana hadn't moved, her eyes still fixed on the wall and she was so still that Quinn nearly thought she had fallen back to sleep sitting up.

"S? What was that? What's going on?" Quinn asked. Santana gave no immediate response. The other girl just sighed deeply as she wiped her cheek against the soft cotton of her sleep shirt, in an attempt to conceal the tears that had fallen. Concern clouded Quinn's features as she watched Santana struggle. The display of vulnerability was rare for her normally stoic sister and Quinn didn't quite know what to do with that. "S?"

"That…that was nothing, Quinn. Don't worry about it," Santana snapped, her eyes dark and full of warning.

Quinn's expression hardened, her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "You're a liar. You're a lying liar who lies," Quinn's words sounded lame to her own ears and she heard Santana let out a slight chuckle in response. Quinn felt her frustration rise, any concern that had been there moments before now replaced with anger. Santana was laughing at her, "Don't do that, S. Don't tell me that was nothing! Nothing about that was normal. Rachel nearly had a panic attack because you almost hit her with a pillow."

Santana groaned in frustration, leaning her head back against the wall, "Rachel's fine. I'm fine. Just drop it. It's too early for this shit."

"That's bullshit, Santana, and you know it. Rachel is not fine," Quinn punctuated her words by slamming her open palms into the soft surface of her mattress, "Why do you always do this?"

Santana rolled her eyes, "I'm not doing anything."

"Yes...yes you are. You are doing that thing you do where you tell me I didn't see something, I definitely saw and-and you make me feel crazy," Quinn exhaled a frustrated breath, "You're gaslighting me."

Santana scoffed, barely able to suppress a giggle, "I'm not gaslighting you. Where'd you even learn that? One of your books?"

Quinn's eyes burned with hot, frustrated tears and all she wanted to do was knock the smug expression off her sister's face. She hated this. She hated that Santana knew all of her buttons and knew exactly how to push them to get the desired reaction. She was so tired of Santana keeping things from her and lying to her in an attempt to protect her. But Santana forgot that they shared a room and it was Quinn who often was woken up late at night when Hiram entered their bedroom. That it was Quinn that had to lay as quiet and still as possible while she listened to Hiram's grunts and Santana's whimpers, terrified of what would happen if Hiram knew she was awake.

"Shut up, Santana," Quinn snapped, balling her fists into her blanket, "I'm not a little kid. I don't need you to protect me. There's nothing left for you to protect me from."

Quinn's words had the desired effect as she was unable to ignore the hurt that flashed across Santana's face before she rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, effectively cutting off all eye contact with her younger sister. Quinn knew she wasn't being fair. She knew Santana had only ever tried to protect her, protect all of them. Santana had done her best but there were things she could never protect Quinn from. She may have been able to protect her from the bruises and welts and from Hiram slipping into her bed at night but she couldn't protect her from the guilt or the fear and helplessness she felt at not being able to do more to stop Hiram or help Santana.

"That's…that's not true, Q., Santana murmured, her voice shaky as she made eye contact with Quinn briefly. Quinn turned away not able to handle the pain she saw in her sister's eyes as she climbed out of her bed, deciding that busying herself with picking out her clothes for the day was better than looking at her sister looking so wounded.

"But it is, S," Quinn replied, not caring about the noise she was making as she slammed her drawers open and closed, pulling out her clothes for the day, "I live here. I hear things."

"Q-"

"I could help, S. I'm not little anymore. I could help you. I could help Rachel. If you would only tell me what's going on."

Santana looked at Quinn, really looked at her, the earnestness and conviction in her sister's voice took her by surprise. Santana saw the way Quinn's hazel eyes were fixed on her almost imploring her to tell the truth. Santana couldn't give Quinn what she wanted. She couldn't tell Quinn what Hiram had been doing to Rachel. It would solve nothing. Quinn would never be able to convince Shelby to leave and she had already broken her promise to her baby sister by telling their mother. Telling Quinn would only put her at risk and she could never do that to her younger sister.

"I..Quinn, nothing is going on."

"Whatever," Quinn turned away from Santana as tears stung her eyes. She hated feeling like this. She hated that her sister couldn't trust her enough or believe in her enough to ever be honest with her. She resented Santana for all of the secrets she knew her sister kept from her and for all of the secrets she made Quinn keep.

Guilt gnawed at the pit of Santana's stomach as she studied Quinn's posture, all the anger that had been there earlier was now gone and Quinn just looked so young and so defeated. She wanted to tell her sister everything. She was so tired of being the only one keeping them all together now that Noah was absent more often than not. She knew Quinn felt left out. She was the perpetual middle child sandwiched between Irish twins and actual twins and so obviously different from her siblings with her hazel eyes and blonde hair and the Lopez last name. But she wasn't a Lopez, not really, and that was just one more thing that set her apart from her siblings.

Santana moved off of her bed, wanting to say something, anything to comfort Quinn, "Quinn-"

"Just go away, Santana."

"Fine. Get dressed. Coach Sue will have our heads if we are late." Santana told her as she left their room to wake up the rest of her siblings. Quinn made no noise in acknowledgment that she even heard Santana. Santana had barely closed the door when she heard something, a book, a shoe, or whatever was closest to Quinn, hit the back of the door.

….

Rachel fled her sister's room, her chest was tight and achy as she held back the sobs that wanted to burst forth, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She finally allowed her tears to fall once she was safely ensconced in her room. She cried harder, shame flooding her body as she studied her bare bed before her. She just wanted to lay in bed and forget about everything that had happened that morning, pull her blankets over her head and just forget. She wanted to restart the whole morning and forget about the sadness in Santana's eyes and all of Quinn's questions. No one was supposed to know what her dad had been doing but now Santana knew. Quinn couldn't know too.

She let out a small grateful sob when she saw that her fuzzy, pink baby blanket had been knocked to the floor the night before. She reached for it, rubbing it against her wet cheeks as she wrapped it around herself before tucking herself into the corner of her closet as she pulled her knees to her chest. She hadn't meant to flinch when Santana threatened her with the pillow. She wasn't scared of her sister. She didn't mean to make Santana think that she was afraid of her. The room had just been so dark in the pre-dawn light and Santana had moved so fast and suddenly Rachel didn't see her sister anymore. She saw Hiram and the pillow wasn't a pillow anymore but Hiram's hand ready to strike her and she wasn't in her sister's room anymore but in the hallway of their house, cowering in the corner as she waited for the blow.

Her chest grew tight once again as breathing suddenly became difficult, her skin too hot, her heartbeat too fast, and her stomach flipped uncomfortably. The bruises on her body throbbed painfully in time with the beat of her heart, the pain helping her focus and even though she was too hot, she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, the familiar smell and feel of the blanket against her skin, comforting her, grounding her. She wanted to cry out, call for her sisters or her brother or anyone that would make this feeling go away but found she couldn't form the words.

She was stuck. She was locked in memories she didn't want to remember. She could see the fury burning in her father's eyes. She didn't know what she had done to make him so mad. She never knew. Her arm throbbed with the memory of him grabbing her, holding her squirming body still as he landed the first blow. She smelled the alcohol on his breath and the sweat on his skin as he bent her over his thigh, landing blow after blow on the soft flesh of her back and her bottom. She heard Blaine crying, calling her name like he always did and she had to bite her lip and press a hand to her mouth to keep from telling him to shut up.

Blaine was always so loud and their mom was right down the hall and no one could know. He knew they couldn't tell anyone and he knew that the harder he cried, the harder her dad hit her. She heard her father's voice in her ear telling her he was doing this for her own good, that no daughter of his was going to grow up to be a whore like her mom or a bitch like her sister, and reminding her what would happen to both of them if Rachel or Blaine said anything. She didn't understand what a whore was or a bitch and she wanted to yell at him, tell him that her mom and her sister weren't either of those things. But she stayed quiet. She always stayed quiet because maybe it would be over faster if she didn't make any noise. She wanted to run but she never could. She could never do anything other than shiver and shake as she cried.

"Rachel?" Blaine called as he entered his sister's bedroom. He didn't like being awake this early. He didn't understand why Santana told him she had to drive them to school this morning. It was against the rules and he knew his dad would be mad. He told Santana this but she had just said a bad word and told him, she didn't care about his dad's rules. Blaine cared though. Blaine cared because he knew what happened when he or Rachel broke the rules and he didn't want his sister to get punished.

Blaine scanned the room quickly, calling his twin's name again when he didn't immediately see her. His stomach clenched with sympathy at the sight of his sister's bare bed because he knew what that meant. He knew about Rachel's nightmares and had woken up to the sounds of his sister's screams when their sibling hadn't heard them. Some nights he even crept into her bedroom and curled up with her to try to keep the nightmares at bay. He always made sure to rush back to his own bed as the first rays of light entered the room.

Blaine heard a small, whimper, and a gasped sob coming from Rachel's closet. He frowned deeply as he moved in the direction of the noise as he turned on Rachel's light. He could make out his sister's form on the floor of the closet. Her ratty pink blanket was pulled around her tightly, partly obscuring her face from view. Blaine rushed to her side, falling to his knees in front of her, not worrying about wrinkling the knees of his uniform slacks like he usually would.

Tears poured down Rachel's cheeks, her cheeks flushed and standing out against the pallor of her skin. Her eyes were wide open but she wasn't looking at him. She didn't even seem to notice that he had joined her. Her breathing sound ragged and it scared him. He didn't know what to do. He had never seen Rachel look this scared and he felt his heart start to beat harder in his chest.

"You-you're okay, Rach," He shuffled backward on his knees, needing to do something to help Rachel, "I'm gonna get San. She-she..she'll know what to do."

Rachel reached one small hand out, clamping it down his wrist, "Don't, Blaine, please."

Blaine's eyes burned with unshed tears. Rachel couldn't breathe and he needed to help her. Santana could do that, "But-but I-I don't know what to do."

"Stay."

Blaine nodded as he twisted to sit on his bottom. He allowed Rachel to interlace their fingers as she shuffled closer to him. She pulled her ratty, gross blanket around them. Blaine hated her blanket. Rachel told him it was the softest blanket but it felt like razor blades against his skin, worn thin in some places but he didn't complain. He couldn't complain when his sister seemed so scared and she was clinging to his hand so hard that it ached, her fingernails digging into the soft flesh. He knew his clothes were getting wrinkled and his hair was getting messed up but he didn't care because Rachel wasn't crying so hard now and her breathing wasn't so scary anymore.

"San knows Blaine," Rachel managed through sniffles and Blaine squinted at her in confusion, "About Daddy. San knows about Daddy."

Blaine's eyes widened in shock as something that felt like relief washed over his body at Rachel's whispered words. He hated keeping Rachel's secret. He hated that his dad always hurt Rachel instead of him. He had begged Rachel for what felt like forever to tell their mom or their older siblings. He wanted to tell them the very first time their dad hit Rachel but she had begged him to not say anything. He knew his big brother and sisters were tougher than they were and they would stand up to their dad. They could help Rachel and he couldn't.

"You told her?"

Rachel shook her head vehemently, "No. She saw….she isn't supposed to know. Daddy is gonna be so mad."

"Fuck Daddy." Blaine spat repeating his oldest sister's words from that morning. He immediately clapped a hand over his mouth in surprise. The word felt funny in his mouth and he had to bite his tongue to hold back the silly giggles that wanted to burst forth from his chest. Blaine knew it was a bad word but his older siblings used it all the time and so did his dad and he was angry. He just wanted to see how it felt.

"Blaine," Rachel gasped, "That's a bad word. You aren't supposed to say that."

Blaine just shrugged his narrow shoulders as he gave into the laughter that had bubbled up in his chest at the look on Rachel's face. Rachel just look at him puzzled as he began to laugh before she too started giggling, the illicitness of her brother saying a bad word suddenly seeming so hysterical. They collapsed together in a giggling heap when Blaine repeated the word once again.

"I..I think it's okay that San knows. She can help. She can help you stay safe." Blaine told his sister once his hysterical laughter had subsided.

"No, she can't. She's not a grown-up, not really. He's hurt her too and daddy said-"

"I know what Dad said, Rach," Blaine interrupted. Their dad often repeated the same things to Blaine after he was done punishing Rachel, "But maybe…maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe Santana won't tell him she knows."

Rachel raised her eyebrows in response, no words passing her lips but Blaine implicitly understood what she was saying. He knew that it was unlikely that Santana wouldn't say anything to their dad. He and Rachel had spent many nights on the second-floor landing, faces pressed against the slats on the banister, watching as his dad berated Santana or Noah or both. His oldest sister always seemed so strong to him on those nights as she refused to shrink away or make herself smaller or stay silent. She only ever went quiet when he struck out at her, hitting her anywhere he could reach. Even then she never backed down or showed any fear.

"Yeah, maybe," Rachel muttered, "Blaine, why are you dressed for school?"

Blaine glanced down at his now wrinkled uniform and sighed. He had nearly forgotten the reason he had come to find Rachel in the first place. His mission was lost somewhere between Rachel's tears and the secrets she shared, "Mom's sick. Santana's driving us to school."

"Oh," Rachel replied, glancing up at Blaine as he stood, "I don't think Mom's sick."

Blaine shrugged and nodded as well, reaching down to help Rachel get to her feet. He didn't think his mom was sick either. His mom always drove them to school, even when she was sick. Nervousness gnawed at the bottom of his stomach because nothing about this morning was normal and he didn't want anyone getting in trouble. He could tell by looking at Rachel she felt the same.

"It's….it'll be okay. It's just this once and Dad won't even know."

"Yeah it'll be okay," Rachel agreed, embracing her brother briefly, "I'm gonna get dressed now, okay?"

Blaine nodded as he offered his sister a weak smile. He knew he needed to change into a less crumpled uniform and he felt his stomach rumble with hunger as he left Rachel's room.

…

Santana came downstairs after showering and getting ready for the day, pulling her ponytail tight on the top of her head. Santana didn't think she had ever felt so tired and she only hoped that the concealer she had applied under her eyes would hold up all day. She found Blaine sitting at the table, sulking as he dunked his Cheerios into his milk viciously. She was surprised to see her best friend, Brittany Pierce, sitting across from Blaine, with two travel mugs of coffee beside her. She smiled slightly as she watched her best friend try to engage her baby brother in a conversation while he just scowled at his bowl.

"Coffee!" Santana exclaimed as she picked up the second mug of coffee, sitting down beside Brittany. "Brittany Pierce, you are a goddess. How'd you get in here?"

"Blaine let me in." She explained as Santana set a glare on her baby brother.

"I knew it was Britt," Blaine explained not even glancing up at his sister as he continued to dunk his cereal into his milk but Santana just continued to glare at him, " 'M not baby. I can answer a door."

Brittany had to hide her snicker behind her hand at the annoyance on Blaine's face but shrunk quickly when Santana glared at her. Quinn entered the kitchen next, ruffling Blaine's hair as she moved past him toward the pantry. Blaine swatted at her hand and she went to the pantry, pulling out a banana before plopping down beside Blaine. Brittany watched the interaction between Santana and her siblings with interest.

Something seemed off to her that morning. She watched as the siblings bickered playfully but every interaction seemed forced like they were going through the motions or playing a role. She and Santana had been best friends since the day the other girl had moved in two streets over when they were both nine. Brittany quickly figured out that her new best friends and her younger siblings were a package deal.

She watched the way Quinn was scowling in Santana's direction and how the other girl seemed to be doing everything to avoid eye contact with her younger sister. She noticed the dark circles under Santana's eyes that she had tried to cover with concealer and the way Santana's eyes were full of remorse and something else Brittany couldn't quite identify every time she looked at one of her siblings. She knew better than to ask Santana if she was okay or if they were okay. She had only attempted to broach the subject with Santana once before and her best friend had stopped talking to her for a week. Brittany quickly learned not to ask Santana questions about her home life. She wanted to help Santana but she never knew how, so she just didn't ask. She figured at least that way Santana could just be Santana when she was with Brittany. She never asked why Santana could rarely ever sleep over or why Quinn was always around even when Santana wasn't.

"Hey Britt, can I ask you to do me a favor?" Santana questioned and Brittany hummed in response, "Can you watch Blaine and Rachel for me tonight while I work?"

Brittany shrugged and nodded, "Sure, but what about your mom and Hiram?"

"He has to work tonight and she isn't feeling well."

Blaine dropped his spoon into the milk left in his cereal bowl as he opened his mouth to protest and Santana held up a hand to silence him before he ever had a chance to speak. This was really against the rules. Blaine's dad had a lot of rules. They weren't ever supposed to go home with anyone that wasn't him or their mom. They most definitely weren't ever supposed to go to anyone else's house after school. Rachel had told Blaine that Santana knew that her dad had been hurting her. But if she really knew, she wouldn't be doing this. Their dad would be really mad and Blaine would be punished but he couldn't say that now, not in front of Brittany.

"It'll be okay," Quinn leaned over so she could whisper in his ear, seeming to recognize how close to panicking her little brother was, "Brittany's house is really fun. I'll be there and you can hang out with her little sister, Emily. Your dad's working late tonight. He isn't gonna know."

Blaine wanted to tell her she was wrong. Even if their dad worked late tonight, he would still know. He always seemed to know when they broke a rule. Tears burned in his eyes as he thought about how they might be punished but he knew his dad would never hit him. He always reserved the worst for Rachel which was as bad as if his dad just punished him instead of making him watch.

Santana glanced down at her watch, not having noticed how late it was, "Shit! Blaine, where is Rachel?" Blaine just shrugged in response, not looking at his oldest sister, too afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold back his tears, "Fine. I'll go find her. Grab her a granola bar and a juice box and get your crap together so we can leave."

….

Rachel pushed open her mother's bedroom door after she had finished getting dressed. She could hear her siblings' voices downstairs and knew she had at least a few more minutes before they came to look for her, "Mom?"

She shut the door softly not wanting to alert her siblings to the fact that she was in her mom's room when she was supposed to be downstairs, eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. She blinked as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of her parent's bedroom. The first rays of sunlight were fighting to light the room from behind the blackout curtains that covered their bedroom window. She could just barely make out her mom's form in the center of the large bed, her face pillowed against her arms as she emitted soft snores through a partially open mouth.

Rachel reached out and poked her mom's arm after she made her way across the room, "Mom?"

Shelby's eyes fluttered open, "Rach?"

"Yeah, Mom, it's me."

Shelby stretched and yawned as she sat up in bed. Her head felt like it was full of cotton and her mouth was dry and fuzzy, as she tried her best to hide her discomfort from Rachel. She hoped the darkness of the bedroom would work to conceal the bruises she knew marred her face from the night before, already able to tell that her left eye was swollen, her vision on that side blurry. She studied her youngest daughter and saw that she was already dressed, her pulse picking up as she realized they were going to be late for school and then she remembered. She remembered her conversation with Santana and her oldest daughter's conviction that the two younger kids would go to school with her that morning.

"Good morning, baby. You all ready for school?"

Rachel nodded, "Yes. San said you were sick, but you don't look very sick."

Shelby chuckled. She may not have been able to clearly see Rachel's features in the darkness of her bedroom but she could almost see the skeptical look that would be painted across her youngest daughter's face, "I'm…I just have a really bad headache, but I'll be okay."

"San…San's driving us to school this morning. Won't Daddy be mad?"

Shelby had to strain to hear Rachel's final whispered question. She heard a slight quiver in Rachel's voice that hadn't been there only moments before, an undercurrent of fear suddenly lacing the little girl's words as she mentioned her father. The slight quiver of fear in Rachel's voice brought Santana's words from the night before back to her. Hiram had hurt Rachel, was hurting Rachel. She wished it was brighter in her room so she could scan Rachel's small form for obvious injuries. She wanted to ask Rachel about what Santana said Hiram was doing to her and why she had never told her. She blinked furiously against the tears that filled her eyes as she studied Rachel's body language. She could sense the fear and anxiety that was rolling off of her daughter in waves as she twisted her hands in the hem of her polo shirt and knew that now was not the time.

"C'mere, baby," Shelby said, scooting over and patting the bed beside her hip. Rachel seemed to take the hint as climbed onto the bed, her back to Shelby's front as Shelby draped her arms around Rachel's small shoulders. Rachel leaned back into the embrace, as Shelby used one hand to brush a stray hair behind her ear, "Don't worry about your daddy, little one. I'll take care of him."

Rachel felt her heart stutter in her chest. Her dad would be mad at her mom and she didn't want that either. She didn't like when her dad was mad at her mom. She knew he hurt her too even though everyone always thought she and Blaine were hiding or asleep but she heard them. She heard her mom crying and heard her dad yelling. She had seen Santana helping her mother cover bruises on her skin through the sliver of the bathroom door once before Santana had slammed the door in her face and told her to go away.

"But…but I don't want him to be mad at you," Rachel whispered. For the first time, Shelby seemed to feel the tension in Rachel's body. She could make out her furrowed brow in the dim light of the room.

"Baby, I'm your mom, okay? It isn't your job to worry about me. It's my job to take care of you." Shelby whispered.

Rachel nodded, chewing on her lower lip, "Mom, who's gonna take care of you?"

Shelby felt as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs at Rachel's words, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. Rachel was eight. She was just eight and barely more than a baby. She shouldn't be worried about taking care of her. She and Hiram had stolen so much from the kids that she wasn't sure they even remembered how to just be kids. The older kids had had to grow up so fast and now her babies were having to do the same.

"Baby, that's not…that was never your job. It's not your job to take care of me. Your only job is to go to school and get smarter and have fun with your friends. I can take care of me and you, got it?"

Rachel nodded again, stiffening as she heard Santana's voice calling for her from downstairs. She leaned up, placing a soft kiss on her mom's cheek as she scrambled off her bed, "I gotta go."

Shelby laughed softly at Rachel's frantic movements, "Yeah, you better not keep that sister of yours waiting. Have a great day, baby."

"What were you doing in there?" She heard Santana ask when Rachel shut the door behind her, "You're gonna make us late, munchkin."

"Sorry," Rachel replied, her voice so small and quiet that Shelby could barely make it out through the thick wood of her bedroom door, "I-I just wanted to say bye. She didn't wake up."

Shelby could picture Santana rolling her eyes as she ushered Rachel away from the bedroom door. She quickly laid back down when the door opened again, peeking one eye open as she was able to make out Santana's form in the sliver of light from the hallway. She shut her eyes not wanting Santana to realize that Rachel had been lying.

She lay in silence as she listened to the rise and fall of her kids' voices as they scrambled to leave the house for the day. She could feel the pressure of tears building behind her eyes, her chest burning with the sobs she was suppressing and it wasn't until she heard the front door slam for the final time and the sound of Santana's car engine turning over that she allowed her tears to fall. She couldn't do this anymore. She had never seen that as clearly as she did now. She hadn't needed to ask Rachel to see the marks that Hiram had been leaving on her because she could see them in her youngest daughter's fear and whispered questions. She could see them in the tension that had settled in her youngest daughter's body.

She told Rachel that it was her job to protect them but she hadn't fulfilled that duty in a long time. She was their mother and she failed them. She saw her failure in Noah's eyes and the accusations he leveled at her and Quinn's refusal to acknowledge her most of the time. She heard her failure in Santana's desperate pleas the night before, in Rachel's need to protect her this morning, and in Blaine's constant reminder of the rules. She always felt trapped. She was alone. She didn't have anyone else. Hiram was all they had, all she had. But somewhere along the way she had forgotten that she had always had her kids. She hadn't known how to save herself so she had made herself blind and numb, finding her savior at the bottom of a bottle because it was easier than acknowledging her failures.

She had left her kids to save themselves. Santana had done just that. She had stepped up when Shelby had faltered but she was sixteen and it wasn't her job to save her siblings any more than it was Rachel's job to protect her. She knew then that they couldn't stay here. She couldn't let Hiram take any more from them. She saw it so clearly now and she needed to do what she had vowed to Rachel that morning and take care of them.

…

Santana shut the door to her mother's bedroom gently, not able to tell in the darkness if Rachel had been telling the truth and if her mother truly hadn't been awake. She felt anger twisting at the pit of her stomach because her mother appeared so unfazed from their conversation last night. She was sleeping as if she didn't know what Hiram had been doing to Rachel. She should be doing something to get them out of there but Santana knew she would never save them. She hadn't expected much, she knew better and on that at least her mother was consistent.

Santana reached out and caught Rachel's elbow just as she hit the stairwell, the smaller girl turning to face her, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, San. I just wanna go to school," Rachel explained as she walked down the stairs, Santana following her at a much slower pace.

"I'm sorry, y'know?" Santana told her sister, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting her siblings or Brittany to hear her apology. She didn't know if she was apologizing for what happened that morning or her own failure the previous evening at convincing her mother to leave.

Rachel sighed and offered Santana a soft side glance before looking back down at her hands. "I know, San, it's okay. I'm okay."

Santana wanted to tell Rachel that it was okay if she wasn't but could tell from Rachel's body language that any further conversation would be unwelcome.

"We're gonna be so late. Coach Sue is going to make us run laps until we puke because of you two." Quinn groaned when her sisters made their way to the living room.

"Fuck Sue. She'll get over it," Santana snapped.

"Bad word!" Rachel and Blaine said in unison before sharing a quick look with each other and dissolving into giggles.

Quinn rolled her eyes at her little siblings as she left the house. "You two are so weird."

"Hurry up, you two. We'll meet you in the car," Santana told them. Blaine and Rachel nodded as she and Brittany left the house.

Blaine held out the granola bar and juice box to Rachel, "San said you gotta eat in the car."

Rachel took the offered snacks as she pulled on her backpack, "Dad's gonna be really mad, isn't he?"

Blaine shrugged, "Probably."

Santana watched her younger siblings with interest as they made their way out of the house. Armed with the knowledge of what her stepfather had been doing to Rachel, she was able to recognize the subtle changes in the little girl. She could make out the concentration written on Rachel's face as she took stiff, measured steps, taking care not to jostle her too-large backpack. She couldn't help but arch one eyebrow as Blaine stopped his sister, whispering something in Rachel's ear before taking her backpack from her, a knot growing in the pit of Santana's stomach. Blaine knew. She didn't know why that fact hadn't dawned on her until that moment.

Blaine and Rachel were always together. The little boy had to have known what Hiram had been doing to Rachel. She frowned because it didn't make sense. Blaine talked too much and he was the worst at keeping secrets, but he had kept this secret. Her mind raced with unanswered questions. But one stood out, was Hiram hurting Blaine too or was it only Rachel? Hiram was not known for his self-control and she knew Noah had been on the receiving end of Hiram's wrath more than once, but he had always reserved the worst for Santana. Santana always got the worst of his punishment, what if it was the same for Rachel and Blaine? She couldn't think about what that could mean for them. She didn't want to think about Hiram hurting either of the twins but somehow, the knowledge that it could only be Rachel was so much worse. She couldn't help but wonder if Blaine and Rachel had managed to keep this from her, what else could they be hiding.

"Ouch, Blaine, elbow!" Quinn cried, knocking Santana out of her thoughts. She glanced back in the rearview to see Blaine wriggling to get comfortable and make space in the middle of the backseat as Quinn glared at him.

"I think you need a bigger car, San," Brittany giggled as she watched the frustration of the three younger kids trying to position themselves comfortably.

"Please, I'm lucky I even have this car," Santana responded, rolling her eyes as she turned to her siblings, "Sit down, Blaine, and get buckled."

The drive to McKinley was mostly silent, save for Quinn's groans every time Blaine knocked against her and Brittany fiddling with the radio, trying to find something to fill the silence. As Quinn predicted, they were late for practice, and Coach Sue made them run laps until they were panting and breathless. Santana hated running laps but that morning, the burning in her muscles and in her lungs had been a welcome distraction from her ever-present anxiety. Sue had kept them after practice seemingly just to berate Santana and Quinn for bringing the twins to practice that morning. She reminded Santana that she was the head cheerleader now and her head cheerleader could not afford to be distracted.

Santana just nodded and promised it wouldn't happen again, even though she knew that was a lie. She caught Blaine and Rachel's gaze in the stands, anxiety written on their features as she knew she was probably going to be late dropping them off if Sue didn't shut up. She rushed Blaine and Rachel down the bleachers and to the car the second Sue let them go.

She glanced at the clock on her dashboard and groaned when it read 8:05, calculating mentally just how long it would take them to get across town, "Shit!"

"We're gonna be late, aren't we?" Blaine asked popping his head up from the backseat and in between the headrests.

Santana used one finger to push his head back gently as she backed out of the parking spot, "Sit back. We aren't gonna be late. We're fine."

Blaine huffed as he sat back in his seat, "We can't be late. If we're late, Dad is gonna know. We aren't allowed to be late. We wouldn't be late if we had just-"

"Shut up!" Santana shouted, wincing as she saw both of her siblings flinch in the backseat, "I'm-I'm sorry. I just…I need to focus on the road and I need you both to be quiet so I can do that."

She studied them in the mirror as they nodded and fell silent. She knew she was taking a risk that morning. She knew how risky it was to change up their routine and that the chance of Hiram finding out was never zero. She knew that if they were late it would be Hiram the school would contact and not their mother. He had always made sure to be the first person that was contacted. But she had to do something. She couldn't just entrust them to Shelby, not after last night. She knew her mom hadn't hurt Rachel but she hadn't protected her either. She studied Rachel in the backseat, the little girl was quieter than usual, pale and listless and Santana couldn't just do nothing.

"Told you we would make it on time," Santana teased as she pulled into the car loop line that she could tell had just started moving.

Blaine stuck his tongue out at her in response, "You just got lucky."

"Listen, I will be back at three-thirty to pick you up and drop you off at Brittany's before work. Don't go with anyone else."

"San, you can't-" Rachel said her eyes wide and full of fear as she shook her head.

"Rachel, it will be fine. It's just this once. Your dad will never know and you'll have a lot of fun at Britt's house," Santana reassured. She had committed Hiram's schedule to memory and knew that every Friday, he had a twenty-four shift at the hospital. She knew that for at least tonight she would be able to keep them safe.

She arrived back at McKinley just in time to hear the warning bells ringing to signify the beginning of first period. She raced through the parking lot, stopping abruptly and nearly tripping over her own feet when she spotted the familiar figure of her older brother making his way toward the side of the building. She quickly moved in his direction, her class would have to wait.

"Decided to come to school for once?" She questioned as she caught up to him.

Noah barely glanced in her direction shrugging as he continued to scan the parking lot for something but she didn't know what, "Didn't have anything better to do."

She sighed as she maneuvered her position so that she was facing him, causing him to stop abruptly as he let out an exasperated sigh, "Noah?

"What do you want, Santana?"

"I just…I need to talk to you."

She needed to tell Noah about her conversation with Shelby last night. She needed him to help her protect Blaine and Rachel. He was around so rarely that she didn't know when she would have the chance again. She couldn't do this on her own. It was too much and she needed his help.

"Not here, not now," Noah warned his gaze fixated on something in the distance. Santana followed his gaze and saw the mousy guidance counselor, Ms. Pillsbury, standing on the steps into the school, watching them with interest. The last thing Santana needed was for her to suddenly take an interest in them. She definitely didn't have time for that.

"Fine. We'll talk later." Santana told him as she made her way into the school, watching as Noah practically jogged in the opposite direction.

She made it to her first-period Spanish class only minutes before the class ended. She ignored the admonishment from her Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester, as she slid into her seat beside Brittany. Brittany glanced at her in concern and Santana could only shrug in response. She felt Brittany reach for her pinky under the desk, threading them together.

She didn't know how she was going to make it through this day. She was exhausted and anxious at the same time. The exhaustion had won out in two of her classes and after falling asleep in her second class of the day, her concerned teacher had sent her to the nurse. She was glad that the nurse hadn't asked too many questions and just accepted Santana's excuse about not sleeping well the night before. She had allowed Santana to spend the remainder of the class, napping on the narrow cot in the clinic.

She went through the motions during lunch. She did her best to tune out the other Cheerios' vapid conversations, biting her lip as she pushed her salad around her plate listlessly. Her anxiety and lack of sleep combined to steal her appetite and leave her slightly nauseous. She did everything she could to avoid Quinn's eyes at the lunch table. She knew her sister was still upset with her because of their argument that morning but she couldn't deal with that now, not here at school. She couldn't tell Quinn everything that was going on and avoiding her younger sister seemed to be the safer bet.

She did her best to brush off Brittany's concerned glances and the comforting brushes of her best friend's hand against hers under the lunch table. She couldn't deal with that either, even though each gentle touch made the storm in Santana's mind go silent for a second. Brittany was light and innocent and everything in Santana's life was such a mess. She knew it was unfair for her to pull her best friend into her fucked up universe without some sort of explanation. She couldn't give that to the other girl, too afraid that by telling her just a little, she would tell her everything.

She scanned the mass of people in the cafeteria, trying to spot Noah. She needed to tell him about her ultimatum. She needed him to help her come up with a plan. She just needed him to be present for once. She never was able to spot his familiar form in the halls that day and she wondered if he had even stayed in school.

She made it to her car at three-fifteen already changed from her Cheerios uniform into the polo shirt and khaki pants she was forced to wear to the diner she worked at. She knew she was cutting it close on picking up the twins and would most likely be late for work but she didn't care. She blasted punk music over the radio trying to do anything to silence her racing thoughts. She had been replaying her conversation with her mom over and over in her mind all day and she didn't know what she could've done differently to make her mom understand. Her mom hadn't always been the way she was that night and she just needed the old version of her mom back. She was sixteen and she wasn't stupid. She knew there was no way she could just leave with the younger kids, no way she could just run away and never look back. The best she could do was send them to her best friend's house while she figured out her next step.

She had to try again. She had to try to make her mom understand. She couldn't let Rachel get hurt the way that Hiram had hurt her. She had never felt so helpless. She had been doing her best and it still hadn't mattered. She pulled her phone out of her pocket as she joined the pick-up line and shot off a short text to her mom, reading nothing more than "Blaine. Rachel. Britt's. Talk tonight." She shoved her phone in her pocket as Blaine and Rachel got into the car, not concerned with any response from her mom.

"San, I don't think this is a very good idea," Rachel told her older sister as they pulled up in front of Brittany's house.

Santana just sighed in response. She couldn't keep having this conversation. She couldn't know what Hiram was doing and just not do anything. Maybe their mom could but Santana could never, not when she knew he was capable of so much worse. She wished she could make them both understand that this was all she could do. She couldn't stop picturing the marks on Rachel's body or the fear in her eyes that morning and she needed to at least try to do something.

"Rachel, please. I'm going to be late for work."

"I just…what about Mom?"

Santana rolled her eyes, "What about her?"

"She's all by herself. What if Dad comes home and she's all alone?"

Santana didn't understand why Rachel was suddenly so concerned with their mom being alone. Hiram had been beating Rachel with their mother in the next room and Shelby had done nothing to protect her little sister. Santana was trying to protect them both and Rachel was concerned with their mother.

"She'll be fine. She can take care of herself," Santana explained sighing as she saw the frown that graced her little sister's features, "He won't come home."

"You don't know that," Rachel whispered.

Rachel was right. She didn't know that Hiram wouldn't decide to come home early that night. But he never had before. She needed to believe that he wouldn't and she needed them to believe the same thing. She just needed this one night. She needed one night where everything in her shitty existence aligned perfectly and she was able to keep them safe.

"I don't," Santana said shrugging, "But I know him. He doesn't come home early."

"Okay." Blaine and Rachel whispered in unison after exchanging concerned looks with each other. Santana looked up to see Brittany and her younger sister, Emily, practically bouncing down the driveway. She could see Emily's mouth moving a mile a minute and could practically hear the excitement in the younger girl's voice even from a distance.

"Try to have fun, okay? Let me do the worrying. I will be back to get you at eight-thirty." Santana told them as they slid out of the backseat, following Brittany up the walkway to the house. Santana caught Rachel's gaze as she drove away, and she could see the anxiety in her younger sister's eyes but she couldn't think about that then.

She was ten minutes late for her shift and could do little more than roll her eyes as her boss addressed her tardiness. She wanted to tell him where to shove it and how lucky he was that she had even shown up for her shift that night. It would've been so much easier to have just called out of work instead of leaving the twins with Brittany but she needed this stupid job and she was one callout away from getting fired.

She found herself distracted throughout her entire shift. She was annoyed by her job's stupid no phone rule and that her shift was too short for her to even get a break. She tried her hardest to plaster on a fake smile but she knew she was short with her co-workers and patrons and she was just grateful that her boss didn't call her out on it. She practically ran to the locker room at eight-thirty when her shift ended, pulling her apron off as she grabbed her phone from her locker.

Her heart stuttered in her chest as her notifications showed fifteen missed calls from Brittany and a bunch of texts from Quinn telling her to call as quickly as possible. Her mind went blank as she collapsed onto the bench behind her, her eyes locked on her phone's screen, the notifications seeming to mock her. Something was wrong. Something had to be wrong because Quinn and Brittany knew that she couldn't have her phone at work. She didn't understand why they didn't call the diner. She knew the only reason they wouldn't have called is if it was too late for her to do anything or if she would've only made things worse. Her mind raced with all the possibilities as she debated whether to return Brittany's calls or just drive to her house and deal with whatever was going on when she got there.

"Santana? What's wrong?" Her coworker, Matt, asked when he found her ashen-faced and frozen in the locker room.

She flinched when he put a gentle hand on her shoulder and everything came rushing back. She was suddenly acutely aware of the roaring of her blood in her ears as her pulse pounded and the way the notifications on her phone were suddenly blurry as tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn't be here. Something was wrong with her siblings and she couldn't stay. She shoved past Matt barely whispering an apology as she grabbed everything from her locker, racing to her car. Her hands shook causing her to fumble and drop her keys as she cursed under her breath before she was finally able to get the door unlocked. She leaned her head against the steering wheel taking deep breaths as she tried to force her pulse to slow and her hands to stop trembling. She forced the thoughts of what could be wrong out of her mind, forcing her mind to stay blank as she drove to the Pierce residence. She barely realized that she was repeating the words "everything is okay" under her breath as she drove, trying to keep her panic at bay. She turned the radio on as loud as it would go as she made her way through Lima, attempting to drown out the thoughts of what she was going to find when she got to Brittany's house.

She pulled up to the curb in front of the house, surprised to find the house quiet and dark. She had half expected to see her stepfather there, yelling at Brittany and her family, terrorizing them the way that he terrorized Santana or her mom there, drunk and demanding the two younger children. She felt something in her chest loosen when she didn't immediately see anything out of place, nothing that would explain the fifteen missed calls. She saw Mr. and Mrs. Pierce's cars in the driveway, the porch light was on bathing the porch in a soft white glow. She could see the flickering of the TV in the living room through the window and everything seemed so normal. Everything seemed normal and not like the fifteen missed calls on her phone.

She took a breath, trying to calm her racing heart and shaking hands. She need to regain her composure before she got out of the car. She needed them to be okay. She had done everything but outright promise Rachel and Blaine that everything would be okay and they had trusted her. She had taken a chance and she needed it not to have been a mistake. She climbed from the car on shaky legs, something heavy and leaden settling in her stomach as she made her way to Brittany's door. She just needed them to be okay. She didn't know what she would do if they weren't.

*Loved it, hated it, please let me know*