Chapter 1:
Rachel leaned against the brick wall, trying to catch her breath. She hesitantly pulled her phone out of her pocket and navigated to her contacts. Her vision blurred with tears, she hoped she had hit Kurt's number.
"Hello?" A familiar voice answered. Her sobs cut over the line and she tried to stifle them. "Rach? What's going on?"
Rachel placed a hand over her chest as her breathing became shallow. Through her eyes blurred with tears, she had dialed Finn. He sounded so worried about her.
"Rachel? Where are you?" Finn asked her through the phone. He didn't get a response, just another choked sob. "Stay where you are, I'll find you, okay?"
"Finn?" She whimpered. "I need help."
Finn knocked on the door in a panic, it swung open a few minutes later to a drowsy Kurt.
"Finn! What are you doing here?" Kurt asked, now wide awake.
"Where is she?" Finn blurted out. "Is she here?"
"Could you be more specific?"
"You know who I'm talking about, Kurt! Where is she?" Finn exclaimed. "She called me crying and she wasn't acting right. Where is she, I told her I'd find her."
"She was crying?" Kurt asked in concern.
"Yes! Where is she?" Finn yelled in frustration, running his hands through his hair. "She said she needed help!"
"Down at the theatre for Funny Girl rehearsals." Kurt stammered. The words were barely out of his mouth when Finn took off down the hallway.
He raced down the streets using his phone to guide him as he shoved people out of the way, only slowing down when the theatre came into view. He quickly looked around for her in the massive crowd before hearing a small gasp of breath from the alley behind him.
He turned around quickly and carefully moved toward the sound. At the end of the dumpster he found Rachel and the sight made him sick to his stomach.
She was huddled as far back into the corner as she could get, her tears falling in rivers. Her jeans were torn and her coat was missing. Finn slowly knelt beside her and noticed blood near the top of her jeans. Her shirt was ripped badly, nearly exposing her and she had a nasty black eye.
"Rachel? What happened?" He asked softly.
"Get away from me! Please!" Rachel cried, pulling herself in tighter.
"Rach? It's me. It's Finn. I told you I'd find you." Finn said, trying to calm her. He tried to reach for her hand but Rachel whimpered and pulled away.
"Please? I'm okay, I just need a minute." Rachel begged.
Finn's heart broke as he watched her breakdown. She was shivering and shaking viciously. Her sobs only getting louder. He had no idea what had happened to her but it had to have been bad. "Rach? It's alright, I just want to help you. I'm not going to hurt you but I need to get you warm."
He reached for her hand again and didn't let her pull it away even as he watched the fear fill her eyes. He gently ran his thumb over her knuckles as he gazed into her terror filled eyes. "It's okay. It's me. I'm here. You're okay now."
"Finn?" She whimpered out.
"It's me, baby. You're okay." Finn soothed, reaching up to wipe her tears with his thumb. He noticed how cold her hand was and let it go to shed his jacket.
"Don't leave me, please." She begged, her sobs picking up again.
"Shh...it's alright, Rach. I'm not leaving you. I'm just going to wrap my jacket around you, okay?" Finn replied softly. Rachel nodded and moved her knees which gave Finn a view of the bruises to her stomach.
He moved slowly, not wanting to frighten her and wrapped the coat around her shoulders. "Let me look at you."
He brushed the hair back from her face and looked into her eyes. "Do you think you can walk?"
Rachel ignored his question and threw herself into the safety of his chest, burying her face in his throat. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her head. "I was so scared, Finn."
"Shh...I know, baby. It's okay." Finn whispered in her ear. "Come on, let me take you home."
Finn helped Rachel to her feet and reached down to zip the jacket. She watched him as he brought the zipper to just under her chin. "H-How are you here?" Rachel stuttered.
Finn looked up and locked eyes with her. "I was on my way to surprise you when you called. I got Kurt to tell me where you were tonight."
Finn wrapped his arm around her tightly as they walked back towards Rachel's apartment. Rachel was tense and Finn leaned over to place a gentle kiss to her temple. "What if he's still out there, Finn? What if he's waiting for me?"
"Breathe, Rach." Finn soothed, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
She stayed close to his side as he walked her home. He stopped in front of her door and turned to face her. Her eyes filled with panic and she clutched at his hands that still held hers.
"I should go..." Finn started.
"Stay, please." Rachel's voice cracked. "I don't want to be alone."
Finn took a step toward her and when she didn't move away, he reached out to brush an errant lock behind her ear. "If I stay, will you tell me what happened?"
Rachel went pale and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt Finn's hand come up to rub her cheek. When she snapped back to reality, she was met with Finn's concerned stare.
"Rach? It's obvious that someone has hurt you. I just need to know if you're in danger of this happening again?" Finn asked her gently.
Rachel nodded tearfully and Finn pulled her into his arms, gently kissing her head. "I'm scared, Finn."
"Shh...I'll protect you, okay? I'll be like your personal bodyguard, I'm not leaving your side." Finn soothed, rubbing her back to calm her. "Come on, you need to rest."
He took the keys from her hand and gently led her inside. They stopped in the entryway.
"Oh my God! You had me worried half to death when you came storming through here an hour ago. So nothing serious then?" Kurt exclaimed from the couch.
Finn shook his head and wrapped an arm around Rachel. "Oh no, it's serious."
Rachel curled more into Finn's side as Kurt stood up. Kurt noticed the small action. "Rach? What happened?"
Rachel opened her mouth to reply before sobbing again. Finn wrapped her up in his arms and placed a soft kiss to her forehead. Kurt looked up at Finn, trying to get some answers. Finn just shook his head.
"She doesn't want to talk about it right now." Finn stated quietly as he caressed Rachel's back. "She hasn't even told me yet. She needs some rest first."
Kurt nodded and let Finn guide Rachel to her room. Finn pulled the curtain to give Rachel some privacy.
"I was trying to call Kurt, you know?" Rachel said quietly as she sat on her bed. She was staring at her hands in her lap.
Finn moved to her side and sat beside her. "Well, I'm glad that you called me."
Rachel looked up at Finn with a small smile. "I am too. It's just that I was crying so hard and I needed someone, but my vision was blurred so I guess instead of calling Kurt, I called you."
"It's okay, Rach. Like I said, I was already here." Finn replied wrapping his arm around her.
Rachel sighed deeply. "You came here to have a good time not deal with my problems."
"Rachel? I came here to see you. Granted, I didn't expect to see you so hurt. This is breaking my heart to see you like this. I just want to help you through this. Whatever this is." Finn explained, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently.
"I don't understand. We're not together anymore. Why would you want to help me? You should be enjoying your time here, I know how short it is." Rachel replied, still looking at her lap.
"Because I love you." Finn started. He tipped her chin up, carefully. "I want to help you because I love you. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Rach. I hate that you're going through this because I only ever wanted the best for you."
Rachel's eyes started to tear up. She clutched at Finn's hand that was still wrapped around hers. "I love you too."
"Okay. Can you please tell me what happened tonight? I've never seen you so upset." Finn asked her gently.
"I...I can't." Rachel stuttered.
Finn turned more towards Rachel and placed one hand against her back while the other rested on her thigh, rubbing it softly with his thumb. "Please, baby? I promise I won't let them hurt you again. Tell me what happened so I can help you."
Rachel's eyes filled with tears and she clutched at Finn's hand on her leg with both hands. "He said he'd kill me if I told anyone. I can't, Finn. I can't tell you...I'm scared."
"Hey, shh." Finn soothed, pulling her closer. "I need you to tell me what happened so I know how to keep you safe. I'm not going to let him hurt you again."
"My...my director." Rachel started her voice cracking.
Finn gently caressed her back. "It's okay. I'm here."
"He...he r-raped me." Rachel finally blurted out before sobbing again.
"Oh, baby!" Finn quickly pulled her into his lap and held her tightly, squeezing his eyes closed to stop his own tears. He heard a gasp from behind the curtain. He ran a hand through her hair to try to soothe her. "Shh...I'm here. I'm so sorry, Rach."
"I'm glad your here." Rachel cried against his shoulder.
"Me too, baby. It's okay. Breathe, Rach." Finn soothed, kissing her head gently. He rocked her gently in his arms as she cried.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Holy crap. This idea kind of came to me one night while working on another fanfiction. This isn't really canon but you could fit the story in after Finn leaves the auditorium. His character was left so open that you can really fill that space with anything your mind can think up. Chapter 2 is already completed but I want at least two reviews before I post it.