Hi everyone! I'm just as surprised that I updated this quickly as you all probably are. Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows I got for chapter 1! They keep me wanting to write.

Also, I didn't put this is the summary but this is AU. For the sake of the story, Finn and Rachel never met. I'll get more into then when I introduce Finn into the story. Otherwise, everything is sort of the same as in the series.

I don't own Glee or it's characters. I only own Ava and Paul.

Enjoy!

April 5th, 2012

"We killed our auditions Rachel! We're totally going to NYADA in the Fall!" Kurt grabbed his friend's shoulders and held them tight while they walked side of side. Rachel, too, was beaming with pride.

"I have never been more sure of anything Kurt, and I'm sure that we've got this!" she squealed with excitement as they approached Kurt's car. "I say we celebrate tonight. How about we go to Breadstix?" Granted, Breadstix was the crown jewel of Lima, Ohio, but it was still a special place for people to celebrate momentous occasions like this one.

"I think that's a marvelous idea," they got into the car and Kurt dropped her off at her house. "I'll pick you up at 8."

"K, I'll see you then," Rachel blew her friend a kiss and watched him pull out of her driveway. She saw that both of her dads were home right now which pleased her greatly. With them both being there, it would be easier for her to tell them how her audition went.

"Daddy! Papa! I'm home!" Rachel put her keys on the side table and walked into the kitchen to to see them sitting at the island.

"Hello pumpkin!" Hiram embraced his daughter and Leroy joined him. They let her go so she could join them on the stools. "How was your audition?"

"Oh...it went so well! I want to tell you more, but I'd like to save it for later for our Late Night Wind Down," whenever one of the Berry's had a big event, they would always tease it and save it for before bed when they'd all relax just before bed. "Can I go out to dinner with Kurt tonight to celebrate?"

"Sure Princess," Leroy said.

"Thank you!" she gave both of them a kiss and darted out of the kitchen.

"Can't you at least tell us what song you picked?" Leroy asked. Rachel returned to curl her fingers around the doorway and had a sheepish grin.

"All I am saying is that it's from a Funny Girl."

-Freedom-

Rachel woke up from her dream; well, it seemed like a dream. Technically, her brain was just replaying her last day of normalcy in her sleep cycle. This happened every year around the anniversary, and it caused her great emotional pain. All it did was take her back to the joy, the anger, and the helplessness of April 5th, 2012. All those emotions stayed in the current year of 2018 except for joy.

Then again, Ava brought her joy. Rachel squeezed her daughter tight as she laid beside her, watching her sleep. Her daughter's pure innocence relieved the anxiety she had on some days; those days she had to focus on her daughter to get through them.

When she felt her daughter twitch, she knew it was time to get up to prepare for her day. Rachel got up from bed and headed over to the shower, which was just a few steps away. Everything was so articulately placed down here, leaving her with enough space for the two of them. She had no idea how she was going to fit another baby down here.

While she showered, the brunette's thoughts raced again. With this baby on the way, she knew there would be changes coming; and they wouldn't be good. What was Paul going to do if the baby wasn't a boy? Even if it wasn't a boy, he could still do harm to the infant. What if he got rid of it?

Then if hit her.

What if he did get rid of the newborn?

The water was ice cold by the time she thought of a possible plan. She shut the water off and stepped outside of the shower and wiped herself off with a towel. She threw on a baggy shirt and some sweatpants and examined her bump some more. Even though she had done this before, it still felt like a new experience having a baby grow inside of her. While her hands traced her belly, she felt a few kicks on her right hand.

"I know you're there," she giggled softly. "I can't wait to meet you."

Once the kicking stopped, she returned to her brainstorming. She sat on the couch and jotted down some ideas in her brain. Granted, the newborn wouldn't be able to help much but it would be a big part of the plan. If she could get Paul to take the infant into the outside world for some reason, that might be the ticket to getting out of this place.

"These vegetarian meatballs are finally good! It only took them five years," Rachel finished chewing her bite of meatball before praising it. "How is your food Kurt?"

"Good, as usual," he took another bite of his pasta before stopping to take a rest. He raised his iced tea with lemon in the air to signal a toast. "To us, for basically becoming freshman of the most prestigious musical theatre school in the country."

"To us," Rachel smiled, clinging her glass of water with his drink. She finished her pasta just as he did. It was just small talk until that point when Rachel pondered on a serious thought. "Kurt?"

"Hmm?"

"What if one of us doesn't make it?" she questioned with a serious tone. Kurt's smile vanished, wondering the same things she was.

"That's crazy. We're going to make it...unless one of us does and the other doesn't. If that happens, there's always the spring semester for one of us to get in."

And sometimes, Rachel didn't think before she spoke. "If it were between me and you for one last spot, I feel as though I should get it."

"Seriously?" Kurt scoffed. "What makes you think you deserve it more than me?"

"I've been doing this since I was 18 months old. After all these years, I think that I have proven myself on all aspects of musical theatre. I mean, when was the last time you got a significant part in a school musical?"

Kurt's mouth taped open at her harsh words. Following that was the shake of his head in disapproval. "I can't believe you would say such a thing. Then again, you're Rachel Berry, queen of narcissism."

"Take that back!"

"Take back what you said before, then I will!"

"Not when I mean it!" Rachel slammed her fist on the table, and that's what did it in for Kurt. He threw some money on the table and left without another word. When he was gone, she let out a huge sigh. How could she be so stupid with her words sometimes? Looking back on the past few minutes, she regretted them. Now she was getting a headache. Could tonight get any worse?

"Here's your receipt," the waiter arrived at her table to present her with the receipt. Rachel placed her money in the book and took the receipt with her. "Have a good night."

"You too," she took her coat and got up from her seat to go call her dads from outside. "Daddy, it's me. Kurt had an emergency and had to leave, can you come pick me up? I'll be waiting inside, text me when you get here. Love you."

She told her dad that she would be inside, but she took a few minutes to stand outside and stare at the beautiful night sky to clear her thoughts. She looked at her phone again and texted Kurt "I'm sorry. If there's any way I can make it up to you I will." He would probably take it as a half-hearted apology, but Rachel would give a better apology in person tomorrow at school.

Right when she put her phone back in her purse, the receipt she still had in her hand blew away from her in the breeze.

"No wait! Come back!" It may have just been a receipt, but Rachel hated littering.

The teenager caught up to piece of paper at the edge of the property, just by the sidewalk. "Aha! And they say I can't run!"

Rachel wasn't paying attention to the bright lights that landed on her from behind. Just as she was going to turn around a hand grabbed her mouth and the other grabbed her waist. "Don't try to fight me or else I'll kill you."

She kicked and wrestled to try and break free, but she didn't prevail. He threw her in the trunk of his car. She let out a short wail before something hard hit her head and everything went black.

...and that's how this story truely begins. The only person that is to blame for this whole situation is Paul for being crazy.

Coming up in chapter 3: Rachel figures out the missing piece to her escape puzzle, except all it does is trigger memories back to her first week living in the basement.

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