Author's Note: So this is more of a continuation of the last chapter than a new chapter. Again, sorry for the delay. I was hoping to have more of the story written before I posted this because I feel like things aren't progressing quickly enough and having the next part mapped out would make me feel better about that, but I figured it's about time I put this out there. Excuse any inaccuracies in terms of police procedure because I'm totally making everything up. Thanks again for reading, reviewing and following this story. Please let me know that you think.

"I should talk to her," Emma blurts out abruptly as she stops her nervous pacing in front of Will.

Will continues to stare at the door expectantly, waiting for the police to arrive. He can't help but feel like he's handling this all wrong, like he's letting his sympathy and affection for his student get in the way of doing what's best for her. But if the cops would just show up already and take over he could maybe stop feeling like every decision he makes regarding the situation is going to permanently scar Rachel. He runs a hand through his curls and tugs a bit as he exhales before giving Emma an encouraging nod. Better she talk to Rachel than he make another attempt.

Emma returns the nod eagerly and turns towards Rachel with a sense of resolve, but as she approaches the girl she begins to panic. She'd never dealt with something like this before. Over the years she had counseled a few students who had been sexually assaulted or abused in the past, but she had never seen a victim so soon after the attack. She had never actually seen a girl bloody and bruised sitting right in front of her the way Rachel Berry currently is. Usually she just had to listen to them talk about it and that was hard enough, but now she's face to face with the aftermath and she's so unnerved by it she feels the sudden urge to rearrange all the items on Will's desk according to size and color to calm herself down, but there's no time for that.

"Rachel," Emma begins softly, kneeling in front of Puck and Rachel. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Rachel shakes her head a few times and Emma thinks she might be too shocked to talk about it, but then Rachel starts speaking in fractured bits and pieces and Emma does her best to appear comforting as the girl tells her story.

"David...he's been harassing me for weeks," Rachel starts hesitantly. "He started rumors that we... that I...performed certain acts on him in the bathroom. But I most certainly did not," Rachel emphasizes frantically, glancing around to make sure everyone understands. "Then he started pushing me around. Kissing me. Touching me." She stops to collect herself because her breathing is uneven and her hands are trembling and she's not sure she can tell the guidance counselor all of this. She takes a few deep breaths and swipes at the tears in her eyes, forcing herself to go on. "He threatened me, said he'd hurt Kurt if I told anyone. I didn't know what to do. I... I wasn't sure what he wanted or why he was doing it, but I couldn't let him hurt Kurt again." She glances up at Puck and Miss Pillsbury expectantly, desperate for some type of approval or confirmation that her reasoning had been rational, that they don't think she's to blame for ending up like this. She just needs them to understand why she hadn't told, and while they don't seem to be too appalled with her lack of action, they don't exactly look like they get it either. They just look like they pity her and Rachel thinks she'd rather they be disgusted with her instead. She swallows hard and continues in spite of their sympathy. "He didn't do those things when no one was around though. Only in public. In the halls or the cafeteria. But no one ever said anything because they believed the lies he was telling about me... that I'm a s-slut and that I... but I never even... before...no one had ever... I hadn't done anything with anyone," she stresses, confused and hurt, "but everyone believed him." Rachel looks up at Puck once again to find the boy starring at her with a mixture of rage and regret on his face. "I didn't know how to stop him and he just got worse," she begins again. "Rougher. More brazen. It was hell. Kurt and Blaine found out and tried make me tell Figgins, but I knew no one would believe me, no one ever believes me. I was afraid he would get away with it like he got away with harassing Kurt and things would just get worse if I told and he went unpunished. I didn't want to take that risk but he was ruining my life. I couldn't think about anything else, I couldn't focus on school, or Glee, or my friends and I just wanted it to stop. I had to make it stop." She pauses and takes a deep shaky breath. "So I approached him in the hall and told him to stop. I just wanted him to stop," she cries. "But he got so mad. He dragged me into here and starting screaming at me... about my dads and Kurt and...and I suggested that his hatred for them might stem from his own deep rooted homosexuality and he attacked me. I don't know why I said that but I did and he lost it. He started tearing at my clothes, shouting that he was going to show me how much of a man he was. I don't even know why I said that! He got so angry. I've never seen him like that before. I-I provoked him...I don't know why I said that. God, I'm such an idiot!" she sobs brokenly.

"No, Rachel, do not say that. You are not an idiot and you did not provoke him. You did nothing to cause this," Emma assures her. "What David did is deplorable and it was not your fault. Okay?"

Puck does his best to remain collected as he listens to Rachel recount her recent history with Karofsky. He knows his presence is helping to keep Rachel calm and he doesn't want to derail the situation by sending her into another panic attack.

"He's right, I don't know when to keep my mouth shut," Rachel adds gravely.

"You said Kurt and Blaine found out?" Emma asks and Rachel nods in response. "Did you tell anyone that this was going on?" Emma adds.

Rachel shakes her head guiltily. "I tried, but no one wanted to hear it so I gave up. And David said he'd go after Kurt if I made a big deal out of it." She intentionally avoids naming Mr. Schue as the person she tried to tell because she can see him staring at her from a few feet away and doesn't want him to think she blames him for not listening.

Emma pats the girl's knee softly. "Okay, Rachel, well the cops should be here any minute. Is there any-"

As if on cue the door opens and an officer appears with Quinn and Santana at his heels.

"That goon's trying to say he didn't hit her," Santana announces contemptuously as she bursts into the room behind a uniformed police officer.

"I'm Officer O'Riley. Where's the complainant?"

Quinn rolls her eyes. "She'd be the one cowering in the corner with the torn clothes and bloody face."

The officers gives her an annoyed look before stepping forward. "Alright, we don't need an audience. Everybody out."

"No!" Rachel cries suddenly causing everyone to look at her. "I mean, can't someone stay with me?" She looks at Puck expectantly.

"I ain't going anywhere, buddy," Puck informs the officer.

Officer O'Riley sighs and turns his attention to the rest of the group. "What about the rest of you? Is this going to be a group project?"

The nurse stands up and brushes her hands on her pants. "She's all cleaned up but her nose is definitely broken. She'll need x-rays for her ribs. I'll call her parents and have them meet us at the hospital." She excuses herself from the room to make the call.

Rachel freezes at the mention of her parents and it suddenly occurs to her that her dads are going to know everything. They're going to hear all the details. The thought makes her sick but there's too much going on around her to focus on it right now.

"Emma should stay with her, too," Will suggests, getting back to the officer's question. "She's the guidance counselor."

"And Will's the one who found her," Emma offers in his defense.

The officer rolls his eyes as if to say "whoop-te-doo" before looking at the girls. "And these two? What's their purpose? Are they going to cheer the girl on while she gives her statement?"

Santana jumps forward ready to go all Lima Heights on the guy but Quinn's hand on her shoulder stops her from getting arrested for assaulting an officer.

"We're leaving," Quinn says.

Santana mumbles some form of protest at Quinn's words but eventually lets herself be led from the room by her fellow Cheerio. It was probably best she didn't hear the details and she couldn't blame Rachel for not requesting they stay.

They leave the room but proceed to stand guard in the hallway, deciding they'll keep anyone from trying to enter the classroom. It might be an unnecessary task to take up, but they feel the need to contribute in some way. Besides, there's no way they're going back to class while this is going down.

Will and Emma cross over to the back of the classroom, wanting to give Rachel some space while she gives her statement while still being close enough for emotional support if she needs it. Puck carefully places his hand on Rachel's back and guides her up and to a seat in the front row. Once she's seated, he pulls the adjacent desk closer to the one she was sitting in and slides in.

The officer begins with a series of questions that Puck can't see being relevant to the investigation, but Rachel patiently answers every one. Next, the officer asks what events had led up to the "alleged" attack and Puck listens as Rachel repeats what she had told Miss Pillsbury about the harassment before this morning, but with much more attention to detail and time. She mentions another boy cornering her in the bathroom because of the rumors and Puck makes a mental note to track Scott Daley down at a later time and beat the shit out of him. When she finally starts to describe how Karofsky had punched her in the face repeatedly and torn her panties down he feels the control slipping from his body.

"Then he, uh...he," Rachel is saying, her eyes flicking towards Puck nervously before focusing intently on her hands once again and continuing, "he put his, uh...then he put his fingers inside me." She lowers her voice significantly when she reveals that fact but Puck hears it loud and clear and he's pretty sure his heart is seconds from beating out of his chest. She looks over at him, trying to gauge his reaction, before shutting her eyes tight, unwilling to actually see it.

"It's ok, Rach. I'm right here. Go on," Puck whispers. His hands reach for hers and cover them assuringly.

He tries to remain calm and comforting as Rachel tells her story, but he's pretty sure she catches the look of absolute horror on his face when she timidly recounts how Karofsky had then masturbated onto her stomach before attempting to rape her. Puck had never been good at controlling his emotions, he sort of had the tendency to fly off at the handle whenever someone so much as stepped on his shoe, so he thinks he should get some sort of frigging award for not storming into Figgin's office and smashing Karofsky's head through the glass door right then.

Rachel finishes giving her statement and Puck is momentarily relieved to hear that Mr. Schue had been right about Karofsky not succeeding in actually raping her, but that relief is short-lived when he realizes just how close Karofsky had gotten. Had Puck trusted his instincts about Rachel in the first place and not wasted time on the lies and rumors being spread about her, Karofsky would not have gotten so close. Puck would have put a stop to all of it before that punk ever got the chance to attack Rachel.

The officer flips his notepad shut and steps back from the two teenagers. He pulls a radio from his belt and informs his partner, who is currently babysitting Karofsky in Figgins' office, to go ahead and arrest him.

"Fucking finally," Puck mutters and Rachel gives him a quick scolding glance for his language that makes him smile slightly.

Quinn and Santana watch as the other officer who had arrived earlier escorts a handcuffed Dave Karofsky out of the principle's office. Figgins stands behind them with an unusually somber Coach Sylvester at his side. Santana's lips curl into a satisfied smirk. She has no idea what was said to Karofsky as he awaited his fate, but knowing Coach Sylvester was involved assures her it wasn't comforting.

The officer pauses to say something into his radio before being met by what years of getting in trouble tell Santana is a detective. The two exchange some words before the woman turns and starts towards Mr. Schue's room. Feeling restless Santana starts forward and meets the detective halfway. "They're in there," she says pointing to the classroom. "Is he going to jail?" she asks hopefully.

The detective nods. "He'll be booked and arraigned. I can't promise he'll stay behind bars though."

"Why the fuck not?" Santana demands. "He bashed her face in and tried to rape her!"

The detective quirks an eyebrow, amused by the girl's boldness. "We'll do our best to get justice for your friend," she assures the eager girl.

"She's not my..." Santana trails off. She's not sure why she feels the need to inform the stranger that Rachel Berry is no friend of hers. She's less sure of why she stopped herself from saying so. "Thanks."

The detective enters the classroom and talks to Officer O'Riley for a few minutes before he leaves to join his partner in hauling Karofsky's sorry ass to the police station.

"I'm Detective Palmerri," the woman informs the room. She politely shakes the hands of WIll and Emma, who offer their own names and titles in exchange, before turning her attention to Rachel. Puck eyes her suspiciously at first, not pleased with the fact that Rachel has to repeat her story yet again. How many fucking cops did Rachel have to talk to? But he relaxes a bit when he hears the gentle tone Detective Palmerri speaks in. He likes this lady much more than Officer O'Douche. After Rachel confirms what Officer O'Riley told her about the incident, Detective Palmerri informs the room that she'll need to take Rachel to the hospital to document her injuries for evidence. Rachel visibly tenses at the prospect of leaving the room.

"We'll come with you, Rachel," Will offers.

"Noah too?" she asks hopefully.

Emma sighs. "I'm afraid we can't remove a student from the school unless it's an emergency without parental consent. Noah will have to go back to class."

"Fuck that! This is an emergency. I'm going with her!" Puck exclaims.

"I'm sorry, son. We can't be dragging minors out of school," Detective Palmerri adds. "I'll take good care of her for you."

"Then I'll cut and meet you there," Puck says to Rachel as if it was the most obvious and logical solution.

Rachel's head snaps up. "You will do no such thing!" she informs him. "I will not be a contributing factor to your delinquency."

Puck throws his head back in frustration. "Fine. I'm sorry, Rach. I wish I could be there with you."

"It's ok, Noah," she says quietly. She stands and gives him a loose hug. "You've been very kind. Thank you." She turns her attention towards the adults in the room. "Can we please get this over with? I have a history test in sixth period."

"You're going to come back to school?" Puck asks in disbelief.

"Of course," she replies as if the idea of her missing class was insane. "You don't expect me to miss an exam just because Dav-..." Her voice falters on his name and Puck is quickly gathering her in another hug.

"Berry, you're not coming back to this hell hole. Not today at least. Let them take you home after the hospital and I'll be by after school. I'll even get your work from all your classes and bring it to you because I know you'll have a heart attack if you fall behind."

She has to swallow a sob. "Really?"

"Really," he repeats with a grin.

Rachel leaves with the Detective, Mr. Schue and Emma. When the foursome appear in the hallway Santana looks up expectantly but doesn't speak. Rachel stops to look at the two cheerleaders. "Um...thanks," she says curtly in their direction. Unsatisfied with her declaration of gratitude she adds nervously, "for, you know, helping me."

Quinn just smiles in response but Santana feels the need to say more. "Berry. Rachel," she corrects. "I'm sorry." Rachel nods appreciatively and continues her walk out of the building.

The two girls exchange glances before entering the classroom and closing the door behind them. Puck's sitting on the edge of Mr. Schue's desk, twirling a small Spanish flag in his hand.

"So what's the deal, Puckerman?" Santana demands.

"They're taking her to the hospital." He straightens up and tosses the flag over his shoulder so that in lands somewhere on Mr. Schue's desk. "They wouldn't let me go with her."

"Did he rape her?" Quinn asks from behind Santana.

When Puck shakes his head no both girls exhale in relief before exchanging guilty glances as if being caught caring about Rachel Berry was a mortal sin.

"But he..." Puck stops mid-sentence realizing he doesn't know the right term for what Karofsky did do to Rachel. Molest? Violate? Fondle? He was sure there had to be some technical or legal term for it, but the fuck if he knew it. "But he did stuff... and he touched her." He settles on the word touch, comfortable with it's vagueness.

"Touch her how? Like hit her? We know that, her face was a mess," Santana says, clearly annoyed with his explanation.

"No, he touched her," Puck tries again, emphasizing the word so that the girls would understand. It takes a second but Santana finally realizes what the boy has been trying to say and he can't help but be a little afraid when she starts muttering to herself in Spanish.

"So he did in fact sexually assault her?" Quinn attempts to clarify the situation.

Puck nods. Sexually assault. That's probably what he should have said in the first place. "Fuck! I'm such an idiot!" He's pacing the classroom suddenly, glaring at the two of them.

"What the hell?" Santana startles at his abrupt change.

He points an accusing finger at the girl. "If either one of you use this to torture Rachel when she comes back to school...so help you, God!" He looks at Quinn to make sure she gets the message as well. "I'm such an idiot," he repeats. "Rachel trusts me to stay with her while she recounts the worst thing that's ever happened to her and the first thing I do is tell the two people at this school who hate her the most. Fuck!" He looks wildly from one girl to the other. "You can't use this against her," he pleads. "I know you feel like it's your calling in life to make Rachel's life a living hell, but this is off limits. You got that? All you know for sure is that Karofsky hit her, nothing about the sexual assault or whatever the fuck you call it."

"Relax, dude," Santana says.

"Do you really think we would tease a girl about being sexually assaulted?" Quinn asks. Puck just glares at her as if to say, fuck yeah. Quinn takes a breath before speaking again. "Fine, maybe we haven't always been nice to Rachel, but even we wouldn't stoop that low."

Puck rolls his eyes. "Haven't been nice?" he echoes her words as if they're the craziest thing he's ever heard. "That's the fucking understatement of the year right there. Aren't you the one who had a 25 Ways to Torture Manhands list lamented and posted in your locker last year?" he asks accusingly.

Quinn ducks her head guiltily. "Fine, so I've been a total bitch to the girl from day 1. That doesn't mean I'm glad this happened to her."

"And you," Puck points an accusing finger towards Santana. "You're the one who said all that bullshit about Rachel going down on those assholes was true. You had to know that was complete BS!" He's suddenly not sure why he ever believed the rumor to begin with. After all, Rachel was the girl who wouldn't even let him get any over the shirt side boob action when they made out. He should have known it would have been more than unlikely that she'd be giving random jocks head in the bathroom.

Santana backs up defensively. "I didn't know for sure," she admits. The truth was she wanted to believe Rachel wasn't perfect so she allowed herself to believe Karofsky that day in the cafeteria despite knowing better. She tosses her head back and sighs. "Give it a rest Puckerman, I know I'm a royal bitch and Berry has always been a pain in my ass, but I never wanted this to happen." She closes her eyes for a moment and Puck thinks he detects guilt in her voice. "You have my word. I'll lay off her, and I'll make sure everyone else does too. For now at least."

"You better," Puck returns.

Quinn steps forward to put an arm around Santana. It was obvious the morning had been tough on the other girl. "Come on, we should get to class," she says. Puck and Santana just shrug dejectedly. Nothing else they could do now, might as well go learn something.