Disclaimer: See last chapter.

He held her that night as she slept, not being able to let go of her tiny body as he rocked her gently, whispering words of comfort in her ear as her body lightly shook, as her eyes fluttered, small moans escaping her mouth every now and again as she responded to a nightmare that the three men could only imagine.

He held her tight as her grip tightened on his waist, her fists clenching as she tried her best to fight off the invisible monster that remained in her dreams and memories. He looked down at her, brushing some hair from her sweating face as tears down down her face. He bit down on his lip as he thought about everything she had been through and yet here she was, with him.

He held her as she cried, burying his face in her hair to muffle his own broken sobs as he thought about how selfish he had always been. How he could have just cared about her and she wouldn't be in this mess right now, how he could have just stopped and thought about her feelings for a second, she wouldn't be in this mess.

He held her and rubbed her back gently, trying to ignore the feel of her bones underneath his fingertips, knowing that what happened to her was to blame for this mess. He held her in his arms as tight as he possibly could, thinking of ways to hurt this guy as badly as he could. He imagined wrapping his arms around his neck, he fantasized about punching him over and over again, he conceived the idea of hunting him down and showing him exactly how much pain he had inflicted on Rachel.

He held her in his arms as she woke up, tears running down from her big, brown eyes as she looked up at him, sighing in content as her arms wrapped tighter around him. "It's not your fault." She whispered, burying her head in his chest.

He looked down at her, shaking his head and sighing, she knew him way too well, "It is. You know that as well as me."

"You weren't to know this would happen, it's not your fault."

"It's not yours." He muttered, he knew her too well, too. She was taken back for a moment, tears cascaded down her face as her fingers curled around his shirt tighter. "It is.. I-I could have stopped him.. I-I shouldn't.. I shouldn't h-have.." She sobbed, hot and heavy tears running down her face.

"It wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could done to stop him. It's not your fault." He closed hie eyes, not bothering to hide the fact he was crying in front of her as he held her in his arms, wishing her shaking body would just relax as she sobbed into his chest, both of them wishing the pain would just stop.

~ .. ~

Finn smiled at the girl sitting across from him, watching her as she slowly lifted up her fork, her hand shaking at the amount of energy it was taking her. He frowned, he had no idea when the last time she ate had been, but he knew it had been too long. "Do you want me to help you?" He finally asked, putting down his toast as he got up and walked over to her side of the table.

Rachel looked up at him for a moment, a small blush creeping on her cheeks as he took the fork from her. He put a hand on her hair for a second, brushing it away from her face as a silent tear fell down her face. "It's not that I don't want to.. I can't." She whispered, her eyes filled with desperation, needing him to understand.

"You can. I believe you can." He looked at her, letting his fingers gently trace over her cheek, letting his fingers rest for a while underneath her chin before lifting it up so she was looking him in the eyes, just to make sure she could see how much he wanted and needed her to eat, he wanted her to see the fear he held for her.

He stared at her intently, "I love you." He muttered as he kissed her forehead, shaking his head when he pulled away, "I love you so much."

She nodded, her mouth open a little as she tried to think of something to say, "Finn?" She closed her eyes, not wanting to ruin the moment but she needed to know the answer, "Where did you go that night?"

"I was talking to Puck about.. well, something stupid. Video games, mostly. I lost track of time, and I am so sorry for that." He bit down on his lip and she nodded,

"So you didn't.. f-forget about me?" He shook his head,

"Never. I could never forget about you, I went back to where I left you, and you were gone. I was too late.. I thought you were dancing or something, I had no idea.. I thought you were safe and I will never forgive myself."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She murmured, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes tightly and leaning up to kiss him lightly on the lips, "I love you too, by the way."

He grinned as he picked up her fork again, watching her take every bite as they smiled at each other, blushing every now and again when they made eye contact. He sighed as he watched her walk up to her dads when they were done, shaking a little but not as much as before and he knew that even though it would be a long time until she was over this, he was going to be there every single step of the way. He would love her no matter what.

Nothing could break them.