HEYYA guys! Here's another chapter! I'm sorry for the long wait, I was really busy. Thank you guys so Much for all the REVIEWS! They motivate me so much!

RECAP; The last few Chapters I wrote about Stef telling her girlfriend Itzel (Monte's little sister who is MUCH younger than her) about her breast cancer. Lena and Monte took in Sally because she had nowhere else to go, now Sally is awaiting her parents court date. Monte found out about the kiss that Lena and Stef shared while she was in coma and after a good talk with Lena, she forgave Lena and they had steamy make- up sex LOL. Monte's abusive ex-husband Cortez came to San Diego and told her that he had used Monte's frozen egg cells to make a baby who is now three/four years old. Monte has agreed to meet him for dinner, she has kept all of this a secret.

This chapter will focus more on Monte, since the last chapter was all about Stef and Itzel. I saw allot of you guys arguing about if this story should be Monte/Lena or Stef/Lena.. I haven't decided yet. As if now, Stef is with Itzel and Monte is with Lena… But that can and probably will change since this is going to be a long story. I don't know who is going to end up with who yet. Let me know what you want it to be!

Please let me know if you guys like the Cortez storyline or not…

As always… I wanted to point out that English isn't my first language… heck it isn't even my second… so forgive any typo's and if you have any grammatical advice… please REVIEW!

This chapter has a flashback and in that flashback there will be a rape scene… The rape scene will be pointed out with a *START RAPE SCENE* and *END RAPE SCENE*

before and after the scene in bold and cursive.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please leave A REVIEW with what you thought of it. :-)

Lena got closer to Monte and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"I'm going to miss you at dinner, though" She tangled her hands in Monte's freshly curled hair as she spoke.

"Mmm we can always have... desert together..." Monte purred before leaning in and placing her lips on Lena's.

Lena smiled into the kiss before deepening it. Just before the kiss was starting to get a little more intense a voice sounded from the doorway of their bedroom.

"When you guys are done slurping each other up..." Marianna paused, earning a sarcastic look from the two older women before continuing to speak; "I invited mom to dinner, that's okay right?"

Lena stiffened and a silence fell.

"Of course" escaped Monte's lips quickly as she nodded her head, before things got awkward and Marianna would notice something. Marianna of course didn't know about the drama that had surrendered the kiss between Lena and Stef and they needed to make sure that she never did.

For a minute Monte thought about the whole situation. If she left to see Cortez... It would mean that Stef and Lena would be alone. After Monte found out about what happened between the two while she was in coma m, she hadn't seen Stef yet. She didn't know how to feel about Stef and Lena right now. What if... NO, she quickly shook the thoughts out of her head. She trusted Lena, and she had nothing to worry about.

Right? God, she hated this.

Marianna went downstairs again and Lena looked at Monte with an apologetic look on her face. Just yesterday Monte had found out about the kiss. They had made up, but they hadn't spoken about how they would handle anything like this.

"Lena... It's okay. " Monte quickly spoke before Lena could say something, She smiled at Lena swiftly before continuing wearing her earring, completing her look for the night and hoping that Lena wouldn't push this any further.

"Maybe we should, talk about..." Lena started, only to be cut off by Monte's voice again.

"We don't have to talk about it anymore... I don't care okay? It's fine." Monte spoke with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice. She felt like screaming every time she thought about Lena's lips on Stef's. It stressed her out. Right now the stress of meeting Cortez was all the stress she could handle.

"Monte, I don't want you to have to be worried about..." Again Lena couldn't finish whatever it was she she was going to say.

"Well, sweatheart..." Monte started off sarcastically, "I don't know how to handle this okay? I don't know how to feel about Stef being around you. She's not just an ex, you guys have 5 whole children together! I'm just gonna have to get over it!" Monte half-yelled, she was cautious not to be too loud in case Marianna or Sally were still upstairs.

Lena was quiet for a few moments, filling the room with an uncomfortable silence.

"Please just leave me alone for a few minutes. I have a splitting headache." Monte said, a defeated tone audible in her voice. Whatever she did, she would never equal Stef in Lena's life.

"Okay... I'm going to check on the meatloaf." Lena said, trying to sound casual. She knew better than to push Monte's buttons on this subject so she just walked out of the room. She hated this slight feeling tension between the two of them.

(Monte dialogue about Cortez)

When she was done dressing for dinner, Monte went downstairs too. She went into the kitchen and found Lena there. She stood in the doorway and just looked at the curly haired woman who was busy with whatever she was doing that she hadn't noticed Monte standing there.

"I'm sorry about how I spoke to you just now." Monte said, making Lena jump at the sudden sound of her voice.

Lena turned around, smiled slightly and shook her head at Monte. How could someone be so... Selfless?

"You amaze me sometimes." She uttered as she walked to the counter and sat down on one of the bar stools. She signaled Monte to come sit next to her.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you. We've already spoken this out and there is no need to me to feel like this."

"Like what?" Lena asked hoping Monte would explain her feelings a little more to her.

"Like... Less than Stef. I mean... You guys have children and you were together for SO long." Monte mumbled softly, almost ashamed to say it.

"Because we don't have children together doesn't mean that you are 'less' than Stef, okay?" Lena said, before placing her hand on Monte's cheek. Caressing it softly.

She loved it when Monte opened up to her like this. It only happened a few times before that the Latina talked to Lena about how she felt and told her what her inner emotions towards something were. Usually she hid her feelings away and she just let things pass until she didn't feel them anymore.

Monte nodded, showing Lena that she understood, she did. She loved Lena's kids like they were her own buy, the reality wad that they weren't. She always feared that they were something that Stef gave her that she hadn't. And it made her feel powerless.

"I know, but I just can't help the feeling" she said.

"Maaaybe..." Lena started slowly, "We should have one together." Lena looked at Monte, trying to catch her eyes, trying to read what was in them.

Monte's facial expression changed into a confused one. Her brows furrowed together like she was thinking hard about something. What did Lena just say?

"What?" She asked, thinking she didn't hear what Lena said correctly.

"A child. We should have a child." Lena explained. She had thought about having a baby for so long and when she lost Frankie she kind of gave up the hope. But, now she was with Monte and they were engaged and she had a chance to make a new start.

"Y-you want... You want..." Monte stuttered, "Another kid?" She looked at Lena and tears started to fill her eyes. She had dreamed about having a child with Lena for so long and now that dream was being put in motion.

"Only with you." Lena looked at Monte, seeing the tears of obvious happiness forming in her eyes, "Are those tears a 'yes'?" She asked.

"Of course." Monte let the tears fall down her cheeks and practically flow at Lena, embracing her. The embrace was filled with love, joy and thankfulness. She was so thankful that Lena wanted to share the experience of having a child with her.

A child.

Like the one she gave up for adoption in college.

Like the one she lost when Cortez pushed het down the stairs.

Cortez.

Oh shit. She had to leave soon.

The threatening feeling came back and hit Monte like a train. She was about to meet him for dinner and she didn't know what to expect. What if the story was true and the little boy in the picture was really her son?

How would she explain this to Lena and everyone else? 'Hey guys, my ex-husband Abused me for years and I did't tell you because I'm a fucking coward! Oh and also, when I ran away from him he used my frozen eggs to make a baby...' Yeah, that sounded like a ridiculous story, even if she listened to it herself. But what bothered her more was Cortez himself. Why did he do this to her? Why did he want to talk to her? What was his endgame?

"What is it, Monte?" Lena noticed the sudden change in Montes facial expression. She looked... Worried. Was it something she had said maybe? Was Monte having second thoughts about having a child with her?

Lena's voice snapped Monte out of her thoughts. She hadn't even noticed that she had been quiet for this long.

"Sorry, I was just... Nothing. I think I'm late for dinner!" Monte said, hoping Lena wouldn't continue to ask.

"Well, then I think you should get moving!" Lena said before pecking Monte on the lips once more before turning back to the food that she was preparing.

"I love you." Monte said before walking out of the kitchen and into the living room. Just before she closed the doom she could hear Lena's voice telling her that she loved her back.

In the living room Monte found Sally sitting on the couch, hugging a pillow and staring ahead of her. She looked like she was in deep thought.

"Hey, Sal! Why are you sitting here all alone? Shouldn't you be upstairs with Marianna, gossiping about your school principles or something?" Monte said, cheerfully. Trying to make the girl smile.

"No, I just want to be alone for a while." Sally didn't even look at Monte.

Monte sighed a little out of empathy for the 15 year old. She had been through so much the past couple of weeks. The date for her parents hearing had been set for next Thursday. Sally had been staying with them for a fee weeks now but ever since she heard about the court date she had been very inward and she often dozed off.

She knew that if the judge would rule her parents not guilty, she was in big trouble, there would be no more reason to not have her go live with them again. But, she thought that if her parents were guilty she was in BIG TROUBLE also. There would be nobody who would take care of her, pay for her education, she would be on her own. Monte and Lena couldn't take care of her forever, they had their own family to worry about!

"Talk to me, Sal." Monte spoke as she went to sit next to Sally on the couch. She wanted the girl to know that she was there for her and that she could talk to her.

"I'm... Scared." Sally said softly, almost not audible for Monte.

"Honey, you don't have to be afraid of the court date..." Monte started but was cut off.
"no... I'm scared about what comes after the hearing! What will happen to me?"

"Well, no judge in their right mind would place you back with your parents... Even if they charge them not guilty." Monte explained, she had studied Law and she knew it was in most cases illegal to place Sally back with her parents after all of this.

"But... Where will I go then?" The desperation audible in Sally's voice as she asked the question. She wanted answers, she hated waiting like this.

"I will make sure that you don't go anywhere you don't want to go, sal. I promise you."
Before Sally could answer, the sound of the doorbell rang trough the house.

"The others are here!" Marianna's voice called as her rapid footsteps hit the stairs while she ran to the front door.

"We're going to continue this later, okay?" Monte told Sally before kissing her cheek and getting off the couch.

Sally nodded, and followed Monte to the front door that Marianna had already opened. She and Callie had just ended an embrace.

"Hi Sally, Hey Monte!" Callie cheerfully spoke as she embraced both of them.
Then the rest of the four kids entered the house. They all said hi to Sally and gave Monte a hug before walking further into the house.

Monte went out the front door and just as she was about to get in her car she heard a voice from behind her, making her turn around.

"Hey there Monte! You're leaving just before dinner?" Stef said as she walked closer to where Monte was.

For a fee seconds Monte was silent. She was contemplating on what to say or do. This was the first time after finding out about the kiss that she had seen Stef. Also, Stef probably didn't know that she knew.

"Uh, hey Stef. I was just... I'm gonna gave dinner at my sister's house tonight... She has a... Job interview tomorrow and I just want to give her mental support." Monte lied.

Stef, being the police woman she is could immediately see that Monte was making the whole thing up. She looked awfully fancy, she had even curled her hair, that must have taken hours with the amount and length of her hair. She wore a full face of makeup and she smelled like expensive perfume. Nobody would go through all that trouble just to hang out at their sisters house. Should she ask where Monte was really going? No... It wasn't her business anyway.

Monte saw the look on Stef's face and she knew that Stef had noticed her lying trough her teeth. Before Stef could say or ask anything else, she opened her car door.

"I should go... Itzel must be waiting for me already." She said.

"Yeah... Have a nice dinner, Monte. Say hi to Itzel for me." Stef said sarcastically, knowing that Monte felt the heat.

Mote finally arrived at the restaurant, her hands were sweaty and shaking as she pushed open the door and walked inside. She was greeted by a mixture of delightful smells but she couldn't enjoy it. All she felt right now was tenseness and something else. Something she always felt when she knew Cortez was near. Fear, she was scared.

She looked around and saw him sitting at a table in the corner of the restaurant, near a window. His hair was parted on the side and he was wearing a grey suit. He always looked proper when he was in public. Always ready for business. If everyone only knew what monster really hid beneath that prince charming act of his.

Monte swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and very slowly walked over to where he was. When she came close enough she saw that there was someone else sitting at the table with Cortez, he was talking to whoever it was. She couldn't see who it was because the chair was turned away from her.

Then cortez noticed Monte, he waved at her and signaled for her to join him at the table. Monte walked closer and could then finally see who was sitting on the opposite of Cortez at the table. It was the little boy from the pictures.

Her heart stopped beating for a few seconds and her breathing started to fasten. She knew she was having a bad panic attack but at this point there was no turning back anymore.

"Oh, hello Monte!" Cortez said with enthusiasm in his voice, he couldn't wait to see the pain in Monte's eyes and he couldn't wait to see how this all would play out. He noticed that Monte didn't even look at him at all. Her eyes were fixated on the little boy in front of them.

The boy was wearing a dark blue shirt and khaki pants. Monte could instantly see that Cortez was the one who chose his clothes. His hair was jet black and was in perfect contrast with his olive skin tone. He was adorable.

"May I introduce you to Benito?" Cortez added as he signaled the boy to introduce himself with a nudge of his head.

"Hello ma'am. I'm Ben, nice to meet you." The boy said politely as he smiled up at Monte, his smile wide and pearly white, just like Cortez's. His little voice reached Monte's eardrums and she was instantly in awe of him. For a few seconds she didn't think about Cortez being there. She had never believed in 'love at first sight' but, she all it took was one last ok at the boy and

After a few moments she noticed that she hadn't even said a word yet. She had just been staring at Benito. Truthfully, she had no idea how to act right now. She was standing in front if a table with her abusive ex-husband and a child that looked just like her and was probably her's but she didn't even know. She was sure that no other woman in the world had ever experienced this kind of craziness.

"Uh, hi. My name is Monte... It's really nice to meet you too." Monte finally found words to say as she shook Benito's little hand. She looked at Cortez who told her to sit down next to him, across from Benito, he even assisted her with her coat and hung it over her chair before pulling her chair out. Like a 'real gentleman'.

There was a long silence filled with Monte looking at Benito, studying him. Oh how Cortez was enjoying this.

"Good evening, my name is Cherry. I will be your waiter for tonight. Are you ready to order?" The blonde haired girl standing in front of their table said, holding out her notepad.

"What do you want to eat, BenBug?" Cortez said with a genuinely caring and sweet voice.
Monte looked at Cortez. She had never heard him speak like that. With such true affection, not even to her in the beginning of their marriage.

"Uuhm, do they have fries Daddy?" Benito asked as he pretended to read his menu, he couldn't read yet so he didn't even notice he was holding it upside down.

"Can I have the reasted chicken filet with fries for the big boy over there and for me... A portion of your seafood stew." Cortez told the waitress Benito's and His own order and then looked at Monte, waiting for her to order whatever she wanted. She decided to order pasta and the waitress left their table again.

Before the awkward silence came, Cortez decided to start up a conversation.
"So, Monte... Did you know that Ben starts school next year?" Cortez started. Hoping it would spark a conversation between his ex-wife and their son. He knew that there must be a million questions running around in her head that she couldn't ask in front of Benito.

Before monte could answer, Benito started talking, "Yeah, daddy said I'm gonna be the smartest kid in the class! I can already write my name!"

"Wow, you're such a big boy! What do you want to be when you grow up?" Monte asked. She was starting to ease up and she was genuinely interested in getting to know more about the boy sitting in front of her.

"I wanna be a firefighter and a superhero and a police officer!" Benito cheered enthusiastic, smiling at Monte.

"What work do you do?" Benito asked curiously.

"I'm the head of a school. It's a fun job but not as fun as a superhero-policemen-firefighter." Monte told the four year old, making him laugh.

Suddenly Cortez got up from his chair, the sudden movement coming from Cortez made Monte gasp and flinch. All those years of abuse were imbedded in her mind and being near Cortez made her nervous and on edge.

Cortez chuckled before saying; "Relax Monte. I'm just going to the toilet. Can you watch Ben for a minute? " he loved the way she feared him. He gave her shoulder a tight squeeze, warning her not to say or ask Benito anything stupid.

Benito asked Monte a bunch of other questions about her job and her hobbies. He was very interested in his dad's 'friend'. She was pretty and she had allot of cool stories about her job. He liked her.

Cortez came back from the restroom and sat down next to Monte again. The waitress came back with their food and while they ate, Monte and Benito kept talking, getting to know more each other.

Benito told Monte about his dog, his toy cars, his friends and all of his favorite things to do.
After they were done eating, Cortez asked Benito to go play in the kids' corner so that he could talk to Monte alone for a minute. Benito of course accepted and ran off to the ball pit to play with some other kids there.

When Benito left the table Cortez turned to Monte with a smug look on his face, "He likes you." He said, "Of course he does, you're his mom."

Monte finally let out a heavy grunt of frustration she had been holding in all night. "Cortez... Please let me do a DNA test."

Cortez laughed a little, "what do you mean? You're saying he doesn't look like you?" The sarcasm thick in his voice.

Monte let out a sigh. The boy was her spitting image, it was obvious that she was his mother. But she needed to know for sure, "Why did you do this?" She paused, trying to slow down her breathing.

Cortez shrugged, "It's perfect right? Giving you the one thing you wanted most in the world and not even telling you he exists. I told you I'd get my revenge... Baby." He put his hand on her lap and stroked her leg making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in disgust.

"I... I have the chance to get to know him... Right? " Monte asked, as her eyes started to water.
She noticed her grip Cortez had on her leg starting to get tighter and tighter. She acted like she didn't feel it, not wanting him to notice how scared she was. She needed answers and she wasn't going to let her fear get in the way.

"Well, I wouldn't want to have Benito grow up without his mom..." Cortez started his grip on her thigh softening."But then again... What good are parents if they aren't together?" He added.
Monte felt Cortez starting to move his hand on her thigh, stroking it again. What did he mean by that?

Cortez noticed the confused look on Monte's face so he explained. "You want to be in Ben's life, you have to be in mine too. And this time..." He stopped talking as his hand traveled to her hip to squeeze it tenderly, "you're not going to leave me, Kitten."

His cold voice Reached her ears and as the words sank in the tears started to fall from her eyes. Now she knew exactly what it was that he wanted from her.

"Or.. If you don't want to accept my... Proposal... I can always move far, far away from you with our son and you'll never see him again." He smiled.

"Cortez, please... Don't do this to me." Monte pleaded the tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. She remembered when she had said those same words so many times before…

"Wipe those fucking tears off your face Monte, were in public." He said, handing her a napkin off the table. He hadn't changed a bit. He had always talked to her like this. He used her as a punching bag at home, but in public she had to pretend she was the happiest wife in the world.

"How the fuck do you screw something as simple as this up?" Cortez asked, his voice was getting louder with every sentence he spoke. Monte had lost a deal with one of their big clients in their business meeting today. The 500.000 dollar deal that they had been waiting for, for MONTHS! Of course they had other offers but, this was the best one and because of Monte they would have to settle with one of the lower biddings.

Monte already knew what was coming. She mindlessly put her hands over her now showing belly. When she found out that she was pregnant, she thought that maybe, just maybe, there would come an end to all of this. But, it just seemed like things had became worse. All o the name calling, all of the beatings, all of the unhappiness. Right now, this little baby that she was carrying was the ONLY source of happiness that she had in her life.

"I couldn't stop them from not taking the deal, Baby! They wanted way more product than we have to offer." She said in a pleading voice, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Well, you could have asked them for another deal, or more time to create more product!"

"I did! I did everything I could, Cortez!" Monte let out a sob and finally let the tears flow down her face. She didn't know how else to explain this to Cortez.

"Why are you crying huh?!" He said with fire in his voice, "I'll give you something to cry about, stupid bitch!" He walked closer to her and pushed her to the ground, earning a loud shriek from Monte.

"Baby, please…" was all she managed to utter before he bend down and took a fist full of her hair, hoisting her up by it.

"OUCH!" Monte yelped when she felt Cortez's fist connect with the side of her face. Immediately she held her hands in front of her face, protecting it from another blow.

"What good are you to me? You're Stupid, you always look like shit, It's like you're intentionally trying to piss me off!" He yelled at her.

Monte just stood there, backed up in a corner inside their bedroom, once again. She felt worthless, Cortez was right! She was nothing! She wrapped her arms around her middle, hugging her belly, where their child was growing. Never in a million years would she have guessed that Cortez would ever treat her like this when she first met him. He used to be so sweet and caring. He used to bring her flowers after work, he used to make love to her for hours, telling her how beautiful she was and how much he loved her.

Monte was hauled out of her thoughts by her own voice screaming when she felt a burning, stinging pain on her thigh. While she had been trying to get her mind back to better times, Cortez had taken off his belt and had whipped her hard on her thigh.

"Please Cortez… please stop. I'm begging you!" Monte pleaded as he kept targeting the softest parts of her body to hit with the belt. Monte looked down and saw the long red welts starting to appear on her skin.

Cortez finally dropped the belt and stood looking at his wife. She always looked so pathetic like this. He loved it. He loved it when she was curled up in a corner like this, looking helpless with tears streaming down her face and her voice calling out to him, begging him to stop. She looked just like he always wanted her to look, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Anything you want to say to me, Kitten?" Cortez said calmly.

"I'm so sorry that I lost the deal, baby." Monte muttered softly, still trying to wrap her head around the beating she just got. She was so sick of these roller coasters of emotions. She was sick of walking on egg shells just hoping he was in a good mood all the time. Hoping nothing stresses him out. She was sick of feeling like she was nothing. I didn't even feel like she could think for herself anymore. She was thinking for him and what she thought he would want.

Cortez smiled softly at her, "Okay, Kitten. Come here. Give me a hug." He held his arms out for her to walk into.

He always did this, he always acted like nothing happened when he had just been beating the shit out of her moments before. He was just standing there, waiting for his 'hug'. Monte walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him as he embraced her. His embrace used to feel warm and loving but now all she felt was trapped.

"kiss me, Monte." He said into her hair before putting a hand on her chin, lifting her face up to look at him.

*START RAPE SCENE*

Before Monte could answer, Cortez's lips were pressed on hers roughly. He didn't waste any time to rip off the dress she was wearing and threw her on the bed behind them. He undid his shirt and pants before climbing on top of her. She could feel his member pressing against her thigh as he continued kissing her and touching her. Pulling her hair, Kneading her breasts, going over the welts that he had just made on her skin with his belt. Enjoying the feeling of her squirm beneath him when he touched the streaks the belt had made.

"Cortez, please stop. I'm not in the mood, baby." She said, trying to sound as submissive as possible, careful not to trigger another anger attack.

"Oh, you know you love it like this, Monte." He said aligning his member with her center.

"Cortez, I don't want…" She was caught off by Cortez pushing into her with great force. She let out a scream and tried to squirm away from him, without much success.

Cortez wrapped his hand around Monte's throat and squeezed while he kept pummeling into her, not caring how much it hurt or if she couldn't breathe. He loved it when she looked like this. Like a pathetic slut.

"Hmm, you're a disgusting little whore, Monte. Look at how wet you are. You love this!" He said, choking her harder and pushing into her harder with more force.

Monte was struggling for air to breath and just when she thought that she was going to pass out, Cortez let out a low, loud growl and went limp on top of her.

*END RAPE SCENE*

He rolled to his side of the bed and said nothing for a few minutes. Monte asked herself how much longer she would be able to take this? What would things be like when the baby was born? What would the child grow up seeing? His or her father beating the living crap out of its mother? GOD, she already felt like apologizing to the baby.

"Go make me some food." Cortez said when he was finally down from his orgasmic high.

Monte quickly got out of the bed, put her robe on and walked out of the room, into the hallway. She was about to go down the stairs when she heard Cortez yell something at her.

"Make sure you put mayonnaise on it this time." He yelled after her.

Shit. She was gonna go to the store this morning but she forgot because she had to get ready for the meeting.

"Uh… I didn't buy mayonnaise this morning…" she hollered back. That's when she heard his footsteps storming out of their bedroom, towards her at the stairs.

"Why can't you ever do anything right?!" He yelled at her. All he wanted was a sandwich and even that she couldn't give him.

"I'm sorry… I was going to go to the store this morning but I had to…" Before she could end her sentence, she was met with a flat hand against her face making her yelp once again.

"You're lucky that you're a good fuck… Else I'd dumped your ugly ass a long time ago." He said as he slapped her face again.

"Stop it, Right now!" she yelled at him, losing her temper, everything was just a little to much at that moment. Right when the words had left her mouth she regretted them. How could she yell at him? Was she insane?

She felt Cortez's big hands grab her by the shoulders before throwing her down the stairs with all his force. She fell down the long set of steep hardwood main stairs of the house, seeing everything spinning and hearing the sharp impact of arms, legs and head striking the wood as she tumbled down. She came to rest on her back at the bottom of the stairs facing away from the steps, too afraid to move in case she was injured. She felt this sick rush of nausea from adrenaline as she hears Cortez's footsteps rushing down to her.

"Oh, shit… you're bleeding." She heard his voice say.

That's when she felt it. She felt a warm liquid soaking her robe. She could feel her upper legs and her back being covered by it. She shot up into a sitting position and looked down. She immediately started screaming in horror. She was sitting in a big pool of BLOOD that was streaming from her center. She knew right away what was going on. The hard blows from the long wooden stairs had caused her to miscarriage.

She lost her baby.

She lost the only bit of happiness that she still had left in her life. The only thing she cared for. The thing she wanted most. Her child.

She lost her baby that day. But, she gained the courage to say enough is enough. The next week, she gathered all her clothes and ran away to a hotel when Cortez was still asleep.

Monte didn't know what to do or what to say now. If she told anyone about this, she would never see her son again, she knew Cortez well enough to know that. If she did what Cortez wanted, she would be able to be with Benito. She had already given up her first child and she had lost her second before it was even born, she wasn't going to lose her third. She HAD to do this.

But then Lena flashed through her mind. Lena, her fiancée. The love of her life. And Marianna who was like a daughter to her. And the other kids who she loved also. Lena had just asked her to have a child. She had a whole life build up here in San Diego and God only knew where Cortez would drag her to and what he would do to her. She didn't know what to do right now.

"We're going to be in town for another 7 days before we leave, with or without you. You have time to make a decision. It's now or never again..." Cortez told her.

Just as Monte was going to say something, Cherry, their waitress came to the table. "I'm sorry but, your son fell and I think he has a little scratch on his arm. He's crying." She said.

Cortez got up immediately and walked over to the play corner followed by Monte. When they came close they saw Benito sit on the edge of the ball pit, tears streaming down his face but no sound coming out of him. He was just sniffling. His bottom lip was poking out and his eyes were big. Monte's heart melted immediately, he looked absolutely adorable.

She got on her knees in front of him and asked "hey, hey, hey... What happened? Did you fall?"

Benito sniffled and nodded his head yes, he lifted his arm and showed Monte the small scratch on his arm.

"I have a booboo." He said.

Monte took a band aid out of the small first aid kit she carried in her bag and covered Benito's scratch with it before placing a kiss on top of it.

"There we go! Better now?" She said with a soothing voice.

Ben nodded and for the first time her swung his arms around Monte's neck and hugged her. Monte stiffened before returning the embrace. That's when she felt it. Love. Receiving love from her child. Something she hadn't felt before.

When the embrace ended Cortez knelt down next to Monte "BenBug, I think it's time we leave... It's getting a little late buddy."

Ben got up and let Cortez pick him up and put him in his hip. "Can you say bye, bye to Monte?" Cortez told the four year old.

"Bye Monte!" Benito smiled before returning his focus to his new band aid.

"Bye Monte, think about what I said okay? Let me know." Cortez said as before winking at her. He turned around and walked away.

Just before Monte was going to walk to the table to get her coat, she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her turn around. It was Cortez again. "And... Don't do anything stupid, Kitten." He said quietly, making sure Benito didn't hear. This time he walked out of the restaurant.

Monte knew what he meant by 'not doing anything stupid' he meant that she shouldn't tell anyone or she's regret it. And she knew better than to disobey him. Once again she was pressured by Cortez to keep secrets from everyone. Just when she thought she was freed from him he popped up like a nasty little zit. But this time there was something more. Something that she really cared about. Her child. And even though she didn't know Ben, he was part of her.

She was dragged out of her thought by Cherry's voice, "Ma'am, I just wanted to thank you for the tip! That's really very generous of you and your husband!" She said, "You have a beautiful family!" She added before walking away.

Monte quickly grabbed her coat off the chair and left the restaurant. The whole car ride home Monte continued to think about what Cortez said. She had two options; she could go with Cortez and get the chance to know and help raise her son OR she could choose not to do that and never see him again.

When she reached her house she took a few minutes to breathe and get herself together before getting out of her car and walking inside the house. The house was filled with voices coming from the living room. Obviously Stef and the kids hadn't left yet.

"Hey Monte! Your back!" Jude's chipper voice hollered when he saw his mother's fiancée enter the room.

A series of "hey Monte's' and "hi, Monte's followed after. They were watching yet another Movie together. Sally looked comfortable between the other teenagers and Monte was happy that they could provide some sort of distraction for her.

Monte looked around the living room and noticed that both Lena and Stef weren't there with their kids and Sally. If they weren't here... Where were they? The two of them.

Alone.

"Guys, where are your moms?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous about what answer she would get.

Jesus turned around and answered, "they're in the kitchen I think." Before turning back to the television.

Monte quickly made her way to the kitchen and paused before opening the door. What could they be doing in the kitchen with the door closed. She took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. She was met with only Stef, sitting at the breakfast table.

"Hey Stef... is Lena here?" She asked.

"Oh, No... Lena just went out. She uh... She went to the store real quick." Stef said, as she took another sip from her beer.

"Okay... Uh, how was dinner?" Monte asked, trying to stay casual. Before she found out about the kiss, she and Stef had been getting along quite okay, friendly even. Why would she change her attitude now? She and Lena had talked it out, there was no reason to change her attitude towards the blonde especially since she had no Idea that Monte knew.

"How was yours?" Stef shot back at Monte with a fiery tone in her voice. She had Texted Itzel to ask if Monte was at her house, just to be sure that she wasn't just throwing accusations at Monte.

Monte noticed the sarcasm and the slight hostility in Stef's voice. Shit. Did she know something?

"I- It was great..." Monte stuttered a little, hoping that Stef would just drop it and they would move on to the next subject.

"Yeah?" Stef asked, flashing Monte a look that said; 'really? Come on... Spill it'.

Monte didn't answer, she walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine and a glass.

"Monte... I know you weren't at Itzel's house." Stef said plainly, stating the obvious, "I don't know how Lena thought you dressed like this to go see your sister..." Then she was stopped by Monte's voice.

"Stef... Please, can you just... Drop it?" Monte pleaded with a stressed out voice. She already had so much to think about. She didn't have the energy to make up a good enough lie to persuade Stef into believing she was speaking the truth right now.

"Listen, I know you and Lena are engaged and all but, I care about her and I will be damned if I watch you cheat on her and not do anything about it!" Stef said harshly. There was obviously no other explanation than that Monte was cheating on Lena. Why else would she dress that fancy and lie about where she was going? No way in HELL that she would let that happen, not when all the kids were used to how things were right now.

"I have nothing to hide, Stef! I promise I'm not cheating on Lena! I swear." Monte said, tears coming to her eyes, threatening to fall. She didn't know what to do right now. Of course she did, she had to be quiet and lie about the whole situation with Cortez, like always.

Stef shook her head and unlocked her phone, "well, then I suppose you wouldn't mind if I called Lena and asked her if..."

"NO!" Monte practically yelled at her, "No, please. I'll tell you where I was." She added, her eyes screaming defeat.

"Okay, but don't lie to me. I smell one lie on you and I'm calling Lena." Stef warned as she sat down on one of the barstools, followed by Monte doing the same.

Monte couldn't believe that she was about to tell her biggest secret to someone that used to hate her more than anyone else. But, what else could she do? If Stef called Lena, there would be even more Fuzz.
"I... I never told this to anyone. Please keep this to yourself Stef. I'm begging you." Monte said, not even able to look Stef in the eyes.

Stef noticed that whatever Monte was about to tell her had been going on for quite some time and it was bothering her very badly.

"Okay... I'll keep it to myself. What is it? You can tell me." Stef said, she felt genuine concern for Monte right now. There was something wrong.

Monte started spilling her guts to Stef. EVERYTHING that she had been holding in for years came out.

The marriage, the was Cortez used to beat her, the pregnancy followed the miscarriage, the divorce and the way Cortez took everything from her. Benito. Her son that Cortez had a college student carry without ever telling her.

And lastly the choice he had given her at dinner. Run away with him text week or never see Benito again.

Stef's mouth fell open in surprise. Cortez sounded like a horrible person. She felt nothing but empathy and the need to help Monte right now. Monte had always presented herself as this strong, fierce woman with no fears. It was painful to see someone like her break down her walls and

She knew that they hadn't always seen eye to eye but, there was no way she was going to let a man take over a woman's life like this. The worst part was the little boy. Having innocent children involved in situations like this was always horrible. She needed to see Monte's ex husband get a piece of justice.

"What are you going to do? You're not going with him right? He's dangerous." Stef asked.

Monte shook her head, not knowing what to answer to Stef's question.

"He has my son... I can't loose my son before even knowing him. I feel like I'm losing my mind." Monte stared into space, she was talking more to herself than to Stef at the moment.

"Hey hey hey, there is no way he's getting away with this, Monte." Stef assured her.

"There is nothing I can do! I'm scared of him!" Came out of Monte with a howl. She was terrified.

"You may be scared of him, but I sure as fuck am not." Stef said determined.

SOOOO…. That was it for this chapter! Stef knows about Monte's secret. So, Stef being typical Stef she wants to help and be the hero… Next chapter will touch a little more on Stef's breast cancer and her relationship with Itzel. Stef will of course make a plan of action regarding Monte's situation and calls Monte over to the squad room to prepare for action. Also, the twins birth mom comes in the picture!

Please REVIEW if you have ANY requests for chapters and I will put it in here if it fits! Thank you for reading!