Raelyn Quinn wasn't your typical college freshman. She always had the odds stacked against her and that didn't change when she was awarded a scholarship to Chicago Polytechnic Institute, instead, it only seemed to complicate things.

Raelyn was the third oldest of nine, the oldest girl and the only one to fight for legal guardianship when their father was arrested on drug charges. Her oldest brother, Matty, wanted nothing to do with the youngest of the pack, having moved out six years prior, the very day he turned eighteen, while Mitch, the second oldest, who had just turned 21, was working three jobs just to keep the lights on. So Raelyn stepped up to plate, taking on the responsibilities of raising six under sixteen as soon as she turned eighteen herself. For the last year, she'd kept the house running without any problems. After graduating high school a year late, she managed to score a scholarship, all while juggling the day to day running of her ever chaotic household.

"Liz, Beth, up, up, up!" She called as she threw open the door that led to the room the four youngest girl's shared. Elizabeth and Bethany were twins, having just turned fifteen. In the bed next to the bunk laid Alanna, who was six, and Nikki, who was two. "You two, too!" She called as she nudged the youngest two. "Rise and shine, it's 7!"

She left the room as the girls started to stir, turning her attention to the room the two youngest boys shared with Mitch. Lukas, who was fourteen and Jayson, who was four, both looked at her with tired eyes.

"Up, up, up, boys!" She sang. She hadn't slept yet, having worked overnight at a local club just to get enough money to get back to school that morning. Despite exhaustion slowly creeping in, she knew she had to keep up the charade just to get all of the kids out of the house and to school on time.

"How are you so damn chipper?" Beth asked as she pushed past her older sister. "Did you even sleep yet?"
"Not yet," Raelyn shrugged. "I have a 10am class though, so we need to get this show on the road."
"The car's fixed?" Liz asked, joining the pair in the hall.
"Milkovich is having her brother take a look at it later," Raelyn sighed. "So if I want to hop the L in time, we need to get a move on."
"You taking Nikki with you?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Don't have much of a choice," Raelyn murmured. "You and Beth can't miss anymore school and god knows I can't leave her with Luke."
"Sucks to suck!" Luke teased as he threw on what looked like a clean pair of jeans. "Go, I'll get Jay to school."
"If I get one phone call that any of you skipped, I'm turning the electric off," Raelyn threatened. The five older kids all nodded, while Nikki clung to Raelyn's leg. Raelyn had full custody of the youngest Quinn kid. Their mother, Melody, had abandoned her when she was only a week old and since she wasn't their father, Rick's child, Raelyn had easily convinced the courts to let her keep custody of the infant. Now that Nikki was two, she was old enough acknowledge Raelyn as the only mom she'll ever know.

"Rae, we already know," Beth scoffed. Despite living their entire lives on the South Side of Chicago, they were all pretty decent kids. Sure, all of them, except for Jayson and Nikki had been in some sort of trouble from time to time, but they always seemed to hold shit together. Mitch always said it was because Rae was born with a natural maternal streak, but Rae strongly believed it was because she'd been raising her siblings since birth more or less. She was four years older than the twins and could still remember changing their diapers and taking care of them soon after they were born, when she was still too little to care for herself yet.

With a quick goodbye to her siblings, Rae scooped up Nikki and made her way to the train station, her bag slung over her shoulder as she hitched the toddler on her hip with ease. She was small for nineteen. She was only five feet, one inch tall, with a thin, yet muscular build. Her light brown hair was always tied back in a messy bun, her face always wearing the tired, yet determined expression. Her piercing blue eyes made her light freckles seem to reflect in the late autumn sunlight.

"Momma?" Nikki asked as they sat on the train. Rae had been reading her textbook aloud to the little girl.
"Hmm?"
"What's that word mean?" the toddler asked, pointing to the highlighted word in front of them.
"Something you wouldn't understand," she chuckled. She knew from the second she laid eyes on the little girl that one day she'd be a genius, but it definitely helped that her bedtime stories were always chapters out of Rae's textbooks. "You're going to be good for my lecture, right?"
"Yup!" the little girl squealed. Rae had to survive a 90 minute Lit lecture and she wasn't entirely sure if the two year old would stay quiet. That was the only professor that ever gave Rae any kind of problems for bringing the toddler to class, the others were just amazed at how quiet and calm the toddler was.

With only seconds to spare, Rae managed to slip into the lecture hall just as her professor was about to begin. As soon as they locked eyes, she knew she was going to hear about it.

"Miss Quinn, how nice of you to join us today," she snarled, her vicious smile telling Rae not to make herself comfortable. "I see you brought your side kick again today."
"You know my situation," Rae said coolly, not at all phased by the woman's harsh tone.
"And you are fully aware that I don't allow children in my class," she hissed. "You may as well turn around now."
"I need this course and you know it," Rae sighed. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. She hated being put on the spot like this. "Please."
"Better luck next semester," the professor said with a snarky tone. Rae felt her heart skip a beat. She knew she was failing the course, but she was fighting tooth and nail to get that grade back up. Suddenly, an idea hit her. She shifted her weight and pulled an old fashioned tape recorder out of her bag. She scanned the room, looking for someone she knew had a free block after that class. Her eyes landed on Phillip Gallagher. They had several classes together. They even lived on the same street, only a few houses apart. Despite that, they never really seemed to cross paths too often. Rae barely went to school before college, always seeming to be able to pass with just turning in work and Phillip was always off doing something reckless.

"Stay put," Rae muttered to Nikki as she set her down. The toddler waited patiently as Harleigh moved through the rows of students, stopping directly in front of his seat. "Twenty bucks if you record the lecture for me," she hissed impatiently.
"Uh, yeah, sure," he sputtered, taken back by her offer. He studied her for a moment, not only caught off guard, but finding himself recognizing her from somewhere. It wasn't until the lecture was almost over that he realized she lived on his street. He'd always wondered about the quiet girl who never seemed to make an appearance. He took the recorder from her, his eyes noting how tired she looked. She smelled of flowers mixed with a hint of tobacco and alcohol, a combination that somehow seemed to suit her. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and a ripped, stained pair of jeans. He could tell she had that natural bitchy attitude, but he also noticed how she seemed to have another side to her.

Lip didn't know what it was about her, but something made him want to know her.

"I'll be in the hall after," she said with a nod. Without another word, she skipped down the row of students again, this time throwing a glare in the professor's direction. The professor was speechless. She hadn't expected Rae to have a plan.

Without any hesitation, she picked up the toddler and left the lecture hall, a satisfied smirk on her lips as she laid out her textbooks in front of her, Nikki resting in her lap. She wasn't fazed by the turn of events. She was used to having to teach herself nearly everything she knew. It almost made college a waste of time, but she knew if she ever wanted to get out of the life she was given, she'd have to stick it out, even if it meant struggling every single day to get by.

While she scribbled down some notes on what she was reading, her mind wandered back to Phillip. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd actually keep up his end of the deal. While she only knew him and his family from passing, she found herself wondering what he was like. She'd heard rumors about how smart he was, despite being from a family similar to her own. She wondered what he was really like, if the slutty, man whore who scored a perfect score on his SATs had a side most didn't know. Little did she know she would soon find out.


A/N - Due to writers block on my other story, I've decided to try out a different method this time around. That being said, this will loosely follow the series, starting in season 4. To clarify a few characters, I'm going to list them below so it's easier to follow along. After a while, certain siblings will start to have bigger and smaller roles, so I figured this would keep things simple for everyone.

Mathew (Matty) - Oldest - Male - 24
Mitchel (Mitch) - Second - Male - 21
Raelyn (Rae) - Third - Female - 19
Elizabeth (Liz) and Bethany (Beth) - Fourth and Fifth - Female - 15
Lukas (Luke) - Sixth - 14
Alanna (Al) - Seventh - 6
Jayson (Jay) - Eighth - 4
Nikki - Ninth - 2

Rick - Father of everyone except for Nikki
Melody - Mother of all nine

As always, any and all feedback is much appreciated. I promise, I'm going to do my best to make this a story worth reading!