COME WHAT MAY
A/N1: This is going to be slow, so be prepared. Enjoy, and please review!
Chapter 1: Never knew I could feel like this.
Her shredded bed-sheets laying on display on their coffee-table stopped Rachel in her tracks. The front door closed behind her, as she entered the livingroom. She looked from the table to her dads- both staring at her, with folded arms- and back again.
"What's, um, what's going on?" she asked, confusion and fear warring in her eyes.
Hiram and LeRoy Berry seemed to share a look of significance, before pointing her to a seat. She sat primly, taking in their serious expressions, biting her bottom lip in apprehension. Of course, she recognised those sheets. They were unfortunately not the first sheets Rachel's had to throw away. But this was the first time her dads had found them. The quiet was broken when Hiram removed his glasses with a sigh.
Yet it was LeRoy who spoke. "How long?"
She could only shrug, slightly uneasy. Her father sounded nervous, and it was not something she was used to.
"What about dreams? Have you had any strange-"
"What?" she interrupted him, suspicious now. Did they know what was going on with her? Why she woke up with broken nails, tangled in shredded sheets?
Hiram must have noticed her anxiety, because he finally spoke too, reaching for her hands. "Rachel, honey, just listen to your daddy for a second, okay? This is- it's really important. So please, just listen sweetie."
She squeezed his hands tightly, suddenly afraid to hear what was coming. She had been content to keep pretending that things were fine; that she was only imagining it all, but now she could not hide anymore. Her only consolation was that her fathers knew what was happening to her, and would help her through it; whatever it was.
Everything would be fine. As long as she had her family, everything would be fine.
R# #GLEE# #Q
She doesn't remember exactly when the dreams started, only that they always ended the same. Broken nails, shredded sheets, muscles aching, and strange flashes of colour lingering on the insides of her eyelids. Glimpses of images assault her during the day; disjointed visions of trees whipping past, too-bright stars twinkling overhead, like diamonds in a velvet sky.
Undefined smells that she tastes on the air, and seem to linger on her tongue. She swears she can hear sounds of creatures growing; feel the very earth, trembling with joy beneath her feet.
And calls of such longing her tears flow without consent.
The calls have captured her attention the most. She equates it to the way music affects her; it captivates and intrigues her, touching her intimately. Now, she is pre-occupied with finding the reasons for the often mournful calls in her dreams, and can't seem to focus on her schoolwork. Naturally, her grades have begun to suffer. It is one of the reasons she has refrained from discussing these occurrences with her fathers. Her impromptu crying sessions have already been noticed, earning her a visit to the office of guidance counselor, Miss Emma Pillsbury. Luckily she had not needed their permission.
All in all, her dreams were making her a mess. And she had no one to turn to; no one to whom she could explain her behaviour. Unless she confided in her fathers. But the thought just made her panic. She would then have to come clean about her failing grades, and the urge she sometimes got to follow the calls of the night. And especially the arrival of her menses, after waiting impatiently for three years.
"This is where a mother could come in really handy," she whispered, blushing hotly at that last thought.
It's the first words she's spoken since she burst in the door, and questioned the presence of her sheets in the livingroom. Her dad, Hiram, chuckled softly, offering her a glass of water. He had noticed the addition of tampons to Rachel's shopping, but had not commented on it, knowing it would embarrass his normally very open-minded daughter.
She rolled her eyes at hearing his chuckle, and knew instinctively that he knew about her new ... condition. She sipped the water slowly, determined to avoid any eye contact. But she couldn't hide forever, and she knew it.
"What in the name of Barbra is going on, dads?" she asked. "And please can we not mention how I've finally become a woman?" she added, ducking her head.
"Oh, baby girl, we know," her daddy, LeRoy said, joining her on the couch. She snuggled into his side, her head pillowed on his sturdy chest. He was watching Hiram smiling indulgently opposite them, still holding on to Rachel's hands.
"You're actually right," LeRoy said softly, trailing his hand through Rachel's long hair. It was something he used to do that soothed both of them, and he relished the opportunity to do it now. They would need all the help they could get to see them through this.
He inhaled the scent of her hair, before clearing his throat. No more stalling. "Your mother's name is Shelby Corcoran. She left you a letter explaining what's happening to you, what it means. When you're ready, she's waiting for you."
Rachel's brows were drawn in confusion. This was not what she had been expecting to hear, at all. She had known of course that she had a mother out there, obviously. But that her dads had kept in contact with her? And why didn't they tell her?
"Uh, waiting for me?" she questioned. "What do you mean?"
LeRoy hmmed. "Maybe you should read the letter first, honey," he suggested softly. "Your dad and I will be here once you're done, and we'll answer any questions you have. Just, trust that we love you, and we're here for you, always."
He punctuated his words with a kiss on her head. Across them, Hiram nodded his agreement. Always, he mouthed. Then he joined in the family hug, before letting go to lean over and reach for an envelope on the table. She hadn't noticed it before in her confusion. She watched her dad's hand shaking as he held it out to her. She folded her hand around the plain envelope, feeling as though her world was about to end.
And she was right.
A/N2: I don't own Glee. I don't own Come What May. I don't own Moulin Rouge. I just love all of these, and hope to add to the wonderful world of Faberry/Achele!
