Really thought I had posted this hours ago but either FF ate it, or midterms have fried my brain. Both are actual possibilities. This is a short one shot to say thanks you for breaking 200 reviews on Questioning Quinn Fabray. This story has elements from QQF but can be read as a stand alone.
"Beth? I asked if you were ready."
Beth Corcoran looked towards the front of the class and nodded with a sigh. She wasn't ready. She'd tried to tell Rachel that no one would believe her, but her aunt insisted that she could make them understand. "If anyone can do it, sweetie, it's you." Despite Aunt Rachel's insistence, she knew no one would understand. Heck, she'd dealt with it for most of her life and she barely understood. She grabbed the box her Aunt had helped her put together over the weekend and slowly made her way towards the from of the classroom.
"Where is your family tree, Beth?"
Beth looked from her teacher to her classmates and back. "I had to do mine a little bit different, I hope that is okay?"
The teacher cocked her head to the side and debated. She knew Beth was a brilliant student and wouldn't just shuck her responsibilities so she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and nodded. "As long as you completed the assignment, I don't see why not."
Beth sighed in relief as she put the box she'd brought with down and opened it up. She was happy that her Aunt Rachel was in town and able to help her figure out the best way to go about this. She knew her mom would have tried, but she just didn't understand, not like Aunt Rachel did.
"My family history isn't like most people's." She began, addressing her peers. She stood tall and proud, her voice clear and loud enough to be heard in the back of the classroom, thanks in part to the vocal training her mother gave her. "I was adopted when I was only a few hours old. That means that the parents that gave birth to me aren't the parents who have raised me since I was first born. I have been raised by my mom, but I also have got the chance to know my birth parents as well."
Beth turned to the whiteboard behind her and lifted up a picture of her mother's head. "This is my mom, the one who adopted me. She calls me the child of her heart. Her name is Shelby." Beth reached back into the box. "My birth mom is named Quinn, and my birth father is Noah, but everyone but calls him Puck." She heard a few of her classmates begin to whisper excitedly as she added their pictures to the board as well. She picked up a dry erase marker and drew a line between the three of them.
"Quinn has a sister named Frannie, who has two kids, Lucy, who is named after my birth mother, and Peter. Quinn's mother's name is Judy. Puck has a brother named Jake, a sister named Naomi, and his mom's name is Gina." She said, putting up pictures of each of them and connecting their lines.
"When my mom was younger, she helped another couple have a baby, because they're both guys and couldn't do it themselves." Beth put up the picture of Rachel, ignoring the few gasp she heard as she drew a line from her mom to Rachel. She turned to her classmates with a small smile. "Technically, that is my actual family tree."
"Nicely done, Beth." The teacher praised.
Beth raised her finger, "That's my biological family tree, for the most part. I would be sadly amiss though if I led you to believe that this is my true family." She gestured towards the board before she began pulling down the pictures, placing them into two piles. "Like I said, that is my actual family, my biological family. But, I've got a lot more people I love and care for that are my REAL family."
"See, it all started with me." Beth placed a picture of herself as high as she could reach on the board.
"There is my birth mom and dad, of course." She added their pictures underneath and to the right of her own with a large gap between the two. "And Rachel." She placed Rachel's smiling face next to Quinn's. "Rachel and Quinn just started dating each other a few months ago. They're very sweet together." She made brackets between the two women, one above Puck and a line connecting both back to her.
"I told you about their families." She placed the pictures back on the board, almost to the bottom, and drew a line from each group to their respective families.
"So that's my Aunt Quinn, my Aunt Rachel, and my Uncle Puck." She said pointing to each one. "Nana Fabray and Aunt Frannie and my cousins. And Aunt Naomi and Uncle Jake."
"Then there is my Grandpa and my Papa. They're Aunt Rachel's dads." She placed their pictures on the board beneath Rachel. "And Papa's parents, Zee Zee and Boppa." She added their pictures beneath LeRoy and Hiram. "Grandpa has a TON of family members but I only see them like once a year. They're a lot of fun though. I don't really like Boppa's family. They're kind of snobs." Beth shrugged at her teacher's reprimand.
"You're very lucky to have such a big family."
"Oh, that's not even all of them. See, my Aunt Quinn, Aunt Rachel, and Uncle Puck, well they have a bunch of family that aren't really family either. Aunt Rachel says they're like sisters and brothers from other parents. And when we went out to Hollywood to see them, well, I kind of got adopted by all of them because I look so much like my belly mom –er like Aunt Quinn." She explained as she pulled out a huge handful of magnetic heads.
She named off each person as she placed each one in the large space underneath Quinn, Rachel, and Puck. "This is Aunt Britt-Britt, she's one of my favorites. Auntie Tana. Aunt Mercedes." Beth rolled her eyes as her classmates jumped and cheered. "This is Aunt Tina. She's really nice. There is Uncle Artie. Uncle Sam. My really, really gay uncles, Uncle Blaine and Uncle Kurt." This time it was her teacher who gasped.
"Ms. Corcoran, I'm so glad you could meet with me on such a short notice."
Shelby sat her bag on the desk next to her and lowered herself into a seat across from Beth's teacher. It was an inconvenience to be called to the school on such short notice, but there was nothing she wouldn't do for her daughter.
"It's not a problem, Mrs. Martin. You said you were having some issues with Beth? That she was lying in class and causing a scene?"
"Yes. I find it very unsettling due to the fact that Beth is usually such a star student. I'm wondering, and forgive me if I'm overstepping, but has there been some change in the home, something that would cause Beth to act in such a manner?"
Shelby lifted her eyebrow. She'd been a teacher, so she knew the woman was just trying to help, but it still took conscious effort not to be offended by the question. She honestly couldn't think of anything out of the ordinary that had happened recently and Beth was a very well-behaved child. It was completely out of character for her to misbehave.
Shelby forced herself to smile and shook her head. "We've had the same routine for a few years now. I can't think of anything that has changed to make her cause a scene."
"Hmm, alright, well, I had to ask."
"Can you tell me what happened? What exactly did my Beth do?"
Mrs. Martin cleared her throat and looked down at the box of remaining magnets she'd confiscated from the small blond girl shortly before sending her to the office. "Beth was schedule to give her presentation on her family history today."
"I am aware. Her Aunt Rachel and her worked all weekend on it. She even rehearsed it for us."
Shelby watched Mrs. Martin shift uncomfortably in her seat. "So, it is true that she is related to Rachel Berry?"
"Biologically, Rachel Berry is my daughter, though I only played a surrogate roll for most of her life. She is also partners with Beth's biological mother and has been in Beth's from almost the moment she was born."
"Right, I apologize, I'm just trying to understand. When you say Beth's biological mother, are your referring to Quinn Fabray?"
"Yes, that's cor– can I ask what this is all about?"
Mrs. Martin turned towards the board behind her. "Ms. Corcoran, Beth identified each of these people on the board as her family members." Shelby leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the woman in hopes that she would get to the point. "When Beth tried to claim that she was related to so many celebrities, many of different racial backgrounds, I had to assume that she was lying."
Shelby shot forward, rage filling her eyes. "Excuse me?"
"I assumed, due to her… unique… family history, that she was exaggerating the truth in order to feel more… normal."
"Unique family history?" Shelby's voice dripped with venom.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Corcoran, but you have to look at it from my perspective. When a student tries to claim that so many Hollywood celebrities are her aunts and uncles, it brings up a lot of questions. Not only that, it caused quite a commotion in the class. When her classmates became unruly I had to insist that she have a seat unless she was willing to be honest with the class."
"You're telling me that because you were unable to control your classroom, that you thought it would be okay to call my daughter a liar?"
"I would never call one of my students a liar." The teacher huffed angrily. "But can you honestly tell me that all the people on this board are related to your daughter?"
Shelby examined the board, confirming that they were all the same faces she'd watched Beth and Rachel spend hours cutting and gluing in her own kitchen before bringing her gaze back to the sorry excuse of a woman before her. The teacher shifted again in her seat and dragged her glasses further up her nose.
"If you mean biologically, then no, they're not. Though if that was the case, then by your definition, I am not her mother." Shelby growled out. "My daughter has, as you put it, a unique family history. She is blessed to have so many people in her life that would do anything for her. To us, to my little girl, the only thing that matters when it comes to family is love from the people in your life who want you in theirs. Beth's family doesn't just consist with people in her life are blood relations. Her family are the people that would be willing to spill their own blood to keep her safe. To Beth, to me, family means loyalty and respect, acceptance, and love. And that's what she gets from them." Shelby motioned to the board. "Each and every one of those faces represent a person who would do anything they could to make Beth happy. They love her like she was their own. They accept Beth as she is. Unique family history and all." Shelby stood and pointed to the board, fighting to keep her voice at a reasonable level. "They may not share her DNA, but they are her family! And you best damn well respect that!"
"I don't mean to question your judgment, nor your right to define family in any way that you wish. But you are honestly going to tell me that not only do you and your daughter know each of the celebrities on the board, but actually have a personal connection with each one of them?"
"Damn right. And you better hope that my Rachel never hears about this conversation or you best believe that she will have the ACLU and every other organization that she, as both an activist and as a celebrity, can easily command, knocking on your door."
"Right, of course, I apologize."
"Oh, you will apologize. Not to me, but to my daughter and in front of her classmates."
"Ms. Corcoran, that would be…"
"The right thing to do. And you do want to do the right thing, don't you?" Shelby's saccharin sweet voice barely masked her fury.
"What'd she do then?" Quinn asked as she tucked herself next to her girlfriend, wrapping her arm around the enraged woman.
"She had the nerve to try to call me by my first name. I called the school board right in front of her and informed them it might be in their best interest to find her another position. Away from my child."
Rachel leaned into Quinn's touch and let her love sooth her. She was still angry and hurt for Beth. When Beth approached her with the idea, she thought it was fabulous. She never expected it would blow up so horribly in their faces.
"Would it help Beth if some of us came to have lunch with her at the school? I'm sure everyone would be willing."
Shelby sighed as she sank down into her chair. "No, Beth is resilient and she loves all of you but I think that might make things worse for her. She already stands out so much from her peers. She's beautiful and outspoken, and in the top of her class for her grades. I just don't want this to somehow negatively impact her."
"That's the last thing any of us want for her. I just wish there was a way we could turn this around for her."
"She seemed fine when I brought her home. I was shocked when she twisted the truth of what happened today when you asked how it went."
"Seems she got more than a little of her Aunt Quinn's conniving ways."
Shelby and Quinn's eyes met and both women smiled, both happy they could smile at how horrendously the first year they knew each other had went.
"For now, I'm hoping things will die down. As it is, I've made sure a mark was put into her teacher's file. I'm not sure if they're transfer her yet, but she has been ordered to take a class on diversity."
Rachel sat up with a huge smile. "You know, that gives me an I have an idea."
It was almost a month later that all anyone could talk about was Beth Corcoran. Her classmates looked at her like she was a god. Her teacher apologized, again, in front of the classroom. She was even asked to come visit a few tv shows in New York and LA. It was all thanks to her famous family members. She had became an instant viral celebrity after all her aunts and uncles, and a bunch of their family and friends, joined her in making a PSA on diversity, family, and community. Beth decided, she might not have the most conventional family, but they were the best family in the world.