Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 52nd cycle. Now cycle 53!

THIRD ANNIVERSARY CYCLE: It's late October again, and within this cycle I will be completing my third year of daily gleekathon stories and commencing a fourth! As in previous years, this means special things happening. I've selected my favorite stories from throughout the year, and I'll be treating them to something special. In previous years this included Prequel, Sequel, and POV Swap, and then Additional Scenes and Alternate Endings. This year I'm adding two new treatments: Genre Swap (I think that's pretty straightforward) and Element Change (I change one thing in the story, see how it affects the rest). Note that in both these cases and some of the others, there may excerpts directly transferred from the story it references. Also, since this year saw the addition of 'shift days', and since I suck at picking, I have selected 42 stories, to be treated two per day! So here we go!

This story is an Element Change to Tumble & Hold, a Sam & Nell/Samchel series story, originally posted on May 2 2012.

This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Orchestrated Chaos.

"One Second of Weakness"
Sam & Nell, Rachel, Samchel
Sam & Nell/Samchel series extra
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

They were both exhausted that night. They were supposed to be working on homework together, reviewing for a test coming up. But then Nell was sick, a mild cold that left her miserable and in need of attention. So they had given it, balancing her and their work as best they could. She was going to be leaving soon, had to, with how tired they were both getting, but before she could leave, she would say goodnight to the small blonde. Holding her in her arms, she smiled at her.

"You get some sleep now, okay? It'll make you feel better, I promise," she told her. "No one likes being sick, I know, I know," she tried to calm her when she started fussing again.

She hadn't even felt her arms release in any way, didn't feel anything change, but then the next thing she knew she was feeling her heart lunge because she couldn't feel Nell in her arms anymore, and instead she was watching her fall. Before she could reach her at all, she was on the ground. Rachel cried out in absolute terror and surprise, which drew Sam's attention as he'd been picking up his daughter's toys. When he saw her on the ground, giving a shrill cry, and Rachel falling on her knees to reach for her, he felt his heart rate rocket up and he moved to them.

"What happened, she… Wait, don't," he stopped Rachel from picking her up. "What if… with her neck and… What happened?" he was grasping, and he had to ask again. Rachel was rapidly losing herself. "Rachel!" he had to raise his voice, get her to pay attention to him again.

"Sam, I'm so sorry, I don't know how it happened, I just, I… She slipped out of my arms, I couldn't stop it, she fell, I… I dropped her, I…" she was growing incoherent, and he wasn't exactly keeping a level head either. He had to make a decision, and seeing how she moved, he just scooped her up carefully.

"I've got you… I've got you…" he didn't know how convincing he sounded, probably not very, but it was all he could do. "We should take her to the hospital," he knew that much, and the plan was enough to get him moving. Rachel was still sitting there though, unable to move herself. "Rachel, are you coming?" he tried to get her attention again. She stared up at him, and she was helpless, her face blanched. "I need you," he begged, and that got through to her. She scrambled to her feet. "Can you call a cab?" he asked her before moving to find Nell's papers, whatever he might need when they got to the ER. It seemed giving the shocked Rachel tasks was the best way to get her moving. Sam was focusing on a task himself, that and nothing else: he had to get Nell to the hospital and make sure she was alright. The rest could wait.

The drive had been silent, except for Nell's cries and Sam's attempts to calm her. He could see Rachel sitting there, her head lowered, arms drawn in… He could only imagine at this point how she might be feeling. He hadn't even processed any of it. It had taken arriving at the hospital and having Nell taken from him to be examined for him to really and finally connect with what had happened. He looked back to Rachel, registering how she was staring off at that closed door they'd taken Nell through with just as much anguish as he had, only with a guilt which weighed heavy on her.

"Rachel…" he started, and she shook her head.

"Don't tell me it wasn't my fault, or I… I can hear it in your voice. No, you… You should yell at me. Do it. Right now. You should… You should, I deserve it," she shook her head, crying, and he pulled her into his arms. "Please, just…" she begged, but he just held her.

He knew she hadn't done it on purpose, that it had been an accident. More than anything, he knew it could have been him holding her, him dropping her, and he knew… He would have felt exactly how she was feeling right now. She was feeling like she'd been entrusted with his little girl, and he had failed her and him, too. What could only make it worse for her was that, in the most direct sense of the term, she wasn't Nell's parent, not her family, an outsider, who had now brought harm to the child. She might not have been officially recognized as such in any way, but Sam knew if there was anyone beside Nell's blood relatives he considered as part of her family, it was Rachel. She might have wanted him to blame her, hate her, but even he couldn't find that in him. He looked at her, and he was worried for Nell, petrified, but at no time did he feel anger toward Rachel. He didn't know how his daughter was, if she would be okay, and maybe there would come a time and a reason for him to direct anger at the one who had dropped Nell, but for now he just had to hold on to the memory that it was an accident.

It had taken some time before they would let him and Rachel see Nell. By that time he had gotten her to call her fathers so they would know where she was and that she was alright. When they had shown up, Sam was nothing but grateful to them, just as Rachel was.

But then they had said they could go in. Rachel wouldn't move, like she didn't deserve to go in there. Sam had taken her hand; he couldn't have gone without her, wouldn't do it. He led her in, and even as the doctor had promised Nell would be fine, actually seeing her was the time where he properly believed those words and felt relief from the weight on his heart. He didn't let go of Rachel's hand, beckoning her to come up with him, seeing Nell there, awake, her usual self, even giving them one smile. Sam had not cried once, but seeing this he now cried with joy, taking his girl's hand in his. "Big bear's here," he promised her, looking back to Rachel. She was crying, too, and Sam brought her closer, kissing the side of her head. "We're all fine, see?" he whispered at her ear. She let out a small whimper, nodding quietly. They'd all been terrified, but the ordeal was done now, and he had no doubt in his mind Rachel was exactly where she belonged. She was family.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!