Summary: This is a quick one-shot based on the Season 2 Premiere. How can Rachel possibly make things right with Glee club and Sunshine?

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of it's characters

From the moment Rachel first met Sunshine in the bathroom, she wasn't herself. From talking down to her as if she were slow to their impromptu, but explosive duet. The girl scared her more than Quinn, Santana or any jock with a Slushee. She was tiny, much smaller than herself, and as much as it hurt her to even think it the girl was an even better singer.

Now as she watched Sunshine take to the stage with a presence that she never had, she felt her heart break each time her classmates cheered on Sunshine's talent. No one ever cheered for her. As often as everyone praised her for her amazing voice, no one ever cheered her on like this. No one ever accepted her the way they were so easily accepting Sunshine and it hurt her beyond words. Hopefully her bringing Sunshine back was enough to try to get back into the good graces of her fellow Glee clubbers.

Sunshine would be attending Carmel and be a part of Vocal Adrenaline and it was all her fault. She didn't need Finn to tell her that she was lying to everyone. Being the best singer she knew was her thing. Having someone like Sunshine around would take away the one good thing she had. It was already clear that the petite singer wouldn't have an issue with popularity and what made it worse was the fact that she really was a nice girl. So it was up to her to make this alright and not just to appease her guilt. Glee club needed Sunshine and if Rachel were honest she needed Sunshine too. It was easy to be the most talented girl in a small town, but what happened when she moved to NY? She had never experienced competition, and Sunshine already made her want to push herself harder. If she inspired them all the same way then they would definitely be performing in NY for Nationals.

That's how she found herself standing in front of Sunshine's condo. Before she lost her nerve Rachel knocked on the door. A small woman who looked like an older version of Sunshine answered the door.

"Hello, I'm Rachel Berry. Is Sunshine here?"

Rachel didn't make the mistake of talking down to this woman. Plus judging from the frown on her face Rachel had a feeling she was already familiar with her.

"She's upstairs, first room on the right."

Rachel smiled as she eased past the unsmiling woman and made her way upstairs, trying to ignore the way she could feel the older woman's angry eyes on her.

When she got upstairs she realized she really didn't need instructions. The door with Hello Kitty on it was a dead giveaway. Rachel gave a tentative knock on the door.

"Come in."

Rachel stepped into the room and observed that Sunshine still had unpacking to do. Sunshine sat cross legged on her bed eyeing her warily.

"I can scream loud enough for my director to hear, you know."

"I'm not here to cause you any more harm Sunshine. I really did enjoy singing with you. I just got scared."

"Of a freshman foreign exchange student? That makes no sense!."

"Of a freakishly talented freshman foreign exchange student!" Rachel tried to remain calm, but once again the tiny girl was wrecking havoc on her head and emotions. She took a deep breath and continued speaking in a softer tone. "Sunshine, singing is all I have. No one likes me and everyone considers me an loser. You came here from another country and you're more talented and people seem to like you already and you're shorter than me, which is worrisome in itself because I really didn't think that was even possible. You're a little more of everything and it really hurts. Singing like no one else can made me feel special and like I wasn't an outcast, even as Slushees were thrown at me and I knew the whole school hated my guts. That was enough to give me the confidence to rise above anything." Rachel hung her head before continuing speaking. "I'm admittedly high maintenance and intense, but I've never done anything like that before. I got scared and I acted rash and without any thought whatsoever and while Vocal Adrenaline may be more talented, you'll never have more fun than you will with New Directions. New Directions is like a family, and they already considered you a part of that family. I'm not just saying this because the entire Glee club has black balled me. You're really talented Sunshine and I need to learn to deal with competition and I really want you to come back. We can share solos, and work together and it could be fun."

"A crack house Rachel. You sent me to a crack house."

"You're not going to care that said crack house wasn't at all active, right?"

The look on Sunshine's face clearly said that didn't matter.

Rachel forced herself to meet Sunshine's eyes. "I really am sorry for that Sunshine. I don't even know what got into me."

"Jealousy, which I understand because you're a little scary, and I was a little jealous. You guys were like a sitcom on TV and I would've loved to be a part of that. How do I trust you now?"

"Come back. You had fun with us. Vocal Adrenaline are like robots, no spark or fire or imagination or passion - they're talented, but boring. And we need you."

"Mom's gonna hate to lose the condo."

Rachel nearly leaped across the room to hug the smaller girl, but settled for a handshake. "You won't regret this."

"No problem. Tina and Mike promised to call the UN or something if you do anything else to me." Sunshine actually smirked at her.

"Okay then. So do you wanna work on something together? I have a few ideas."

"Good. So do I."

Rachel eyed Sunshine who just smiled right back at her. The girl was definitely not a pushover.

"So Sunshine and I spent all of last night working on a great number that when paired with my talent –" She saw Sunshine raise an eyebrow at her. She mouthed a quick sorry to her before changing her statement. "Sorry, when paired with our talent should really bring in more people."

"I thought you didn't want anyone changing our little family?"

Rachel hung her head and spoke softly. She really missed the Tina who never really spoke. "I've learned change is good."

"Great, can we start with your wardrobe."

"Your personality."

"A boob job."

Everyone looked at Brittany after her statement, but she went back to playing with her ponytail and daydreaming.

"Hey!" That easily Sunshine had everyone's attention. "I'm a part of your group, I'm not doped up from the crackhouse. We should be good. Why not hear Rachel out and start practice?"

"Listening to Rachel could keep us here forever Sunshine. I know you're new here, but Man Hands here is crazy as ever and can talk about Broadway and Musicals for hours on end." Rachel rolled her eyes at Santana, but kept her head down and remained silent. She deserved this.

"Well this isn't Broadway and it was her idea. This could be fun."

"Rachel only knows Broadway Sunshine." Everyone seemed to agree with Quinn.

"Come on guys. Can't we just give her a chance. I know we have every reason to be upset, but she got Sunshine back and she wants to help and make things right." Rachel finally raised her head and smiled at Finn's defense of her."

The room was silent. None of the other gleeks seemed particularly convinced. Mr. Schue finally broke the silence.

"So what did you come up with Rachel?"

Rachel turned her brilliant smile to Mr. Schue before launching into her spiel. She stepped forward and gestured for Sunshine to follow. "Well the idea that we came up with came from the VMA's. I want us to perform Airplanes by B.O.B. Featuring Paramore's Hayley Williams. We even have ideas for solos."

"Well at least we see the catch. She chose a song and of course solos, how convenient." Tina was really scary when she was pissed and apparently sending fellow Asians to crack houses was more than enough to piss her off.

"How the hell do you even know what VH1 is? And since when do you know about music that's not by Barbara Streisand?"

Rachel chose to ignore Mercedes and instead handed out the sheet music. "I was thinking of Mercedes, Sunshine and Santana sharing the chorus while Artie and Puck do the rapping."

"I can understand Mercedes and Sunshine, but why me? And what the hell are you going to do?"

Rachel tried to hide the pain she felt at what she was about to say. She kept telling herself that this would strengthen them as a team. She met Sunshine's eyes as she answered Santana's question. "I'll be singing background of course. And I chose you because your voice would sound great with this song and Sunshine can sing with just about anyone."

"So once again, what about you? You're willingly handing over a solo?"

Rachel swallowed and hoped no one could see how much this was killing her. She had to be mature about this. "I don't need to have every solo."

Shocked silence filled the room until the bell rang. "Okay guys, everyone can work on Rachel and Sunshine's song and we'll try it out at the next glee club practice with just the leads." Rachel swore she actually felt her heart break as she realized she wouldn't be a lead. "Great job guys. I can't wait to hear how it sounds."

Rachel smiled and hoped it looked real as the room emptied out. She could cry when she got home. Right now she wanted to use the time to practice and straighten up.

"You know we're not totally okay, right?"

Rachel spun around at the unexpected voice. "What are you doing here?"

"The same could be said for you."

"As captain, I make it my responsibility to get the room in order and -"

"And sulk. What's the use of giving up solos if you're just gonna look sick to your stomach each time you do it?"

Rachel wrinkled her nose at Sunshine's analogy. "I didn't say all solos. I'm giving up this solo."

Sunshine smiled at her. "I knew it wouldn't last. Is there a non-active whorehouse in Lima too?"

Rachel was ready to hop on the defensive before she caught Sunshine's smile. She blushed and smiled before responding. "Noah Puckerman would know better than me I suppose."

"The jock with the bedroom eyes and muscles?"

Rachel's blush deepened. "Yeah that's Noah."

"I thought you were dating the tall guy."

"Yes, Finn is my boyfriend, why?"

"Cuz you seem to be crushing on Noah."

Rachel's blush deepened. "Hardly. I love Finn and Noah is hardly my type."

Sunshine shrugged indifferently at her even as she smirked. "Okay, Whatever. So like I said, we're not cool yet."

"We're not?"

"Hardly."
"What will it take for us to be 'cool'"

"We have to sing together."

"What about the bathroom?"

"You mean the pissing contest when you tried to put me in my place by outsinging me?"

"I wasn't-" Rachel stopped speaking at the look Sunshine gave her. "Okay, okay, I was trying to show you who's boss, alright?"

"I don't know why. It's not even necessary. You're good, I'm good, why the competition?"

"Because I'm used to being the best!"

"I'm sure you'll learn to get over it."

"I thought you were shy?"

"I think the crackhouse toughened me up."

"I'm really not living that down, am I?"

"Nope, but you can start by singing a real duet with me. I'll even let you choose the song. We'll do it at the next rehearsal."

"We have a deal."

As Sunshine smiled brightly at her before leaving the room, Rachel couldn't help thinking her smile lived up to her name.

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now, a wish right now, a wish right now

They were all gathered in the auditorium. Santana began with the part of the song sung by Hayley Williams while the other four leads harmonized in the background. The song continued with the three girls taking turns on the chorus while Puck and Artie took turns rapping. The song ended to thunderous applause from the other gleeks. Rachel kept her eyes on the stage and clapped along with everyone else as she tried her best to once again hide her hurt. Her eyes met Sunshine's, and when she smiled at her Rachel found herself easily smiling back. Her smile widened when she felt Finn squeeze her hand lightly.

Mr. Schue hopped onto the stage with all the enthusiasm of a kid at a carnival. "That was great guys. I can't wait to have everyone perform together, but Rachel and Sunshine have a duet they would like to perform. Rach? Sunshine? Whenever you girls are ready." Mr. Schue left the stage with the other leads right behind him. Sunshine stood alone on the stage staring down at her.

"Ready Smurfette?" The other gleeks laughed while Rachel glared at Sunshine as she got up. "You do know that you are shorter than me, right?"

Sunshine rolled her eyes as Rachel made her way onto the stage. She went over to Brad and handed him the music. Rachel walked back to Sunshine and gave her a copy of the sheet music. She looked at her in surprise, and Rachel just shrugged her shoulders in response. "It seemed appropriate."

"Cool. No competition, right?"

Rachel smiled sweetly back at her. "What's life without a little friendly rivalry?"

"Well just try to keep up."

Both girls laughed before Rachel nodded at Brad. Everyone else looked shocked when they heard the opening notes and Sunshine begin singing the first few lines of Telephone. They performed even better than they had in the bathroom. There was none of the animosity (from Rachel) or fear (from Sunshine) th before. Their duet was even more passionate and they definitely had musical chemistry. Unbeknownst to the two tiny girls on the stage, Mr. Schue and the entire Glee club were out of their seats and dancing and singing along. Everyone was clapping and cheering as the followed along to the song. Had Rachel not been so completely into the song she would have been happy to see that her classmates were cheering her on as well as Sunshine. When the song finished the girls were surprised by their close proximity to each other. They were less than a foot apart, flushed and breathing heavily from adrenaline and physical exertion. Both girls couldn't help smiling.

Rachel was the first one to step back. "Not bad."

"You too."

They stared at each other for a few moments, seeming to silently assess each other. Rachel was of course the one to break the silence. "Welcome to New Directions Sunshine." Rachel held her hand out and watched as Sunshine seemed to eye it warily. "Unless you really want to be in Vocal Adrenaline, which I would understand because you did have the condo and the Green Card, even though I'm sure they can't take away the Green Card and I could have my dad's on-"

"It's cool Rachel, and we're cool. You're actually not bad when you're not being...crazy. But you did say New Directions was like family." She looked down at Rachel's hand again before looking back up into her eyes. "We can hug you know."

Both girls smiled again as they embraced in a hug that was only somewhat awkward. It lasted for a full minute before they pulled back and walked towards the end of the stage. Finn helped both girls down from the stage and dropped his arm around Rachel's shoulders. Together they walked towards the still cheering gleeks.

Mercedes looked impressed. "Good job Diva. Now wait till I have a chance at it." Rachel laughed at Mercedes and tried not to look scared as Tina and Mike came over.

"You're not a complete freak, but do that again and the entire Asian community will take you down." Rachel nodded silently as she nervously swallowed around any retort she may have had. Tina really was scary when she was angry. Thankfully Sunshine managed to distract her from Tina's warning glare.

"By the way do you even breath? You hold your notes so long and you really do talk a lot."

Rachel didn't take any offense in the statement, and even managed to smile genuinely. "I have excellent breathing control, thanks to years of practice. I could definitely help you with that. It's helped Finn really grow as a singer and I'm almost positive it's the reason I don't have a gag reflex, and believe me I've tried." Rachel was oblivious to the awkward silence now filling the auditorium. Mr. Schue just looked uncomfortable while the other gleeks gave Finn interested and questioning looks. He turned beat red and grabbed Rachel's hand in one hand and her bag in the other.

"Come on Rach, we have to get you home."

Rachel looked surprised at Finn's abrupt behavior, but was already being dragged halfway down the aisle, so she chose not to protest.

"Bye guys. That was a lot of fun Sunshine. We will be doing that again."

Silence still filled the room for a few minutes after the couple left.

Mercedes looked morbidly curious. "You don't think they-"

Santana cut her off before she could finish her train of thought. "Oh please, if she's really got skills like that there's no way Finn would last."

Puck looked just as amused by the whole conversation. "Yeah, there aren't enough images of mailmen or dead kittens to keep him from an early delivery." He shook his head in frustration. "Fucking Hudson doesn't deserve a girl like that. I wonder how many tennis balls her mouth can hold."

Puck looked genuinely intrigued by his own thoughts while the others tried not to have any visuals. Everyone quickly gathered their things and left the auditorium before more could be said on the topic. They made it out the doors before the tacitly agreed upon silence was broken.

"She is the perfect height."

Santana took Brittany's hand and dragged her to her car while the others shook their heads and went their separate ways.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed. It's been a minute since I've written anything. I have a bunch of half written stories on my Blackberry, If the reviews are good, I'll try to finish them. Enjoy guys! : - ). Feel free to follow me on Twitter : - ) SBethancourt02