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 47th cycle. Now cycle 48!


Cycle 48/Day 1000 special: So, yes, in this cycle, a milestone I had to do something special for.
In this cycle I'm passing my 1000th consecutive day of gleekathon! So for this, the cycle will feature:
* 21-day/chapter story for the Sunshine Girls series (This Little Light of Mine)
* 14-day/chapter story special for day 1000 (Let Me Tell You A Story)
* One-shot installments from 12 series + 2 non-series
* And for this cycle and this cycle alone (I swear), 7 'triple shift' days, with 3 chapters/stories going up in the day!


This is a triple shift day. There will be two more uploads today: Let Me Tell You A Story, chapter 1 and Sugar So Sweet.


"This Little Light of Mine"
Older Quinn, Rachel, Finn, Puck + Nora (OC Beth)
Sunshine Girls series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

1. Came Home

(A/N: Please read the info above the line! Thanks!)

If it had been up to her, she could have handled it just fine. She had been going back and forth from her parents in Lima to her parents in New York for as long as she could remember, so why did school have to change that? But she was just a kid, so she had no say in it, and for the last few years, if her stepmother had a role back in New York and it was during the school year, Nora had to watch her and her father go while she stayed behind. It had been hard, but she had adjusted. Now though, in the last few months, this had changed. It was just a few weeks before her eleventh birthday when she had learned her stepmother was pregnant.

Nora had been thrilled, beyond thrilled. This was something she had wanted for so long, and now here it was… or there it was… in New York. She was going to carry on over there, which to Nora had meant she wouldn't get to be part of all of it, to see as Rachel's belly grew, as the baby kicked, all of it. She'd be miles away.

But then to everyone's surprise, a few days after Nora's birthday, there had been a second revelation. Her mother was pregnant as well. Now she had two siblings on the way, in two mothers, in two cities… It was a lot to grasp for someone so young. The months had passed, getting to see one progress before her eyes, the other over pictures and video chat. Now Quinn was nearing on seven months, while Rachel was due within less than two weeks. That was good news: they were coming back to Lima for the birth.

Her mother was more tired now as she too neared her due date, though it was still weeks away, so Nora would help where she could. It helped keep her mind off the wait, if anything. She would carry up the laundry from the drier, all warm and fragrant, and they would fold it together. It wasn't her best skill, so Quinn would sneak a refold here and there, but she didn't mind.

"Is it okay if I go stay with them until the baby's born?" Nora asked as she focused on folding a shirt.

"Of course you can," Quinn assured her. "I know you've missed them… about as much as they've missed you," Quinn smiled, getting a matching grin in return.

"I can't wait to have sisters," she told her mother, looking at the belly that held one of them.

"That's what you've been telling us," Quinn nodded, then as they continued folding, "Are you sure there's nothing else?" She turned those blue eyes up, like she wasn't sure what her mother meant, but Quinn knew she did. "I know these last few months haven't been easy on you, so if there's anything you need to say, you just say it, right?" she asked.

"Right," Nora promised, continuing her folding, and Quinn watched her with a sigh. It wasn't like she didn't want these siblings, they all knew she did. But between Rachel and Puck still being in New York through all this, and Quinn and Finn having to prepare for this new addition over here as well, each of them feared the girl might be feeling left out, and they didn't want that. When the others would arrive, she would ask Puck to try and talk to her, see where her head was at. Out of all of them, he could always get her talking better than anyone.

When the doorbell rang, the socks in the girl's hands slipped back to the bed. Quinn smiled, nodding for her to go on while she finished up. Nora took off running, and as she reached the top of the stairs she could see them already in the hall. "Mom! Dad!" she called, dashing down as fast as her feet would carry her.

Puck was ready to catch her when she leapt into his arms, good and wrapped herself around him. "Hey, you," he held her tight as well, kissing the side of her head… He'd missed her crazy too. When he put her down, he observed her. "You're taller again," he remarked, and she laughed before turning to her stepmother. She stretched out her arms to hug her, pressing her hand to her belly… She was even bigger than her mother, obviously.

"Can I be in the room when she's born?" she begged.

"Are you sure you want to see that?" Rachel laughed, stroking the girl's blonde hair… She'd missed that face, missed her being actually there to hold, not just to see on a screen.

"Are you crying?" Nora asked, and she went on laughing as she wiped at her cheeks.

"Nothing that lasts, see?" she was still sniffling. "Where's your mom?"

"Upstairs. We were folding laundry."

"Were you?" Rachel nodded. "I think I'll go give her a hand." She saw the look on Puck's face. "Climbing those stairs very carefully, I promise."

"Please," he told her, absently reaching to put his arm around Nora when he felt her side hug him again. He looked down to her, and he felt overwhelmed all over again.

None of them liked being away from her, but to him it was personal. Maybe he still had residual feelings over his father walking out on his family all those years ago, but he never wanted Nora to feel abandoned. Their family's situation was what it was, they had no regrets, on most issues. But just as much as Nora had had difficulty settling with staying behind while he and Rachel went to New York, he had needed to deal with the concept of having to leave his daughter behind. It was something he'd known would end up having to happen, even before Nora had, but it didn't make it any easier. He and Rachel had had their problems in dealing with it where they were concerned, but they had gotten through it.

Now though he was seeing his daughter, seeing her swallow everything back, and he could see where this could end up if they didn't address it… She had a lot of temperaments in that DNA of hers, with him and Quinn, and even with Finn and with Rachel.

"Hey, I need to go look for something. You want to come with me?"

"Okay," Nora nodded immediately.

"Well, come on, get your shoes on," he nodded, and she was off. He just hoped it would still be where he had left it. At first he had intended for it to go to his sister, but Sarah had not been up for that. In the end, maybe this was why, so he could give it to his daughter.

"Ready!" she came running back.

"Go tell them we're heading out, I'll get the car going."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)