A/N: I know this has terrible writing at the beginning. Ignore it and live through it! Sorry if that's harsh. I REALLY appreciate reviews!!!!!!!!
Love is overrated: I'm sorry I didn't post this when I said I would. Sorry! But it's here now. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or any of the characters (besides Violet). I DO own the plot.
Rachel hummed as she walked around her apartment. The pretty twenty-three year-old was a happy Broadway star, achieving her dream as soon as she got out of high-school. No longer was she the singing freak, the girl who got slushied every day. She was the Broadway star, the pretty woman, the popular one. Her new life hadn't been that troubling.
Rachel put on her coat and stepped out the door. She left the building, starting to sing.
"The moment I wake up,
Before I put on my make-up,
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair now,
And wondering what dress to wear now,
I say a little prayer for you
Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever, we never will part
Oh, how I love you
Together, forever, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me
I run for the bus, dear,
While riding I think of us, dear,
I say a little prayer for you.
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time,
I say a little prayer for you."
She paused, taking a breath. A voice continued where she left off.
"Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, forever, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.
I say a little prayer for you
I say a little prayer for you
My darling believe me,
For me there is no one but you!
Please love me too
And I'm in love with you
Answer my prayer now babe
Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, forever, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me."
Rachel knew that voice. It had been five years, but she would never forget a voice. She whirled around and saw the familiar blond. "Quinn?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Rach." Quinn smiled. She brought forward a young girl, about seven years old. "This is Violet. Violet, this is Rachel."
Violet stepped forward, a bit hesitant. A small smile on her lips, she asked, "Are you an acquaintance of Mama's?"
"We were friends in high school, and I think we are now. Are you her daughter?" Rachel said, bending down to the young girl. Rachel had outgrown her dictionary-talk, and it seemed that it had been passed down to the young girl.
"Yes, I am," Violet said. "I don't see Dad much. He still lives in Lima. Mama and I moved here the year I started kindergarten. But now we have to move." Her nose wrinkled. "I like our place."
"Quinn," Rachel said as an idea popped into her mind, "why don't you two stay with me? I've got spare rooms in my apartment."
Quinn looked at Rachel sharply, surprise etched on her face. "Really? You mean it?"
Rachel looked at the shabby coats of the two females before her. "I don't think you could afford a new place, not if you can't dress with regular clothes. I'll take you to my place right now."
"Are you sure?" Quinn asked. "I don't want to be a burden."
Rachel waved her hand. "No, no. I'm lonely by myself. I like to be with people."
Quinn smiled. "Thanks a lot, Rach."
Six months later....
Rachel sat in the hospital waiting room, her hands twisting in her lap. Violet sat beside her, still as a stone. She was biting her lip, her eyes darkened with worry.
A nurse came over to the two anxious girls. "I'm so sorry. She didn't make it."
Rachel broke down first. Tears streaming down her face, she asked, "What happened?"
"Heart attack," the nurse replied, blunt in a good way.
Rachel remembered what had happened the night before.
The two women were sharing jokes and telling stories not long after Violet had gone to bed. It wasn't expected, what happened next. Quinn froze, right in the middle of sharing a story of Violet's first day of school.
"Quinn?" Rachel asked, her brow furrowed. She shook the blonde's arm, but Quinn didn't reply. "Quinn!"
Quinn fell over.
Violet buried her face in her hands. "Not Mama," she cried. "I still need her. I'm just a little kid."
Rachel stroked the girl's back. "There, there," she said. "It'll be okay."
Instead of pulling away as she usually did, Violet let herself be comforted.
One month later....
Rachel, dressed in her now-usual black outfit, walked around the kitchen, making pancakes for breakfast. It used to be special, only on weekends—and sometimes not even then—but now, it was every day, for Violet needed comfort food. And pancakes were on the top of the list.
There was a knock on the door. Rachel looked up. No one was expected, and no decent salesmen knocked on the door at seven-thirty in the morning.
Maybe it was her landlord. She hadn't paid rent this month, and, as she always paid her rent on time, she was in trouble. She could just imagine herself and Violet getting kicked out of the lovely little apartment and having to live on the street. She shuddered. Best to get this over now, she told herself.
Biting her lip, she took the pancakes off the hot burner and onto the unheated one. She took a deep breath, bracing herself.
She opened the door, expecting to see the burly form of her landlord.
She did not expect to see Noah Puckerman.