A/N – I've got a two-parter for you. Rachel is 8 and Quinn is 9 and together they try and hide a box of stray kittens. Along the way, they might also find a new understanding about each other. Shelby has always been a part of Rachel's life and she shares custody with Hiram and Leroy.
The basis for this idea was given to me by Lcarzemag. I hope you like it!
I would recommend that you read two of my other one shot stories that deal with Quinn and Rachel as kids and how they relate to each other. The first is called "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" and the second is called "Skinned Knees and Ice Cream Cones." They will help a lot with understanding where Rachel and Quinn are coming from in this little story.
Thank you all so much. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
Rachel knew that if Broadway didn't work out, she could be a spy. There was no doubt. She was smart. She was sneaky. And she could sing. She didn't really know if being able to sing was a pre requirement for being a spy, but she figured it couldn't hurt. If nothing else, she could play a spy on Broadway.
Rachel had been putting her spy skills to the test for at least a week now and she tried to appear as nonchalant as possible as she walked down the street away from her mother's house. It was two weeks into the new summer and Rachel was enjoying her freedom from school. The third grade had been fun, but it hadn't been her favorite year; that was still kindergarten. Quinn Fabray had arrived in the third grade and had taken the light teasing Rachel used to deal with to a whole new level. The girl had come home in tears on more than one occasion because of Quinn and the two had even been in a fight.
But Rachel had also seen another side to her blonde nemesis when Quinn had spent an afternoon with her and her mother. She thought they were going to be friends after that, but Quinn hadn't followed through. Rachel was just glad that summer was here because that meant she'd have three whole months where she wouldn't have to see the girl or even think about her. And hopefully Quinn wouldn't be in her fourth grade class. Although, if she was being honest, she'd have to admit that she had had a fun time with Quinn when they'd gotten ice cream that afternoon, but that had only made it hurt worse when Quinn bullied her next day in school.
Rachel stopped at the corner and looked back towards her house. Her mom had said she could play outside while she vacuumed and the eight-year-old knew just where she wanted to go. It wasn't far, but it also wasn't allowed. Shelby lived two houses down from the corner and Rachel was not allowed any farther than that when she played. Unbeknownst to her mother, Rachel had been testing the limits for a little while now. Only going to the corner did not give her very much room to play. Her imagination simply took up more space than that. She figured her mother would understand. She also figured that it would be best not to mention her excursions into No Man's Land to her parents just yet.
Once she made sure there were no cars coming, Rachel quickly crossed the street so she could continue on with her covert mission. The book bag she carried on her back made a little too much noise for her liking, but there wasn't much she could do about that right now. She needed that stuff, so she would have to deal with the noise.
Rachel went seven more houses down until she reached the grassy entrance to a park not many people played in. It was old and the neighborhood had organized a bigger and better one to be built a few streets over. This was as far as Rachel dared to go. And it was a good thing she did because she had made a huge discovery two days ago.
"Hi," Rachel cooed as she sat down next to the box she'd hidden in a shaded corner and pulled the blanket off the top. Six kittens looked up at her and mewed. They all started to try and climb the side of the box.
"Bernadette, wait," Rachel instructed. "Patti, don't climb on Liza." She reached in and separated some of the kittens and gently set them back down. "I brought you something."
Rachel opened her book bag and pulled out a bottle of water and a bottle of milk. It had been hard to pour the milk from the gallon jug into a normal water bottle, but Rachel always made sure to clean up the mess before her mother saw. The kittens all started to mew even louder when they saw what she had.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," Rachel said. "Mom made me clean my room this morning. I wish I knew what happened to your mommy."
While she was talking, Rachel took two bowls out of her bag and set them in the grass next to her and filled each with milk. She then picked up the kittens, two at a time, and set them in the grass near the bowls. It didn't take long for all six of them to start eating.
"I wish I had more food I could bring for you," Rachel said. "But I don't know what kittens eat besides for milk and I don't have any money to buy any food."
Rachel filled the two bowls again when they became empty and the happy kittens continued to drink.
"I wish I could take you home, but my dad is allergic to cats and so we can't have one," Rachel lamented. "Even at my mom's house because my dads are always over there and even if they weren't they said I'd end up with car hair all over me. He sneezes a lot and turns red." She'd be going back to her dads' house in a couple of days and so she hadn't worried about the fact she'd been covered in kittens for two days. She'd worry about that later.
The kittens only looked up at her occasionally while she was talking. Rachel sat cross-legged in the grass and watched them. This had been her routine for the past two days. She spent as much time as she dared and then she would run back home to check in and then come back. She cried the first night she'd left them alone and Shelby thought the girl had been having a nightmare and put Rachel in bed with her.
The kittens finally finished eating and started to wander around. They never went far, but Rachel knew they needed to stretch their legs and get exercise since they always had to stay in the box otherwise.
Rachel smiled as her favorite of the six walked over to her and tried to climb into her lap. Rachel picked it up and held her close so they could cuddle. She knew she would have to go back soon, but she wanted a few more minutes.
"Rachel."
Rachel spun around quickly with wide eyes because she was worried her mother had caught her. She didn't expect to see the person she saw standing there watching her.
"Quinn."
"What are you doing?" Quinn asked. She dropped her bike to the ground and walked over to her.
"Why do you care?" Rachel retorted.
"I saw you run in here, but you never came out," Quinn shrugged. "I was riding my bike. Whose kittens are those?"
"Mine," Rachel answered. "I found them two days ago. They don't have a mommy. I didn't think you were supposed to be over here by my house."
"I'm not," Quinn said. "My mom told me that it's too far to ride by myself and my dad says that I need to stay over on our side. I didn't know we had our own side. But my mom was busy inside and she said I could go out and play. I ride down here a lot."
Rachel wished she understood why Quinn could be nice to her now and not when they were in school. Part of her wanted to tell the other girl to go away and part of her couldn't help but liking having someone her age around, even if it was mean Quinn Fabray.
"I'm not supposed to come down this far either," Rachel confided. "My mom doesn't know."
"I didn't think you ever broke the rules," Quinn said as she sat down in the grass and started to pet Bernadette.
"I didn't think you knew how to be nice," Rachel shot back.
Quinn looked down and away from Rachel and drew her knees into her chest and rested her head on them. She looked out at the old park and said, "My dad says I'm not allowed to be friends with everyone. He'd be really angry if he knew I was here."
Rachel wasn't sure what to say to that. Her parents had told her that she could be friends with whomever she liked. Not that she had any, thanks in part to the girl sitting just a couple of feet away.
"Maybe if you didn't tell him who your friend was," Rachel suggested.
"Maybe," Quinn agreed. She wished she knew how to explain it better, but she was afraid of being caught. Her dad said lots of things and she never understood why she shouldn't say them too or why she shouldn't act the same way he did. She didn't understand why she'd gotten a spanking for fighting with Rachel because her dad always said those same things about the girl and her fathers. She didn't understand why her own mother didn't give her a big hug the way Ms. Corcoran had that one day when they'd had ice cream. The woman hadn't even scolded her when she dropped ice cream on her shirt. And most of all, she didn't understand how she'd had such a good time with Rachel and her mom when her dad always said that they were bad and that she shouldn't go near them. She'd had fun with Rachel, but she couldn't have fun with Rachel. Her parents said so and the other kids at school said so. She'd felt so bad about being mean to Rachel the day after they'd had ice cream and she'd never felt bad before. She almost asked her mom the next day if she could go to Rachel's house again, but she was afraid they would take her new little lamb away. Rachel was not allowed and Quinn knew that.
"Do they have names?" Quinn asked to break the silence that had settled over them.
"Of course," Rachel said. "You're petting Bernadette. That's Audra and Liza. Patti is by the box. Bette is still licking the bowl. And this one is my favorite," Rachel held up the one in her arms. "She's Barbra."
Rachel actually had no idea if all of the kittens were girls, but she didn't care. The names she had given them worked perfectly.
"Why don't you take them home?" Quinn asked.
"I can't. My dad's allergic and I'm not allowed to have a cat. I found the box two days ago. I think someone just left them here. There was a blanket over the box, but I could hear them crying. Maybe you could take them home!" Rachel would be sad not to be able to see her friends anymore, but at least they'd have a house and be taken care of.
"No," Quinn answered quickly. "I can't."
"Oh," Rachel sighed and held Barbra closer until she started to squirm to be let down.
"If your dad is allergic then doesn't he know you've been around some cats?" Quinn asked.
"My dads are out of town," Rachel said. "A friend of theirs got married in Chicago yesterday. They'll be back in a couple of days. I'll have it figured out by then."
"What are you going to do?" Quinn asked.
"I don't know," Rachel admitted.
"Oh." Quinn stopped petting Bernadette when the tiny kitten was ready to move away from her and explore with her siblings. "My dad is out of town too. For his job. He won't be back until the end of the week."
"Is that why you can ride over here?" Rachel asked and Quinn just shrugged.
They sat in silence for another few minutes as the kittens played around them. Neither girl really knew what to say and the longer it went on the more uncomfortable it became.
"I better go now," Rachel said. "My mom'll start to look for me soon."
"Ok," Quinn responded.
Together, they put the kittens back in the box and Rachel filled the bowl she had left in there with water. She then put the blanket back in place and repacked her book bag.
"If you want to, you can come to my house," Rachel said. She surprised even herself with the invitation, but she meant it.
"No," Quinn answered. "I have to go too."
"Ok."
"Will you be back here tomorrow?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah."
"Ok."
Quinn walked to her bike and rode off without looking back.
Quinn did go back the next day, but she didn't find the calm scene she'd found the day before. Rachel was urging the kittens to eat faster and to stop running around because they were going to have to go soon.
"Rachel?" Quinn asked with a hint of concern in her voice as she dropped her bike and made her way to the back corner of the park.
Rachel stopped what she was doing and looked up. "You came back."
"Yeah… What's wrong?"
"It's going to rain soon," Rachel said. "It's supposed to storm."
"Really?" Quinn asked. She looked up at the sky and saw storm clouds, but they looked to be some distance away. She hadn't even noticed. She wondered if she could make it home before it started raining. She didn't think her mom would like it if she came home soaking wet because she'd been farther away than she was supposed to be. She knew her dad wouldn't but he wasn't home.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "My mom was watching the news at lunchtime and the weather lady said that it was supposed to storm all night. I can't leave them out here in a storm, Quinn. They're so little. They'd be so scared." Rachel herself did not like thunderstorms. The thunder always made her jump.
"What are you going to do with them?" Quinn asked as she kneeled down on the ground next to Rachel. She'd never admit it, but she was scared of storms too even though she pretended not to be. But she did like the rain. And she thought the lightening was pretty. But sometimes the thunder was so loud it was like someone was yelling.
"I have to take them home," Rachel said. "I can hide them in my room until the storm is over. It's the only way, Quinn." Rachel spoke in a dramatic voice as if she were talking about some lifesaving surgery that needed to take place right there in that park.
It started to sprinkle then and both girls looked up and Quinn was surprised at how fast the storm clouds reached them. They both looked at each other for a second until a clap of thunder made them both jump and stand up. Quinn needed to get home.
"Quinn, will you help me carry the box to my house? Please? It's too heavy for me to carry on my own," Rachel said. "When I found it, I had to drag it back here. I can't drag it all the way home."
"I'm gonna get in trouble," Quinn murmured more for herself than for Rachel.
"Quinn, please," Rachel pleaded. "You can stay at my house and my mom can take you home." In her hurry to get the kittens inside, Rachel was forgetting that the scenario she laid out is exactly what would get Quinn in trouble.
The kittens were starting to mew louder now as they grew agitated with the weather.
"Ok," Quinn said.
They gathered up the kittens and put them in the box and Rachel did a last headcount to make sure she wasn't leaving anyone behind and then placed the blanket on top to protect them. Quinn held the handle on one end and Rachel the other and together they carried the box out of the park, only stopping long enough for Quinn to pick up her bike and helmet and balance them with her other hand.
They walked as quickly as they could back to Rachel's house, but were still completely drenched by the time they got there. The thunder was a little close for each of their likings and they were glad when they reached the porch. After setting the box down, Quinn put the kickstand down on her bike and dangled her helmet from the handlebars. She was glad there was a place to put it so that it wouldn't sit out in the rain. Her dad wouldn't like that.
Rachel opened the front door a stepped in a little bit and looked around. She had to make sure her mother wasn't anywhere she could see them. They needed to get the kittens up to Rachel's room and hidden for the night. She would figure out what to do tomorrow when the rain had stopped.
"Mama?" Rachel yelled. "Mom?"
"I'm in the basement, Rachel," Shelby yelled back. "I'm putting some laundry in the dryer, I'll be right up."
"Ok," Rachel yelled. "Come on, Quinn, we've got to hurry."
They picked the box up again and hurried into the house and headed straight for the stairs.
"Rach?" Shelby yelled when she got up to the main level. "Honey?"
"Quick," Rachel said when they reached her bedroom.
"Where are we going to hide them?" Quinn asked as Rachel shut the door.
"In the closet," Rachel said.
Rachel opened the door and they put the box inside, not bothering to put the blanket back in place on top when it fell off. There was no time. Rachel knew that her mother was probably on her way up there right now.
The closet door was closed just as the bedroom door was opened. Both girls spun around to face Shelby as she entered.
"Rachel? Oh," Shelby stopped short when she saw that Quinn was there as well. "Hello, Quinn."
"Hi, Ms. Corcoran," Quinn said with a smile.
"What's going on?" Shelby asked. Both girls were soaking wet.
"We got caught out in the storm," Rachel answered. "I told Quinn she could come in here."
"Why didn't you wait downstairs?" Shelby asked. "So you didn't get water and mud everywhere?" She was looking at their shoes and then raised an eyebrow at Rachel.
"I don't know," Rachel said.
"Rachel," Shelby scolded lightly. "Quinn, do your parents know where you are?"
Quinn hung her head and shrugged. Shelby was going to take that as a no.
"Are you allowed to ride your bike this far?" Shelby asked knowingly. Her parents had not seemed happy the last time she had dropped Quinn off. It was a lot farther than she would ever let Rachel ride her bike alone. Rachel wasn't allowed past the corner and she knew better than to break that rule.
"I'm usually home by now," Quinn answered.
"Quinn," Shelby used the same tone she had just used on Rachel.
Rachel wasn't paying attention to them because she had her ears trained on the closet to see if she could hear any of the kittens. They seemed to be staying quiet and she was pleased. They knew they needed to stay quiet so they wouldn't get caught. Her kittens were geniuses.
"Quinn, I'm going to call your house and let your parents know where you are," Shelby said.
"Just my mom's home," Quinn said. "My dad is out of town."
"I'll call her then," Shelby said.
"Can I call her?" Quinn asked. "I'll just tell her I'm at a friend's house and I'll be home after the storm ends."
Shelby sighed and understood Quinn's dilemma, but the little girl didn't understand that that's not how it worked. "I'm not going to lie to your mother, sweetheart, and neither are you. Don't worry; I'll explain. But first things first, I want both of you to go into the bathroom." She needed to get the wet girls off of her carpet.
"Why?" Rachel asked.
"You need to get dry and warm," Shelby said. Both girls were shivering now because the air conditioner running in the house. It was a hot summer storm they were having outside.
"But-"
"Now, Rachel. Come on. You too, Quinn."
The girls filed out in front of Shelby and into the hall bathroom that served as Rachel's. She grabbed them each a towel and handed it to them and instructed them to take their shoes and socks off.
"I'll just grab some clothes for you two to put on," Shelby said.
"Mama, bring us pajamas," Rachel said quickly.
"Pajamas?" Shelby asked. It was only four in the afternoon.
"We'll be more comfortable and Quinn probably won't fit into any of my clothes," Rachel said. And the pajamas weren't in the closet so her mom wouldn't have to go in there.
"Ok," Shelby said. "I'll be right back."
Shelby grabbed and extra towel and went into Rachel's room and put the towel down to try and dry some of the wet spots on the floor. Next she turned to the dresser to get a couple of old t-shirts and pajama pants. And a pair of panties for Rachel. She planned to put Quinn's clothes in the wash so she would have to hack it without until they were dry.
Shelby found a pair pajama pants that were still too big for Rachel and got them for Quinn and then pulled out the rest of the clothes. Rachel liked to sleep in old t-shirts that belonged to her parents so Shelby found two that had been hers once upon a time. They would be too big for both girls, but at least they'd be comfortable.
A tiny noise caught Shelby's attention and she stopped what she was doing so she could listen harder. She hadn't heard anything after a moment so she gathered the clothes up, but stopped when she heard it again. She listened for longer this time and turned her head towards the closet. What was that?
Shelby put the clothes down on Rachel's bed and went to the closet door and put her ear close to it so she could hear it again. It sounded like… cats. That was crazy. As she was opening the door to check, Shelby wondered if Rachel had left some toy or music on or someth- Kittens. And not just kittens; wet kittens.
Shelby gaped at what she saw. There were three cats climbing up the clothes hanging in Rachel's closet. And there was one more crawling around on the floor. They mewed louder when the noticed Shelby standing there. She stared at the wet box and the wet blanket and the wet kittens and it clicked in her head.
"Rachel Barbra Berry!"
Rachel's head shot up and she looked over at Quinn whose eyes were wide. That really could only mean one thing. Rachel left the bathroom with Quinn right behind and went into her room.
"Mommy?" she asked innocently.
"Don't you mommy me, young lady," Shelby said sternly. As sternly as one could look while holding two kittens with another was trying to climb up the leg of your pants. Another kitten was making a break from the closet and headed towards the bed.
"Why are there kittens in your closet?" Shelby asked.
"It was raining," Rachel said as if that explained everything.
"Get him before he goes under your bed," Shelby said.
"Bernadette, don't," Rachel said as she stepped forward to scoop up the kitten. Shelby just rolled her eyes at the name.
Quinn wisely stayed back by the door and didn't say anything.
"Rachel, where did these kittens come from?" Shelby asked.
"Someone left them in the box," Rachel said. "I couldn't leave them out in the rain. They're just babies."
"How many are there?" Shelby asked. She'd worry about the details in a few minutes because right now she needed to make sure that all the kittens were accounted for.
"Six," Rachel answered. "Barbra, Bette, Bernadette, Patti, Liza, and Audra."
Of course those where their names. Shelby did a quick head count and only saw four. She went into the closet and saw one more curled into a ball and sleeping in the box. She pulled it out into the room and set the two in her hands in it and pried the other off her pants. Rachel added hers.
"We're missing one," Shelby said.
"Liza's missing!" Rachel was much more panicked.
"Let's find her," Shelby said. The last thing she needed was a loose kitten in the house. She was already running through a list of things she'd have to clean and wash before Hiram came over and before Rachel went back because of his allergies. She'd have to wash all of the clothes in the closet. Shelby groaned.
Rachel went into the closet and got down on her hands and knees so she could search for the missing kitten.
"Liza," Rachel called softly.
Shelby started to look around the room and instructed Quinn to look under the bed. Quinn did as she was told, but she didn't see anything.
"Here she is!" Rachel said brightly. Shelby looked in saw the tiny kitten curled into one of Rachel's red shoes, sleeping.
Once Liza was returned to the box, Shelby put the blanket on top and carried the whole thing from the room.
"Where are you taking them?" Rachel said as she hurried after them. "Mama, you can't put them outside in the rain."
"Rachel, I'm not going to put them outside in the rain," Shelby said. She wasn't heartless. "I'm going to put them in the basement. You two wait here."
The girls waited in the kitchen while Shelby went into the basement. The woman set the box down and kept it covered. She tried to build a square around it by moving stuff to block the box in, but she was pretty sure the tiny cats could find a way out of it if they wanted.
Shelby returned to the kitchen and stood in front of the girls with her arms crossed over her chest. Quinn stood still and kept her eyes trained away from Shelby, but Rachel fidgeted from foot to foot and wouldn't look up at her mother.
"Rachel, where did those kittens come from?" Shelby asked.
"I found them in a box," Rachel said. "Someone just left them. I couldn't leave them all alone."
Shelby knew that. Rachel had a big heart and would have cared for any baby animal she'd found. "Why didn't you tell me you found a box of kittens?"
"Because I can't have a cat in the house," Rachel said.
"And yet there are six cats in my house," Shelby said.
"I was taking care of them," Rachel said. "But I couldn't leave them in the rain."
"Rachel, I know you mean well, but you needed to find these kittens help. They need food and shelter and shots and everything else. You haven't been scratched or bitten by one, have you?" Shelby asked.
"No," Rachel answered her. "And I've been making sure they drink. I've been giving them milk and water for a few days now and-"
"A few days?" Shelby cut her off. "I thought you found them today when it started to rain."
"Oh. Umm… No. I found them a few days ago," Rachel said. "And they're probably hungry now. They didn't get to finish all their milk before it started to rain." She was trying to change the subject away from how long she'd been looking after them.
"Where did you find them?" Shelby asked.
Rachel cast a quick glance over at Quinn who had no solutions for her the girl next to her.
"I just found them," Rachel said.
"I know that," Shelby told her. "Where?" Had someone dropped a box of kittens in her backyard and she didn't even know it?
"They sounded like they were crying," Rachel said. "The box was just out in the open."
"Where?" Shelby asked again, a little more forcefully. Why did she get the feeling she wasn't going to like this answer?
"Just a little ways down the street," Rachel answered. "You know… just a little ways."
"Rachel," Shelby threatened lowly.
"The old park," Rachel finally admitted.
Shelby's eyebrows shot up and she put her hands on her hips. "You are not allowed down to the old park by yourself, young lady. How long have you been going down there?"
"Eight days," Rachel answered dejectedly. Her career as a spy had only lasted eight days.
"Rachel, look at me," Shelby said in a serious voice that left Rachel no choice but to look up. "We will be talking about this later."
"Yes, Mama," Rachel whispered out.
A neighborhood away, Judy Fabray was on her front porch looking out into the pouring rain. She'd called Quinn's name countless times, but her daughter was clearly not around. The mother was growing more and more panicked. She had expected to see Quinn come in as soon as it started raining. She had been riding her bike, but she knew better than to stay out in a storm like this. Judy had called a few of her friends, but was getting the same answer. No one had seen Quinn.
A/N – I hope you all like this one. The next (and final) chapter should be out tomorrow. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
