Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence

Author: ebb in and away

Rating: T (see warning)

Spoilers: Up until now(very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.

Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.

Chapter 1

Sebastian walked down the halls of Dalton, thinking about how inferior to him many of his fellow Warblers happened to be. He was on his way to practice when he turned a corner and collided with someone. He muttered a half hearted apology, ignoring the fact that the girl he had knocked to the ground was shaking and gasping for air, clearly not well.

David had been on his way to practice with Trent when he saw the crumpled figure on the floor. He immediately approached the person, gasping as he realized who it happened to be.

"Trent. Go get Nick. Now!"

Trent left at a run, knowing that only the girl's brother would be able to help her.

Beatrice had been fine until colliding with that guy. Now, she was seeing the events of her attack several years before. Each little detail came flooding back.

"Nick!"

Trent burst through the doors to the practice room. Nick looked up in alarm.

"Trent? What is going on, what's wrong?"

"It's Beatrice. David and I found her on the floor by the front doors, she looked like she was having another flashback."

Nick ran out the doors, Trent hot on his heels.

Jeff walked into the practice room, unaware of what had happened until he got a text from David. Sebastian was sitting on one of the couches, clearly not worried about anything. Jeff looked at him and the other Warblers in the room.

"Beatrice is having another flashback. Practice might be postponed."

He then ran out of the room, missing Sebastian's eye roll and completely lack of concern.

Nick and Trent had reached David and Beatrice. Nick immediately dropped to his knees and David moved so Nick could reach her.

"Come on, Little Bit. You're safe. You are safe and loved. I won't let them hurt you ever again. Come back, Little Bit. Please."

Beatrice's shaking slowed as Nick talked to her, reality coming back to her as her big brother's voice cut through the terror and confusion.

Jeff had reached the group minutes after Nick and Trent, feeling worried until Beatrice's shaking came to a stop. He and Nick had been best friends since elementary school, so he had practically grown up with him, helping to take care of Beatrice occasionally when Nick's parents went out. Beatrice was important to him, more important than anyone could ever truly know.

Beatrice had finally come out of the flashback, still feeling a little shaky, but better now that her brother had her wrapped up in a tight hug. She was a little bit confused, but that was normal for after one of her flashbacks. Nick released her and stood before gently lifting her into his arms and following David and Trent back to the practice room, Jeff walking beside him.

When David, Nick, Trent, Jeff, and Beatrice finally reached the practice room, it was empty. David sighed before pulling out his cell phone to text the others to come to the meeting. Warblers started filtering into the room, most of them having met Beatrice and knowing about her flashbacks. Right as David started the meeting, Sebastian walked into the room. Beatrice, who had been sitting next to Jeff since she no longer felt right sitting at the council table without Wes there, was reading a book that Nick normally left in his bag in case she decided to surprise him with a visit before practice. She looked up when she heard the door shut, then froze, her face going pale. Jeff, who had just been about to stand so they could practice, saw how pale she had become.

"Beatrice, what's wrong? Beatrice?"

Nick looked over when he heard the slight note of panic in his best friend's voice, then hurried around the council table to his sister.

"Little Bit, what is it? What's wrong?"

Beatrice gripped Nick's sleeve, her eyes tracking Sebastian's every movement. Sebastian turned and saw her.

"What is she doing here?"

His tone was less than kind, and Jeff noticed.

"She is Nick's younger sister. She has been coming to meetings for years now, since Nick joined the Warblers. Do you know her or something?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"I ran into her on my way here."

Nick whirled around, staring at Sebastian for a moment before turning to David and Thad with a pleading expression. Thad sighed.

"Alright, Warblers, practice for today is canceled. Most of you will understand why, I'm sure."

The boys walked out of the room, several of them stopping to pat Beatrice's shoulder or give her a small smile on their way out.

Sebastian remained seated. Once everybody excepting Beatrice, Nick, Jeff, Trent, and David had left, he spoke.

"Would anybody mind explaining to me what is going on here?"

David started texting, sending a message to Wes in the hopes that he could visit since he was on spring break from college. Nick, whom Beatrice was still refusing to let go of, looked over at Jeff, silently asking him to explain as much as he deemed safe. Jeff nodded.

"She had an...incident a few years ago, right before Nick joined the Warblers. The first meeting that she attended was when Wes had started his first year on the council. Nick's mom had to work, as well as his dad, so their mom dropped her off with Nick, the only option that was really available. Nick explained what had happened to the council, and they immediately accepted the idea of her sitting through the practice, as long as she didn't become a huge distraction."

Jeff smiled as he remembered what had happened during that meeting.

"The council had sat down and were giving feedback on how we were sounding as a group when we all saw Wes look down. Beatrice had sat on the floor behind the desk so she wouldn't be a huge distraction, but she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. For some reason, Wes seemed to make her feel safe, so she had fallen asleep by him and her head fell into his lap."

Nick, who had been talking to Beatrice and Trent, spoke up.

"I remember that that was the day when I felt like Wes was truly a good person and friend. He didn't scold me or Little Bit, he just let her sleep and made sure that the gavel tap he used to dismiss the meeting was very soft so it wouldn't scare her."

Just then, David got a text from Wes: "When your phone rings, put it on speaker phone."

David smiled and waited. Just as Sebastian was about to ask another question, David's phone rang and he immediately put it on speaker phone. Wes's voice filtered through the speaker, immediately catching Beatrice's attention.

"Coffee, not tea. Honey, not butter. That's what makes the heart flutter."

Beatrice was beginning to smile and let go of Nick so she could approach the table. Now it was her turn to sing the song that she had wrote with Wes as a way to pass the time during the day he had visited Nick at their house.

"A grain of sand, not salt. A drop of rain, not a ray of sun. That is when I feel my day has truly begun."

Wes's warm laugh floated out of the speaker before he spoke.

"Come find me, Nick's Little Bit."

Beatrice looked to David for permission to grab his phone. Once she had permission, she grabbed the phone off of the desk and ran out the doors. Nick sighed.

"Shall we go after her? I know that I want to see Wes soon, and I'm guessing you guys do too?"

David smiled.

"You read my mind. Come on, let's go see how he's fairing against her enthusiastic hugs of greeting."

Beatrice was running down the hall, excited to see the former council member. She rounded the next corner and saw him at the end of the hall by the front doors. She stopped abruptly when he held up his hand.

"Go slow. Be ladylike."

Beatrice stood up straight and slowly approached. By this point, the boys who had remained in the practice room had caught up to Beatrice. Beatrice was halfway down the hallway before Wes spoke again.

"Oh, come here you!"

A grin spread across Beatrice's face as she broke into a run again, flinging herself into Wes's waiting arms. A small smile was on each of the other boys' faces, excluding Sebastian, but Wes's mouth was stretched into a huge grin as Beatrice clung to him. The others approached when Beatrice let go of him, still staying close. The boys greeted him enthusiastically before introducing him to Sebastian. Wes shook hands with him before turning to Nick.

"David said she had another flashback today?"

"Yeah. Apparently she collided with Sebastian."

"Ahh."

Wes looked to David next.

"Are Blaine and Kurt coming to visit or do we have to go to them?"

"They're on their way now. I texted Blaine so he could tell Kurt that he would be meeting someone."

"Good."

Wes finally turned back to Beatrice.

"Let's go curl up on a couch in the practice room. Come on, little one."

He held out his hand which Beatrice immediately grabbed, and everyone, except for Sebastian, headed back to the practice room to wait for Blaine and Kurt.