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 32nd cycle. Now cycle 33!

Hear that little bird twitter! Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!

"Not So Different, Not So Similar"
Artie/Lucy (OC), Stella
Sequel to 'Show them what you've got'

Artie had just finished fixing up his laces as best he could, trying not to get hit by backpacks in the process, and he looked up to find legs… He looked up and there she was… He couldn't see her anymore without feeling a flutter at his heart… Hopefully she wouldn't catch any of it in his voice.

"Hey, didn't see you…"

"I wanted to surprise you," Lucy shrugged, making him smile. She didn't say anything after that though. With anyone else it might not have meant much, but this was Lucy… and this gave him pause. Before he could ask though, she finally got around to putting a question out there. "I need to ask you something," she started, again with the uncharacteristic silent beats. "It's Stella."

Artie's relationship with Lucy's little sister, so far, was nothing too special. She didn't warm to the boy just because he, like her, was in a wheelchair, in fact she almost seemed to resent it. Lucy would apologize, but Artie would insist it was alright.

"I know you said it was alright if we needed to call on you for…"

"I did," he nodded. She still searched her words, and he hated seeing her like this, because he could see how upset she was. "Come here," he led her to an empty room, better to talk at ease. She sat at one of the desks, and he wheeled in to face her.

"She's been struggling, since the beginning, but it'd be better some days, you know?" He nodded silently. "Last weekend, our grandparents flew in for a visit. Our grandmother… She means well; I know it, and Stella does, too. But she goes around like Stella can't do anything for herself, and she finally just lost it, stormed off… and then she crashed out of her chair. It was an accident, but then she hurt her leg in the fall."

"She freaked out?" Artie guessed.

"Yeah…" her voice confirmed – big time. "She could see it was bleeding… we all saw it. But she couldn't feel it, and… Took me and my mother staying with her for a while to get her calm again, but she hasn't… She hasn't said a word since then, it's like she's shut down…" It was only once she stopped speaking and silence set in that she realized he was holding her hands; he realized it, too, didn't even see he'd done it. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should let go, or…

But then he began to feel something… He didn't look, almost for fear that if he did then she'd stop doing it, but he could feel her thumbs, very lightly brushing against his palms. He didn't have to look down though… There were her eyes, staring back at him… He didn't know how to describe them but in that instant he'd remember thinking that if he leaned in to kiss her right then, she wouldn't pull away… she'd even respond.

But he couldn't do that, and not just because it would have been wrong for it to happen right then, after what they were discussing, the way she was practically in tears… Beyond that, he didn't want his first kiss with Lucy Collins to be tied to a moment like this… The restraint was weighing on him though… He very much wanted to kiss this girl…

"Let me try and talk to her?" he offered. He could see she still hesitated, like she knew it was the answer, but she didn't want to have to use it.

But finally it was decided, and Artie would go to her house that afternoon. When they arrived, Mrs Collins was at the kitchen table working, like she was the first time he'd seen her. They didn't stop in to speak to her though, instead going on straight to the living room, where Stella was laid out on the couch. Just like the day he'd met her, the plastic horse was still clutched in her hand, but what his eyes were drawn to was the white bandage making a band around her left leg, below the knee. She was watching television, making a show of it, but he knew she'd seen them.

"Hey, Stell," Lucy spoke, and the girl gave a wave without looking. Lucy looked to Artie. "I'll be right back." After she'd stepped out, the only sounds in the room came from the television. Artie moved up.

"What are you watching?" he asked, though as expected she didn't respond. "I like your horse," he tried again. "Does he have a name? Or does she have a name?" Stella didn't speak, though she turned the horse about in her hands.

He remembered being her age, the way he'd feel at times. He wouldn't say things, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't want to upset his parents… more precisely, his mother. Being around the Collins family, he could already tell Stella had this, not with her mother, but with her father. The accident bound them together, filled her father with fear, and Stella with the knowledge she was the reason for it. Putting all the pieces together now, he had a good feeling he knew what was on the short redhead's mind.

"I know you might not want to talk. I'm not going to make you." He paused. "You remember the first thing you asked me, the day I first came here? You asked how I got like this. I told you it was a car accident." He paused again. She didn't speak, but the toy had stilled in her hand. "My mother was there, too. She was fine… I wasn't. It made us closer after, but I could see it in her eyes, in how she acted around me… like it could happen again, like I was vulnerable now." He hesitated to think whether she'd know what the word meant. Then she looked down at the plastic horse. "You've never been back there, have you?" he cut to the chase so suddenly he caught her off guard, he saw her face try not to change. "But you want to, right?" The words were right there, so near to spilling. "What was your horse's name?" he asked, and then…

"Clover," her little voice emerged, and so did a few trailing tears. "I miss her." Artie could feel Lucy was near, listening, unseen. He didn't betray her presence.

"Where's Clover now?" he asked.

"Dad wanted to sell her, give her, anything. But my teacher said he'd keep her, take care of her."

"Did you ask him to go see her?"

"I wanted to… But he'd never let me," she brushed at the toy's mane. "I never get to do anything…"

"Doesn't mean you can't," he told her, and she finally looked at him. There was a pause.

"Are you Lucy's boyfriend?" she asked, just as suddenly as he'd turned the subject on her. He startled, just as…

"Stella!" Lucy finally revealed herself, and there was an awkward silence beat. She cleared her throat, moving to her sister. She scooped her up easily, hugging her, and Stella returned the gesture. Artie saw Lucy whisper something in her ear, and by Stella's nod, he assumed the words had been 'are you okay?' He knew this was not over, not yet, that more had to and would happen, but he could take comfort in knowing he'd helped her with this.

He stayed for dinner, by Mrs. Collins' insistence. Stella was still quiet, but she did talk, even to Artie, admiring his gloves.

A few days later, as they headed into Glee Club, Lucy asked if he was busy the following Saturday. When he asked why, she invited him – or rather extended the invitation she was asked to make – to come with her and Stella to go and visit Clover. The smile on Lucy's face when she revealed this, he could see so much of how she resembled her little sister. He was more than happy to accept… There really was no other place he'd rather be…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!