Brittany elbowed her gently, which was not saying much considering Rachel was certain Brittany's elbows were sharper that most people's. "You're staring at Quinn again," Brittany, whispered, leaning down so close her nose was nearly touching Rachel's ear.

Rachel was uncomfortable with being this close to Brittany. Unfortunately, it was the only way to get any measure of privacy. Coach Sylvester had herded -literally, all the freshmen hopefuls into an area roughly the size of three parking lot spaces, and was eliminating anyone who stepped out of the boundaries.

"I am aware. I am just concerned about her and I have so many questions. Why is Frannie here in Ohio so soon? Why Frannie and not her mother? And -"

Brittany interrupted her, "And now you're doing that rambling thing. Maybe you should go talk to her right now, she might find it adorable. I bet if I twist a little, you can move towards her if you're willing to elbow people. Or you can wait till more are eliminated. And it shouldn't be too much longer till Coach Sue moves onto the next stage. Me and Santana didn't talk to Quinn until the lunch break."

"I am not adorable. And I would not even know what to say," Rachel hissed. She took several deep breathes, then sighed, "I know how difficult it is with," her eyes darted to Santana, whose frown was growing as they continued to whisper to each other, "but at least she knows you."

Santana, clearly unable to stand the fact that Rachel and Brittany were whispering so closely to each other, elbowed a girl hard in an effort to get towards them. This started a ripple effect of movement throughout the crowded cheerleading hopefuls, ending with four girls and a guy falling over the boundary.

Before any of them could say anything, Coach Sylvester blew her whistle and yelled, "Welcome to the next stage freshmen. You have five minutes - I suggest you hydrate! You five, you couldn't hack it, go!" Then she rambled some implausible situation about needing water at some point in her past before finally being silent.

Rachel was hardly thirsty from standing there in the early morning sun. As she followed closely behind Brittany and Santana, she tried desperately to think through things she could safely ask Quinn about. Once they were standing next to their belongings, she watched as the blonde girl joined Frannie. The way Quinn sipped at her water as she listened intently to Frannie speak, the way the blonde girl licked the water drops off her mouth before she replied to her sister.

"Rachel," Brittany whispered out of the corner of her mouth, her own water bottle in her hand, "Drink some of your water bottle, like half. Sue's going to cut anyone who doesn't hydrate properly."

"Truly? Brittany, that is ridiculous. This whole thing is a circus," Rachel grabbed her canteen -from the army surplus store, and drank in two big gulps.

Once she finished, Brittany merely said, "We're all getting ready in our own ways as well as group ways. This is my way, and it's a really good way so just listen to me okay? I'm usually right aren't I?"

"Usually," Rachel conceded, then added, "I am counting Lord Tubbington's various exploits against you."

"He really did sit on Lincoln's head like an old timey fur hat," Brittany took another long drink of her water, then motioned for Rachel to do the same. As Rachel did so, Brittany looked at Santana and Hannah, making sure they were as well.

"When does the normal try out tasks start?" Rachel tightened the lid on the canteen, then tucked it back neatly into her backpack. The bag was big enough that it easily carried her cheer tryout things, and when school started would be roomy enough to carry her school things and anything else she wanted as well. She had also grown somewhat the last few months, so did not quite look so small wearing it.

"Later," was all Brittany replied.

Rachel sighed, and resolved to not complain to Brittany any more. It meant a lot to the blonde girl that Rachel was on the team, and it would certainly give Rachel a way to connect with Quinn.

"Line up!" Coach Sylvester called, and obediently they all lined up in no real organized order. As Coach Sylvester ranted about staying hydrated, the woman cut more people out of the group. Several burst into tears.

It made an odd sort of sense that Coach Sylvester had such a random, lengthy way to cut people. Maybe.

There was a considerable number trying out for the team, and only so many spots -and this was just the freshmen, there was a group of older students whom had yet to participate in any of Coach Sylvester's tests. It made a sort of sense with how highly ranked the Cheerios were, Rachel supposed.

One mom left the group of adults huddled on the side lines to argue about her daughter being cut without actually trying out, and as Coach Sylvester berated the woman into tears of her own, Rachel looked down the line of girls, and accidentally made eye contact with Quinn.

Quinn flipped her hair in challenge, refusing to look away first. Finally, Rachel did. Rachel's stomach twisted, and she wished -not for the first time, that Quinn, her Quinn, was here. Things would be much simpler and far easier if they all had come back at once.

For a painful second, she missed the scar on Quinn's face. This Quinn looked too perfect, like she was molded and hand painted to be the head cheerleader, and eventual prom queen. A woman who was married to an executive, had 2.5 children and drank too much wine during the day.

A woman who was a near replica of her mother and sister.

Just another stark reminder that she was not Rachel's. This Quinn could not ever be Rachel's -it had taken death of her parents, the responsibility of her daughter, the life of Shelby, the end of the world and the unwanted mantle of leadership for Quinn to admit she was not straight, and even then it had been grudging, a crumb for Rachel instead of the whole slice of toast.

They had never talked about what would have happened if the world had not ended.

If Rachel had married Finn, moved to New York, leaving Quinn behind in Lima. If Quinn would have continued to hide herself, or if they would have met randomly at the store during a holiday while Rachel was visiting her dads -and Quinn would introduce her girlfriend to Rachel.

When she was back -because Quinn would be back, (Rachel could not allow herself to think otherwise)...Rachel would ask her.

Rachel sighed, and waited for Coach Sylvester to finish ranting and send the now crying woman with her crying daughter away.

"Follow me to the track!" Coach Sylvester finally barked, "Four times around is a mile."

"Well we should not have any problems running this, " Hannah said matter-of-factly behind Rachel.

"Indeed," Rachel said, then added, more to Brittany, "How quickly do you think she shall want us to complete it?"

"Nine minutes and thirty seconds or under," Brittany said, "We can do that easy. Well, maybe not Santana." She gave Santana a flirty smile.

"It's not my fault every time Hobbit tried to get us to run I had cramps." Santana said airily, flipping her pony tail.

"Yes, I am sure it is quite a coincidence," Rachel rolled her eyes. Sometimes this Santana reminded her of their Santana enough that it was utterly unsettling -but most of the time, she was a stark reminder of what had been. This Santana did not have a grudging respect for Rachel, did not have the memories of a past life and the resulting bond. This Santana clearly resented Rachel, and her friendship with Brittany.

"Line up at the starting line!" Coach Sylvester barked, and obediently the remaining freshmen did so. When Coach Sylvester blew her whistle and shouted, "Go!" The quartet took off at a quick pace -not striving to be at the front like some of them, Quinn included, but fast enough to ensure they'd finish well before the time limit.

Minutes later, the quartette, panting a bit, sprawled in the grass waiting for people to finish and Coach to blow the whistle. Santana had fallen slightly behind them and Rachel couldn't help but send her a smug look when they'd crossed the finish line.

"Santana you should run with us more," Brittany said.

"Nah. I'll run whenever we have too at practice, but I'm not doing it on my mes time," Santana snorted, then chugged some water. The casual confidence that not only Santana, but the rest of them would also make the team was certainly fully Santana -even if Rachel was certain she was putting up a good front to not let them know about whatever private fears she held...of course, that was also Santana as well.

"I'm with Santana," Hannah leaned back, "I'm sure we will get plenty of running in at practice without having to do it outside of practice as well." Hannah, on the other hand, had the confidence of someone used to getting her way and things going as she wished -much like Sebastian, and Rachel herself.

Sebastian.

She decided that after she returned home today, she would attempt to speak to Dr. Smythe again. Rachel had tracked down her private practice's number, but had yet to convince the secretary to put her through to Dr. Smythe.

Rachel sipped at her water, determined to not let her gaze linger on Quinn. Quinn had finished first, and Rachel was very impressed. "Perhaps," she finally said when it was clear no one else was going to speak, "but it's important to maintain ourselves beyond practice as well. Cheerios are supposed to be the best."

"Times up!" Coach Sylvester blew her whistle, "Everyone of you still on the track who hasn't passed the finish line, you're cut!"

There was groans and protests and more than a few tears as the dejected, looking very young to Rachel, left.

"Now that the riffraff aren't here wasting my time, it's time for you to learn a routine. Learn it. Live it. Myself and Alumni Cheerios will be watching. If you get a shoulder tap, you're out and are to leave immediately. Ashley here," Coach Sylvester gestured to a pretty, tan, blonde woman smiling brilliantly at them next to her, "Has come all the way from Texas where she's a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader to teach you this routine. Don't embarrass yourself!"

"Hi everyone! I was just like you in high school, and if you're good enough to join the Cheerios, you'll be joining a long line of great women and some men. Coach Sylvester's methods might not make sense, but she gets results, and those results are winning!" Ashley chirped.

What followed was a long few hours of learning a routine, then performing it over and over. It was not that difficult for Rachel, if she was honest -Brittany had no trouble either, nor really did Santana or Hannah.

Quinn was a clear star.

At one point in time, Quinn Fabray was everything Rachel wanted to be. That old feeling of not being good enough, pretty enough, talented enough started to rise up in her. She squished it down. Well, as best she could. It helped to know that Quinn had picked her. Even when Quinn had options, Quinn had a crush on her, Rachel Berry.

Coach Sylvester gave one chance to a girl who was the daughter of a previous Cheerio, telling her to watch Quinn -before the girl got her shoulder tapped by a very disappointed looking woman who looked like an older version of her. The girl immediately burst into tears and ran off.

Quinn, more than the anguished cries of those who had their shoulder tapped, or parents coming onto the field to argue, distracted Rachel.

Finally, Coach Sylvester stood in front of Rachel, "What's your name?"

"Rachel Berry. Ma'am."

Coach nodded at her, "Some of you could stand to watch Rachel here -she moves like she was made for this routine. You haven't seen it before? Of course you haven't, Ashley has spent the last two weeks coming up with it. You didn't, did you?"

"Uh, no ma'am." Which was true, since Brittany did not remember it fully, just bits and pieces that she taught them.

Coach Sylvester smiled with more teeth then was likely necessary then moved on.

Quinn glared at her.

Once Rachel made eye contact, Quinn gave her a challenging smirk. Rachel brilliantly smiled back at her -and then Rachel tried her best to give Quinn flirty eyes. Perhaps if she made it clear she was receptive to her advances, Quinn would be easier on herself.

Finally, Coach said, "We're done. Congratulations if you weren't cut. You have sixty minutes for lunch. Eat, make allies, and prepare yourselves -soon the hard work will be starting!" Sylvester then blew her whistle and pointed at two girls who had been cut that were attempting to sneak towards the group of them still in the running.


As they ate the food Santana's mom made for them for lunch -the woman was very generous and loving and kind to all four of them when they did see her at Santana's house, which was not often. It really seemed like, to Rachel, that Mrs. Lopez was over compensating ...but perhaps that simply the way of mother's. Rachel should not put mothers on a pedestal -she knew better, but it was difficult not to. She was, and had been, truly over Shelby. Honestly.

She was thirteen, and it was hard to fully remember the pain she felt at Shelby's rejections. She fully understood, even if she did not like, Sam saying all those months ago that Stevie felt like a character in a book he had read once.

"I want to talk to Fabray," Santana said to Brittany, "Coach liked her, and she did tell us to make allies."

"Coach liked Rachel, too," Hannah pointed out.

"Yeah, but we already know Rachel," Santana snorted, "And Daddy always says to diversify your options."

Brittany and Rachel shared a quick glance, then Rachel said, "I think that is an excellent idea Santana."

"I wasn't inviting you -don't think Fabray would even talk to us if you came along."

"I doubt she would either," Rachel admitted, "but it is still a good idea for the three of you to go speak to her."

"Not me, I'm going to go talk to that red haired girl -Julie. She's the daughter of one of Daddy's friends." Hannah shrugged apologetically to Rachel.

Brittany and Rachel shared another glance, and Brittany gave her a small nod. "That is perfectly acceptable Hannah, no need to worry about me. I would like to concentrate on this excellent lunch Mrs. Lopez made. Does she cook like this often Santana?"

"Not when it's just me eating."

And Rachel did not know what to say to that, so she stayed silent, resolving to ask Brittany what Santana meant later. Or perhaps, she'd ask Santana herself when she was here.


"I'm Santana," Santana stated flatly, flicking her pony tail, "And this is Brittany. We're either going to be your best friends or your worst enemies."

Quinn stared at Santana, look on her face like she didn't quite understand her. Brittany giggled. That had been the first thing Santana had said to Quinn before, too. Brittany decided to follow along, because it had worked before, "Both sometimes. But we're really cool and you seem cool too. Do you like cats?"

"I don't dislike cats." Quinn said after a moment, shifting her gaze back and forth between them.

"I'm going to be a cat lady when I grow up. I want like, a dozen. One for each kid." Brittany said happily, sitting down next to Quinn.

"You're planning on twelve kids?" Quinn asked dryly.

"Maybe. Depends on what my life partner wants, but I wouldn't mind if he or she did want twelve, as long as they want at least two." Brittany leaned back putting her face to the sun, not even minding the slight glare in her eyes. She'd never ever get tired of being able to simply relax and sun herself without having to worry about zombies or bad guys. Well, no more then she worried about bad guys today.

Quinn swallowed hard at Brittany's words, but like before, she didn't pounce on that. Santana took the moment to start quizzing Quinn on things, to see what they had in common.

Brittany had found it easy to be bisexual at her school. She supposed if she hadn't been her, with all her awesomeness, people wouldn't have been as nice about it.

The fact that she'd made out freely with a lot of people, and had been so willing to kiss other girls for people -boys to watch, had probably helped.

A lot.

Which made her feel icky to think about so she tried not to think about it.

She wasn't going to do that this time, though, so maybe they wouldn't be so nice.

She'd deal with it.

She wasn't so worried about herself as she was about Santana, and Rachel although Rachel wasn't going to kiss any girls except Quinn anyway, and Quinn wasn't back yet so she wasn't going to kiss Rachel.

"Reality TV?" Santana asked.

"Yes. Survivor, and American Idol."

"Same. Favorite color?"

Quinn raised an eyebrow, daring Santana to say anything negative, "Pink."

Santana snorted, "Mine's black."

"I like pale turquoise." Brittany said, then asked one of her own, "Favorite type of cloud?"

"Uh...cumulus."

"Mine's the one's that look like bunnies."

Quinn laughed, "Those are nice ones too." Brittany was sure she was laughing at Brittany, but maybe not -some of the tension left Quinn's shoulders, so probably not.

"Yeah, especially if you're laying on some grass just relaxing and looking at them," Santana sighed happily, "And the sun's just right and all your favorite songs keep coming up." Brittany didn't like how she relaxed a lot more without Rachel -and to a lesser extent Hannah and Tina around. Santana only tolerated Rachel, and that made Brittany sad because if Santana would just let them, they could be good friends now.

Quinn nodded, and she relaxed ever so slightly -so slight someone that wasn't Brittany wouldn't have noticed.

This was the moment they truly became friends.

Brittany and Santana made a really good team.

"You were sitting with Berry, are you friends with her?" Quinn finally asked after they'd been talking about random things girls their age talked about when they didn't know the world was going to end for real in a few years.

"Brittany is. I tolerate her." Santana said, looking at her nails which Brittany had painted in different shades of purple last night.

Brittany smiled, "Sometimes Rachel's a stuck stick in the mud, sometimes she talks too much, sometimes she talks to little. You'll like her."

Quinn gave Rachel a long, hard look, then grinned meanly, "She has man hands."

Brittany hadn't missed this at all -being mean just for being means sake. If you were going to be mean, it should be for real reasons, and that was a policy she always tried to stick to. She hadn't ever really stopped her friends and fellow Cheerleaders from being mean for no reason though and that was probably almost just as bad.

Santana and Quinn happily traded insults about Rachel's appearance for 6 minutes; Brittany braided blades of grass together and didn't join in. Rachel wasn't a robot (Brittany had checked after she'd joined glee club the first time) but she probably wouldn't care that much what Santana and Quinn were saying if she found out. Which made it okay for Brittany to not say anything; as mean as it was, this was how Quinn and Santana bonded and it was important for them to be friends.


Rachel sipped at her water bottle, and watched Santana and Quinn dart sneaky glances at her as they chatted.

Obviously they were talking about her. Very unlikely was it anything kind.

Quinn had not been a very good person for a long time. Rachel did not feel she could judge Quinn, but facing the stark reality of how mean Quinn had been...well, that was one thing altogether.

She had just been about to stand up and go talk to the duo -and Brittany, who was doing a good job of pretending to be entranced with some grass, when she was approached from two different sides by two girls -an icy blonde girl who, if Rachel was asked to describe an average cheerleader, would likely be who she described...minus her noticeably large chest that was made extra noticeable by the neon pink sports bra she was wearing over a black sports bra.

Rachel could not image having breasts so large you needed to wear two sports bras -she wondered, for a moment, if it would be rude or odd to ask about back pain from their weight before her attention shifted to the other girl.

The other girl was willowy and thin, a little taller than Rachel (but most people were, especially on the Cheerios hopefuls where the average height seemed to be a good four inches taller than Rachel) with highlighted brown hair and a sprinkle of freckles that brought attention to her exquisite green eyes.

"I'm Jade," the icy blonde stated as she stepped in front of the other girl with a welcoming smile and a slight push forward of her chest. Rachel had the impression that was a habit, not an invitation.

"I'm Pauline," the brown haired girl said with a sideways glance at Jade.

"Um. Hello. I am-."

"Rachel Berry. Yeah, we know" Jade interrupted with a grin, "Everyone's talking about you."

"Not everyone," Pauline gave Jade another sideways glance, then stepped forward, "But Coach Sue likes you, and so do the alumni."

Jade narrowed her eyes at Pauline, and then sat next to Rachel in the grass, prompting Pauline to do the same on Rachel's other side.

Rachel locked eye contact with Brittany, who gave her a grinning nod. Brittany had wanted her to make friends with their fellow Cheerios -even if none of them were officially Cheerios yet, because that was a part of Brittany's plan.

Rachel had not been able to bring herself to tell Brittany that she was utterly terrible at making friends, had no friends most of the time, or only had one or two at most for a good portion of her life.

It should be obvious to Brittany, as obvious as it was to Rachel, but not having friends, or people like you was something that Brittany would not get. It was fully out of Brittany's realm of experience -it would like trying to get a cat to understand what duck's love about water.

Rachel leaned back on her hands, pasted a smile on her face, and asked both girls, "What is your favorite musical? I find it difficult to pick just one, but if I was forced too, it would be..." she frowned exaggeratedly, then said, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, despite the fact that much of it is rather outdated in our modern times."

Jacob Ben Israel once polled the student body in effort to gain her favor and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers had garnered the most votes for favorite musical. Funny Girl only had a handful. Rachel was now mature enough to understand that her peers did not want to hear her blabber on about herself, Broadway, or the half dozen other things she usually talked about in attempts to connect with them.

That did not really leave much, but Brittany, the onetime Rachel tried to bring it up, assured her topics for conversation would come naturally eventually.

Pauline nodded, "That one's my favorite too."

Jade shrugged, "Funny Girl's mine."

Rachel perked up, "Was it not a travesty that it did not win any of the Tony awards it was nominated for?"

"At least Streisand won an Oscar for the movie," Jade smiled, and it reached her eyes. Rachel felt herself relax slightly as Jade added, "Pauline and I went to Roosevelt Junior High."

"I attended Washington."

"Did you cheer on the team?" Pauline asked.

Rachel shook her head, "No. I have taken many gymnastic and dance classes, and my friend Brittany suggested I try out with her."

"Wow, you're really good considering you've never officially cheered before." Pauline grinned shyly at her.

"And really ballsy to try out for the Cheerios with no experience cheerleading," Jade giggled, then grabbed Rachel's hand. "I like this color pink. Did you get it done at that place on main street?"

"Um. No. We did each other's nails last night during our Pre-Tryout sleepover."

"Oh wow," Jade cooed, "It looks professional."

They chatted light getting to know you conversations for several minutes.

Soon, more and more people had joined them, sitting either on Jade's side of Rachel or Pauline's.

Eventually Rachel was starting to wonder when their lunch break would be over as Jade chattered on, "I begged mom to upgrade my cell phone, flip phones are so 2006. If I make the team, I'm pretty sure she'll cave. She usually does," Jade smirked in triumph. By now, the girls -and one guy who had joined them, surrounded Rachel at the center of a horseshoe shape.

Jade's group was content to let Jade doing the talking.

"I don't really get along with my mom that much, I'd have to ask my dad for a phone. He usually goes with it; drives mom crazy he spoils me," Pauline said softly. Pauline's group, much like Pauline, interjected here and there quietly to the conversation.

Rachel was still not quite sure why they were so interested in her. Her previous devotion to preparing for Broadway, then the apocalypse, had left some social skills and nuances of her peers -especially those of the more popular crowd, unknown to her.

Jade seemed to wilt a little at Pauline mentioning her dad.

Rachel cocked her head to the side, and wondered what that was about. A girl with long black hair pulled into a pony tail, and grey eyes whom Rachel vaguely recognized snorted, "I have two moms, I bet I was spoiled once, but now I'm the eldest and there's expectations of me." The girl gave Jade a haughty look, "And by the way, since, you know, I've been in the same class as you since kindergarten -not the first time, but the second time you were there, I know you're first name is actually Anne. And that you gave yourself the nickname 'Jade'." The girl snickered.

"Shut up Estella," Jade hissed, narrowing her eyes at Estella.

"Don't be mean 'Tella." A red haired girl chided.

"We're cheerleaders, we're supposed to be mean." Another girl muttered.

"I can't wait to see the veterans do their tryouts -normally Coach Sylvester doesn't make them retry out because once you're a Cheerio, you're a Cheerio till death, but between their performance last year and the fact that so many people had to leave the team she's making them as a lesson." The red haired girl continued.

"But that's good, right? More spaces for us. Usually only four or five spots open up for freshmen, but I heard from my cousin that there could be as many as eight spots." Pauline looked pleased at the thought.

"I heard as many as twenty!" A brown haired girl from Jade's side exclaimed, forgetting the cold war between the two sides surrounding Rachel in her excitement to share her gossip.

"Well, I heard that-" Rachel gave up, and tuned out the conversation. She only knew three names of the people around her, this wasn't important. If they, and she, made the team she would learn their names and attempt to be friendly because that's what Brittany wanted. Rachel would try her best. But her best was not good enough before, she doubted, even with Brittany's assistance, it would be now.

Rachel gave another little sigh, and could not stop herself from giving a longing glance at Quinn, Santana, and Brittany -who by now had their own group of hopeful Cheerios surrounding them. They seemed to not have the issue Rachel did, and were happily leading court.

"Freshmen, assemble!" Coach Sylvester called and Rachel had never been so grateful to hear her voice. Once they'd gathered, Coach gestured at the waiting students in Cheerio workout gear, "This is the remaining Cheerios from last year. They were a disappointment as a group -so many moved away. Your dad gets a new job in a new state, you stay in Lima on my couch instead of choosing to go with your family! And to top it all off, they were half a dozen points behind our previous scores all year! They learned the same routine you did yesterday, and they had one on one interviews. The next thirty minutes will decide who stays and who has their spot taken! " She stepped back and silently pointed. The upper-classmen obediently lined up in position. A few tossed sulky glances around at the watching Cheerio hopefuls, while a few more gave them big smiles.

"On three! One, two, three!" Coach started, and the upper classmen performed. Over and over again, Coach Sylvester had them perform the routine, while she and the Cheerio Alumni watched and took notes and whispered to each other. It was interesting to watch -while they were clearly talented, and their rigorous practicing they no doubted had done in the last twenty four hours showed...Rachel could spot a flaw here and there from all of them except a short red haired girl who looked, frankly, exhausted. Finally, Coach Sylvester blew her whistle.

"I call your name, stand behind me because you managed to convince me and the alumni you should keep your spot. I expect you to be better this year. Wall, Warner, Owen!" Coach Sylvester barked. The only three boys quietly gave each other high fives, then scurried behind Coach. Coach continued calling last names until five girls stood in front of her. "Moran, Landry, Dale, Peters and Reid. You're cut. May the stink of your failure go with you instead of lingering." One girl burst into heavy sobs, while another simply stared at Coach Sylvester as tears welled and fell while one girl went wide eyed like she was doing her best to keep herself from bursting into tears, another girl looked resigned and the last looked angry.

"Huh. Loretta stayed on the team before," Brittany, having moved to stand next to Rachel, whispered into her ear. Rachel looked at her skeptically, and Brittany added, "Landry," with a nod towards the girl who was out right sobbing.

"Our day is almost over -current cheerios are going to lead you in a serious of flips, jumps and poses while I confer with my Alumni. No more freshmen will be cut today." Coach Sue glared at them all, "Don't bother showing up tomorrow if you can't memorize the order of flips, jumps, moves and poses, or if you are terrible at them." Then she turned her back on them to address the large crowd of older students who wanted to try out, "Go home. Cheerios are taking only freshmen this year."

It was just like Coach Sylvester to make them wait all day only to send them home.


Frannie had flat cold eyes. She had eyes like a shark. She, after greeting Santana and Brittany sweetly them letting them get into the car started whispering to Quinn. Whatever she was saying made Quinn frown until Quinn caught herself frowning and made her face look normal.

And now they were driving to Quinn's house.

"So have you two...known each other long or did you two meet today as well?" Frannie asked nonchalantly.

"We've known each other since we were little," Santana yawned.

"We knew each other in a past life too," Brittany added.

"Uh-huh." Frannie yawned too, because they were contagious, and looked at Quinn, "I've been speaking with the other alumni; Sue is definitely picking a freshman as head Cheerio."

"Do you think they'll pick me?" Quinn asked softly.

"No. You aren't at that level yet. Keri wouldn't tell me who they were thinking about, but I glanced at her clipboard while she was digging through her purse for a snack, and I saw Rachel written a lot. With that nose, I don't know what Keri's thinking; some of that weight must have gone to her brain."

Frannie was mean.

"Isn't she on kid six now?" Quinn snorted, and turned around, "Frannie says it's not hard to not gain a zillion pounds if you have a baby, it's just laziness. Right Frannie?" Quinn punctuated her point by leaning back against her seat.

"Right. Like men, weight can be controlled. You need to be a strong person, with will power." Frannie glanced pointedly at Quinn, who looked down at her lap. Brittany hadn't caught that before, because she hadn't known how Quinn used to be Lucy then. "I think it goes without saying that if you make the team, you need to be careful about your weight. The key to the Cheerio's success is that everyone can do all positions on the team. So you need to be strong, you need to be light and you need to be flexible."

"Except the boys."

"Yes, of course except the boys on the team. Make sure you don't complain, either, if you're put in a position you don't prefer. Sue hates complainers, and she'll ensure your captain punishes you however the captain sees fit. When I was captain," Frannie parked in front of Quinn's house, and turned to address all three of them, "I made a girl eat an entire extra large pizza, then puke it back up. Twice." Frannie smiled at them, like she had done a good thing. "She learned her lesson. And more importantly, the other girls on the team learned it too."

"Because the Cheerios are a team, and if one is weak, they all are." Quinn nodded, her high pony tail bobbing.

"Exactly. The captain, who ever she is, needs to know that. She needs to be willing to do what she has to do to ensure the Cheerios are strong on and off the field."

"What'd that girl do?" Santana asked. Brittany hated that Santana looked intrigued.

"She drank too much, and didn't like what her inner slut did while she was drunk. Thank goodness she talked to me instead of Coach, we would have lost Nationals that year if Coach had kicked those boys off the team." Frannie nodded at Quinn's house, where Quinn's mom was standing on the front porch, "Mom's waiting for us to go over my notes; I didn't drive all the way from Iowa, leaving my baby with my mother in law, to talk about the glory days of being Captain -although I certainly don't mind." Frannie laughed, then opened her door. "If we get done quick enough I'll help you three go over the routine you were shown...it's not what I would have made up, but then again Coach didn't ask me to make it."

Santana didn't look intrigued any more.

Sharks were misunderstood creatures who killed less people a year then hippos, so it was actually really unfair to compare them to Frannie.

Brittany liked sharks.

She didn't like Frannie.


An older car from what was likely the fifties pulled up, and Rachel smiled upon seeing Miss Mildred and Miss Henrietta sitting in the front of the white seats. The vehicle was a shiny white on the outside. Upon opening entering, Rachel felt like she was in a boat it was so roomy.

She waved goodbye to Hannah and Hannah's mother. "Thank you for picking me up Miss Mildred, Miss Henrietta," she said as she set her bag on the seat.

"Of course Pumpkin. Miss Mildred loves any excuse to drive this thing, thank goodness it's out of the shop."

"Never used to have to put it in the shop, darn arthritis," Miss Mildred said, blinking owlishly at Rachel, her eyes magnified by her large glasses.

"Well? Did they have you shaking your bottoms and showing off your goods. I do not understand why LeRoy agreed to let you do this, it's indecent. No doubt Hiram thinks it'll help your career."

"Oh hush. As if you haven't done your fair share of bottom shaking and showing off your goods Henrietta."

"Hold your tongue Mildred, and don't tell falsehoods in front of Rachel."

"Falsehoods?" Miss Mildred giggled, "Oh I can still remember hearing those English girls talking about how rude our dancing was when we were jitterbugging with those English boys in London!"

"I did not realize you two have known each other for so long," Rachel offered, trying to fish for information. Miss Henrietta didn't talk about the past so much, but Miss Mildred tended to occasionally.

"Oh yes..." Miss Mildred frowned, "We met...well, there's no easy way to say it, we were prisoners of war together. Despite the fact that she was black and an army nurse, and I was white and a navy nurse, we became friends. It took...oh, a year before I would say we were good friends. It wasn't easy to be friends after the war ended, mind you, but it's gotten much better with time." Miss Mildred looked at Rachel in the rear view mirror, "Don't ask her about that time, she doesn't like to think about those years."

"I am right here," Miss Henrietta stared sullenly out the window, "And I only danced like that because I had spent three years thinking I was going to wake up the next day and die."

Rachel made a note to ask LeRoy about Miss Henrietta's time during the war. Prudently, she decided to change the subject, "I..." she trailed off..."I am attempting to locate a friend of mine who moved to France, I lost his contact information and cannot seem to track him down. I think I shall have to take French as my foreign language instead of Spanish to assist me in my efforts."

"Miss Mildred can help you, she's fluent in French."

Miss Mildred nodded, "My mother was French."

"Oh I could not possibly ask you to do so Miss Mildred, it would be a lot of work and very time consuming."

"What do I have but time? I would be happy to help you Rachel," Miss Mildred turned into Miss Henrietta's driveway, "We're here. You go ahead and run into the house and write down everything you know about your friend, and I'll get started when I get home. You don't need a ride home, do you?"

"See Rachel, I told you she'll take every excuse she can to drive this thing."

"If you recall, Miss Henrietta, you were the one who helped me convince Monroe we should buy this over that flashy corvette he wanted." Miss Mildred sniffed.

"And no, my LeRoy will be picking her up after we finish our canning."

"Beets? Be sure to set some jars aside, and I'll bring by some bags of peaches to trade."

"You mean like we've done every year for the last I don't even remember because I am so darn old years?"

"Rachel why don't you run on into the house now?" Miss Mildred nodded at Rachel.

Rachel loved their back and forth, even if it made her miss Sebastian all that much more. "Of course, I shall be right back."

She did not expect Miss Mildred to be much help, but it wouldn't hurt to let her try.


"Hiram has your bag packed, and a snack bag. He wanted to stay the night in Columbus, but I reminded him about your..." LeRoy trailed off, then collected himself, "Cheerleading tryouts."

Rachel buckled her seat belt smartly, "In addition to tryouts, should I make the team there will be cheer camp, practices, team bonding events and I feel we can likely expect my social calendar in general to become more busy."

"That's going to be a lot on top of the musical; with the opening night being Friday pumpkin, then showings every day except Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday it's going to be a time crunch especially when you factor in the fact we're two hours away. Are you sure you aren't taking too much on?"

"Well...papa," she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "To be honest I only agreed to do the musical because it made daddy happy. I fully intend on dropping it after Friday. So it will not be a factor in my schedule."

LeRoy did not answer for several minutes, not until they were pulling into the driveway. He parked the car, then turned and looked at her. "I am very disappointed in you Rachel."

"What? Papa I told him I did not want to do it, I-" the utter injustice and gall of LeRoy being disappointed in her when she made it clear that continuing to do the musical was against her wishes.

"Regardless, you made a commitment to him, us, and your cast mates. You'll be letting them down, and leaving your understudy and the director scrambling."

"Papa," Rachel hated how whiny she sounded, "Papa, I said, I told you both that-"

He shook his head, interrupting her, "I need to talk to your father about this Rachel. Please go to your room." The disappointment was heavy in his voice.

Biting back an angry sob, Rachel left the car, slamming the door behind her. On her way up to her room, she scooped up Starla, and did not great Hiram as she rushed through the house.


Starla licked her face when Rachel finally stopped crying. It was not fair. Hiccupping slightly, she went into her bathroom and washed her face. The cold water made her feel a little better. She sat on the bed gently petting Starla, trying to work up either enough bravery or enough outrage to speak to her dads; unable to muster either.

She sighed, and decided to change out of her tryout clothing into more comfortable clothes when her phone rang. Pulling her t-shirt -well, actually it was Brittany's t-shirt, on, she picked it up.

"Hello, Rachel Berry speaking," she said, and then sighed again.

"Rachel it's me." Terri, like always it seemed, sounded impatient and stressed out, "I just wanted to speak to you very quickly about Cheerio's -to make sure you are aware that Coach Sylvester is considering you for head cheerleader."

"Me?" Rachel couldn't contain the shock and surprise in her voice. "Surely you are mistaken."

"Nope, you're on the short list. Use the drive to think about ways you can show leadership tomorrow when Sue puts you in groups; she and the alumni will be watching you like a hawk. I will not be the only former head Cheerio there -we'll give her our suggestions, but ultimately Sue goes by her gut feelings."

"Me?" Rachel couldn't find anything else to say.

"I was head cheerio for two years Rachel, I think I know what I'm talking about," Terri said dryly, "And Coach only calls out girls she thinks highly of. You are most definitely in the running."

"How do you know she called me out?"

"Sue's already had the notes from the day delivered." The amusement in Terri's voice was obvious, "I will be incredibly biased in your favor."

"No, Terri, that's Quinn's position."

"It was. Now it could be yours. I think it would do you some good, give you valuable experience being in a position of leadership and power with people who want to be lead by you." Terri sighed then added, "And Quinn isn't here. You are. I'm thinking of the future, and what's best for us. Which is why I should get back to studying. I will see you tomorrow."

Rachel sighed. "Alright. Goodbye Terri."

She set her phone down in the cradle, and laid back on her bed. Visions of her leading the Cheerios, being popular, having all the boys and some girls -having Finn, want her.

It was so odd how a lifetime ago, she would have gladly taken all that without hesitation at the thought of Quinn Fabray losing it all. She'd grown up. Matured. Realized there were more important things then high school and popularity.

One part of her wanted to go for it, consequences be damned.

Quinn, when she came back, would still have the previous experience of being head cheerleader. Of course, she wouldn't have the relationships -but she would still be on the team, so maybe she would.

Would it be selfish of her to be head Cheerio? She needed to talk to Brittany -the whole Rachel as a Cheerio thing was Brittany's idea anyway so Brittany could decide.

She sat back against the pile of pillows on her bed.

No. She did not need to speak to Brittany about this; ultimately, Rachel did not care about being captain. She really only cared about being a Cheerio at all because Brittany wanted her to be. It meant a lot to Quinn to be captain, though.

Tomorrow she would give not try to be captain, and if somehow she was still offered it she would decline. Hopefully Sue would not take it personally and kick her off the team or anything like that.

She glanced at the clock, and realized if they were going to go to rehearsals tonight they would have had to leave an hour ago. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself to go speak to her dads when there was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Rachel?" LeRoy called softly.

She opened it, and he glanced at her shirt immediately, "I'm guessing that's Brittany's."

Rachel looked down at the garish neon smiley bunny face, and nodded, "I borrowed it from her."

"I see," he frowned. Rachel could practically see him adding that tidbit to his 'ways my daughter is growing and changing' list. She did not want to tell him that she had been forced to borrow it from Brittany because her shirts -including the one she was wearing to sleep in, had gone missing last she'd slept over at Brittany's house.

Brittany had apologized and blamed Lord Tubbington, while Rachel had blamed Santana. Santana had steadily refused to admit it was her or tell Rachel where she had hidden Rachel's clothing. Her dads, since the Jill incident, took any perceived bullying much more seriously now and would likely not allow her to be around Santana any more, which would force Brittany to choose between them or at least significantly cut down the time Rachel spent with Brittany.

She just had to get through tonight's rehearsals, then Thursdays dress rehearsals and Friday.

"Your father and I have called director and informed her you are dropping out, effective immediately." LeRoy stared at her, "We're both disappointed, but you did state from the outset that you did not wish to do the musical so we need to take your feelings into account and not just our own."

Rachel nodded, "Where's daddy?"

"He's making dinner," LeRoy opened his arms wide, and Rachel jumped in for a hug. She felt better. This was okay. She was okay.


Rachel took a deep breath, and focused on her breathing. LeRoy had dropped her off this morning at tryouts; Sylvester with the alumni assisting her, under the watchful eye of some very on edge parents had made them show off the routine they'd been shown yesterday.

Hiram had made her a protein and nutritious rich breakfast this morning; he had not, however, been waiting for her to chit chat and eat with her. LeRoy had apologized for Hiram having to go into the office early, and LeRoy having ate with him already, but LeRoy had sat and asked about tryouts yesterday, as well as her time with Miss Henrietta -Rachel had asked if he knew about her time as a prisoner of war and he'd nodded somberly. Not from her, but he wouldn't elaborate on how he'd come to find out until she was older -which had put her in a pissy sulky mood. She was self aware enough to realize it and able to act accordingly in order to not take her mood out on anyone else.

With age came a new self awareness.

Hiram was upset. Clearly. And it was understandable. Rachel was upset as well; of course she had the perspective to realize that what she was doing now was more important.

Well, she still had her doubts about being a cheerleader, but Brittany said it was a part of her plan so Rachel was setting aside her doubts. It greatly helped that with being a Cheerio came the popularity, attention, and the fulfillment of all her dreams and hopes for high school. Dreams that would finally be coming true.

Most of her was, after all, still thirteen.

The hopefuls had been whittled down to a mere two dozen by lunch time. Terri, with little curly haired Ollie, had walked around with her clipboard along with the other alumni and Sue, staring and judging and writing things down. Terri looked -well, not relaxed, but slightly less stressed out then she normally did. Some of which was probably due to the pregnancy glow she seemed to have. Or perhaps it was a good night's sleep.

Rachel still wasn't pleased about another child to worry about, to plan for, and it certainly didn't help that Terri was starting to worry about the fact they did not have a home base yet. The stock market crash hadn't happened, and until it did, as well as a bit of time for Rachel's chosen stocks to bounce back, they did not have much capital to work worth. There was only so much credit card and student loan abuse one could do, even if Terri was very creative about it.

At lunch, Rachel had quietly sat on the outskirts of Quinn's court. Jade and Pauline and what friends of theirs left had sat next to her, and eventually the whole group of remaining Freshmen had chatted and bonded a bit as a group.

She let out and took in several deep breaths as Sue stared at them.

"Berry, Dale, DiLaurentis-Fields, Grant, Harmon, Johnson, Lopez, Pierce, Pright, and Smith," Sue finally barked out. "Welcome to the Cheerios. Don't disappointment me."

Sue turned as they scrambled to stand behind her and the elder Cheerios. Next to her, Brittany was bouncy with excitement. Hannah was a little more subdued. Rachel saw all of Jade and Pauline's friends standing there, they had all come so far only to not make it past this point -some not able to hold back tears as they stared at them. Once the last new Cheerio was in place with their elder peers, Sue barked out. "Fabray. You're the last Cheerio this year. And you're Captain. The rest of you, better luck next year."

Quinn smiled, and looked like the cat that caught the canary -she met Rachel's eyes and Quinn smirked at her.

Rachel knew that she made the right choice in not doing more than Brittany or Santana today at tryouts -Quinn cared far more about the captaincy then Rachel did. And goodness, why did Quinn smirking at her like that send little butterflies fluttering around in Rachel's stomach? She gave Quinn a genuine smile and a small nod in return. Quinn glared at her, but nodded slightly as Sue directed them all to go to the Cheerio gym.

As she followed her fellow cheerleaders to a place that she had never dared step into before, Rachel tried to stifle the butterflies in her stomach. It was silly and immature to be so excited about Quinn.

Santana and Brittany had immediately darted away to stand with Quinn at the front of the line and Pauline had moved to fill Brittany's place.

"You have a grin on your face I've only seen in romcoms. Is it Adam? Because I'm pretty sure you'll have to get in line for him."

"No, not Adam." Rachel collected herself, "I'm just..." she trailed off. She wasn't happy -but she was suddenly not in the mood she was in this morning.

"In shock you made the Cheerios? You shouldn't be, you're great. I can't believe I made it. Dad and Mom are going to take me to the fancy restaurant they only go to on their anniversary in Dayton. Mom was already talking about how it'll help my with college, and I was like 'chill mom, I haven't made the team yet'," Pauline said in a rush, tucking a piece of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. She hesitated, "Well, I yelled it at her. I'm not proud of that, but she wouldn't let up. Sometimes yelling is the only way to get her to listen."

Rachel nodded, thinking about her dads. "Parents can be difficult. How will your friends react to not making the team?"

Pauline sighed, "Well Angela's parents wanted to move to Cleveland but were holding off in case Angela made the team, so I guess they will now. And Ashley, Sara, and Corey all didn't even live in Lima so I probably won't see them much now that we aren't going to the same high school..." Pauline locked arms with Rachel, "Good thing I have you huh?"

"Um. Yes?" Well. This was new.

Pauline laughed, "I'm so mad for you that you didn't make Captain. You totally deserved it."

"Perhaps. I think Quinn wanted it more than me," Rachel said carefully, filled with trepidation as they went through the doors into the Cheerio Gym. They chit chatted and made small talk about tryouts as they both stared around them in wide eyed wonder at the gym.

The Cheerio Gym was opulent and modern and Rachel wondered as they'd walked through it why some of the money wasn't funneled to the rest of the school, because goodness knows the school needed more money.

Then again, given how Coach Sylvester had over reacted to the small amount of money glee club needed that first year, likely Figgins was scared of trying to pry some of the budget out of her hands.


Being in the Cheerio locker room felt like wearing her dad's sweaters. Comfortable and super fashionable.

Brittany loved their gym, it was great. There was a sauna and a lot of bathrooms where the stalls went to the floor and there wasn't those gaps at the doors so you people couldn't see you peeing.

She found the locker with the little metal thingy with "Pierce" engraved on it -same as it was before, locker #12. It was perfectly placed away from the bathroom and doors. She was pretty sure Coach had all their last names engraved then had someone put the little metal things up while she was announcing who made the time.

She smiled happily at her locker, and didn't even bother to look at the post it note with the combination on it, instead crumbling the little paper and tossing it into her gym bag. A gym bag she was going to put in Tiffany's closet, because now Brittany had her Cheerio gym bag back so she didn't need this one anymore.

She entered the combination -and grinned because she could hear Santana cursing softly as she had trouble with the combination to the locker Santana had had before too -#15.

She popped her combination off, and pulled the door open. Like before, there was clothes neatly hanging on a tension rod, a box with regulation hair ties and bows and odds and ins, and a binder full of rules and routines. Brittany frowned at her pink nail polish -she was going to miss wearing polish. And painting Santana's nails. It was relaxing.

"Brittany, help." Santana huffed. Grinning at her, Brittany bounced around Hannah, who at locker #14 and waved Santana off when the other girl tried to give her post it with the combination on it.

"I already know it." Brittany quickly opened it with a flourish.

"How? No, I don't want to know." Santana picked up the binder, "Ugh this is huge."

"We can go over it tonight before dinner?" Brittany said.

"Um. Yeah, about that Britts...can Hannah or Rachel give you a ride home? I suck, but I gotta cancel on you for dinner." Santana looked down, "I'm dating a guy on the football team and I'm bringing him to Abuela's instead."

Brittany felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "Puck?"

Santana nodded, then snorted, "Barely on the team and you're already getting all the gossip."

8 months. Santana didn't start dating Puck for 8 months. They'd made the team, Brittany had lost her virginity at Cheer Camp to that boy who lived in Nevada near Area 51, and the next night so did Santana. They'd talked about it. They'd bonded over it, and that had lead to them making the leap to having sex. They had only each other for most of their freshmen year until Santana had started dating Puck in April. That was also the time they'd realized how boys would do whatever you wanted if you kissed in from of them. And when Brittany decided to see how many people at school she could kiss. Brittany wasn't going to have sex with that boy this time, or kiss anyone besides Santana or give away their love like popcorn at a circus.

What did Brittany do to change things? "I need to pee." Brittany said, then ran to the bathroom.

It wasn't what Brittany did. It was what she couldn't bring herself to do with Santana right now. That was it. And now Brittany ruined everything.


"Papa do you think Brittany will be okay?" Rachel asked LeRoy. She frowned, and stared at Brittany's house growing smaller through the window as LeRoy drove.

"Well that's hard to say since she would not talk about what was wrong, but I'm sure she will." LeRoy said after a moment.

Brittany wouldn't tell Rachel what was wrong when she'd checked on her in the bathroom. Hannah either. Rachel assumed, going by how nasty Santana was after Brittany went to hide in a stall to cry, that Santana was at the core.

"I shall ask her tomorrow." Rachel looked at LeRoy, "Well, assuming I see her tomorrow. We have been ordered to bond as a team at our Captain's house for the weekend. May I go?"

"All weekend long?"

She nodded.

"Well, I need to speak to your daddy about it."

"Papa, if I do not go I will likely be the only one missing out. And they will bond without me, and I will be an outsider on the team. I-" Rachel could not stop the rising panic in her voice and thankfully LeRoy interrupted her before she could work herself up into a greater freenzy.

"Shhhh, it's okay Pumpkin. You can go tomorrow and all weekend. Please calm down." LeRoy tapped on the steering while as he waited for the light to change, and said, "Coach Sylvester emailed us the yearly itinerary and manual. You'll have practice in the morning before school. Early. And did you know you have to wear your uniform to school every day? All year?"

Rachel nodded, "Yes. I think I can ride my bike to practice and home, which besides giving me exercise will make it easier on you and Papa."

"I will definitely have to talk to your father about that Pumpkin, you know how he worries." LeRoy and Rachel shared a smile, and LeRoy continued, "Are you not worried about standing out with the uniform? Although maybe you would rather blend in."

"Papa, be serious. Just by being myself I will stand out."

LeRoy laughed, "True enough Pumpkin, true enough."

Rachel was in back in the good mood she had been in before Brittany had run off crying.

Everything she had wished for before when she started high school was going to come true.

It was a nice feeling.

"Run upstairs and shower. It's late enough that I'll just bring your dinner to your room this one time okay?" LeRoy said a bit later once they were home and walking through the door.

"Where's Daddy?"

"He's resting his eyes, but he's a very proud papa Pumpkin. He's going to make us all a special breakfast tomorrow. I believe he's even going to make a plate for Starla."

Rachel laughed, and darted up the stairs lugging her bag behind her.

Once she was showered she'd left her bathroom to find LeRoy had left a tray with her late dinner on her desk.

He had, however, forgotten a fork. She pulled her robe on, went into the hall. She paused at the stairs and decided that she needed Starla with her.

There was only one place Starla could be if she was not with Rachel -her parent's room.

Intent on getting her dog, Rachel yawned and detoured to her dads side of the house.

"She's happy Hiram. That's all that matters." Came LeRoy's voice through the door before Rachel could knock.

"I don't like it. It was just such a sudden change." A pause, then Hiram continued, "What if she has a brain tumor?"

"Hiram please." Rachel stood there frozen.

"Or she gets injured. Cheerleading is a sport, and it's dangerous. What if she breaks her back? Her neck?"

Rachel could not move. She knew this was not a conversation for her to hear.

"Take some deep breaths Hiram and stop working yourself into a tizzy." Came LeRoy's patient response. Several moments passed before LeRoy said, "See. Think rationally Hiram, remember? Coach Sylvester has numerous safety regulations in place on top of what the school does. You really should check your email more, I'm certain she sent the manual and itinerary to you as well."

"I just...I cannot imagine what I would do if something happened to her. She is my child. You and she are the light of my life, and if you two both died I would kill myself."

"Nothing is going to happen to either of us. You and I will be elderly men watching -and spoiling, Rachel's children. They'll be hyper little beasts when she comes to get them, and she'll give us a lecture on sugar."

"Do you think she will have more than one?" A lengthy pause, then Hiram added, "Remember how we wanted three children?"

"What I remember is the first miscarriage, and the second Hiram. And how scared we were during the entire time Shelby was pregnant with Rachel. And how we decided the heart break was too much, so Rachel would remain an only child."

"So why have we been paying the storage fees for the embryos this whole time?" Came Hiram's quiet response.

"Hiram what has gotten into you?" Rustling. "Rachel is growing into a lovely young woman, is that making you feel ...old? A new baby will not make you feel youthful Rammy, quite the opposite I'd say. "

"We have two embryos left LeRoy. I just feel as though they're in limbo -we can't bring ourselves to destroy them, nor donate them, so they remain frozen. Why not use them?"

"I want to believe you, but it's incredibly difficult considering you have never expressed such feelings before.. Please tell me the truth -is this because Rachel is not following the life path you want, and thought you would try again?"

Hiram didn't answer. Finally, LeRoy said, "I see. I would love to expand our family Hiram. I love you, and I love the life we've built. Even if I would have preferred to do so when Rachel was younger so she would be closer in age to her siblings.. But I will not bring more children into this world because you can not realize that Rachel is her own person, and allowed to make her own choices. "

"We've spent so much time and money investing in her Broadway career LeRoy. It's just such a waste-"

"Rachel enjoyed it. So did we. It wasn't a waste Hiram. We both have lived vicariously through her, and all the possibilities she has in life. It was nice, wasn't it, to day dream about the career she could have had? But if it's all daydreams, then that's that. She's an amazing, smart, beautiful, talented girl whom has the world at her feet. No matter what she does."

The over head light turned on, sending light seeping from under the door.

"I'll be sleeping in the guest room tonight Hiram. I suggest you think long and hard about what Rachel and I truly mean to you. If you want to have another child for the right reasons, we can seriously discuss it. If you want to do it for the wrong reasons -because you see our beautiful, talented girl not doing what you want her to do with your life...I suggest you remember another man who disowned his son because his son wanted his own path-."

Before LeRoy caught her, Rachel darted down the hallway to her side of the house. She flung herself through her open bedroom door, shoved it shut with her foot, then crumpled to the floor sobbing.


A/N:

I've been dealing with some personal things on top of being incredibly busy with school, but a good portion of the issues have resolved; next chapter won't take half a year to get out. And if you leave a signed review, the preview for the next chapter has some Faberry goodness to it.

Miss Henrietta and Miss Mildred's time as POWs during WW2 is a very fictionalized account based on the "Angels of Bataan"; an actual group of Navy and Army female nurses taken as prisoners of war.