A/N: Had my trip to NYC, finished my applications to school for an MFA, was in for 3 days last week for dental issues, and long cause of writers block. Oh yeah, and Batman coming out on Friday and a BETA invite into Guild Wars 2, but I am focused on this and Silent Escape while I have a load of freelance work to be working on as well.
Like I said before Quinn will not be attempting to kidnap Beth in this story, if anything it will be the opposite with Beth being a curious 4-5 year old and sneaking into to Quinn's home to spend time with her.
An actual 'kiss' between Quinn and Rachel won't happen for another chapter or two. I am trying to setup some level of friendship before they get thrown into more romantic feelings. Right now I'm toying with the idea of Puck or Santana telling either one or both to just 'bone' each other and get it over with because sexual tension is becoming ridiculous.
Rachel's father (don't know which yet) is the original role of a merchant but he will have a fascination for odd nick-nacks and that is why they are shunned in the village.
Artie – Mad Hatter, Beth – Henry, Brittany – Tinker Bell, Coach Sylvester – Old Fairy/Maleficent, Frannie – Evil Queen, Quinn – Sleeping Beauty/Emma, Rachel – Belle, Puck – Prince/Beast, Mike – Empire's son,Miss Pillsberry – Blue Fairy, Santana – Little Red Riding Hood, Shelby – 'Cera' Fairy/Guardian, Tina – Nightingale/maid
READ, REVIEW, and ENJOY!
Title: Once Upon a Time
Rating: M – language/suggestive themes/violence
Pairings: Faberry, Brittana, others Friendships: Quick, Puckleberry
Summary: Rachel and Quinn's lives have intertwined for much longer than their simple four years of High School. So much longer in fact that nether remember, nor believe the possibility of themselves and their friends coinciding together in a past life.
It was just another day in Lima, Ohio. That was until Quinn became pregnant. Rachel, Quinn and so many others have suffered sleepless nights exposing each to a world pulled unwillingly from their grasp. This story is based loosely on 'Once Upon a Time', Glee cannon up to 3x01, will include moments from other episodes.
Chapter 4:
THE NEWLY DYED BLONDE walked the halls in the direction of her locker. Today had been a good day. Aside from the one incident with Rachel and the silly storybook she had hidden in her locker. Glee had also been interesting not only had Mr. Shuester not appeared for their class until twenty minutes before the bell, but Santana although being kicked from the club was sitting beside Brittany twirling her girlfriend's shoe lace with her fingers. Oh and of course this new-found friendship between Puck, Quinn, and Rachel had caused the members who had showed the creeps because it was and quote 'What-da-hell this is so unnatural and wrong' as Mercedes put it. Quinn laughed at the memory. Rachel was slowly becoming an interesting part of her life she was very will to keep constant.
She looked in the direction of the 'hidden book' and sigh. She was just not ready, but soon she hoped to make Beth proud. She would make her biological daughter proud. Quinn packed the rest of her books needed for the night's homework, let loose a breath she did not realize she held in, and shut her locker. The teen turned towards the hall exist to school parking lot.
"I know it's in there." Rachel watched along with Puck as Quinn left her locker and hurried out to the parking lot. The two Jewish friends meandered along the hall till they reached the blonde's locker.
"Watch my back Jewbabe." Puck turned to Quinn's locker. He tapped at the lock three times as he ran through his mental card catalog of locker combinations.
"Noah…hurry up…," stated Rachel with gritted teeth.
"This is an art, and I have a lot of numbers up here babe that I have to run through." Puck tapped his mohawked skull. He grinned and started to twirl the lock of Quinn's locker.
Rachel shook her head as she watched for any inclosing facility member. "How are you failing math again?" She spotted Coach Sylvester. "Hurry…Coach Sylvester…Noah—Coach Sylvester is coming," she yelled at a whisper through gritted teeth.
Puck looked up from the locker he looked to the left then the right and clicked open the door. "Where is it do you see it?"
They glanced into the locker filled with pictures. Rachel smiled a picture of her and Finn was on door. Granted her face was covered by the magnet, perhaps whatever it was she was feeling with Quinn over the last few days would have the blonde move the magnet from her face over to Finn's. She looked in the pile of books and noticed a binding of one book hidden by a set of loose papers which draped over. Puck noticed it too he lifted the discarded papers and the two teenagers were met with the old leather binding of a book titled 'Once Upon a Time'.
Rachel pulled at the book she looked about herself for a hiding spot. Coach Sylvester was coming closer. She looked around again, nowhere; they had nowhere to hid the book. She looked at Puck. "Lift up your shirt." Puck grinned. "Now is not the time. Lift up your shirt." She shoved the book into his stomach and pulled his shirt down. They both smiled wide and Coach Sylvester walked by and grumbled Rachel was sure it was along the longs of 'damn kids' and 'when is Figgins going to let me install those retraceable cans of mace in case of student kanoodling.' "Hurry…go—go before someone else comes."
The two teens shut the locker door grabbed their bags and rushed out into the school parking lot. They had separate cars, but same destination.
…
A blonde wave flew into view of Quinn's review mirror. The little girl barely over four and a half gave the newly colored blonde a bright smile.
"Your car is so cool."
"Beth? Wh—what are—how did you? You can't be here! Oh god…my mother she's going to think I kidnapped you. Shelby, Beth what were you thinking!" Quinn clutched her chest and stared in the direction of the closed aluminum garage door. "I did kidnap you, my mother is going to kill me. No, no, she is going to faint then faint again. She will know you're my daughter and she will have me committed because you only supposed to be two years old. And, yet here you are almost five," Quinn rambled.
Beth shook her head vigorously. "Nu-huh 'm a sto-way." She pressed tiny finger to her chest, and gave Quinn a very toothy Puck-like grin. Beth pulled herself forward using red Volkswagen Bug's front seats as leverage. She climbed into the front passenger seat, and sat uncomfortably atop her biological mother's book bag. "Mommy won't be mad. When she knows it's you who has me."
"How…how did you get in my car?"
"My nanny she brings me by my mommy's school some-times." She scratched her blond wave of hair. "I watched-d you run back inside…" she began to play with the door handle. "It was unlocked."
"Damn-it…I didn't say that." Quinn let her head fall onto the steering wheel.
Beth giggled. "I wanna read my storybook with you."
"I don't have the book with me."
"S'okay, I member the stories real good, Mommy's read to me this many times," answered Beth in a slurry of words. She held out both hands fingers spread apart in an attempt to emphasize the vast amount she had been read. "So—many times!"
xxx
THE STAIRCASE CONTINUED TO WHINE along the stone built support. Two blonde young women close in age continued to walk the steps of the tallest stone tower, found in the castle owned by the parents of princesses Francis and Quinndaline. It had become 'condemned' for a lack of a better word aside from the King and Queen and their handpicked seamstress none were allowed to enter. However this did not detour the two blondes.
Each wore gowns of similar styles, fabric silk, with color variations of mauve, plum, and lavender. Each paralleled in height and looks. Though, the older of the two showcased their father's hard features while the younger exhibited an intoxicating balance of both father and mother. The only differences which set these two blondes apart, aside from age, was a tightly clinched up-do and long silk-like wavy blonde locks, ridged and soft postures, and hazel eyes one pair bottomless, dark, and mysterious the other curious, passionate, and bright.
Both girls halted in front of a wood door its edges cracked and weathered from age. The younger sister bit her bottom lip. "Francis, I think—I think we should go back. If Father and Mother found out what we were doing…" Quinndaline pinched her eyes in a grimmest as the angry images of her parents finding the sisters disobeying the castle rules no matter their age. "Francis – Francis please, let's just leave this for another day when they are out in the villages, perhaps."
"You're serious? After all this time, all the years of curiosity and you now choose to be a coward?"
In fact it had taken a careful planning on Francis' part for Quinndaline to even consider the possibility of sneaking into their family castle's 'abandoned' tower, and the push of a 'loving' older sister. This required her disposing of the damn fairy that floated about the teenager like she was a in need of a bath. And so she did, she had locked the tiny nuisance, known to their kingdom as Tinker-bell, away in one of Quinndaline's rarely used jewelry boxes.
Little did the crazed sister know, but Tink had in fact set herself free. The little fairy was set with a dilemma follow the sisters or to inform the King and Queen. She decided the latter and had franticly sped off to the main castle in hopes that they could end whatever squabble Francis had decided to create with Quinndaline.
"I am most certainly not a coward!"
"Alright, then open the door." Francis moved to the side her back against the stone wall hand out stretched displaying the shut wooden door.
Quinndaline stepped forward she gripped tight to the iron handle. Younger sister scowled at the older. She flung the door open and her eyes were met with an open room all that sat in the empty space was a small spinning wheel. Her eyes lit. Quinndaline crept close to the lone object she had never seen a spinning wheel up close. Her mother had pulled her curious hands away from spinning wheels when she was a child and they were walking about a village after a long day of travel. Eyes bright with curiosity she held her hand centimeters from the smooth wood of the flawlessly crafted spinning wheel.
Francis held in a breath as she watched her younger sister. Would it really be this easy?
"I wonder if Belle has ever seen one of these up close…"
"Who?"
"Oh—I—uh just a little girl I met yesterday during my walk," she answered her attention focused on the wheel.
"You went to the neighboring village? Father will be furious with that news. You know it is not safe to travel through those woods. Seeing as that is the only way you can reach the village and be back within the same day."
"Y—you wouldn't tell father…" Her head flew in the direction of her sister she did her best to hind the fear of her sisters statement. "Please, I only go when it is light out…there is nothing evil in that forest when there is light out!"
"Oh Quinnie – Quinnie – Quinnie I could never lie to father…she is who you are meeting this afternoon, is she not?" Francis let loose a mischievous smile.
Quinndaline gasped. "Francis! No please…you know father he will make a deal of it and no doubt Belle's family will become a part of it and she has done nothing wrong. She is just a little girl who needed a friend."
Her hand still gripped tight to the iron handle of the wood door. She shut the door as well as her eyes holding in the need to mock Quinndaline. Now was not the time she needed to withstand the need to backlash against the younger princess a few minutes more. She listened to her sister prattle on and on about this Belle, a young girl, she had met on the outskirts of town. How adorable the girl was. The cute half her size cat which dangled from her arms that Tink had taken a liking too.
"Enough! I will wait no longer. Agreement or not you have caused me enough pain and anguish!" Francis stepped towards Quinndaline. "Nothing but 'good' ever pours from your mouth it is sickening! You are sickening and I can take it no longer! I feel the bile crawl up my throat whenever you of these 'precious people' you meet"
"Agreement?"
Quinndaline stepped away from Francis. She backed into the nearby wooden spinning wheel. The very contraption Francis had used to lure her into the room only minutes ago.
Francis huffed ignoring her sister's question. "What makes you so special? Everything you are everything you have was given to you." The older sister's eyes flared with fire. "I was born with my beauty my abilities to transcend the world. And, you—you had nothing! You were nothing without the help of those atrocious fairies," she screamed her strides deeper as she backed the baby sister into the thick stone wall.
A twinkling of gold and green light flashed through the thinly slit tower window. "No! I won't let you harm her," squealed the high pitched voice of Tinker-bell. She launched her body in the direction of Francis. The tiny body froze in place.
Francis held a hand out in the direction of Tinker-bell.
"I could pluck your wings like the obnoxious bug you are." She closed the hand knuckle by knuckle a benevolent smile across her face as she watched the small blonde frozen fairy scream in agony from the intense pressure her bird-like bones felt.
Quinndaline lunged for Tinker-bell "Stop, stop please Francis, stop!" Tears flew from her lids as she watched her oldest friend shiver in pain.
The older sister only smiled. Her free hand swung in the direction of her younger sibling her smile growing as she watched the long wavy haired blonde fly into the stone wall of the circular tower room. She released her hand from Quinndaline and with bright eyes watched the teenager hunch forward in pain. A simple flick of her wrist and the fairy was soaring through the open space and made contact with the wooden shutter of a small slit window.
An optical illusion of electric haze emanated from Francis' body, her hazel eyes flared with the same fire from before. She arched her fingers as if they were claws. "I am the fairest, I will always be the fairest of them all," the older sister cackled.
Quinndaline watched her older sister swing her graceful arms to the ceiling her clothed elbows kept her arms at a slight bend. Francis turned her attention to the old shingled roof and wooden planks. Her laugh grew louder, more malevolent, and Quinndaline had never been more terrified than she was now. She watched her repeat 'fairest of them all' like a twisted and unhinged mantra. The younger more 'delicate' sister ran her fingers across the ruff stone to the small slit window opening. She took of hold of small dazed body. She needed Tink, having her nearby always helped.
"Francis, please, I…," she could say nothing there no words that could stop the crazed woman before her. She gulped.
The sparks flew the black lighting no longer an illusion each out-stretched arm of electrical energy screeched and crackled against the stone wall as if it were alive. The force of the lighting shook the floor and walls as it hit in every direction.
The wooden door shook its iron handle clinking desperately. "Francis, I command you to open this door at once," boomed the voice of the King.
The older blonde with tightly clinched hair cackled once again she eyed the idle spinning wheel the moment was to perfect. Her benevolent grin began to reemerge. She maneuvered her still out stretched arms to either side. With her left she created fist as she flung her it towards her chest. The wood door swung open revealing both the King and Queen both slightly out of breath and filled with confusion across their face unable to process the idea of their oldest child causing harm to their youngest.
"Father…Mother how kind of you to join us."
She turned her attention to the direction of her right hand, and clutched the hand into a fist. The King and Queen, Quinndaline, and Tinker-bell watched the spinning wheel lift effortlessly into the air. A bright light flared as the wheel caught fire exploding pieces of wood flying throughout the empty room. The spindle all that was left floating, Francis looked at her parents and then to her younger sister, her cackle grew louder. With a fist right hand she flung the floating spindle towards the teenager that had 'ruined' her life.
Spindle turned spear few threw the air piercing the younger, beautiful as newly bloomed rose, princess. There was a collective gasp from all but Francis who only grinned wide with excitement and victory.
As if in slow motion all watched as Quinndaline fell to the ground the front of her gown began to turn a deep red. Her eyes shut she lay motionless atop the wood floor of the tallest tower in the castle of her parents the King and Queen.
They, her parents, lunged for the lifeless girl who looked to be sleeping. The Queen clung to the her daughter, tears ran free down her cheeks her makeup forgotten. "No, no, no, no—no, my baby no…," she spoke to no one. She pulled the young woman's body to hers. The three family members watched Quinndaline's head fall back her body no more than a useless rag doll.
Tinker-bell tinkled franticly from side to side. Her magic was nowhere near powerful enough to attack the older deranged princess. She had to be quick even if she knew Francis would not care if she were here or not. She made eye contact with the Queen gave a quick nod and sped off out of the small tower window. She would find them help.
"Why Francis, why she was your sister, your baby sister Quinnie did you no wrong," pleaded the Queen for answers as she held the sleeping body of her child. She ran her hand franticly through Quinndaline's hair.
"Her existence," sneered Francis. "I will not live in a shadow especially the shadow of a girl not meant to exist. I was your gift, not her!"
The clambering of guards echoed throughout the tower. The King stepped moved his still crouched by body, hands still clutched to his wife's shoulders as she clung to the 'lifeless' teenager. He looked into the cold mysterious eyes of his eldest child and his heart broke. "Seize her…I want her taken to the dungeons where she will await trail…"
The older sister shook her head in disgust at her parents. They would always choose her first, never would they acknowledge their eldest for the beautiful and brilliantly evil woman she was bound to become. She looked at the guards she dared them with her eyes, and they rushed in her directions. She lifted her hands into the air and clapped. Tentacles of black smoke rose from her feet engulfing her body. She was gone.
The guards hit the wall each fell with a thud.
…
"Wait…wait you're saying she is alive?" The king looked at his daughter, his baby girl, the teenager the Blue Fairy had instructed they lay in her bed in her bedroom of their castle. He ran a hand along the golden blonde hair of his 'lifeless' child.
A fairy who fluttered about the King and Queen the dust that followed from behind was a blue-silver unlike the green-gold of the Tinker-bell the fairy this family had come to know so well. She like her durst wore a gown of blue-silver the only color that her apart was her fire-red hair.
"What have I told you before my Queen, long before when you were a child no older than the daughter who lye before us?"
The Queen gasped. "That magic no matter how evil will only kill when in that is the user's true intent." The queen dropped to her knees and placed her ear to her daughter's freshly clothed chest. She could hear it the barely there sound of a heart beat. Quinndaline was alive, Francis had not killed her sister. She lifted her head. "Why…Why did she not…"
Tink fluttered about her sleeping friend her tiny had brushing her cheeks with a feather like touch. "She didn't want to kill her because then there would a chance that you two would move on from her grief. Quinndaline laying her like this…you will never forget what your daughter had done to her sister out of spite for you…" Tink twittered across for the Queen to the King and back to the King. "Of course for you two that was not the case…something evil seeded inside Francis that none of us foresaw."
...days later…
THE CHILDREN HUDDLED AROUND the small girl in the dirt ridden village square. They were sick and tired of the little girl's 'lies' no one from the village esspically her would have ever met a princess let alone become a princess' best friend in just a few hours of meeting one another.
"I am not lying! I do not lie you know that, Red," yelled the sing song voice of a young brunette haired girl. She held back the tears which began to form.
"Yes you are, Laide," spat a young Latina-esk girl. Wrapped around her shoulders was a small red-velvet hood a gift given to her by her grandmother for her sixth birthday. The girl known as Lil' Red stood tall hands on her hips. "Because girls like you don't know princesses." The girls and boys who stood behind the loud-mouth all nodded their agreement. "You know what we do to liars, Laide." She smirked and stepped forward along with the your children.
Rachelle scurried backward stumbling a moment before running off in the opposite direction. The other children followed her.
…
"Did you hear?" It was a voice of the blacksmith. His little boy though a bit flamboyant was still held in higher regards that Rachelle and her Merchant father. The blacksmith stuck the sword into the cold water watching it steam. "The King and Queen have denounced any and all visits to the neighboring villages until further notice."
"So it is true then," asked back the woman of the young couple who sat waiting for her husband's sword to cool.
"What's true, love," asked the woman's husband in an endearing voice.
Rachelle finally away from the brigade of children led by Lil' Red to make her life hell. She crept close to the three adults who spoke. She hid beside a discarded barrel and listened.
The woman smiled towards her husband hand resting atop his forearm. "The rumors of course, granted the ones I have heard as of late are only a few days old, but I heard there was an attack on their youngest."
The young husband gasped. "Which one was she the younger one?"
"She was the one with the long wavy blonde hair had a fairy always floating around her." The blacksmith shook his head. He pulled the sword from the water he saw a welt and bit into the steel with his hammer. "I have it on good authority that it was in fact the younger of the two princesses but…"
Rachelle gasped. Quinndaline had not lied to her like the terrifyingly beautiful blonde woman had claimed. Some horrible had happened to her best friend and it had caused her to break her promise. She pulled herself close to the group still hidden behind the barrel she had to know what had happened to the teenager she had met only days ago.
"What'ya listening too?"
"I thought your mother has you taking lessons," whispered Rachelle harshly.
The little boy shrugged. "Who says I was going to listen?"
"Shh…You are a prince, you must have good grammar." She held a finger to her lips as the she and now the little boy listened to the gossip.
The little boy wore expensive, but dirty cloths. Today it was a simple pair of tan paints and a navy blue button jacket. Every button was undone his exposed under shirt covered in food grease and dirt. Some prince he was, he never kept himself clean it would be a wonder if he would ever inherit his kingdom let alone find a wife with his table manners.
Rachelle, Belle's, father was a frequent seller to the young boy and his 'widowed' mother's kingdom selling them all manners of things but mostly cloths. She would come along on various visits. It was these visits that caused the little prince and Belle to become close friends.
The blacksmith bit back a sigh and rubbed the back of his head with a dirty gloved hand. "The younger one…oh what's her name…I met her a few times making my deliveries…Quinndaline that's right…well like I said I have it on good authority. I'm friends with a few of their guards after all. She has some sort of spell on her."
The woman gasped she turned herself into her husband. "I told you sweetheart, fairies can never be trusted. Why the Kings and Queens want to have them in their courts I will never know."
"No, no, it wasn't the fairy. The fairy tried to save the girl. I heard…" The blacksmith stepped closer to the couple and he continued in a barely there whisper. "It was the older sister, she put the spell on the poor thing, and now the girl poor will never wakeup. She's in a permanent sleep." He gave the sword one last bang and handed it over to the young man. "That'll be fifteen gold pieces."
The small girl and boy sat bottoms to the floor and backs to the barrel their small mouths agape. "I knew it. I knew she would never lie to me. Best friends never lie," stated Belle to no one.
"I thought I was your best friend…"
"You're my oldest friend."
"But we aren't old." The boy pouted.
"Simantics," answered the girl. She rose from their hidden spot and grabbed the boys arm. "Come on, we have to find my father. We are going to figure out how to save the princess."
"Save a princess? Okay…cool!"
They rushed off in the direction of Belle's home at the edge of town. If anyone knew what was happening at the castle it was her father.
xxx
"You have a very active imagination," complemented Quinn. A bit violent too…but now really isn't the time to be questioning Shelby's parenting methods…
"Do not! I told you, I member everything cause you always member everything with bedtime stories! Duh," stated Beth, her behavior eerily resembling Quinn when she too was that age, in what she saw in the home movies anyway. Quinn rose from her spot on the couch. Beth mimicked her actions though she stood atop the eggshell white couch shoes still on. My mother is going to kill me. "You – are – sleeping beauty, you just don't member, that's all. But you will!" Beth smiled. She leapt into Quinn's arms.
The mother and daughter gazed at one another. This, the longest stent of physical interaction either had given the other since their first meeting. Quinn swallowed, there was so much she needed to say, no wanted to say. She wanted to tell this beautiful child, she had loved her since she was born. That if there had been a different circumstance maybe she would have grown here with her grand-mother, herself, and even Puck, not Shelby. Really, all Quinn wanted to do in that moment was apologize to the little girl because she could not bring herself to believe the fantasy stories, because she gave her away, but most of all because she was selfish. And, all she ever saw when she looked into the eyes of this little girl was everything she had lost.
The front door swung open, the moment between mother and daughter was broken. Beth gave Quinn a hug before pushing into her chest to be let go. Santana Lopez barged into the Fabray house, she was followed closely by Brittany her arm out stretched. She had clearly been attempting to hold back the Latina from whatever it was she had planned.
"All-Right bitch, what was up with you, the Hobbit, and Puckerman today? You can't seriously think that no one besides Glee saw how buddy-buddy the three of you are being its, well, its gross. You need to stop right now, before of any that weird skank cred you have gotten go—" Santana trailed off. "Holy mother and—it's a Quinn-Clone."
"Aw!" Brittany squealed. "San, how come Quinn has a baby sister, and didn't tell us?"
"That's because Babe Q doesn't have a baby sister," consoled Santana phrasing her answer the best she could. "Couldn't stand not having Beth around, huh," she asked with a quirk to her brow lips widening into a smile. "So, you stole a kid, that's low," her tongue and teeth ticked together, "even for you Q, even for you."
"I didn't—I didn't steal her!" Think fast you have to think fast Quinn. "She lives a few streets away. My Mom thought it would be a good idea. You know character building and great for my résumé. Given that I well you know kinda went –"
"Bonkers, crazy, became a smoking lunatic?" finished Santana.
"I was going for nuts, but—anyway, I'm watching her after school until her –," Quinn turned to Beth. "Until her mother stops by, you know, to pick her up after work! That's right I'm babysitting."
"Ok-ay…" Santana gave Quinn warier look.
Brittany however continued to watch Beth; the little girl attempting the same.
"You look like Tinker-bell," stated Beth.
Santana gave Beth a curious look.
The tall pony-tailed blonde then clapped her hands in a flurried spasm. "Yay! Okay, so I know for a fact that Quinn's mom keeps all her old toys. And, you know because well you're way too big," Brittany held out her arms to emphasize Beth's size difference to the size Beth had been born. "For the three baby toys Mrs. Fabray bought when Quinn wa—" Brittany was cut short Quinn's hand gripped desperately to the taller blonde's mouth.
"What Brittany's trying to say, is that my Mother has kept most of my toys and there's bound to be a board game or doll of some-sort that I'm sure you will like," answered Quinn in a quick finish.
The dancer assessed the odd behavior of her close friend. She shrugged it off then focused her attention back to Beth. "Come-on, she keeps everything in a closet by Quinn's room!" Brittany rocked at her feet till the tiny girl began to ascend the stairway. "Quinn has a pretty cool room, too. It's like pink; well it's more like purple-pink, or maybe pink-purple. Anyway it has this really cool wallpaper on one wall, and her bed is huge. She would let me bounce on it all the time during sleepovers in eighth grade. So, I bet you could bounce even higher on it if you tried!" Brittany's voice began to trail off becoming softer as the two like-minded blondes made their way through the upstairs halls to Quinn's bedroom.
Santana took hold of Quinn's collar. She pulled her into the confines of the entryway sitting nook. "Hold up there Mufasa." Santana removed her grip on Quinn's dress, and took hold of her re-dyed hair her wordless indication to Quinn for the new nickname. "What the fu—hell was that." Santana rolled her eyes; she would never admit the verbal change was for Quinn, if asked she would say it was to avoid a lecture from Brittany on what language was appropriate around children.
"You heard Brittany, she was starting to ramble. The poor girl's only four years old I don't think she would be able to follow one of Brittany's ramblings. At least Rachel's are verbally coherent and you can't loo—ow! Hey what was that for!" Quinn rubbed at her lean bicep; bruise would be forming there soon no doubt.
Santana ready with her witty banter was in the throes of what she considered a magnificent retort when the front door shook. "Ow, watch the hawk Jewbabe!"
Quinn and Santana craned their necks attention now on the Fabray house's new visitors.
"Noah Puckerman, you ring that doorbell right now you hear me! I do not care if it is 'Quinn's house and she ain't gunna give a rats ass if we knock or not' you will knock because it is polite! Do you understand me Noah," rang the irritated high-pitched voice of Rachel.
The two best friends snickered at Rachel Berry's impersonation of Puck. Neither moved towards the door each waiting out the confrontation to see how it would end.
The door shook once more. There was a series of unintelligible yelps and whimpers. It was then followed by a very loud whack. The door bell rang.
The two friends looked at one another before lunging simultaneously for the door. Santana smiled bumping Quinn out of the way. She swung the door open, "Well would you look at that. Since when did this buddy-buddy Jew pride thing start up again?"
"I'll have you know," stated Rachel. She released Puck from the headlock. "Being Jewish may have brought us together, but we have never stopped being friends Santana."
"Jesus!" Puck rubbed the top of his head. Quinn eyed puck about to retort. "Don't you be looking at me like that, he ain't a part of my religion. I can say that hippy's name all I want." Santana howled with laughter she stepped to the side giving the door a wider birth. She really did love Puck. Rachel on the other hand, Rachel was a new part of this weird Puck and Quinn equation and she would be damned if she did not figure out what part it was she played.
"What do you two want? I'm sort of busy," stated Quinn.
"You left this at school thought I would bring it back for yah." He head motioned to the large leather book which covered most of Rachel's upper torso. "Wouldn't want to be losing that now would we?"
"Yeah—yeah wouldn't want to lose this big thing now would we," answered Quinn, she made an attempt for the book. An invisible war raged between the two girls. Rachel was not about to release that book from her sight, and Quinn would never read it. This passing would never end.
Suddenly a loud thud came from over head shaking the crystal chandelier above the dining room table. "Brittany wouldn't? I mean she loves kids she wouldn't," asked Quinn quickly turning her head back to Santana as she rushed up the stairs through the long hallway to her bedroom.
QUINN'S BEDROOM DOOR SWAYED OPEN. Atop the lush carpet groaned Brittany S. Pierce she held tight to her ponytail pulling her hair free? She must have landed on her back, ouch. Quinn watched as Beth stood head to toe atop Quinn's bed. Her aquamarine eyes, the perfect mix of both her parents, stared down at the dancer in awe she too was just as confused as the rest at what just happened.
Santana leapt to Brittany's aid ignoring the three other teenagers. Who eyed the blonde haired child curiously?
"What the hell did you do," roared Santana. It did not matter that Beth was barely over four and half. Something had happened to Brittany, and had she been the only other person in the room. In Santana's eyes she was live bait.
Beth fell back. She crawled into the bed's pillows. Beth was hiding from Santana's wrath. Alright that's it! I'm so not dealing with you right now! Quinn glowered at Santana. "She is only four years old! Brittany is three times her size!" Santana turned her attention to Quinn, her new target. Nothing could ever be rationalized for Santana when it came to Brittany.
"S—stop!" It was Brittany. "I fell backward; she had nothing to do with it. Okay?" Brittany looked from one of her friends to the other. Her face held a much deeper confusion than normal. She stopped at Santana. "I fell back. She didn't push me."
Santana relaxed her body. "Hey Q, you know I wouldn'ver – you know how I get when it comes to Britt. I can't help myself sometimes." She was met with the faces of three very annoyed teenagers: two being parents and the other given a newly granted role of over-protective friend. "Kid, look I'm sorry okay. I just, I get crazy sometimes."
Beth nodded in agreement. Everyone laughed.
…no less than five minutes ago…
"So, I bet you could bounce even higher on it if you tried! Especially now since Quinn and Santana are still downstairs," continued Brittany as she and Beth walked down the long halls of the house's second floor. "The bed is like super bouncy too. My head touched ceiling the last time I jumped, and that was—that was oh right before she got pregnant…so um it was summer before sophomore year. Yeah sophomore year! Quinn wouldn't let anyone come over after she found out, and then she was kicked out of her house. So, then no one could jump on it. I guess Mrs. Fabray could, but I don't think she ever—" She began to trail off once more.
Beth listened, but barely her attention focused on the array of framed family photographs lined with perfection. Each photo showed a progression in age and to the older onlooker a progression in unhappiness. Beth watched photographic portrait timeline of her biological mother as she sashayed next to Brittany. Beth paused. "Quinn won't get mad?"
Brittany gripped tight to the door handle. She thought for a moment. "Nah, well, maybe we should do it before they finally come up here." She smiled wide at the little girl. "Come on! We can get the games later, hurry up!" She turned the handle pushing the door open slightly her arm out stretched from her body enough for Beth to walk between the tall dancer and the white wooden door.
Beth gasped. "It really is a princess' room!"
"I know right," Brittany replied just as excited as Beth. She let go of the door leaving it slightly askew. "Here I forgot its pretty high off the ground." Brittany now standing behind Beth crouched to the little girl's level. She took hold of either side of her torso and lifted her with ease into the air. Beth let out a wild giggle, no one hand ever played with her like this before, at least not since she was much smaller.
"Do you want me to toss you? I can toss you on!" Brittany grinned and Beth nodded her head in quick agreement. The teenager gripped tighter to the girl and bent her knees back. She froze in the position for a moment when her legs suddenly shot out like a cannon. Her grip on Beth's torso was gone; she watched the little girl gleefully laugh as she landed in the middle of the bed.
"Again, please!" Beth lunged for Brittany her body making contact with taller blonde.
Brittany nodded in agreement took hold of Beth ready herself then shot forward. Only this time something had gone wrong. Beth with her uncontained excitement took hold of the blonde's hand with her own. As Brittany began to release the girl a bright white-gold light flashed throughout the bedroom. Beth fell to the bed and Brittany with a loud thud collided with the floor.
She groaned out of pain. Her head felt like it had been hit with a ton of rocks and her body was sore. The tall blonde with the tight ponytail and dancer legs blinked confusion etched across her face. Still face up on the floor she slide her right arm between her back and the carpeted floor. Her wings were gone. Where were her wings? Why were her wings gone!
"What hell did you do?"
"She is only four years old! Brittany is three times her size" yelled out two familiar yet unfamiliar voices.
"S—stop! I fell backward; she had nothing to do with it. Okay," Brittany stammered out her head still throbbing from the impact. "I fell back. She didn't push me." She blinked, what the hell was going on!
As always, I hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think. The more I know of your option the faster and more interested I will become in continuing and completing the story.