Chapter 6:

Guest: Sorry about that but Finchel's endgame in this story. I'm going to give Quinn a new love interest in this chapter though

"AAH!" A scream reverberated around the house, and soon Puck, Blaine and Quinn had found the source, Rachel Berry- in front of a tiny spider.

"Seriously?" Puck said. He grabbed a piece of paper and used it to pick up the spider and dump it out of the window.

"See, this is why I hate you, wimp." Quinn couldn't refrain from snapping.

"Hate's an awfully strong word, Quinn." Rachel retorted, a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Well, that and your goody-goody attitude." Quinn murmured- suddenly she was on the floor.

A now scowling Rachel let out a laugh before asking, "How's that for goody-goody?"

Before anyone could stop them the girls were locked in a fist fight, claws tore at skin, legs kicked at weak spots, fists punched thin air. Blaine couldn't stop them. Puck couldn't stop them. All of a sudden Hiram and Judy ran into the family room, Katy on Judy's hip.

"Stop it!" The eight year old sobbed, and the older girls looked up, only to see Judy and Hiram who both had expressions like thunder.

"Quinn." Judy called out angrily at the same time as Hiram roared "Rachel!"

"I'm so sorry Daddy," Rachel tried to hug her father, but he pushed her away and exchanged a look with Judy.

"Judy and I will be in the study, deciding on you two's punishment." Hiram said.

"Sit down on the sofa and don't move." Ordered Judy. "Katy's going to stay here with you two, because that seems to be the only way to get you to stop fighting."

Their parents left the room and Rachel and Quinn looked down at the floor, both ashamed, as Katy wandered over to the sofa and planted herself between the two of them. Blaine and Puck, who were sitting on the other side of the room, had clearly given up on the alliances because neither had stood up for them. The boys just turned on the Xbox and started playing a soccer game.

"You guys said you were gonna stop fighting." Katy reminded them. It was difficult for the girls to look at her and not feel guilty, because while she was eight years old, she was more the size of a six year old, and her voice was high pitched and adorable. So they said nothing. With a look of determination, the little girl crawled onto Quinn's lap and looked up at her stepsister's face. "Why can't you guys be friends?"

"I don't like Rachel." Quinn said slowly.

"And I don't like Quinn." Katy looked over to her older sister as Rachel spoke.

"Why not?"

"Katy," Blaine said, pausing the game and picking her up. "Wanna watch ICarly reruns?"

"Yeah!" Katy squealed. So Blaine dropped her back in between the two sixteen year old girls and forced a reluctant Puck to switch the TV off the Xbox and back onto regular TV.

Rachel looked over to Quinn and their eyes met. "Life ruiner," she mouthed at Quinn.

"Idiot," Quinn mouthed back. "We're dead. Cause. Of. You."

"5, 4, 3, 2..." Just as the countdown on the theme song stopped, Judy and Hiram marched into the room. Two parts of a terrifying parent machine.

"Woah, that was good timing." Puck laughed, then stopped when he saw the serious expressions on their face. "It's weird not being the one who's in trouble this time." He grinned and then wandered over to Katy to watch the TV with her.

It was a weird sensation, being in trouble, Rachel decided. She could hear everyone else only as background noise but Hiram's and Judy's voices were clear as day as they announced the sentence together.

"You're both grounded," Judy declared.

Hiram turned to them and added, "For a month."

"A month?" The girls roared together.

"But Mom!" Quinn pleaded. "I've hardly even done anything. SHE started it! And I have that Cheerio's slumber party next weekend! It's really important to me."

"Sorry Quinn," Judy didn't sound sorry.

"Dad!" Rachel turned with puppy dog eyes to her father. "I'm going round Finn's-" she paused at the look of anger Quinn gave her, "uh... And Kurt's to hang out with Kurt tomorrow."

"She's lying," Blaine put in. "Kurt and I are going out on a date tomorrow and she wants to 'hang out' with Finn."

Rachel launched herself at her twin,

but she was pulled back before she could kill him. "You are the most-" Blaine covered her mouth before she could insult him.

"Language," he tutted, it was all she could do not to punch him.

~~Life With Rachel~~

Quinn was bored. She was precisely two days through a month of being grounded and there was nothing to do. Even in Columbia she hadn't been a stay at home girl, sure she hung out with her mom on weekday evenings but Friday nights and weekends were for socialising. She was a queen bee, it was just what she was meant to do. Quinn always had a date to go on, a slumber party (or just a regular party ) to attend, a routine to perfect. Now she was stuck at home. On a Saturday.

Puck was out on a 'date'- by this point he was probably having sex- Blaine was hanging out with his boyfriend, Kurt, and Judy and Hiram were on a date.

Quinn and Rachel were supposed to be babysitting Katy, who'd been instructed to inform the adults if either of her sitters snuck out. Right now, Rachel was cooking dinner and Katy was 'helping' her, whilst Quinn thought about how much she wished she was anywhere else.

"Quinn!" Rachel shouted up the stairs. "Dinner's ready." Quinn was about to head downstairs when her phone buzzed.

U'd better find a way outta dat grounding soon. U haz competition.

San.

What? Who?

Q

She texted back immediately but she had to drop her phone on the bed and hurry to the kitchen when Katy screamed that she was going to eat Quinn's food.

"...but mommy and daddy say that telling the truth is always good." Katy was saying as Quinn walked into the room. Rachel's face took on a constipated look when she heard Katy refer to Judy as Katy's 'mommy', but she covered it well.

"Well sometimes the truth isn't always best." Rachel said awkwardly.

"Like when?" Katy asked, intrigued.

"Tell you what, I'll tell you if you eat all of your pie, potatoes AND veg." Katy groaned at Rachel, but nodded her head decisively and started to stuff down her food.

"Slower, K," Advised Quinn. "You don't want to choke." Both Quinn and Rachel giggled as Katy made a big show of eating in slow motion, and then went back to a more normal speed. "No need to be cheeky." Quinn tutted and shook her finger up and down like her mother had often done. Katy giggled at that, and even Rachel had to stifle her laughter.

"Tell me!" Katy ordered as soon as she's finished her meal. "When is it 'kay to not tell the truth."

Rachel, who'd clearly been deciding herself over dinner, launched straight into it. "Well, sometimes if you don't want to hurt someone's feelings. For example if Mercedes- who's one of my friends,"

"One of her few friends!" Quinn whispered to Katy, causing Rachel to glare at her.

"One of my MANY friends," Quinn snorted but said nothing else as Rachel continued, "If Mercedes came into school wearing a really ugly outfit, and asked me what I thought, I'd probably say I liked it to avoid hurting her feelings."

"You can't talk," Quinn inserted. "You wear the most ugly sweaters imaginable. Right K?"

Katy shook her head. "Rachel's sweaters are vintage and very pretty." Then she got out of her seat and whispered to Quinn (far loud enough for Rachel to hear), "I'm lying so I don't hurt her feelings. I don't want Rachey to be sad."

Quinn winked. "I'll keep your secret." As Katy skipped out of the room, Rachel and Quinn locked eyes and both giggled.

"Right, I'll be upstairs then," Quinn announced, pulling out her chair.

"Um, no!" Rachel shook her head. "I made dinner, it's your turn to load the dishwasher."

"But I have important business to deal with," Quinn argued. Her mind was on the cell phone in her bedroom.

"It'll only take a few minutes, it's not a big deal Quinn!"

"If it's not a big deal then why won't you do it?"

"Cause I spent an hour and a half making dinner while you texted your dumb cheerleader friends and your new blonde boyfriend!"

Quinn blushed, she hadn't realised anyone had noticed. "Sam isn't my boyfriend! I mean, he's a year younger than us and he spends most of his time doing horrendous and insulting impressions. Why would I want to date him?" Rachel was struggling to hold back her laughter. "What?" Quinn snapped.

"I never said I thought you were dating Sam," Quinn blushed as Rachel continued. "But from that reaction it's clear you are."

"Fine," Quinn admitted after a long pause. "I'm dating Sam. What will it take for you to keep it a secret?"

Rachel shifted in her seat. After a moment she got up from her seat and gradually wandered into the kitchen, Quinn's eyes following her. "Load the dishwasher, please." Rachel repeated.

Quinn frowned. "...and?..."

Rachel shrugged. "And nothing."

Quinn shook her head. "I'm not falling for that. We both know how our relationship works. There's always a catch if we offer each other something."

"No catch," Rachel paused. "At the moment. However, if you don't load the dishwasher within the next ten minutes, I may change my mind." Quinn quickly loaded the dishwasher and then turned to Rachel. The brunette was in the same place she'd been five minutes before, her gaze annoyingly friendly.

Without a word, Quinn headed over to the door.

"Quinn," Rachel's voice stopped her at the doorway. "Sam's a great boy. I hope you two are happy together." She must be scheming. She was too nice. Even for Rachel.

"I hope you and Finn rot in hell," Quinn smiled sweetly- her tone kind, her words deadly. Two could play at this 'nice' game.

~~Life With Rachel~~

Rachel finally let go of her nice persona and rolled her eyes as Quinn walked out of the door. She'd found that being nice to Quinn actually infuriated the blonde more than almost anything else! Rachel was an actress but still, sometimes it was difficult to keep up the peaceful and loving charade. Today, for example! She didn't know why Quinn was ashamed to be going out with Sam- he was cute, on the football team and really sweet, she imagined he planned very romantic dates, and she'd kissed him once at Puck's end of year party when they were playing spin the bottle, he was excellent- but it would clearly upset Quinn if news got out that the two of them were dating. She wanted so badly to be the one to spread it, but in her heart Rachel knew that the truth would come out soon with or without her help, and revealing Quinn's secret to the school wouldn't truly be beneficial to Rachel herself in any way.

So she contented herself to grab her sparkly pink and gold phone and text her boyfriend- boyfriend! Rachel couldn't get enough of the word. Boyfriend. She had a boyfriend! A handsome, kind, loving, sweet BOYFRIEND!

Hey babe. x

Rach

She texted, waiting for a reply.

Hey babe. What u up 2? xxx

Finn replied, moments later.

Not much. Day two of thirty one days of grounding. :( Can't wait until it's over and I can see you again. ;)

Rachel refused to use text speak, but she thought it was cute when Finn did it.

I'll c u skl on Mon, though

Finn reminded her. Rachel's heart was hammering. She had another whole day before Monday!

Maybe I could sneak out?

I thought ur sis was guarding u

She giggled at Finn's text, despite herself, and then sighed aloud.

Maybe I can work my way around my parents somehow.

It was only after she'd sent it and it was too late that Rachel realised what she'd typed; MY parentS. She was the worst daughter imaginable. Her mind didn't seem to be working but her feet carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. She didn't notice nor hear Quinn as her body through itself at her drawer and she threw her clothes to the floor. There was the picture of her mother, her father, Noah, Blaine and herself. Her mother was pregnant with Katy and didn't know it but she'd go into labour to give birth to the premature baby the very day after that photo was taken. Rachel had heard the story a thousand times.

Rachel wasn't aware of the heart-breaking sobs leaving her own mouth until she felt two warm pairs of arms around her. Katy was sat on her lap, her arms around Rachel, looking up at her big sister with her mouth open in an O of shock. Quinn had stopped hugging Rachel but still sat cross legged on the floor, her hand on Rachel's jean clad leg.

"K," Quinn whispered, her hand now slowly stroking circles on Rachel's back. "Could you go downstairs, please?"

Katy looked a little scared to leave as though she thought they might rip each other to shreds of she did, but even at eight she could see that Quinn was what Rachel needed right now, not her.

Katy shut the door, the noise resonating in Rachel's ears, and Quinn shuffled forward a little. Gently, she pried the photo out of Rachel's hands and inspected it. "Is this your Mom?" Quinn pointed and Rachel nodded. Quinn smiled. "She looks just like an older version of you."

"You're- you're insulting m-my d-d-dead m-m-mom now?" Rachel clutched at her heart. "Quinn, stop it! If you're not gonna help, just get out!"

"I wasn't insulting your mom!" Quinn dropped her voice when she realised how loud it had become, it was easy for her to get mad quickly when she was talking to Rachel.

"Maybe not directly," Rachel stuttered, her breaths short and laboured. "B-but you always call me ugly, and treasure trail, dwarf and man hands. If you say my m-m- she looks just like me then your insulting the most brave and wonderful person who ever lived in the entire world!" Rachel had used up all her breath in that short speech and collapsed against Quinn.

"Shh," Quinn soothed. All thoughts of which Cheerio wanted to steal her spot at the top of the pyramid had long since left her mind. When Rachel had calmed down a little and Quinn had planned what she wanted to say in a way that couldn't possibly be taken any other way than how she meant it, she told Rachel, "You might not be perfect, but no-one is. You think I don't have stuff I hate about myself? That's why I coat myself in make-up. Why I act like I'm not breaking down inside everytime I see my mom kiss Hiram, or Kurt and Blaine hanging out, or you and Finn together. Because I can tell, even if you can't, that you and Finn, and Blaine and Kurt, like my mom and your dad, have found true love.

And I sometimes think I never will."

"Quinn-"

"But my non-existent love life is not what I wanted to tell you about. I went off track. I wanted to tell you how you're a really pretty girl, Rachel, outside, and, quite often, inside. And I was just saying that you and your mom both have that look about you."

There was silence for a minute and then Rachel asked Quinn why she always insulted her, if she thought those things about her.

"You say them to me too," Quinn reminded her. "We're never gonna be best friends, but sisters fight." Rachel looked up.

"We're sisters?"

"Sure." She smiled a little and then, "Do you wanna tell me about your mom?" Quinn paused. "You don't have to. Only if you think it'll help."

Rachel thought about it for a moment. Should she? Of course she should. Quinn deserved it after opening up that much to Rachel.

"Well," She wasn't really sure how to begin, but Quinn gave her a minute and then Rachel started again.

Rachel described how her mother had dreamed all her life of being a Broadway star. She'd done her time in college, in choruses, and finally she landed the part of Elphaba in Wicked. It was everything Shelby could have hoped for, but dreams change. She got the part of Elphaba at the age of twenty four, and the show was running the next year. At one of the performances, the critic went backstage to have an interview with her after the stunning performance. They hit it off and fell in love. He quit his job and she quit hers, and they got married at the end of the year. Hiram and Shelby moved to Lima, Ohio after their honeymoon. Hiram got a new job as a lawyer and Shelby decided to train to become a music teacher. The couple loved their little family of two, but they lived in a three bedroom house- they wanted kids! They tried for years but finally when they reached thirty one they decided to adopt. Noah. He was everything they could have hoped for, but they got the shock of their lives when a few months later they found out Shelby was pregnant, and with twins! But they loved Noah and would never give him away.

Shelby and Hiram didn't want to find out the genders, but when they got another boy, who they named Blaine, as well as a girl, who they called Rachel Barbra, Shelby couldn't be more thrilled that they both loved singing.

The parents managed very well to split their time between their three children, and Noah was a great big brother, thrilled when his siblings started to walk and talk. As they got older he played 'manly' games with Blaine and his father and spoilt Rachel rotten. Shelby took the twins to Broadway shows as soon as they got old enough to appreciate them, and, excited that they both adored performing arts, enrolled them both in singing and dancing classes. But she never forced them, they'd asked her about it, Rachel made sure to make clear.

Rachel was building up a portrait of a loving and compassionate woman, as well as an ex- Broadway star, Quinn realised.

The Berry family had the perfect life- then came their surprise. At thirty eight, Shelby found out that she was pregnant again. They would have to buy a new house, their money would have to stretch further, the new baby might have to have some hand-me-downs. But they would be fine. And the long labour was worth it when the tiny, premature little girl arrived. She was weak, though. Everyone was terrified that if she didn't die there then she would sooner or later when she got even the slightest cold. But she was a fighter, like her mama, and she was just fine.

"I was eight when it happened-"

Quinn stopped her, "Rachel, it's okay. You don't have to tell me any more."

"No," Rachel pushed on. "I owe it to you."

"You owe me nothing," Quinn said, her hand in her stepsister's.

"Quinn," Rachel continued and Quinn fell silent.

Their Aunt Holly was babysitting all four Berry kids, because both Hiram and Shelby were still at work.

"I'm not a baby!" Rachel remembered Noah complaining, "I'm practically an adult."

"Well then, wanna help me make dinner, adult?" Aunt Holly asked. Noah shook his head violently. Holly chuckled, "I thought not."

Rachel was playing peek-a-boo with Katy while the boys played with the toys they always kept here, cars and train tracks mainly.

Suddenly the phone rang.

"Rachel, honey," Her Aunt's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Could you get that? I need to keep an eye on the pan so it doesn't boil over."

So Rachel ran over and picked the phone up, "hello," She said in the silly voice she usually used when answering the phone to her daddy- who she'd assumed this was- who usually phoned at about this time.

"Is this Ms H Holiday?" Asked the somber voice on the other end.

"Nope," Rachel replied, popping the p. "I'm her niece, Rachel. Aunt Holly's making dinner. Do you wanna leave a message with me?" There was a silence that stretched on for so long, Rachel thought the other person had hung up.

"No, thank you. Is it at all possible to talk to your aunt? This is very important. Could you ask her for me, please?" Rachel nodded in reply and then realised the other person couldn't see her.

"Okay, hold on a minute." She brought the phone down from her ear and tried to run into the kitchen, but Katy was grabbing onto her leg.

"Lemme go," she attempted to shake Katy off but the little girl kept clinging on, giggling as if this were a game. "Aunt Holly!" She shouted eventually. "Can you come in here?"

Holly wandered in, her apron on. "What is it, Rachel? I'm making your dinner."

Continuing her attempt to shake her sister off, Rachel said "the lady on the phone said she needs to talk to you. She said it's very important." She held the phone out, and Holly took it, then hurried back into the kitchen, the phone held between her ear and shoulder.

Rachel couldn't hear what her Aunt was saying but she did hear a smashing noise. Katy let go of her leg and all four kids went into the kitchen. Glass was scattered all over the floor and their aunt's face was pale.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked.

Holly turned to them, she appeared to have only noticed they were there when Blaine spoke. "Get your shoes and coats on now."

"Aunt Holly drove us to the hospital in absolute silence," Rachel's voice was oddly composed, but she sounded distant. "Puck wasn't playing computer games, Katy wasn't crying, we all just sat there in silence. We had no idea what had happened, we couldn't guess, but we knew it was bad. When we got there Blaine, Katy and I weren't even allowed in at first. We had to sit with this friendly, blonde nurse. She tried to engage Blaine and me in a conversation but we were both furious that they weren't telling us what was going on- they let Noah in! But then he came out, teary-eyed -Noah never cries- and suddenly we didn't want to go in. But we felt like we had to. So after Aunt Holly had come out as well, they let Blaine and I go in. We'd heard little bits of the conversation but we really had no clue what was going on. We didn't know who it was- let alone what had happened to them. So then when Blaine and I saw m-mo-her there, wires attached to her body, and Dad clutching at her hand, muttering to her. We both burst out crying. Dad didn't even seem to see or hear us. He just kept focussed on her, whispering to her about how much he loved h-her and how sh-sh-she could make it through. Sh-she died that night." Rachel couldn't say any more, she gladly collapsed onto Quinn after reliving that horrible night. It was impossible to put into words how wonderful and brave and loving her mother had been.

"My mom isn't trying to replace yours," Quinn said.

"I know." Rachel said.

"She just loves your dad," Quinn continued.

"I know," Rachel repeated.