Disclaimer: These characters belong to the creators of Glee.

A/N: Just a little festive chapter. For the places on Monopoly, I googled what the Americans have since I'm used to playing the British one. I hope they're right. Let me know whether you like it or not and as always, all mistakes are mine :) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, I hope you all have a fantastic and safe holiday

Words (minus response to reviews) - 4550


Chapter 8:

As a baby, she never had any problem sleeping, according to her parents anyway. It seems to be a trait which has never left her. Even now she'll sleep through the entire night without waking, nothing seems to stir her. Not thunderstorms, arguments or even the sound of Dusty barking. The only night she is incapable of sleeping is the night before Christmas. She finds it physically impossible to stay asleep; her body is too excited for the coming day.

Rather than wake and open her presents, she has to force herself to stay in bed until at least 7.30 am because her parents refuse to wake up earlier than that. It's a compromise they came up with a couple of years ago after Lucy bounced on her parent's bed at five in the morning, shouting Santa had been and insisting they opened their presents.

Her eyes flash over the clock to see it's nearly 7.30. Deciding against waiting the next couple of minutes, Lucy leaps out of bed and flings open the drapes, staring in awe at the thick blanket of snow which covers the ground from the heavy snowfall which occurred during the night. She runs into her parent's bedroom to wake them and is momentarily confused to find their bed empty. Her parents never wake up earlier than her on Christmas morning.

Choosing not to question it, she bounds downstairs just as excited as she has been for the past four years and finds a surprising amount of presents nestled underneath the Christmas tree. She hadn't expected this many. She'd made her mother a mug with the words 'Best mom in the world' painted on it and she'd bought her father a box of chocolates. Or rather, Judy bought them for her and signed her name. She couldn't decide what to give her father. Falling to the ground on her knees next to the tree, she stares open-mouthed at the abundance of gifts. Every year she appears to receiving more and more gifts at Christmas, not that she's complaining. Grabbing the nearest present, she checks it's for her before shaking it gently, a test to try and pinpoint what is inside.

"Lucy, wait for your father before you start to open your presents. You know he'll want to see your face."

Lucy drops the present before raising her head at the voice. Turning around she finds her mother standing in the doorway, flour on her right cheek. When her mother disappears, Lucy stands and follows her towards the kitchen. Entering the room, she finds her mother at the stove, flipping pancakes rather haphazardly. Her mother never cooks breakfast, in fact, she doesn't even eat breakfast. Most days Lucy is just handed a bowl of cereal.

"Are you making pancakes?"

"It's Christmas Lucy, my favourite holiday. I thought you and I deserved a treat." Judy flips a pancake onto a plate and places it on the table. "I've made you a glass of eggnog as well."

Lucy hesitantly walks over to the table. She finds it odd her mother is being domestic, she distinctly remember her mother saying once that she didn't have a domestic bone in her body. She grabs the eggnog with both hands and sniffs it warily. "What's in it?"

"Just try it. If you always ask questions, it ruins the surprise. Sometimes you just have to take a risk."

Lucy sips it carefully before grimacing. "That's disgusting." She watches her mother drink her own eggnog without a flinch. "Do you like it?"

"My glass has an extra something in it. It's special eggnog."

"What is it? Is it cinnamon? Why is it special? Why doesn't my glass have an extra something?" Lucy fires the questions rapidly.

"You can have a glass when you're older." Judy flips a pancake onto her own plate. "Now eat up."

Lucy sits at the table before obliging, stuffing a large forkful of pancake into her mouth. "Where's Dad?"

"I've told you Lucy, do not talk with your mouth full," Judy chastises gently. "He had to nip to work; he'll be home soon."

"But today is Christmas."

Judy shrugs before taking a seat opposite Quinn. "Sometimes it doesn't matter whether it's Christmas or not. At least, not where your father is concerned"


Her father returned home about fifteen minutes ago, just after 9am. He wasn't wearing a suit like he normally did for work. After his much anticipated appearance, Lucy wasted no more time before opening her presents. So far, she's received books, a teddy bear, a handful of the latest toys and gadgets for girls her age and some new clothes. Her final present rests at the back of the tree and her stomach flips in excitement and anticipation. For Christmas, the one present she had desperately wanted, more than anything else, was a camera. While watching the television a couple of months ago, she had seen an advertisement for a mini instant camera aimed specifically at girls in her age range and she ran upstairs and asked her mother for it immediately. Ever since, she has imagined what it will be like to run around and take photographs of everything. She's barely been able to contain her excitement.

For Hanukkah, Rachel had asked for a bicycle and they both agreed that on Christmas morning, they would find a time to meet in the street outside and play with their presents. Rachel had playfully suggested that Lucy could take photos of her on her new bike.

Ripping the wrapping paper off the presents, her eyebrows furrow as the fall on, not the camera she craved but a board game.

"What is this?"

"It's called Monopoly," her father informs her. "I used to play it all the time with my parents when I was younger. I loved it."

"Where is my camera?"

Judy tugs her bottom lip between her teeth. "That's not a very nice thing to say Lucy, you've had all these wonderful presents, you should be grateful not asking for more. Some people don't have anything at Christmas and you're surrounded with gifts."

"I didn't want monopoly," Lucy spits, throwing the game away from her. "I wanted a camera."

"Sometimes we don't always get what we want," Russell informs her. "Now, say thank you for what you've been given."

She feels the tears well up in her eyes but if she doesn't show her gratitude, her parents will be angry at her for the remainder of the day. Through gritted teeth, she manages to utter an insincere apology but the smile on her mother's face tells her they took it to be genuine.

"Can I go outside and see Rachel?"

Russell visibly stiffens at the name but Judy answers before he has a chance to say no. "Of course you can. Make sure you wrap up warm, its cold outside. Don't stay out too long."

Running back upstairs, Lucy dresses in record time. Before she knows it, she's shrugging her coat over her shoulders and pulling on the new hat her aunt had knitted her for Christmas. She throws a quiet goodbye over her shoulder before leaving the house and dashing across the road to Rachel's house. She doesn't even need to knock on her friend's front door because Rachel flings it open the second Lucy steps foot on the front step. Her friend is wrapped up in so many layers it's hard to see her face but Lucy can tell she's beaming.

"Merry Christmas Lucy."

Lucy throws her arms around Rachel in a hug which lasts longer than it normally does. "Happy Hanukkah. It's pretty cool they fall at the same time this year. We can celebrate together."

"Come on," Rachel wraps her fingers around Lucy and starts leading her inside the house. "You have to see my new bicycle. My dads said I can ride it today as long as I'm extremely careful because of the snow and the bad weather. You can have a go as well if you want."

"I'd like that."

Rachel shuts the front door before leading Lucy into the living room. "Don't forget, you need to take pictures of me riding it as well. Show off your new present."

"I didn't get a camera," Lucy replies quietly, scuffing her feet against the floor. "I got monopoly. My dad told me sometimes you don't always get what you want."

Rachel halts suddenly. "I'm sorry Lucy; I know how much you wanted that camera. If you want, we can play monopoly. I've never played it before."

"Me neither."

"My dads adore board games so they'll happily play it with us. Every Friday we choose a board game to play."

Lucy ducks her head; she doesn't want Rachel to play the game with her out of sympathy. "We don't need to. I'm sure you have your own presents you want to play with."

"It just so happens, I haven't received any board games for Hanukkah this year. I'd like to play, if you want to of course." Rachel closes her eyes suddenly. "How silly of me, you probably would prefer to play it with your own parents."

"No," Lucy replies quickly. "I want to play it with you."


Quinn starts to doodle absentmindedly as the rest of Glee club files into the choir room one by one. The majority stop to stare in awe at the Christmas tree which appeared overnight, apparently Mr Schue and Miss Pillsbury stayed late to decorate it. The sexual tension between the pair of them still lingers in the choir room; it's only a matter of time before they give into their feelings. Finn immediately diverts his attention away from the tree towards the drum kit in the back of the room. He sits down and starts tapping the drums rhythmically. Being able to play the drums has caused Glee club to start appealing to him a little bit more. Santana sits down next to Quinn while Brittany takes the available seat beside Santana.

"Who do you think hung the mistletoe?"

Quinn doesn't stop drawing at the question. "On the list of pressing questions I will undoubtedly have to face in my life, I can honestly say that is one which I don't care to find the answer."

"I bet it was Puck, any excuse to steal a kiss," Santana continues, gesturing to the mistletoe with her head. "Look, he's already trying his luck with the dwarf."

Quinn whips her head up and stares directly ahead of her. Puck points above his head before wiggling his eyebrows. It's a gesture he always does when he's after something. From across the room, Quinn can see Rachel's blush before shaking her head. Never one to fail in a conquest, Puck swoops down and places a kiss on Rachel's cheek, causing Rachel's blush to darken. Quinn swallows a bob in her throat at the sight but can't help feel relieved she only had to witness a cheek kiss.

Santana clears her throat. "At least she isn't stupid enough to fall for his tricks."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you used to sleep with him?"

Brittany answers before Santana has a chance. "She never enjoyed it though. I bet you didn't know that Puck actually quite likes Rachel; he calls her his little Jew sister. I don't think he really wants to kiss her though, he doesn't look at her in that way."

"Puck wants to kiss anything with a pulse," Quinn tells her but her friend's statement satisfies the sudden ball of jealousy which has surfaced in the pit of her stomach.

"I have to say Q; I'm surprised you're still here."

"Why are you surprised? We had a deal." Quinn glances briefly at Rachel before sighing. "You said if I joined this club you'd relent in your teasing of Rachel so I agreed to join. Although since you've just called her 'dwarf', you clearly haven't kept to your end of the deal."

Santana pinches her friend's notebook before Quinn can stop her and stares at her friend's doodle. "You should be careful Q-ball; first you're defending the munchkin and now you're drawing somebody who looks suspiciously similar to her with love hearts scattered around them. Somebody might come to the wrong conclusion."

Quinn grabs the notebook back and slams it shut. "Why would they come to the wrong conclusion? I'm just doodling, it doesn't mean anything and I'm certainly not drawing Rachel."

"I believe you, thousands wouldn't."

Dropping her eyes to the folder in her lap, she clears her throat awkwardly and waits for Santana to grow uninterested with her lack of response. Thankfully she doesn't have to wait too long before Santana turns her attention to Brittany.

"Secret Santa," Mr Schuester announces once he finishes writing the words on the whiteboard. Quinn hadn't even noticed him enter the choir room. He beams with excitement at the words and his voice causes everybody's attention to fall on him. Santana stops playing with Brittany hair, Finn ceases playing the drums, Kurt pauses in his attempt to rearrange all the ornaments on the tree and Rachel tilts her head to the side in curiosity.

Rachel glances around Glee club in an attempt to gage everybody's reaction to their teacher's announcement before her eyes come to rest on Quinn. The girl is staring with interest at Mr Schuester. It's been a week since Quinn joined Glee club and every time she walks into the choir room or the auditorium, Rachel is surprised to see Quinn still in attendance. She constantly expects her to up and leave, especially since the girl recently did a complete 180 with regards to her opinion on Glee club. It stands to reason Quinn might change her mind back.

"Is that our assignment?"

"I'm Jewish." Both Noah and Rachel say at the same time.

Brittany turns to look at Santana. "How can he be secret if everybody knows about him?"

"No Kurt, it's not this week's assignment. Considering its Christmas, I want everybody to pick their favourite Christmas song and/or carol to sing at the end of the week before we all leave to enjoy winter vacation. That is the assignment. Since relationships are undoubtedly still fraught in this room and there is a considerable atmosphere, I thought we needed a bonding exercise, something which will allow us to learn a little bit more about everybody." He turns around and taps the board with his pen. "Hence Secret Santa. Using the mystical powers of this hat," he says holding up a battered top hat.

"Is that the sorting hat?"

"No, Brittany it's not. But it does have similar powers. Everybody's name is already in the hat and you'll all take it in turns to come up and pick a name at random. Then you'll have the rest of the week to buy your Secret Santa something you think they'll appreciate. I think you'll find it's the hat which chooses the name, rather than you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Santana shouts. "That hat isn't going to do anything."

"Mr Schue, if I may," Kurt asks as he raises his hand. "I am all for indulging in a little extra festive fun, I've spent the past two weeks shopping for Christmas presents for my family and attending carol concerts but there is a line. I'm not buying a present for somebody who will most likely throw it back in my face.

"This is the attitude problem I'm trying to solve," Mr Schuester answers. "If you don't learn to get along with each other, this Glee club isn't going to work." He shuffles the hat about before walking to the students and coming to a halt in front of Finn. "If you pick your own name, put it back and pick again."

Finn frowns and glances around the room to see whether everybody is going to take part in this game. After receiving a few curt nods, he reaches into the hat. Pulling out a piece of paper, he unfolds it before sending Mr Schue a nod, a signal he hasn't chosen his own name and the teacher can move on. Mr Schuester walks around the room, stopping in front of every individual allowing them to choose a name. Both Tina and Artie select their own names because they dig into the hat for a second time. Rachel finds her interest peaked as Mr Schuester stands in front of Quinn.

Quinn rummages in the hat and feels the pieces of paper beneath her fingers, there's only two left. She grabs the one of the left before unfolding it. Her eyes widen silently when she reads the name but she manages to refrain from reacting too much. Rachel stands and walks towards Mr Schuester to save him a trip back across the choir room and dips into the hat, withdrawing the final piece of paper. She opens it as sneakily as she can so nobody else sees before tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. It stands to reason she'd choose Quinn.

"Does everybody understand the rules?"

He receives a group of nods and murmurs of agreement before Brittany raises her hand.

"If I have Santana, does that mean I can call it Secret Santana instead?"

Mr Schuester closes his eyes before puffing out a breath. "If you want to Brittany but you weren't supposed to tell everybody who you had. It was supposed to be a surprise."

Brittany shrugs. "But Santana already knows I picked her name."

"Maybe we should do this again, to ensure it's a complete secret," Mr Schuester says quietly, more to himself than anybody else.

"Actually Mr Schue, there's a song we'd like to perform if time permits," Rachel states, gesturing to her friends.

"The entire Glee club?"

"No, just the original five," Rachel corrects. "We've had it prepared for a few weeks now. We predicted this would be the assignment. Considering Christmas is the only time of the year you can really sing festive songs, therefore it was unlikely this week's assignment would be anything other than Christmas songs."

Mr Schuester sits down on the seat Kurt has vacated. "The floor is yours."


At the beginning of the week, the presents nestled underneath the Christmas tree in the choir room were empty boxes, wrapped up merely to look decorative but now, they're not just there for decoration. They are real presents. The sizes vary from small to large and some presents look as though there hasn't been much care and attention given to them when it came to wrapping but they're real.

Mr Schuester claps his hands. "Shall we exchange presents?"

"Do we have to make this into something it isn't?" Puck asks.

"It's a bonding exercise," Mr Schuester replies. "Now, when your person for Secret Santa opens their present, try not to show any form of expression. We don't want the surprise to be ruined. It adds to the fun if nobody knows." He bends down and picks up the first present before reading the label. "Santana, this is yours."

Santana doesn't seem impressed or excited at the prospect of unwrapping her gift. Since Brittany told everybody the other day she had chosen Santana's name, Santana probably always knows what she's receiving for Christmas. The gift she holds in her hands isn't a present per say, more of an envelope. Santana slices it open before withdrawing a piece of paper with some scruffy handwriting on it.

"What does it say?"

Santana scans the writing with a grin. "Britts is treating me to a meal at Breadsticks."

Puck attempts to read the paper over her shoulder. "There's more writing on it than that. What aren't you telling us Santana?"

Santana smacks his hand away as he tries to steal the paper and glares at him, daring him to try again. "It's none of your business what else is written. It's for my eyes only." She faces Brittany and smiles shyly, locking her pinkie around her friend's. She doesn't voice her gratitude but the look on Brittany's face tells everybody that she didn't need to.

"Brittany, this is yours," Mr Schuester states, handing over her present.

Brittany opens her present and finds a woollen scarf and gloves from her secret Santa with a sticker of a unicorn on. Mercedes is next and discovers her present is a box of tater tots. She rolls her eyes before glaring at Santana, only she would give a present like that. Once Puck opens his present and comes face to face with a calendar of half-naked models, he grins wickedly. Ironically, it appears to be that present which creates a festive energy in the choir room and slowly but surely, smiles begin to appear on everybody's faces. The rest of the guys, with the exception of Kurt, gather around Puck as he flips through the calendar, forgetting entirely about Secret Santa and ignoring the remaining presents. Mr Schuester glances around the room and can't help but feel relieved his idea worked. He has to admit, he had his doubts, especially after his idea was met with a significant lack of enthusiasm.

Mr Schuester walks over to the boys. "How about you forget about that for the time being? There are still presents to be exchanged."

Rachel raises her head. "I think the boys are otherwise engaged with that calendar Mr Schue, I doubt you're going to recapture their attention. Evidently Puck and the others are captivated by these women. Although I suppose I can understand. I'm sure for some there is a substantial appeal in staring at half-naked women."

Quinn tilts her head at that comment while Santana smirks and subconsciously trails her eyes over Brittany's body.

"Shall we leave the boys to their toy and carry on," Rachel suggests, picking up the closest present to her. "Kurt, I believe this is yours."


Quinn sits on the first step of her front porch, a steaming hot cup of cocoa warming her hands in place of gloves. She tugs her hat further down over her ears with one hand and watches as Dusty pads across the front yard, occasionally pausing to roll around in the snow. She stares at the houses on her street and admires their decorations before looking up at her own house. Over the years, her mother's passion for Christmas dwindled and their decorations became fewer and fewer each year.

It took her a good few years but eventually she realised why as a child, she began receiving more presents every year rather than less. It acted as compensation for having to live with her parents' constant arguments. Incidentally Christmas day used to be the only day they wouldn't argue, even if they were annoyed at one another, they would bite their tongue for the sake of Quinn.

That doesn't happen anymore.

"May I sit down beside you?"

Quinn whips her head up at the voice before sliding across the step, allowing Rachel to take a seat. "Of course you can, you never need to ask."

"It looks like we'll be having a white Christmas this year," Rachel comments as she kicks her feet in the snow. "Or rather a white Hanukkah but unfortunately, that doesn't really have the same ring to it."

"I suppose it doesn't."

"You disappeared from Glee club pretty quick this afternoon after we exchanged the presents. So quick I didn't have a chance to say thank you."

Sipping her cocoa, Quinn furrows her brow. "Thank me for what?"

"For my present of course."

Quinn shakes her head lightly. "I don't know what you're talking about Rachel."

Rachel chuckles softly. "I understand the purpose of Secret Santa is anonymity because it adds to the level of surprise when you open the present but unless somebody in that room is psychic or used to stalk us as children, I highly doubt anybody else in Glee club would have bought me Monopoly with a note saying, 'a memory from my favourite Christmas.'"

"You shouldn't underestimate Brittany's ability to find the perfect present for anybody."

"Quinn, it's evident you were my Secret Santa."

"Do you remember that Christmas I received Monopoly?" Quinn questions quietly. "We spent the entire afternoon playing it with your dads and you ended up throwing a tantrum because your dad bought Boardwalk before you could."

"Firstly, I didn't throw a tantrum, I had a dramatic episode. Secondly, Boardwalk is the best space to have on the board. He knew I wanted it and he stole it from me."

"The key to Monopoly is to buy more than one property. You shouldn't have hung all your hopes on that one space."

"What can I say; I guess I'm a sucker for a lost cause," Rachel says quietly and the implication of her statement is evident. "What annoyed me the most is I already had Park Place; he couldn't do anything with Boardwalk. I wanted to obtain the set."

Quinn bursts into laughter as Rachel manages to revert back to the very child she had been that day during Monopoly. "I want to thank you as well."

"Thank me for what?"

"You were my secret Santa.

Rachel quirks her eyebrow in a playful manner. "May I ask how you know I bought you a present?"

Quinn mimics Rachel's actions before digging her present out of her bag. "For the exact same reason you knew I bought yours. Nobody else in that room would have bought me a camera, not even any camera but the one I wanted as a child."

"It's not exactly the same but it was the closest I could find."

"Smile," Quinn commands, taking a photograph of Rachel once she obliges. The beauty of the camera is the photographs are instant so within seconds, Quinn is holding a stunning photo of Rachel. "It's a lovely picture," she says, handing it to Rachel. "You're really pretty."

Rachel uncharacteristically blushes. "Thank you."

"I meant you're photogenic."

"Well thank you again. You're a very pretty girl as well Quinn; you always have been, even when you didn't believe it. Your smile can light up a room." Quinn ducks her head as a blush covers her own cheeks.

Rachel drops her gaze. "Just so you aren't under any illusion, this present, as thoughtful as it is, it doesn't rectify our friendship. I won't lie and say it doesn't appease me slightly but it in no way repairs what has been broken in the past."

"I know it doesn't. I just wanted to do something nice for you."

"I appreciate it."

Rachel starts fiddling with her fingers and Quinn catches sight of the bracelet on Rachel's wrist. "You still wear that bracelet?"

"Of course I do." Rachel subconsciously touches it once Quinn mentions it. "You quoted your incredibly wise father to me once." Quinn can hear the sarcasm lacing her friend's voice on the word wise. "You said he told you that sometimes you don't always get what you want. I disagree; I think what he should have said is, sometimes you have to wait a little longer for what you want."

She watches as Rachel stands up. "Are you waiting for something?"

Rachel crosses her arms and exhales heavily. "Yes. I have been for a while now."

"What is it?"

"I think you know."


A/N 2:

Guest – Thanks for reading and reviewing :) I'm glad you're on team Annie; she will continue to pop up every now and again. I hope you've felt a little worse for her because of her family in this chapter. I know, she's horrible but she's getting steadily better.