Chapter Nine
Quinn sat back at her desk in her law office and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She loved her job, she loved being a family lawyer, helping people who needed it. She loved being in court, seeing the look on a judge or jury's face when she made an arguement that swayed them.
But two hour meetings STILL gave her a fucking headache!
God, what she would give right now for one of Santana's massages (the girl had the best hands in the world!), a cup of Brittany's special mint tea, and a few of Bill's "You're-the-most-important-person-in-the-world" kisses. She smiled and looked at the family picture on her desk.
It was their Christmas picture from two years ago. The girls were all kneeling in front of the tree with the adults standing behind them, all nine of them wearing Santa hats at Brittany and the twins insistance. Harper was lying on the floor in front of the girls, looking very put upon with five bows on his head, one from each of the girls. She loved pictures like this. Family pictures in the Fabray house had always been very somber, the smiles always looking fake, and Russell always insisted they represent the perfect family. But in Gordon family pictures, everybody looked happy and loving, and relaxed enough that it was ok that they were not perfect. Bill had a saying "Perfection is over rated".
Quinn sighed and turned away from the picture. The meeting had ended early, but, she still had a mountain of paperwork and wanted to tackle it tonight so she could enjoy the weekend. Just as she picked up her pen, the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Santana.
"Hello, Beautiful," she said as she answered the phone.
"Hi Baby," said Santana, sounding a little off. "Am I catching you between meetings?"
Quinn could tell there was something on her lovely, latina wifes mind. "Uh uh," she said, signing a paper. "Meeting ended early. All you are getting between is me and paperwork."
"Good," said Santana. "because I have something really important to discuss. Can you please do a conference call with Britt? I don't want to go over this twice."
"Sure, Love," said Quinn, now concerned as she reached for the keypad on her office phone. She punched a few buttons and a moment later Brittany answered.
"Hi Quinn," she saidf brightly, though she was obviously trying to keep an eye on Darla and Buffy at the same time. "You picked a good tiem to call. The assembly is over and we just finished the pizza they were serving, which tasted like grease and cardboard to me, and we were just about to head home."
"Hi Mom!" sing-songed the twins in the background.
"Tell them hi from me and Santana, Britt," said Quinn smiling lovingly. "I have Santana on a conference call. She needs to talk to us. Can you find someplace quiet so you can hear us?"
"Hi Baby,' said Santana, Quinn could hear the smile in her voice.
"Sure, just a moment,' said Britt. Quinn and Santana could both here her tel lthe girls to stay right here and talk to Kitty and she would be back in a moment. After a moment she said "Ok, I am in an unoccupied restroom now. What's going on?"
"That's what I'd like to know," said Quinn. "This is Santana's show."
"Ok,"said Santana, audibly taking a deep breath. "Cordy and I are at the Lehane house. Bill was just here..." Luckily, both Quinn and Brittany had heard enough about the Lehane Girls to place the name immediately. Quinn listened as Santana told the whole story: The clues from Tara and Jenny, how Faith had not been to school for several weeks due to a job, how Tru and Missy were taking turns pretending to be Faith, the girls father disappearing to Riverside for almsot three months, and the girls living in that house with no power. She heard Brittany gasp several times. and she felt the same way. God! Those poor girls. And at the same time, Quinn admired their perseverence and their determination to not be split up.
Santana had just outlned the issues with finding a place for the girls this late on a Friday when Britt piped in "Bring them to our place,' she virtually ordered. "Even if it's just for this weekend, I won't see them spend the weekend at the jailhouse or something."
"Unfortunately, that's what would probably happen," said Quinn. "There's really no place else to take them after hours on a Friday."
"How do YOU feel about this, Quinn? Bringing them home, I mean," asked Santana.
How DID she feel? She didn't know these girls. She had no reason to feel responsible for them. And yet, both Bill and Santana did, and Quinn trusted their judgement that they were good kids. Plus, she DID feel responsible for them. And she could relate to them. When she'd gotten pregnant, back in her sophmore year, her parents had kicked her out, and she'd been forced to rely on the kindness of first Finn's Mom, then Pucks, then finally, Mercede's parents. She could only imagine how it would have felt to have two sisters, and be constantly worried about them being seperated. "Bring them home, Baby,"she said emotionally. "I agree with you guys 100%. In fact, I'm going to call Judge Curtis and see if he'll sign a paper naming us their temporary guardians. At least until there can be a hearing to see what's going to happen with them."
"That's...amazing Quinn," said Santana. "You think he will?"
"it's a bit unorthodox," admitted Quinn. "But, I think he'll see my point of view." Judge Curtis was a judge about 25 years older than Quinn and her spouses. He kenw Quinn's story and had becoem a sort of surrogate father to her. he was a good, sweet man.
"Sounds good," said Brittany. "I am going to collect the Trouble Twins and then pick up Kennedy and tara on our way home. I think we need to have a little family meeting discussing sleeping arrangements. See you at home. I love you both."
"I love you guys," said Santana.
"I love you two," said Quinn and they all hung up. She fished through her desk for the necessary paperwork then called Judge Curtis.
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Faith had collected her pay and was about to leave the Fish Tank when she stopped dead. There was only about half the money Joey owed her in the envelope! She growled. She was so looking forward to getting home and out of this stupid uniform, cutoffs and a bandana for a top, and into soem real clothes, now she had to contend with El Sleazeball. Joey had a bad habit of rubbing up against her when they passed by each other, and, one time, he had pinched her, hard enough it left a small bruise on her left butt cheek. But, she desperately needed the money so she went back to his office and knocked. When she heard him yell "come in" she entered, unconciously closing the door behind her.
"What's up, Faith,' asked Joey, clearly leering at her. He was about her parents age, with slicked back auburn hair and deep set little pig eyes. He wasn't fat, but he was sporting a belly. His hand was rifling in a desk drawer.
Faith held out her pay envelope. "You're a little short,"she said. "By about half! Yo ualready take a quarter of my tips, now, you want to short me?"
"I paid you what I felt you earned,' said Joey, dismissively. "You're really not that great a waitress, Faith. The customers don't complain much because you're a looker, but, I know you've screwed up more than a few orders."
Faith sighed. That WAS true. "C'mon, Joey," she said, plaintively. "I desperately need the money! You know my old man aint working! And our pwoer is shut off. I need the money by tomorrow to get it turned back on!"
Joey grinned and got up and moved towards her. "Well," he said, moving right up next to her where she could smell the cigarette smoke and cheap beer on his breath. He rested his hand on her stomach. "I'm sure we can work out something!" She felt his hand slide down and cup her crotch.
"Oh, fuck NO!" she growled and slapped him hard, then pushed him back. "I'll sit in the dark for a year before I'll do that!" She turned to leave, but the door was locked. Shit! He must have locked it from his desk! She pounded on the door.
"Aint nobopdy out there gonna help you, you stupid bitch!" snarled Joey, grabbing her by the hair and pulling the pay packet out of her hand. "I really WAS gonna give you the money, but now
"You're gonna give me what I want for FREE!"
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Bill pulled up in front of the Fish tank and hopped out of his car, striding purposefully inside. It was as bad as it looked from the outside. He looked around the room, not seeing Faith. Bill walked up to what had to be the bouncer. The guy was big and muscular and covered with tattoos. Bill had been a bit of a punk in his teenage years and had been in a lot of fights. He coudl tell from the mans body language he was a guy who relied purely on his strength in a fight.
"I'm looking for Faith Lehane," he said to the man in a no nonsense voice.
"She's in the office with the boss,' said the man. "But that's private. No customers allowed."
"Look, Godzilla," Bill said to the towering man. "Faith is a 15 year old girl. Your boss is in a lot of trouble just for employing her. And YOU'RE an accomplice. Now, we can see which of us is tougher, or you can get out of my way and let me help that little girl."
The big man thought it over. "Look," he said. "I'm on parole already and I don't need no trouble. Plus, Joey IS a dick and a sleazebag. So, do what you gotta do. I won't help you but I won't let anybody help Joey either. Deal?"
"Thanks," said Bill, patting the mans shoulder as he went back to the office. Sure enough, the door was locked. He pounded on it. "Faith!" he called.
"Mr. G!" he heard a panicked voice call from the other side of the room He cursed, stepped back, and launched a foot into the door, kicking it open. He saw Faith struggling with Joey Sharpe, Bill recognized him from the news stories. Joey had Faith pinned against a wall. She was struggling and she was naked from the waist up, a red bandana on the floor. Bill grabbed Joey and punched him hard in the jaw, sending the man crashing into his desk. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to Faith before turning to face Joey.
"You little sicko," he said. "You listen to me and listen good. Between you employing a minor to serve alchohol in a place like this, and the scene I just walked in on, I could send you to jail for a very long time. But, I'll only do that if yo ugive us any trouble. Faith and I are leaving, and you are never going to see her again. If you see her on the street, you walk the other way. Because, if you ever go near her again, and you somehow escape going to jail, I WILL kill you. Are we clear?"
Bill could see from Joey's eyes that the man believed him. He nodded and turned away. Bill put his arm aroudn Faith and started to lead her out of the bar.
"Wait, Mr. G," protested Faith, who had put his jacket on. "That sleazeball still has my money!"
Bill gave Faith the same look he gave his girls when he wanted to warn them they were very close to a spanking. It had the same effect on Faith. She clammed up and followed him docilely.
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Kennedy fumed as Brittany pulled into their driveway. ANOTHER sleepover interrupted! And this time, she wasn't even in trouble! She really hoped her Mama had a good reason for this. She could see Tara was slightly less perturbed than she was. She was surprised. She'd thought Tara woudl be more upset. Kennedy knew Tara was gay, and that Mami and Mama had interrupted a kiss between Tara and Willow the night of the party. But, tonight, Tara seemed pretty much resigned to the interruption. Darla and Buffy jsut seemd liek they wondered what was going on.
Brittany ushered the four girls into the house, and into the kitchen, where an anxious Harper was waiting by the door. Britt smiled and let him out. "Ok, you four," she said as she started rifling through the cupboards. "Have a seat." She puleld out a loaf of bread, several cans of soup, some butter and some cheese, a skillet and a couple of sauce pans. "Darla and Buffy had dinner with me,' she said. "Did you guys both have dinner before I picked you up?"
"We had just finished,' said Tara.
"We were going out to eat," answered Kennedy, her stomach growling a little.
"That pizza wasn't very filling, Mama," said Darla. Buffy nodded.
"Ok,' said Brittany, pulling out more soup and more bread and cheese.
"Mama," said Buffy, as Brittan ystarted making soup and grileld cheese sandwiches. "is this about the call from Mom earlier?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, babies,"said Brittany, shaking her head. "Yes, it is." She looked very seriously at her daughters. "You know how you guys, and your Daddy and your Mami have been so worried about the Lehane girls?" They all nodded. "Well, it's as bad as you all thought. The girls have been living alone since August. I guess Faith has been working to try and pay the bills. Tru and Missy have been pretending to be Faith at school."
"I f-figured it out b-because Faith is right handed, but Missy is left handed," put in Tara.
"My GOD!" said Kennedy. "That explains SO much!"
"Like the time Faith accidenly showed up to the math class I have with Tru," deduced Buffy. "It must have been Tru pretending to be Faith that day."
Brittany nodded. "They've also been without electricity for awhile," she said. "Anyway, your Mami, Daddy and Cordy are at their house right now. They're going to be bringing them here. They are going to at least be staying the weekend."
"That's right,"said Quinn, walking into the kitchen to chorus of hello's. She went over and kissed Brittany, then quickly kissed each of her daughters and sat down with them.
"How did it go?" asked Brittany.
Quinn smiled. "According to plan," she said, holding up a paper.
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After a stop at the Lehane house so Faith could change and the girls could grab their stuff, Bill led Santana, Cordelia and the Lehane Girls into the house. Santana was still flushed with anger. Though niether Bill nor Faith had todl the whole story, Faith's state of dress had spoke volumes, and Santana hadbeen too angry to drive. She'd had to let Cordy drive her car.
"We're here!" Bill called out. He trurned to Faith, Tru and Missy. "Just put yoru bags and pillows anywhere," he said. "We'll move everything when we've decided where everybody is sleeping. Faith nodded as the girls did as they were instructed. All three were, obviously, very subdued.
The rest of the family came in, smiling welcomingly.
"Ok, you girls know each other," said Bill. "But these are Mrs. Lopez-Gordon and my other two wives, this is Mrs. Fabray-Gordon and Mrs. Pierce-Gordon. Quinn, Britt, this is Faith, Tru, and Missy Lehane."
"Welcome to our home, girls," said Quinn, walking forward and shaking hands with them. Brittany, being Brittany, came up and enveloped them each into a huge Brittany hug. Faith accepted hers a bit stiffly. Missy seemed to accept hers in stride. But Tru, kind of melted into hers, hugging Brittany back tightly.
"Thanks, and nice to meet you," said Faith. "We'll try not to be in yoru way for too long."
"Nonsense," said Brittany putting an arm around Faith and Tru's shoulders, as she guided them into the kitchen. "We're GLAD you're here. I'm jsut fixing dinner. It's just soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I didn't know what kind you girls liked, so I made both tomato and chicken noodle."
"Both are fine," said Missy as she walked behind Brittany, Faith and Tru with Santana and Quinn. Her sisters agreed. Bill and the rest of the girls followed them. They were greeted in the kitchen by Harper, who made a bee line for the new humans.
"And this is my only male company around this house,' said Bill. "Harper."
Al lthree girls smiled and petted the friendly dog. Tru seemed particularly enamored.
"Tru loves animals," Faith whispered to the adults. "She brought more than one injured animal home to nurse back to health when we were little. Our father used to get so mad at her for it, but Ma thought it was cute. Except the raccoon. Man, that thing wouldn't let anybody but Tru near him!"
Bill chuckled at Faith's story as Tru sat down and started petting and talking to Harper. "Apparently, the feeling is mutual," he said, watching as the girls all smiled at how Tru and Harper had taken to each other. As he watched how Faith and Missy kept an eye on Tru, Bill became convinced there was more to the story.
After a few minutes with Harper, Tru got up and walked shyly over to Brittany. "Can I help, Mrs. Pierce-Gordon?" she asked.
"Tru did most of the cooking at home," Missy said. "She's pretty good at it"
Brittany smile, seeming to know exactly what Tru needed. "Of course you can, Sweetie," she said sweetly. She handed Tru the spatula. "You keep an eye on the sandwiches for me please? When this batch is finished, put them on a plate and put more in the skillet." Tru smield and nodded, and Britt turned to the other girls. "There's not enough room for all of us at the kitchen table. Can you hooligans please set the table in the dining room for us?" "Yes Mama," said her five daughters as they went to the cupboards.
"We can help," offered Missy as she and Faith followed the girls, each of the seven bringing either plates, or glasses or silverware.
Bill stood back with one arm around Santana and the other around Quinn, watching the hustle of activity. He got a lump in his throat as they watched Brittany with Tru. There was little doubt in any of their minds that the leggy blonde was exactly what these girls needed. He kissed Santana and Quinn each on the cheek. "We're doing a really good thing here," he whispered. Both nodded in complete agreement.
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A/N: I have no idea what happens when children are removed from their home after hours on a Friday, where they go, etc. I sort of made thigns up here. I hope it sounds logical.
A/N2: This chapter was supposed to include more or the Lehane Girls story, but it's late and this seems a likely place to stop the chapter, so, going to post it and continue later. Hope you guys are still enjoying the story and I would love some feedback.