Disclaimer: Glee still does not belong to me.
A.N. Thank you so much for the reviews/alerts that the last chapter recieved, you guys are amazing. I never thought I would have over 80 reviews for the whole of this story, so to have reached that number by chapter 9, is mind-blowing.
Quinn watched from the doorway as Ms P and Sue heard for the first time the whole story of Rachel's treatment at the hands of Finn, the cruel taunts, the threats and finally the brutal assault the previous Friday. She knew that some of the other gleeks were wondering if she had ever seen this side of Finn, but in all the time they were together, even at the height of Babygate, the worst he had ever done was to ignore her. However Quinn had witnessed Rachel in the immediate aftermath of the locker room incident, was one of the few who had seen the bruises now hidden while they slowly healed, but it was the haunted look in her eyes that she would never forget.
It was no secret that she and Rachel had had their issues in the past, their tangled relationships with Finn at the heart of them, but now the girl was under her protection. No man had any right to treat his partner like Finn had, even without the physical assult, the verbal and psychological hate campaign that Finn had waged was damaging enough. Quinn liked to think that she would have been able to handle things better if the roles had been reversed, but from her conversations with Ms P she wondered if that was actually true.
She was now begining to realise that Finn's behaviour in Junior year; encouraging her to cheat on Sam, keeping their reunion a secret for so long, playing her and Rachel's emotions off one another, well it wasn't exactly kosher as Puck would say. So maybe she was luckier because Finn had focused more on Rachel, but that was in the past now, her only concern was helping Rachel in any way she could while supporting her fellow gleeks as the fallout was going to be explosive.
Sam watched the reactions of the teachers to Rachel's narrative, Emma knew part of the story already and Sue was staying quiet, listening to every halting word Rachel spoke. He also saw the conflicting emotions that danced across Quinn's face and he knew she was only half listening, no doubt the girl was once more searching her memories for missed signs of Finn's true character.
Sam knew that the most important outcome of the evening would be getting Rachel's permission to report Finn, so far she had insisted that it would be kept within the club. This was unrealistic as the scene in the choir room had shown, even if Rachel thought she could handle it, the family that had emerged during the summer could not allow Finn to escape without retribution. Rachel had felt that if he apologised, accepted their chosen punishment, then his future didn't need to be ruined, he didn't need to lose his old friends.
Sam couldn't understand her thinking, until Ms P said it was most likely a mixture of denial as a coping mechanism and also a side effect of Finn's emotional attacks to her self-esteem. For once she wanted to shy away from the spotlight, surround herself with people she deemed strong enough to protect her and also enforce the decision of the club.
It had taken many hours before Mike, Santana and Puck would agree to her plea and that was only because Ms P helped them understand how fragile Rachel was at the minute, while at the same time offering to act as a mediator in this delicate matter. Even then Rachel tried to prevent the rest of the gleeks from being told, she didn't want their pity or judgement, wanted to spare them, especially Kurt, from having to choose sides, until Emma pointed out that if it was truly going to be a club decision then they would have to be told.
Finn would be given a chance to admit all his wrong doings, discuss with the counsellor what had led to his actions and take the necessary steps to atone for his crimes. All three steps were non- negotiable otherwise he would be reported to his mother and as a last resort the police. Even though Sam wasn't fully comfortable with this planned course of action, mainly because he knew Finn would never agree to it, he kept quiet to appease Rachel and began making plans with Mike to deliver their own style of justice if needed.
Lauren had always felt like an outsider in glee, as the last one to join she felt as if her relationships with the rest of the group were not as strong as she would have liked. During the time she had dated Puck she had slowly become closer to Rachel and Artie, but she was always unsure if they would class themselves as friends as well as team mates. As usual she has spent most of her summer at a wrestling training camp and though herself and Puck had called time on their union, they were still partners in crime.
On her return home she saw for herself the changes that had occurred in the dynamics of the club, but as far as she was concerned it was a positive thing. She had only been back a few hours before her presence was requested at the Berry house and she found herself enjoying an impromtu all night poker tournament, laughing as Rachel struggled with the rules. Pre-season training limited her time with the gleeks but she knew there was on open invite for her to join them whenever she could.
Her schedule also meant that she was unaware of the the full extent of Finn's actions until after choir room melee that very afternoon, but once up to speed she too was out for revenge and full of guilt for her blasé attitde. However as Puck pointed out to her, at the time she was none the wiser and that once she was fully informed she had been quick to lend her support. She had now taken charge of their plans to keep Rachel far away from Finn without making it obvious to the rest of the school.
Lauren also had several ideas for how the boys could work on their anger issues withour leaving visable marks on their target. Brittany had been her unlikely assistant, until Lauren remembered Santana's reputation, the girl kept blades in her hair so her desire to express her anger physically needed to be considered by the person who knew her best. Lauren had first hand experience of a Santana Lopez catfight and she welcomed the chance to educate the fiery girl for the worthy cause that was kicking Finn Hudson's ass.
She knew that her friendship with Rachel was new, but in that short space of time, the petite girl had made her feel welcome and as she didn't have alot of female friends, Lauren had been only too happy to accept the friendship. She even thought that one of the reasons why Puckleberry had yet to find their way back to each was because Rachel didn't want to upset her, which was a sweet but misguided thought.
Lauren was drawn out of her musings by the sound of a chair being pushed back and she watched in awe as Sue slowly approached Rachel, gently pulling the shaking girl into a hug. It looked as if the teacher was trying to pass on some of her strenght but Lauren couldn't recognise the emotions in Sue's eyes. It was like seeing the woman for the first time, there was no mistaking her usual determined look but it was mixed with something else. Regardless of that un-named emotion, it gave Lauren some hope that tomorrrow would bring the outcome the club wanted most. With Ms Pilsbury and Sue's support how could they fail?
A.N. I know a lot of readers are anxious to see Finn get punished for what he has done, but it will not be happening straight away. As you will see from the next couple of chapters, the gleeks along with Sue and Emma are going to teach both Finn and Schue a major lesson in humility. Only then will Finn finally get what he deserves, so as always I hope you have patience with me. Thank you again for taking the time to read this and as always feel free to let me know what you think ~Carrie