of fire dragons and singing stars
chapter thirteen
The moments following the battle at McKinley were quiet, somber ones. Principal Figgins was found under his desk, curled up in a fetal position and mumbling to himself, and had to be coaxed out by Ms. Pillsbury with a bag of chocolate chip cookies and the sound of his wife's voice on the guidance counselor's cell phone. Holly Holliday, who had become a tenured and very popular teacher at McKinley after she'd finally decided to settle down and stay in Lima, was surprisingly named acting principal, much to Coach Sylvester's displeasure, but even the famously ill-tempered and vindictive coach couldn't find it in herself to fight over it - not when there was so much else to be addressed in the aftermath of all that had happened. The principal's office was a complete wreck, as was a good portion of the building, and it seemed a miracle that he wasn't physically injured in addition to being psychologically traumatized.
Emergency management teams arrived swiftly to assess the damage, begin repairs and obtain the appropriate attention for the wounded and the dead. Sadly, Rachel and the other Glee Club members hadn't been able to protect everyone, despite their monumental efforts at trying to do so, and several students, teachers and staff members had tragically lost their lives in the chaos and violence. They knew without a doubt, however, that they had prevented far more injury, death and destruction from occurring and had to somehow console themselves with that knowledge, though it was cold comfort.
No one ever felt better after saying, or hearing, the phrase it could have been a lot worse.
Even though it was absolutely true.
Everyone was exhausted by the events of the last couple of days, and it was an unspoken consensus that they all needed time to recover, reflect and try to relax after all that had happened.
Finn and Kitty were brought to the hospital and treated for their injuries. Burt and Carole watched over both of them even as they worried about Kurt, who looked pale and listless, as though the stress and strain of everything that had happened was draining some kind of essential energy from him. They wondered if he should be admitted as well, though he insisted that he was just fine, that it was his stepbrother and his girlfriend who needed their concern, not him. Blaine tried to keep him on an even keel, but it was difficult. The boy's eyes were haunted by the things he had seen. Blaine supposed that was completely understandable – after all, he had witnessed the same things and knew he'd never forget any of them as long as he lived - although privately he also thought that Kurt was being a bit difficult at times, and he worried about him just as much as his father and stepmother did.
Artie returned home and found that his mother was not exactly receptive to the idea of having a unicorn in the house. It was quickly decided, to Artie's chagrin, that the unicorn should return to the between, putting the bespectacled boy back in his wheelchair, which he had not missed at all. He completely understood her objections, though; after all, he didn't even know if the unicorn was housebroken.
Quinn and Brittany went back to Brittany's house, where they collapsed onto the taller blonde's bed and fell asleep in each other's arms. The silent car ride was not devoid of communication between the girls, however. They knew how to have entire conversations with their eyes and hands alone, through meaningful looks and touches. Neither girl wanted to be alone, and Quinn was far more comfortable in Britt's house than her own. Quinn was very thankful that her mother had given her blessing to the impromptu sleepover. Her relationship with her mother was much improved since her father had left, but still fragile as they adjusted to life without the dark shadow of his presence looming over their lives. Brittany's parents, for their part, were only too happy to have both girls safe and sound under their roof, having wept long and loud when they finally arrived at the McKinley parking lot, frantic with worry, to find both Cheerios unharmed and alive. They noticed that there was something different about the girls, but they imagined that going through such a traumatic experience would have changed everyone there. They only hoped that the changes, whatever they were, would be for the better and not for the worse.
Mercedes had wanted to stay with Kurt to make sure he was okay, but after Burt and Carole had politely but firmly told her that she should be with her own family after all that had happened, she reluctantly agreed. She had taken some blows in the battle – nothing major, thankfully – but she was still tired and sore, so when Tina offered to take her home via magical means, as Mercedes' parents had texted their daughter to let her know that they were still stuck in traffic and were seeking a way to turn around and go back home, she wearily accepted.
Tina texted her parents to let them know that she was escorting Mercedes home and promised to come home herself right after that, although in truth she desperately wanted to talk to Rachel and Santana about everything. Obviously those two were in the middle of it all; she wanted to know why, and she wanted to know how she could help. But Rachel and Santana were in their own little bubble, each girl clinging to the other as though they were life rafts in the midst of a raging, chaotic sea. She still couldn't believe that the slender, beautiful Latina was also a huge, ferocious dragon. A real dragon! That transformation was one of the most astonishing things she had ever witnessed. She knew that it was a memory that would never leave her, burned into her mind forever more. She also knew that everyone else who had seen it felt exactly the same way.
Puck had enjoyed a wide berth as he lumbered through the crowd, stepping carefully over the already decaying corpses of goblins and trolls that littered the field and the parking lot, searching for Mike and Sam. They were his bros, both on the football team and in Glee, and he would never forgive himself if anything had happened to them while he was unable to protect them. Yes, he knew that Tina's magic had provided them with swords and the ability to use them, but those nasty, vile creatures had been tough opponents. His mind swam, his heart raced and bile rose in his throat at the thought of his friends having been hurt in any way.
When he finally found Mike and Sam, they were standing together with dazed, numb expressions on their faces. They were dirty, scratched and bruised, bleeding from small cuts in a dozen or more places, but besides that, seemed to be okay to Puck's eyes. Weariness was etched into every line of their bodies, and their eyes kept darting up to the sky, as though they expected another dragon to come flying out of nowhere, an explosion of beating wings and searing fire. But they were present enough to greet Puck with tired smiles and raised fists to bump, and Puck felt relief wash through him; they were going to be all right. He gathered them into his arms, embracing them with fierce, brotherly affection, and they sagged into it as though they'd been waiting for someone to lean on since the battle had ended.
The three boys trudged over to Puck's beaten-up truck, which was now even more beaten up, sporting several new dents and deep gouges in various places. The blood of trolls and goblins, as well as humans, stained the paint, putting a deep frown on Puck's face as he assessed the damage. The frown turned to laughter when he found that he was now too large to get into his own vehicle. They were all still laughing when he tossed the keys to Mike, who silently agreed to drive while Sam took the passenger seat and Puck climbed into the bed. When the laughter turned to silence as they headed back to Puck's house, where his anxious mother and younger sister awaited his return, each of the young men got lost in his own thoughts, wondering what all this meant, worrying over what might be coming next.
Mr. Schuester and Coach Bieste cried in each other's arms as Emma hovered about on her silken wings, biting her lip in concern for the man she loved and her best friend. Bieste had been an absolute wrecking ball in the battle, smashing every creature that had dared to come near Will, Finn and Kitty, but she had taken some hits too. Her face and body bore a multitude of cuts and bruises, and Emma was certain that the tall, burly coach had suffered some broken bones too. A new sense bloomed within her, a kind of health-sense, and with it came an awareness of an ability to do something about the injuries that so many had suffered. She couldn't heal them, exactly; but she could ease their pain, calm their hurts, lighten their hearts. This realization caused her to glow softly, and she rose into the air and began to fly over the crowd, letting loose a gentle rain of shimmering light. As she flew over, wherever her light fell, thankful groans and sighs of relief were released as aches and pains were muted and tensions evaporated. Emma smiled in pleasure: helping people, particularly young people, was all she'd ever wanted to do; she'd just never imagined being able to do it like this!
And as crushed and broken cars were towed away, injured people given medical attention or taken to the hospital and others went home to their families and loved ones, the crowd dispersed around Rachel and Santana. Long minutes turned into hours as they held each other, intensely grateful that they had survived the harrowing ordeal. Both girls were completely wiped out, almost dead on their feet, but they refused to let go. Rachel's tears had soaked Santana's shirt, and Santana still ached all over even after Emma's healing light had touched them. The fathers Berry stood and watched, not wanting to interrupt the tender scene. Somehow they knew that the two had protected each other through all the strangeness that had occurred this day, and that would always be the case with them. Their little girl, they realized with some sadness, was no longer a little girl, and no longer theirs alone. They could see quite clearly that Rachel was in very good hands with Santana.
Rachel sniffled as she lifted her head from Santana's shoulder, the tracks of her tears starkly visible through the light makeup that had been ruined long ago. The pounding in her head and the raw soreness in her throat had subsided thanks to Emma, but nothing could completely ease the ache in her heart as she looked up into the face of her protector, her friend, her...what? Something more? She didn't know how to define it, exactly, but she knew now that she had very strong feelings for the girl who had flown into the sky to battle a monster, who had fought a war in the heavens to protect her and her friends and the entire town from a nightmare that had flown into their lives on wings of shadow.
A rueful chuckle escaped her as she looked at Santana's shirt, darkly stained with her tears and Santana's own blood.
"I'm sorry, Santana. It appears I've ruined your shirt," she said, sniffling again, wiping at her eyes to clear them of any remaining excess moisture. She was determined to somehow keep herself from shedding any more tears in spite of the fact that every time she closed her eyes, she saw Santana in her dragon form, the coldrake's cruel talons scoring her flesh, its jaws snapping at her neck. The fear she had felt then rushed through her again. She bit her lip hard to keep from crying out at the still-fresh memory. Her knees nearly buckled, but Santana's strong arms held her upright, held her together.
"It's okay, Rachel. I've been through worse," Santana said quietly. Both knew that she wasn't talking about her shirt being soaked through by Rachel's tears. "I...I'm just glad you're all right. I didn't know if you had enough control over your power to keep the shield up as long as you did, but you pulled it off. What you did...you were incredible. Magnificent. You're a real star, tiny. My perfect estrellita."
"Your perfect little star?" Rachel's eyes widened.
"That's right," Santana replied, smiling. "Oh, and in case you're wondering why a dragon would know Spanish, well – let's just say that my people have gotten around a bit over the last few thousand years."
When Rachel laughed at this, the worry in Santana's heart eased. The events of the last couple of days had been incredibly traumatizing for all involved, but more for Rachel than anyone else, who had been forced to watch everything spiral wildly out of control around her without being able to do anything but stand rooted to the spot, singing that one impossible note for what seemed like an eternity. At least her friends had been empowered to defend themselves, but even with the assistance of Tina's magic, several of them had been hurt – and she had seen that several students, teachers and staff members had not survived the confrontation at all, including the boy that had been her nemesis in the school, the would-be muckraking blogger, Jacob Ben-Israel. Santana had noticed the color draining from Rachel's face when she'd witnessed the white sheet being drawn over the unmoving boy's head, his eyes still wide open in terror, his glasses cracked. She learned that Rachel was an amazingly forgiving person when Rachel's memories burst unbidden into Santana's mind, showing her that even though Jacob had always been an incredible annoyance to Rachel, she still grieved for his loss, for his parents, who would now have to live the rest of their lives mourning their only son.
"This...this is only the beginning, isn't it?" Rachel asked soberly, her voice a haunted whisper. "There's going to be more of this kind of thing. More attacks, more battles, more...everything."
She would bend, but never break. There were undoubtedly tests to come, but she would pass them with the same determination and resolve that had gotten her through every other test she had ever faced before. She'd vowed a long time ago that nothing would ever stand between her and her dreams, and that was more true now than ever. True, she'd never imagined that any of those barriers would come in the form of mythical creatures and magical assassins, but it didn't matter. Whatever came next, she would face it head on, and if she had to fight, she would fight. There was a stage waiting for her in New York City, a marquee waiting to shine her name in lights, and nothing and no one would keep her from getting there.
As long as she had Santana by her side, she felt she could do anything. Even save the world.
And the moment Rachel realized that, Santana felt the bond between them snap into place, an unbreakable tether connecting the two of them now and for all time. It felt as though her soul had been asleep until this very moment, and was just now awakened to its true destiny, its true place in this life. The undeniable fact that she had been born to love, protect and cherish Rachel Berry sent her mind reeling. She was astonished at the simple rightness of it, and it felt to her that she needed to love Rachel, for Rachel to love her, as much as she needed to breathe, or to fly. She would give up her wings, her fire, everything she had ever been before now, if it meant that she and Rachel could always be together.
"Yes, Rachel," she breathed, overwhelmed by the emotions that were stirring within her. "There will be more. I'll be with you, though, through everything." She paused, fighting back her own tears now. She had never been one to show her feelings, but somehow she could no longer hide anything from the girl in front of her. "I'll be right next to you, in front of you, behind you, wherever I need to be to protect you, to keep you safe, to show you the way to go. I'll be your light in the darkness, your song in the silence, your hope against fear. I'll be everything you want. I...I can't explain the way I feel about you, Rachel. I just...I need to know if you feel the same way. You don't need to give it a name, put a label on it, just yet. We can figure that out later, once this is all over."
The plea in Santana's dark eyes was answered emphatically by the light that kindled in Rachel's chocolate ones, and their hearts soared with happiness, just as Santana had soared into the sky to prevail against a mortal enemy only a few short hours ago.
The Berry men smiled at each other as they watched Santana gently run her fingers through Rachel's soft hair and lean her head down to bring her lips to Rachel's in a tender, gentle kiss. All of them knew that the future wasn't promised to them, but they swore in that moment that whatever time they had, they would make the most of it together, come what may.