Rachel snuck a glance at her bedside clock. 9:13 am. She had gotten 6 hours and short change of her required 8 hours of nightly sleep. She looked over her right shoulder at Quinn's sleeping form. They had drunk a very quick cup of tea together hours ago and had turned in to bed a little after 3:00 am. Rachel sighed to herself. While she surely didn't mind her bedmate, she did not exactly like the circumstances that brought her there.
She slowly removed Quinn's arm from her waist and edged easily from the bed. Walking to her bathroom she decided right then and there, whatever she had to do, she would most certainly do it. Quinn was obviously worth it. She had mooned over this girl for years, she was not about to let her go now. If that meant squaring off with Santana and the Fabrays, so be it.
In Brooklyn, a pensive Fran Collins: née Fabray sat stoically in her window seat overlooking the sidewalk outside their brownstone with coffee in hand. Her head was swirling with regrets and might have beens. For Lucy…now Quinn…..for their fractured family….for the many lost years. Most of all she mourned for her and Cal's baby boy. Francine's memories were not good ones; she winced as she sipped her coffee and remembered. Remembering was not one of her favorite things….that was a staple Fabray trait. It had been all too easy to move to Brooklyn and start anew. The sisters Fabray should have been track stars- they were so very good at running away.
It was a brusque fall day when Russell set the timer in the kitchen to 30 minutes for Fran's sudden, terrifying exit from her home. He grabbed Judy's kitchen timer in the shape of a chicken that Lucy had gotten her for Mother's Day and nearly wrenched the head right off.
Fran frantically flipped open her cellular phone, and called Cal.
"Cal! They are kicking me out! They are so mad! I am so scared! Daddy gave me half an hour to get my things and get out! He says I have to leave before Lucy gets home! What am I going to do Cal?!"
Cal frowned at his phone. He had begged Frannie to let him at least be there when she told her parents. She insisted that it was better if he wasn't involved right away….and he had foolishly believed her. Her brilliant plan to go home before school was out when she had study block for Cheerios seemed stupid now. Cal had nervously come home from school early awaiting her call after the conversation. He looked over to his parents and covered his phone with his hand.
"Russell and Judy are kicking her out. Can I go get her?"
Eric Collins looked at his son and firmly said "Get in the van. We are all going. The Fabrays have left us no choice."
Cal consoled an hysteric Fran on the phone the whole way over. His parents were going to talk to hers. It would all turn out all right, she would see. Eric was a law-abiding man, but he pushed their speed to get to Lima as soon as he could after hearing Cal's frantic responses to Fran on the phone.
It didn't turn out like they had hoped. They arrived before 4:00 to find Fran out on the sidewalk tearfully sitting on top of a suitcase with a duffel bag and a box of books beside her. After ringing the doorbell and shouting entreaties from the porch, they were finally allowed inside to find Judy a mess and Russell half in the bottle. The police were called to the home via a noise complaint by a neighbor, and arrived to find Fran's life haphazardly packed in nylon and cardboard. Three other people unknown to them were yelling with Russell Fabray in the foyer of the home. The policemen were nice enough, and immediately knew they were out of their depth. This was a family matter; there was nothing for them to do but to warn both parties to keep it down. After they were assured by Russell Fabray, a prominent Lima business person, that this was to be quickly and quietly resolved they left. After the police were gone the only thing Judy was worried about was "washing their hands of this whole mess before Lucy got home. It's bad enough the whole neighborhood knows now!"
Lucy was still at her once a week after school art class, and was not expected home until 5:30. It took an hour and a half to drive from their home outside Columbus, so they were short on time and ultimately out of luck when it came to Francine's family.
It was after 5 o'clock when Cal's family finally left with Fran in tow, with the hope that once everything settled the two families could sit down and have a caucus. Then, with both family's support all would be as well as it could be for two teenaged parents.
That never happened. Phone calls to the Fabray home were never answered, a lawyer for Cal's family was stymied, registered letters never accepted, and Fran's cellular phone and insurance were cancelled without a peep. It was as if she never had been their daughter at all.
A month later, a letter arrived from Francine's church. She had been excommunicated.
Little Lucy Fabray wondered where her sister had gone. She had come home to a terse atmosphere, and when she ran up the stairs to seek comfort from her rock of an older sister; she was gone. Her favorite books were gone, and most of her clothes. Two weeks later, when she still didn't know what had happened to Frannie she mentioned her disappearance to her Sunday school teacher. Her teacher had asked her what was wrong when Lucy was not participating like she usually did. When Lucy told her she missed her sister and asked her teacher if she knew where she was or why she had left her, her teacher had said no and looked awfully guilty.
Lucy knew something was wrong, but all the adults were saying nothing was off. She knew right then that she had to be careful. Whatever Frannie had done to get her sent away…it was bad. Lucy knew right then and there that a change had to happen in her.