Bringing Hell Down

by Fluffynz

season one happened but Rachel left at the end of season one and did not come back, and no one knows what happened to her. AU season 3: year later Rachel returns with new look, new attitude and new name and no one who is, she brought someone along with her to help get back at those who bullied her. Rachel is about to shake and tear apart the school

21. Chapter 21

Thanks you so much for the reviews for the last chapter they all meant a lot so PLEASE keep them coming because my beta is a pain in my ass, so the more reviews I get the faster my beta will work SO could you please help me so they aren't such a bitch.

AN: Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the Characters owned by Fox. Expect Blair, Erin and Aaron as they are my own creation.

AN: A big thank you to my awesome new beta for the excellent job on this chapter.

Pairings: Santana/Blair, Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Erin final pairings now.

Warnings: thoughts of drug use, thoughts of self-harm and suicide, swearing.

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Chapter Twenty: The Reveal; The Run and Interesting Truths.

"As I was saying, I have attended McKinley before, and Rae Frost isn't my real name. I am the TRUE PRANKSTER, and my name is Rachel Berry." Rachel told them, looking at their stunned faces.

"What the hell? There is no fucking way you are Rachel Berry. This is bullshit!" Santana screamed; the first to find her voice.

"Calm down, Santana. What makes you think that I'm not?" Rachel asked.

Brittany was not surprised to find out that Rachel was also the Prankster. It made so much sense. It saddened her that Rachel had to do this to show that bullying is wrong. She looked over at Quinn and noticed she was emotionally at war with herself. Brittany worried that the HBIC Quinn would win.

Quinn was stunned and speechless. She didn't know what to think, or how to deal with this. It's not possible for Rae Frost to be Rachel. They are completely different. They don't look or talk the same. It's confusing; it did make sense that Rachel would return to get revenge on those who bullied her. Had all the bullying they'd done to Rachel created this creature standing before them? If so, then what exactly had happened? New look? New attitude? 'No way is Rae Frost actually Rachel Berry,' Quinn thought to herself, as she continued to stare at Rae/Rachel. 'What have I done to the girl I'm in love with?'

"You want to know what makes me think you're not Rachel Berry? For starters, Rae, you don't look or sound anything like Rachel," Santana huffed.

"That is true. But it doesn't mean that I'm not telling the truth," Rachel sighed.

"Look; you're hot and awesome. There is no fucking way you're Rachel Berry," Santana smirked.

"Sannie, she's telling the truth; she is Rachel Berry," Brittany said.

"What do you mean? Did you know?" Santana stared at her friend.

"What Brittany is trying to say is Rae really is Rachel Berry. She has known about Rachel's identity since the weekend of Puck's party. We made her promise not to tell anyone until Rachel was ready," Blair explained. "We truly are sorry for making Brittany keep the secret from both of you," Blair told them, sadly.

"This was what you meant when you said that they have been through so much, right Britt? You knew who Rae was," Santana said, sadly.

"I did; I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I wanted to protect Rachie, and it wasn't my secret to tell. I have been begging her to tell you guys for a while now, but I didn't know she was the Prankster. I hope you can forgive me," Brittany said, crying.

"It's okay Britt; I understand. I'm not happy. But I do understand," San said.

"I'm sorry Sannie, and I am so sorry Quinn," Brittany said sadly.

"It's alright B. I understand. It wasn't your secret to tell," Quinn whispered.

"Glad to see you're still among the living, Q," San laughed.

"HA-HA yeah," Quinn laughed, drily. She looked up at Rachel/Rae, still confused.

"I still don't believe you're really Rachel though. This doesn't make any sense," Santana argued.

"Really? You don't believe your best friend?" Blair scoffed.

"No… umm… I do. I guess what I mean is, this is just so confusing," Santana mumbled.

"Alright; how about this?" Rachel asked, sarcastically. "You three only joined the glee club because coach Sylvester ordered you to spy on us for her. Quinn was happy, since she wanted to make sure Finn and I didn't do anything with each other, since she was dating him, at the time." Both Santana and Quinn were stunned now, as they listened to Rachel speak.

"How about when I told Finn that the baby Quinn was carrying wasn't his? I still regret doing that; it wasn't my place to say anything. I'll always be sorry I did that, Quinn." Rachel said, apologetically.

"If that isn't enough proof for you, what about the time I dated Jesse St James, who then transferred to McKinley to be closer to me, only to leave when I made that, "Run Joey Run," video? Seriously, what the hell was I fucking thinking when I did that?" Rachel laughed.

"It was pretty bad Rae. I can't believe you made that," Blair laughed.

"Shut it, Blair; I was trying to make Jesse jealous. That didn't work; he ended up fucking egging me in the parking lot along with the rest of Vocal shitting Adrenaline."

"Is that proof enough? Wait. There's more! Shelby, the former coach of Vocal Adrenaline, is actually my birth mother. Shelby is also the adoptive mother of Quinn and Puck's daughter, Beth. Is that enough for you yet, or do you want more proof of who I am?"

"Oh, I know!" Rachel continued. "How about this? My Dads are gay. I was a loud and annoying diva who threw tantrums when I didn't get a solo in glee. I'm Jewish. I was bullied a lot because of the way I dressed, looked, and talked. Is that fucking enough for you yet, Santana, to prove to you who I am, or do you need even more?" Rachel all but screamed out.

"Rae! That is probably the longest speech you have made in over a year," Blair laughed.

"You're right, Blair. It felt so good though," Rachel laughed.

"Is all that bizarre shit Rachel just said, true?" Erin asked.

"Yup; all true," Rachel sighed.

"Wow," Erin replied.

"Wow, indeed. Do you believe me now?" Rachel said to the stunned girls.

"Holy shit, you really are Rachel Berry," Santana said, shocked.

"Yes I am," Rachel smiled at them.

Quinn didn't know how to react, or what to think. She was staring at the girl she loves, who disappeared for a year. The girl she loves, who returned as someone else. Quinn wondered why Rachel looked so different. Why would Rachel change everything about herself, the person Quinn had fallen in love with? Where was the girl who loved to sing and talk like a professor in long sentences? The girl standing in front of her was nothing like Rachel. This person had attitude, swore like a sailor, and even fought. Quinn was only kidding herself if she didn't admit she fancied this side of Rachel, as well. Quinn was drawn to this new Rachel, and that was like getting two for the price of one.

"What the hell happened to you? Why did you blow off school all last year?" Santana asked, knowing Quinn was in no condition to ask, or even speak.

Rae rolled her eyes. "I didn't blow off all last school year, Santana. The plan was to return to school. I couldn't," Rae grimaced, knowing she would have to explain, even though she was still uncomfortable talking about it.

"Could you tell us what made your plans change, Rachel?" Quinn asked, shyly glancing into Rachel's eyes. She realized she was falling deeper in love with her each passing moment, and bit her lip sadly, knowing she would never be worthy of dating her.

Rachel sighed. "I knew I would have to tell all of you. But it doesn't make this any easier," Rae confessed. All three girls nodded their heads, understanding.

"Hey it's ok Baby Girl. I'm here with you," Blair told her, wrapping her arms around Rae, and hugging her close. "You're a really a strong person, Rae. You can to this."

"Thanks Blair," Rae said, softly resting her head on Blair's shoulder as she drew comfort and strength from her embrace.

The three cheerleaders watched Rae and Blair closely as they interacted, wondering about the true nature of their relationship. Quinn felt threatened by Blair, and was having a hard time controlling her jealousy as she watched Blair with her arms around her girl. Even though Quinn knew she wasn't good enough for Rachel, and wanted the love of her life to be happy, it hurt to see Rachel with Blair. She swallowed, thickly. Britt gently touched Quinn's hand, and kissed her on the forehead. "You are good enough, Quinnie. You're the one she wants," Britt smiled, as Quinn looked up at her, wide-eyed and unconvinced. Brittany held Quinn's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

Rae took a deep, calming breath, and Blair released her from their hug. Rae turned to look at the other girls. "As I said, I had planned on returning to school, last year. My Dads and I were involved in an accident that crushed every bone and cartilage in my face. My forehead was cut very deeply, under the hair line. That's why I look and sound different. I also learned to use an accent, so no one would recognize me by my voice."

Quinn and Brittany were openly sobbing after hearing about Rae's traumatic accident. Santana sat there with tear-filled eyes, and a stunned expression.

"Rachie, that's so sad!" Brittany said, jumping from her seat and pulling Rae into a hug. Rae stiffened and flinched at the contact. Everyone noticed, but only Quinn and Santana frowned, wondering why Rae would react like that to Britt, when she hadn't been frightened by Blair.

"Rachel, are your Dads okay?" Quinn asked, quietly, through her sobs.

Brittany sat back down, pulling Quinn into her lap and tucking the shorter blonde's head on her shoulder. Quinn was showing rare insecurities, and she needed a friend.

Rae looked at the two of them, hoping her girl wasn't involved with Brittany. Rae smiled warmly at Quinn, responding, "Thank you, Quinn. They will be. It's just taking them longer to heal."

"I'm so glad you're all alive," Brittany said. Quinn and Santana nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. I couldn't have done it without Blair; she's my angel," Rae said softly.

Blair mimicked the gagging gesture at being called an angel. After all, he had a badass image to protect. Yet she whispered, "And I would do it all again for you, Rae."

Quinn was jealous of Blair and wanted to know whether she was romantically involved with Rae. She summoned the courage to ask, "Rachel, you and Blair clearly aren't sisters. What's going on between you?" Blair smirked at Quinn, who glared back, defensively.

"You're right Quinn; we aren't sisters. Blair is a long time friend and," Rae took a deep breath, uncomfortable sharing this type of information, "we used to date," Rae replied to Quinn's question.

"But you aren't together anymore?" Quinn asked, hopefully. She blushed at her transparency, and Brittany comforted her, holding her more securely.

"No, we aren't together anymore. We discovered we work better as friends than as a couple," Blair said, watching Quinn relax again. "What about you, Quinn? You're looking pretty comfy there on Britt's lap." Quinn blushed, trying to stand.

Britt held Quinn more firmly on her lap, actually narrowing her eyes at Blair as she rubbed Quinn's back in soothing circles. "Quinn's crying. I'm comforting her. End of story. Quinn usually hides her feelings from everyone. Please don't ever tease Quinn for showing her emotions."

Blair nodded respectfully at Britt. "The world needs more friends like you, Britt. Quinn, please ignore me when I make thoughtless remarks; it's a defence mechanism, for me." Quinn's eyes met Blair's, surprised.

"I didn't know you were gay," Santana blurted at Rae, surprised.

"I'm not, Santana. I'm bisexual. But I do prefer girls to guys," Rae replied.

"Oh, like me," Brittany said happily. Quinn kissed Britt's forehead, and slipped back into her own seat, wanting Rachel to know she's available.

"Yeah, like you," Rae laughed.

"Did you receive any other injuries?" Santana asked.

"I did; but my face received the worst of it. I had to undergo countless surgeries to repair my bone structure. Please don't ask for more details; I'm not comfortable talking about it yet," Rae said.

"Okay we won't. What about your incredible voice? Do you still sing like you used to?" Santana asked.

"Thank you, Santana," Rae said, clearly moved. "Yes I do. My voice is still the same, but at times it sounds huskier," Rae told them.

All three cheerleaders sighed in relief.

"You guys are happy about that?" Rae asked.

"Rae, your voice is amazing and we've really missed it," Brittany smiled.

"Thank you, Brittany." Rae smiled back.

"Why haven't you returned to Glee? And why are you using a different name? We could really use your voice," Santana said.

"I'm not ready to return. I have things I need to do first," Rae told them.

"What do you need to do?" Quinn asked.

"Destroy glee club," Rae smirked.

"Why would you want to destroy it? You love glee," Quinn said, clearly upset.

"I used to love glee, but everyone in glee needs to pay," Rae replied.

All three gulped, not liking what Rae was saying.

"But why, Rae?" Brittany asked.

"I have a long list. The bullying, the teasing and all the other bullshit. I fought for solos because I believed I could get the best results for our club. Instead of being recognized as a dedicated member of a team, I was labelled a selfish diva, and told I'm not a team player. I dedicated myself to thinking up ideas which were perpetually ignored or ridiculed. It was so frustrating. Mr Schue refused to step in, to stop any of the bullying, most of which was focused on me. Yet if ANYONE were to give even a perceived slight to Finn, Mr. Schue would step in and immediately put a stop to it. I'm sure the three of you have noticed Schue and his fucking double standards, too," Rae said.

"We have, Rachel. I believe it's gotten even worse, without you there to carry the group," Quinn muttered, upset by Rachel's words. Rachel gave Quinn a warm glance, and noticed the sweet blush that painted itself across the blonde's features.

"Seriously; does Schue have a hard on for Finn?" Blair asked.

"We think so," Santana shrugged.

"But glee club is just a small part of my plain. I want to bring the entire school down," Rae said.

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" Santana asked.

Rae stiffened at Santana's words, ire clear in her voice. "Santana, can you even imagine what it's like to be bullied every day because of your dreams, what you wear, how you talk, and even who your parents are? Try to imagine what your day would be like, if instead of being called Santana, you were called by one of a plethora of cruel nicknames, instead. It gets better. Imagine, Santana, receiving a public facial slushie, a minimum of once a day, and that everyone laughed at you as you stood there, humiliated, unable to see, in a ruined outfit. McKinley made my life torture. I may have feigned confidence as I walked around school, pretending I didn't care. The truth is I was DYING inside, every fucking day. I sometimes thought about trying drugs to numb the pain. I even thought about cutting myself to see whether that provided relief and made me feel like I was still alive. I even thought about killing myself, simply to be free from all the bullying. I figured the world would be better off without me. You have no idea the damage bullying can do to someone's mind, and the scars that are left behind because of it. That's why I'm back. I want to stop the bullying here, because the teachers here are fucking useless. I know this is a fucked up way of reaching that goal. But I don't want ANYONE else to go through with what I went through. I want people to learn to respect each other and their differences, so not one more human life is lost due to bullying," Rae said.

The Unholy Trinity were openly sobbing by the time Rae finished speaking. They hadn't realised the damage they'd caused because of their bullying. Each of them felt unfathomable levels of guilt as they looked at Rae.

Quinn couldn't take it anymore; she needed to get out. She couldn't believe what Rachel had said. She couldn't believe the damage she had caused to the girl she loves. Quinn jumped out of her seat and ran out the door. She could hear people shouting her name, but she needed to run. She didn't get far before she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She spun around and saw Rachel looking at her.

"Quinn, stop." Rachel said, calmly.

"Let me go… I... I have to go. I don't deserve to be around you, Rachel. You're perfect. It should have been me. It should have been me," Quinn said, growing increasingly agitated. "The world would be a far, far better place, without me. You, more than anyone, know it's true," she said, her voice cracking as she panicked, turning to run.

"NO!" Rachel commanded.

"Don't touch me. Please don't touch me. I'm no good. I need to go." Quinn raised her voice, trying to shake off Rachel's hand, without hurting Rachel.

"Quinn, you need to stop and calm down," Rachel said.

"You don't understand. I can't calm down. I don't deserve to calm down. I don't deserve to waste another moment of your life, Rachel. I have to go, I have to LEAVE!" Quinn pleaded, her voice growing louder and louder, still trying to gently shake Rachel's grip, and run.

"Running isn't going to help you," Rachel told her.

"Nothing can help me, Rachel."

"Of course there's help for you, Quinn. You have to start forgiving yourself, so you move on and ask for forgiveness," Rachel said.

"You… you did the Prankster interviews, Rachel," Quinn realized, choking through her tears.

"Yes I did," Rachel replied.

"You saw my pain and you… you know that I… that I love you. You know that I... I'm IN love with you, Rachel. It didn't matter to you then, and it shouldn't matter to you now, either." Quinn stammered. "Please, Rachel, I know my love is no good, just like you know it. I have to go. I cannot stand the thought of hurting you, ever again," Quinn sobbed. "I need to be alone. Please, Rachel, let go so I do not hurt you when I run," Quinn pleaded, desperately.

From down the hall, Blair called out, "Rae, let her go." Rae looked back, and nodded, sadly. "Your love does matter to me, just like you are precious to me, Quinn," Rae said, as her eyes filled with tears. "Please be careful," she said, releasing her.

Quinn ran down the hall with tear-filled eyes, using her hands against the walls to blindly guide her through the school.

As soon as Quinn disappeared around a corner, Erin ran back to the laptop webcam. "Aaron! Quinn's running scared. Quickly check the cameras to see which way she goes," she told him through the microphone. Aaron nodded.

"She's headed towards the forest to the east," he said, moments later. "And it's getting dark."

"Pull up a picture for me, of where she entered the woods, Aaron. Thanks", she said, upon seeing the image. "Let's all meet at the van," Erin said, and everyone headed outside.

"Why are you crying, Britt-Britt? We'll find Q. She'll be fine," Santana reassured her.

"No, Sannie. She's not fine. We should have been there for her, when her parents kicked her out. We should have been there for her, all last year. When you and I became a couple, we pretty much ditched Quinn. Our friend is broken, Sannie. I can usually see these things. But poor Quinnie has built up such strong walls around her heart, I haven't noticed how hurt she is, inside," she cried.

Santana's eyes stung from Britt's words. "At least you weren't bullying Q with nicknames, Britt. I didn't just turn my back on her. It's like I turned Quinn around, shoved her up against a wall, and stabbed her in the back, repeatedly."

Santana felt Blair's hand grab hers. "Neither of you are to blame. Quinn's parents, I'm guessing, are probably the worst parents you know," Blair said.

Both Britt and San looked at Blair, surprised. "This isn't your fault. But we do need to find Quinn. I can tell you both want to help her so she knows there are people who care about her. She didn't get to choose her birth family, but we can show her we choose her as our family," Blair said, like she had far too much experience for someone so young.

"If we need to find Quinn, then why did you let her run, Blair? Anything could happen to her, and she won't know I fucking care about her," Santana bristled through her tears.

"Quinn's having a breakdown. Trapping her would only make it worse. She needs to be alone, and run off steam right now. But we are not leaving her. And if anything happens to Quinn, I'll fish one of those razor blades outta your hair myself, hermosa, so you can show me cosas malas."

Santana blushed, squeezing Blair's hand, back. "You're all right, perra."

---

When they all arrived at the van, Erin had heavy duty flashlights and two way radios ready for everyone. "Wear these around your necks. They're all set to the same frequency. I'm going to head in the direction Quinn went. Brittany, you come with me. Blair and Santana, I want you to cover the north and west sides of campus, in Santana's car. Rae, you drive towards Quinn's house, in case she turned south. Aaron, you head for the other side of the woods Quinn entered, and then try to locate her cell phone. Any questions?"

"You know Q's cell phone number?" Santana asked, crossing her arms with one brow arched. The prankster team simply shrugged. "Your badass-ness impresses me."

"Any other questions?" Erin smirked. They all shook their heads. "Then go," Erin said, running towards the woods with Brittany.

"Tell me about the woods." Erin said.

"Well, they're flat for about a mile and then you hit the streambed. You can go a long way in either direction without crossing a street by climbing under the bridges."

Erin arrived at the spot Aaron had shown her on the camera. "This is where Quinn entered the woods. My Dad loves camping. He taught me how to track. We need to be quiet and move quickly. Here. I think I see the way she headed. Follow me, but shine your flashlight around. Don't let me miss anything, Britt."

An hour into their search, the only ones who seemed to have any idea about where Quinn could be were Erin and Britt. Aaron had reported a weak cell signal matching Quinn's signature in their general area. They had reached the streambed, and spread out. Britt had found Quinn's headband along one of the banks. "Tell me more about this direction," Erin said.

"If you follow the stream, the banks get really slippery. To the right, heads back to school. To the left, it's flat for about half a mile, but then drops off suddenly. There are boulders and steep paths," Britt explained.

Erin stopped, scanning the ground with her light. "This way." They moved quickly, careful to avoid hurting themselves in the dark, while trying to track Quinn. "Shit." Erin noticed muddy feet print crossing some boulders, and disappearing over the side.

Erin and Brittany followed Quinn's path down the boulders, finally catching their lights on golden blonde hair. Quinn was limp, tucked between two boulders. They rushed to her, discovering Quinn shaking from the cold with tear stained cheeks, apparently in a state of shock.

Brittany said, "I know how to check Q for injuries. Thanks to Coach I have to do it, like, every week." She shrugged. While Britt checked Quinn for cuts and fractures, Erin scanned the area. "Aaron, I think I see the headlights from your van. Are you headed up a hill by a small stone home?" She asked, over their two way radios.

"That's me."

"Then stop. See us?" Britt and Erin waved their flashlights.

"I'll be right there," Aaron said.

"No need; Quinnie's really light," Britt said, lifting her up. "Just shine the light in front of me so I don't slip with her."

"Aaron; just set up a makeshift bed in the back of the van. We'll be to you in about 5 minutes. Everyone else; meet back at Rae and Blair's." Everyone confirmed over the two ways, and headed to meet at the girls' house.

Once there, Britt carried Quinn inside. Rachel's eyes flooded with tears. Blair led her away, sheltering her friend. "She needed to get away, Rae. Not because of you. Because she's dealing with shit I've dealt with, too. I want you to call Coach Sylvester, and explain why we're all skipping, tomorrow. Aaron and Erin are stowing everything back in the van, then Aaron's heading back to his. Santana and Britt are administering first aide, bathing and putting Q into pj's. San's Dad is on his way to check on Quinn. I'll fix dinner." Rae nodded, sadly, before phoning the coach.

"Sylvester." Sue answered.

"Hi, Coach."

"What have you done, now, Rae? Driven my head cheerleader into so deep a state of shock, she's unconscious?"

"Umm..."

"I was KIDDING, Streisand."

"Coach? Quinn ran off into the woods by school, tonight. We found her. Santana and Brittany are taking care of her, and Dr Lopez is on his way to check on her."

Sue sighed. "I'll call Q's sorry excuse for a Mom and tell her she won't be home, tonight. I suppose you want to all skip school, so you can have a sleep over and play spin the bottle all day, tomorrow?"

"Whatever works for you, Coach."

"Take care of Q. I need that girl in top form. But mostly I feel like a surrogate mother to her, and if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll blast you out of a cannon. Let me know if you need anything, Rae."

"Thanks, Coach."

Dr. Lopez checked over Quinn, complimenting Santana and Brittany for cleaning and treating her wounds like professionals. Quinn hadn't suffered any fractures or head trauma. She had simply collapsed from exhaustion. He gave Santana some tablets in case Quinn woke up in pain, along with strict instructions for the girls to check on Quinn throughout the night. He said they needed to make sure she drank plenty of water, and didn't run a fever.

The girls pushed the sofas, love seats, and foot stools together into the middle of the living room, creating one giant bed. Rae handed out pillows and blankets, and they all collapsed around Quinn, eating Blair's dinner.

"This is really good," San said, leaning against Blair's shoulder with a sleepy smile. Blair coughed, trying to cover up her blush. Rae smiled, pretending not to notice, as she and Britt leaned Quinn forward to help her drink some water. Quinn mumbled something about loving two girls but they were really only one, and it was Rachel's turn to blush. Erin set up an alarm to ring every hour, for someone to check on Quinn. Then they all passed out, exhausted. They still had a lot of talking to do, but had come together tonight, as a team. Erin had paired them off quite nicely, Blair thought, smiling.

---

By morning, the girls were innocently tangled together around Quinn. Everyone seemed to have at least one hand on her, making sure she had a pulse, was breathing, and that her body temperature was normal. Rachel had one arm wrapped around Quinn's waist, like a hug. Quinn's face was buried in the crook of Rachel's neck. She had finally stopped shaking with cold, and was sleeping peacefully.

Blair was the first to wake up the next morning. As she raised her head to look around, she noticed everyone else was still asleep. Somehow, Santana had snuggled into Blair's side during the night. She looked down at the self-proclaimed badass Santana Lopez, smirking at how she looked like an innocent child as she slept. Blair blushed, gently untangling herself from the Latina, who pouted at the loss of contact. She rolled her eyes at herself as she brushed a soft kiss across Santana's forehead, who smiled softly in response, snuggling deeper into the covers.

Blair crawled over several sleeping bodies to make sure Quinn was alright, before heading to the kitchen to make some coffee. Blair is one of those people who need their morning coffee. A few minutes later, the coffee was ready. She grabbed a fresh bottle of water with her coffee, and headed back into the lounge where all the girls were sleeping. She opened a French door and sat down on a chair before proceeding to light a cigarette. Half way through her smoke, she heard someone walk up behind her.

"Smoking is bad for you." Quinn said, sounding childish with her nasal sleepy morning voice.

"I know. I get the same lecture from Rae every day." Blair laughed. "Sit with me, Quinn," she said, gesturing to the chair next to hers.

"Why do you do it if you know it's bad?" Quinn asked, sitting down gingerly. She was embarrassed about her melt down, and hoped Blair didn't notice she was hurting from sore muscles and healing wounds.

"For the same reason you run, Quinn." Blair said, meeting her eyes.

"Oh? And what exactly do you know about me, Blair?" Quinn asked in her HBIC tone, looking away from Blair.

"How are you feeling?" Blair asked, ignoring Quinn's question. Quinn remained silent.

"I imagine you're tired, your muscles are sore, and you're hurting from your wounds." Blair glanced at Quinn, who was biting her trembling lower lip.

"You exhausted yourself running, Quinn, and you banged yourself up pretty good. Dr. Lopez checked on you. Nothing's broken. You need to drink that water and we need to change your bandages in a bit."

Quinn struggled to open the water with her shaking hands. Blair opened it for her, handing it back, wordlessly.

"I'm not pretending to care, Quinn. I don't do that fake shit. People know where they stand with me, cuz I tell them straight to their face. I care about you, Quinn. I understand more about what you're going through than probably anyone else, here." She watched, in her peripheral vision, as Quinn took a few little sips from the water bottle.

"Where am I?" Quinn asked, still trying to sound in control.

"You're at Rae's and mine, so we could look after you," Blair replied.

"Why would you care about me, Blair? You should hate me, after the way I treated Rachel." Quinn's voice cracked, and she took a sip of water. "Rachel should hate me, but she's too perfect to hate anyone. As her friend, you should be keeping me far away from her. I wouldn't let her hug me while we sleep." Why did I get up? Being wrapped safe and secure in Rachel's arms was the best place I've ever been. I'm so stupid. "You should have left me out there, Blair. That was the point of why I ran," Quinn growled.

"I know." Blair waited for the words to sink in, and for Quinn to look at her, curiously. "But everybody in that room," she said, gesturing behind her, "wants you to understand you're worth more than that."

Quinn swallowed, thickly. "Yeah right; this is all a game to you guys."

"Why the hell would we tell you who Rae was, if this were just some mind fuck? This is no game, Quinn," Blair snapped, losing patience with the stubborn blonde.

"Rachel interviewed me as the Prankster," Quinn said, looking down as she bit her lip.

"She interviewed all three of you," Blair said, "and you shouldn't be ashamed about what happened in that room."

"You watched? You saw, too?" Quinn's voice broke, and she stood up, walking away from the house with her arms crossed protectively around her torso.

Blair took a final drag off her cigarette and stamped it out with a bare foot. Yep. Still a badass. She watched Quinn, looking completely relaxed, but ready to chase her if she ran.

Quinn shook, subtly, clearly crying. Blair fought the urge to hold the girl, pretending to watch the birds at the feeder, instead. Of course, the feeder was Rae's idea. Rae took care of everyone, including the birds.

Quinn eventually wiped her face discreetly, and returned to her seat. She sat quietly for a few minutes, sipping her water. "I'm upset by the interview because Rachel saw my pain and knows how I feel about her. You all heard me and saw me. It was meant to be a secret. I was never going to tell anyone. But if I did tell, then it should have been private between Rachel and me; not a circus for everyone's entertainment," Quinn said in a voice laced with bitterness.

"Nobody thought of it as a circus. No one laughed at you, Quinn. Rae, Aaron, and I were in the room, together. When Rae started that interview, I honestly hated you. But watching you changed my mind. I realized I was wrong about you, Quinn. I could see you punishing yourself with your shallow breathing. When you started crying without changing your facial expression, I knew you had lashed out at Rachel because that's what you know. Someone hurt you on a long-term, daily basis. We treated your feelings with dignity, and your brokenness moved all of us to tears. Do you remember the pauses in the interview? Aaron had to mute Rae's microphone repeatedly, so you wouldn't hear her crying. She had to work hard to get through that interview, so she could cry for you, uninterrupted, afterwards."

Quinn tried to take another sip of water, but her hands were shaking too hard.

"We knew, before the interview, how you felt about Rachel, Quinn. And by the way," Blair said, gently turning Quinn by the chin to face her, "Rachel feels the same about you."

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked, as tears streamed down her face.

"You know. Come on, Quinn. Let's get you in fresh clothing and bandages before the others wake up," Blair told her.

Quinn nodded and followed Blair upstairs to a guest room that had its own bathroom. Blair handed her some clean clothes and reminded her to remove her bandages before bathing. Quinn took her shower. She spent a few minutes looking in the mirror, noting she was covered in cuts and bruises, and that she looked tired. She dressed the wounds with antibiotic ointment and bandages Blair had thoughtfully placed next to the clothing, and then got dressed. She knew Dr. Lopez would have left something for her pain. But she wanted to feel it, because she deserved the pain. So she was going to have to pretend she didn't hurt. Quinn walked back into the room where she saw Blair sitting on the edge of the bed.

"We should talk before we go back down there. The others are awake and they know that I am up here talking to you. By the way, those clothes really don't suit you," Blair laughed at Quinn wearing black holey jeans and a tight muscle t-shirt.

"You're right about the clothes but thank you for letting me use them," Quinn chuckled. "What did you want to talk about? I'm really not in the mood to talk to anyone; especially you."

"Ouch. I should be hurt. Oh well; I'm not. I understand that you're not in the mood to talk but I want you to hear me out," Blair sighed. "When Rae told me all about you and the bullying you did to her, I didn't like you and thought you were a bitch and at times I still do. But I get you," Blair looked at Quinn who arched a brow and assumed an HBIC stance.

"Exactly what do you, 'get,' about me, Blair?" Quinn growled.

"That you hide yourself from people. You hide the parts that you don't want people to see. I have been watching you since I got here and I can see the pain you're feeling. I've seen how you hide your emotions from people because you believe they're a sign of weakness. I'm guessing you feel that way because of your parents," Blair responded.

Quinn didn't know what to say. She simply stood there, stunned.

"I can see that your parents have abused you in one form or another. That's why you hide behind your HBIC mask and bullying behaviours. You bully people either to make yourself feel better, or because of the type of environment you've grown up in. You bullied Rae because of the feelings you have for her. You believed the bullying would make your feelings go away. You were afraid of those feelings because your parents would tell you they hate you and your feelings are wrong. I know about how they sent you away. Rae never told me; I overheard Britt talking with San. You don't have to be like your family, Quinn. You can do what I've done, and make your own family. Everybody here took shifts watching over you all through the night, because we love you like family, Quinn. Accepting our love will help you become a better person for Rachel, the girl you love," Blair explained.

"You know nothing about me or my family," Quinn growled, pacing the floor like a caged tigress, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I know a lot about those types of feelings, Quinn, and I want to help you." Blair told her.

"Why would you want to help me? I don't deserve it," Quinn said.

"You and I have more in common than you realize. You do deserve a second chance at happiness, Quinn. Rachel likes you and she has been crushing on you since the days you first started bullying her. She has a big heart and would like nothing more than to be with you and help you along the way. I think you're a big part of the reason she came back to this shitty town," Blair said, chuckling and shaking her head.

"But I don't deserve her," Quinn said, sadly.

"Says who? You? Isn't that Rae's decision?" Blair asked.

"I don't know what to do. How do I make it up to her? What should I say?" Quinn frowned, sitting on the bed, fighting tears.

Blair moved to sit next to the blonde and wrapped an arm around her. "People like me and you know words mean shit. We only believe what people do; actions reveal character. Show Rachel, with your actions, that you are the sweet, kind person I know you are, Quinn. Allow everyone here who took care of you all night to help you. We all want you to overcome your problems and open your heart to us so we can help you heal. Quinn, we all see you are beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside. You can do anything if you put your mind to it," Blair told her.

"You really think so?" Quinn mumbled, sounding insecure.

"I know so, Quinn, because I've gone through shit myself. I'm offering you my friendship. I will help you through this because I understand what you've been through," Blair said.

"Thank you, Blair" Quinn replied, humbly.

"You're welcome," Blair smiled. "Will you allow us to help you? We all care about you and we want to be there for you. We all can be a family to one another. You weren't able to choose your parents, but everyone here chooses you, to be like family."

"You mean that?" Quinn asked.

"I do mean that. I understand that you're angry at Rae for doing the interview and upset she saw your breakdown. But I'm asking you not to hold it against her. She cares about you, and the love you have for her. It's not going to be easy, but you'll get there. The things you see as weaknesses in you have helped Rae see you in a different light." Blair said.

"I don't hold it against her. I'm just embarrassed that I've been such a bitch to her. I'll never deserve her, Blair. How could I possibly make it up to her?" Quinn choked out.

"You do deserve happiness, Quinn. Just take it one day at a time. Talk to Rae; open your heart to her and she will do the same. At times you will want to run. I get that; I still run, too. I will help you with that if you'll allow me," Blair said.

"I can't believe that you would offer to help me when I have been nothing but a bitch to Rachel and she's your best friend," Quinn said.

"Rae deserves to be happy and I can see that you will make her happy in the long run. I also see that she will make you happy and that is important to me. Her happiness means everything to me. I will help you in any way I can to overcome your demons. Like I said, you and I have a lot in common," Blair explained.

"You love her?" Quinn asked.

"I do; but not in the romantic sense. She's my family; the only family I have left," Blair sighed, upset.

"What do you mean she's your only family?" Quinn asked curiously.

"Apart from my guardian and Aaron, Rae is the only family I have," Blair said, staring at the wall.

"What about Erin?"

"I think she'll become a part of my family, but I only met her last week," Blair explained.

"What about your parents? Don't you have brothers or sisters?" Quinn asked, finding it difficult to believe that Rachel was Blair's only family.

"I don't have any siblings and my parents are a story for another time," Blair said, giving Quinn a small smile.

"Okay."

"Are you agreeing to let us help you, Quinn?" Blair asked.

"Yeah I guess I am," Quinn replied quietly.

"Good; I want you to stay here and allow us to finish up our talk and not run off again. If what you hear gets too intense then tell me. I don't think everyone has the energy to rally together and hunt your ass down again so soon," Blair said.

"I will try. Wait. What? You all rallied together to find me?" Quinn asked.

"Rae, Britt, Santana, Erin, Aaron, and I worked together for hours last night to find you in the forest," Blair told her.

"You all got together to find me? I can't believe that," Quinn muttered.

"Well believe it, Quinn. We all care about you. Santana and Brittany know they screwed up with you. Britt insisted on carrying you out of the forest on her own. We're all your friends and we care about you," Blair said. "Even when it's really inconvenient," she smirked, playfully bumping Quinn, careful not to hurt her.

"I don't deserve any of you as friends," Quinn said.

"You have us, regardless of your insecurities. So get over yourself and start accepting our friendship," Blair told her.

"It's hard to stop doubting myself, and it's humbling to know how much you care," Quinn said.

"I know it is. Rae will want to talk to you later," Blair said.

"I don't know if I can face her. I don't know what to say to her," Quinn said, panicking.

"You can do it, you are a strong person and she likes you. She feels terrible for making you cry during the interview, and again when she revealed her identity. She wants to make it up to you and show you that she cares about you," Blair told her.

"What do you mean?"

"Rae will answer that for you, it's not my place," Blair said. "But you may want to apply some cherry chapstick."

"Oh," Quinn replied, blushing.

"Let's head back downstairs and have breakfast. Then we need to finish up the conversation where we left it off yesterday, and get to know each other better," Blair said, getting up.

"What about school?" Quinn asked.

"Already taken care of, we have the day off," Blair smirked.

"How?" Quinn asked.

"We'll explain later," Blair said.

"Okay, I do have one question for you though," Quinn said.

"Shoot" Blair replied.

"Why do you call Rachel, 'Rae,' all the time?" She asked.

"She has always been Rae to me. She hasn't gone by Rachel in a while," Blair replied.

"She is still Rachel though, right?" Quinn asked.

"She is still Rachel, but I'll warn you though, a part of Rachel died in the accident and she is still in the process of finding herself. Like us, she hides to protect her emotions. She uses the name Rae Frost, to hide. Rae will explain everything to you in time. Just be patient with her please; she has overcome a lot since that day," Blair said. "But I'll let you in on a secret."

"What secret?" Quinn asked, intrigued by Blair's playfulness.

"Rae only likes to be called, 'Rachel,' by one person. That person is you," Blair smiled, giving Quinn one more quick hug before standing to head downstairs.

Quinn nodded, stunned. "Thank you."

"All good, come on lets go," Blair replied.

Both of them trekked down the stairs and went into the lounge where everyone was waiting for them. Aaron had arrived while Blair and Quinn were talking. He had breakfast and coffee for everyone.

"You okay, Quinnie?" Brittany asked, jumping up to give her a big hug.

"I'm fine now Britt," Quinn said with a small smile, hugging her back. She rested her head against Britt's shoulder and whispered, "Thanks for carrying me last night."

Britt pulled back to look Quinn in the eyes. "You're welcome," she said. "Just don't let it happen again, you scared me," Britt scolded, swatting Quinn on the backside.

Quinn yelped and everyone laughed.

Santana pulled Quinn from Brittany's embrace, and held her, next. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, Q. I will be, from now on," she said, kissing Quinn on the forehead.

"Thanks, San." Quinn said, hugging her back. "I'm going to be a better friend, too."

"No more running Q. Good thing we had Erin to help organise a search party for you," Santana said. "She could have her own show on HD Discovery."

"Yeah Blair told me," she said looking at Blair and giving her a smile.

"I'm so glad you're safe and sound, Quinn," Rachel said, reaching out to carefully hold Quinn's hand, intertwining their fingers. A jolt like an electric shock shot through Quinn's body. Why have I been fighting my attraction to Rachel for so long?

Quinn gave her a shy smile. "Thank you for watching over me last night, Rachel," she said, biting her lip. Thanks for cuddling with me all night and keeping me warm. I'm gonna miss you every night from now on.

"You're welcome, Quinn, anytime. Come sit down have some breakfast then we all can talk," Rachel said, walking her over to a loveseat, still holding hands. Did Rachel just say she would cuddle me all night whenever I want? Stop blushing Quinn. Stop it!

Rachel giggled when she looked back and saw Quinn, blushing brightly, in the middle of the floor, staring at her. So I'm not the only one who likes cuddling at night. "C'mere, cutie," she said, tugging Quinn gently to the love seat, where they sat, side by side.

Aaron handed everyone their breakfast burritos, but Blair declined hers. Rachel looked at her, raising her eyebrow to silently question her friend. Blair just shook her head at Rae, and turned to leave the room to go back upstairs.

"Blair." Rachel called out as she saw Blair walk away. Blair turned around and looked at her.

"I'm fine Rae. I just need to take a shower," Blair replied, trying not to show how badly she needed to be alone, after her talk with Quinn. It had opened a lot of old wounds.

"You're lying, you're not fine, Blair," Rae said, rising to her feet and crossing to her friend. She was upset Blair had lied to her.

"Rae just drop it please I just need a few minutes to myself that's all," Blair sighed.

Everyone was wondering what was going on and why Blair would lie to Rae. Quinn had a funny feeling that she might be behind the reason Blair had to leave, but she couldn't work out why. Then she remembered what Blair had said to her. If they both have a lot in common, this could be Blair's way of running and hiding her emotions.

"Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to help?" Rae asked calmly.

"Yeah I'm sure and nah I'll be alright but thanks," Blair replied.

"If you say so, Blair," Rae responded, not believing a word Blair was saying. She could see that Blair was in pain. It was showing in her eyes, Blair wasn't far from having a breakdown herself. Rae knew Blair was having flashbacks from her past.

"I'll see you all in a few, good as new," Blair said. She turned around and practically ran up the stairs.

Rae sighed as she watched her friend run away. She sat back down next to Quinn to eat her breakfast. Quinn reached out a trembling hand, and rested it over Rachel's, giving it a supportive squeeze. Rachel whispered, "Thank you," turning to kiss Quinn on the cheek. She smiled when Quinn blushed. I should have done this years ago; Quinn is so adorable when she's flustered.

"Is she okay?" Erin asked.

"I think she will be," Rae sighed.

"Why is she upset?" Brittany asked. "Is it cuz of what happened to Quinnie?"

"Yeah; her past is haunting her," Rae sighed, not wanting to over-share.

"What do you mean her past?" Brittany asked.

"It's Blair's story to tell; not mine. She will tell everyone, when she's ready," Rae told her.

They all nodded and went back to their breakfasts, waiting for Blair to come back down.

Quinn picked at her food. Blair was right. She was tired, her muscles were sore, and her wounds hurt. Learning that Rachel liked Quinn back, and that she wanted everyone else to call her, "Rae," had Quinn's tummy full of butterflies. She only likes it for me to call her Rachel. That's good, right? Every time Quinn considered taking a bite of her breakfast, the butterflies would riot, and she just couldn't. Quinn frowned, not wanting to seem like an ungrateful bitch, or as though the food was beneath her standards. It looked delicious. She was just nervous.

"You must be pretty exhausted, Quinn," Rachel said, noticing her hands shaking. She knit her brows, fussing over Quinn's trembling hands. "Are you running a fever?" She asked, kissing Quinn's forehead to gauge her temperature. Quinn blushed, making Rachel fall just a bit deeper for her girl.

"I am sleepy, but I don't think I'm sick, Rachel. I'm sure you're just as exhausted as I am. I owe you all an apology. I'm sorry," she said, biting her lip as she made eye contact with everyone in the room before locking gazes with Rachel. "I'm sorry I ran like a scared little girl. I don't understand why you all chose to chase me around in the dark," she swallowed, thickly. "I'm also really grateful. I know I behaved very childishly," she said, wringing her hands.

"Aww Quinnie, don't be embarrassed." Brittany crossed the room to pull Quinn into her lap. "We understand you ran because you felt scared and all alone. But you're not. Not anymore. So no more running. We love you, Quinnie." She smiled, wrapping the shorter blonde in a hug. "Erin showed me how to find you and you're right, Quinn. You are childish; really easy to carry." Brittany smiled, bouncing Quinn to demonstrate. Brittany grabbed the burrito from Quinn's hand, and held it to her mouth. "Three little bites, Quinn. C'mon. You can to it, for me."

"She means, 'childlike,' right?" Erin whispered to San.

"Correct her and I will cut you," Santana glowered, sizing Erin up and down. Then she continued, more gently, "Just try to sneak the words into sentences during the week so she learns the difference on her own. Got it?"

"You're grump on the outside but you're actually protective and kind," Erin smiled back. "No worries; your secret's safe with me. And thanks for telling me about how to help Britt with vocabulary. I would hate to hurt her feelings."

"Good cuz she thinks you're cute, and I would hate to have to pound you," Santana smirked.

Erin's head snapped back to Brittany, shocked by Santana's information. "And no teasing Q; Britt-Britt's the closest thing she's ever had to a Mom. Hurt either of them, and you'll wish you'd never been born." Santana murmured her lips barely moving.

Britt thinks I'm cute! Erin thought, smiling.

Quinn blushed deeply on Britt's lap. "Hey," Brittany said, tenderly brushing Quinn's face with her fingertips. "None of that. Sannie and I have seen you in the showers almost every day since we all joined Cheerios in high school. You were really childish last night when we gave you your bath. But I like it when you're like that. You're really cute; especially when you're sleepy and naked. I tried to get you some toys, but Sannie said we needed to get you cleaned up and get you warm and dry. I know you never call your scrapes and bruises, "boo-boos," unless you're really sleepy and childish. You were so childish you even let me kiss your boo-boos. You better, now?" Brittany asked, kissing Quinn on the forehead as she nodded, shyly. Brittany set Quinn back on the sofa next to Rachel, and returned to her seat next to Santana, who passed Britt's breakfast back.

"Oh!" Brittany exclaimed to Rachel and Erin. "You know those dimples some people have at the base of their spine? Venus tickle spots or something? Well Quinine's are the cutest I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of bare butts in the locker room and in the porn Santana used to show me when we were sharing sweet lady kisses."

Santana and Rachel both choked on their coffee, while Quinn whimpered as her face turned a new shade of red. Rachel tucked the blonde onto her shoulder, biting back a moan at the image Britt had just painted in her mind. "It was very kind of you and Santana to bathe Quinn last night, Brittany. I heard Dr. Lopez say what a nice job you two did, cleaning Quinn's wounds."

"Yeah! We're like professional bath-givers," she said, wrapping an arm around Santana. "That should be a thing, at gentlemen's clubs. We would rake in some serious cash, wouldn't we, Sannie?" Santana stuffed her mouth full of breakfast burrito, trying to keep herself from saying, "Wanky." She didn't want to upset Britt, and was hoping someone would change the subject before Quinn turned any redder. Brittany looked back at Rae and Quinn. "You should run your hands through Quinnie's hair, Rae. It makes her fall asleep," Britt said, helpfully.

"Thanks, Britt." Rachel said, taking her up on the suggestion. Quinn melted onto Rachel's shoulder, smiling at the contact. Santana had to look away, noticing Quinn was trying not to moan from the cuddle, and that Rachel's eyes were glazed over from playing with the silky blonde tresses.

"Here. Like this." Britt smiled, bounding across the room to show Rachel how to help Quinn fall asleep. Quinn snuggled deeper into Rachel, moaning softly. "Back when Sannie and I used to have sleep-over's with Quinnie, it was my job to..."

"Nice bird feeder!" Santana said, attempting to sound serious, while stopping Britt's overshare.

"Oh Sannie you're right! What kinds of birds are those, Erin?"

"Why don't we take a little nature walk outside, while we wait for Blair," Erin suggested, guessing why Britt used to lull Quinn to sleep at those get-togethers. "That way, we won't disturb Quinn's nap."

Santana mouthed, "Thank you!" To Erin, as she pulled Britt towards the French doors. Aaron made a whipping motion at Rae, who blushed and pulled a face at him, while continuing to play with Quinn's hair. Then he began quietly setting up his laptops.

"How is she?" Aaron asked.

"She's nearly asleep," Ray told him. "Could you throw me a blanket?" Aaron tossed one over, and Rachel wrapped Quinn in the fleece, noticing she looked so innocent and childlike, as she slept. She tucked a loose curl behind Quinn's ear, and heard her breathe, "Rachel. I'm so sorry, Rachel," Quinn whimpered, half asleep.

Rachel kissed Quinn's forehead. "Hush, Quinn. If anything had happened to you last night, I would be devastated." Rachel kissed her on the nose and continued, "I forgive you for running. No more hiding from us, though, Quinn. Or I'll smack your cute Venus-dimpled butt harder that Britt did."

Quinn pouted, opening her sleepy eyes to meet Rachel's gaze with a mischievous one of her own. "Promise?" She whispered in her ear.

"Enough teasing, Quinnie!" Rachel chastised, "You'd better be able to take it as good as you dish it out," she smirked, smacking her backside, gently. Quinn squirmed. Rachel's face grew serious. "Get some sleep, Quinn. I'll take care of you."

"Mmkay," Quinn mumbled sleepily, nuzzling back onto Rachel's shoulder.

---

About twenty minutes later, Blair walked back downstairs showered and in fresh clothing. She saw Rae playing with Quinn's hair on the loveseat, and noticed Quinn had fallen back asleep. She smirked, mimicking Aaron's earlier whipping motion. Rae glared at her, but then turned back to Quinn, finding it fascinating to watch her former tormentor sleep. Rachel gazed at Quinn's innocent sleeping face, thinking she looked like an angel.

Blair cleaned up from breakfast and grabbed a second cup of coffee before sitting back outside with another cigarette. Erin, Santana, and Brittany came back from their nature walk, and Blair positioned her chair so she could continue smoking outside, while participating in the conversation. All the other girls were sitting on the couches, and Aaron currently had the coffee table covered with laptops. She knew that he was watching the school, even if the Unholy Trinity didn't know.

"Feel better B?" Rachel asked her friend, rolling her eyes at Blair's cigarette.

"Yeah I'm doing better," Blair replied. "Wake your girl so we can talk."

Rae narrowed her eyes at Blair, who smirked back.

"Hey, Quinn," Rachel said softly into her ear.

"Five more minutes."

Brittany laughed. "You'll never wake Quinnie like that, Rae!" Santana face-palmed, making Blair laugh. "You have to tickle her feet."

Rachel blushed, looking down, relieved to discover she couldn't reach Quinn's feet.

"I've got it!" Brittany said, crossing the room. "If you thought she was childish that she needed us to give her a bath, just watch this," she smiled. Grasping one foot by the ankle, she started playing, "This Little Piggy," with Quinn's toes.

Quinn woke instantly, squirming and giggling, crying out, "Stop, Britt!"

"Not until I finish both feet, Quinnie," Brittany said. "You know you'll just fall right back asleep if I don't finish."

"Please help me, Rachel!" Quinn begged, crawling onto her lap.

This time, Santana just couldn't hold back a loud, "Wanky." Rae glared at her, while Britt completed the game, making sure Quinn was fully awake. She smacked Quinn on the backside again, just to be sure, and then moved her off Rae's lap, back onto the cushion.

"Why don't you sit with Erin?" Santana suggested to Britt, while moving next to Blair.

Brittany smiled, bouncing over to the redhead, asking if tickling helped her wake up, too. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Erin smirked.

"I will know, if you fall asleep," Britt answered back. Erin blushed, and Aaron doubled over with laughter.

"Okay then, why don't we start?" Rachel said, trying to reign in the raging hormones in the room. "I know that you three were upset by what I said yesterday, and that you're all dealing with guilt. I want that to stop, now," she said, addressing Brittany and Santana, while interleaving her fingers with Quinn's. "What happened in the past should stay in the past. It's time we all move on," Rachel said, looking at the three cheerleaders.

"What you're asking is easier said than done, Rachel. You told us you wanted to kill yourself yesterday because of our bullying," Santana reminded her. Rachel felt Quinn tense beside her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It wasn't just you three, bullying me. The bullies at McKinley, cumulatively, made me feel that way," Rachel told them.

"That still doesn't make me feel any better," Quinn pouted.

"I wanted you guys to understand why we're going to such extremes with the pranking," Rachel told them.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that even though we understand why you're doing it, it doesn't do anything to ease the guilt we feel," Santana said.

"It will take time Santana. But I'd like to see all guilty feelings replaced with friendship," Rachel told her.

"How are you going to do that?" Quinn asked, sadly.

"By reassuring you I've forgiven you. By including you in our pranks and helping you see you're already becoming more selfless people," Rachel said.

"You've forgiven us for torturing you for two years? Just like that?" Santana asked, stunned.

"Forgiveness is more about moving on from my own hurt. You already have my forgiveness. Trust is something you need to earn. I understand I need to earn your trust, just like you need to earn mine," Rachel explained. "I also ask for your forgiveness."

"Why do you need us to forgive you, or earn our trust? There's nothing to forgive, and I already trust you, Rachel." Quinn said, snuggling back onto Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel automatically ran her fingers through Quinn's soft hair. Funny how I just naturally react to Quinn's cuddle by playing with her hair, after just one time."I do need to ask your forgiveness for the pranks we pulled on you. They were pretty bad," Rachel said, tipping Quinn back up to a sitting position. Quinn pouted. "You can nap when we're done talking, okay?" She said softly. Quinn nodded, but didn't lose her pout.

"I already forgive you for the pranks, Rae. We deserved them," Brittany said.

"Thank you Brittany" Rachel said smiling at the blonde.

"The pranks were pretty humiliating Rae, but I understand why you did them. I admit I still felt mad at you at the start of this conversation," Santana said. "But I forgive you, now."

"Rachel you don't need my forgiveness." Quinn said, sadly. She caught the sad look in Rachel's eye. "But if you think you do, of course I forgive you" Quinn explained. "I hope I can show you how sorry I am for all the terrible things I've done to you, But I understand I won't ever deserve your trust, Rachel"

"Quinn, stop that, we already spoke about this," Blair chastised her, gently.

"I know we did but I can't stop thinking I'm right about never being able to earn your trust," Quinn replied, choking on her words.

"Didn't I tell you we are going to help you, Quinn?" Blair asked.

Quinn nodded, abashed. "Be patient with me please," Quinn whispered.

"Of course," Rachel said, holding Quinn's hand. "Thank you for forgiving me. It means a lot to me, Quinn. In fact," Rachel said, turning fully towards Quinn on the couch, "I need to ask your particular forgiveness."

"I don't understand." Quinn said, shrugging.

"Quinn, when I wrote your Prankster interview questions, I was angry with you."

Quinn's eyes welled up as she nodded, "Of course you were mad at me. I've been just awful, Rachel. The meanest girl..."

Rachel silenced Quinn with a gentle finger against her lips. Brushing it back and forth as Quinn gasped. "Quinn." The blonde's eyes flooded with tears, tugging at Rachel's heart. She pulled Quinn into a hug. "I questioned you far more harshly than the others, sweet girl."

"What?" Santana shouted, jumping to her feet. "You overheard Quinn using your bugging devices, crying about the way she treated you, by name, before the interview, and you still didn't back down? Just had to twist the knife? You made Britt cry during her interview. What exactly did you do to Quinn? Is that why she risked her life last night, to run away?" Santana asked, storming towards Rae. "If you think I'm going to stand by and watch yet another person in Q's life abuse her in any fashion, you've got another think coming."

Blair was in front of Santana in a flash, stopping her with firm yet gentle hands on her shoulders. "Don't you think Rae realizes that, now? Didn't you just say it was hard hearing her tell you she considered ending her life? And who was at the centre of her bullying? Once Rae realized Quinn was truly heartbroken over the way she'd treated Rae, she wrapped up that interview. Rae isn't abusing Quinn. She's ending a cycle of abuse. One, I've heard you admit, you helped perpetuate. Go sit back down, Santana."

Santana paused, glancing over at Quinn, who was sobbing on Rae's shoulder. "Please San," she sobbed. "I deserved the interview I got. I really want us to all be friends. I want a chance to show Rachel how sorry I am. Please don't make me choose between you. I love you San."

Blair released Santana's shoulders, as the Latina's eyes softened. "Is it okay if I go hug my girl, Q?" She asked Blair politely. Blair nodded, wrapping an arm around Santana's shoulders and leading her to the loveseat.

What happened next, Santana will never admit to, for the rest of her life. She wrapped her arms around both Quinn and Rae, sobbing with them. Brittany was tangled around them crying an instant later. Blair kicked an empty chair furiously, before breaking down and joining them. Erin felt a bit awkward, having come late to the game, but joined in the group hug, nonetheless. "Quinn, I followed a script I'd written in anger. I kept it because it was difficult for me to believe you actually cared about me at all," Rachel said softly into Quinn's ear, sending shivers down her spine.

As the sobbing subsided, and the group hug broke up, Santana cradled Quinn's face in her hands, and kissed her tears dry. "I love you, too, Q. You don't have to choose." Turning to Rae, she choked out, "Rae Frost, you better take good care of Quinn Fabray. Because nobody in her life ever has, before."

Rae's eyes met Santana's as she smiled sadly and nodded. "We both want to see her happy." Santana settled Quinn in Rae's lap, and sat back down next to Blair.

Rae cleared her throat. "Let's move on and become friends and co-conspirators now, deal?" Rachel asked the girls, who nodded at her. "Ask us any questions and we will try to answer to your satisfaction. How does that sound?"

"What types of questions can we ask?" Brittany asked.

"Anything within reason," Blair replied.

"How did you manage to get us all off school for the day?" Santana asked "Even though my parents agreed last night when my dad was here, isn't the school suspicious?"

"Coach Sylvester," Rachel answered, simply.

"You called her? Does she know you're the Prankster?" Quinn asked, stunned at Rachel's answer.

"Yes; Coach knows who I am and knows everything I'm up to," Rachel said.

"Wait; Coach Sue Fucking Sylvester knows Rachel/ Rae is the Prankster?" Santana asked.

"Not only does she know everything, but she's helping us. We made a deal together," Blair replied.

"You made a deal with her? How long has she known?" Quinn asked, staring into Rachel's eyes, shocked.

"She's known since the day she made me Assistant Coach," Rachel replied.

"Holy shit! I can't believe it. Why did she make you AC though?" Santana asked.

"As a cover and to protect me from Mr Schue," Rachel answered.

"Wow I can't believe she did that," Brittany said.

"She's also been helping us behind the scenes and knows what's going on," Blair said.

"Did she know about us, and the test that you made us do?" Santana asked.

"Yes she did, she is great to have on our side," Blair smiled.

"It's funny to think you made a deal with the crazy coach who's been wanting to destroy the glee club since its inception, and by extension, Mr Schue. That's why you made a deal with her, isn't it?" Quinn asked.

Rachel giggled. "Indeed. And it has worked out wonderfully."

"You guys are nuts," Santana scoffed.

"FO SHO!" Blair and Rachel replied at the same time.

"Coach knows about you, too?" Brittany asked Erin, smirking at the redhead.

Erin laughed. "Yes, Britt. She calls us, the "Triple Terrors," now.

"Why did you refuse our friendship in the beginning?" Brittany asked Rae. All three were curious to know the answer. Rachel noticed Quinn looking down, sadly, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Because I didn't want any of you to figure out who I was until I was ready. I'm so sorry I was mean to you on the first day of school in the bathroom, Brittany. I was scared and I lashed out at you," Rachel apologized.

"It's okay; I understand," Brittany said.

"Thank you," Rae smiled, humbly.

"Why did you change your mind and allow us to know who you are? I know Brittany begged you, but there must be more to it," Santana asked.

"Part of it was due to Brittany. But I also know how Quinn feels about me," she said, looking at Quinn, who bit her lip, blushing yet again. "And I know how I feel about Quinn," she said, kissing Quinn on the cheek. "I also know what you said in the locker room after Finn slushied you, baby." Rachel said, cupping Quinn's cheek.

"You know what I said in the locker room? About how I deserved the slushie because of you?" Quinn gasped.

"We do, and it made us, me especially, realise that you want to change and I felt you deserve to know the truth." Rachel said sadly.

"Thank you for being honest with us, Rachel" Quinn replied, shyly meeting her eyes.

"You're welcome, Quinn," Rachel smiled at her.

"Can you," Quinn blushed, "can you see us inside the locker room?"

Aaron turned around to answer Quinn. "The locker room bug is strictly audio."

"Does anyone else know?" Brittany asked.

"You three, Coach Sylvester and Becky are the only ones who know I'm Rachel Berry, or that I am the Prankster. Puck guessed Blair and I we were the pranksters and asked us to let him help. We told him we weren't, and hopefully after what Finn did to you, Quinn, he thinks he guessed wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Quinn asked.

"When Finn slushied you, we made sure Puck saw us in the café. We made sure everyone could see us, and Aaron did the voice of the Prankster over the PA." Blair said.

"We didn't want Finn to do what he did to you Quinn; that really didn't go to plan. I hope you can forgive us for making you an option," Rachel said sadly.

"Letting us help punish Finn made up for it," Quinn said, quietly.

"Quinn," Rachel said, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. "Tell me everything."

"Okay," Quinn sighed. "I have mixed feelings. I mean, I know I deserved it. But from you, Rachel, not from Finn. That was really humiliating, and it was because you made me the option everyone cared about the least."

Rachel gasped, burying her face in Quinn's neck, sobbing. "That was just part of the script, baby. I never believed that."

"Really?" Quinn whispered.

Rachel kissed Quinn's tears away. "Really. Please give me the chance to show you."

"You may not have believed it, but everybody else did," Quinn stated.

Santana was glaring at Rae, and Blair intervened, yet again. "You're angry about the exact same incident as last time. Rae feels awful. We all hugged and cried. Let's move on."

"I didn't cry." Santana pouted, crossing her arms.

¿Estás seguro? Podía besar tus lágrimas, querida." Blair whispered in Santana's ear. Santana blushed, pouting. (Trans: Are you sure? Could kiss your tears, dear)

"Yesterday's prank was so epic! Remind me to never make any of you angry." Erin laughed.

"That it was. And yeah; you'd be wise to stay on our good side, Red." Blair agreed.

"Puck didn't figure out who you are when he kissed you, Rae?" Brittany asked. Quinn stiffened; unhappy about the fact Puck had kissed Rachel.

"He hasn't; but that doesn't surprise me," Rae giggled.

"I'm glad he doesn't know it's you," Quinn growled.

The other girls exchanged smiles at Quinn's reply.

"Possessive much, Lion Quinn?" Santana smirked.

"Shut it, Lopez," Quinn pouted.

"Blair, when you tease me, is it all just a game to you? Santana asked, hoping Blair's been flirting with her.

"At first I was just playing with you, Santana. I knew you had helped bully Rae, and I wanted to make you suffer all day in your wet little spankies. Once I realized Schue had no idea what I was saying for your innocent little ears, Sannie, it was just too tempting not to toy with you. But Rachel's told me a lot about you and your protective nature. I know you're smart as shit, and could show off Daddy's money, but you pretend to be from the worst part of town so people are afraid you'll cut them. That's so badass, Santana. I'm crushing on you. It doesn't hurt that you're killing it in your Cheerio's uniform every day. But you're going to have to get used to my teasing and my pleasing. They're part of my nature." Blair smirked.

"Tease me all you like," Santana smirked, fanning herself. "Just stop making promises your tongue doesn't deliver."

Erin gasped. No one else seemed surprised in the least.

"How do you fit into this?" Brittany asked Erin, who was blushing bright red.

"Aaron told me what's been going on. Our parents were moving for my Dad's job, so I asked if I could stay with my brother. We've always been close, and he's been telling me about all the mischief you have going on here. I thought this would give me a great chance to make some new friends and have a lot of fun."

"How do guys know Aaron, and why is he helping?" Quinn asked.

"Aaron knows my guardian, who asked him to help keep an eye on Rae and me." Blair replied,

"What about your parents Blair?" Brittany asked.

"You don't need a full time guardian if you have real parents. Steve is my guardian but he isn't here since he has to work. That's why Aaron's looking out for us." Blair replied, uncomfortable having to answer that question. She saw the sad looks on their faces.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?" Brittany asked.

"I'm not comfortable answering that right now. Maybe another time." Blair told her.

"Rachel, why do you go by the name Rae Frost?" Brittany asked.

"I use that name partly for cover, No one else at school knows who I really am. The other reason is that my Dads named Steve as my temporary guardian while they're healing. Steve thinks it works better if people believe Blair and I are sisters. Plus, part of me is truly Rae Frost; not Rachel Berry. If you haven't noticed, I only like Quinn to call me Rachel." Rae replied.

"Thank you, Rachel," Quinn blushed. "Why did you change the way you talk and everything about you?"

"Part of the girl you knew died in that accident. Rae is who came out on the other side." Rachel told her.

"Oh," Quinn said, not knowing what else to say.

"But it's mostly Blair's, fault. Spend much time around her, and it rubs off on you," Rachel laughed.

"Wanky." Santana smirked, and Blair winked at her.

"Wow; thanks Baby girl. That's nice of you," Blair laughed.

"You're welcome, Triple B," Rachel smiled.

"Why do you call Rachel, 'baby girl,' and what does 'Triple B,' mean?" Quinn asked.

"I have always called Rae, 'baby girl;' I don't remember how that even started. As for what triple B means, it means Blair the Badass Bitch, a nickname I picked up for fighting" Blair laughed.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Santana said.

"Believe me; I will, Tana," Blair winked. Santana blushed.

"Hey Aaron, anything happening at school?" Rachel asked.

"Not much. Everyone is staying away from Finn or laughing at him. I'm surprised he even showed his face at the school," Aaron said, shaking his head.

"I'm not," Rachel laughed.

"Of course you're not surprised. You made sure Finn can't take time off school," Blair laughed while everyone but Aaron wondered what Blair had meant by that statement. All the girls looked curiously at Rae.

"But it was one of your ideas, Triple B. You are, after all, the Evil mastermind," Rae replied, laughing.

"Mm… Evil-Mastermind-Me; really Rae?" Blair asked.

"Yes you are the mastermind, Blair. None of this could have happened if it weren't for your evil genius," Rae laughed jokingly.

"And you know all about my evil ways don't you, Rae?" Blair said, looking at Rae, smirking.

Rachel shuddered and Quinn looked at Rachel, wondering why she'd reacted like that. She was still confused about Rae's relationship with Blair. How far had they gone? Did they have sex? These questions were running through her mind. Quinn was jealous of Blair and Rachel's relationship. However, she accepted that if she wanted a chance with Rachel, Blair was always going to be a part of her life. She would have to deal with it. Quinn thought she should probably talk to Blair about boundaries. Rae and Blair both reassured her that they were just friends now, and there was probably no reason to worry. Quinn struggled with her insecure thoughts, nonetheless.

"I know all about your Evil ways, Nicola," Rae smiled, as she watched Blair's face drop to a grim frown. Rae knew how much Blair hated being called by her first name.

"Seriously Rae, did you have to?" Blair sighed uncomfortably.

"Yes I did," Rae laughed at her friend for being uncomfortable. "You know how I hate it when you have the upper hand."

"Wanky."

"Shut it, Santana," Blair chastised her with a smack to her backside.

Quinn smirked, absentmindedly rubbing her still tender behind.

"Vous savez que je n'aime pas être appelés par leur prénom, Rae," Blair said in French. (Trans: you know I don't like being called by first name, Rae)

"Je sais que, Blair, et je suis désolé juste avoir un peu de fun, c'est tout." Rae replied. (Trans: I do know that, Blair, and I'm sorry just having some fun, that's all.)

Everyone in the room was watching the two girls talk in French. They knew that Rae had said something to upset Blair, and they all guessed it was because Rae had called her Nicola, which they knew was Blair's first name. They were kind of jealous that they were unable to understand what they were saying, but at the same time it was kind of cool that they can communicate with each other in a different language.

"Je sais que vous êtes, mais cela ne veut pas dire que je l'aime bien. Vous et je vais avoir un chat bientôt" Blair said, (Trans: I know you are but it doesn't mean that I like it though. You and I will be having a chat soon.)

"Sur ce que je peux vous demander?" Rae growled, knowing full well that it was going to be a serious conversation. (Trans: about what may I ask?)

"Vous savez très bien ce que nous avons de parler de Rae Blair growled pointing to her and Quinn. (Trans: You know damn well what we have to talk about, Rae.)

"Vraiment, vous ne pensez pas qu'il faudrait entre elle et moi?" Rae angrily said. (Trans: really, don't you think that should be between her and me?)

"Il est entre vous deux, mais vous ne pouvez pas précipiter son bien. Sa va prendre le temps c'est tout, parce que là où je suis assis on dirait que vous êtes en poussant un peu. Elle n'a pas besoin d'être montré que vous vous souciez de et que vous aimez son mais il suffit de ne pas pousser les limites, ça va." Blair told her. (trans: It is between you two, but you can't rush her alright. It's going to take time, that's all; because from where I'm sitting it looks like you're pushing her a little bit. She does need to be shown that you care about her and that you like her but just don't push the boundaries.)

"Vous savez que je n'aurais jamais pousser son en rien qu'elle n'était pas prête. Je ne peux pas croire que vous pensez que," Rae snarled at her friend, clearly upset that Blair would think that. (Trans: You know I would never push her into anything that she wasn't ready for. I can't believe you would think that.)

"Je sais que vous ne le feriez pas , vous n'êtes pas ce genre de personne. Je veux juste vous deux à être prudents et à prendre votre temps pour l'explorer. Je ne veux pas vous déranger, Rae. Je suis désolé." Blair replied (Trans: I know you wouldn't, you aren't that type of person. I just want you two to be careful to take your time to explore it. I didn't mean to upset you, Rae. I'm sorry.)

"Accepte les excuses. Avons-nous besoin d'un chat vous concernant et Santana?" Rae said (Trans: apology accepted. Do we have to have a chat about you and Santana?)

Santana's eyes jumped to Rae when she said her name and was frowning at her because they were talking about her and she didn't like that.

"What the hell are you two talking about? Why are you talking me?" Santana growled out at them.

Both Rae and Blair ignored Santana's outburst and carried on with their conversation.

"Pas vraiment. Je ne vais pas à précipiter les choses. Ce n'est pas que je vais sauter dans le lit avec elle. Je ne suis pas comme cela et vous le savez. J'ai à dire au sujet de mon passé avant que je peux faire quelque chose. J'aime taquiner et je vais bien avec que pour maintenant, peut embrasser à nouveau, elle est une baise génial kisser." Blair replied with a dreamy look on her face.(Trans: Not really. I'm not going to rush anything. It's not like I'm going to jump into bed with her. I'm not like that and you know that. I have to tell her about my past first before I do anything. I like to tease and I'm fine with that for now.I may kiss her again, she's a fucking awesome kisser.)

"Je suis heureux que votre pas vont se précipiter et baiser sa" Rae laughed.(Trans: I'm glad that you're not going to rush and fuck her.)

"I'm glad you think that," Blair laughed.

"Ok what were you two talking about because you clearly said my name," Santana asked angrily.

"Ella le pedía que sobre mis intenciones con usted. Le pregunto si ella y tenía que tener un chat." Blair replied to Santana in Spanish (Trans: she was asking about my intentions with you. She was wondering if she and I need to have a chat.)

"Oh what are your intentions?" Santana asked curiously while blushing.

"I haven't worked that out yet. You and I need to talk about that later," Blair smiled.

"Oh nothing bad though?" Santana asked quietly.

"No, nothing bad," Blair replied. "Así que es mi lengua maternal," she said in Spanish to the Latina. (Trans: well may be my tongue.)

"Ay dios mio," Santana whispered, squirming.

Blair laughed at her and smiled, thinking how easy it was to tease the Latina. Blair was thinking about all the fun she could have with her but in a good way though. Rae heard what Blair had said to Santana in Spanish and couldn't help but laugh at it. She really hoped that her friend has found her soul mate in a way. Those two are very much alike and she hoped it will work out. Rae hoped she and Quinn had found soul mates in one another, too. Rae smiled, believing she and Quinn would make an even stronger couple. If things play out from what Rae was seeing then it looks like Erin and Brittany will also make a cute and strong couple.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think there is something you guys need to know," Aaron said to everyone as he looked over his laptops at them.

"What is it Aaron?" Rae asked her friend.

"I was going over some footage from yesterday and this morning when I came across a few interesting things," Aaron replied.

"And what are they?" Blair asked.

"Mr. Schue actually arrived early at school this morning. He went straight to Coach Sylvester's office while she was at cheerio practice and proceeded to search her office for something," Aaron said.

"I bet he was looking for the DVD we gave her yesterday." Erin said.

"That may be true. I can't believe he would do that though," Blair replied, surprised Mr. Schue would stoop so low.

"Actually that doesn't surprise me. He was doing it for Finn. He would never do something like that for anyone else," Rae sighed, rolling her eyes.

The three cheerios were surprised their glee coach and Spanish teacher would do that, and it scared them.

"So what do we do about it?" Quinn asked, disappointed in Mr. Schue.

"I can't believe Mr. Schue thinks Sue has the only copy of the DVD. Aaron has copies of the DVD contents on several laptops, and in the cloud. Now he has a copy of Mr. Schue's B&E. We can put those away for evidence against him, although I'm tempted to just put both videos on YouTube and let the two of them face the consequences of their actions. Rae I need you to phone the Coach to let her know what happened," Blair explained, as both Aaron and Rae nodded.

Aaron pulled out some blank DVD's and proceeded to make a back-up copies for them to file away if they were to need them in the future. Rae got up from her seat and went to get her cell phone and send a text to the Coach explaining what had happened this morning.

"Blair, we need to strike back at Mr Schue for this. What he did was a complete invasion of privacy," Rae said.

Blair laughed at Rae for what she'd said, considering they were invading everyone's privacy by having cameras and bugs throughout the school. Rae realized why Blair was laughing, and smirked back, rolling her eyes. "Doesn't count when it's us," she winked, making everyone laugh.

"What do you have in mind?" Blair asked.

"Not sure, but I think it should be a big prank this time. We have only been hitting him with small ones," Rae smiled.

"I like the way you think, baby girl. Which one?" Blair asked.

"I'm not sure," Rae shrugged.

"Alright give me a few minutes," Blair said, standing to run upstairs.

"Where's she going?" Brittany asked.

"To her office so she can grab the book," Rae said, smiling.

"What's this book?" Santana asked.

"The book she's after details all our plans, pranks, scripts and everything else. There are quite a few books containing all of our plans. We had a lot of time to work on them," Rae replied.

"Should we be scared?" Brittany asked, as Rae texted Coach from the couch.

"You three aren't targets anymore, so I wouldn't worry," Rae said, continuing to text Coach at the same time.

"That's a relief, I guess," Quinn said.

"You guess? Quinn, we aren't going to target you or Santana and Brittany again. Trust me; you are safe," Rae said calmly to the girl.

"Alright, I hope we can trust you," Quinn said, resting her head against Rae's shoulder, while Santana and Brittany nodded.

"You hope? You mean you don't trust me?" Rae teased, tickling Quinn's sides.

"Stop it! I trust you! I trust you, Rae!" Quinn squealed, trying helplessly to escape the tickling.

Blair arrived and went back outside to sit in her chair again. "Quit torturing the poor girl, Rae," Blair said, rolling her eyes. She started flipping through the pages. The other girls in the lounge watched Blair as she looked through the thick book in her hands.

"Aaron, you said there was something else we should know about. What is it?" Blair asked, without looking up from the book.

"Umm…oh right. Well glee was cancelled yesterday, but that didn't stop them from meeting in the choir room to have an interesting group chat minus these three, Mr Schue and Finn," Aaron said.

"Interesting; set the laptop up so we can watch it on the T.V," Rae said.

"Alright then," Aaron said.

He got up and connected the laptop up to the T.V and everyone made sure they were able to see the large screen in front of them. Blair had moved back inside and sat down next to Santana. The screen came to life and they all saw the glee club members minus Finn and Mr Schue sitting in the choir room.

"I can't believe there is a camera in there," Quinn said to Rachel.

"There are cameras everywhere in the school," Rachel told her.

"Everywhere?" Quinn asked, raising a brow.

"There may be a place or two I know of, where I could tease you, off the record." Rae smirked as Quinn blushed.

Aaron pressed play on the laptop to start the video playback. Everyone sat back to watch the screen and listened as the voices played out the TV speakers. The TV screen showed the glee members sitting in their chairs in the choir room.

"I can't believe what happened to Finn today," Kurt said looking at everyone from his chair.

"Me either; it was really unfair for him to be pranked that way," Mercedes replied. "I can't believe Santana and Brittany would risk getting in trouble for that conniving Quinn Fabray," she said, receiving nods from around the room. "I knew she was trouble from the moment she joined Glee. There is no bigger bitch in all of Ohio; probably in North America, than that innocent-looking liar."

Quinn sat there stunned, listening to her team mates talk like that about her. She thought Mercedes was her friend. Her breath hitched and she bit her lower lip, hoping no one else noticed she was fighting tears. Rachel cradled Quinn against her shoulder and kissed her on the forehead. "Remember, sweet girl, I've forgiven you," she whispered in the blonde's ear. "I don't care about what anyone else thinks. You're my sweet girl, and I know you're even more beautiful on the inside, than you are on the outside." Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's shoulders, and hid her face in the crook of her neck. "Let it all out, sweet girl. I've got you, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't talk about my BabyMama Like that. Do we really feel sorry for Finn?" Puck asked the group, looking around at them.

"Of course we do. That prank went beyond overboard," Tina replied.

"To me, he deserved it for slushying Quinn," Puck said.

"Oh please, it's about time she got what she deserved," Lauren laughed.

Santana was becoming increasingly angrier as she listened to their, "glee family," and watched Quinn's eyes fill with tears at their cruel words. She swept Quinn's hair behind an ear, and solemnly told her, "They're full of shit, Little Q. I'll fight for you every single day of the week, and twice on Sundays, to get these jealous people to shut it."

Blair reached out and placed a hand on Santana's, squeezing it in a sign of solidarity to relax the Latina. "I'll help you get them back for how they're treating Quinn, San. You don't have to do it alone, anymore." Santana turned back to face Blair, surprised anyone had seen through her badass persona to the lonely girl, inside. She gave her a small sad smile, and received a kiss on the cheek in return.

"They don't know what they're saying, Quinn. They don't know you, like we do." Brittany said, massaging her shoulders from behind the sofa. "Don't let their words hurt you. They're doing you a favour, Quinnie. Now you know who's truly your friend, and who's not."

"Don't listen to them Quinn," Rachel whispered in her ear, as she stroked her fingers through her golden locks.

"But they're right," Quinn whimpered.

"I let their words hurt me in the past, too. I let their words define me. I'm going show you they're wrong about you, baby," Rachel whispered, nuzzling her nose against Quinn's ear.

Quinn's face lit up with a bright smile. "You called me, ''baby.'" Rachel simply nodded, and Quinn said, "Then they can call me whatever they want."

"I don't think Quinn deserved to be slushied," Sam replied.

"Sam, you're only saying that because she's pretty and she helped you take care of your family last year," Lauren snapped. "Quinn is Ice Queen in more than one way; slushies are a form of ice and that girl is cold as ice."

"While Finn was spying on Quinn to give himself an excuse to hurt her, he found out my family was going through a though a tough time, financially. Are you honestly angry she was helping us? Wouldn't the Quinn you say she is just do it to look better to everyone else instead of helping us in secret? She's not a cold Ice Queen. Lauren. And you know better, Tina and Cedes."

"You tell 'em, Troutie!" Santana cheered.

"Sam's right. Quinn is sweet and kind," Tina confessed.

"Mhm so she's got you fooled too, huh Tina?" Mercedes said, shaking her head.

"Do I know better, Sam? If the prank were about Finn's past behaviour then yes; she did it for everyone he's hurt. But get real; that prank she pulled with her My Little Cronies was only because of the slushy and mean words most recently," Lauren replied.

"What's wrong with Lauren? Still angry about prom queen? There is no way I'll work with Finnwit or Schue ever again, after the showdown in Figgins' office yesterday. I don't I want to go back to glee and endure Schue pretending he and Finn are God's gift to song, dance, and teen angst," Santana growled while Brittany nodded, agreeing with their friend.

"Those are double standards there, Lauren," Puck said.

"And we're not letting you back into that pit of vipers again, Q, are we, bitches?" Everyone nodded in agreement, surprised by Brittany's harsh words, as tears of gratitude spilled down Quinn's cheeks.

"Yeah Mr Schue was acting differently yesterday. I can't believe he wanted you three expelled. He sounded the death knell for his own club," Blair said.

"I think his Finn crush is becoming dangerous," Rae sighed, still comforting Quinn.

"From what I have heard about those two I have to agree with Rae on that statement," Erin said.

"What are we going to do about it? I don't see Quinn and Finn working together," Artie said.

"I agree with Artie. There will be too much anger between them," Mike replied.

"What should we do about it?" Blaine asked. "We do need them both."

"I don't think we do," Mercedes said.

"What do you mean?" Tina asked.

"I mean that we don't need them both. We have enough members and we could always get more anyway," Mercedes said.

"I don't like where this is heading," Rachel sighed.

Quinn hid her face deeper into Rachel's neck, trying to be brave. Rachel ran her fingernails through Quinn's hair, the way Brittany had shown her. Britt pat Rae on the shoulder, giving her a wink of approval. Rae smiled, shyly.

"Really? You think we can get more members for what's considered the lamest club in school?" Kurt scoffed, sarcastically.

"I do, so who do you think should go?" Mercedes asked the group.

"We're going to put this to a vote? Are you kidding me?" Sam asked.

"No I'm not kidding," Mercedes replied.

"It's stupid and it doesn't matter if we have a vote because Mr. Schue has the final say," Puck said.

"Not really; I am, after all, co-captain," Mercedes told the group, sitting a bit taller and flashing a victorious grin.

"So Mercedes is co-captain now?" Rae asked the three cheerio's.

"Yeah; Mr, Schue made her co-captain when you didn't return," Quinn replied, tangling her fingers with Rachel's, and kissing them. "I missed you so much," she whispered against their fingers.

Rachel stroked Quinn's cheek, kissing her lashes. "Didn't you guys have a vote to choose the new co-captain?" Rachel asked.

"No we didn't. Schue made Mercedes captain because she had been there the longest; after you, of course," Quinn told her.

"Touching," Rachel sighed, "yet so unfair."

"Agreed," Quinn said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Puck asked.

"It means I have the deciding vote," Mercedes told the rest of them, smugly.

"I don't see the point of this. We need Quinn and Finn both. This is pointless," Mike told the group.

"I have to agree with Mike; this is pointless," Tina agreed.

"Of course you would say that; he's your boyfriend," Lauren said.

"Tina has a brain of her own. If we happen to agree, there's no need to jump down her throat." Mike said, angrily.

"Look; let's not fight," Kurt said, trying to calm everyone down.

"I agree with Mike and Tina that it would be pointless to vote. Besides, if we voted for Quinn to leave, we would lose Santana and Brittany," Artie said.

"True THAT, Wheels!" Santana smirked, winking at Quinn, letting her know that she has her back.

"You can say that again!" Brittany smiled, wrapping her arms around the shorter blonde. Quinn smiled happily at the fact her friends would stand by her if she had to leave glee. She wasn't used to this kind of support and unconditional friendship. She liked it.

"So what?" We don't need any of them," Lauren said.

"Of course we need them," Blaine replied, calmly.

"No we don't. I'm sure we'll do just fine without those Barbie dolls."

"But we are a team," Kurt said.

"Yeah right. Three of our team members took part in the attack on Finn today, who is also a team member," Mercedes told them.

"Not only was that the result of Finn failing the Prankster's test, it was also in response to Finn throwing Kurt into the dumpster, and slushying Quinn. They are also glee team members," Puck said.

"Yeah right; and then they blamed it on the Prankster like the cowards they are," Lauren said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Santana was warning the student body what'll be happening to bullies from now on," Sam said. "And you saw them. They all listened to her."

"Maybe I've been too harsh on Trouty," Santana pondered aloud, only to be pelted with pillows as her friends shouted a collective, "Ya THINK?"

"And you believe her. Santana's a bitch and would have done anything to get back at Finn for what he did to Quinn and use the Prankster as a scapegoat," Mercedes said.

Santana was angry now at being called a bitch and was about ready to run to the school and beat the shit out of them. Blair could tell, and placed an arm around Santana's waist as she rose in fury. Rae's right; we really are similar. Then she kissed San's cheek, and asked her to stay on her lap, so she could tease her.

Santana blushed. "What was I mad about? Oh yeah. You!" She smirked, watching Blair blush. "You want a bath?" She asked, leering at Blair. She tickled Blair's arm. "I've been called a professional, you know."

"Later." Blair managed to squeak.

"I don't think she would go that far," Blaine said, defending Santana.

"You don't know her like we do Blaine; you're new here," Lauren said. "Here's what you need to know: Quinn had a baby with Puck but lied that it was Finn's, Brittany's dumb enough to let Sue talk her into being shot out of a cannon, and Santana is pure bitch to the core. They're worthless, and we don't need them."

"Harsh much, Lauren? They all sing and dance better than you, and I don't want your jelly, anymore. I still I think the Prankster threatened them into doing the prank," Puck said.

"A lot of people believe the Prankster has made an alliance with the Unholy Trinity," Artie said.

"Fuck; if that's true, the whole school is in trouble," Kurt replied. Most of the people in the room nodded at Kurt's statement.

"Oh please why would the Prankster work with them? Quinn and Santana are the biggest bitches in the school," Mercedes said.

Quinn and Santana growled at this and Brittany was upset. Rachel tried to calm Quinn down while Blair did the same with Santana. Brittany was crying now, so Erin wrapped her arms around the blonde in order to comfort her.

"We don't know the full story. Where are they anyway?" Sam asked.

"Not sure; they were all called to the principal's office last period," Tina said.

"Do you think they will get expelled for it? I know Mr. Schue doesn't want anyone messing with his precious toy Finndolent," Mike asked.

"No way would the adorable plastic Unholy Trinity get even a wrist slap with Coach Sylvester around; she would have flown in to save her poor little rich girls' asses," Lauren scoffed.

"Most likely, they probably headed home," Kurt said. "Look, let's drop this and let's talk about something else. Sectionals are coming up and we haven't got anything yet."

Everyone agreed with Kurt although Mercedes and Lauren weren't happy. They broke up into groups and started talking about ideas.

Aaron turned the recording off and everyone sat there as they processed what they'd heard.

"I can't believe Mercedes is acting like that," Rachel said sadly.

"She's changed since you didn't come back last year. She needs you to keep her in line," Quinn said, playfully ruffling Rachel's hair.

"And you don't?" Rachel teased, playfully.

Quinn cupped her hand over Rachel's ear and whispered, "I need you to keep me in line differently. Or you'll make me all jelly, Rachel," Quinn pouted, hoping for a kiss. "Not yet, Quinnie. I'm going to take such good care of you, baby."

"What do we do now? Those two bitches can't get away with what they said about us," Santana growled.

"You can't go after them San. They can't find out you know what they said about you," Blair told her. "You have to play this smart and not go looking for revenge because they said a few nasty things about you."

"But isn't this what you guys are here for" Santana asked.

"Absolutely, and I want to pound them for making my Sannie upset. But we have to play it smart. We have to pretend like we don't know what people have said about you. We have to act normal around them and like we don't give a shit," Blair said.

"We have to carry on as normal?" Quinn asked. "Pretend we don't know our so-called friends are backstabbers?"

"Yes you do, and you can, Quinn. It'll be worth it, in the end." Rae said.

"So what do you plan to do about them then?" Santana asked.

"Have patience Santana. We have something planned for them," Blair said as Rae smirked evilly.

"I hope so; they can't get away with saying that shit," Santana scoffed,

"They won't; it will take time a little though," Rae said as her phone indicated she'd received a text.

"That was from the Coach. She is furious and will be by at lunchtime to see the proof," she said.

"I'm not surprised she wants to see the proof," Erin said, having to comfort Brittany after she had finally helped her grow calm.

"Me either," Quinn replied. "So what now?"

"I'm not sure. Blair?" Rae said as she watched Blair get up and start pacing.

They all watched as Blair paced around the lounge, clearly thinking. Blair went back outside and sat down on her chair. She grabbed another cigarette and lit it. Rae sighed, not happy that her friend was smoking again. But they all watched her think about something very hard. Blair picked up the thick book and flipped through the pages at a quick pace. She finally stopped on a page and a dark, evil smirk crossed her face. She looked up at the others with a face that made them shudder in fear.

"I know that smirk," Rae said.

"Of course you do," Blair said, raising a brow.

"So what do you have planned?" Rae asked.

"We are going to move up one of our plans," Blair said, getting up to stand in front of everyone.

"And what plan should we move up?" Rae asked.

"Haka."

Rae gasped, excited. Everyone else was very confused by that word and had no idea what it meant. Blair looked around the lounge and could see that they were confused,

"It's our war cry. The time has come, to destroy the New Directions and Mr. Schue by forming a second glee club in the school. One we control," Blair smiled at everyone.

---

There you go another long chapter sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, had to make it prefect, well as much as I could.

Let me know what you think. I'm open for suggestions for names for the new glee name and if you have thoughts on who should be in it.