Date: Monday 4pm
Location: Mall base
POV:
Quinn frowned at Santana, who was frowning at Brittany, who was frowning at Rachel as they spied on her from the rooftop.
"What is she doing?" Santana demanded.
"I honestly have no idea." The leggy blonde admitted as they watched Rachel walk back and forth along the fence line.
"She must be talking to someone. But who?" Quinn asked.
"Clearly to someone that she doesn't want her conversation to be overheard." Brittany thought out loud.
"Why does she have to be so secretive?" Santana muttered with annoyance.
Both blondes shot the brunette a look and rolled their eyes.
"What?" She muttered trying to get a better look.
"Ladies."
All three of the girls whipped around to see Reyes leaning up against the doorframe of the roof access door.
"Reyes." Quinn nodded
"What's so interesting?" he questioned with a small curl of his lip.
"Nothing."
"Ducks"
"Why?" they all declared simultaneously.
"Ah, why are you spying on the Captain?" he smirked still not moving from his spot, but instead he waved in Rachel's general direction from three miles away who instantly waved back.
All three women groaned, and glared back at Reyes. "She knew the whole time, didn't she?" Quinn exasperated.
"Most likely."
"Do you know what she is doing?" Brittany questioned.
"No, not really," he admitted.
"Don't you want to know?"
"I'll know when I need too if need be. I trust my Captain, don't you?"
"Ouch." Quinn muttered only to blush when she looked back at Rachel slowly nodding her head.
"I do." She finally admitted, then patted Brittany and Santana on the shoulder as she left the rooftop.
Brittany pouted as she crossed her arms and glanced at Rachel and then shifting her eyes back to Reyes. She let out a large sigh, and then she too left the roof.
Santana on the other hand crossed her arms and growled. "It isn't about trust. It's about delegation and her hiding things from us, while insisting that she's an island."
"Well, that's all she's ever known."
"I know that. I know I'm more of a problem than I am a solution," she grits out.
Reyes signals his head in agreement but said nothing.
"She carries too much with little to no help." Santana continued. "How long before she cracks under all that pressure?"
Reyes sighed and shrugged his shoulder in a noncommittal response.
"If she falls apart, all of what she has built falls apart," she whispered. "I-we can't let it come to that," she said before she too left the roof.
Date: Monday Night
Location: Mall base
POV: Santana
Santana stayed quiet the entire rest of the night, thoughts of Rachel plaguing her mind. She wasn't the only one. Brittany and Quinn were just as silent.
"Good evening Miss. Quinn, Miss Santana, and Ducky." Santana looked up from her mostly untouched dinner to the small brunette.
"Hola estrella bebé." Santana looked around for Rachel.
"Could I join you?"
"Of course," Quinn said smiling glancing over to Puck's table where he sat with Beth and his family.
"Where's your momma?" Brittany asked looking around.
"Sleeping." Gianna said as she rubbed one of the dogs under the table.
"Does she know you're out here alone?"
"I'm not alone," she corrected with a glance to the dogs and then nods to her grandfather a few tables down.
"Oh okay." Brittany answered with a smile.
"Are you hungry?"
"No thank you." Gianna smiled and tapped her nails on the table.
"Are you okay?" Quinn asked her voice laced with concern.
"I will be," she promised. "I was just wondering what your plans are for my Momma."
"What?"
"You've all been plotting something all day that involves my momma, and it's a jumbled mess. I want to know your plans so we can be on the same page."
Santana narrowed her eyes at the little girl before speaking. "Okay, how about you clue us in on you and your story because you're just not quite right."
"I'm special." Gianna said with a grin.
"Oh we know," Brittany agreed and Quinn nodded . All three of them having to came to that conclusion individually.
"But I'm still a little girl with a mom who is in over her head and needs help. We can work together if you can get your agenda aligned and stop doing it by yourselves. Three minds together, yours specifically have been frightening most of the high school minds for years-maybe that would be better than working alone."
Santana, Brittany, and Quinn all shifted their focus from the little girl to one another, their faces a mix of scorn, annoyance, and then of pure devilment.
"That's more like it," the little girl grinned. "I'll give you a week, or I'll take matters into my own hands." She gave them each a merry little wave and headed off past her grandfathers with the three dogs training after her,
"I feel like a pawn on a chessboard," Santana mumbles watching the girl. Gianna turned around smiling at them and winked in acknowledgement.
"You think she heard me?"
"Safe bet." Quinn smirked.
"Something is definitely different about Gianna, and I think that maybe, just maybe, we should be a little more cautious around her."
Brittany nodded, but didn't voice her real concern about what the Berry men might have been capable of with an untapped resource like they had with Rachel.
"We need to talk, we will and we'll plan together, but I've got to check something out I'll be back."
_
Date: Monday night
Location: Mall Base
POV: Brittany
Brittany took off without another word and headed toward the person she values answers from most.
"Hello Brittany," Leroy says as he opens the door.
"Hello Dr. Berry, may I speak to you a minute?"
"Of course."
Leroy shot his husband a look of concern over Brittany's head as he let her into the apartment.
"Thank you," Brittany said as she entered. She nodded to Hiram, "I'm sorry to bother you, but something's been worrying me, and I just want some answers," she said with her arms crossed
"I know that you basically abandoned Rachel when she demanded that you stay to save us. She put her hand to forestall them " I was there that night, I know, and I know how upset you were, but also how devastated she was."
"That was a long time ago," Hiram stated.
"But it still happened," Brittany disagreed. "You were gone for what six years? Six long years leaving Rachel all alone."
"She had Barbara," Leroy said quietly.
"And do you think that was enough or acceptable?"
"No, we aren't proud of our previous attempts of parenting."
"And you shouldn't be. Two years ago you show up again when all is great with the world and here I am thinking when it happened it was because of guilt. Then I found out about Gianna and I figured it was guilt and the need to support your granddaughter," She said now glaring her eyes at the two men.
"But having gotten to know Gianna and watching her unique personality first hand, I'm getting a tingling feeling I get when something fishy is going on."
"Here we go," Hiram muttered. "We haven't done anything to Gianna. Rachel would never allow it."
"But what if Rachel doesn't know…"
Leroy laughed out loud "Rachel? Rachel knows everything. She has eyes everywhere. She doesn't trust us, and we don't blame her. She is extremely overprotective of Gianna."
Hiram nodded his head in agreement as he folded his hands in his lap.
"Rachel didn't leave Gianna alone with us until she was able to talk, and she will leave her with Sue and Shelby over us when possible. She loves us, but she doesn't trust us, especially with our granddaughter," Hiram whispered softly to her his voice echoing with disappointment.
"We injected, tested, and damn near ruined Rachel's childhood away, but Gianna's always been off-limits." Leroy choked out, with tears in his eyes. "I'll never understand why we thought that it was okay, or how we could justify what we did for ten years."
"None of us do," Brittany said between teeth. "But she is the best of us, so you must've done something right."
"But you're right. There is something special about Gianna; always has been. Rachel never allowed us to test her, and has every reason to not let us, so with that we know nothing that is going on with Gianna. She refuses to tell us who her father is."
"Even you don't know?" Brittany questions.
"No, we only got the call to return after Gianna was born."
"Maybe it is some sort of ESP thing? I swear she reads my mind sometimes." Hiram laughed causing both Brittany and Leroy to nod in agreement.
"She's very in tune to people, especially Rach," Brittany said looking at them carefully.
"Yes, and then there are her thoughts and ideas. Her intelligence is off the charts proving to be even better than Rachel's at this age."
"So what do we do about that?"
"Nothing."
All three flipped around to see Rachel standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "My daughter is perfectly fine, and you aren't running tests on her!"
"It isn't what you think," Hiram rushed to defend.
"I know what this is. I have eyes everywhere remember."
"Rachel…" Leroy pleaded.
"No I get it. I do…" She sighed. "I've taken steps needed to diagnose her. I know what I'm working with, and when I feel I can trust the information I've compiled, I will share it with the people that I deem trustworthy."
Hiram and Leroy hung their heads and nodded. "That's fair."
Brittany sighed annoyed that she still was without answers and more confused than before.
"I don't understand why you don't rely on anyone? Why not me? I think your best friend for over ten years should be allowed to know. You've hidden things from me. You've lied to me and yet I still love you. I still trust you. I still follow your lead, your every order."
"Britt don't-"
"No, you don't get to tell me that. You don't get to choose anymore. You don't want to give me an inch, fine. That's fine." Brittany pushed past Rachel and stormed out of the room down the hall to her own room.
"Brittany wait," Rachel pushed the door open ignoring Brittany who tried to shove it closed on her "Stop it, and let me in," she growled.
"No, I don't understand. I don't understand how I get lumped together with your fathers and everyone else. Why you push me away? Why do you let everyone have a piece of you and I- I can't even have scraps." Brittany tossed a sofa pillow at Rachel ignoring the tears that ran down brunette's face. "You're all I've wanted for years. Years! I've waited, made excuses, and reasoned away all the neglect."
"Neglect?"
"Yes."
"I do not neglect you."
"You ignore my wants, my needs, you close yourself off. You all but ignore…"
"I do not."
"Yes you do. You love me!"
Rachel froze at those words.
"Why can't you just admit it? You love me Rachel, and you're scared. That's fine because I'm done. I'm done chasing after you. I'm done watching. I'm done." Brittany breathes out. "I want out, send me to McKinley."
"That won't fix the problem."
"Well that's what you do when people get in the way." Britney accused. "Look at Puck and Jackson."
"That's different." Rachel defended.
"No it isn't."
"If you leave Santana will be heartbroken."
"What do you care?
"That isn't fair, Brittany-"
"I don't care. I'll take her with me."
"What about Quinn?"
"What about her? There's room for her there too"
Rachel paled all color draining from her face at what she said next, "What about Gianna?"
"She might as well get use to disappointment." Brittany said, "with an emotionless void of a mother like you, she'll have plenty of practice."
"Ducky..."
"Don't, you lost that right. Get out of my room and stay out of my life. I'm done."
Rachel choked back a sob and closed her eyes. "You can't leave the base. You're needed here."
"I'm leaving Rachel," Brittany said with finality lacing her voice that robbed Rachel of her thoughts, breath and her ability to be levelheaded.
"I order you to remain."
"Then I resign, and I'll go out on my own."
"That's suicide."
"What do you care?"
"I c-care." Rachel whispered.
Britney stopped her pacing and glanced at Rachel seeing the tears rolling down her cheeks. Tears that she knew were her fault, and it made her stomach flip flop. It felt horrible. "Please leave."
"You can't."
"I have to."
"I don't want you to." Rachel hiccupped.
"Why?"
"I need you."
"I'm replaceable."
"No you're not," Rachel denied.
"You don't feel that way."
"I do. You're my rock, my anchor, if you leave I will lose my sanity." Rachel took a step forward and stopped a foot from her. "I can't live without you."
"You'll adapt," Brittany said flatly.
"I will never recover, not without you to hold me together."
"This is unfair," Brittany murmured, "it has to be 50-50."
"I don't know how," Rachel admitted looking at her feet. "What if I let you in? What if the real thing isn't as good as your idea of it? What if you leave me too?"
"Rachel…"
"Look at my track record, Pierce."
"The past and other people aren't you and I." Brittany reached out and took her hand. "I'm here for you. I always have been and I always will be."
"What if I screw it up?"
"Then we adapt. We have plenty of practice," Brittany promised as she took Rachel's chin in her hand and made eye contact with her.
"I do care." Rachel promised.
"I know you do," Brittany whispered as she leaned in and kissed her lips gently.
When their lips touched, Brittany felt her skin tightened and breakout in goose bumps. It'd been a fantasy for so long, but the reality was mind blowing.
She moaned when Rachel pulled her closer to gain control of the kiss. Her body shivered when Rachel teased the tip of her tongue against the seam of her lips causing her to sigh and moan out in pleasure.
Before she knew what was happening, she was laid across the small sofa in the room. Rachel was on her lap and leaned over her kissing her fiercely. Her hands were above her head and Rachel was holding her in place.
"Oh God."
She gasped when Rachel rolled her hips at the same time she pinched her nipple with her other hand from under her shirt. Her body was so in tuned with Rachel's and the movement to her core. She was so overwhelmed that she was finally at this moment after all this time. She felt the buildup of pure pleasure, pain, and frustration pooling in her body. Her body shook from need and all they were doing was kissing.
"Rachel."
"What? What do you need?" Rachel said running her tongue up her neck and biting her earlobe. She rocked her hips gaining more friction between them. The brunette also lost to her passion, eyes all but pitch black, loosing any glimmer of light, lost in her own lust. Her body too was slightly trembling.
"Please." Brittany pleaded lifting her body up from the sofa making contact with Rachel's, her body begging for more.
"Anything," Rachel promised shifting herself and Brittany's body just so their cores lined up. Rachel half on Britt and half off the sofa with her foot planted on the floor forcing their bodies together like puzzle pieces, pressed to fit perfectly.
Then her body began to rock as one. Even through their clothing it was too much for Britney. She lasted less than ten minutes. The friction, sensation, seven years of anticipation, and Rachel's magnificent self and skill pushed her over the edge to came hard, her body shaking so harshly that Rachel was lifted into the air. When the brunette crashed back down into onto Brittany it send Rachel over the edge as well catching Brittany off guard and sending her into a second orgasm.
"Thank God for flexibility," Brittany laughed settling Rachel down over her body and kissing her. "So worth the wait."