A/N Ratings and disclaimers from Chapter One apply.

More school? Thank you, everyone, for your reading and reviews. And for your concern for my wrist which is getting better. Also, I still laughingly reference the 11th Commandment in Lima, Ohio that I established in another throw-away story.

OOOO

It was the same procedure for AP history. After Quinn spoke to the teacher, as Sam had promised, he'd dutifully pulled a desk up so that Rachel could help place Quinn's leg on the seat. And as Sam did this, smiled at her and gave her his arm to lower her into her seat. Quinn watched Rachel with amusement and a tiny, fluttery bit of hopefulness. Rachel was jealous. As only Rachel Berry could be—in a way the girl probably thought was inconspicuous but was actually a big Broadway sign.

Quinn was completely thrilled.

She looked around the room after she was seated. Sam only nodded and grinned, as if in complete complicity. She nodded back at him. What a good guy. Artie and Tina were obviously wondering what was going on but Mercedes and Kurt were throwing their own Broadway signs that were going to be trouble if not handled.

OOOO

As they left history, Santana and Brittany met them in the hall, "Hey losers."

"Whatever."

"Oh my goodness. What a clever rejoinder, Q."

"You're such a bitch, S. Not to mention a show-off"

"True dat and you know you love it. Errybody okay so far?"

"No. Mercedes and Kurt. Deal with them. Now."

"Sup with them?"

"Acting all knowing in neon."

"Gotcha. On it like a rocket."

As she left, she spun, pointed her index fingers and said to Rachel, "This one's for you."

"Don't hurt them!"

Santana stopped in her tracks and stared. "Did you just imply I'd even take the time for something so lame? You have friends now. Get used to it."

OOOO

"Hey Chocolate? Hey Milk?"

Mercedes and Kurt looked up from their gossip to the one person, beside Quinn, they feared the most.

"Yes," Kurt said. It was only one word but that was an answer.

"Whatcha talkin' bout? Because I know it can't be about Q."

"Of course not," Kurt replied.

"You know what? I'm really glad about that. Because me and Q? We're getting a little static in our radar telling us you need a new topic of conversation. Find one."

Mercedes weighed the possible consequences, juice versus damage, and bolstered the enormous courage it took to say, "We were talking about Rachel."

"Gotcha. Right. One word about that. Don't. The hobbit's off the grid. Understood?"

"Completely," Mercedes said.

"Thought so."

As Santana walked away, Kurt and Mercedes high-fived each other. They'd keep their mouths shut but CONFIRMATION!

Even as they were gloating behind her, Santana did a face palm. Obvious much?

OOOO

The next class was independent study for juniors and Santana and Quinn went one way, Rachel and Brittany another.

As they walked down the hall, Carrie Greenstreet stopped Brittany to ask a question. Rachel smiled and said, "You guys do cheer talk. I need a book from my locker."

Brittany nodded.

45 seconds later, it happened really quickly. Like it always did.

"Eye spy a…dwarf!"

Rachel turned to face lime and Karofsky. Her least favorite flavor, least favorite bully.

And so? Bitch-slapped by an iceberg.

Unlike any other time she'd been slushied, Rachel faced a different aftermath and had to literally throw herself on Brittany, who'd hurtled herself toward Karofsky and was screaming in a way she'd never heard. Brittany never raised her voice, except to cheer. "GET OFF ME, LET ME GO RACH! SANTANA? SAN! HELP ME!"

The other girls were only really three-quarter of a hall's length away but when Santana heard that voice, she bolted from Quinn's side like she'd been shot from a gun.

She couldn't believe her eyes when she arrived. Karofsky was standing with his empty cup looking sort of stunned and frozen in place as Rachel unskillfully but gamely tried to hold the much stronger girl from reaching him. Once Santana appeared, Brittany relaxed in Rachel's arms. "San—he hurt Rach! I didn't help her enough."

Rachel shook her gently in her arms and said, "It's okay sweetie. I'm used to it."

Rachel was covered in lime slushy and Brittany was slimed with lime slushy and, as Santana looked at both of them, she felt completely disgusted and happy that life had taught Rachel to accept it and Brittany not to. And she felt a white-hot anger she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She turned and everything about her body language said one thing to Rachel, who spoke loudly and firmly, "Santana Lopez?"

"What?"

"You are NOT going to do anything to get suspended or expelled. Brittany needs you…and…I need you. Do you hear me?"

Knowing Rachel was right made Santana feel such a renewed sense of fury that her hands literally twitched but she answered, "I hear you."

Quinn finally caught up and surveyed the scene with a dismay that made her eyes well with tears.

Rachel met those eyes and said coldly, "Don't you dare. You don't get to laugh last week and cry this one, Quinn. I rather you laugh than pity me because I'm bigger than this childishness you've put me through."

With that, Brittany began to sob, turned and folded Rachel into a ferocious hug. Santana had never seen Quinn's face more pale.

Santana pointed a finger at Karofsky. "You. Stay."

"Rachel?"

Rachel pulled her face from where it was buried in Brittany's uniform. "Yes?"

"You have your slushy emergency clothes thingy, right?"

"Yes."

"Get it and you and Britts can take a shower in the Cheerio locker room. She has an extra uniform there. Me and Q will catch up once we do a little clean-up here."

"No violence."

"No more violence, you mean?" It had suddenly hit Santana like the old proverbial ton of bricks. It wasn't funny—it was violence. "You've already been physically assaulted. How many times now? I mean, I know you count. You're freaky compulsive like that."

Rachel nodded, "This makes the 158th slushy in high school and the 79th time for David."

"Gotcha. You guys get showered up." She crossed to Brittany and wiped her tears, "Everything's okay, Britts. Rachel's okay. Aren't you, Rachel?"

Rachel smiled up at Brittany, who looked terribly sad, guilty and frightened. "I'm fine. I just don't like lime, Brittany. Let's go get cleaned up, okay?"

"I'm sorry I didn't help."

"You've always helped." Rachel looked from Santana to Quinn and back to the tear-streaked face in front of her, "You're the one person who's never laughed at me when this happens."

Santana felt her stomach turn again. Brittany was anguished and crying with good reason. She was part and parcel of the reason her baby was crying. Santana pulled Rachel into a fierce full body hug. "This will never happen to you again," she whispered.

Her uniform was all kinds of green when she released her and when she looked down at it, she said, "It suits me. I deserve it. Give Quinn a hug too."

Quinn waited for Rachel to make the decision, looked into her sad brown eyes and then found herself enveloped in tightest hug she'd ever had in her life.

As she released her, Quinn wiped the slushy from the girl's cheeks and felt both the affection and a renewed understanding of the distance in the girl's eyes. "Shower time now. Talk later."

Rachel nodded even as Brittany spoke to Karofsky. "I'm not changing my uniform. I'm wearing lime all day. And I think Q and S are too. It was super dumb of you to slushy the top three cheerleaders in school. I mean, Coach Sylvester's going to completely lose it when she sees our uniforms. And it's all going to be on you."

He looked completely unmanned by that even as Brittany continued, "What's the 11th Commandment at WMHS?"

He gulped before half whispering, "Nobody hurts Brittany."

"Right. But you did. Look at me. I'm all dirty and you made me cry and it's only Rachel keeping Quinn and especially San from doing super crazy mean things to you right now. Learn your lesson. Slushy Rachel again and she might not let them end you but I will because I can."

He tried to bluster through sneering at her because they'd drawn an audience.

Brittany suddenly did a kick that put her right foot next to the boy's face and she tapped his cheek with it gently once before instantly withdrawing it. It was so lightening fast that he was too stunned to do anything but flinch. "I'm a way better athlete than you are. You're stronger than me by miles but I could totally kick your face in before you could do anything to me. If you hurt Rachel again, I will hurt you and not in a fun times way. Promise."

"Rach? Time for a shower."

Rachel felt bold enough with the company she was keeping to wipe her face and then smear her hands over Karofsky's shirt, "There's enough to go around, big guy."

OOOO

Rachel held her bag and felt completely off in the confines of the Cheerio's space.

"It's too weird, Brittany."

"No it's not. Nobody will come in. I locked the door. Just get naked. I won't look."

"You can look. Well—I don't mean you should—I mean I don't know, I've just never undressed in front of anyone, sort of, before."

"Not even in gym?"

"No. Kids say enough things about me already without giving them more ammunition."

"Do you need me to help you?"

Rachel tilted her head and had to grin, "Help me? Wouldn't that be a little sexy-times?"

Brittany grinned back at her. "For you, maybe? Not for me. I mean, I see girls naked all the time. Some are pretty and everything but the only girl I feel stuff for is S so I mean, it's no big deal. Trust me. Take off your clothes."

"That's what she said."

Brittany smiled at that as Rachel undressed completely. Brittany looked her over. "You have a really, really pretty body, Rach. Get your shower before San and Q get here because I sort of know they'd have more to say than me."

As Rachel turned on the water, curiosity made her decide to go for it. It was a day of firsts. "What would Santana and Quinn say?"

Brittany smiled and raised her voice above the sound of the water, "Well, I mean, actually Quinn wouldn't say anything. She'd just get really red and have that look on her face she gets when she's thinking stuff she thinks she shouldn't which is like a super lot for her. San would probably say something like, "If I didn't have my baby, you could back that ass right up into my bed and I can promise I'd do it right."

Rachel laughed because Brittany sounded uncannily like her girlfriend and because, although it was vulgar and about her, it was so Santana that it made things seem a little normal in what were continuing to be the most abnormal few days of her life.

OOOO

Quinn didn't even know what to say as Brittany and Rachel threaded through the sizable crowd that had gathered and walked down the hall. She looked at Santana who looked similarly pole-axed but recognized that she needed to take the lead, "I think Britts sort of summed it up for me and the HBIC. You hurt Rachel Berry? It's on. I mean, like on. Go light your beacon fires, people, and let everyone know. Hurt our hobbit? We will find you and hurt you right back. Q's already broken her foot on one loser but she's got another and I can promise you I will break my foot off on anyone who hurts Britts or the hobbit."

Quinn was grateful for the moments it took to compose herself before saying to Karofsky, "You made Brittany cry and you assaulted my friend. And for that? Your high school life will now be harder than Rachel's. I can do that. In fact, I'm promising you that what I'll tell Coach will mean it's starting tomorrow. Bring a change of clothes and a new attitude every day or it will go on until you graduate, that is if you can even manage the class work to accomplish that, you clueless, pathetic, moronic loser. Do you understand me?"

He ducked his head, "Yes." Even though she hated what he'd done, Quinn hated embarrassing him, hated hurting him, hated the fear in his eyes. Hated all of what she was to the school. She took a deep breath.

Quinn looked into the frightened eyes of the crowd around them and said, "You're all fair game to me and you know it. Hands off Brittany. Hands off Rachel. Actually? Hands off everyone in Glee because if you don't obey? Santana and I won't be nice. Not that we ever have been, now that I think about it, have we?"

Santana shrugged, "It's happened like a couple of times on Groundhog day or something, but no."

Quinn smiled but didn't feel happy. "Let's get out of here."

As they walked down the hall, Santana said, "Sorry about the whole breaking foot on loser thing but it was all extemporaneous and shit. In legal terms, I think it's not technically truthfully but could be termed an 'excited utterance.'"

"Oh my God, you're such a nerd."

"Shhhhh!"

As they walked, Quinn knew that Santana was feeling what she was feeling and was keeping it light. They were the necessary monsters of WMHS but it didn't feel good to stare it in the face. Which was, perhaps, why—although they continued to speak, they didn't meet each other's eyes.

A/N Wrist said stop! I shoplifted 'bitch slapped by an iceberg' from Chris Colfer's description of it. Evidently it really sort of hurts which is why they do them room temp now. I truly love me some Lea but is it evil that it amuses me that she got the ice ones until a few other people said 'uh, she's not kidding, this actually does REALLY suck.'

If a diva cries wolf, who listens…