So I had a new idea for a story and because of that, I want to finish editing this one and get it uploaded in the next few weeks. If the uploads seem quick (I uploaded 25 yesterday), I'm sorry. I know that keeps me from having more "reviews" or whatever, but… I am not that concerned with that. That being said… I love more than anything to read them. I'm just not trying to run up my numbers or whatever. (Not that anyone does… ugh, I'm now rambling. Ignore me.)
Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy. It's all Rachel's POV.
Chapter 26
Go to sleep one night in New York and it was warm and wake up the next morning and it was cold. Weather, like everything else in the city, was unstable… always moving. When a city never sleeps, it can never catch up with itself. People were always moving… things were always changing.
On average, one hundred and fifty people died in New York everyday. One hundred and fifty people woke up one morning and did not go to sleep that night. One hundred and fifty people gone forever. The first time I heard that, I thought that the number was low. Surely there would be more people in a city so big. It was an arbitrary number at the time. After Eliza died… numbers didn't seem to matter so much. There were one hundred and fifty families who changed every single day. There were one hundred and fifty moments when someone was given the news that could never be taken back.
I should've called Shelby sooner. I should've never stayed here without telling her what was going on. I should've never ignored the fact that she was ignoring her daughter. I should've followed my instinct. It was undeniable and when I ignored it… bad things happened. I had no idea Miriam would never come out of the hospital that week. I did not know she was that sick. How could I have known? I wasn't a doctor. Maybe Santana could have seen that something was wrong. But… I was making excuses. I knew that. Unfortunately, we could not go back and change our past. No matter how much we wished we could.
However, everyday that we were there, I thought about going to see her. About taking Beth. When I called her, she said no. That she didn't want Beth to see her in the hospital. That she'd be home in a few days. She knew even then. The doctor told me that she'd known. I ignored what I was feeling, what was niggling at the back of my mind. I just ignored it. I had no excuse for that. I heard the pain in her voice. I knew it was hard for her even to talk to me.
She gave the hospital my number. Not Shelby's. Not anyone else's. Mine. When they called me two days before we were originally supposed to go back to Los Angeles… when they said may I speak to Ms. Berry please. When I noticed the area code. I knew. I knew.
I'd never been on the other end of this. I'd never been the one to deliver the information.
I'd only received it once.
"When Quinnie was your age, she cut off all of her hair," Judy said. She rubbed Beth's head softly. "She was actually here when she did it. New York. I believe I came close to fainting when she walked back through the door. It was horrifying."
Quinn rolled her eyes at her mother. "Okay, well first of all… I did not cut it ALL off. That is a bit hyperbolic. It was just shorter. And horrifying? Really?"
"How short?" Beth giggled. "Like super, boy short? Or cute, girl short?"
Quinn fake pouted. "I'm not dignifying that."
Santana laughed. "That's because her ass ain't sure. I'd say it was in between. Then she dyed it pink so…"
"Oh dear god," Judy interjected. "Can we not? Speaking of horror…"
"Pink? This is so awesome," Beth squealed, spinning to look at Rachel. "You'll be honest, won't you?" She'd only known Rachel for a few days now, but she knew the pout always worked. As soon as she bit her lip, Rachel melted.
"Of course I will, sweetheart," Rachel smiled at her.
"Oh my god," Quinn moaned, rolling her eyes. "Sucker," she muttered.
Beth ignored her. "So the hair, cute or not?"
Rachel pretended to think it over. She knew it would drive Quinn nuts as she hemmed and hawed about it. "I think if it had been more badass pink and less baby room pink, it would've been cuter."
"Agreed," Kurt said. "And points for the word badass. You make me proud."
"Ditto," Santana interjected.
Rachel beamed. "Thank you. I do try." She turned back to Beth. "It wasn't boy short though. Just short. But like I said, baby room pink."
"What?!" Quinn jumped up at that. "Baby room pink? Are you serious?! You're not serious. Because I was the epitome of badass with that hair."
Brittany looked at her confused. "You were not. Just cause you wore black and those holey…" she looked at Santana, who mouthed fishnet. "…yeah right… fishnet stockings, it doesn't mean you were a badass."
"Exactly," Judy added, smiling at Beth. "Plus all of those," she air-quoted, " 'badass' clothes were from Urban Outfitters and Free People. She about bankrupted me."
"It was supposed to be ironic," Quinn huffed, crossing her arms.
Santana smiled at Beth. "The real irony is how much those ugly clothes cost. Only Q would go all skank and wear real leather boots. Even her tattoo was ironic. Just not in the way she thought."
Beth was giggling profusely now. "You didn't?" She asked Quinn, tickled pinker than Quinn's cheeks (and her former hair). "You got a tattoo?!"
She rolled her eyes at her mother and her friends. "Don't listen to them. It was hot." She thought better of herself though. "But a phase. A dumb phase. And gone. No pink hair. No tattoo. In case you're getting any ideas…" She crossed her arms then. "However," she drawled dramatically, "my hair was NOT baby room pink."
Rachel caught Beth's eye and winked. "It was baby room pink."
"Oh my god," Quinn said. "It was total badass, Rach. You're killing my rep."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're thirty-one, honey. And you're an English professor. You don't exactly have a rep."
Kurt nodded. "Plus, no one remembers that phase. I'm still reeling from all the sundresses and cardigans. Every few months I have nightmares."
Rachel laughed. "Don't remind us."
He smirked. "Let's not, Rach. We all know the disaster that was your high school wardrobe."
"Bite me," Rachel muttered. "At least my hair wasn't dyed to match an It's a Girl!' balloon."
Beth was still laughing.
Rachel started to speak again but Leroy cut in. "Oh please, baby girl. You know that is not the tune you were singing back then," he told his daughter.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at him.
"Please do tell," Santana said.
"Traitor," Rachel sneered.
"Tune?" Quinn asked, all of a sudden way more interested.
Hiram smacked his husband. "Stop it."
Leroy shrugged. "I've got a good memory. And I recall, 'you should have seen her, daddy. She was so… so… so…" he paused for dramatic effect. "…hot."
Quinn smiled triumphantly. "I knew it!" She said, jumping up again. "I knew you liked it! I could tell when you came to find me that day under the bleachers."
Beth laughed. "What were you two doing under the bleachers?"
Santana raised an eyebrow at her. "Whatever it is you're thinking… you're totally wrong, Lil B. These two were too uptight for that. Q was probably being all mopey and Rachel was probably being all 'come back to Glee club, cause we love you and you have an awesome voice, even if you are occasionally sharp. And I hate to see you sad, Quinn. Everybody misses you. We don't care what you look like or whom," she winked at Beth. "Cause Rachel would've totally said whom. Anyway… we don't care whom you hang out with. We're your family. We've got one more chance to get it right… Something about Nationals. And Friendship. And I miss you. And blah, blah. Blah.' What that translated to was 'I wanna do you under the bleachers, but my panties are way too tight for that.' And then Q probably stared at her and said nothing but what that translated to was, 'I wanna do you under the bleachers, but my panties are way too tight for that.' "
Beth was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes.
Rachel rolled her eyes.
Quinn smacked Santana in the arm. "Are you crazy? Don't say things like that to her."
Judy cleared her throat. "I would like to know." She looked at the Berry men. "I bet you would too, wouldn't you?"
Leroy grinned. "If my baby was a delinquent under the school bleachers? Absolutely."
Hiram rolled his eyes at Beth, as if to say adults are idiots. "I don't want to know. Not at all. So don't tell us."
"Quinn was probably just smoking with the Skanks," Britt interjected casually.
"Quinnie!" Her mother yelled. "You smoked?!"
"Seriously, B?" Quinn asked.
Brittany shrugged her reply. "Sucks," she said.
Santana kissed her on the cheek. "You are totally the best girlfriend ever."
Rachel's phone buzzed silently in her pocket. The others were laughing and ganging up on her poor girlfriend and she wanted to both join in the fun and defend her honor because neither of their panties were tight… but everyone who normally called her was sitting in the room with them. She excused herself when she pulled the phone out of her pocket and saw that it was a New York number. "Uh, I've got to get this. Be right back."
She stepped out into the hallway, shutting the hotel room's door quietly behind her. She wondered if she got her keycard and was about to knock as she said, "hello?"
"Ms. Berry? Rachel Berry?"
"Who's calling?" She asked. She was wary. She always was. She knew that sometimes private numbers found their way into the hands of not so private individuals.
"May I speak to Ms. Berry, please?"
She sighed because she figured she couldn't take the chance. "Speaking."
"My name is Dr. Bell. I am a physician at Mount Sinai. Miriam Corcoran gave me your name and number in case of emergencies."
She felt the first drop of fear fall into her stomach. "Yes?" she asked, moving further away from the room's door.
"Ms. Berry, would it be possible for you to come to the hospital? I would like to speak to you about Miriam's condition."
Rachel pondered the question momentarily. If she left without anyone knowing… she didn't know how she could get away. She didn't want to worry Beth.
"I suppose I could. I'm just not sure how quickly I could get away. Is everything okay?" She asked. She was hesitant.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Berry but I think it would be best if you came down."
"Of course. Please tell me where to go and I'll be there as soon as I can." She put her hand against the wall, and willed herself to stand straight.
"The second floor. Critical Care. Please tell the receptionist who you are and that you are there to see me. Dr. Robert Bell," he clarified.
"Okay," she whispered.
"Thank you, Ms. Berry. See you soon." He hung up at that.
Rachel put her forehead against the wall. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm her nerves. She knew if she left by herself, they would worry and Beth would be suspicious. But if she took someone with her…
She shook her head and steeled her shoulders. She was an actress. She could always play a part. She told herself it wasn't lying if it was acting.
She reached into her pocket and was thankful she had the key. She couldn't make an entrance if she had to knock.
She opened the door and threw her head back. Plastering the realest grin she could muster, she walked back into the room. "You will not believe this but…" She paused for dramatic effect. She studied their faces as quickly as possible. No one seemed suspicious yet. "That was Blake." She caught Santana and Kurt's eyes first. They knew Blake. He was an old director from her Broadway days. She'd tried to call him a few days earlier. She'd always really liked him. "How awful would it be to go see him? I know that I'm probably not ready for the stage but he said he wanted to speak to me and I just can't…"
Kurt actually squealed before she could finish. Her fathers were both smiling fanatically.
She caught Quinn's eye. "Do you think it would be a problem? I'd probably only be gone a few hours." She smiled at Beth. "You guys can go ahead and go to dinner and I'll catch up with you when you get back."
"I don't know, Rach. I don't like the idea of you being in the city by yourself." Quinn frowned.
"I go everywhere by myself," Beth said. "Rachel knows her way around."
That just made Quinn frowner harder.
Rachel could have kissed Beth though.
"Want me to go with?" Brittany asked.
Rachel had considered that. But she was worried about what news she was going to get and she didn't want to upset Brittany. She'd like for Santana to go with her but she knew that that would draw their attention.
"No, I know my way around, like Beth said." She smiled. She hugged Quinn. "I'll be fine. Just text me where you're having dinner and I'll meet you if I have time." Or if I feel up to it, she didn't say.
Quinn nodded and Rachel kissed her bye. She rubbed Beth's head and smiled at the rest of them. "I'm so excited!" She exclaimed, making sure to bustle around so she looked it.
When she got outside of the door, she quickly made her way to the elevator. She didn't slump against the back wall until she was certain the doors were shut.
I'd received a text from Quinn that they were at Stardust. I knew that she wanted me to meet them. Any other time I would have loved it. But I wasn't feeling like doing much of anything now. After the cab dropped me off at the hotel, I sent her a text to see how much longer they would be. It was Friday and she said it would be a while. I wasn't sure how long a while actually was but… I figured I had enough time to grab a few drinks. I told her the meeting was going well, but I didn't offer more than that.
I didn't want her to worry.
Miriam's phone was amongst her belongings the hospital had given me and I charged it in the cab so that I could pull up Shelby's number. I thought briefly about calling her from Miriam's phone but I decided against it.
It was nine here, which meant that it was two in Paris. If that was where Shelby still was. Who even knew? If Beth had heard from her, she hadn't said. All we did know was what Miriam told me when I spoke to her last… Shelby was planning on being there a month at least.
I ordered a drink from the bar and sat down at a table in the corner. I drank it faster than I probably should have. I didn't want to be drunk when I told them. But I did need a bit of liquid courage. I decided to have one more before they came back. When I looked at my phone it was a quarter past ten. I knew that I needed to call Shelby before I saw them. I didn't think they were back yet, but I'd sent Quinn one last text to expect me around eleven. She wasn't happy about it, but… I didn't dwell on that.
Luckily for me, my fathers had given me one of their hotel keys earlier in the day. Actually, my dad had. My daddy tended to leave it somewhere or lose it altogether and so he was pretending to teach him a lesson. Quinn and I had transferred into a suite the day after we spent the night at Shelby's. So my dads' room was on a different floor. I unlocked the door and went inside. I knew they would be waiting for me in my room if they were back because they all thought I would have wonderful news for them. Unfortunately, I did have news. Just not the kind anyone would want to hear.
I dialed the phone number listed for Shelby and held my breath. It was after three in Paris. I would be waking her up.
The phone rang four times and I was briefly afraid it would go to voicemail. I really needed to speak to her before I talked to Beth and…
"Hello?" I knew it was her, even through the grogginess.
"Shelby?" I couldn't believe how weak my voice sounded.
"Yes? Who is this?"
"Shelby, it's Rachel." I took a deep breath and waited.
"Rachel?" She whispered. "Really?"
God. Why did everything have to be so hard? I wasn't prepared for this. For talking to her. I wasn't prepared to tell her what I had to tell her. "Yes. Really."
"Are you in New York?" She was awake now. "Is everything okay? Are you okay?" Her voice was soft and it was heartbreaking for so many reasons. One, she was really concerned. Two, it was for me. Not for Beth. Not for her mother. "Rachel, I wanted to… when your daughter… I wish I would've…"
No. I could most emphatically not think about that right now. "Please don't, Shelby. I need you to listen. Can you do that? Just listen until I finish? I promise I won't take long. I'm not near as verbose as I used to be."
"Of course," she said quietly.
"I've been here for almost a week. With Quinn and my family and friends. We've spent the entire time with Beth. She's been staying with us at the hotel. I know you knew we were coming but I needed you to know that. She's a lovely girl. I… I'm very proud of her."
She didn't speak. I realized I'd asked her not to.
"The reason that she's been staying with us… your mother, Miriam… she has not been well." I hesitated.
It gave her an opening. "What do you mean not well?"
I wasn't sure how much to tell her about the illness. I figured it wasn't my place. We could take care of the details later. I just needed to get this out. "She passed away this morning. She was sicker than she let on. I haven't told Beth yet. I needed to tell you first." I rushed it all out. I waited for something.
I was met with silence.
"Shelby?" I finally asked. "Are you still there?"
"Yes," I barely heard. "Are you sure?" Her voice was very quiet and I was afraid I didn't hear her correctly.
"Yes. I just left the hospital." I sat down on my father's bed and rubbed my forehead. "There are a lot of things I have to say to you, Shelby. We should speak about Beth. I hope you understand what this means for her. However, I believe that that can wait until you return. I assume you will be coming back?"
"Yes. Yes, I will." She sounded distracted all of a sudden. "I… I don't know what to say. I can't…"
"I'm very sorry for your loss," I told her. "Would you like me to tell Beth or would you like to call her?"
I knew what she was going to say before she even said it. "I'd rather you tell her. I'm not really… I don't know what to say right now."
"I understand," I told her, even though I really didn't. "You have my number. Please call me when you have an idea of flight plans, etc. We won't be going anywhere."
"I will," I heard her sigh. "Thank you, Rachel. I don't know what to…"
"You're welcome," I said, cutting her off. "And Shelby?"
"Yes?"
"If Beth calls you, please answer."
"Of course, Rachel. I will. Thank you again."
I closed my eyes. "Bye." I said, not even bothering to wait for her to say the same. I hung up the phone.
I sat on the bed for a few moments trying to come up with a plan. If I didn't go back soon, they would start to worry. I decided Judy was the safest bet.
Do you think you could get out for a minute? Tell them you need to run to your room? I need to talk to you. I'm in my dads' room. Please, please don't tell them it's me.
I waited for about a minute before I got a reply. I realized Quinn would probably already be suspicious if she saw her mother texting someone. I hoped she didn't notice.
I'll be there in five.
I let out the breath I was holding and tried not to think.
Four minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"Rachel?" She said, as I opened it. "What's wrong, honey?" She was studying my face. There was no reason for me to lie… act… whatever with her.
"Miriam died. I've been at the hospital. I wasn't being honest earlier." I rushed it all out. I couldn't breathe.
"Oh dear god," she said, sitting down in one of the lounge chairs. "You poor thing. Why didn't you have someone go with you?"
I shook my head. "I didn't want Beth to be suspicious. I couldn't chance it. Blake was the best I could come up with since I'd called him earlier. I spoke to Shelby. I called her. She said she was coming home and she wanted me to tell Beth." I sighed. I should honestly be crying but I didn't really feel like it. I didn't feel much of anything. Except dread. That I felt.
She nodded. I could tell what she thought about Shelby by what she didn't say. Judy was still too refined to say anything. "What do you want me to do?"
"Ask the others to leave. Take them out or whatever and tell them what happened. That way it'll just be Quinn and me. I don't want everyone in there and I just… she's not going to take this well. So can you come back and check on us a little later if we need you? Otherwise just maybe wait 'til tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Do you mind if I text Hiram and tell him? That way he'll facilitate it and get everyone out."
"Whatever you need to do."
She frowned. "Give me five minutes then come up."
I nodded back as she walked out.
I popped open the minibar in my dads' room and took another drink. I'd drink more here in New York than I had in months. It didn't quell my nausea. I didn't know why I thought it would.
I got a text from Judy as I was leaving.
We all faked tiredness. Quinn is suspicious.
It was followed quickly by Santana's.
You need me, don't care what time… text me.
And then Brittany.
Lil B is gonna be super sad. I'll come back when you call if you want.
I opened our door softly. I could hear Beth and Quinn laughing. They were sitting on the couch in the sitting room, watching an old rerun of Saturday Night Live. I stood quietly in the doorway for a moment just watching them. I would rather do anything than ruin the smiles that were on their faces.
"Rach!" Quinn said, spotting me. "You just missed everyone. I don't know why the hell they sprinted out of here. We wanted to hear…" She stopped suddenly. She could tell something was wrong. She just didn't know what. "Honey, what is it? Did it not go well? I thought you and he were friends? Do I need to kick his," she looked at Beth, "A-S-S?"
Beth giggled and smacked her in the arm. "I can spell!"
"Can you? Are you sure? Because I thought you were like some super math genius or something. And words were confusing and boring," Quinn teased her. It broke my heart that I had to tell them. I just wanted to watch them laugh and enjoy each other's company.
"I did not say boring." Beth pouted. It was such a Quinn thing to do. I felt the nausea rise back up.
Quinn remembered I was there. "Seriously though, what's wrong?"
I moved into the room and sat down on the coffee table in front of Beth. I tried to keep all of the emotion off my face. I put my elbows on my knee and took her hand. I wasn't sure how to do this. I couldn't look at Quinn but I figured just by my body language she knew. I was proud of the fact she didn't say anything.
"I just left the hospital," I started. "I'm very sorry to have to tell you this…"
She started shaking her head. "You said… you said it was just…"
"Beth, I'm sorry," I said again. "We didn't know she was that sick. She didn't tell anyone. But she passed away this afternoon." She tried to pull her hand away from me but I didn't let her. "I didn't know when I left. They wouldn't tell me on the phone. I wanted to wait until everyone was gone before I told the two of you."
"No!" She yelled, jumping up. "You're lying!"
Quinn was sitting next to her, stunned. When Beth screamed, she shook herself out of it. "Beth, sweetheart, we need to…"
"No!" She screamed, spinning on Quinn. "Don't touch me!" She was shaking and the tears she usually hid fell freely down her face. She wiped at her cheeks furiously. "Don't touch me," she said weaker, as Quinn put her arms around her. "Don't touch me," she whispered, and fell into her.
"I'm so sorry, baby," Quinn whispered in her hair. "I'm so sorry."
"I don't want her…" she hiccupped from crying so hard. "I don't want her to be dead."
"I know," Quinn said. She rubbed her back. She moved them to the couch, so they could sit back down. "I know."
I stood up. I didn't really need to be there. I couldn't watch someone else's grief. It was too much. I didn't think either of them noticed though. I walked into our bedroom. There was a minibar in there as well. I cracked it open and took out a bottle.
And then I took out another.
When I woke up, it was one o'clock in the morning. I rolled over and realized I hadn't eaten and with the four bottles… I'd likely passed out. I wasn't exactly proud of that fact.
Quinn wasn't in here. I hoped that everything was okay. I changed and brushed my teeth and padded out to the common area of the suite.
The lights were out and no one was in there, so I walked to Beth's bedroom. Her door was shut, so I opened it quietly.
My breath caught in my throat when my eyes adjusted to the dark. Quinn was sleeping on her side, facing Beth, who was sleeping on her stomach. I remembered how Eliza and I would sleep the exact same way. She would hold my hand under her body because she thought I was going to leave her. Beth was doing the same thing.
I shut the door softly and padded back to our room.
The next time I woke up, it was after seven. My phone was ringing. It was lying near my head and I knew I had to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Rachel, it's Shelby."
"Hi," I answered, sitting up.
"Our plane leaves in a few hours. We should be in late tonight your time." She sighed. I noticed she sounded tired. "Beth didn't call me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't tell her to and I think she was just so…" I returned the sigh. "… she fell asleep."
"Is she okay?" She asked softly.
"Do you care?"
"What?" I wanted to say she was angry, but really she just sounded tired.
"I said do you care? You haven't spoken to her since you left, have you?" I wasn't sure if that was true or not. I was just hedging a bet.
"No. I haven't." And sadly, the odds were in my favor.
"I don't want to have this conversation with you right now. I'm sorry I brought it up. I am sorry for your loss. I just… please understand that we've grown very close to Beth this past week. And we…" I didn't finish.
"And in we, you mean you and Quinn." It wasn't a question.
I answered it anyway. "Yes. I do."
"And?" She asked.
"And I'm not prepared to leave her here with you. Not when you are gone so much. Not when you are obviously putting yourself and your boyfriend…"
"Fiancée," she corrected.
"Fiancée," I said, "…above her. I am not questioning your motives. And I am honestly trying not to to judge them. I am just telling you that she has a place... if she needs one." It was the best I could do.
"With Quinn." She stated.
"With me," I corrected.
"Why?" She asked. "Why would you do that? What would you get out of it?"
I bit back my anger. Now wasn't the time. "I'm not sure what you're insinuating, but you're wrong regardless." I didn't want to do this with her right now. Her emotions were probably on overload. To be honest, so were mine. "She will be here, with us, when you return. If you would like, I can tell her to call you."
"It's fine," she said shortly. "I'll see her tomorrow." She hung up the phone.
I bit back the moan in my throat and rolled out of bed. I brushed my teeth and called room service to order breakfast. When I left the bedroom, I noticed Quinn was making coffee. She looked like she hadn't been asleep.
Of course, she had slept because I saw her.
"Morning," she muttered. She didn't turn around and look at me. All of the happiness I'd noticed last night was gone.
"Good morning," I answered.
She turned around and handed me the coffee. "Based on the bottles I saw on the bed last night, you need this more than me."
So we were going with anger. "Probably." I wasn't about to bite with her either. I decided to change the topic. "Is Beth still asleep?"
She nodded softly. She didn't say anything else.
"I ordered breakfast," I finally said.
"You probably need it too," she muttered around her own mug.
I sighed. I guessed we had to do this. "Do you want to fight, Quinn? Will that make you feel better?"
She stared at me a moment. Finally she deflated. "No. I'm sorry," she whispered. She came around the bar. She pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. "I hurt for her. She cried until she got sick and then she just fell asleep." She kissed me on the cheek. "Are you okay?"
I nodded. She wasn't really my grandmother. She was Beth's. I didn't have the right to grieve right now. I wasn't sure I even knew how to grieve anymore anyway. I needed to tell her something else but… I really didn't want to. "I spoke to Shelby."
She moved back a bit at that. "And?"
"And she said she would be back late tonight and that she would see us tomorrow. She said Beth could call her if she wanted."
She looked angry. "If she wanted?"
"I know you're angry, baby. So am I. Shelby knows it too. We just need to be there for Beth and then we'll figure out everything else. I promise you that. But one thing at a time, okay?"
She scowled, but I knew it wasn't directed at me. I couldn't say I could blame the way she was feeling.
She didn't get a chance to speak though, because Beth opened her door slowly. "Good morning," she whispered.
"Morning," we both answered, way more brightly than either of us felt.
"I ordered breakfast," I told her. "Pancakes. And bacon," I said, eyeing Quinn. "Is that okay? Or do you want something else?"
She shrugged. "That's fine. Thank you." She was looking down at her feet. I moved closer to her. "Sweetie, I spoke to Shelby. If you would like to call her…"
I didn't finish before she started shaking her head. "No," she said, more forcefully. "I don't want to."
"Then you don't have to," Quinn said.
I frowned at that. I knew she was angry but we had to be careful.
"I'm going to take a shower. The food should be here soon. You may want to call everyone. I think they were a little worried," I told Quinn.
I grabbed my phone and made my way back to the bedroom. I scrolled through the contacts before finding the number I wanted and pushing send.
"Hello?"
"Rebecca, it's Rachel."
"Rachel? Rachel Berry? At eight o'clock on a Saturday morning? Is everything okay? Are you in trouble?"
I turned on the shower so Quinn couldn't hear me. "Have you ever known me to be in trouble?"
She laughed softly at that. "Touché, Rachel. So then to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm calling because I need to hire you. Full legal services or whatever you call it. Bill me by the hour. Second. I don't care."
"Okay," she hesitated. "And why do you need my services?"
"How does one go about proving a mother incompetent?" I asked.
"Whoa. Okay, so maybe you need to back up and start at the beginning," she said.
"I can do that," I told her, shutting the bathroom door.
I was crossing my t's and dotting my i's. We were going to do this correctly. No missteps. If Beth needed to be with us, I wanted to make sure we could take her.
And I wanted to make sure everything we did was above board. I didn't want to lose her.
I heard everyone in the other room when I got out of the shower. I was unintentionally moving slowly though. I wasn't sure why. I noticed a voicemail on my phone from Rebecca. After I'd told her everything… I just hadn't expected her to get back to me so quickly.
"Rachel," it said. "After I spoke to you, I did a little digging. Miriam had a lawyer. Jon Foster. He's actually an acquaintance of mine. Small world. Anyway, I think you should call me. Or really, I mean I know you're busy right now, but it might be better if you met us. There's a coffee shop not far from your hotel. If you give me an hour's notice, we can be there."
I sent her a quick text and asked if they could meet me in an hour.
She sent back the address to the coffee shop.
I sighed and finished getting ready. I didn't really have a choice in that matter.
When I walked into the room, everyone was finishing breakfast. Quinn was sitting next to Beth on the couch. Brittany on the other side. Everyone stopped speaking when I walked in.
"I've got to go out," I announced.
Quinn's face could only be called incredulous at this point. "Seriously?" She asked.
"Quinn…" Judy started.
She clamped her mouth shut and crossed her arms.
"Seriously," I answered. I understood she was angry. I just couldn't deal with what that meant. She knew I couldn't explain to her where I was going in front of Beth anyway.
"Where are you going?" Beth oddly was the one who asked.
I weighed my options and decided that honesty was for the best. "I have an old friend here. She's a lawyer."
I saw Santana raise an eyebrow at that. I wasn't that surprised that she remembered. She'd said Rebecca had called her trying to get my number. I'd just never let on that even though Santana had not given it to her, she'd gotten it anyway. I was glad she didn't say anything though.
"I called her this morning because…" I wasn't sure what to tell them. "…well, I wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of. At the hospital and stuff. Anyway, she looked into a few things and your grandmother had a lawyer. Becca knows him. She asked if I could meet them." I cringed because I hadn't meant to say her name.
If Quinn noticed she didn't let on.
"Do you want someone to go with you?" My daddy asked.
"I'll go," Santana answered, before I could say no.
"That's not necessary," I rushed out.
Beth had gotten oddly quiet. Quinn put her hand on her knee before turning to look at me. "Santana goes with you," she commanded.
"Quinn, I can go by myself. I don't need Santana to…"
"I'm not exactly asking here, Rach." She wouldn't look at me.
Everyone was watching us. I chose my next words carefully. "Can I see you in the bedroom for a moment?" I finally asked.
She didn't say anything but she did get up to move into the bedroom. I tried to hide my frown before I followed her.
She stood on the other side of the room, her arms folded. "Yes?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.
"What's your problem?" I asked her.
"I don't have one," she answered. Okay. So clearly she did. I wasn't sure where the attitude was coming from, but I didn't have time for it.
I sat down on the bed. "Obviously you do. You've been testy all morning."
"Well my daughter is heartbroken. Sorry I'm not throwing a party," she growled.
Of course she was still angry. I understood that she was hurting because Beth was. How could she not be? I was just not going to stand for displaced anger. Not today. "And?" I prompted.
She scowled at that. "And what?"
"What else?" I asked. She was insufferable sometimes.
She took her time answering me. "And you are sneaking around. Lying about where you're going. Who you're talking to. Don't you think I should've been told where you were going yesterday? That you were talking to a lawyer this morning?"
I sighed. "And how would that have helped? You wouldn't have been able to go to the hospital with me. And you would have had to pretend the rest of the evening. I didn't want to put you through that. I'm sorry if that was selfish of me."
She didn't bite. "Don't be passive aggressive."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm stealing your style."
She thought about that for a minute. "Okay. That was fair." She sighed and sat down beside me. "Why did you call the lawyer?"
I took her hand before speaking. She was shaking. "Honey, I just want to make sure we do the right thing here. Shelby will be grieving and… people do strange things when they grieve. I don't want us to make the wrong decision or say the wrong thing and screw this up. I wanted to explore our options as far as Beth is concerned. To be honest, I've been thinking about calling Rebecca all week." I squeezed her hand. "This just forced my hand."
"How do you know her?" She asked, squeezing back.
I shrugged. "Just from college. She transferred to NYU but we kept in touch or whatever," I hedged.
I watched her face as realization dawned on her. "Is this the girl that you kissed that night with…" She closed her eyes. "Jesus Christ, Rach. Seriously?"
I took her hand and kissed her palm. "You cannot even think for a second that that means anything at all to me. She's just a family lawyer. And a really good one I've been told."
She eyed me, playing what I said over in her mind, I figured. "And she wants to get into your pants…"
I shrugged. "No one has been in them but you for over a year now. So she'd be out of luck there. But no… I don't think that's true anyway." I sighed. "Plus if it is… you're new super best friend is going with me. So I'll have a guard dog."
She smiled at that. "I knew there was some reason she piped up so quickly." She frowned suddenly. "Why is she worried?"
My poor girlfriend and her overactive mind. "Because she's Santana Lopez?"
Quinn actually smiled at that too. "Good point." She kissed me softly. "I do want her to go with you, okay?"
I sighed. "Okay. But she has to behave."
She smiled again. "Haha. Good luck with that. You said it yourself- she's Santana Lopez.' "
Ugh, I thought. She was right. Good luck with that.
Sorry for mistakes or whatever. I don't care how many times I read something I wrote… I can never find them.