Revenge is a dish best served as humble pie.

Glee

Pairing: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray

Author: myIllusion

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters-no copyright infringement intended.

Hi everyone. Sorry for the long delay in updating. Real life trumps Fanfiction life, unfortunately. This is an inbetween chapter that sets up the next two scenes in Rachel's Play, which will complete Act II. I hope you stick around to see what happens

...

Minnie reached across the table to grab Rachel's hand and give it a squeeze.

"That girl is going to be locked up for the rest of her life Rachel. I can promise you that. She is a predator of the worst sort and there is a mountain of evidence against her. You need to try and let this go for now. Go back to school and sing in the glee club. Cherish every moment with your girlfriend," She nodded at Quinn, "Hang out with your good friends," She smiled at Brittany and Santana.

"And be happy Rachel...okay?"

Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand that was now caressing her thigh, she grinned across the table at Brittany and Santana, before flashing the big and bright - the megawatt, the prize winning smile at Deputy Minnie Sparkle.

"Okay."

Chapter XXVI "Stumbling Forward "

Rachel, Quinn, Brittany and Santana

After Deputy Minnie Sparkle left that afternoon the girls stayed at the Lima Bean a while longer to discuss the advice they had been given and also to work on some issues amongst themselves.

"Rachel, I want to know why you broke your promise to me?"

Brittany was having a difficult time. She was very upset with Rachel because of what transpired with Stephanie. Upset because that frightening situation could have, should have been prevented. If only Rachel had kept her promise. Brittany knew Rachel. She knew that Rachel wouldn't lie or break her word. Ever! So, it was difficult for the sensitive blonde to reconcile her feelings over what had happened. She loved Rachel and Quinn every bit as much as she loved Santana. There wasn't a chart or graph she could use to measure her feelings; Brittany only knew that had she lost Rachel, her heart would break in much the same way it would if she lost San.

She was angry with Rachel and didn't want to be. Brittany didn't do anger. Every once in a blue moon she got frustrated and upset with people when they behaved badly. Most times people just made her sad because they acted so awful. But she rarely got angry. Anger was an ugly manifestation of fear, which Brittany didn't believe in. Well, she knew fear existed because most of the people in the world were scared all the time about everything. That's why people were so mean all the time; because they were afraid. Brittany was rarely afraid because she knew that all she had to do was think of who she loved and what she loved. If she focused on the wonderful there wasn't any room leftover for fear.

Most people didn't get it. People made things complicated when they didn't have to. So, she decided that she didn't want to be angry with Rachel because she loved her so much. She wanted the wonderful back in her life. What Rachel did frightened her, it was careless, thoughtless and selfish.

The situation was confusing and unique to Brittany's experience. She needed to tell Rachel how she felt and ask her why. That way she could stop being mad and scared and be happy again. Let the love back in, let it shatter all the scary feelings. She sighed sadly and tried to keep her eyes from welling up but lost the battle. She repeated her question with a quiver in her voice. Big blue eyes were filled with hurt, betrayal and confusion.

"Why Rach?"

Santana wrapped her arm around Britt's shoulder protectively but restrained herself from butting in. They were all still pretty raw from the whole experience. Brittany just needed an answer so she could feel at peace again. Santana had already forgiven the midge...ah, Rachel, but she did want her to explain herself because that's what Brittany needed.

Rachel stared at her lap. She couldn't look Brittany in the eye. She could see how hurt her friend was and also feel her sadness hovering in the air. She needed to take responsibility for this with all three of them. And her Dad and Daddy. Her actions were reckless, and naive, and cocky even. This was an issue of trust among the people she cared most about and she had let them down.

"I'm so sorry Brittany. I don't have an excuse or a reasonable explanation. I knew I shouldn't go with Stephanie and yet I still did. I even reminded myself that I had made a promise to you, and still I chose to ignore my inner voice. I owe you all an explanation and I don't have one. Each of you warned me, begged me not have anything to do with her and still, I broke my word. I'm so sorry I let you down. I'm so, so sorry."

Rachel's voice was very soft as she spoke, it started to crack as she apologized and then she began to cry. Big full tears trickled down her cheeks in streams. Her bottom lip was trembling as she tried to contain the wellspring of emotions that suddenly erupted. Reality was sudden and harsh. The reality that, not only had she put herself in mortal danger but she caused her family, her friends, and Quinn to suffer too.

All because she had gotten cocky. Her Play was working, the bullies were changing for the better. If she was going to be honest with herself, she knew the reason she chose to go on that nightmare ride with Stephanie was because she thought she could have a positive influence on the scary girl. Rachel's head had gotten fat, as Santana had so eagerly pointed out. And it was true. This awful situation had been enabled by her inflated ego. Rachel never felt so small in all her life with the realization of what her actions inflicted upon those she loved. Gasping in a choked breath, trying to stifle a sob, she broke down inside the Lima Bean.

Finally, Quinn thought with relief as she embraced her weeping girlfriend. Quinn wasn't happy that Rachel was crying but she was grateful that she was finally allowing herself to feel the immensity of the danger she had been in.

Brittany felt the upset and the tension drain away with Rachel's tears and heartfelt regret. The anger melted away, leaving remnants of a wistful sadness that would soon be lost to memory. She nodded to herself, silently affirming that everything would turn out right. With that final thought she reached across the table to pet her tiny, precious friend.

Santana gazed at her three girls with with open adoration and felt a tug in her heart as she watched them comfort one another. She shot a glare at the approaching waitress who turned on her heal a scurried away. She smirked at the retreating figure before joining Britt in patting Rachel's back and uttering sappy, supportive (but sincere) sentiments.

...

Monday

Amazingly, no one at school was spreading gossip. Rachel and Quinn entered the school on Monday morning with trepidation. They were flanked by Santana, Brittany and Puck as they strode through the hallways toward their lockers. They were expecting to be greeted by whispers, stares and pointing fingers, but instead, were met with the usual sluggish murmurs and the bored indifference the students exuded every morning. The same old, same old and they couldn't have been more relieved.

The incident was being handled confidentially by the Prosecutors Office and the Police Department because both Stephanie and Rachel were minors. For the time being, it was assumed that Stephanie Hanson's lawyer was going to keep a lid on the details of her arrest, at least until he decided to investigate the Halloween Scene. Everything would come out in the open eventually. The one person who could have blown the whole story wide open hadn't told a single soul, except for his parents of course.

Jeremy Miller.

Jeremy was very firmly instructed by Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, Noah Puckerman, Peter Silverman, Sherriff Ricky, the Police Department, and the Prosecutor: to keep his mouth shut.

He was a hero and could be proud that he had gone to such extremes to rescue Rachel, but he would have to wait to get his accolades. He didn't give a damn about any of that. All he wanted was for Rachel to forgive him and she had. He would never, ever again do anything to intentionally hurt the little diva. If the police and Rachel's friends wanted him to stay quiet in order to protect her then that's what he would do. He wanted to protect her because he cared about her. Damn. He really cared about her.

That wasn't a bad thing at all. He always thought the little diva was attractive physically, even though he would have never considered socializing with her. That would be social suicide and he just didn't have it in him to be brave enough to ignore the stigma of being her friend. But that was all before last Friday. Friday had changed everything about the person Jeremy Miller was becoming. He would, forever after, remember that unbelievably crazy, scary day as the day he grew some balls. After Friday's misadventure Rachel Berry had wormed her way into a sizable, significant part his heart.

He knew she would never date him. It was more than obvious that her heart belonged to Quinn Fabray. That revelation should have blown him away because of the unlikeliness of the pairing. He thought it was funny that the least strange part about the couple was that they were girls. The strangest part being that Quinn had worked so diligently at making Rachel a social pariah. How had Rachel forgiven her? But the answer to that question was very moot to Jeremy because he had first hand experience with Rachel's ability to forgive.

After Ricky and Peter had gotten her out of the cuffs the first thing she did was throw her arms around his neck and hug him tightly. He couldn't help but wrap his own arms around her tiny waist to return the embrace.

"Thank you Jeremy," was whispered in his ear at precisely the same moment he nervously sputtered,

"I'm ss..so sorry Rachel."

"I know you didn't want to throw the slushies."

"I'm such a coward, I'm so ashamed Rachel... please forgive me." His tears were flowing freely and he was sniffling.

" Shssh Jeremy, everything is okay now and you're my hero! How could I not forgive my hero?" She asked him and pulled back from his embrace. She flashed that huge smile at him, those sparkling brown eyes were shining as she blinked those long, long lashes to clear the wetness of her own tears.

Gah! Quinn Fabray was the luckiest girl on the planet!

He really wasn't too jealous because he knew that Quinn made Rachel happy. What he hoped for now was that Rachel would allow him to be her friend.

Tuesday

Vegetable Lasagna

Rachel hated admitting that perhaps Santana was right. She was just as obsessive as her father on occasion. Although she had never been diagnosed, nor treated for the disorder she did, on occasion, behave in a manner which could be considered obsessive and irrational if her quest for perfection did not meet the gold star standards she had set forth.

Therefore, the Unholy Trinity and Puck were unable to convince her that the Glee Pee Scene for the hockey team should be considered a replacement for her Scene. Act II: Scene IV of her Play: Ice Capades.

"Rachel, it's just going to be a little too much for the hockey team. The humiliation they suffered at Friday's game will haunt them for the rest of the season. To target them again tomorrow night, is just going to draw way too much attention to the Play. The fans will be mad Rach. They were perfectly happy to join in on the punishment for what they did to you at school on Friday, but this additional disruption to their season will infuriate people. Hockey fans are nuts Rachel. I don't think we should risk pushing them any further."

Santana finally finished her speech. Wow. And the fiery Latina claimed that she was long winded. Rachel snickered silently to herself.

"What if I modify the Scene?"

Rachel countered as she chopped the tri colored bell peppers she was putting into her secret, special, vegan Lasagna. Quinn was rinsing the spinach. Puck was making the homemade noodles, which almost succeeded in making Santana faint. Once she recovered from the shock, she immediately took advantage by snapping several pictures of the boy, who was garbed in Rachel's Pink apron as he rolled out the dough.

Puck made Santana do a pinky swear that she would never tell anyone that he could cook. He also had to promise her five free Puckisodes. Which meant that whenever Santana wanted, she could demand his services for whatever she wanted, however she wanted them, and for whomever she wanted them performed. A Puckisode was a free pass at having Puck as a slave and Santana had extorted him for FIVE! Yay!

Santana and Brittany were seated side by side at the breakfast table, watching the others cook, sharing a glass of sparkling cider while smirking at Puck knowingly. Ack! Rachel was going to owe him big time for this.

They were preparing a thank you dinner for her Dad and Daddy, Judy, Uncle Ricky, Deputy Sparkle, Captain Monroe and Peter. Rachel wanted to do something special for her Uncle, her parents, Judy and her friends. They had all been so supportive and understanding of her through this whole "Schmanson" episode. To Rachel's dismay, Puck insisted on making a portmanteau of Stephanie Hanson and Charles Manson. She did rather enjoy his dark humor, however, and found herself giggling every time he talked about the "Schmanson" incident.

Santana tore her gaze away from Puck's magical, deft fingers that were tweaking and pinching the wide strands of noodle he had just divided from his large slab of dough. Puck in Pink, with flour spattered all over him, was kind of a mesmerizing sight. Forcing herself to focus on the conversation she was having with Rachel she sputtered out her next objection.

"How? How can you modify something that is supposed to make the whole team suddenly unable to skate?"

"Easily. We'll just target one player at a time. Just as we did with Finn in the practice game. I can control the pellet boxes individually with the remote. I don't have to set them all off at the same time."

"But that won't be as fun...or funny!" Santana complained. Not realizing that by arguing with Rachel over the modification of the Scene, she had already agreed that they would go forward with it.

"No... it won't be as dramatic as what we planned Santana, but it will still be fun and funny. I don't care about the funny anyway; the whole point of this Play is to bring humility to those people in the school who have no compuction in their fervor to hurt and degrade innocents. All of the athletic teams harbor the biggest abusers. I intend to show them they are not immune because they wear a letterman jacket. If the fans get upset - so be it!"

"The hockey players are still tossing kids in dumpsters. Even after what they 'suffered' Friday night; those idiots Jared Paulson, Gary Todd and several other members of the team scooped up Marcus Hahn and stuffed him in the dumpster behind the wood shop. They dumped his back pack right behind him, making sure to open it first, scattering all of his books among the debris. Does that sound like they actually learned anything from being splattered with Glee Pee? I'll prank those hockey goons all season if I have to and I don't give a flying fuck if they lose every single game because of it."

Rachel was waving her chopping knife in wild circles to accentuate her point, her voice had taken on a hysterical pitch and her eyes were filling up with tears. Quinn stepped up behind her and very gently grabbed her wrist. She took the knife out of her hand and placed it on the counter. Puck, Brittany and Santana watched with big eyes as the little diva proceeded to come undone. Quinn spun Rachel around and wrapped her in strong arms while whispering over her shoulder to give them a minute. The three quietly retreated from the kitchen and settled themselves in the living room.

"Shsssh... Rachel honey, it's okay now. Let yourself cry whenever you need to baby." Quinn was holding her girlfriend snug and stroking her back. Ever since she broke down in the Lima Bean on Sunday, Rachel was having miniature bouts of hysteria. All at once she would be overwhelmed with emotion and wind herself up. It didn't matter what the conversation was, it would somehow escalate into Rachel shouting, or storming out and eventually sobbing in Quinn's arms.

Rachel was no stranger to therapy and had a regular weekly appointment since her middle school years. This whole Stephanie Hanson issue was taking its toll on the high strung little diva. Suprisingly, to Quinn, Rachel's therapist had agreed with Deputy Sparkle's advice. That Rachel should continue with her Play.

The idea being that if Rachel felt she wanted to continue then she should. It was important for Rachel to see Stephanie's psyschotic actions as something not related to her or the Play. Stephanie was Sick and would have acted out regardless of anything that happened at school. Rachel's therapist was able to break down Stephanie's behavior as a life long escalation that had an inevitable conclusion, which would result in her attempt on someone's life. Unfortunately, that someone was Rachel, but it was not because of Rachel personally, nor the Halloween Scene of her Play.

Rachel had a very long session with Dr. Phillips on Monday and had come back from that appointment with a zeal to continue. Quinn wondered just how forthcoming Rachel had been with Doctor Phillips regarding the details of her Play? She couldn't really believe that a therapist would encourage her to continue under these crazy circumstances. But, then again, Rachel had been abused at school on a daily basis, for several years. Maybe crazy was a relative term in this situation.

"It's okay Quinn. I'm sorry." Sniffle. "I think this is going to happen for a little while. I have issues with control and what Stephanie did, or intended to do has really left me off balance. I know it will get better." Sniffle.

Puck, Brittany and Santana were peeking into the kitchen from the little hallway that led into the living room. Rachel smiled at them and waved them back into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, I'm really okay you know. You should all take it as a compliment that I feel safe enough to cry in front of you. For years I held back my tears until I was safely in my room where no one could see. Or, alone in the bathroom at school after a slushie. You all make me feel so safe now... "

All at once the kitchen was filled with sniffles. Even Puck in Pink was wiping his eyes as he clung tightly to the bundle of girls that had formed a huddle around Rachel. They would all get through this together.

The Previous Weeks Preparation for Operation Ice Capades.

Rachel hoped no one ever looked under the benches. The long benches the players sat upon and shuffled down while waiting their turn to rotate back onto the ice.

She swiped the master key to the ice arena in the very same way she stole the master key to the school. She made an appointment with Mr. Simmons (the hockey coach) to ask him some questions about the glee clubs scrimmage game. While she was talking to him in his office a curious commotion interrupted Rachel's interview. The coach hurried outside to break up an argument between Noah Puckerman and Gary Todd. She leaned over his desk, pulled open the top drawer and snagged his ring of keys. She pulled a block of quick dry clay out of her pocket and quickly made an impression of both sides of the key she needed. Later, she made a mold and had Peter cast a copy of the key for her.

The next evening Quinn, Brittany, Santana, and Puck accompanied her at 2 a.m. to the McKinley High School ice arena. The five of them, all dressed in black, rigged the underside of the home team players benches. Sixty little black boxes with magnetic hinged lids were anchored to the undersides of the players benches. They used a sticky compound that was much like silly putty but held its grip like super glue. All of the boxes contained a numbered chip so Rachel could release each lid by remote control. Each little box was one cubic half inch. They were filled with bee's wax bb pellets. Rachel spray painted the little pellets black so when they spilled upon the mats that covered the floor they would blend in and be unnoticed by the naked eye.

She could pick and choose which box she wanted to open depending upon where each player was sitting. The little wax pellets would spill onto the matted floor and roll in varying directions. Some of them, inevitably, would be stepped upon by the player who was seated directly above. Some of the pellets could roll even further and the player on either side may be effected as well. It didn't really matter to Rachel. Eventually, all of the players in the game would be having trouble skating. Her original plan was to release all of the pellets at once, at a moment where the game was close in score, to time it so when a line change was particularly important the players who jumped onto the ice would fall down simultaneously allowing the opposing team to take advantage of the mishap.

Now, however, she decided it would be more fun to drop the pellets in stages throughout the game. Watch as one player at a time was suddenly slipping, sliding, skidding and falling. Of course, if they were smart, they would figure it out - eventually. But, by the time one bumbling player made it back to the bench to see what was wrong with his skates, another player would be out on the ice flailing his arms and falling on his ass. General chaos will ensue upon the players bench, effectively damaging their cohesiveness as a team.

This would still be fun.

After watching Jared and Gary tossing Marcus into the dumpster and laughing it up. Rachel thought they really deserved another opportunity to learn humility.

To Be Continued.

I know this was a little moody but I thought it would be unrealistic to have Rachel be completely unaffected by what happened to her. The cracks are showing a bit but she has a strong support system.

The next chapter will include the last two scenes of Act II in Rachel's Play. Act II, Scene IV: Ice Capades and Also Act II, Scene V: Mission Mutants. It's already mostly written and much longer. I hope to have it up by mid-week but will make no promises. My Job has taken over my life lately and I'll do my best to move this along.

Thanks so much to those of you who continue to read and review...I so appreciate your thoughts and always heed the advice of those of you who are willing to give it. :)