Chapter 49
Guest - I am so glad you liked chapter 26! I hope you have had a chance to catch up. Thank you so much for your kind words and reviewing the story.
AnaPana13 - I am glad you decided to continue to read the story. I am glad I was able to rope you in on Chapter 1. I hope I can live up to your expections throughout the story. This chapter was a little more challenging for me to write so I hope it comes out the way I have intended it to. As always thank you so much for your reviews.
broadwaybound2016 - Awesome I am glad you did. Thanks for the review.
Victoria - I am so glad you are enjoying the story and I think you for your patience. My beta loves Quinn and makes me keep her as real as possible. I love her too. Shelby was in it from the beginning with Quinn and while it has been difficult – Shelby never would have backed away. Thank you for you kind review.
SadPanda13 - The line you liked embarrassingly enough I laughed myself. Rachel and Quinn's scene about losing their stuffed animals was important to me to show some lightness as well as some depth. School is hard and yes, it's not always this cruel, but sometimes it is. Thank you for the review!
Dogluvertoo- Well I am glad you came across this story and I am glad you really like. Rachel is in for a very difficult ride and she is going to have to be a little stronger to get ready for the upcoming trial. Quinn is also going to have a really hard time with the trial. And although she did bury her birth mother the woman was never a great mother to her and she is finally learning what a mother should really be. I am sorry for making you cry. I like my chapters to be at about 18K words but sometimes either it is not a good stopping point or I just don't have planned out exactly where I want the next chapter to start. So thank you so much for taking the time to review.
Drea LuRuiz - The trial is going to be challenging for all. Sorry but Will is going to fight these charges every bit of the way. Thanks for the review.
Bookworm0485 - Thank you for reading this story from the beginning. It's a lot! It means a lot! So so so so much. Thank you for the review. It meant a lot that you're giving me so much credit.
Cookie07 - All of their relationships have been hard and grueling. Santana and Shelby's relationship is very tight. I have tried to show that since chapter 1. THey've been through a lot. All these characters have grown a lot. It's very stunning. I'm writing a few scenes now for the sequel and seeing the growth after six years amidst all of them is shocking. Thanks for the awesome review!
Fangirl44 - I am assuming you mean the jackasses in school. At least that is what I hope you mean.
Thanks for the review.
MrsArgon01 - Thank you so much. Quinn is trying really hard to be Rachel's big sister. You are correct Santana has grown but she does have a long way. Thanks for the review.
krbutler - Quinn also has come a long way but she has so much further to go. Thanks for reviewing.
Piper - Shelby will take care of herself. She knows she needs to and she will if she doesn't Helen or Joey will kick her back into place. Will had Suzie's help but did he have more? We shall see. Thanks for the review.
Kimberlli - Yeah Felix is not a very nice kid. No George was safe and now he is a little cleaner. Puck and Mike are planning this road trip – the question remains will they reach him or not? Thanks for the review.
thelastcenturian - Wow – perfection? Thank you so much. I hope you like this chapter! I was writing in the middle of your update of Chapter 8. I paused and read it. I love love loved it. I'm going to reread it again and review. Thank you!
Stace - I'll try not to be so hard on myself but it's just so hard. A safe school is next on the list. Mike and Noah are great. There's a little scene here of them. Thank you for the kind words!
FlatWeasley - The all suffer from post traumatic stress so it will be up and down but they will heal – just not all at the same rate. Thanks for the review.
look4me - Rachel is VERY much stuck in her younger ways. They're a security blanket. I'm glad you like the interactions. I'm glad you like Shelby and Quinn. I really love them too. I'm happy you loved the flashback. It was an amazing suggestion! Thank you so much for your consistent reviews!
val-cb - Thank you so much!
Renata - Thank you, but I don't think my writing is flawless. I think you will find the Rachel scenes very interesting in this chapter. Social interactions with her are certainly a struggle and that's something I won't ignore. Rachel childhood is very important to me. Her struggles will continue. Thank you for your constant reviews!
GracieSunset - Its ok you haven't reviewed. Never apologize – I am just glad you did this chapter. I am humbled by your words regarding my story. I am really happy that you like the story so much. I try to keep the chapters at about 18K words but sometimes based on where I need to end it I cut it a little short. Again thank you so much for your kind review. I am always inspired to write more and better when I get beautiful reviews such as yours.
marinka4 - Sue is awesome in this story and she will be a true asset when the kids are in school when Shelby can't be with them. I try as I might to get some comic relief in this angsty story so I hope you enjoy. Thanks for the review.
Ryoko05 - It certainly is just the beginning. I love writing Quinn and Santana. They're relationship is so strong now. Thank you so much for the review.
littleredwritinggleek - The girls have certainly been through a lot. It is so hard. Will certainly won't go without a fight. In response to your Quinn question, my plan is yes. Thank you for the review.
NinjaGleek21 - I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. I am glad that you enjoyed the last one. As always thank you for the review and the cookies.
Abbie - Yeah Rachel and Quinn losing George and the lamb caused their hearts some distress but they did need to be washed so …. Its not silly and in their circumstance – this are an extension of them. Thanks for reviewing.
cbell123 - Roadtrip is on the agenda and Noah is going to do his best not to get in anymore fights – but the kids will really challenge it. Thanks for the review.
OTHangels - Thank you !
alopez208 - Thank you so much. The Shelby / Santana scene was one of my favorites as well. Noah is going to NY or at least attempting to – will he make it the whole way – we shall see! Thanks for enjoying it and thank you for reviewing.
TommyH - Once again thank you as always!
dolphinluver46 - Not sure how long Will will go away for because it even though we see it as crystal clear – they have to convince a jury. So we shall see. Quinn has truly embraced Shelby as her mom but she won't be an angel for her new mom either. Thank you for reviewing,
NayaFan - Fantastic chapter! Thank you for your review. It means a lot. The relationships are so interwoven and are so easy to write now that I know the characters so well. The night terrors were hard to write but I knew that it was a direction that I had to take. Thank you again for your constant reviews!
Lexie-Rae - Don't apologize for a late review. There's no such thing. I appreciate that you take the time. I love Quinn and Noah too. THey just fit as siblings and dianna and mark make them easy to write. Santana's character is so interesting to write. She has such a heavy weight on her shoulder. The flashback was a marvelous suggestion and I really loved it. Frannie certainly hasn't made her last appearance. I love Quinn and SHelby too as well as Quinn and Santana. School has certainly taken a harsh turn. Thank you for the review as always.
Alright everyone, Chapter 49. Whoa! Thank you for continuing to take this journey with me. It means so much! It still stuns me to this day that all of you read this and follow this and more than one of you has told me this story is crack. I don't know if that's a good metaphor or not, but I'll take it.
Chapter 49
Santana glanced over at Quinn carefully, neither of them were sure why they were there, but they both were grateful to be away from where they were previously.
"Well, ladies," Sue said as she reclined in her chair. "We have a few problems, don't we?"
The girls exchanged another look.
Sue went on. "I don't want trouble this year. My patience is like Easter eggs. They're only good for a limited time." She sobered her face and softened her voice. "Are you alright?" They each gave a small nod. "Good." She stood. "Wait here."
The blonde coach stood up and walked out the door, leaving the girls in silence.
After a few minutes of complete silence, Santana finally turned to her sister and asked, "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Quinn said with a slight frown. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Santana gave her a slight glare. "Don't be snippy. You can be snippy with anyone but me."
"But you?" Quinn asked with a mocking tone. "Good to know that you're exempt."
Santana faced Sue's desk again. She sighed dejectedly. "Everyone knows," she whispered.
"What?" Quinn asked looking up.
"I mean I knew," she said quietly. She sighed, "But... they're using it against us. They're..."
"I know," Quinn muttered taking her hand. "I was in here when we heard you in the gym." She met her eyes quietly. "You okay?"
Santana frowned suddenly feeling vulnerable. "I'm fine," she said pulling her hand back. "I'm fine."
"Liar," she whispered.
Santana just looked at her for a moment before looking away. "What happened with you?"
"Someone just made a dick comment about... about Russell," Quinn said casually, but weakly. "It's fine. Sue heard it though, so I'm sure we're going to have an inspirational speech about not taking crap from low lives or something." She rolled her eyes and gave a slight smile.
They both knew that bigger things had happened. They both knew that their lives were so different than how they were before that they couldn't come back from it. They couldn't even picture how life used to be. It was too far from their reality now. So instead all they could do was roll their eyes and smile, pretending it was something.
"Well, tweetle tits and baboon barbie, where were we?" Sue said as she reentered. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. She looked at Quinn, "We need to get you a uniform."
"I really don't-" Quinn started.
"Let me finish," Sue said unusually, gently. "You girls have every reason not to want to continue with Cheerios. You have every reason to walk out and want to become miscellaneous cattle or whatever the rest of the non-athletes are. However, you are great leaders. Yes, you will have to rework for your leadership, but you are the best that we have. The best leaders don't have things come easy to them. They have everyone consistently trying to overthrow them. So expect this ladies." She sighed. "Think of all the great leaders: Stalin, Idi Amin, Kim Jong Il, Hitler, the Romanovs-"
"Coach, I don't think those are good examples," Quinn said carefully and seriously.
"At all," Santana said with a deep set frown as she mouthed the leaders that Sue just repeated and shook her head.
Quinn frowned. "But seriously."
Sue rolled her eyes. "History is made by the people that write it."
Santana scrunched her nose. "There's not really a way to excuse mass murder." She caught Sue's eyes. "Another argument for another day."
"Either way, I need you girls on this team to lead them," she nodded.
A moment of silence settled on them. Quinn realized she was finished with her inspirational speech that somehow included praising terrifying, violent and cruel world dictators.
"To lead you need to own being a Cheerio. Meaning, we need to get you a uniform, Quinn," she sighed.
"I really don't think-" the blonde started again.
"Cheerios isn't the answer for everything," Sue said carefully. "But it'll offer you something. It doesn't solve everything, but it solves boredom and gives you a distraction. You're good at this. Don't give up …"
"It's not about giving up," Quinn thought quietly to herself.
"I think deep down you know that it is," she said in an un-Sue like way. "And I'm not letting that happen." She paused. "To either of you."
Santana sighed. Her mind was too full to think about herself. She glanced at Quinn. "I'll support you whatever you decide," she said quietly.
"But she'll support you most if you choose Cheerios," Sue said quickly. Santana shot her a look. "Turn your dagger eyes off, lady."
Santana rolled her eyes. "You just called us in here for a pep talk?"
Sue arched her brow realizing that the girls didn't want to talk about what happened in the hallway. "Amongst other things." She sobered her face. "You both need to be upfront with me. If anyone gives you a hard time like I saw and heard just now, you need to tell me."
"We can take care of it," Santana said quickly.
"I know that," Sue nodded leaning back in her chair again. "But the school board tells me I'm not supposed to encourage and support public tarring and feathering ceremonies anymore. The class of '89 robbed me of that fun. Blame them."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "What's on the agenda?"
"We need to have try outs," The coach said plainly.
Santana frowned. "It's almost the end of football season. The list is set. Why the hell would we need to do that?"
Quinn shook her head and folded her arms, understanding what wasn't being told. "People quit."
Sue nodded. "No, I kicked them off."
"What? Who? Why?" Santana asked waving her hands.
"Because of me," Quinn said simply.
Santana let the comment sink in and she looked back at Sue for clarification. She leaned back as she soaked in Sue's look. "No," the brunette said. "Because of me."
Quinn opened her mouth to protest but Sue put her hand up.
"I don't ask for the Cheerios to like you," she scoffed. "I would prefer if they hated you but most of all I would like it if they feared you. It instills a better work ethic. If people are scared, more gets done."
"I hope you don't go to the boosters with that," Quinn frowned.
"I kicked them off because they not only disrespected you both, but me as well. I won't tolerate that shit. They don't exist to me anymore." She said shaking her head. "I don't even remember their names. Probably didn't have them."
"You don't use our names," Santana said.
"But, I know them," Sue said with a frown. "I have them on a Post It on my computer here," she said pointing to the Post-It on her computer labeled: Names Worth Remembering. "You should feel honored."
"Thank you?" Quinn frowned. She looked over at Santana who was staring at her hands. She knew she personally didn't want to do Cheerios, but Santana needed it, but she could also see that she felt torn with it too. "Tell us about try outs," Quinn said taking her sister's hand.
…..
Noah walked down the hallway with determination. Mike had told him what he had seen with Santana. His mother asked him not to fight, but he didn't know how he was going to walk away from this. He wasn't going to walk away; he couldn't. He didn't care about the hisses and the gossip of everyone talking about him being on the news. He didn't care about the whispers about him but when it involved the girls? He cared.
Travis exited the gym just as Noah rounded the corner.
"Hey!" Noah shouted. The hallway was empty save the other boy. The bell had rung but he didn't care. He didn't care that he might get in trouble. All he cared about was that this jackass assaulted his sister. He didn't deal with that well, not one bit.
"Go away. COCK-ran," Travis hissed with a grin.
Noah grabbed him fiercely from behind and slammed him against the locker. "If I see you touch my sisters ever again , I'll kill you."
Travis laughed and Noah gripped his collar. "Come on, man. Quinn is not your sister-"
Noah slammed him against the locker again, not hearing the clicking of heels that drew closer. "Don't speak. you know nothing!"
The boy scoffed. "You think you're the shit, but you're not." He leaned forward threateningly even though Noah still held his collar. "Me and San have done waaaay more than just touching," he taunted. "Plus, Quinn isn't your actual sister. Don't tell me you haven't fucked her deep."
Noah screamed in rage and lifted his fist.
"Noah!"
The boy froze with his fist mid air and turned sharply coming face to face with his mother.
"What is your name?" Shelby asked as a stunned Noah slowly backed away from Travis. The boy looked at Shelby with a frown. He had the balls to get in Noah's face but a hot mom in high heels? He was at a loss for words. "I want your full name because trust me little boy I am not through with you at all," she snapped at the silent teen.
"Travis Ashfield," he said with a frown and a quiet voice.
Shelby grabbed Noah's arm and said to the other boy, "You're dismissed." The boy turned and began to strut away. "One more thing," she called out as she released Noah and walked toward the other teenager, standing so that her face was inches from his forcing his back up against the lockers. "Stay away from my daughters. You think that this is a power game? You think that this is just you demonstrating how big and strong you are?" She shook her head, "This is much bigger than that. This is sexual harassment and is a criminal offense. It will no longer be tolerated. Be careful, little boy. Be very careful."
Travis frowned but eyed the woman and snuck a glance toward Noah. He remained silent.
"Don't look at him," Shelby interrupted him. "Trust me. He's the least of your worries, Travis Ashfield."
Travis nodded and slowly scooted away from the scary mother, slowly retreating down the hallway. Shelby sighed and looked at her son.
"What are you doing here?" He frowned. "You dropped us off like five minutes ago."
"More like an hour, but," she shook her head. "I know you're angry. I'm angry but—"
"But nothing," Noah said with a scowl. "I won't put up with the bullshit."
Shelby frowned. "I know, but you're lucky because neither will I. So please don't solve your problems with your fist."
Noah shook his head. "Let my mom solve them?" She frowned. "Yeah, right."
Shelby rolled her eyes. "We will talk about this more later. Let's go."
Noah frowned. "But really, what are you doing here?"
The two of them walked to the entrance of Sue's office.
"You got here fast," the coach said from her chair.
"This town isn't very big," Shelby stated looking at the girls, only to be met with confused looks. "What's going on?"
"Why are you here, Mom?" Santana asked with a frown.
"I'm here because I was called," Shelby said simply looking at Santana who just looked around with confusion. She looked over at Quinn who simply sat in her chair embarrassed. Shelby closed Sue's office door after ushering Noah all the way into the room. She looked at the cheerleading coach with a raised eyebrow.
Sue looked at the girls. "Do you want me to tell them?"
Santana and Noah looked at Sue with identical looks of confusion. "What?" Santana asked looking at Noah and her mom then back at Sue. Santana then looked over at Quinn, asking silently with her eyes what was going on. Quinn simply shook her head to silence the girl.
Sue sighed. "We seem to be having some issues here." Sue pointed to the chair. "Sit down." Shelby frowned and took a seat. Sue took a deep breath and explained both encounters between Quinn and Santana and the teenage boys. When she finished the room filled with a deafening silence.
"How did you..." Santana began. "How did you know all of that?"
The girl was shocked at the level of detail.
Sue shook her head. "I know and see all since always but now with even greater attention when it involved the three of you," she said lightly.
"I will not accept this," Shelby said with a sharp tone that made the three kids jump in surprise.
"Neither will I," Sue said. "I hear that Travis Ashfield was giving you a hard time." The family looked at her again with a frown. "I may have superpowers," Sue shrugged. Quinn arched her brow. "I may or may not have used the Cheerios confetti budget on surveillance cameras."
Shelby nodded. "I need to honestly think about it."
"I will be enforcing new rules," Sue said assuredly.
Noah frowned. "Um... but you're a cheerleading coach."
"I am Sue Sylvester," she said as if she were the president. She nodded. "And as of last week, I've been appointed as the vice principal."
"What?" Santana asked with a frown.
Sue shrugged. "Just happened. Be excited for my reign of terror." Shelby frowned. "An educational reign of terror," she clarified. She nodded. "I'll talk to Figgins. Tomorrow is a new day. Bring these three back tomorrow. We have some changes to make."
"Mom!" Santana protested.
"Mom! I can't miss practice," Noah whined.
"Mom," Sue mocked. "Don't get your jock strap in a twist."
Shelby frowned. "I saw Coach B in the hallway before running into you, Noah. She is looking forward to you being back at practice." She nodded her head, "You'll come back later this afternoon with Bear or someone but you'll come home first." Shelby looked a Sue and then looked back at the kids. "I don't want you guys here." She said honestly.
"Mom, we're fine," Santana said with a genuine softness.
"No," Shelby said dismissively as she looked at Quinn who was shaking her head with tears pooling, but carefully not falling from her eyes. "Let's get home."
"Mom," Noah said again.
Santana noticed Quinn's look of anxiety. The brunette herself was lost in what she was feeling, but she was comfortable with putting her feelings on hold; however, she could see that Quinn was overwhelmed and breaking down, and that was un-Quinn like. Santana glared at Noah and nodded as subtly as she could manage toward Quinn. Noah followed her look.
"Alright," he said. "Let's go."
Shelby stood. "Sue," she said with a nod.
Sue nodded. "Be ready for try-outs, like I told you," Sue said at the girls. "I need my duo together again."
Santana nodded and followed her mother, brother and sister out of her coach's office. She suddenly paused slightly remembering that she blew off Brittany before like a coward. She looked at her mother as she walked down the hallway. She should talk to Brittany. She should give her an explanation. She stopped walking completely causing her mother to turn and look at her questioningly. She should talk to her.
Her mother gave a thoughtful look. Before she could say anything, Shelby opened her mouth, "Santana, go get Brittany please." It was like she was reading the teen's mind. Shelby thought for a moment. "Noah and Quinn go with her please." She turned to Sue. "Do they need to be dismissed?"
"I'll call Brittany's homeroom teacher," the coach said picking up the phone.
Santana looked at her mother with trepidation. Shelby met her gaze. "You alright?"
Her eldest daughter nodded and turned to follow Quinn and Noah who were already walking quietly down the hallway. They arrived outside of the room just as Blake Owens exited the room. He gave Santana a look and Quinn a nod. He was in their year. Primarily he was a neutral cool kid, who somehow was not involved in anything but was always the in the know.
He looked at the girls with a nod. "Sucks," he said tilting his head. He nodded at Puck before turning his attention back to the girls. "Too bad you couldn't stay in the closet and you could have remained in hiding, Q."
He walked away subtly holding open the door as one boy made a cat call when he saw Santana standing at the doorway pointing at Brittany with a fist pump. "Are you gonna make a sex tape?!" The boy shouted.
The homeroom teacher scolded at him. Santana rolled her eyes before turning to her siblings. "Can you …." she started quietly looking at Noah and Quinn.
"I'll go," Quinn said snapping out of her stupor just as Santana seemed to slowly sink into it.
"Quinnie! Saw the evening news! First Daddy! Now Will!" The teacher scolded the student, but clearly didn't have much effect when another student yelled as Quinn finished telling Santana she wanted to leave. "Mr. Jennings, you up for the task?"
After a few crude comments and corresponding scolds from the homeroom teacher, Brittany emerged. She looked toward Santana and reached to touch her shoulder but the smaller brunette pulled away.
"What's up?" she asked as she darted her eyes between Santana and Quinn and Noah who were now leaned on the wall a few yards away.
Santana nodded took a deep breath, slowly explaining what happened and that they were going home.
Brittany looked at Santana concerned but the Cheerio kept staring down at the floor instead at the person she just named her girlfriend recently. She didn't need to ask if she was okay, because it was clear that she wasn't. Noah and Quinn sensed the new tension and they walked back. Shelby met them with a tight and annoyed smile.
"Brittany, your mother will be meeting us at the house," she said simply. "Let's go."
Shelby ushered the kids out to the car.
Noah talked quietly to Quinn as they walked to the car. "If I'm not around," he paused as he pointed to the cast on Quinn's arm. "You're wearing a weapon. Smack someone with that."
Quinn rolled her eyes as they neared the car. Shelby pulled out her phone and pointed to the kids to get into the vehicle. As they started to climb into the Range Rover, Santana pulled Brittany's arm gently. Brittany stopped from climbing in and stood next to the car, waiting for Santana to say something. After a moment Santana was just shifting from one foot to the other.
Brittany gave a sigh and shook her head, "We can talk later," she said quickly.
Santana grabbed her arm again. "I'm sorry," she said finally. "I don't..." She finally let her eyes meet hers. "I know this isn't fair to you and I'm being a jerk and I'm sorry."
Brittany sighed and looked at her. "I know that this isn't easy, because it's not for me either, San. And I just..." She looked at the ground, knowing that the car was watching them subtly. She met the girl's eyes again. "Sometimes I think you forget that."
"I know... and...that's not fair for you," she muttered looking at her hands. "I'm sorry." She looked up at her and took her hand with care, but hesitantly. "I … My feelings haven't changed, Britt. I just... I don't know how to … I don't know how to feel them in public. That may make me a jerk but it's not that I'm not proud to be with you, it's just that I'm scared."
"So am I," Brittany said carefully. She gave a sigh. "I … It's really lonely what we're going through and I just... I would like to do it with you if you give me a chance."
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Me too," Brittany said pulling her into a hug. Santana was stiff but sunk into it.
Shelby finally ushered them into the car. She hung up her phone. "Rach is still working with Holly. You will join them. You may be out of school but that does not mean you get the day off." She sighed and looked at the four of them. "We will figure this out, guys. It's a big process but we will get through it."
…...
The eleven year old stared at her work then out the window. Her mother should have come home by now. Where was she? What was she doing?
"Where did they go again?" Rachel asked as she went into the kitchen for her fourth glass of water. She seemed to always have a thirst for water when she was stressed.
"They're out running errands," Helen said.
Holly entered the room heavily. Rachel had been antsy for the past hour. This was the fourth trip to the kitchen and Holly had lost count of how many times Helen had interrupted.
The older woman pointed at the arts and crafts supplies she brought. "Once you're finished with Holly, we can work on a craft."
"That won't be for awhile though," Holly said from behind Rachel. "Rachel, let's stay focused please."
Helen frowned but Rachel gave a nod and followed Holly. However, her concentration was again only temporary. Rachel looked at her work with a frown from where she and Holly sat at the breakfast nook. She was so distracted and it showed apparently, because finally Holly pointed it out.
"Rachel, where are you?" Holly asked but she received no response. "What are the things that used to relax you? Help you escape?"
Before Rachel could answer, Helen called out.
"Rachel, please focus," Helen called from the kitchen area. Holly looked at her and then back at Rachel.
"If she doesn't want to talk, that's fine," Holly said, tapping on the table getting her attention, but getting no response. "Rachel, you need focus on your work here please."
"Rachel," Helen said entering the room as she dried her hands off on a hand towel from the dishes. "Bug, you need to listen. What are you doing?" Helen leaned over her youngest granddaughter. "Sweetheart, this looks great and I think you're doing great." Rachel looked up but not at either one of them.
"Can I talk to you?" Holly said abruptly as she stood up.
It wasn't really a question and Helen could see that. Rachel looked up at the sound of Holly's chair moving back.
"Where are you going?" she asked quietly.
"To the kitchen," Holly said. "We are going to chat. I want that problem finished when I get back please."
Rachel frowned but nodded as the women disappeared into the kitchen.
Helen turned so that she could see Rachel. Holly wondered if she was afraid that Rachel was going to disappear in a puff of smoke.
"I see that you care about Rachel," Holly said. "All of them actually."
Helen nodded. "Yes, of course, I-"
"And you need to back off," Holly interrupted. Helen looked at her flustered and the tall blonde went on. "Seriously. This is supposed to be a school learning environment. I'm aware of her history and what's going on. She has the right to be distracted but you're giving her greater opportunities to be distracted. You need to let me do my job and conduct this environment."
Helen huffed. "You may know us on paper but you don't know-"
"You're right," Holly said putting her hands up. "But I'm trying to figure out who Rachel is now. Not the five year old Rachel you see six years later."
Helen frowned but soaked in her words. "She was two, but... I just..." She trailed off as she looked around the corner. "It's too hard."
"It's hard, but it's not too hard," Holly said. "You see her as your granddaughter. You love her. She is my student. I need to establish healthy boundaries for her again and having you coddle her through the process is not helping her."
Helen frowned but let the words soak in for a moment. She was rarely a patient woman, but as much as she hated it the words made sense. She sighed. "Rachel is just very-"
Holly put her hand out. "Rachel is a lot of things, but of all the things she is she doesn't need you to explain her."
Helen gave a frown but didn't argue. Holly took that as her queue to return to her student who once again stopped working and was looking out the front window.
"Rachel?" she called leaning toward the girl. She received no reply. She tapped her hand on the table making noise so not to scare her, calling her name again. No response again. Holly then leaned closer towards the young girl causing Rachel to jump so high that her chair shifted.
"Sorry," the young girl quickly responded.
Holly took a deep breath and looked at the girl. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said softly. "Emotionally or physically. I promise."
"I know, I'm sorry," she whispered, looking at her work.
"Don't be sorry," Holly said gently. "Trust is earned."
Rachel looked up and gave a slight nod,"Yeah."
"Can I ask you something?" Holly asked.
"I feel like you're going to anyway... Even though you just did."
Holly smiled. "Do you have an idea of what you want?"
Rachel's eyes darted. "I'm eleven," she said simply. "I haven't even gone through puberty."
The blonde woman smiled. "But don't you have something you look forward to? Things that you want?"
The eleven year old looked at her with a frown. "I can't wait to be a grown up," she said quietly. "and kinda... be put together." She looked at her hands. "You know?"
Holly frowned and looked at the girl, unsure if she should tell her that being put together is overrated. However, lessons weren't taught as much as they were learned. It was a fine line.
"I do," Holly said. "You're very observant. Don't lose that."
Rachel nodded. "I won't." She chewed her lip. "You asked me before what helps me escape."
Holly nodded. "Yeah," she said with a nod as she looked up from the papers so was correcting. "I asked because I know that you're a hard worker, but I want you to do something for you. Something that doesn't feel like work."
She looked up at her with serious eyes. "I like school work. I'm good at it."
"You are," she said with a nod. "There is no doubt about that, but do you like it because you're good at it?" She looked at Rachel but the girl was looking at her work. "And because you weren't as good at other things at school?" Rachel remained silent. "I know that that may sound harsh, but -"
"No, I …" She interrupted and looked up at Holly. "I... um... That's why I liked him … well, why I used to."
Holly nodded, realizing they were changing the topic to something that was rarely spoken about. Nevertheless, Holly continued to struggle to connect the dots on what the girl was trying to say. "You liked Mr. Schuester because he was harsh?" Rachel continued to have her head bowed. Holly sifted through her experience and knowledge as she tried to decipher what was indirectly being said. It dawned on her. "You were drawn to him because he was honest with you." She paused, "Or you thought he was, at least." Rachel nodded still looking down. "Well, I will be honest with you, Rachel," Holly said with greater fortitude in her voice. The girl looked up at her. "You're a smart girl and I know I can't understand what's going on in your head, but I'm here if you need to talk." Rachel nodded. Holly continued causing the girl to look up. "But I want you to be a kid and be a person that you used to be. I didn't know you then but I can tell that the person you are now is different."
She looked up at her. "What?" she frowned and looked at her hands and continued. "Really? …. Do you … Different how?"
Holly shifted her weight in her chair and rested her chin on her fist. She looked down at her with a small smile. "I can tell that you have a spark, Rachel," she said. "One that you don't know how to show anymore." Holly paused as Rachel's head bowed lower. The older woman leaned her head down. "That's okay, Rachel. It's okay to figure it out and it's okay if you're not the same person you were before." Rachel looked up at her in surprise.
"Can I tell you something silly?" Rachel asked with an innocent shrug.
Holly nodded. "Absolutely. I'm all ears."
"That's a silly phrase." Holly frowned. Rachel pointed to her ears. "You … um... you only have two ears. You know. All ears... It might imply more than … you know two..." She shook her head as Holly didn't try to mask her absence of interest. "Anyway..." She chewed her lip. "When... when I was little... well,... last year... maybe even earlier this year... You might laugh but... Every time I signed my name I would put a gold star after it. It was a metaphor." She looked at Holly. "Metaphors are important. My gold stars are a metaphor for me being a star."
Holly looked at her. "I think you're still a star, Rachel," she said simply. She leaned her chin on her fist again and looked at the girl softly. "But I don't think you need a sticker to remind people of that." Rachel looked at her with a frown. "However," Holly continued reaching for her bag and rummaging through it. She pulled out a sheet of star stickers. "Just in case."
Rachel smiled. "I trust you," she said quietly as she looked at the stickers. "I didn't mean to jump earlier."
"I know you do," Holly smiled. "You don't have to search for the good in people or force trust. Your gut can be wrong. I know that you're working on trusting people in a more balanced way..."
Rachel gave a nod. "Yeah...I want to stay inside not because I'm afraid people will hurt me, but... because I'm afraid of hurting myself, allowing it again. Does that make sense?"
Holly paused and thought for a moment. "Yeah, it does." She frowned. "Rachel, what happened wasn't your fault."
"I knew," she whispered.
Holly looked up and saw Helen lingering in the doorway. "Knew what?" Holly asked.
"I knew something was wrong," Rachel muttered. "I … just ... I didn't want it to be."
"Not everyone will hurt you, Rachel," Holly said gently. "But sometime not everyone will have the best intentions. That won't make them bad necessarily as much as bad for you. Okay?"
"Okay," she muttered. She looked up suddenly when she heard a car pull into the driveway. "Mom's home!" she said with a smile. as she hopped off of the stool.
"You still have plenty of work to do, Rach," Holly said as the tiny girl ran toward the door and paused when she saw her siblings climb out. She looked at her grandmother in surprise but then ran outside. Holly turned to Helen. "I owe you twenty bucks. They didn't make it through the day."
Helen shrugged. "I know my kids."
They lingered and watched them pile back into the house.
….
Michael folded his arms and surveyed the station. He gave a deep breath and spotted Bear exiting his office.
"Michael, you need to go home," Bear said as he tucked a folder under his arm. "Seriously. You can't be here. I'm barely apart of the investigation. You certainly can't be."
"Bear, tell me what's going on," Michael said looking at the interview room.
"Seriously," Bear said. "I can't tell you. It's not something we can discuss." He leaned forward. "Especially not here." The man looked around with a deep frown.
"Don't worry I told them I was bringing you coffee," he said holding out the travel mug.
"It's cold," Bear frowned. "Go home. I'll talk to you later."
Michael sighed and headed toward the door. The doors shot open.
"I won't talk to you!" Suzy said as she came through the doors.
"Why is she cuffed?" a woman with frizzy hair asked running behind them. "She's not a criminal! My daughter is a victim!"
"I'm not a victim, you dumb cow!" Suzy hissed at the woman as she continued through the station. "Will loves me! He loves me! I had to give him the singing dwarf hobbit because he said he had needs.-"
"Suzy, stop talking!" a man,, presumably her lawyer, said as they headed toward an interview room.
"No! He loves me! I'm not a victim. He loves me!"
Michael frowned and watched the girl disappear into the room. He looked at Bear and walked over to the captain with purpose.
"Do you have a psychologist listening on her interview?" he asked the captain urgently.
"This isn't my first rodeo, Michael," Captain said with a frown. "Go home."
"You have to have them in there," Michael urged.
"She's not going to talk," said the rookie standing next to the captain.
"Not on purpose," Michael said narrowing his eyes and looking back at the captain.
The man nodded and thought for a moment. "Go home," he said again.
Michael looked toward the room as Gus walked up to them.
"We're going to get more names," Gus said confidently. "Suzy might not talk but they might."
Bear sighed and looked over at his father-in-law. "I'm heading out soon to pick up Noah for practice anyway. Satisfied?" he asked pointing toward the room.
Michael frowned as he watched after the girl. "Not in the least."
….
Later that afternoon after a long study session, Noah finally made it to practice. He was grateful for an escape but after countless drills, he was slightly tired than he was when he had first arrived. Beiste blew the whistle indicating the end of practice. Noah had received looks and a few hard hits, but nothing more. There were few people that wanted to mess with him. A few clearly wanted to ask questions but they didn't. He was able to conduct practice, still outrun most of the defense, and even put a couple of hard punishing hits on some of the linebackers himself. If some of the kids still wanted to mess with him by the end of practice, they knew that he could still very much hold his own and he was still king of this field and this school. No matter what no one could mess with Noah Corcoran and get away with it.
Noah drew off his helmet and walked over to the car with Mike.
"Thanks for giving me a ride, man," he said with a sigh. "If you could, can you drive super slow?" Mike looked at him with a frown. He shook his head. "When I left my mom was calling all of the people that were giving the girls a hard time. She going to be in a snippy mood."
Mike shook his head. "You should get used to it, man," he said as he threw his duffle in the backseat. "She's going to be in an even worse mood when she finds out our sleepover includes a drive to New York."
Noah sighed. "Don't remind me." He sighed. "I guess I should tell you what we're doing."
Mike laughed as they climbed into the car. "That would be nice."
Noah frowned. "We're going to have to take the long way back to my house."
"Won't your warden get suspicious?" Mike asked.
"You're right," Noah said. "Maybe if we just sit in the driveway." Mike looked at him with a frown. "She thinks we need social time."
Mike laughed and started the engine. "Alright, I'm ready."
"Alright," Noah said with a heavy sigh. "My stepfather really messed some shit up."
"Your mom's husband?" Mike asked as they turned toward Noah's neighborhood.
"No, my dad's. He was gay," he said with trepidation wondering what his best friend would think.
"My dad is the head of the department of gender studies," Mike said with a shrug. "I know that being gay doesn't mean not being human. Sex is sex. I don't want to know how my sisters get it on or feel all their lovey dovey stuff. Why would I want to know or care about how strangers love? Cheers to love and shit. I still can't tell the difference between my feelings." Mike shrugged. "There's no shame in owning up to who you are." He laughed. "Plus I'm friends with you... soo..." He grinned.
"Forgot you and your family were all liberal and crap," Noah smiled.
"And crap," Mike said rolling his eyes.
Noah frowned. "We're going to see my step-dad. He uh..." Noah swallowed a lump in his throat. "He really messed things up." He could feel his friends eyes on him. "I uh... the girls were abused by him." His voice was small. "Rachel and San were in the hospital." Noah shook his head. "It was a mess."
Mike nodded, knowing there wasn't much to say. "That sucks, man."
Noah scoffed. "You have no idea." He straightened. "Anyway, I got a letter from him in the mail when I had my birthday." He shook his head. "I just... no one knows what he did to us..." He looked at Mike and looked away. "Well they do, but not really... You know? And..." He sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to say to him." He chuckled. "I just know that I don't want San or Rach opening the mailbox on their eighteenth birthday thinking that they're getting a birthday card and have it be a letter from that bastard."
Mike nodded. "Okay," he said. "My dad is staying at Oberlin for the weekend for a conference and my mom is visiting with my aunt in Cleveland. I double checked with my sister, Jen and she'll cover for us if we pay her $50."
"God, her price went up," Noah sighed.
"Inflation," Mike said with a roll of his eyes.
Noah nodded. "Alright, so we're on for the weekend?" Mike nodded. "I'll get out of being grounded."
"Good luck," Mike smiled.
Noah sighed and headed into the house. "I'll need it. But I'm Puckzilla. I'll make it happen."
…..
Santana stood at her locker the next day chewing the inside of her lip. Her mother had mentioned this at dinner last night. Santana just wanted to scream at the adults that this wasn't going to help. Not one bit.
Every time she looked over her shoulder she saw someone whispering and then she would hear Sue barking an order at someone. She sighed. It was now or never. She gave Brittany a brief smile as she and Quinn walked up to her locker.
"You ready?" Quinn asked with a groan.
"No," Santana muttered. "But we don't have a choice."
They sighed and began to walk into the gym.
"Hey!"
Santana tensed.
"What's wrong?"
She turned and saw Sophia, Lys, Dani, Kelly and Maribel gather around them.
"We missed you yesterday," Sophia said with a smile. "And you know the last few weeks."
Dani nodded. "You've missed a lot here."
Sophia elbowed her in the side.
Kelly laughed. "Yeah, if you think your lives suck," she rolled her eyes. The girl trailed off when Santana didn't respond.
Santana frowned and looked at them. Isn't this what she wanted? The spotlight off of them. She gave a tiny grin. "Yeah," she said with a small smile. "Yeah."
The girls walked into the assembly. The entire school slowly simmered as they past.
"Carry on!" Sophia scolded everyone.
People weren't yelling. Perhaps they weren't talking about things because there was five officers including the chief of the police waiting at the bottom of the bleachers. There were so many people but they were practically all stunned. They were all waiting for something. An impromptu assembly was always fun for everyone.
Santana smiled quietly at her uncle and climbed to sit next to Quinn who seemed to be spacing out. She looked over at the blonde who was pulling subtly at her uniform.
"You look fine," she whispered.
Quinn frowned and nodded. She had been stuck in her head for a little while and Santana knew that, but she wasn't going to push her.
"I'm fine," Quinn said with a shrug. "Stop looking at me like that."
Santana nodded.
"Attention, students," Figgins said as he tapped on the microphone.. "Attention. Listen." He paused. "Students, we have important things to say. Get ready."
The student body quieted. There were a few moments of awkward silence. "For what?" Someone finally asked.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you have a new vice principal effective immediately," he said slowly. There was a low murmur as he turned behind him and lifted his arms up in a grand gesture. "Coach Sue Sylvester!" There was a loud rumble of murmurs as the small Indian man began a slow clap. No one seemed to join. "Our new vice principal has a few announcements."
Santana watched as Sue strode up to the microphone and the entire gym went silent.
"There's a new sheriff in town, kids," she announced. "Starting tomorrow there is a zero tolerance bullying policy. I hear about it, I see it, and you're gone. No one escapes my wrath." She pointed at the students. "Jocks, Cheerios, losers and all. It stops now. To make sure we're on the same page, I view bullying as the following: physical or sexual harassment, verbal or otherwise. Furthermore, there will no longer be fighting, name calling of any kind or slushie wars." The students frowned at the sharp turn of events. "I'm serious about this, folks. I know all of you are going to want to test me on this new era here at McKinley." Sue leaned further into the microphone. "I look forward to it. I will take it as a challenge."
The student body paused. Was she serious? Santana looked over at Quinn, who was clearly thinking the same thing. Santana looked over at Brittany.
"Now, to what you're all REALLY here about," Sue said folding her arms. "These officers as well as those people in the ugly pants suits are here to talk to any of you about a Mr. Will Schuester." Another eery silence rested on the student body. "Unless you've been living under a rock, though I know a few of you out there that do, no judgement, you know that that poodle-haired man is in trouble." She paused and pointed her finger. "See that right there? That, my little minions was an example of verbal abuse. Just trying to demonstrate." She sighed and looked at the student body seriously. "If there is anyone who wishes to come forward and speak to these people in confidence, the faculty and staff are here for you."
Santana looked around the room. She had never seen the student body this quiet.
Sue went on. "Our noble and respected police department," she paused and Bear gave her an unimpressed glance, but she continued. "Have reason to believe that there might have been multiple victims." Sue slowly surveyed the crowd. "If this is the case then we all here want you to know that you are not alone."
Santana gazed around the room ready for a snicker or a comment, but paused at what she did see. Gwen Meyer from her fourth period English class, a spunky and witty girl had her head hanging low. A short girl that Santana used to associate with a cartoon character on the bottom bleecher was crying. Why was she crying? Another girl on the bleachers across the court had her arms folded and her face contorted in such an angry glare, but Santana could see through the hostility because it was so familiar to her own. It was only there to cover up the heartbreak. Santana continued to glance around the room until she stopped at Dani, sitting in front of her with her head bowed too. For the first time, Santana saw something different in the older girl. She felt as if she was looking at Rachel.
The importance of all these reactions and what it meant hit her deep in the gut. Why was it that in circumstances like this that everything became clearer? She didn't feel like she was seeing things better as much as she felt the pang of guilt from how blind she had been.
Santana turned and looked over at Quinn, who had been previously surveying the room, but now her focus was on Dani. Quinn looked up and back at Santana. The girls exchanged a look. Suddenly everyone began to move around them. They were dismissed. Quinn stood up quickly as Santana watched on quietly.
"Dani," Quinn said chasing after her friend down the bleacher's steps.
The normally confident and smart witted Cheerio waved at her friends. "I can't," she whispered waving them off. "I'm late for class." She avoided their eyes as she shoved her hands into her letterman jacket pockets. "Talk to you later."
Santana watched as Quinn deflated slightly. She looked at her with pause. Her sister sat next to her with a frown.
"Do you want to talk?" Kelly asked as she sat next to her, smoothing out her Cheerio's skirt.
Santana scoffed. "Do we look like we want to talk?"
Kelly nodded. "Yeah," she sighed with a shrug. "I don't know what to say."
"Yeah," Santana said looking Brittany with a weak smile. "Me neither."
"I..." Quinn stuttered. "I uh..." She looked at the doors and watched Dani disappear amongst the crowd "I missed so much."
Santana stared down at her hands. "We all did."
"Girls? Are you ready to talk to Ronald McDonald here?" Sue asked pointing to the woman in the pants suit. "Sorry," she muttered as she closed her eyes and shook her head. A small smile danced across her lips, "Bad habits die hard."
"No," Brittany said looking at her. "We're fine." She took Santana's hand.
"We don't need to talk," Quinn nodded.
"Well, then go learn cr-something," Sue ordered with a shrug.
Brittany followed Quinn as she walked with Santana to class. The shorter blonde was staring at the floor, clearly full of concerns and thoughts. Brittany was about to ask but she spoke too late.
"See you later," Quinn muttered stopping outside a classroom.
Santana opened her mouth to say something but the shorter blonde skidded away. Brittany and Santana continued down the hallway.
"I don't think I should wear this," she said motioning to her uniform. "I don't feel like a Cheerio anymore..."
Brittany took her hand. "I think you just don't feel like you anymore."
Santana smirked. "Ain't that the truth." She shook her head. "I don't know how to be us."
"I know you don't," she replied. "I don't really know either."
Santana sighed. "You're important to me. So important. You give so much to me and I don't know what I need to give to you. The trial and this and now Dani and Noah's stupid trip and Cheerios and the school hating me, us and -"
"San," Brittany said carefully. "All you have to do is be you. You don't need to give me anything."
Santana sighed. "I do... I … um... last night everyone was sleeping and I... I … I was thinking about you," She looked at her hands and avoided her eyes. "I um... I …. " She pulled her backpack up front, but then put it back on her back. "Nevermind."
"Come on," Brittany smiled. "It's just me." She took her hands. "It's just me."
She shook her head. "I … I want to tell you what happened but … I can't... And... I know you," she said finally looking at Brittany. "And I know you won't say it out loud but you're scared to hear it too... so... um..." She chewed her lip and brought her backpack forward again and unzipped it pulling out a notebook. "I … um... For English Lit we're doing short stories... I … um wrote this one last night..." She handed it to Brittany. "I don't really want to talk about it and you don't have to read it now but..." She watched as Brittany skimmed the pages. "It's about some girl …. she's sixteen and she used to think she was the shit, or at least good at pretending she was." Santana searched Brittany's eyes. "And then her blonde enemy moved into the guest bedroom and started sharing a bathroom with her and …. and then she realized she was in love with her best friend..." Santana bit her lip. "It explains a lot of the things I don't know how to say," she muttered looking at the ground. "You don't have to read it," she said quietly but she paused and looked up at Brittany as the taller blonde just looked at her with a gentle gaze. "It's just all I have to give."
Brittany pulled her into a hug. "I'll keep it in my binder and read it tonight-"
"If you want to," Santana interrupted.
The blonde smiled folding it carefully. "Actually," she said leaning forward. "It feels like a war zone here so I'll keep you close to my heart." Santana frowned but watched her girlfriend put her story down the front of her Cheerios uniform.
She shook her head and laughed as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. "You're ridiculous."
Brittany rested her chin on the top of the girl's head. "You didn't have to do this you know?"
"I know," she muttered. "It … just … It just happened." She rested her head on the girl's chest. "For just a moment," she whispered. "The girl I was writing about wasn't me."
Brittany hugged her back. "I'm sure I'll love reading about her as much as I love hugging her."
"You're so cheesy," Santana smiled.
"You love it."
….
After five minutes into class, Quinn raised her hand and asked to use the restroom. The teacher was known not to remember who went and who came back so she knew she could hide in there for the rest of the time. She pulled at her Cheerios uniform and walked into the far bathroom. She just needed to breathe. She needed to wrap her head around this.
She sighed thankful that no one was ever in this bathroom. She leaned against the door as it closed. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a breath.
"You look like you could use a cig," a voice said.
Quinn put her right hand on her chest with a scream. "Jesus Mary and Joseph!" she screamed.
The girl who sat on the tall window sill laughed. "Chill out," she smiled offering her a cigarette.
"I don't smoke," Quinn said with a frown. "Thanks … though..." She said slowly.
"Seriously," the girl said still holding it out to her. "You look like you could use it."
"I'm fine," she said with a frown. The girl continued to hold out the cigarette. Finally Quinn caved and took it along with a light from the girl who seemed to be examining her closely with her eyes.
"I've never been this close to you before," the girl said with an arch of her eyebrow.
Quinn scoffed and took a drag of the cigarette with ease, thanking her close viewing of movies from the fifties. "Don't get used to it," she sneered. "Aren't you like a part of the only gang in Lima?"
The girl laughed and took another drag. "I used to hang out with the girls under the bleechers."
"The skanks?" Quinn asked with a frown as she took another drag.
"Yeah," She laughed. "But we parted ways. I'm Dylan by the way." She held her hand up. "Don't bother introducing yourself I know who you are."
"You don't know jack," she hissed.
Dylan nodded taking another drag. "You're right I don't."
"I didn't come in here to talk about feelings," she hissed.
"Good," Dylan said with a smile. "Neither did I." Silence settled on them for a few minutes, but Dylan spoke again. "Don't worry everyone will eventually stop looking." Quinn looked at her with a frown. "It's new to them. They get bored easily. Right now you are just hot off the press, and by hot I mean you are very hot." Quinn frowned more deeply. "I'm not hitting on you."
"Really?" Quinn asked. "It kinda felt like it..." She shook her head. "I said I'm not here to talk," she said with a frown. "But thanks."
"Whatever," Dylan said. She snuck a look over at the blonde. "Smoking is bad for you. Terrible habit." She smiled as she took another drag.
"Good to know," Quinn muttered as she took another drag herself. She felt the warm smoke fill her lungs. She closed her eyes and enjoyed this new sensation. It was calming and distracting all at the same time. The perfect combination.
…..
Later that night the family sat silently around the table. Santana frowned and stared at her food. . The chaos of the gym was still echoing in her head. The look on Dani's face and the fact that Brittany was reading her story, her actual story, all ate at her. She just... she simply wasn't there. She heard her mother talking quietly to Rachel about a playdate. She looked up from her plate.
"I don't really want to, Mom," Rachel said with a whine.
"Where are you going?" she asked Rachel.
"I'm not," Rachel said with a yawn. "Holly's niece is just coming over." She shrugged. "She says I need friends."
"That's not true," Santana said quickly. "You have plenty."
Rachel looked at her with a sharp glare. "Don't lie to me. I'm not dumb."
"I didn't... I didn't say you were," Santana said with a frown.
"Is that why we are having such an early dinner?" Noah asked.
"We always eat around this time," Quinn replied.
"We do?" Noah asked taking another bite. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Shelby, "Ma, don't forget that you said I could sleep over at Mike's this weekend."
"Are his parents home?" Shelby asked as she cleaned up around them.
"His sister is. Jen, the one from college," he said with a shrug. "How else do we eat?"
Shelby nodded. "I'll check with them. No guarantees, Noah. And yes, Holly's niece is coming over to play with Rachel after dinner while Holly runs a few errands." She pointed at the older kids. "You all have plenty of homework still. Leave Rachel alone with her friend and get to it. You have missed a lot of school and I don't want you falling behind."
A gentle knock interrupted them. Shelby pointed to their food. "Finish please."
Shelby opened the back door. Holly entered the kitchen with a gentle smile. "Hey guys," she said. Behind her was a petite girl with low pigtails and a leopard print beret hat with leather riding boots and a matching... sort of matching... skirt and shirt combination.. She was loudly smacking her gum while she looked around the kitchen with a deep set frown.
"Thank you for doing this for me, Shelby," Holly said with a smile. "I shouldn't be more than an hour."
"Don't worry about it," Shelby nodded. "It's our pleasure."
"Rachel, this is Sugar. Sugar this is Rachel." The girls nodded quietly. Holly pointed to the older kids. "That's Noah, Santana, and Quinn, Rachel's siblings and her mother, Ms. Corcoran."
Sugar nodded. "I'm happy to meet rich people like you. I'm rich too. I have Aspergers. I WebMD-ed myself."
Rachel frowned. Holly smiled. "I will be back, Sugar. Please behave," Holly said waving. She paused at the door and looked at the gum chewing girl. "I'm serious."
The girl nodded and Holly left. "Yeah. Yeah." She turned to Rachel with purpose. "Entertain me," she demanded.
Rachel looked up at her family and then slowly back at the girl. "Um... I thought we would play in the living room. My friend Kurt and I used to -"
"That sounds tolerable," she said cutting her off. Rachel hugged George, who she brought downstairs earlier, to her chest a little more and led the taller girl into the living room. Seeing that Shelby was distracted, Quinn stealthily scraped her plate into the trashcan before she rinsed it. She then turned to watch as the girl followed Rachel out of the kitchen as if she were at a museum or zoo.
"How old are you? I don't play with kindergarteners," Sugar said as they walked into the living room.
Santana let out an audible growl. "Rinse your plate and then work, now," Shelby interrupted. She rolled her eyes, but complied.
Sugar walked into the living room with a frown. She was silent as she soaked in the pictures and the decor and then it began. No one was prepared for the firing of words that exploded from Sugar's mouth. She just kept going.
"While you could be considered pretty, I'm too distracted by your skirt and your animal prints that are all over your clothes. I have aspergers."
"Your sister looks like a constipated, angry chihuahua."
"Your brother's mohawk looks like a dead rat."
"Your other sister looks like Bad Mood Emo Barbie. I have one. Daddy knows the Barbie Company."
Rachel stared at Sugar with a frown as her mouth hung open in shock. She looked into the kitchen with unamusement. Shelby and Santana couldn't help but snicker.
Rachel frowned. "Just the company?" she mocked. "Not actual people."
"Do you have aspergers too or is this your personality?" Sugar asked as she shifted her weight.
Rachel huffed and retrieved her workbook. She wouldn't play with this girl. She had worst verbal vomit than her siblings. "My social exposure has been very low lately and apparently you're the only person available," she mumbled.
"I don't understand what you just said. I speak English." She paused then shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry, aspergers. I'm not racist."
Rachel snapped and looked at her sister. "What?" she mouthed silently.
"Speaking of," Sugar said with a tilt of her head. She raised her hand and pointed to Noah, Santana, Quinn and Shelby and then back at Rachel. "What are you all? Are you turkey basted?" Shelby frowned deeply as Quinn and Santana just gawked while Noah scratched his head in confusion. "Sorry, aspergers." Sugar paused and looked at Rachel and then at the women. Shelby tapped on the counter trying to encouraged the three to return to their work. "No, but really," Sugar said breaking the silence. "Yes or no?"
Rachel looked at her mother with a frown she wasn't really sure what the question meant.
"Sugar, we're not discussing that," Shelby said dismissively.
"So the answer is yes," Sugar said leaning closer to Rachel and whispering as loudly and unsubtly as possible. "There's no shame. It's just obvious since your family looks like a racial grab bag. Sorry, aspergers." She shrugged and looked around the house. "So was your dead father a part of the mob, because your family is clearly loaded... Like me."
Rachel looked back at her mother with a frown holding her monkey in her lap and her play teapot in slight defeat, alongside her workbook in front of her. Clearly, there won't be any tea. Sugar adjusted her doll.
"Gertrude," Sugar said pointing to her doll with big hair, "is a collector's item, but we're rich enough that I can play with collector's items. I don't need a cheap doll." Sugar frowned looking at Rachel's monkey. "Maybe you're not rich. You can't afford a stuffed monkey. Are you really the child they hide in the attic? Like the Little Princess? They bring you out for events and for show?"
Rachel looked at her mother and siblings in confusion. Santana opened her mouth, furious. Shelby put her hand on her eldest daughter's shoulder.
"Sugar, Rachel is my daughter. George has been with her through a lot. It's not always about the money," Shelby said kindly.
"Ohhhh," Sugar said with her head tilted high so that she had to look down at Rachel. She leaned forward and said with a loud whisper, "I'm not supposed to ask you about that stuff."
Rachel frowned. "What stuff?"
Sugar rolled her eyes. "The news has failed to cover the most important detail." The girl tossed her hair obviously as Rachel looked panicked at her family.
"Sugar," Shelby began.
"They fail to mention," the girl said as she stood. "That Rachel is the daughter of Broadway royalty." She shook her head at the shame and shrugged "Turkey baster or not." Sugar stroke over to the piano. "However, I'll be frank, Mrs. Corcoran, I'm better than you are." Sugar shrugged as if it were a fact of life that Shelby had simply missed. Shelby arched her brow as Noah and Santana looked like at the girl as if she had said something terribly offensive to every generation ever in the world.
"Better than me?" Shelby said lightly. She nodded. "I can see that. You look very talented."
"Talent is visual?" Quinn frowned with an eye roll.
"Yes," Shelby scoffed.
Sugar stood and held her doll in front of her. She cleared her throat. "Allow me to demonstrate." She cleared her throat again and opened her mouth but then closed it.
Rachel looked at her hopefully, but Sugar only set her doll, Gertrude, down with care. She patted Rachel on the head. "This is for you my miniature, shrimp, turkey," she said lightly as if she were handing out food to the poor. "Beautiful by Christina Aguilera," She announced as she stood up taller and cleared her throat one more time over dramatically.
"Evvverrrrrydaaaay issss sooooo wonnnnderrrrrrrrfullllllllll lllllllll," Sugar began with a screech.
Santana's hands went to her ears as Noah attempted to frown. Shelby gave a soft nodded and an uncontrolled grimace.
Sugar continued as she changed octaves. "Thennnnnn suddennnllllyyyyyyyy. It's harrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd to breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeathe."
Rachel scowled and was staring at her hands mumbling in a fierce, angry tone in Spanish. Shelby looked up when she heard words that Rachel shouldn't know.
"Rachel," Shelby said warningly.
"Santana said words like that are okay as long as you don't say them directly," Rachel said, but her mother's narrowed eyes told her otherwise. Shelby looked at Santana with a frown, but the girl only shrugged.
It continued. It went on and on and on. Quinn andNoah stared at her with a deep frown. They were so stunned that none of them were noticing Rachel's reaction.
Sugar waved her arms in the air. "I am beeeeeeautttttttifulllllllll lllll! No maaaatttttttttter whaaaaat they saaaaaay! Words can't bring me down." She sang the last line with a fierce, staccato.
"STOP!" Rachel hissed. She shot up in her seat. George went flying off her lap but she quickly picked him up. Placing him on her chair she continued to ramble, cutting Sugar off as she started to sing again. "You cannot sing! I'm sorry! I don't have to pretend to be on the autism spectrum to say it how it is. Plus! To prove to a Broadway legend -My mom!- and I'm not a turkey! - You should have sung a Broadway tune. You don't have Aspergers! It's just an excuse for you to say rude things without a filter!"
Sugar frowned. "Excuse me, I wasn't finished."
"Yes, you are," Rachel hissed. "This," she said, "is how you sing." Rachel hit the note she needed on the piano and opened her mouth. "Maybe this time, I'll be lucky..." the song poured out of her. The lyrics exploded from her pores. Her eyes squeezed shut at the passion of the lyrics. She didn't feel the stares on her. She only cared about beating Sugar. She only cared about showing this girl how big music can be and how much the words can matter if you just sang them with feeling. She began the last verse. "Everybody loves a winner, So nobody loved me; 'Lady Peaceful,' 'Lady Happy,' That's what I long to be..."
Quinn stared at her in shock. She didn't know Rachel could sing like that. She looked over at everyone else and saw that they too were in shock, not because they had never heard it but because they had almost forgotten the true resonance of Rachel's singing voice.
"Well, isn't that something," Holly said suddenly standing at the kitchen door.
Quinn turned and looked at her. The older blonde was smirking.
With narrowed eyes, Quinn asked, "You planned this?"
Rachel's voice continued. "All the odds are in my favor, something's bound to begin, it's got to happen, happen sometime, maybe this time I'll win." As Rachel came down from the last note she stared at the floor in shock. What was that?
"Planned what?" Holly asked with the smirk remaining as she walked into the family room. The family continued to remain frozen. "Sugar, come on please. You can show me your singing skills on the ride back to your father's office."
"Aunt Holly, I'm better than her," Sugar said with a frown and an up-talking voice.
"I'm not so sure about that," Holly said winking at Rachel. "See you tomorrow, everyone." The woman waved was gone. Just like that.
Rachel's eyes continued to dart around the floor. She looked back at the piano. What was that?
Sorry again that this chapter took so long. It is a bit of a change structure wise. Please let me know what you think.
Thank you
