Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or the characters. I do own all OCs.
Spoilers:
Rating: T for alluding to past abuse, though nothing graphic.

Trigger Warning: Quinn's past abuse is mentioned but it is not graphic. Her scars are shown to Mercedes, and how Quinn got them (the belt) is also mentioned. Marked as the entire chapter. Please read with caution.

Notes: Just something I thought of. I want to slowly integrate Kurt and Mercedes into Quinn's army of protectors, and being friends with Santana, Brittany, and Quinn. In this, Mercedes learns of the true extent of the terror The Unholy Trinity, and Quinn, in particular, has experienced.

Set sometime over Christmas break, December 2009.

It's been a long day.

A long day of arguing and yelling and angry words, and Rachel has had it.

She does not give a fuck what Mercedes Jones thinks because dammit, this is a safe space, and she will not let her fucking ruin it, not for Santana, not for Brittany, and certainly not for Quinn.

"You know what," Rachel scoffs. She shakes her head and stalks to the doorway of the living room but then she stops. She stops and she turns and she looks straight at Mercedes, who has a similar body language position.

It has been two fucking hours of arguing and yelling.

And she is done.

There is only one thing left to do to get the situation through her stubborn head.

"I have question for you."

Rachel takes five steps forward.

"Have you ever, even just once, been hit with a fist or a belt?"

Mercedes opens her mouth, and Rachel just knows it is not the answer she wants, so she holds up hand and grits out, "Yes, or no, Mercedes."

And Mercedes Jones may be a hormonal, stubborn, hard-headed 15-year-old, but she is also not dumb. And she knows any other answer will push Rachel over the edge.

So, Mercedes opens her mouth but this time, she does it to choke out, "Yes. Once. My mama caught my dad as he… Yes. I have. She told him if he ever did it again, he would never see me ever again."

It seems to satisfy Rachel because she turns around, and says, "Follow me."

And Mercedes says nothing. She does not speak, does not ask, does not breathe. She just follows Rachel out of the living room, up the stairs, down the hallway, and to her bedroom door.

Rachel enters without knocking, and Mercedes is right behind her. Quinn is on the bed, Brittany is on the floor playing with two of their kittens, and Santana is at the desk.

But they all look up when the door opens, and they all react to the tears and anger etched in Rachel's expression.

"Mercedes," She speaks before any of them can question what is going on. "Let me show you what happens when a mother doesn't protect their child from the man who is supposed to love them."

Mercedes's stomach drops at those words, and she is filled with dread as she watches Rachel walk to the bed, and ask Quinn to stand up, and gently say,

"Pull your shirt up, and turn around, LuLu."

They had spoken about this before. About whether getting Mercedes and Kurt, — the only two New Direction members who were still hostel towards them — to understand would best be accomplished by showing them Quinn's scars.

They were all at varying levels of agreement on if it was a good idea. But now…

Well, now they guess Rachel saw no other alternative.

Quinn does not argue; she simply takes her arms out of the t-shirt she is wearing, and hangs it around her neck, then turns, so her back is facing Mercedes.

And that not breathing thing Mercedes did on the walk up to Rachel's bedroom? Well, she did that because she chose to.

Now?

Now she does it because she can't.

Because she sees, for the first time, what the Unholy Trinity and Rachel have been telling them all along.

She sees scars, dozens of them. Some are crisscrossed; others are in straight lines.

Those that are years old are faded. They would be unrecognizable this far away, but up close there is no doubt that she has them.

The ones that make Mercedes sick, however, are the ones that are only a couple of months old. The fresh ones. The red, angry marks that Mercedes knows hurt so fucking much.

She stares at them for ten straight seconds, and it is only broken when Rachel instructs Quinn to put her shirt back on.

Rachel gives her no time process. And maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe this was harsh because, maybe, the girls have had to grow up quicker than most kids. Maybe, they react differently to grownup situations than other 15-year-olds.

But it has been a long fucking day, and maybe, Rachel just does not care at this point.

"You do not get to judge."

Mercedes is amazed at the venom those words contain because Rachel's actions? Those include her gently sitting Quinn back on the bed. They include her lovingly kissing Santana's forehead.

But her words and her eyes, they speak volumes more of anger, and frustration, and…

She understands now.

Because now, she looks at Quinn and she does not see Head Cheerleader, Queen Bee Quinn Fabray.

She sees a terrified little girl, a war-torn, exhausted, strong young girl who has survived terrors she, herself, cannot even dream of.

So, she listens. She listens and she hears, like she never has before, when Rachel says,

"You do not get to judge when you do not know the terror that man reigned down on her for fifteen years, Mercedes. You do not get to judge, when you have not experienced how terrifying it is, to know your best friend is scared of something, but you just don't know what."

She breathes in shakily, and Mercedes sees Brittany get up, come over to them, and sit on the floor in front of the bed. She leans her head so it is resting on Santana's knee.

"You don't get to judge, Mercedes, when you weren't five years old, tiny and naive and young and innocent, but you knew. You knew that the very sound of his name should not make her shake and cry and panic. And-"

Her voice fractures, and catches, and Santana reaches up to take her hand, and link their fingers, squeezing it.

Rachel has to take several breaths, to calm herself, and they already know not to try to stop her. They know this needs to be said, and they know she needs to be the one to say it.

"You don't get to judge," The Diva's lip trembles, and her eyes are haunted in a way that will stay with Mercedes forever. "until you know things that the adults — those who are supposed to be smart enough to know — don't know, but you do not — cannot — understand them until you are older, and bigger, and wiser, and you find out just how bad it really was."

Mercedes does not bother to stop the tears. No one else is, so why should she? She looks to the girls on the bed. And she sees them, really sees them for the first time.

Not cheerleaders, not bullies, not snarky, bitchy, It girls.

She sees Rachel's T, and she sees Britt, and she sees Lucy.

She sees Santana's right hand linked with Rachel's left hand, and her left hand linked with Quinn's. And she sees Brittany playing with a hole in the leg of Quinn's sweatpants, and Quinn's left hand soothingly running through Britt's hair.

And Mercedes hears, and understands, every single thing Rachel has said.

And…

She knows she will not give her parents attitude tonight, because, she realizes, she really took her kind, caring, protective, loving parents for granted.

"You do not get to judge," Rachel breathes out, exhausted and all empty of the earlier fight and anger. "Until you have lived through their pain and terror; until you know what it is like to be on the outside, waiting... wondering… if today–"

She shrugs halfheartedly. "– would be the day he took it too far, trying to remember what the last thing you said to her was. Until–"

Rachel looks her in the eye.

"Until… you are scared to death that the girl who is your entire world will no longer be… in your life, and-… and you wonder… if you would be able to survive that loss."

Her voice breaks again, and the tears fall, and her expression crumples. Santana takes that moment to stand up and pulls Rachel into her arms. And she makes the decision for her,

"I think it's time you leave."

No heat, no hate, no bite. Just… words.

But Mercedes hears, and Mercedes listens, and Mercedes Jones makes the trek out of the Diva's bedroom, down the hall, down the staircase, and to the kitchen where she finds two gentlemen waiting for a fresh glass of water, and open arms.

Josiah and David hug and comfort her with words and with silence, and they come to the understanding that whatever happened upstairs was scary and grownup, but shall not be mentioned unless brought up by four specific members of this household.

For now, they comfort this young girl who has grown a lot in the two hours since her arrival to their home.

And they prepare to welcome her any time into this safe space they have created for the wonderful children who are a part of Quinn's army.

3 complete pages. Almost 1,500 words. I cried my eyes at 12:15 a.m. writing this because it randomly popped into my head.

Mercedes learned the truth, and now she knows. Now all that is left is for her to go to Kurt with the "you don't get to judge" speech. She will tell him about the scars; how do you think he'll react? Would you like to see Mercedes going to Kurt?

Please comment and let me know what you thought! :)

Important notes:

I have not forgotten about Is It Worth Giving Up? I know it has been officially over a year since I updated, and boy, did I not intend to take this long. But things just kept happening – first with Naya, then with my inspiration being gone, then my mom got COVID in December. She's doing fine now though.

Now, here we are. And wouldn't you know it? My flashdrive has become 'corrupted' meaning every single fucking document, including the multiple future completed, and current, chapters of IIWGU, are inaccessible. Can't access one damn thing (can you tell it pisses me off?)

Thank you ALL for being patient, and sticking with me. Your reviews and thoughtful messages really help. And I hope your 2021 has been well! 💚