Mistakes are mine

RCV

Emma turned off the lights in the living room. LJ and Tori had pretty much taken over the floor in front of the sofa where Rachel slept. Santana refused to go home and had her arms wrapped around Quinn as they took over the loveseat. Emma and Sue said nothing about the fact that Santana, while her arms were around Quinn, had her hand resting on top of Rachel's head. Emma also said nothing about the fact Santana had rearranged the furniture to suit everyone's needs. Puck, well, Emma sighed and shook her head. He came stumbling in an hour after the others and rebuffed questions about the blood caked on his face. After making sure Puck didn't have a concussion, Sue gave him an ice pack and put him down in the recliner. He fell asleep after continuously bugging Rachel about Finn. Emma guessed the events of the day drained them all. Stopping by the front blinds to close them, Emma sighed to herself as she locked the house up for the evening.

Sue came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Emma looked over her shoulder and stared at the kids spread out across her living room. In a matter of days, she had grown more attached to them than she thought possible, and though LJ and Tori were fairly new, Emma had already decided she would do anything for them. She grabbed Sue's hand and took her upstairs to the bedroom. She closed the door and chewed on her lip while she thought about how she wanted to bring up the conversation that'd been on her mind all night. Soft fingers brushed against the side of her neck in comfort.

"What is happening, Sue?" she whispered. "It feels like we're missing something."

Her girlfriend said nothing, merely continuing to offer comfort and reassurance where she could, and Emma heaved a deep sigh.

"I have something to tell you," she said. "Something I never told you."

Sue nodded slowly, watching Emma carefully and patiently. That was one of the things she loved about Sue. The woman was a hard-ass in public, but behind closed doors, she was as soft as cotton. Emma looked away briefly and got her thoughts together.

"Three days after Finn was cleared to return to school, he came into my office. I didn't think anything of it, you know? I expected Finn would show up at some time to vent or hide out from all the people teasing him because of what happened, but I never expected him to come in the way he did. Naturally, he was still recovering from what happened, and he looked to be in a lot of pain, but the way his eyes darted around the room told me there was something else going on. He kept telling me that I was the only safe place in the school, that I was the only one that wouldn't tell, but no matter how hard I tried, he refused to tell me what he was talking about. Before I could try another route, Finn's tone changed. His eyes were wide and glassy as he pleaded with me to watch out for Quinn and Santana. He mentioned that Puck could take care of himself, but he begged me to watch out for them. And as quickly as it happened, he limped out of the room. I sat there for a long time, confused, and then I brushed it off and tried to forget about it. But now-

"Now you're wondering if you should've said something beforehand?" Sue guessed.

Emma nodded and teared up. "What if what's happening is because I didn't say anything before now?" she cried.

Sue pulled her into her arms and kissed her forehead. "What happened has happened, sweetheart, and there is nothing we can do about it now. We just have to move forward and make sure that we protect them the best we can. But to answer your original question, yes, I do feel like we're missing something. This all seemed to happen at once. As soon-"

"As Rachel came back," Emma finished softly.

Sue held her for a moment. They stood in their bedroom, six resting teens in their living room downstairs, and Emma couldn't shake the fact that Finn's behavior stemmed from something else. He hadn't been the only one acting strange the week after Rachel left and the following weeks after. It seemed to spread around the Glee Club, affecting everyone but Quinn, Santana, and Puck. Blaine had all but vanished into the background, choosing to keep his head down. Mike and Tina were failing their classes, Mercedes and Kurt were becoming vicious, and not to mention Finn and Brittany had all but become the power couple Quinn and Finn were supposed to be. Emma wanted to call them out on it, but every time she asked Will about it, he cut her off and changed the subject. While she thought about what had changed, Sue made a comment that took Emma by surprise.

"You know, those kids changed shortly after their trip to Detroit."

Emma frowned and looked confused. "When did they go to Detroit?" she asked.

"That competition or whatever Will took them too. He asked Figgins for permission slips to take the club to Detroit so they could look at other show choirs."

"Babe, are you sure?"

"I'm positive. I was in the office when he asked."

Emma stepped back a little and said, "I only ask because I get all permission slips through my office to ensure that the parents' signatures match the ones we have on file. After that incident with Jacob sneaking on the cheerleading trip, we don't take any chances with large groups."

Sue gave her a look, and Emma huffed lightly.

"I'm saying I never got any slips for the Glee club to go to Detroit or received any paperwork for it."

"Are you sure you just didn't miss it?" Emma glared at her, and Sue quickly added, "Sorry, I just can't see William lying about a field trip with the Glee Club. Half of them are as boring as the songs they sing, and the other half probably can't legally leave the state of Ohio."

Emma smacked her for the crack against the students and said, "Don't be like that. I don't know why the slips never came across my desk. Maybe Figgins just forgot."

Sue went to respond, but the door cracked open, and Quinn appeared on their threshold, her eyes guilty.

"Sorry," Quinn muttered. "I was coming up here to ask if you guys minded if I made a late-night snack for me and the Berry Brigade."

"Why did they send you?" Sue asked.

Quinn knew what she was asking and moved her arm around as she said, "It doesn't hurt anymore. LJ and Tori didn't feel comfortable coming up here and Rachel was still drowsy."

"How long have you been standing there?" Emma asked.

"Uh, long enough to hear you talking about the Detroit trip."

"Wait, so there was a trip?"

Quinn nodded and said, "He never turned in the permission slips because he lied about where we were going. He told us that he knew Figgins wouldn't look up a competition if he suggested paying for everything, and he knew Sue wouldn't care enough if it was Glee related. We did have our parents sign off on a trip, but it wasn't to a competition. It was a conference of sorts."

"What kind of conference?"

"The kind that I wish I had never gone too. I should've known something was off when my Dad readily agreed to send me."

Emma felt Sue stiffen slightly, and she quickly took over before Sue lost the plot.

"Where did he take you? Why didn't you come to me? We could've reported it."

"I didn't have anything to report."

"You didn't or you couldn't?" Sue asked.

Quinn looked at Sue and said, "I left early. I have no idea what happened after they got to the conference. I took a red-eye back to Columbus."

"Why?"

"Santana and Puck weren't there, which told me something was wrong."

Sue and Emma shared a look, and then Emma looked back at Quinn, confused. "Why did that give you the impression something was wrong?" she asked.

"Mr. Schue told us Santana and Puck couldn't get permission from their parents. I texted them once we landed in Detroit. They were never invited."

"What do you mean they were never invited?" Sue said slowly.

Quinn shifted and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Rachel mentioned that Finn told her to ask me about Mr. Miller's House, and I told her that I didn't know what she was talking about. Well, while I was sleeping, I remembered. I had pushed the event so far back into my head that I forced myself to forget about it. Mr. Miller is the name of the guy that ran the conference, and it was in his house. Finn put more than himself in danger by pulling that stunt he did, but I know why he did it the way that he did. Finn isn't being paranoid about people always watching. There are people in this town deeply connected to Mr. Miller. Some are more committed than others. I don't know who, but I hear things and see things when I'm stuck with my father at church. I also don't know who Mr. Miller is, technically, but I know that whoever is tied to him is bad news."

"When you say bad news-

"As in conservative, holier-than-thou types. Basically my father duplicated a hundred different times."

Sue and Emma cringed and neither one knew what to say. Quinn leaned against the door frame and shook her head.

I don't know what happened on that trip, but I know that when they got back, they were different. I still don't know what Mr. Schue said to get them to stay nor how he wrapped Mercedes, Mike, and Tina into all of it since they aren't exactly the type that Miller lets in, if you know what I mean."

Emma's eyes widened. "Oh my god. It's a race group?"

"I think so. Miller's house isn't as strict as the Aryan Brotherhood, but they definitely have a preference. They aren't too focused on sexual orientation. Well, the guy who created it doesn't care, but some don't care for it."

"When did you know what it was?" Sue asked, ushering Quinn to the chair at Emma's vanity.

"I, uh, well, I snuck off once we got there. I was trying to call Rachel again," Quinn admitted, looking down. "I was trying to apologize and make sure she was okay. I thought she left because of me at the time, and I wanted to convince her to come back. While I was on the phone, I overheard some guys talking about their plans and how excited they were that Mr. Miller had finally come to their side of the country. They started talking about how they were ready to put the 'others' back into their place, and it didn't take much to know who the 'others' were."

"Surely Will didn't know this," Sue said. "He wouldn't do something like this."

Quinn shrugged and rubbed at her shoulder. "I don't know what his purpose was. All I know is that he said or did something at that meeting that changed the Glee club."

Sue ran a hand over her face and put her hands on her hips, pacing the bedroom. Emma knew she was having a hard time believing William would ever put the students into that situation, but Emma wasn't. She knew William had his secrets, his preferences, and the way he treated Finn and Quinn over Mercedes and Tina outside of the Glee club. Sue, as much as she got on William, loved that man like the brother she never wanted. In her mind, it was a betrayal to see someone who preached so much about being "inclusive" would be apart of a group that wanted nothing to do with it.

"Tell me how Rachel's involved," Emma said.

"I have no freaking idea," Quinn sighed.

"Someone has to know," Sue prompted.

Emma turned on her heel and grabbed her phone. She dialed a number and held up her finger when Sue started to ask who she was calling. Waiting for the person to pick up, Emma smiled when he answered.

"Hello, Blaine. I'm so sorry to be calling at this hour, but something has come to my attention regarding your grades, and I need to meet with you tomorrow morning before classes to see if we can come up with a way to get you back on track."

Emma listened, knowing Blaine wouldn't protest too much considering his grades really were slipping, and when he agreed, she relaxed and told him she would see him in the morning. Hanging up and putting her phone back on the charger, Emma just so happened to glance out of the window and saw a cop car pulling up in front of the house.

"Cops," she said.

"Why do you think they're here?" Quinn asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling you don't need to be seen here." To Sue, she added, "You should grab Santana."

Sue moved into action, and Emma pulled Quinn with her. She unlocked something in her closet and gently pushed Quinn inside.

"Don't move or make a sound. You'll be fine, okay? I made this as a panic room. Only me and Sue know about it."

Quinn nodded and settled into the space Emma built into her closet in case of emergency. Sue came in with Santana in her arms, the girl still half-sleep, and she passed her to Quinn. The blonde gathered Santana in her arms and soothed her back to sleep, nodding at Emma to tell her they were good. Emma closed the door, locked it, and made sure the air was flowing before she hurried out of the room with Sue hot on her heels. They took the stairs two at a time, and while Sue went to make sure none of Quinn's stuff could be seen, Emma opened the door just as the cop knocked. There were two more hanging behind him, and Emma was glad she took the initiative to hide Quinn and Santana.

"Good Evening, are you Emma Pillsbury?"

"Yes, how can I help you tonight, Officer," Emma looked down at the name, "Gettier?"

"We were called here in response to a noise complaint."

"Noise complaint?" she repeated. "By who?"

"That's not important. May we have a lock around?" he asked.

Emma frowned and said, "I don't understand why you would need too."

"We come in with or without a warrant, and I'm sure you don't want this showing up on your personal record. You're a school counselor, right?"

Emma ground her teeth. She opened her door wider and stepped to the side. "Come in, but I assure you there is nothing here for you to find," she said.

"We'll be the judge of that."

The three of them walked past her. They did a double-take at the number of teens in the house. Emma told them she was having a counseling session for some of her students. She even went as far as to saying their parents were aware they were there.

"It's for students who have slipping grades and need a safe space outside of my school office," she lied.

LJ and Tori were already sitting up with Rachel, and Puck was spread out across the floor in front of them. Rachel was looking around the room, and Emma could tell she was trying to figure out where Santana and Quinn had gone. The officers searched the first floor, and Sue went up to the second floor with two officers while the third stayed down with them.

"Officer?" Emma called out.

"Yes?"

"Why are you really in my home?" she asked.

"Police business," he said shortly.

"So if I call and ask your superior-

"He'll tell you the same thing."

Emma narrowed her eyes. She folded her arms and decided to stop asking questions. When Sue and the other two officers came downstairs, Officer Gettier inclined his head and gestured towards the door. He turned and looked at Emma.

"I'd get these kids home. It's almost curfew," he said.

"I'll get right on it," she said.

The officer bowed his head and smiled, though it was all teeth and no warmth. "You all a nice evening," he said.

Sue let them out, and they waited until they were sure the car was gone before they did or said anything.

"What the hell was that about?" Puck exclaimed.

Rachel thought about what Finn said and she nudged her brother.

"Do you remember that app you created?" she whispered. "The bug one?"

LJ's eyes widened. "You don't think-

"After today, I don't want to take any chances."

LJ pulled out his phone and clicked some buttons. While he was doing that, Rachel stepped over Puck.

"Sue, were you with them the entire time upstairs?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, I was in every room."

"With both of them?"

"Well, no, one of them went into the bathroom for a moment while the other went into the bedroom. I picked the bedroom."

Rachel sighed and said, "Okay."

"Got it," LJ said.

Emma and the others, minus Tori and Rachel, looked confused when LJ stood up, walking around the room. Once he got closer to the television, LJ frowned and bent over. He reached behind the TV and pulled out a small, circular device. He dropped it on the floor and smashed it beneath his shoe. It took a few seconds, but they realized what it was. He held his finger to her lips and pressed a button on his phone. He continued to walk around the room. He found another one in a lamp and another on the wall behind a picture frame. Once he was confident, LJ relaxed and shook his head.

"I've disarmed at least three listening devices downstairs alone."

"You what?" Sue exclaimed.

"Finn was right," Rachel whispered.

"What the hell is going on?" Puck asked. "Why would they bug your house?"

Emma and Sue looked at one another, and Sue grabbed her hand.

Why would they bug their house, indeed.