Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do own all OCs unless ownership is otherwise given.
Spoilers: None except for current chapters of Is It Worth Giving Up? (chapters 33 and before)
Rating: T to be safe (Santana's mouth, you know how it is)

Thank you to those who reviewed on the last couple of chapters. My laptop is about to die so I will update this chapter with a more detailed note later, but for now, here is the next chapter!

Notes: This is a direct follow up to chapter 4. Rachel meets with Britt and Santana in Coach Sue's office, to talk about the three girls who ordered Quinn and Noah to be slushied.

Protective!Rachel with an underlining of Protective!Santana. And Quick at the beginning if you… close both eyes, and use your imagination…

Btw, this is BEFORE the Thanksgiving pt. 1 chapter. So it is BEFORE Rachel's arm is put in a cast.

Enjoy! :)

Monday, November 22nd, 2009

*Later – Coach Sylvester's Office*

Rachel helps Quinn wipe off as much of the slushy as she can. Honestly, though, Quinn is going to need to shower, at least to get it all off, from her hair, neck, and other places that neither girl can reach with a damp paper towel in the girls' bathroom.

Noah shows up not too long after Santana leaves. And he stays while Rachel is helping Quinn. Rachel had told Santana that she wants to speak to their Coach about what happened. So, Sue said that they would wait. Mandy is in the office with Santana and Brittany, while the other three girls await their fate in the hallway outside the office.

It takes 15 minutes before Rachel makes her decision, and she walks the two down the hallway to the Cheerios's locker room.

"I will be in with your Coach, San, and Britt, okay?" Rachel tells them. "Come find me when you are finished."

Thankfully, Quinn nods, and turns to enter the locker room. Noah follows after her without saying much, and Rachel sighs deeply, letting her head fall backwards, trying to ease the stress that is eating away at her right now.

She then treks her way down to Coach Sylvester's office.

There are three girls waiting outside. She recognizes them as the three who Santana and Brittany have had the most problems with since they became Captain and Co-Captain a few weeks ago.

"What are you looking at, Berry?" The blonde one snarks at her. She is feeling particular snappy today, which is why she replies with,

"Just remember that you are going to the ones who receive punishment for this. You can snark to me all you want, but you mess with Sue Sylvester's girls, and you are going to regret it with your very being. You should know that, considering you three are "her girls", though, going by your actions today, you may not be on this Team much longer."

And with that, she knocks on the door, and is promptly let inside.

"Ah, Streisand," Sue greets as Santana shuts the door. "How is she?" It took a lot of self-control to stop herself from going after who, she thought, were 3 respectable, important members of her Cheerios. She nearly had a come apart when Brittany walked in with blue stains on her Letterman sleeve, though she withheld it when she saw the dancer was not alone.

Now, being that Brittany has been a part of this team since eighth grade, Sue had come to know the little tells of her anxiety, or when something was eating at her. And Sue had hoped that after revealing what… he… did to them, she would not see this look on Brittany anymore – at least, for a while.

Knowing that Brittany is a very respectable person, and that she would not have the blue stains on her Letterman because of carelessness, she asked…

And was told the events, the whys, which has led them up to this point.

To Rachel being in here.

"About as well as you'd expect," Rachel answers. She steps further into the room.

"I think, if this happened a month ago, it would not have the affects it most certainly will have. She may have been able to come out of it at least a little bit unscathed."

"But, due to everything else that has happened, Quinn has been reduced to what she was when I first met her – a terrified little girl whose anxiety has overtaken every thought and action she has made, or is going to make. And that means none of us know how this will affect her."

Sue nods to this.

Yeah, that's what she thought.

It is not what she wanted to hear. But, even she is not naïve enough to believe that Rachel was going to walk in here and say, "Oh, everything's great! She is going to be just fine!"

"Right." She straightens up in her seat, motioning for Rachel to take one of the two seats in front of her desk.

One of them is already occupied by Brittany, while Mandy is sitting against the wall next to the door, and Santana is pacing around the office.

"So… What are we discussing as far as punishment?"

"I say Suicides until they pass out, and then more Suicides when they wake up."

It should be no surprise that this comes from Santana.

And Rachel is caught between laughing – because it was so predictable – and sighing in annoyance.

They should not be here.

Why are they here?

God, why is it that they seem to not be able to catch a damn break?

"I don't want to actually injury them." Rachel states, pausing for the – "And why the fuck not?" – she knew was coming. "Because, T, that will not teach them anything."

"No! –" She stops her with a hand motion when Santana goes to cut in. "Zip it, and listen."

And Sue watches this with great enrapture.

"If Miranda drew on the way–"

"– What the fuck does my baby sister–"

"– I said zip it–"

"– I don't want to zip it! I want to know–"

"– Well, if you'd shut the fuck up, Santana, you might find out what that has to fucking do with it!"

That finally gets her to be quiet.

Meanwhile, the reactions around them are… entertaining to say the least.

Mandy is wide-eyed in the floor, frozen in place at the fact that someone dare cross Santana Lopez, while Brittany is just leaning back in her chair, watching these two without a care in the world, and Sue?

Well, she is taking pointers.

Because obviously she has been getting Santana to shut up and listen the wrong way all this time.

Note 1… Rachel stated out with "T". That must be something between the two of them because she has not heard Brittany or Quinn use anything other than "San" or "S" or, on occasion, from Britt, "Sanny".

Note 2… Possibly the use of cusswords were what got Santana to be quiet, though, she muses, maybe it is because even someone like Santana can see the fire sparking in the Diva's eyes, and knows it is bad to keep egging her on.

No wonder she can hear all kinds of arguments from the Choir room nearly every day.

Obviously, Rachel has not "trained" the other Gleekers like she has Santana…

"You gonna shut up and let me speak?"

It is with a calm voice, but Sue categorizes every one of the little bits and pieces of her body language that say just how calm Rachel really is.

When she gets no reply, the Diva finally says,

"If Miranda were to draw on the wall, you wouldn't yell at her and force her to wash it off. Now,–" Rachel stands up here, walking closer to Santana.

"Besides the fact that she is literally 1-year-old, and she would have no understanding of why you were yelling, – as she grows, if you continue to yell each time she does it, she will either one, stop coloring on the wall, or two, find a place hidden away to continue coloring in secrete."

Rachel sighs out and realizes that she has everyone's attention.

"If Miranda were coloring on the wall, you would need to explain to her why that is wrong, give her an alternative to the wall, or take away the coloring utensils until she learns better–"

"My point is, having them do Suicides until they pass out will do absolutely nothing except make them hate you and your Coach even more, and–" She holds up the hand again. "– and make them try to do their bullying in private next time."

Maybe she is on to something… Sue thinks as she listens more closely.

Rachel looks Santana straight in the eye, asking, "You think slushying is the only way they can get to her? You and Lucy, for years, tore me down with names, Santana. Neither of you ever had to lay a hand on me any time you called me those… things… and it can happen with them–" She swings her arm in the direction of the door. "and Lucy, just as much as it did with you and her and me."

Lucy?! Who is that? That is the second time Rachel used it. Does she mean Quinn – No, focus, Susan! Sue tries to derail the thought of not knowing why Rachel is using Lucy for… Quinn? … She has more important things to worry about.

Rachel turns to her now. And she rushes to remember the last thing the Diva said so it does not look like she was not listening.

"They are your girls, Coach," She notices Rachel adopts a more… respectful… demeaner. "So, you have the final say in what happens, but…" She trails off, waiting for a response.

Sue thinks about it, actually thinks about it.

She has to admit – Rachel is right. Punishing them with something like laps until they pass out will only make them stew with anger and plan a better route of bullying for the next time.

They will not be thinking about what they did and how it was wrong; all they will think about is how much they hate Rachel Berry, and Santana and Brittany, and how many more laps they have until they get to go home.

She thinks about it, settling on…

"She is your girl, Rachel."

This confuses her, obviously, so Brittany explains with, "We all have someone on the team. Sanny is my person, I am hers, as well as Q being both of ours. If something happened to one of us – like with Q – and it was done by a teammate, our person will decide what the punishment is, so S decides for me, I decide for her, we both do it for Q, and so on."

She waits for the nod.

"Q is your girl, and you are hers. This happened to her so, granted it is nothing extreme, you get to decide what punishment Megan, Ashley, and Brianna get handed out."

Sue nods along approvingly.

Take that, assholes who want to call her best dancer stupid.

Rachel takes a moment then, to think about it. She looks to the door, then around the room.

"Do any of them have anything imperative to do after school? Any siblings they need to watch, or jobs to go to?"

"Ashley has an older sister in college but other than that, no they do not have siblings, or jobs, or anything else. They usually go to the mall after school."

Rachel nods to this, as well, thinking about it.

She knows she can choose the punishment but still; it is not as easy as it seems to pick something that would be officiant enough to make these three teenagers understand why bullying two of their Captain's and Co-Captain's best friends is not the way to get their anger out.

She tries to think of something that they would hate – but at the same, it would be beneficial, even if not directly to those three girls.

Rachel thinks it over… settles on one thing, but, wonders if it would help.

She decides not to second guess it and suggests, "Detention." And, because she knows Santana is going to flip her shit over it, quickly adds, "But not in the Library," that is where detention is usually held. It helps to keep the kids quiet, instead of them goofing off, being loud, and "just" spending time with their friends.

"They can use that time to help clean, either the Cafeteria, or the Locker Rooms. Instead of being kept in the Library with nothing to do."

Rachel pauses here, mostly to take in the reactions around her. Mandy is looking thoughtful while Brittany is watching Santana.

And the Latina looks as if she is ready to march out of this room, and smite them right there in the hallway.

But…

She looks to Rachel and knows it.

Quinn – Lucy – is, for all intents and purposes, Rachel's "responsibility" now. The Diva gets to decide things like this – punishment for those who hurt Quinn and, in the process, Noah, as well.

So, she nods her consent. Shows her willingness to hand this over to the older girl.

Sue waits for a moment, to see if any of them have anything else to say. However, before she can give the go-ahead, there is one more person that needs to be dealt with…

"And what about Jenson, over there?"

Their gazes snap to said girl, who straightens up and looks slightly afraid. She hopes that go easy on her – after all, she was just doing as her Captains ordered, or at least, what she was told Santana and Brittany wanted her to do.

Mandy did not know Quinn left the team voluntarily. If she had known, she most definitely would not have thrown that slushy at Q and Noah. The whole team has been taught that those who are the Captain and Co-Captain are the boss. What they say, unless it is inappropriately crazy, is what goes. No questioning allowed.

"Jenson, stand up!" Sue orders, which gets the frightened teenager to obey immediately. She then sits back, and lets the girls take care of it.

"She said the orders supposedly came from Santana and me."

Rachel glances at Brittany as the dancer says this.

Then, Britt is speaking to Santana, a hidden message of take it easy underneath the words, "She was only doing what they have all be told. The order came from us, which they are to obey without enquiring about it."

Santana does not say anything but something is seen, not by Sue, and certainly not by Mandy, herself.

But Rachel and Brittany see it.

The silent way she says ok.

Brittany looks to Rachel, passing the so called "torch" on to her.

"You're free to go." Rachel states. "You were doing something that you have taught to do. However, know that Quinn left this team voluntarily, and from now on, unless the order comes directly from Captain Lopez or Co-Captain Pierce, then you are to not do anything that has to do with Quinn Fabray. Is that understood?"

It takes her a moment to realize that she is neither being thrown off the team, nor having a part in the other girls' punishment.

But she nods, stuttering out a, "Yes, Ma'am." Even though Rachel is only a year older than her, and really does not have the authority to mandate such a response.

Mandy is let go, and she quickly exits the Office. The three outside the room all smirk, creepily at the same time, like a bunch of dolls who have no ability to think or act for themselves. She looks to them, and she sees in their faces, in those smirks, that they think she is walking away after having her ass handed to her, and that they got away scot-free.

She is barely five feet down the hallway before she knows, without even having to turn around, that Sue has opened her door.

Mandy knows because she can hear that edge in her Coach's voice, as Sue demands, "Get your sorry asses in this office now!"

And, as she walks down the hall, turning the corner, she smirks to herself.

Because they have no idea how much trouble they are really in.

Ta-da…

And there it is. I know you were probably expecting them having to do something like Suicides, but I feel like maybe? Rachel was right? The Suicides would have done nothing but pissed them off. They would have run the laps, then got to go home, or to the mall, or wherever else.

This way ^^ they have detention, but are forced to do something that bitchy cheerleaders like them hate – Working. They will do this for a week – stay after school, help clean the Cafeteria, and the Locker Rooms after practice.

They will be pissy, but at least it is productive *shrugs*

Anyway, how do you guys feel about me doing another follow up? With the Faberry that I am sure you are wanting?

Please review and let me know what you thought! Worth Giving Up? will be updated on the seventeenth. :)