Fun Fact: David and Josiah Berry have been officially married for only 5 years.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters.
Spoilers: None
Rating: T
Reply to reviews: (chapter 18)
Gwennie49: Thank you for the review. It was a... sad one to write. I figured it was needed, though. This was has a somewhat happier tone surrounding the girls.
chloe2007: Thank you for the review. One more chapter! I'm excited to get it up for you. :)
Thank you to the others that reviewed!
Notes: It is Saturday morning, so a few hours after the last chapter. This will also have Noah in it, but not much interaction with him. It will be more the girls interacting with/comforting Quinn. Btw, Brittany sings You are My Sunshine in Italian and Santana sings Beautiful Dreamer in Spanish.
Notes 2: So... this was supposed to be up several days ago. Unfortunately I was dealing with headaches. I take after mom with her headaches/migraines so I never know when I will or will not feel well enough to write. The next chapter will be posted in a few days. :)
Updates on important stuff Quinn is 10 weeks pregnant. Also, she has not spoken verbally in 3 weeks & 2 days.
** Faberry/Brinn (Britt/Q) friendship. I really liked writing the Quinn/Brittany part in this chapter.
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
*6:30 a.m.*
It's early. Like, before-the-sun-comes-up early, when the door to Rachel's bedroom opens and two girls walk in.
They have pillows and blankets and immediately fall onto the air mattress at the end of Rachel's bed.
It was put there the night before, because the Diva knew that, at some point, San and Britt would most likely come into her room to sleep.
They fall back asleep.
:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/
It's now just after seven, and the people of this house have only gotten 4 hours of fitful sleep.
Quinn wakes up, and her entire body hurts. Her lip, her cheek, her back. The welts and cuts are the worst. It's like her back is on fire, more than what it usually feels like. Her lip feels like someone pour salt into the wound, leaving it with that god awful stinging and throbbing sensation.
She runs to the bathroom, making it just in time to be sick, which is not fun with her split lip, and Santana stands up at the same time Rachel is maneuvering across the bed to get up.
"I'll go…" The Latina whispers, pulling the blanket up on Britt before hurrying off to the bathroom. Rachel sits up in bed, sighing, resting her elbows on her knees, and scrubbing her face with her hands.
She takes the black rubber band from her left wrist and uses it to pull her hair up into a pre-brushed, messy bun. Then she checks the clock. 7:13 a.m.
"Estrella?" Her head pops up at the whisper. There is only one person who calls her that, only one who uses Spanish for their nicknames.
She sees Santana's worried face poking around the doorway of the bathroom, the door opened just enough so that the light does not bother Britt, who is asleep still on the mattress.
Santana makes a "come over here" gesture with her head, and Rachel is up immediately, slipping inside, looking at what greets her.
She and Quinn are sitting in front of the toilet, but the blonde now has her shirt off, leaving her in the sports bra that she refused to take off last night. Her back looks horrible, and it makes Rachel sick to her stomach, because my god, it looks like the welts and cuts hurt so much, and she can only begin to image how painful it actually is to Quinn.
"Good morning, baby," She greets, looking to Santana to see what is wrong.
"I think she needs some more of that pain-numbing gel you put on there last night," The Latina explains, and Rachel turns to get it from the cabinet.
"And…" San trails off, glancing down at Q, who is sitting with her knees pulled up, and her forehead resting on them. "What do you think about… maybe her taking a bath? I mean,… would– do–… I don't know if it would make her feel better, but it might, right? I–…"
She huffs, trailing off and looking away.
Rachel smiles lightly, knowing what Santana is trying to do – help in a way that she can because she sucks (at least, she thinks she does) at emotions and comforting.
With the numbing gel in hand, Rachel bends down, saying, "LuLu," before she reaches over with her hand, to brush the girl's blonde strands back from her face. "Would you like to do that? I know it'd be difficult, but I think we could manage to do it without hitting your back."
Quinn does not move for several moments, but then she is shifting her head to the left, to look at Rachel. The Diva must see something in her eyes because she turns to Santana, who mutters something about checking on Britt and then stands to exit the bathroom.
"I'm not sure how we can manage it," Rachel whispers, "But, I think we could if tried really, really hard…" She smirks, getting a tiny smile in response. "… then we can do it. Possible with you sitting in the tub, and if we pull the shower head down, we can use that to rinse and stuff, in a way that does not bother your back."
Movement catches their attention before Quinn can answer in any way. Santana is back and she is motioning for Rachel again. The Diva stands, staying as close to Quinn as she can, while also leaning towards San.
They whisper back and forth for several seconds, and then Rachel bends down next to Quinn. "Britt wants to talk to you for a moment, okay? I'm going to step just outside, but I will try to stay where you can see me." She waits, letting Quinn touch her wrist, squeezing the blonde's fingers.
Quinn nods and Rachel stands, kissing the side of her head before leaving, but staying just outside the doorway as promised. She tunes the two blondes' conversation out by looking at and speaking to Santana.
"Hi, Quinnie," Brittany greets. "S and Rachie said that you may want to take a bath?" Quinn makes and keeps eye contact, but shrugs as an answer. "It might be a little hard," The dancer continues. "but I think we can do it. I'll help, if you want, y'know, like that time you hurt your ankle."
Quinn does remember. In eighth grade – lots of stuff seemed to happen then – she twisted her ankle doing a stunt in Cheerios. Her father refused to treat her any different, no pain pills or anything that would be seen as "coddling" her.
Judy slipped her a pain pill everyone once in a while but other than that, Quinn was on her own. 13 years old, and scared and in pain, she stayed a few nights at Brittany's house.
She had to prop her leg up on the side of the bathtub for her baths, and her best friend helped her with them. It was uncomfortable at first – they were at that stage where this was very awkward – but Britt started a conversation to distract her, and then helped her get clean.
By the end of the week, it was like second nature, the way the moved and Brittany helped her in the right amount, looking away at times, and allowing her to it on her own.
Quinn hesitates for a moment but then lifts one of her hands, signing, "Yes." to Britt. She lights up because this is the first time that Quinn has spoken directly to her in three weeks. With a beaming smile, she jumps up and bounds of the bathroom, just barely missing knocking into Rachel.
She tackles Santana onto the bed, making the girl let out a yelp-laugh combination.
Rachel looks from the two to the bathroom, to find Quinn standing there in the doorway. She is oh-so-confused and raises an eyebrow at Quinn, silently asking what happened to make Britt this excited.
Her answer comes from the dancer instead, when she whisper-shouts, "Sanny, she spoke to me."
Santana's eyes widen and snap over to the two girls across the room at the same time Rachel looks to Quinn and the blonde hides her face against the top of Rachel's head.
The Diva reaches up and rubs her shoulder with one hand, whispering she is proud of her, even when Q mumbles that she didn't actually speak, which means she could have only done one other thing.
"It still counts, Angel." Santana raises an eyebrow at that, so she explains, "She signed to B." And this makes Santana beam as well because it is one step up from being completely silent and having to rely on Rachel's sixth sense of being the "LuLu Whisperer" to know what Quinn needs.
She's spoken to Rachel in the last couple of days, once to Santana, but to anyone else, she has been silent. Santana kisses the side Britt's forehead, murmuring that it's a good thing and she is happy for her, before raising her voice a little to say the same thing to Quinn.
Brittany gets up then and comes over. "I'm going to help with her bath," She says. "Rachie, will you stay in the doorway so she can see you?"
She nods and moves so the two can into the bathroom. A few seconds later, Brittany pokes her head back out, saying, "We're gonna brush our teeth first; do you two want yours?"
When she gets a nod from both girls, she ducks back in and comes out a few seconds later.
Now, Rachel knows what to expect. She is used to the cinnamon toothpaste she has in there, as is Quinn, and Brittany is not as affected by it as some people are. It burns a little but not too bad.
Even knowing this, she still forgets to warn Santana and almost chokes on her toothbrush when the Latina starts brushing, and then suddenly splutters out a string of Spanish curse words.
"¡Oh Dios mío!" She attempts to say, although it comes out as incredibly broken due to the burning sensation and foamed toothpaste in her mouth. "Joder, joder, mierda. ¡¿Qué carajo?!"
Rachel starts choking and has to run to the bathroom to spit, while also laughing, and trying to pull Santana in there so she can spit, as well, all the while Britt and Quinn are staring at them as if they've both gone crazy.
Understanding what Santana is – attempting to – say, Brittany asks, "What is going on?"
Seeing as how Rachel is still laughing, albeit trying to calm herself down, Santana answers, "Puta pasta de dientes. ¿Que demonios fue eso?"
"The toothpaste?" Brittany asks, confused. Then, she realizes, "Oh! It's cinnamon. Sorry, San. I forgot to tell you."
"Mm-hm… you forget, sure, sure," She mutters before turning to Rachel who has finally stopped laughing. "Do you have any normal toothpaste, jerkface?"
"In the cabinet to the left of the sink," Rachel points out going back to brushing her own teeth, trying not to think of it because then if she did, then she would start laughing again.
:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/
Several minutes later, the four are finished. Santana and Rachel step out of the bathroom so Brittany can help get Quinn ready for the bath. They are going to fill the tub up with just a couple of inches of water, then switch to using the showerhead.
Quinn sits in the tub, while Britt is on the built-in seat. Rachel is sitting in the doorway, with her back to the girls, and her feet pressed against the doorframe opposite her. Santana is sitting against her bedroom while directly beside her feet.
They sit there in silence for a few minutes before they hear Britt whisper, "Can I sing you a song, Quinnie? It's one that helps Carson calm down when his head gets too busy."
Carson is a little boy, 5 years old, that Britt and Mike teach in their class. He has Sensory Processing Disorder, and sometimes, the instructions, other kids speaking, and music playing all at once get too much for him. Mike and Britt take him to a quiet room and sit there with him, to help him become calm again.
Quinn must have nodded, or signed, because a few seconds later, and the air is filled with Brittany singing, in Italian.
Tu sei la mia luce, sei la luce per me,
mi rendi felice quando i cieli sono scuri.
Non saprai mai, tesoro, quanto ti amo.
Ti prego, non portare via la mia luce.
Rachel smiles as she listens. She knew Britt could speak Italian because she knows when the dancer learned it. Carson's grandparents are Italian so he is fluent in it, which prompted Brittany and Mike to learn as well.
She just did not know the dancer could sing, not only so beautifully, but in fucking Italian, as well. She feels eyes on her, so she opens her own to see Santana looking at her.
"Beautiful, isn't it?' She says in lieu of the Latina's unspoken question. Inside the bathroom, she hears the barely audible comment of, "That was so pretty, B." from Quinn.
And that gives her an idea. She tells Santana to get her keyboard out of the closet, then she whispers to Britt that she wants to sing something also. Santana hands her the keyboard and she makes sure the keys are tuned to the right sound.
Then, she begins playing something, singing along a few seconds later,
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
The first few melodies plunge the girls into the past. This song means a lot to the four of them, well, five if you count Noah. The movie was a favorite among the Unholy Trinity, Rachel, and Noah as this was one of those they would watch with Abby quite a bit.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Rachel hopes this has the same calming effect on Quinn, that it did way back when it was the only thing that would chase the nightmares of the car accident away.
Quinn stayed at her house so many nights that summer directly following the fatal car crash.
And there were so many nights that the 9-year-old Diva would show off her singing talents for her best friend, who was having several days a week worth of "quiet days".
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Way above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
This was her favorite verse. Rachel would sing it and she would hope, with all she could muster, that Quinn would be happy someday. Away from that mean house, where she was no longer allowed to speak of her big sister.
She would hope that one day, Quinn would have more happy, playful, verbal days, and nights of plentiful sleep, than she would with days and nights filled with tears, sadness, fitful sleep, and nightmares.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
Here, Santana and Brittany start humming the tune, to underline Rachel's voice.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
They have a long road ahead of them…
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
But they have a great start to things and soon, soon with the help of her friends and family, Quinn can get passed this awful event.
She can work on calming her anxieties, and she will go on to live a happy, healthy life, where she is surrounded by the people who love her the most.
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
After Rachel, Santana goes. She plays the melody of a lullaby her mom used to sing to her…
Hermoso soñador, despierta a mí,
La luz de las estrellas y las gotas de rocío te están esperando.
Sonidos del mundo grosero oído en el día,
Guiados por la luz de la luna han desaparecido.
Hermosa soñadora, reina de mi canción,
Lista mientras que corteje con la melodía suave.
Se han ido los cuidados de la multitud ocupada de la vida,
Soñador hermoso despierto a mí.
Soñador hermoso despierto a mí.
She catches Rachel's eye, sees her smiling, and nods her head. She may suck at the whole emotions-and-feelings thing, but singing is something she can do.
It is something she had no problem contributing to right now, and she knows, or, at least, hopes, that it was as helpful to Quinn, as Britt and Rach's singing was.
*Later*
It's later when they venture downstairs for breakfast.
Josiah and David inform them that the best thing to do next, besides checking over Quinn's injuries, is to tell their parents.
To everyone's surprise, it's Brittany who is hesitant at first, but eventually, she agrees. They eat breakfast, – a combination of smoothies, bacon, sausage, toast, and vegan French toast with strawberries and blueberries, – then Josiah checks Quinn out.
He sees her back and has to bite back his anger at the raw, painful welts crisscrossing her over her back.
He says they just need to keep them bandaged and put antibiotic ointment on them, along with the pain-numbing gel.
As for her cheek and lip, they need to be iced and should be ok within a week to two weeks.
She will stay home most of next week, as the activities at school will probably be too much for her back, as well as, Josiah and David do not want her to have to deal with the scrutiny of her injuries on top of everything else.
*Lunchtime*
It's lunchtime now. About 11:30. Just under 15 hours since Quinn and Santana showed up on Rachel's doorstep, with the former beaten and bruised.
Noah was called and asked to come over. He needs to know about everything, and the girls want to tell him as soon as possible, to get it over with. David and Josiah are going to speak with Britt and Santana's parents while the girls speak with him.
It will be a few hours before the Lopezes and Pierces arrive here, so for now, they are just going to speak with Noah.
He said he'd be over in an hour, and when he shows up, he enters the house without knocking. Rachel realizes now that this probably was not a good idea and that he should have been told to knock.
Noah comes into the kitchen to find Santana and Quinn at the table over on the side, where the breakfast nook is, playing checkers. Josiah is standing by the stove, stirring something in a pot. From the smell of it, it seems to be soup.
Brittany and Rachel are at the bar, gathered around Rachel's laptop. David is nowhere in sight at the moment, but that is all about to change.
"Rach!" Noah calls out and it startles everyone in the room. Noah strides over to his friend, but before he can get any closer than 3 feet, the room goes from a calm atmosphere to utter chaos in 3 seconds flat.
Brittany is up and across the room in no time, grabbing onto Quinn, who had jumped up and was making her way over to Rachel the second she heard Noah's voice.
Santana is up also, but while Brittany grabs her arm, the Latina has to wrap her arms around the blonde, to keep her still.
They have no idea what Quinn would actually do during moments like this, but thankfully their reflexes are up to par, and they do not have to find out.
Rachel yells out for Noah to stop! and then she is across the room as well, in front of Quinn. Santana is whispering in her hear, Noah can't make it out, but Rachel joins in on it, and he figures it out.
"Cálmate , babygirl," Santana is saying. "Breathe, Q. Just breathe for me."
"It's ok, LuLu. I'm fine, it's fine, just take a breath. Can you do that? Breathe for me, Angel."
Noah is so very confused at the moment. He has to blink several times to make sure he is seeing this correctly. He knows that Quinn, Britt, and San are trying to do better with Rachel, – the Diva told him so, – but this? This right here? This is more than what she told him.
He has no idea what is going on, on several different things – how close they seem to be, why they are telling Quinn to breathe, why they are literally holding her like they are, why she even needs to held like this, I mean, god, does she think he is going… hurt Rachel… or something?
David showed at one point, and he and Josiah are blocking Noah's path to the girls.
"Dad," Rachel speaks and David is on alert immediately.
"What do you need from us, sweetheart?"
"I need you to take Noah to the living room. We will speak to him in a moment, but right now I need to calm Quinn down."
And then… she says it.
"It's ok, baby. Can you take a seat for me? Sit down here."
Hearing that knocks the breath of him. Hearing that is like… he has been thrust back into the past, and he, Rachel, Santana, and Brittany were being told about Abigale Fabray's death.
He never knew, in all of his 9 years, that a child his age would have any reason to call their best friend 'baby'. He thought that was something moms and dads did. But Rachel did it. And he came to know that as a nicknamed used in the most serious of times.
David and Josiah lead him out of the kitchen. They wait with him in the living room while the girls calm Quinn down. It takes some convincing, but eventually, she understands Noah will not hurt Rachel.
Then, they do it…
They exit the kitchen and ask Noah to follow them. Rachel stays to tell her fathers that they have decided to talk to S and B's parents themselves, but first they need to tell Noah.
They lead him to the basement and begin explaining everything.
First, Rachel explains what happened in the kitchen. Something happened to Quinn on Friday night. She showed up here, with Santana, covered in bruises, and with a bloody lip. They are unsure what occurred, but something did.
Because now she is incredibly protective of Rachel, and they need him to please, please not initiate any contact with Rachel unless she does it first.
He has so many questions. He wants more details on Friday nights' events but is told that is unimportant – right now, that is.
He relents after arguing for nearly 3 straight minutes. Santana and Britt start with the easy stuff – what they have been doing for the past 3 months with Rachel during lunch.
Then, they start at the beginning. Why Quinn was avoiding Rachel during the summer of sixth grade. Why she, Santana, and Britt started being mean to her in school, – calling her names, isolating her, not inviting her to their house, not hanging out with her on the playground.
Noah becomes more and more… angry. Red hot, blinding mad, as he listens to everything Russell made them do. They leave out no detail, telling him a little more than what they told Josiah and David, and what they will tell their parents.
They tell him about the slushies in the eighth grade, they tell him about Quinn being "punished" because San and Britt refused that one time. And they inform him of the detailed "reports" they had to give Russell every day for the past 4 years.
They explain to him more about Friday night. How Santana and Quinn showed up here, late that night. How Russell knows she is pregnant, and–… and fucking beat her with his belt, leaving welts and cuts.
In the end, it's silent.
They are on one couch while Noah sits in front of them in an oversized chair. He is leaning forward, with his head bent, and his hands covering the top of his head.
"Noah?" Rachel's voice rings out in the deafening stillness. "Are you… all right?"
His reaction does not… surprise them… just more like… startles them. He pops his head up and his face is an eerie calm. It sends chills down their spines.
"Noah?" Rachel… hesitates to say it. She moves from where she is leaning on one arm of the couch, with Quinn huddled against her. Brittany moves at the same time, reaching for Q. Quinn knows what she is about to do because their interlocked finger-hold turns to a tight wrist-hold.
Rachel does not go far, just scooting to the edge of the couch.
"Puckerman!" It startles her, and she turns to glare at the Latina. Santana ignores her, standing up and in front of the three still on the couch. "I don't have any clue as to what is going through your head at the moment, but you best step back, and take a second to really think about your next move."
Noah does react then.
His eyes flash. Something other than the unnerving coolness slides over his face. He moves his gaze to her and straightens his posture to his full height, a good 7 inches taller than her.
"You really think I'd hurt one of you?"
"No," Santana responds immediately. "I don't think that. But it is hard to know it when your behavior is this right here. When you've ignored Rachel calling to you twice."
They have stare-off for several seconds before Noah deflates, and–… he nods to her, taking a step backward, and…
Rachel lets out the breath she did not know she was holding.
"We should go upstairs and see if your parents have arrived."
She hates to say it, but they need to do this. To get it over with. So they can go to the police station and make a report. So Russell, and possibly Judy, will be arrested and dealt with.
Ok so here's the deal. We had a lot of stuff happening in this chapter – most importantly, Noah found everything out.
I have a question for you all; you have reviewed and commented on how the Pierces and Lopezes would react to being told everything. My question is do you want to see that? In a later chapter as a sort a reflection for the adults.
Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought! :) Next chapter WILL be Emma, Will, and Sue finding out/being told. After that (21) will be for GLEE111 (Quinn's thoughts). Then, 22 reveals the true relationship between the Berrys and Fabrays. 23 is when the Glee Club sing 'Keep Holdin' On' to Quinn.
Translations for Santana speaking Spanish: *notes: I used Google translate, so if there is any incorrect, please let me know!
¡Oh Dios mío! Translations: Oh, my god!
Joder, joder, mierda. ¡¿Qué carajo?! Translations: Fuck, fuck, shit. What the fuck?
Puta pasta de dientes. ¿Que demonios fue eso Translations: Fucking toothpaste. What the hell was that?
