Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do own all OCs unless ownership is otherwise given.
Spoilers: None
Rating: T


Reply to reviews: (chapter 30)

Boris Yeltsin: Thank you! I am adding more Tina - she will be in chapter 36. And Friday the 13 was just too good too pass, I had to do something with it. :)

chloe2007: Thank you for review. There are several moments of Faberry in this one, and also more to come! They have moments sprinkled throughout, and I would love to do a chapter for you in Snapshots, if you'd like. Just let me know if, and what, you would like to see. :) And don't worry - Sue will definitely be there for the trial!

Isa Yodice12: Thanks for the review! :) I can see that, too, which is why it was Finn that fell into her. He is always portrayed as clumsy, so I just kind of followed along with it. And I am writing Tina in a future chapter! However, she will have the stutter (which will be real) though it will fade out after a few chapters as she gets more comfortable around everyone.

Gwennie49: Thank you for the review. Friday the 13 was a very unlucky day for them. As for Rachel's struggles with writing/doing classwork, that will be mentioned several times throughout this chapter (and yes, she does have trouble with it, and is veerry stubborn about it). Sue will also appear more, as will Tina. :)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Welcome to my new favoriters Faithfan2000, teeeheee, and mariavtrapp.

Shoutout to Qaanie, who is new to the story, and asked about Shelby. She WILL be coming into the story, and currently should appear in approximately chapter 43 or 44.

Yes seemed to be popular choice for Tina, so she will be coming in, as well.


Notes: I will be updating again in a few days. I want to get the next chapter up because I have an important outtake from #32.

** Pezberry at the beginning, then all four throughout. I started Wednesday out at Britt's house instead of with Rach & Q. Also, for my readers who may not know/be up to speed on the names, Pezberry is Santana Lopez and Rachel Berry.

Enjoy! :)

Quinn is 12 weeks pregnant


Monday, November 16th, 2009
Pre-Hairography – season 1, episode 11


*Rachel & Quinn's house*

The alarm clock goes off at 6 a.m. and it is not well-received at all.

Rachel turns it off and is very tempted to just turn over, pull the comforter over her and Quinn, and sleep for another 4 hours. Deep down, she always knew that the Unholy Trinity were probably going to be a bad influence on her…

Beside her, or, more like, on her, Quinn groans and pulls the blanket up, covering her head.

It makes Rachel smile. The blonde was never a morning person, not even when she was a part of the Cheerios.

And she would be very inclined to follow in her best friend's footsteps, dragging the blanket up further, ignoring the fact that they have school today, and also ignoring the fact that this is the first official day they – she, Quinn, Britt, and Santana – will be going back to school since they tried, and failed, last Wednesday.

But, her sprained wrist, the right one, makes itself known. She flexes her fingers, trying to disregard the pain lacing through her wrist and palm. She knows she will have to get up eventually, if only to go take one of those damned pain pills.

Quinn must sense the shift in her body language because she is immediately pulling away, partially sitting up, her gaze locked on the Diva. And Rachel knows, for all that she tries, she will not be able to keep the pain off her face.

She moves her wrist and arm from around Quinn, to closer to her chest, flexing her fingers again, and the action engraves concern in the hazel eyes looking back at her.

"Good morning, Angel," She sits up, turning the alarm from snooze to off. "I am going to take a shower while you get dressed, alright? Then we can go down and see what's for breakfast."

She steadily ignores the blonde's gaze, heading to the bathroom. It takes Rachel nearly 25 minutes in the shower because of both of her wrists. It is slow process and she now wishes she had just taken a shower last night.

But, finally, she is getting dressed, and brushing her hair, which Quinn braids after snatching the brush from her because she could tell the repetitive action was causing her even more pain.

She meets the Diva's eye in the mirror over her desk, muttering lowly, "Don't give me that look." Rachel barely catches it, and if she were not so in tune with Quinn, she probably would have missed it. Quinn decides to let Santana braid her own hair, which is something Rachel would have done, but, again, with her wrist hurting, it is a no-go for the moment.

Eventually, nearly 40 minutes to be exact, they finally go downstairs. Josiah is in the kitchen, and David comes in a few minutes later. Not surprisingly, Britt and Santana are also here.

They look about as dead on their feet as Rachel feels. She gets no more than a nod from Santana, as her friend lays her head back on the table, while Brittany bounces over for a hug. Their cats are nowhere to be found, and Rachel envies them for getting to sleep all day. Well, except for Zeke, of course. He was awake as soon as the alarm went off.

Josiah greets her with, "Good morning, baby," and then motions to the side. "Would you all like coffee, hot chocolate, or a smoothie as your drink?"

"Definitely coffee. I am nowhere near awake enough to have anything less than that." Josiah tells her to go to the table and he will bring it to her. They all eat a group breakfast of vegan French toast, strawberries, blueberries, and, for Britt, bananas.

They need something on their stomach but really cannot handle a huge breakfast right now. Every single one of them are on edge, nerves eating at them, as they anxiously await what the day holds.

After they are finished, they have time for TV, and Brittany and Quinn head to the living room while Santana helps Rachel pack their lunch, and…

Tries to convince her to take a pain pill that she knows the Diva will put up a fight about.

"Come on, Rachel! I know you are in pain. It was a fucking grade 3 sprain, that is about as bad as you can get without actually fucking breaking it!"

She hears, "Language, Santana!" from the laundry room, and yells back an apology.

"You don't have to take a whole one… It is not even recommended that you take a whole pill. Just at least take it so you won't be in pain all day, Estrella. I've sprained my ankle several times in Cheerios and so has Britt! So I know exactly how much it is hurting you right now. And to make it worse, you sprained your left one, as well!"

"I'm not taking it, Santana, and that it is final! So just drop it!"

The Latina growls at her friend's stubbornness.

"Yes, you will, even I have to hold you down and force-feed the damn thing to you!" She punctuates this both slamming her hand onto the counter and jabbing her finger in Rachel's direction. And she goes to say more when someone clears their throat from across the room.

"Santana," David starts. "I believe it is my fatherly duties to inform you that, under no circumstances, are you to force-feed my child any drugs. However–" He holds up a hand when she goes to respond. "– However, as for the rest of it, keep on keeping on. You're doing great."

He pats her on the shoulder as he walks through, Rachel muttering a "thanks for the support, Dad!" after him. Then, before Santana can resume her "lecturing", she calls out, "Britt! What do you want for lunch?!"

"Little Bill!"

Pause

"Lil–… Wait, what?" Rachel does a what the hell? face/hand motion to Santana, to which she says,

"Lunch, B! She said what do you want for lunch not what do you want to watch."

"Oh! Okay… Um… What are you having?"

"Come in here so we don't have to yell!"

"I can't! I'm braiding Quinnie's hair!"

"San–"

"I'm going…"

She comes back a few moments later with a list of fruits Britt wants Rachel to use for her fruit salad. Santana also resumes trying to get Rachel to take one of her pain pills, but the Diva is stubborn, – God – and she gets absolutely nowhere. She does not want to it, claiming her head is already "fuzzy" from getting no sleep for the past, well,… over three months, really, but more so in the last 10 days.

She is exhausted, barely able to keep her eyes open, and she is so, so glad that this is going to be a half day, which means they are coming home at lunch. This will continue for the rest of the week. Quinn's anxiety levels are too much for a full day, though, if they are up to it, the full day might happen on Friday.

"Come on, Estrella! You have to take one every four to six hours; if you take one now, at… 7:13, your next one won't be until we get home! Then you can ice it and rest, and if you do not want to take the second one, you don't have to, but, dammit, Rachel, you have a very serious injury! I know you did not elevate it last night, and I know that, right now, it is probably throbbing with pain, so please, for the love of God, just take the damned pill!"

She punctuates it with slamming the pill bottle down in front of where Rachel is packing their lunchboxes. And she holds eye-contact with the girl who she always butted heads with and, some part of her, had forgotten just how fucking stubborn she really is.

To prove this point, Rachel stares her down until the moment is broken by their girls coming back into the kitchen. Britt comes over, holding out a hand for Santana to take, then tugging her away when she responds. They leave the kitchen, taking their lunches with them.

"Don't look at me that, Lucy,"

She knows that, while she can keep up the argument with Santana, one request from Quinn and she would take the stupid pill. She knows it, without a doubt, and especially when the blonde simply pulls an icepack from the freezer, wraps it in a dishtowel, and then silently asks for her wrist, which, of course, Rachel obeys to right away.

While the ice is pressed lightly on her hand, in turn causing her to wince, Quinn reaches for the bottle of pain pills. Rachel just rolls her eyes as Quinn hands her half of the prescription pill Carlos had given her on Friday and downs it in one go with her coffee.

She then grabs the lunch sack, stuffs it in her backpack, and picks her phone up off the counter a split-second before it buzzes.

"Come on, Lucy. Michael is here to pick us up."

They go through the living room and Brittany looks at them questioningly over why they have their bags, but Quinn just shakes her head and shrugs, following Rachel through to the front door.

They are gone less than five minutes later, and Santana has to look out of the windows to realize…

"They fucking left us here!"

"Probably 'cause you pissed Rach off, San." The dancer quips back while petting Tigger, who is now laying her lap. "You know she did not want to take the pill."

"And you know that she needed to!" Santana snaps while spinning back around. And Brittany cuts her eyes over to her, replying with,

"And you know that does not mean a damn thing! She does not like taking those any more than you do, Santana. We are all overloaded with emotions and nerves and anxiety, and the last thing that needed to happen was you and Rachel getting into an all-out screaming match over her pain pills!"

"Whatever…" Santana just crosses her arms, sinking back against the couch, and waiting for Josiah to come through and say that he and David are almost ready to go.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

The rest of the morning goes by quickly. Their schedules are now re-done to where they – San, Britt, Rachel, and Q – have their entire days' worth of classes together.

Rachel has a hard time relinquishing her task of writing notes, completing assignments, and other things that involve her right hand, over to Santana. The Latina spends the morning doing triple copies of their notes, for herself, Rachel, and Quinn.

It is a struggle. For Rachel, that is. The Diva is not used to not being able to do things her away. Complete her assignments, write her notes in the way she wants to.

Her wrist is hurting, proven by the flexing of her fingers, but that is a problem for neither here nor now. Still, Santana makes a note to ask her if she would please let her call Gabriel, who can go to the Berrys's house, and get Rachel's pain medicine for her, so she does not spend their free period in pain…

Quinn is able to get through, thank god, most of her morning classes, though she does take breaks here and there, with Rachel, in Miss Pillsbury's office.

There are a total of three teachers from their morning classes who, most certainly, cause her much more anxiety than necessary. One of who insists that she speak to answer a question when called on.

Rachel is incredibly grateful that this happens in their last class, directly before their free period which means they only have two hours left before going home, and the next period they will be in the Library by themselves.

She cannot see Quinn being able to go back to class after this incident.

"Miss Fabray, we are waiting." Mrs. Barnes says as she and nearly every other person in the room stare down Quinn. Rachel meets Santana's eye and she can see the same fury in the Latina's eyes that is coursing through her own body.

Quinn is sitting straight up in her chair but her entire body language screams uneasy and anxious, and her fingers are rapidly tapping her right leg while left one is tightly holding Rachel's fingers. She stares straight ahead, and Rachel can see that she is barely holding it together, but this is school, and she is Quinn Fabray, and she just will not break.

Not here.

Not in front of everyone.

And she needs to do something, so Rachel straightens up herself, and she looks at Ms. Barnes, and she says, "Excuse me, Ms. Barnes, but, you see, Quinn is–"

"That is enough, Miss Berry. This question was for Miss Fabray, and if she is intent on ignoring me, then we shall sit here until she chooses to answer."

"Mrs. Barnes, class ends in 10 minutes!" Some kid in the back yells out, but the teacher seems unaffected by that fact.

"Then I guess you should all encourage her to hurry along and answer my question."

And of course, this sends a frenzy throughout the room.

"Come on, Fabray!"

"Just answer the question!"

"Just because you are a Cheerio does not mean you get special treatment!"

"If I miss my free period because of you, I'm gonna–"

"– You're gonna do what, Jenson?" Santana snarls, spinning around to look at the newbie Freshman Cheerio, adding, "Yeah, that's what I thought," when she does not get a response.

Santana shuts the rest of the class up with one look. They know not to screw with the Latina when she is mad – hell, she passed mad 15 minutes ago, plowing headfirst into fucking pissed off. And even the snarky, cocky kids know better than to test her non-existent patience.

And now, Rachel tries again with the teacher. She can tell Quinn is close to breaking; the tightening in her jaw looks painful, and the grip Q has have on her fingers has strengthened significantly.

"But, Mrs. Barnes–!"

"One more outburst from you, Miss Berry, and you will be seeing yourself in detention!"

Yelling.

That is another bad thing. Another trigger. Another thing she cannot handle.

There is a noise to her left and Rachel looks to see Brittany standing up. The dancer comes over, picks up Rachel's backpack, puts her folder and book into it, and hands it off to Santana.

She whispers, "Andiamo," to Rachel, who immediately nods. Let's go.

"Miss Pierce, Miss Lopez, sit down this instant!" Mrs. Barnes snaps.

But she is ignored by all three girls. And Rachel leans in close, whispering, "We're leaving, LuLu. You're okay. You are okay. Let's go, alright? Stand up, Britt will get your bag, just stand up, Angel, and we will go." Quinn's bag is handed off to Britt, and the four of them leave, ignoring their teacher, and slowly coaxing Quinn out of the room.

She is shell-shocked and only responds by walking, her fingers still tightly gripping Rachel's. They barely get out of the room before the teacher is opening the door and demanding they come back into the classroom right this minute!

Santana motions for them to go on while she deals with the ignorant teacher, and the three of them get as far as an empty classroom before they stop. Rachel leads both blondes in, and she accesses the situation because both are incredibly upset, though Quinn, herself, is still unresponsive.

So, she lets her sit down before pulling Brittany to a seat and, once the dancer is sitting down, she bends down in front of her.

"Britt, hey, look at me. It's ok, Love."

"No, it's not!" She stresses. "Forcing her to speak has never worked! It didn't when we were little, or in the past four years, and it isn't gonna work now! Why can't they just understand that? We worked so hard to get her to be comfortable speaking and now all of that is ripped away, and she isn't ever gonna speak here again because there isn't anyone who understands that she has to be comfortable, otherwise it doesn't work!"

Rachel was waiting for this moment. She honestly should have seen it coming. Everyone has slowly become unraveled, except for Brittany, and now, it seems her turn has finally come.

And she struggles to know what to do until the door to the classroom is opening and Santana is storming inside looking pissed off.

"That fucking bitch!" She tosses her bookbag aside, muttering more cusswords under her breath, and then adding, "Threatening us with fucking detention! I'd like to see her explain herself to Figgins, cause you know he ain't gonna put up with that shit. Is everything oka–" She stops cold when she realizes it is Brittany who is upset, and not Quinn.

She looks wide-eyed to Rachel and only gets a, "It had to come crashing down on her sooner or later." in response to which she sighs and comes over, wrapping her arms around the dancer from behind, and resting her cheek on top of Brittany's head.

"It will be ok, baby. Even if it feels like everything is going to shit. Okay?" She presses a kiss to the top of Brittany's head. "I love you."

While she is doing that, Rachel checks on Quinn. It seems, for the most part, that the blonde is just… scared. Like when they were younger, and an asshole teacher would put all the pressure and attention on her, waiting for her to speak, which never fucking worked.

And now, Rachel tells her exactly what she told her then – Dad and Papa are going to deal with this. They are not going back to that classroom, at least, not today. She is not in trouble. They are not in trouble. They will all calm down, go to Principal Figgins, and let him know what happened and then…

They will go home. And rest and put today behind them and get ready to do this again tomorrow.


Tuesday, November 17th, 2009


*Second period*

"¡Dios santo, ¿qué carajo le pasa a la gente?!" Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck is wrong with people?!

"Language, Santana!"

The four are, yet again, walking out of a classroom because (this time) the substitute teacher refused to accommodate Quinn, and let Rachel answer for her during rollcall.

What the fuck is up with teachers staring down a, very obviously, anxious student, waiting, and thinking that will make them speak?

"Language, Santana," She mocks. "Don't 'language, Santana' me, Berry! Why aren't you pissed off about this?! Huh? 'Language, Santana,' my ass!"

"Oh!" She adds. "And don't think I don't fucking see how much your damn wrist is hurting you." Santana points at her wildly. "You– Stop– Uggggh... Stop fucking trying to write with your fucking hand, Rachel. Just stop it, alright? You have a fucking grade-3 sprain – you can't WRITE WITH a grade-3 sprain, you–"

Brittany has to literally tackle Santana to get her to shut up. Because obviously, the glare Rachel is sending her way does not good.

"Santana, move it!" Brittany points harshly in the direction of Principal Figgins's office.

She continues to rant as they walk to Figgins's office, and he sighs as soon as he sees them. He wonders just how hard it is for the teachers to follow directions.

Why can they not simply accommodate Quinn? How hard it is to adjust their teaching to where it is not crucial that they call on the poor girl?

He is doing everything he can to help, but maybe he should suggest to Josiah and David that they start the process for a 504 or an IEP, so things like this will be documented as do not call on Quinn Fabray to read aloud, answer questions verbally, or otherwise speak in class, which can eventually be modified to unless Quinn raises her hand.

He tells the girls they can go to the Library for the rest of the period and work on their assignments in there and, if Quinn feels unable to go to third period, they can stay there, or in Miss Pillsbury's office.

Because the goal here is to get Quinn to be comfortable enough to stay at school, and maybe starting in the Library and working their way towards the classrooms would be more ideal.

"Come on, LuLu," Rachel guides them away from the Office. Once in there, Rachel leads them to one of the enclosed testing rooms, drawing all but one set of shades, to give them, but especially Quinn, a little privacy, for if things come crashing down on her, as well.

It takes them less than half of the period to complete their worksheets, though Quinn struggles on part of it, and Rachel decides to mention it to their dads because this is obviously something that is ongoing.

"You doing ok, baby?" She checks about 10 minutes later, getting a shrug in response. "I am sorry that the teachers seem to be so uncooperative this week, Angel. But we will just skip going to class for the next few periods and if you are not feeling it, we can come in here tomorrow, too, ok?"

The blank look she receives in response would probably frustrate anyone else, but to Rachel, it screams a horde of different answers.

"You are doing so well, baby. And I am so proud of you, you know it? We will get passed this." She rubs Quinn's back. "You are one of the bravest people I know, LuLu, and I hope you know that, and even if you do not believe, I will keep repeating it until you do. You have done so well this week. Only two panic attacks, and that is so amazing."

Brittany comes over, sitting in the floor and leaning her head against Rachel's leg, to which she responds by playing with the dancer's ponytail.

"We will get passed this. And soon, you will be able to come to school for full days, and it won't be as hard. We'll work on it, just like we did when we were younger. Okay?"

This time she does get a nod. And she smiles back, and then turns to Britt.

"And what's the matter with you, B?"

"Sanny and I have to go talk to the lawyers again this afternoon," She whispers. "We have to tell them more about what happened. I don't want to do it, though."

Obviously not expecting that, Rachel falters, and struggles before settling on, "I'm sorry, Love. I wish there was something I could do to make that easier, but it is just what you have to do now. Do you know how long you have to do it for?"

"All week," She mumbles back. "And maybe next week, too, but they said that we will probably be done on Friday. Then, they will just start getting everything together. Rebecca is gonna have to testify, and they have to get all the other evidence."

She trails off here, but it is obvious there is more, and it worries Rachel when she looks to Santana to see the other girl avoiding eye contact.

"What?"

No answer.

"Santana, Brittany, I would greatly appreciate it if one of you would answer me."

"We had to give them the proof," Santana finally says. "Photos and… notes… and… uh,… voi-voice recordings."

Rachel's heart stops at those words… yet another secret that they apparently just conveniently "forgot" to tell her.

"Voice– You– What?! You fucking recorded him?! And you– you– y–"

"Yes."

Brittany whispers it.

"Yes, we recorded him and took pictures. We wanted to make sure people believed us if told, Rachie," The dancer looks at her with a heartbreaking expression, and Rachel gets the feeling that…

That she is included in that "people" category.

As if they needed to prove to her. God, what does that say about her?

"Don't do that, Stella," Britt tugs on the sleeve of the Letterman she is wearing. "We were really little, and… And he said no one would believe us, and if we did tell, he would do something worse. We just wanted to be sure, Stella; we were little kids and we just wanted to be sure."

She just sighs.

What else can she do?

God, she wishes none of this had happened.

Rachel does not say anything after that and neither do the girls.

They spend the rest of the period in complete silence, and less than two and a half hours later, they are going home again.

"Rain, rain, go away!"

Rachel just shakes her head at Brittany, as the dancer stands at the front doors of the school, with her face smooshed against the glass, so the words come out as, "Bain, bain, oh, away."

"I would like to enjoy the last few warm days without the rain!" She complains, accidently pushing on the door handle so when she leans forward, the door pops open, and she yelps as she suddenly finds herself falling forward.

"Britt!"

Santana leaps forward to grab her but because they are wearing their uniforms, there is nothing for her to grip, and instead, she ends up pushing Brittany too hard, and they both end up falling out of the door.

"Would the both of you please come over here and sit down." Rachel grits out.

The two Cheerios stand up, Santana checking on Brittany's arm, and then glaring at the Diva. "We're fine, thanks for your concern."

"I haven't had enough sleep to have an appropriate amount of concern so please, just come sit down."

Santana huffs, shaking her head and mouthing random movements in mockery. However, she does come over to the chairs outside of the front office, and plops down, crossing her arms.

After school has ended, the four head back for Glee, which consists of them working on their performances for Sectionals, arguing, of course, about who gets the solo, and trying to keep Santana from attacking Kurt or Mercedes, because the two are still going overboard on the "divaness" and making things a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

Rachel is also informed that the lead singer for Carmel High's Glee club has been stirring trouble and decides that is yet another thing she has to add to do her to-do list of things to deal with.

Quinn makes it another 24 hours without a panic attack, or an anxiety attack, and honestly, that is the best thing to happen so far. But Rachel knows it is only a matter of time before she has one, because she always has one, right when they think things are on the up and up, it all comes crashing down.

Always.


Wednesday, November 18th, 2009


*Pierce Residence*

Wednesday morning starts with Santana and Brittany being woken up not by the alarm, but by a two-year-old and a six-year-old running into the room and jumping onto the bed.

"Sissy B!" – "Auntie S!"

Santana is the first to wake up and quickly shushes the two little girls. She whispers, "Woah, there. Let's not wake sissy up, she didn't sleep very good last night."

"Oh," Lexie goes wide-eyed as she watches her aunt stand up and pick up Madalyn off the bed. "'Cause you were tellin' the police 'bout what happened?" She reaches up also and Santana carries her and Maddie to the doorway.

"Yeah, that's right, Lex." Once both girls are standing, she whispers, "It's sort of hard for sissy to sleep right now, and she needs all the rest she can get. So, how about we go downstairs and let her sleep for a little longer, ok?"

They agree to this. Even Madalyn, who is only two. The Pierce girls are all very loving and sweet, and Santana is reminded of this every time she comes over.

Since their birthday is in April, the twins are only two at the moment. However, for the past 6 months, Santana honestly can say she does not even remember Maddie or Amara going through the "Terrible Twos". Although, it is only November, so they still have time to go through them.

That is not to say, though, that there are no tantrums. Maddie, more than Amara, has a temper tantrum every once in a while, but for the most part, they are three very cooperative and well-behaved children.

Brittany was woken up by the commotion, but Santana lets her know there is still a good half-hour or longer before anyone even needs to be up, so she can get some more sleep. And, being too tired to argue, Brittany just falls back into a fitful slumber.

"Alrighty, you two. Let's go see what's on TV. It is too early to do anything, and I do not want to wake Mama or Papa Pierce, okay?" She picks Maddie up and holds Lexie's hand as the three venture down to the living room.

"Can we watch Sesame Street?"

"Sure, Lex. Go on and get the remote." Santana maneuvers through the house as if she has lived here at whole life. She knows which step on the staircase squeaks and where the shoes are piled so she does not trip. And she is able to weave through the rooms without turning on any of the lights.

"And we have triumph!" She cheers once they make it to the living room without her falling flat on her face.

Maddie copies her, yelling, "Woo-hoo!" and being shushed but still giggling.

Around 6:45 in the morning is when Santana takes them back upstairs to start getting ready. On days like this, Britt sleeps in until 7, so there is still time before she gets up. And by now, Jennifer and Michael are up, with Amara.

Breakfast is cooked, the kids eat, San wakes Britt, and they eat. Then, while she is getting ready, and everyone else seems to be dressed and ready to go early, Santana takes the little girls out onto the back porch to watch the sunrise.

Only to be stopped as she pulls the shades back on the glass sliding door and…

"Aw, man! It's raining!" Lexie semi-shouts.

And quite heavily at that. Santana shares a look with the pouting 6-year-old, knowing that Lexie was really looking forward to watching the sunrise.

Jennifer comes over, looking over their shoulders, and sighing out, "Well, I guess you can't wear tennis shoes today, after all. Lex, why don't you and San go to the hallway closet and get your rain boots? San, would you help 'Mara and Maddie put theirs on? And also, their rain jackets should be hanging up in there, as well."

"Of course. Come on, Baby B." She picks Amara up, takes Lexie's hand, and lets Maddie run ahead of her to open the closet door, which the 2-year-old loves doing, because it makes her feel all grown up.

"Alright, Lex, do you need help putting your boots on?"

"No, thank you, Auntie S!" She proceeds to then plop down and put on her green with pink polka dots rainboots.

Santana helps the twins with theirs – Maddie has matching ones to Britt, which are yellow with frogs, and then Amara's rainboots are black with red ladybugs, which match Santana's own boots. Their rain jackets are all matching to each other – navy blue with their names in red on the backs.

"Looking good, girlies!" She, of course, picks Amara up, then takes Lexie's hand while Maddie skips ahead of her. "Let's go see where Sissy B is."

They do find Britt – upstairs, packing her bag, and making sure she has everything for the Cheerios practice. Lexie runs over to her, jumping up on the bed, and then pouting when she is scolded for messing up the freshly straightened blankets.

They each take a little girl, – Britt with Amara and Santana with Maddie, – throw them over their shoulders, and haul them back downstairs. Jennifer lets them know it is almost time to go, and they need to gather their bags, lunches, and make sure, one last time, that they have their homework.

Then, they separate into the cars.

"Bye, Daddy! I love you!"

Michael takes Amara and Madalyn to Daycare while Jennifer drops Lexie, Britt, and Santana off at school.


*Third period*

"Maledizione!" Damn it!

Brittany chokes on her breath as Rachel cusses, not having expected it.

The Diva is trying, and failing, yet again, to write. And honestly, no one on this whole freaking planet thinks about how much movement is done with the wrist when writing…

Except for people who have sprained their wrists.

That is like someone saying to Brittany oh, you sprained your ankle? Just walk on your tiptoes! Your ankle won't move, so it won't hurt.

Yeah, ok… Sure… Let's go with believing that.

Still, Rachel says this in the middle of class. In the middle of "quiet work time". Quinn is alarmed. Santana is startled more than anything.

Brittany would be shocked, but she is just…

Spent.

So with almost a… bored… expression on her face, she retorts back with, "Stop trying to write, Santana took notes, you can finish the assignment at home, on the computer, or… something." She just does not know and really does not care. "And watch your language."

She then proceeds to go back to the assignment on her desk.

Now, the teachers, the other students, that one random adult who came into the classroom for something would probably dismiss as them just being… weird.

I mean, it is Rachel Berry and Brittany Pierce, after all. The Loudmouth Diva and the Ditzy blonde Cheerio.

Buut…

Then there is the fact that Brittany replied to Rachel in what sounded like the same language the Diva used and… what the fuck? When did Brittany become smart enough to know a language other than English?

"Please make them stop staring," She requests of Santana, when several moments have gone by and she can still feel their eyes on her. "I am not in the mood to deal with, or explain, what just happened."

And of course, Santana obeys the request. One look and everyone, including the teacher, is back to doing whatever they were doing before.


*End of school – Glee – Choir room*

"Mercedes, I swear–"

"'Tana, please sit down."

"Who says you have to get the solo, Rachel?" Kurt snarks. "You haven't even been here at school for nearly two weeks! What kind of Captain doesn't show up to Glee all week and then comes back thinking they are going to be handed every solo?"

"Hummel–!"

"Santana, please!" Her wrist literally throbs in tempo with all of the yelling and yeah, maybe she is regretting refusing to bring her medicine to school today or taking one before they left the house an hour ago, which also means she is not in the mood to, yet again, play referee between Santana and whoever it is she is arguing with.

"I have this under control." The Latina huffs at this but obeys, sitting back down and relaxing just the very slightest. And Rachel sighs, replying to Kurt with, "Santana and Brittany came in here last Thursday and explained some of the things that have been going, did they not?"

"Yeah, well–"

"No, I don't want to hear anything else except an answer, Kurt. So, did they, yes or no?"

"Yes."

His attitude is really grating on her nerves, but she tries her best to ignore it in favor of saying,

"Okay. Right. Now, let me ask you this – why the hell are you and Mercedes so bent on not understanding that everything we have gone through is a lot of fucked up shit, and that is why we have not been here all last week, and only until lunch so far this week?"

It takes a lot for Rachel Berry to cuss. Like, a lot. So it stuns them when she does it and it takes several moments for one of them to reply with,

"Whatever."

But that just pissed her off even more.

"No! Not whatever. I want an answer, Kurt, because I have done absolutely nothing to make you treat me like this! I am friends now, – best friends – with Santana and Brittany and Quinn. Is that it, Kurt? Is that why you suddenly don't like me? Because I believe them when they are trying their best to make up for all the shit that have put me through for the past 4 years?"

"Or maybe it is because I did not come running to you and 'Cedes the moment they screwed up three months ago. Is that it? Because after I realized you two would not keep your opinion of, I told you so to yourselves, I figured venting my frustrations would be absolutely pointless. I believe them, Kurt, and I am going to believe them whether you like or not."

And she looks from Mercedes and Kurt here, to the girls, trying to convey the full meaning of the next sentence to them as much as to the other two divas.

"Because they are being sincere, and as much as people would like to judge them for their behavior at school, I, Kurt, I know the real them. I know that they are kind and loving and some of the most generous people I know, and that is who they really are."

"Or maybe it is because you simply do not like me. I always felt that you and 'Cedes were just tolerating me, and you know what? This right here is proof of that! Because I know that if I were to just simply sit, stay quietly, without arguing, without demanding a solo, without doing anything, then I would either fall off everyone's radar, or worse, and you know why I think that? Because it was proven on Monday! Because I came in here and I was quiet and I didn't argue and I didn't say very much, and you know what you did, Kurt?"

She points wildly here, punctuating each word,

"You accused me of being silent for attention. You attacked me for no fucking reason! So why don't you just take this time to tell me what your problem really is, Kurt, because obviously it is not just because I want all of the solos!"

She is out of breath by the end of her tirade and the entire room is silent. Kurt, and even Mercedes, actually look just the least bit properly chastised, and for the most part, several people are nodding along to what she said.

"I'm waiting."

She makes a well gesture with her hands but still receives no response, and everyone stays completely silent as they wait for Kurt's or Mercedes's next move. When neither says anything, Mr. Schue steps in.

"Alright, I think that is it for the day. You are dismissed, and Kurt, Mercedes? Try to come to class with a better attitude tomorrow, and maybe an answer for Rachel. I expect more from you. Santana, Brittany, Quinn, and Rachel have gone through something incredibly personal, and you will not be bringing it up as reasons to attack them. That is not how we are going to treat each other in here. Does everyone understand that?"

The kids all agree to that and he just hopes they will actually listen.


*At home*

The girls head to Rachel's house and hang out for about an hour before Santana and Brittany are going with their parents to meet with the lawyers. Quinn practically forces Rachel to take the pain pill now because the Diva keeps flexing her fingers and is keeping her right wrist more stationary than usual.

She agrees to do it simply because her wrist does hurt, and she is going to need it not to hurt if she is going to be able to get started on, and finished with, her homework.

And Quinn makes it three hours after arriving home with staying calm but eventually, it does all come crashing down. It startles Rachel at first, but she understands that if anything is the reason, then it would be homework, because the anxiety always gets to her over her homework.

Quinn is no longer able to copy off of Santana, and now it comes out that she is having trouble with not only science, but a little bit of math, as well, and quite possible English, though that part might be because of her need to be perfect and her current inability to actually do so.

And it gets too much for her.

Thankfully, Rachel calms her down before it becomes an all-out anxiety attack, but it does take longer than it should to convince Quinn that Josiah and David are not going to punish her for needing help.

Because that is what happened for years, every time she asked for help with her schoolwork. She learned quickly to keep quiet and copy off Santana while wording the answers differently, so it was not obvious that the answers were not her own. That is why she has perfect A's. But it can't happen that way anymore.

"It's going to be okay, LuLu, I promise. This is an easy fix. You can go to the Resource room with Britt for help on math, and Dad and Papa can get you a tutor for science and maybe English, if needed, alright?"

At times like this, Quinn is a pro at avoiding eye contact, so Rachel has to chase her to try and meet her eye, which she knows is the only way for Quinn to realize she is being sincere about this.

"Look at me, Lucy Quinn," It works if only for now, "It will be ok, even it does not feel like it right now. And hey, I am sure we are all going to need help with this stuff eventually because we have not been to school in two weeks. I promise everything will be okay, Leone Coraggioso."

Quinn calms at those words. It is better knowing that she is not the only one who is struggling with these subjects. The rest of the evening is spent marathoning movies and waiting for Britt and San to call them.


*Much later*

"Rachie!"

The moment Skype is pulled up on her laptop, a very excited 6-year-old greets Rachel.

"Hello! How are you guys today?" Brittany and Santana are laying on Britt's bed, and three little girls are occupying it with them.

"Good! Look!" Lexie opens her mouth and points to a fresh whole where one of her baby teeth should be.

"Wow, look at that! When did that happen?" Rachel asks, realizing that she both hates and loves this moment, because Lexie's first lost tooth just goes to show how much of Lexie's life she really missed – how much that the little girl really is growing up.

"I losted it at school! The Tooth Fairy is gonna now, right, Auntie Rach?"

Rachel makes eye-contact with Britt, who says, "We tried to tell her but apparently, she is only going to believe it if it comes from you."

The dancer's parents did something really cool when she had lost her own baby teeth. Britt put the tooth in an envelope and left it in the mailbox. Then, the next morning she would have either quarters or dollars in a different envelope, which was decorated with glitter and sparkles, and had a Tooth Fairy Express postage stamp.

Now, Lexie, and soon, Madalyn and Amara, will get to experience that same excitement and wonder.

"Well, of course! Are you going to put under your pillow or send it in the mail like Sissy B did?"

Lexie nods eagerly, "I wanna do the mail one!"

"Well, make sure that you put it in the mailbox, ok? That way the Tooth Fairy knows where your tooth is."

"Okay!" And of course, Lexie is immediately running out of the bedroom to go and do just that. Rachel smiles at that, though it has undertone of sadness to it.

"I really have missed most of her life so far, haven't I?" She asks quietly and Britt sighs at the question.

"Yeah. I'm sorry we were the cause of it."

"It was not your fault, B. And we can't dwell on it now. She's only six, and you-" She points to Maddie here, who is sitting in Santana's lap, "And Miss 'Mara are only 2. Thankfully, this is her first lost tooth, and I still have the rest of their lives to be there for them."

"I wanna lose one, too!" Maddie exclaims. "I wanna do da Toof Fairy, too!"

"Well, you still have a few more years before you have any lose teeth. I bet in about four more years, one will start being wiggly."

"2 + 4 is 6! I'll be da same like Lexie!"

"Yes, you will, you smart girl. You will be six just like Lexie is right now."

The rest of the chat goes similarly. Maddie talks to Rachel some and then it is time for her and Amara to get a bath. While they are doing that, Santana and Brittany explain what all they have been speaking about when meeting with their lawyers.

"They say it would probably be no earlier than the middle of March, and could be sometime in April, even."

She blows out a breath at this as she realizes just how close that is. It may seem like a long time – just four months or a little bit longer, to be exact, – but it is also close. Like, really close. Those four months will probably go by in the blink of an eye. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day…

All those holidays will come and go, and then? Then, Quinn's abuser will be in prison. They will finally get closure. Santana and Brittany can move on, Quinn will be able to move on.

Rachel will be able to move on.

"Are you all right, Estrella?"

"No… No, I am so very far from being 'all right'."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This is not something you need to be sorry about, T. It's a good thing. Something that I wish wouldn't need to happen in the first place, but still a good thing."

"We should probably go. There's still a lot to do before we can go to bed, and I promised Lex I would her a story."

"Okay. We love both of you. And we will see you tomorrow." They return the sentiment with Quinn waving goodbye from her place against Rachel's shoulder. They click off Skype and just… sit there for a while.

And then…

The two start their own nighttime routines.

"Tomorrow is a new day, Angel." Rachel tells her later, as they shut off the lights for bedtime.

"I am so proud of you for being able to get through this week. You have done so well, but I want you to know, I will still be proud even if tomorrow does not go as perfectly as the rest of week has been. Okay? You make me proud every day, Lucy. And I hope you know that."


The trial/court date was mentioned in this chapter. I will try mention it a little more. Next one is Thursday and an extended version explaining what kind of secret it is that only Brittany, Quinn, Azimio and Dave know about. After that will Thanksgiving break for them.

I made a Community for my atories in the Worth It Universe. If you'd like, please go and follow it so you can get updates regarding my Glee stories!

Also, I know that Kurt and Mercedes are still being snarky over everything and I would like to explain so maybe it is easier to understand. Rachel and the girls have gone through hell and back, several times, over the last four years. They – especially Q, Britt, and Santana – had to grow up very quickly.

Now, the rest of them get to be normal 15-year-olds. And I am sure you probably could think of at least one moment when you were 15, and you did something incredibly stupid, or you cringe now at your attitude then – trust me, I remember that very well.

That is what I am basing Mercedes and Kurt on. They are 15 and doing and saying stupid things, and having an attitude, and snarking. But soon, I will do something that will give them a good point of view of just what Rachel and the Unholy Trinity have been through, and it will be what shifts their opinions about everything.

That being said, I will focus more on the core 5, with Finn, Mike, and Tina being involved, as well. Now, please review and let me know what you thought! :)