ETA: Hey, guys. I was in such a rush to get this posted on the seventeenth that I forgot to change a few things - Rachel's wrist is actually now in a cast instead of just a brace. The grade-3 sprain was upgraded to an avulsion fracture, which is explained in the extended scene for the last chapter.
Disclaimers: I do own Glee or its characters. I do own all OCs unless ownership is otherwise given.
Spoilers: None currently.
Rating: T
Reply to reviews: (chapter 33)
Boris Yeltsin: Thank you for the review! :) They do need help. Rebecca is going to testify against Russell, and she let her frustrations of having to relive everything build up (what went on before she left is being used as evidence), and she took that anger out on Quinn. She is actually a loving sister. She just needs therapy and help and understanding, and a safe outlet for her anger.
chloe2007: Thank you for the review! The baby was mentioned, though it is not concrete on that decision yet. ;) This has some Faberry for you, as well!
Empreintes Fauves: part 1 - Thank you so much! I have a much longer note I will PM to you but for now, I will answer a few things here. You asked about Z and Dave, and why they did not choose to protect Rachel instead of slushying her, and whether Russell would know about Quinn and Britt's deal with them. The answer to this is… David and Azimio were told about what was happening – everything Russell was making them do, and also that they – Quinn, Britt, and Santana – were going to tell someone about what was happening.
part 2 - However, they then went back and told them Santana's mom was pregnant again. At this point, Z and Dave knew about Carmen's miscarriage - when she lost Marianna. This meant that they – S, Britt, and Q, – were no longer going to tell, because they were scared that the stress from all of this would lead to another miscarriage.
part 3 - Now, in response to your question about Russell knowing or not about the deal with Azimio and David. He was very meticulous about this type of bullying - he wanted it done, and he expected it to happen every single day. If it stopped? He would immediately become suspicious. If he asked and they did not come forth with the reason? He would simply threaten Quinn with some kind of "discipline". He knew that Brittany and Santana would never do, or not do, something which could lead to Quinn being hurt. So if the slushying stopped, and he asked, they would be forced to tell the truth.
Gwennie49: Thanks for the review! Becca is nice, I promise. She just took her frustrations over everyhting out on Quinn. This is a new relationship she is going to have to build; Quinn is no longer the 9-year-old little girl who was relatively safe as she was the last time Rebecca saw her. She did cause some backlash with her behavior, however, which will make it harder for her to establish this relationship with Quinn, especially since she hurt Rachel during her little temper tantrum.
It has been asked about Rachel and what affects the trauma has on her, whether the girls might have PTSD, etc. The four of them, – Britt, San, Q, and Rach, – with Quinn, in particular, have Complex-PTSD, from the amount/type of abuse that happened in the span of four years. Of course, Quinn has normal PTSD, too, because of the abuse that was a daily occurrence in the Fabray household.
There will be a chapter for Snapshots, where the parents discuss this. They do have much more than just C-PTSD, which will also be dealt with. As for Rachel, the end of this chapter deals with part of how the trauma is crushing down on her. And I have another in mind for Snapshots, which will also deal with that. It will be a long, hard road for all of them. The repercussions of everything does not disappear simply because Quinn is with Rach and is safe now, or now that Russell has been arrested.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed! We are just 25 short of 200 reviews, and that is amazing. Welcome to my new follower Tmunst (favorited) and my new favoriter auntytigga93.
Everyone seems good with early Brittana, so that will be happening, though the main focus is still them working as a family unit to keep Quinn safe, and get her and themselves through everything that has happened.
Notes: 2 new characters in this chapter! I am so sorry this has taken me so long. I was trying to get a follow up chapter to the last one put up in Snapshots, because it was important to read before this one. And also because I had things I needed to change in this chapter due to that extended scene.
Name credit for David and Adeline Puckerman goes to Boris Yeltsin. Lila-June is my own character. :)
Enjoy! :)
*Wednesday afternoon – 1:45 p.m. Rachel/Quinn's house*
"Why on Earth did we wait until now to do this?!" Rachel yells as she stands in front of her full-length closet mirror putting makeup on. This proves to massively impossible because her right wrist hurts so much even though it is completely immobilized due to the cast that is now on her wrist.
Especially since she is supposed to have it in a sling, which she refuses to use, because that makes things even more difficult.
"Because we have had a lot of fucking shit to deal with for the past month!" Santana shouts back as she literally steps out of the shower with the water still running so Britt can get in.
They are currently rushing around getting ready because, – surprise, surprise, – they forgot to go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner. They were supposed to be ready earlier, but all four fell asleep, exhausted from the very stressful last week and half of school.
In the midst of Rachel trying to braid her hair, and failing miserably, and Quinn hunting for something to wear, and Santana fighting with her hair, which is an absolute mess of curls, the doorbell rings.
Rachel lets out a string of curse words, in a mixture of Spanish and Italian, and huffily walks over to the window that overlooks the front yard.
"Finn's here!" She yells. "What the hell is he doing here?! I don't have time for him to be here!"
Quinn smiles at the rant from where she had peaked out from the closet doorway. When she sees Rachel heading to the bedroom door, she hurries out of the closet, across the room, and to the bathroom. She snatches the shirt from Santana's hands, ignoring her protests, and then goes over to Rachel.
"Q! Not cool!"
Santana grumbles as she goes back to the guest bedroom, which is really not even a guest room anymore, to get another shirt.
Meanwhile, Quinn is trying to dress Rachel, and gets a stern, "I can put it on myself, Lucy." in response.
Rachel complains it even though she knows it is useless. So, she sucks it up, and lets Quinn put the shirt over her head, puts her left arm through and then, very excruciatingly slowly, puts her right arm through. It is, thankfully, a short-sleeve shirt, so her arm goes through it pretty easily.
"Don't look at me like that," Rach grits out at the blonde's concerned look that has annoyance bleeding into it. "Look, yes, it is hurting more. And I promise I will take one later, okay?"
Quinn does not response verbally, but oh, does she do it nonverbally. She spins Rachel around, pushes her to the door, opens it, and walks her down the stairs. And, while Rachel answering the front door, Q goes to the kitchen to her a pain pill.
She grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, walks to the foyer, and hands both to the not-so-willing to comply Diva. Finn smirks in the background as the two girls literally have an entire conversation with their eyes and body language. It really is a marvelous thing to witness.
Once the pill is taken, albeit reluctantly, and slightly forced, the three go back upstairs. And Rachel calls out to make sure Santana is "clothed and decent!" They enter after San opens the door.
"Hey," He sort awkwardly waves. "So, um… What's going on?"
Finn half falls-half sits on one of the beanbags.
"We're rushing around to get ready because somebody let us fall asleep earlier!"
"Hey! That was not my fault! And anyway – Santana – we should not bicker in front of our guest."
"Bicker," She mocks. "Why can't you just argue or fight like a normal person?"
"Anyway – Finn, what was it that you were going to ask?"
He straightens up at this, looking a little nervous but more on the excited side, if anything. "I have a proposal for you guys. It's uh–… It is about Thanksgiving, and it requires a trip, and, Rach, before you start worrying, my mom is coming by to talk to your dads, so…"
Santana immediately holds her hands up, waving them at Finn, "Woah, woah, woah. Hold up– I ain't going anywhere with you unless I know all the details."
"I can't tell you the details, Santana," Finn answers, holding up a hand when she goes to cut in. "It would be a surprise. Britt knows because– we–… She has been on this… trip… with me, and, so does–" He gestures to Quinn. "'Cause she has been with me and my mom, also."
"So, it is just the two of us you're keeping in the dark?" Finn looks to Rachel, wondering why Santana is being so… defensive? Or, more like… snarky than usual, especially since they are here, at Rachel and Quinn's home, instead of at school.
He knows that she does not have to keep up appearances here, so…
"T, just take a breath, alright?" Rachel soothes. "Finn is just making a suggestion for something, not intentionally keeping important information or details from us."
And she does. Huff it out, that is. Nodding to Finn as an apology to which he accepts.
"I could tell you," He relents. "But, I think it might be kind of a cool surprise. And well, you would probably need to ask your parents, because we would be gone until Saturday or Sunday. And I don't know if– well… If they would like for you to be gone that long since tomorrow is Thanksgiving."
"I'll ask, but I am sure Mamí and Papí would not care, well– I say that but… They have been pretty lenient this last month but that is mostly because of– you know… so…"
Brittany exits the bathroom, now in pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, her hair wet and brushed out, and with two ponytail rubber bands.
"Rachie, will you braid my hair, please?"
Rachel sighs at this. She would love to braid her hair, but…
"I'm sorry, B. Maybe Luce will do it. I can't really do much now that my wrist is in this cast." Brittany pouts at this but turns to Quinn, anyway, and the blonde agrees to do it, sitting on the bed beside Rachel. She points to the floor directly in front of her, and the dancer sits.
They lapse into silence for several minutes. Right as Quinn is tying off one French braid and starting another one, a knock at the door startles them.
Rachel calls out, "Come in"!"
The bedroom door opens, and Noah's little sisters, Adeline and Lila-June, and Gabriel come in. Gabe is carrying Miranda, and the four teenagers are more confused than ever because… are they not supposed to be going grocery shopping? Why is everybody suddenly flocking to the Berry household?
"Um… what's going on here?" Santana asks as she is handed her baby sister.
"Mom and Dad are downstairs. Whenever you are ready–" He discretely gestures to Quinn with his eyes. "– just come down. There is something the parents want to discuss with you four."
"Okay. Just tell them we'll be down in a minute."
After he leaves, Addie jumps into Finn's lap while Junie goes straight to Rachel. She smiles at the little girl, saying, "Hello, babygirl. How is my Junebug today?"
Lila-June uses her tablet to answer the question. It has an app that has buttons for certain things such as words and objects. So when she presses a button, the tablet reads out, 'Great, Aunt Rachel.'
"That is fantastic, Junie. I have some people here who would love to see you. Would you like to do that?"
See, even though Lila-June is 6 years old, she was born a mute or, as her family prefers, non-verbal. There are 11 months in-between her and Adeline, who is 7 years old. Noah's father, Johnathan, comes and goes in the family as he pleases. He shows up, woos Diane into believing this is the one time he will stick around, gets her pregnant, and vanishes.
The last time, he stuck around for Adeline's birth and, 2 months later, he was leaving after getting her pregnant, yet again, but not because she was irresponsible. No – she fell pregnant again because he poked holes in the fucking condom. She figured that out right after… and hoped that it was a close call.
She already had a 2-month-old daughter, and two sons, aged 10 and 8, to take care of. But, unfortunately, it was not a close call. It was a perfect call. The moment that pregnancy test turned positive, Johnathan was gone.
Life was already difficult for her – David was born blind and Diane was promised great results with a surgery that would restore his eyesight. Johnathan was still with her. He stuck around once she told him that this surgery could repair David's eyesight.
David was their first child, which is why she agreed to the surgery. Not because it meant Johnathan would stay. She knew that if it came down to it, she would pick her baby boy over her already dwindling relationship any day.
And if it could give her baby boy a chance to see, then why not?
Well, David Puckerman went into that surgery a happy little boy, with a mom who hoped he would be able to see – there were so many people and things she wanted to show him.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. Diane quickly realized it was not just on TV that the doctor would come out and the family immediately knew something went – no, it happened in real life, too. It happened to her. Scared, alone in that waiting room, her parents on the road coming to them, Johnathan who knows where…
Diane was given the bad news: the surgeon botched it. David was not only still blind but… now his retinas were damaged. Now his chance at seeing was taken away before he was even a full year old.
And Diane was alone in that NICU, watching over her baby boy, waiting for her parents to come and make everything all right again, and… wishing she had never agreed to damn surgery in the first place. How would she explain this to him when he was older? How would she explain that, even though she did not do research about the surgery or asked about the risks, she still went ahead and did it?
But now…
David is a wonderful 17-year-old young man, in his junior year at special school for the blind. He is a big brother to three little siblings, he loves his mother with everything he has, and… he is even dating. A wonderful young lady named Charlotte, whose father is the lawyer for the girls against Russell and Judy.
He can live life, someday, on his own, get married, have kids. And that is everything, and more, that Diane could ever wish for him.
Now, Diane has to raise four kids on her own. Her older two boys, 17-year-old David and 15-year-old Noah, are absolutely amazing with the younger girls. They have even weaved a tale about Johnathan being dead, so the two little girls do not think their father is not in their lives because he does not love them.
Never would Noah or David want Addie and Junie to believe that.
And now, Junie is the baby of the family… She is the little girl who does not speak. The little girl who looks so much like Noah. The little girl who stole Rachel's heart the day she was born.
Rachel gestures with her left hand, the one that hurts significantly less, for Lila-June to come over.
"Come here, Junebug. There are some people here who you may not remember, but I would like to introduce to them, okay?"
The 6-year-old nods while everyone else looks on. Addie is even excited, and she blurts out,
"I remember you guys! You're Auntie Rachel and Bubba's friends!" Then she turns to her little sister, "Lila, do you 'member? They're Britt and Sanny and Quinnie! They teached us how to do cartwheels and how to swim in the deep of the pool!"
Lila-June lights up at this. Of course she remembers. That was the first time she had ever done a cartwheel. They all cheered for her and clapped, and it was all very exciting.
But then, she remembers, too, what Rachel had told Noah. About how these girls called her names and made her cry, and now, she feels like she should not be happy to see them because what if they hurt Rachie again? What if Rachie comes crying to her house about how mean they were again.
And, as if Adeline had read her mind, she says, "You were all very mean to Auntie Rachel." Then she narrows her eyes in a very Santana Lopez sort of way, saying, "You better not hurt her again! My Bubba teached me how to fight, ya'know, and if you hurt Auntie Rachel, I will kick your ass!"
Shocked cannot even begin to describe the feeling that makes waves throughout the room. The Unholy Trinity seems to be the most shocked at the little girl's crude language, though they admit… it is totally called for. 'Cause they were mean and should have their asses kicked if they hurt Rachel again.
Rachel, though, is immediately scolding her with, "Adeline Grace Puckerman, watch your language!
And Santana mumbles, "She certainly is Noah Puckerman's sister!"
"But, Auntie Rachel!"
"No buts, Adeline. It is very nice that you are willing to stick up for me. And I am proud of you for that. But, what has your mama been telling you about using grownup words?"
"Bubba uses them, too!"
The girls watch this ping-pong of a conversation, not used to it. Now… Now they understand exactly what Rachel feels when she sees Matthew or Maya, or Britt's sister, Lexie. She missed their lives and watching them grow up much like they missed watching Adeline and Lila-June grow up.
"I know your bubba uses them, too. And what does Mama tell him?"
The 7-year-old pouts and crosses her arms, knowing she is out of arguments, because the answer to that question is… "She makes him put a dollar in the "No-no Word" jar."
Rachel hides her smile at this, and kisses Junie's forehead when the 6-year-old climbs up into her lap. "That is right. Noah has to put a dollar in the jar. Now, should I make you put a quarter in the jar we have here, or can you use nicer words?"
However, the 7-year-old is not going to be deterred that easily.
"But they made you sad!" She shouts suddenly. "They made you sad for every day for four years, and I have a good memory, so I remember it! I was three when they made you sad first," She punctuates it by holding up three fingers. "I'm seven now! That is really long time, Auntie Rachel. I don't want to use nicer words, 'cause they hurt you–"
She spins around to look at Santana, to where the older girl is sitting in Rachel's desk chair. The glares she gives her is reminiscent of Noah Puckerman, himself, and she says, through tears, "You made her sad for four years. I don't use niceness on people who are mean."
The tiny little 7-year-old then storms out of the room, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
It is silent for nearly 5 whole minutes.
Just… eerie silence.
Then…
It is broken by Junie. By her letting out a sob in that way that only a little kid could make sound heartbreaking.
It's a domino effect from there – Miranda immediately starts crying, and Brittany crawls up onto the bed and lays next to Rachel while Santana follows in Adeline's footsteps and storms out, but not too angrily that she cannot comfort her baby sister while doing so. And Finn… well… the poor boy is left with four very distressed young girls.
"Junie, baby, it's okay."
It is not as comforting as it should be, though.
Rachel looks to Finn and… god he thought it was heartbreaking when Quinn cried but Rachel? Seeing her cry and not being affected is like laughing at 2-year-old who is scared of the dark.
Finn is immediately up. He has no idea what she needs him to do he just… can't sit there any longer.
It must be the right move, though, because she is saying, through her tears, "Junie, go to Finn, ok? Go with Finny, baby."
The distraught 6-year-old obeys, letting Finn scoop her up, and take her out of the room.
Rachel tries to rein in her emotions.
"LuLu… Come here, please…" Once the blonde is sitting in front of her, she very gently places one hand on the back of Brittany's head, where the girl is lying face down on her bed, then she reaches for Quinn with her left hand.
"I want you two… to listen… very carefully… understand?"
Quinn nods but…
"Britt, I need to know you're listening."
It takes several moments, but… She finally gets a slight nod from the dancer.
"Okay, good… Now, I want you both to know, first, that I love you. I love both of you and Santana so very much. You are, always have been, and always will be my family. Understand?"
She gets two reluctant, but still there, nods from both blondes.
"Good. Then, I want you to know that, sometimes, families do crazy, stupid, and absolutely ridiculous things. Sometimes, people who are supposed to be family get that title taken away when they make the decision to do utterly horrible things."
She pauses here, to try to contain her emotions again…
"I love the both of you so very much, and what you went through, what Santana went through, that is something that no one, let alone children, should have to endure. You were not choosing to do those things. Okay? You did not choose to say those things, to do the things he made you do. You were surviving, and god, I cannot make it any clearer, but… I wish I would have known. I wish I would have done something."
"He made you do those things, and you were doing them because it was literally life or death, and I am so very sorry, I wish this was not true, but it is. You were surviving day to day, not knowing when or if he would lash out. He could have killed you–" She addresses Quinn here and it makes it hard to breathe because fuck.
Any one of those times he used a belt on her he could have too far.
"He could have done it, and it hurts so much to think about it. I honestly don't know what I would have done if one of those times ended in… everything. I love you, Quinn, and you guys are my life. You, and Brittany and Santana, and the little kids, – Broadway, singing, becoming an actress, every single one of those things would be back-burnered the moment any one of you asked for my help."
"He could have killed you."
The moment those words are choked out, Quinn is reaching out, and Rachel is falling into her arms. She is the rock now. She holds the girl her entire world revolves around as said girl breaks.
"He could have… killed you."
"But he didn't." The blonde whispers brokenly.
"He could have, though. He could have, and that is all I can think every time I am alone! Every time I have so much as a second alone, that thought loops through my mind. He could have killed all three of you, and made it look like an accident, and no one would have fucking known!"
"But he didn't, Rachel. He didn't. I'm safe. I am ok now. We are ok. I am safe and I am here, and I am not going anywhere."
"I don't think you understand, Quinn–"
"–But I do, Rachel. I do understand. I lived that nightmare every day for 15 years. So I do understand and– look–" She grabs Rachel's left hand, – not her right, not the one in the cast, the one Rebecca hurt her with yesterday, – she takes it, gently, slowly, methodically, and she places it over her heart, which is beating wildly, and she emphasizes with,
"You feel that? That is proof that I am here. I am here, Star. We are here. We are safe. We–… We told someone," Watery hazel-greens meet blue. "We were brave, and we told someone, we told you, and you fought with us every step of the way to get us to tell someone else. You did that, Star, you did."
"I could have lost you," Rachel sniffles. "I can't lose you."
The blonde presses her face against Rachel's head, gently placing her hand against Brittany's face when she shifts to lay against her knee.
"I know." She sighs out. "I know because I feel it, too. You are my entire world, Rae. You, and Britt and S, Noah, and this baby. Every single little kid that is downstairs, you are all my entire world. So, I do know. I know so much that I can't sleep at night. I know so much that the nightmares won't leave me alone and I can't fucking breathe when it so much as looks like one of you might get hurt."
She lets out a shaky breath…
"I love you both so much. And I will do anything I can to protect you from here on out. And nothing like what he put us through will happen ever again."
"Never again…" She breathes, closing her eyes, and just… coming to terms with the past life she officially says goodbye to today, and making room for improvements in the life that she will live to fullest from here on out.
Okay, so there it is. Two more characters were introduced! Noah's little sisters. Quinn spoke a lot, but only because it was needed. It was a momentary thing – she will not be doing this again for a while. Slowly, though, they will build up her speaking bravery.
In this one, you got a very angry 7-year-old cussing, and Rachel finally having that breakdown that was long overdue. And also, little Junebug. Lila-June is a very loved little girl, and she will make appearances more.
Next up: part 3. The new character I have been talking about forever finally appears‼
Then: a special chapter regarding the Lopez family.
After that: Rachel turns 16!
Please review and let me know what you thought! :)
