Disclaimer: If I had owned Glee, its characters or the used songs I wouldn't be still living in the Netherlands and Glee wouldn't have ended.
Special thanks to all of you who are still following this story for your patience.
English still isn't my native language. For that I have jenmer61977 as my amazing beta.
A.N.: I'm changing things up a bit to make it fit better for what I have in mind later on in the story. I have changed all the chapters I had until now and am working on brand new chapters. I can't promise updates will come regularly but I will promise that I will do everything I can to finish both this and Changing Directions.
Deciding that a Ford Mustang, a Chevrolet Camaro or a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray are not the right cars for a shopping trip like this Shelby takes the keys to the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT out of the safe. She figures Leroy bought it for Rachel seeing how for a small girl like she is she sure loves big cars. She had one similar back in Lima. With a smirk she gives the keys to her daughter while walking to where the car is parked. The garage can only hold three cars, so the Jeep and a Range Rover Shelby assumes is hers are parked right next to it.
"You want me to drive?" Rachel runs after her.
"You have your learners permit, don't you?" Her mother stops to turn around.
"Yes," The girl sighs. "But it is registered in my 'old' name."
"I'm sure Emily will take care of that. In the meantime, you need to get your hours of driving in any way. So come on," Shelby pushes her towards the driver's side while she herself takes the backseat.
"You're a good driver," Sue praises their daughter when they're a good ten minutes underway.
"Yeah well, I've been driving with dad from the moment I got my learners permit. He was almost as good of a teacher as you are." The brunette behind the wheel comments. "Besides, in Ohio I was allowed to drive to school unsupervised with a learner's permit, so I've been driving to school since the beginning of the school year."
"That's good," Sue nods, relaxing in her seat now that she knows the girl can drive. "Where do you want to look for clothes?"
"Forever 21 for sure," Rachel answers. "I need some jeans and sweatshirts as well as a bunch of tops and shorts."
"What, no skirts? I thought you loved those skirts." Shelby says surprised.
"I'd rather wear a pair of cut off jeans." Her daughter sings the opening lyrics from one of her favorite country music singers, smirking in the mirror. "The skirts were more dad's thing, and where did that get me? I was constantly ridiculed for what I was wearing. Although the sweaters were probably the main reason for that." Rachel shakes her head at the memory. "It's gonna be hard enough being the new kid at a new school. I need to blend in, especially now that we're in protective custody. I was wearing them more so because dad loved seeing me in skirts, but haven't you noticed that when I was with you guys, I never wore them? A skirt also isn't very practical when you're working with animals." Now that she mentioned it, Sue and Shelby think about it and they indeed never saw her wearing skirts around the farm.
Mentioning the animals, she asks, "What is going to happen to the horses?"
"Besides your studio equipment, which you left to Noah and Santana, you left everything else to your aunts and cousin in Texas. Which you know is going to raise questions with those two by the way, since they know for a fact that you don't have any family living in Texas. So my guess is that everything that is left will be loaded in a truck and brought to the ranch, including the horses and your bike." Shelby explains. "Or we could sell the horses." She suggests.
"Now that I have given Noah that truck and Santana mine I think I might just buy a truck like the one I gave Noah," she smirks in the rearview mirror knowing that her mother doesn't like her driving such big cars. "And we are not selling Wicked, Star and Amy. Those are Noah's, Santana's and mine, we raised and trained them ourselves. The owners of the other horses, who were just with us for boarding, will have to find another stable to board them."
"Okay baby calm down. If you don't want to sell them, we won't. I know how much you love Wicked. It was merely a suggestion," Shelby shushes her daughter. "We'll just have to see what Noah and Santana want to do with Star and Amy."
"But enough about 'home' for now, let's go to Waikiki. I know that there are several shopping centers there. One of them should have a Forever 21, oh and a Sunglass Hut since we also need new shades." They all agree so Sue programs the navigation system.
On their shopping trip mother and daughter are trying really hard to annoy the hell out of Sue but Sue has decided that nothing can bring her down today. She has her wife and their daughter, they are safe on a beautiful island, the weather is nice and soon all the threats and problems will be behind them.
After eating the pizza they ordered for dinner Noah and Santana retreat to the basement to play some video games.
"What are you thinking?" Santana asks him when she has enough of his short answers.
"That something isn't right here." Seeing her confused look, he pauses the game and turns to look at her. "We knew Rae better than she knew herself. We grew up together, don't you think that if she had two aunts and a cousin in Texas we would have known them or at least heard of them?"
She thinks about that for a moment and then slowly nods her head. "You're right. Besides, we were in Texas for three weeks over the summer. If she had any family there she would have visited them at least once."
"Exactly, and that's why it feels like something doesn't add up." He exclaims.
"Then why don't we just ask Emily?" The Latina looks at him as if has gone crazy.
"You really think that Emily would tell us if all this is fake and Rae is in Witness Protection or something?" He can't believe that Santana doesn't see it. "She can't because if she did, she would jeopardize their safety. That's why we're going to do some investigation of our own."
"I really can't believe that you have that little faith in me Noah." Emily says entering the basement.
He narrows his eyes at her. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know that while you understand that I can't say anything if she is in Witness Protection because of their safety, you are willing to put that safety on the line just to prove that you're right." She looks at him accusingly.
"Well what do you expect? Did you really think we're stupid enough to buy that shit about aunts and a cousin we never met or heard of?"
"On the contrary," she gives them both an envelope. "Which is why we trust you with this. I was planning to wait a few days before giving you this, but you give me no other choice."
"What is this?" Santana looks at the envelope, recognizing Rachel's handwriting.
"Read it and it will explain itself." Emily answers.
The two teenagers look at each other for a moment silently debating who opens their letter first. Noah jerks his head motioning for Santana to go first so she rips the envelope open, taking out a letter.
After quickly scanning through it she looks up in disbelief. "A… is… is this true?" Tears already streaming down her cheeks. Emily just nods, also tearing up.
"What does it say," Noah asks impatiently.
Santana clears her throat before reading the letter out loud.
'Santi,
If my Aunt Emily handed you this letter, it means that the people that killed my fathers have followed through on their threats that my mothers would be next.
These people are a very conservative pro-life group who are not only fighting against abortion but are also against gay people. They're highly violent and they already set houses of gay couples and clinics that offer abortions on fire all over the state. Unfortunately for us my fathers were the first couple killed by a fire set by them. The day of their funerals we found the first threat in our mailbox and now they also got to my moms, with me as collateral damage. I can't believe I'm saying this but please don't come out as long as you live in this hell hole of a town.
While my fathers didn't take the threats seriously enough, after what happened to them we did. After the first threat was delivered to my moms' house, during the day we would go on with our 'normal' lives but at night we retreated to the fire proof storm shelter underneath the studio. When the fire broke out we left the premises in the chaos of the fire department doing their jobs.
When you read this letter we will be in a safe location waiting for our new identities only to move on to our final destination. I'm so sorry for doing this to you, Britt and Noah but for us to be safe they have to think we died in that fire. I deliberately asked my aunt to give you this letter after our 'funeral' to make sure your grief looked real.
Now that I'm not around to keep you two fools in line please don't revert into the angry teenagers who started to push people away like Tina and Dave did. I also want to ask you a favor, please make sure Noah is okay. He'll probably go out of his mind and start partying and drinking. Just try to not let it get out of control. He's way too smart and talented for that to go to waste.
I love you and again, I'm so, so sorry for doing this but I hope you understand I had no choice.
Until we meet again
Rachel *
p.s. Enjoy my car. Please drive safe.'
"What?" Noah screams, ripping open his envelope and starts reading out loud.
'Dear Noah,
If my Aunt Emily handed you this letter, it means that the people that killed my fathers have followed through on their threats that my mothers would be next.
These people are a very conservative pro-life group who are not only fighting against abortion but are also against gay people. They're highly violent and they already set houses of gay couples and clinics that offer abortions on fire all over the state. Unfortunately for us my fathers were the first couple killed by a fire set by them. The day of their funerals we found the first threat in our mailbox and now they also got to my moms, with me as collateral damage.
While my fathers didn't take the threats seriously enough, after what happened to them we did. After the first threat was delivered to my moms' house, during the day we would go on with our 'normal' lives but at night we retreated to the fire proof storm shelter underneath the studio. When the fire broke out we left the premises in the chaos of the fire department doing their jobs.
Please don't start partying and getting drunk off your ass now that I'm not around to keep you in line. You're way too smart and talented for that. I'm sure if you keep up with your schoolwork you can get into any college you want on either an athletic or music scholarship. Also please, please keep an eye on Santana, especially if her secret gets out while she still lives in Lima. These people are crazy and will go after her too.
The night I came to you and you told me you loved me and that you had waited for that night to happen for a long time? I really wanted to say it back but there was so much going on at that time that I just couldn't. My aunt just told us my fathers had received threats on my moms' lives. I was wearing bullet proof clothes, had an FBI security detail standing on the other side of the street and my aunt just told us she wanted to put us in Protective Custody. While I couldn't say it then, I am saying it now. I love you too Noah Puckerman. I always have since you sang me 'Sweet Caroline' and gave me my first real kiss at my Bat Mitzvah and I always will love you with every cell that my midget body ;-) holds. I would love nothing more than to ask you to wait for me but I know I can't since we don't know how long it will take the FBI to catch the low life's that did this if they ever will.
I love you so, so much and again, I'm so, so sorry for doing this but I hope you understand I had no choice.
Love always,
Rachel *
p.s. Enjoy your new truck and please drive safe.'
Just like the day before he falls to his knees and starts to cry, only this time the tears are out of relief that his girl is safe.
Santana looks at Emily still crying "so she's…"
"Alive and safe? Yes." The agent gives her a teary smile. "But please, to keep them that way this cannot leave this room."
"Can we tell our parents?" Santana pleads.
Emily thinks for a moment and then nods.
"So all of this was fake?" Noah is starting to get angry.
"Yes, all except the fire and everything she left you guys. The money, the cars and her equipment." Emily confirms.
"What is going on here?" Deborah looks between the three as she comes down the stairs. Noah wordlessly gives her the letter he had crumbled in his hand.
As Deborah reads, tears start to stream down her face also. When she's done, she looks at Emily. "So she's…" the agent just nods.
"Yes. But please ma, you can't tell anyone okay?" Noah, briefly forgetting his anger, says sternly. Deborah, not able to speak, just nods, stepping closer to hug him tightly whispering 'she's safe' over and over again.
He eventually looks up to Emily. "How could she do that to us? She could have told us and we could have acted upset."
Emily shakes her head. "It had to be real. It was bad enough that I knew and had to act. I just fed off of all of the emotions coming off of you guys. She couldn't tell you and risk it not looking real enough. Their lives depended on it. That fire was real and set by the same assholes that killed Hiram and Leroy. They were trying to kill Shelby, Sue and Rachel. We did what was necessary to keep them alive and I will not apologize for that."
Noah just eyes her for a moment then storms up the stairs. Santana sighs, "I'll go talk to him. He'll get over it. I'm just happy you trust us enough to give us these letters. Thank you." She squeezes Emily's hand then goes up the stairs after Noah.
Emily looks at Deborah. "I can't be sorry for this."
Deborah pulls her into a hug. "No you can't. You were just doing what was needed to keep them on this earth. He'll come around in time. He's just really hurting right now."
Emily nods into her neck and sighs as she steps back. "I hope so but for now I need to go and check in with my team. I still need to find these fuckers."
Deborah walks her to the door waving her off then looks up the stairs toward Noah's room. She knows that this will take him a long time to get over but that he will eventually know that it was the only way.
You know the drill, reviews are the fuel to my imagination.