Title: Catalyst

Author: neveraworsename

Rating: M

Fandom: Glee

Pairing: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray

Summary: Quinn tried not to feel hurt, because after all it was her own fault. She couldn't have it all, not even both of them; the boyfriend and the girl with the stunning smile that had gotten her pregnant. G!Peen, AU S1, Quinn-centric

Disclaimer: Glee is the sole property of Fox, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuck. I am using them for entertainment purposes and do not have any rights to them.

Author's note: Sorry this took so long! I just finished it, and I thought that I may as well post it.

Chapter 9 –

The Hudson's didn't go to church. That might not seem like a big deal to most people, but Quinn had gone to church every Sunday no matter what time, date, or condition she was in. She'd actually tried, and Mrs. Hudson had driven her, but apparently, the news had spread quickly, and the looks she got just in the parking lot were so harsh Mrs. Hudson had asked, softly, "Would you prefer to go home?" Quinn almost started crying. She knew, logically, that Mrs. Hudson simply meant her home, where Finn was still asleep, but her initial thought had been for her childhood home, where she wasn't even allowed on the front lawn, damn the actual house. Instead, Quinn stayed quiet, and sniffled a little from the remnants of her cold, in the seat and Carole drove them back.

Mrs. Hudson made pancakes while she laid on her bed, still in her good dress and heels, burying her face in her arms. She laid there until the pancakes were done, when she changed into jeans and a t-shirt and headed upstairs, sneezing twice on the steps. Carole looked tired, exhausted really, but she gave Quinn a friendly smile at seeing her again and said, "Go ahead and eat, honey, you'll need your strength."

Quinn nodded, sneezed, and took two pancakes before asking, "Is Finn coming down soon?"

Carole chuckled, "Not before noon, and he'll complain about being hungry for sure."

She nodded and cut her pancakes up before pouring a light amount of syrup on them. She wasn't much of a syrup person, and suddenly remembered the fruit sauce Rachel had put on her deflated pancake cup things. Rachel had told her last night that she would bring her an air purifier for the room, but it was still early. She'd just have to wait to talk to her.

After pancakes, Carole took her dishes and washed them. She shooed Quinn away when she attempted to help, so Quinn went downstairs and finally examined her room. She'd been too embarrassed and distraught last night to do much more than take off her clothes and fall asleep.

Now, she could see that there were two small, high windows, and the concrete floor was cool and dry. The basement did have a bit of a dank feel to it, and what little light there was felt diluted and weak, almost artificial in a way. The water heater was in the opposite corner of her bed and various pipes ran along the ceiling and downwards to the floor. A fridge looked like it'd seen better days, but when she looked inside, saw that it was clean, bare, and plugged in. Maybe she would bring snacks down here or something so she wasn't intruding on them so much. She opened one of the windows to clear the room out a little and shivered at the invasion of cold air, then sneezed again. Quinn rubbed her arms and then moved to get a sweater out of her bags, before she put her clothes in the drawer, and set up her computer on the desk the boys had brought in. Starting the computer showed that the Hudson's didn't have wireless internet, but the neighbors did, and it was unprotected.

Quinn was organizing her books when there was a knock on the door, and Carole peeked in before saying, "You have a visitor."

Rachel appeared with a heater and an air purifier in her arms, the air purifier on top of the heavier machine. Carole closed the door after her and Rachel descended carefully. She had on khaki pants and a purple Oxford, sleeves rolled up to the crooks of her elbows again. There was something rolled up and tucked into the back of her khakis. As much as Puck talked about his guns, the subtle muscles of Rachel's forearms held her fascination more. Rachel put the machines down carefully and then gave Quinn a beaming smile. Quinn smiled back and kissed her forehead. Kissing her cheek would probably lead to kissing her mouth, and the last thing she needed was for Finn or Carole to come in and see them kissing.

Rachel didn't seem to have any of those reservations, and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss Quinn's mouth. Rachel threaded her fingers through Quinn's hair and scratched her scalp with her short nails. Quinn moaned and found herself responding, forgetting her want to keep them secret. The blonde pushed herself away, hearing a thump from upstairs. They were in Carole's house, the mother of her boyfriend, and Carole and Finn were both sure that the baby was Finn's.

The brunette made a soft, whining sound, and Quinn pecked her lips again, and then said, "Stop, Finn and Carole are right upstairs."

Rachel gave her a sheepish look. "Sorry, I just didn't get to kiss you yesterday. How are you today?"

The blonde smiled at her, "its okay. I'm doing okay, I set everything up, and it would be more than okay if I could get rid of this stupid-"

Quinn sneezed, so suddenly she couldn't even cover her mouth and nose, and slammed her eyes shut in mortification before she said almost silently, "Cold."

Rachel was quiet, and then said, voice strangled, "I'm starting to see why. Excuse me momentarily as I wash my face and obtain some cold medicine from Mrs. Hudson."

The brunette went upstairs and rubbed her face and the blonde sneezed again. Quinn plugged the air purifier in and closed her window. The air would take some time to clear out, and she dragged the heater to sit next to it, and then moved it farther away. The last thing she needed was a fire. She could hear sounds from upstairs, and then the hiss of the pipes as water pumped through. She flopped onto her bed and sneezed into her arm. There was another short hiss, and Quinn covered her mouth as she sneezed again and closed her eyes, somehow feeling exhausted. Rachel thumped downstairs and handed her the medicine. Quinn sat up and thanked her, pouring it into the cap and drinking it with a grimace before setting it back down. Rachel's face was scrubbed pink, even with the weak lights, and there was a little water caught on her eyebrows and lashes.

Rachel took her shoes off, climbed in the bed to lie next to Quinn, and Quinn wiped the water off with her thumbs. "You're like a little kid," She murmured. "You've always got something on your face."

The brunette blushed. "Sorry. I don't mean to, but I don't notice -"

Quinn laughed. "It's okay. Promise. It just seems to happen a lot."

Rachel gave her another of her spectacular grins, and Quinn found herself forgetting about Carole and Finn, kissing her small, left dimple. Rachel wiggled a little and Quinn undid one of the bottom buttons of her shirt to give her a little more room. Her finger brushed along the hot skin of her lower abdomen, with no hint of hair at all and outstandingly warm.

"Thank you," Rachel said, and adjusted herself so that her head was on Quinn's chest. Her hair smelled like raspberries instead of watermelon and she said quietly, "You should read to me."

Quinn puffed playfully, "Really? I don't need you falling asleep on me, big head."

"Shut up, Dumbo. I like your voice and it's good for the baby."

Quinn scowled, pleased with Rachel's remark because when someone with a voice as spectacular as Rachel told you your voice was nice, you took it, but annoyed at the nickname.

"Don't call me Dumbo."

"Don't call me big head."

Quinn smirked, "E.T."

"Bugs Bunny."

"Jimmy Neutron."

"Despereaux."

Quinn stared down at her. "Really?"

Rachel protested, "He was the first one I could think of."

"There are a zillion characters with big ears and that was the first one you could think of?"

"Well, I wasn't going to call you Will Smith."

Quinn laughed a little, and then said, "Fine. Go pick a book so I can read it."

Rachel stood up, examined the bookshelf, and brought her a thick book, one she had never actually read, but had meant to. Rachel passed her "East of Eden" and then went back to her original position, so her head was on Quinn's chest and her knees were pressed to her side. Rachel sighed into her chest, then swung her leg over one of Quinn's, and put her right arm over Quinn's stomach, before she said, triumphantly, "There!"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Rachel nuzzled her collarbone and her thumb rubbed circles over Quinn's belly before asking, voice hesitant, "Is it okay if I talk to the baby before we start reading? I know that it's an intense invasion of pri-"

"Rachel," She interrupted. "You've performed cunnilingus on me. We're having a baby. I think we can stop worrying about either of us invading each other's privacy when we're alone. It's not like you're fondling me in public."

"Fine," She huffed. "I suppose you have a point. I'd still like to ask your permission before certain things, however."

"Okay," Quinn conceded. She couldn't help smiling as Rachel moved so her head was on top of Quinn's stomach, then lifted her shirt and spoke gently. Quinn couldn't hear her, but she could feel the soft warmth of her breath and a short intake of cold breath before she felt the heat again. She ran her fingers through Rachel's hair and pressed her lips together when Rachel kissed her belly button before going back to her leg thrown over Quinn's and her hand on her bared stomach.

"Finished?" Quinn asked. Her voice was gentle.

Rachel nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes."

Quinn opened her book and started to read softly, "The Salinas Valley is in Northern California. It is a long narrow swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Salinas River winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into Monterey Bay.

"I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer—and what trees and seasons smelled like—how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich.

"I remember that the Gabilan Mountains to the east of the valley were light, gay-" She paused, and looked down at Rachel's shaking shoulders, "Really?"

She waved a hand, "Sorry. It was just – I didn't expect it, it didn't seem like a very extravagant prose oriented book when I picked it out."

Quinn gave her a sour look, received a sunny smile in return, and continued, "Mountains full of sun and loveliness and a kind of invitation, so that you wanted to climb into their warm foothills almost as you want to climb into the lap of a beloved mother. They were beckoning mountains with a brown grass love. The Santa Lucias stood up against the sky to the west and kept the valley from the open sea, and they were dark and brooding—unfriendly and dangerous. I always found in myself a dread of west and a love of east. Where I ever got such an idea I cannot say, unless it could be that the morning came over the peaks of the Gabilans and the night drifted back from the ridges of the Santa Lucias. It may be that the birth and death of the day had some part in my feeling about the two ranges of mountains."

They read the first and second chapters before Finn came down to the cellar. Rachel moved at the first sound and sat up so there wouldn't be any suspicion. Quinn smoothed her shirt down. Rachel pulled the rolled-up paper from her back pocket and straightened it out to reveal an X-Men comic. Finn's hair was messy and his face sleep-filled before he broke out into a grin.

"Hi Quinn, Rachel," He said. "What're you doing here?"

Rachel never lifted her head as she answered, "Visiting Quinn. I thought she might need some cheering up after your stunt last night."

Finn winced and his smile dimmed, "Oh. Um. I thought everyone was okay with that. Things turned out fine."

Rachel's voice was icy, and Quinn felt chilled at her tone. "Finn, you somehow managed to get Quinn kicked out of her house for what might be permanently, deprived the baby of a set of grandparents, and have her now living in a basement within the space of one poorly written song."

He shrank back from her and gaped uselessly before his mother stuck her head down the stairs and said, "Finnegan James Hudson! You leave Quinn and Rachel alone and eat your breakfast. Matt and Mike called and said they were cancelling your Halo tournament, whatever that is. That means you can finish your homework."

"Oh, mom," He whined, but a look at Rachel made him start to scurry up the steps. Rachel took the medicine and said, "Catch," before throwing the bottle and the cap at him. They landed directly in his hands, and he went up the stairs. The door gave a heavy thump as it closed. Rachel stretched and Quinn wondered how, exactly, someone just over five feet managed to occupy so much space.

Rachel yawned, covering her mouth, and then grumbled, "We have school tomorrow."

Quinn swallowed, "Yeah." She didn't look at Rachel, but said, "I'm a little nervous. What if people know that I got kicked out?"

Rachel spoke plainly, but her mouth was tight and her eyes were in the corner of the room, showing her displeasure in the topic. "Then they'll know. I know Noah, Michael, Matthew, and I will definitely support you and us, "She paused, "well, they intend to make sure you aren't bullied. I'll try to become a larger target, I suppose." Her mouth relaxed into a sort of half-smile, half-grimace, as she said, "A little less sixteen candles, a little more touch me."

Rachel startled them both into laughter before Quinn said, "I didn't know you liked Fall Out Boy."

Rachel shrugged, "Noah listens to them a lot, and I've acquired some affection for them by proxy. I prefer Folie à Deux more than their other albums."

Quinn replied, "I've never listened to their albums, I just heard some of their songs on the radio."

"Would you like to borrow them?" Rachel asked. "I'd be more than happy to bring them to you tomorrow."

Quinn agreed and Rachel put her comic back, only for the tinny sound of music through a small speaker came from her pocket. She answered, "Hello?"

The words were muffled and Rachel got off the bed as she spoke in Hebrew again, pacing briefly in her little ankle socks, before she finally said, "Alright abba-leh, bye."

Rachel visibly pouted at her as she put her phone back in her pocket. "I'm getting picked up by my cousin. Grammy wants to see us."

Quinn snickered, "Grammy?"

Her ears turned red, "Shut up, I didn't start it."

"Right," Quinn said skeptically.

Rachel rolled her eyes and the blush faded from her ears as she approached Quinn's bed and kissed her cheek very gently. "I assure you, it was not me. However, I still fear her wrath so I should be going."

Quinn nodded at her, and pulled her by a wrist until Rachel was close enough that they could properly kiss goodbye. She kept her side of the kiss soft and gentle, just so that Rachel could really leave at some point. The brunette's mouth was a little dry but not chapped, and gave her a series of small, closed mouth kisses that were closer to pecks than anything else. Rachel pulled away, pecked her on her nose, and then said, quickly, "I've always liked your nose, I hope the baby gets that particular feature."

Quinn's mouth flickered into a smile, "Only my nose?"

Rachel didn't smile back. "And your eyes, and your mouth, and your hair, and even your big, bat ears."

The blonde looked down at her hands. "Didn't we have this discussion before?"

"And your everything," Rachel continued. "I'd be more than happy if the baby was exactly like you."

Quinn blinked, eyes itchy, "I wouldn't be. I'm not some idealization of the perfect person, Rachel." She licked her lips, feeling a sudden urge of honesty because why not, what else did she have to lose, sitting in an used basement of the boy she was lying too and half the time couldn't stand, "I'm dishonest and sad and selfish and hurtful and the sooner you find that out, the less likely I am to disappoint you like I do everyone else."

Rachel protested weakly, "I never said you were."

"But you were thinking it," The blonde insisted. "And that's even worse because I can't counteract your thoughts. You're a better person than I am, Rachel-"

"No, I'm not," The brunette said softly, "I'm no better."

Quinn sat up, loudly speaking, "Yes, you are! Because anyone else would have abandoned me, bI/b would have left me! I would have said, 'That bitch got what she deserved, let her deal.' I'd have driven me to an abortion clinic, Hell or high water, and the only reasons I didn't is because of time and how damned selfish I am."

Rachel's throat bopped but she only stared at Quinn, dark eyes wide, unflinching.

"I didn't drive myself because I was afraid of my parents finding out, fat lot of good that did me, if I took too long, and some part of me kept saying, 'This will be the only person that loves you unconditionally, how could you do that to yourself.'"

Quinn scrubbed at her eyes, feeling her cheeks stiffen with salt. She didn't even know she'd started crying. "Do you see now? I'm a terrible, lonely, disgusting person and –"

"You're human," Rachel said flatly. "I'll admit to – to having a few thoughts here and there that you were better than me, that you were more, somehow, and that was the reason you seemed to delight so much in tearing me down without showing guilt, and hurting me the way you did, the way you did yesterday even, after Finn was an ass. I – " She scratched at her upper lip, then continued, halfway babbling, "I never thought of you as a bitch because I kept remembering the girl in elementary school that shared her lunch with me when the other kids would throw mine away, or my abba-leh would forget. Everyone wants to be loved, and if you're selfish, than I'm selfish, and so is everyone else in the world."

Her cell phone rang again, this time with a text, and she said, after reading it, voice subdued, "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed Quinn on her cheek, then another kiss, almost nonexistent, on her mouth, then placed her head on Quinn's stomach, spoke quietly, and lifted her shirt to press a kiss to her flat abdomen. Rachel put her shoes back on, rolled the comic up, and went up the stairs with a small wave.

Quinn rolled onto her side and sighed into her pillow. The inevitable was coming, although she kept trying to push it off. Finn was safe, for now at least. As unfair as it was, having him believe that the baby was his, it was safer than the slushy's turning into getting harassed for being with Rachel, or getting thrown in dumpsters, or being pushed in halls. The end of the first trimester was when she aimed to tell him. Then again, she'd aimed to tell him before she got kicked out.

Let Rachel have her peace now, let her have a place away from Quinn to keep her insecurities and sadness and hope before they were sharing a house, and possibly a room, and most definitely the disappointment of Rachel's fathers. Gerard was a sweet man, from what she'd seen, but there was only so much that anyone could take. This would be beyond hurtful, a secret and a grandchild what? At least ten years too soon from the wrong girl. There would be a rift in that family, one way or another, and Quinn knew it would be her fault, no matter what platitudes Rachel would try to give her.

She wrapped her arms around her abdomen and snuggled into the pillows. They smelled like home – flour, clean clothes, the feel of sunlight on a cool day – and she turned over, closer to the wall, so the scent of the wall kept her grounded. The worst part of everything was over with; her rejection was finalized. Quinn unwrapped herself and headed upstairs. The kitchen was empty and so was the living room. A look around the living room showed pictures of Finn at various ages and one of Carole and his father, a broader, older version of Finn, in military dress. There was laundry piled on the couch and after a moment, Quinn started to sort through the clothes. It was the least she could do for Carole, at least for the next month or so.

After that, the pregnancy would have progressed far enough that short of being assaulted, she would be fine. McKinley had bullies, but they weren't that terrible. She could expect some scathing remarks, maybe another locker being ruined, as many slushy's as possible, which would be numbered in the upcoming winter, and most of it was stuff the other kids in Glee had already experienced. The Cheerios wouldn't stick around for her, but maybe the Glee kids would. Matt and Mike had already moved her things in, Puck had refrained from being a complete and utter jerk; there were Brittany and Santana to consider, and the little gothic ninth grader, Tina, didn't completely hate her.

Quinn folded the clothes absent-mindedly, sorting them into piles of light, dark, and colored. She was nearly finished when Carole entered the room and gave her a surprised look, "Sweetie, you didn't have to do that." There was no way she was going to be a free loader after everything else she'd put them through; even if it was just simple things like washing dishes or folding laundry.

Quinn gave her a shy look, "I wanted to do something for you. I mean, I'm definitely inconveniencing you and Finn, so I thought that maybe –"

Carole smiled at her gently and walked over to the couch, then sat next to her, "Quinn, you didn't have to fold the laundry. You are more than welcome here, and just like Finn doesn't have to do anything but keep his grades up, you don't have to do anything but keep your grades up."

Quinn blinked away tears. She was a complete emotional wreck today. "But I'm extra," She said softly. "You don't have to take care of me, and I think I should earn my keep."

Carole shook her head. "Quinn, honey. I'm the parent in the relationship, and it's up to me to make sure Finn is taken care of and you, now that you're living with us. You aren't any more extra than if one of my nieces or nephews came to visit."

Finally, Quinn nodded, "Okay." That didn't mean she wasn't going to clean up after herself, and plausibly Finn. It was the very least she could do, after lying to both of them. Still, it would only be about three more weeks. She could make it.

Possibly.

Hopefully.

She took a shower to clear her head and stumbled downstairs the same time Finn was heading up. His neatly folded clothes were pressed to his chest, wrinkling them, and Quinn held in a sigh. The staircase wasn't narrow, but their shoulders rubbed against one another on the way. Quinn was almost on the ground floor when he called out, "Quinn?"

She turned and he said, looking down at his feet, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I just thought – you know, that they'd support us and be proud of you for doing this on your own."

Quinn massaged the back of her neck. "Finn, that didn't work last night, didn't work this morning, and won't work now. We both screwed up and we're paying the price."

His mouth trembled but he finally nodded and went to his room.

She felt human now, refreshed, after her shower, and saw that both Brittany and Santana had called. She called Brittany first.

"Hi, Quinn," Brittany said cheerfully.

She smiled, "Hi, Britt. How're you?"

"Better than you," The other blonde stated plainly, but without meanness, "Mike told me that your parents kicked you out. San and I were just going to watch Bring It On since she skipped Mass."

Quinn heard Santana's voice in the background, and then Brittany asked, "Do you want to come and watch it with us?"

Quinn thought about it. It would make her seem ungrateful, likely, to just get up and leave her first official day, but she felt terrible taking up space in their home. At least she knew she'd be welcome there. Well, almost welcome. Santana and Brittany tended to have special time together on Sundays, just them, so she declined. Being on Santana's shit list was not on her to do list.

Brittany didn't sound surprised, "Okay. I just wanted to see if you were okay with everything."

She smiled, "I'm okay."

"And how's the baby?" Brittany asked.

"The baby's fine," Quinn said. "I had an ultrasound Friday, and he or she's growing up just right."

She sighed softly, "That's good. I mean, so long as the baby's not Jewish."

Quinn froze. "What?"

"Yeah, I saw it on TV. Something about how small the population was and inbreeding and stuff led to, like, sickness or whatever. Like with cats."

Quinn felt more than heard herself say, "Oh."

She'd have to talk to Rachel about that immediately. She clenched a fist and listened to Brittany talk for a while. Brittany had a low monotone that soothed her for the most part. She could always tell when something was exciting or unexpected in her stories.

She rubbed her eyes and felt the intense urge to nap, then realized it was just after noon. Brittany was winding down, so she said, "That's great, B. I'm going to let you and Santana watch your movie, okay?"

"Okay Quinn," the other girl said. "See you. Bye, baby."

Quinn chuckled, sneezed, and put her phone down.

That was another thing: how long could she reasonably expect to still have her phone on? How would she get back from school? Finn had practice every day, and the Hudson's house was farther than her own, straddling the district line of Jefferson and McKinley, too far to walk when bullies lurked around after school. Carole, she knew from Finn, worked until almost six most nights. Brittany and Santana had Cheerios, which lasted as late as Coach Sylvester could hold them, and Rachel didn't drive. Even if she could drive, the girl was in so many clubs it'd be a miracle if she left before five, two and a half hours after school was finished. The bus covered most of the main roads, but she'd still have a fair distance to walk. And even if she had a car, what about gas? It was almost two dollars a gallon, something she couldn't feasibly pay while pregnant, unemployed, and homeless.

Quinn sighed and laid on her bed. This was bordering on ridiculous, and she made up a list of what she needed to do in her head.

1) She had to tell Finn the truth, soon

2) She and Rachel needed a plan of how to get out of Lima after high school, baby in tow

3) They needed to talk about the likelihood of having a sick baby, how that would affect them and him or her.

Those were the important things, and rapidly becoming clearer as she dragged her feet. She sat up and looked in her book bag. She skipped over the notes and pulled her textbooks out to finish her homework. There was no way she was going to let this affect her GPA.

Even with the two windows, the basement was still dark, and she turned on the lamp in the corner to give herself more light about halfway through. Exhaustion clung to her afterwards, and she settled into her bed for a short nap. Next thing she knew, Carole was patting her awake. Seeing that her eyes were open, Carole smiled, "It's time for dinner. Are you hungry?"

Quinn nodded and covered her mouth while she yawned. Carole's eyes were still on her while she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

She said softly, "You'll have a gorgeous baby."

Quinn smiled faintly. She knew Carole was referring to Finn, but she could only think of Rachel, cooing down at the baby.

They went into the kitchen and Quinn ate without really tasting anything. She was sure it was good, as Finn had seconds, but she missed her parents acutely now, for all the coldness Russell had shown her. He hadn't been the best father, but he wasn't the worst. She swallowed dryly, drank the last of her water, and asked, "May I be excused?"

Carole let her go and Quinn flopped onto her bed. She fell asleep shortly afterwards, and got dressed for school the next morning. Carole left for work early but there was toast and eggs for them, keeping warm in the oven. She ate before Finn, and left most of it for him. Ten minutes before school started he barreled downstairs, put the eggs between the toast as a sandwich, and they got in the back of one of the football players cars. She couldn't remember which one it was, and all he said was, "Dude," in acknowledgement of them both. She was almost certain he'd tossed Kurt in the dumpster once or twice

It was cooler than the day before, almost jacket weather, she noticed, and the sky was cloudless and bright. As soon as they entered the school, the football player slunk away, and Finn and Quinn were hit with slushy's. Quinn wiped it from her eyes, and headed towards the bathroom. When she was clean and had changed clothes; Finn was by the door, and she walked with him, just ahead. It was only a few steps before she found herself pushed hard against a locker. She looked up to see Dave Karofsky's smirking face.

"Skank," He said loudly, and walked away. Quinn flushed in embarrassment, seeing a few people laughing, and hunched her shoulders as she walked towards her first period.

She never made it.

There was a big group of kids gathered in a circle by her first period and the fighting kids in the middle were Dave Karofsky and Rachel. She held in a whimper. Rachel was going to be killed; he dwarfed her by at least a foot and outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds, likely a hundred and fifty.

They were screaming at each other, but not in English, and he pushed her chest. She was pushed backwards, into the crowd, and when she exited, she tackled him. They were on the floor, suddenly, rolling. The crowd wouldn't budge for her and helpless tears were gathering in her eyes when Quinn said, "Finn, go help!"

He stood next to her, mouth gaping open.

"Finn!"

He lumbered forwards, startled by the command, but Puck and Matt were already pulling them apart. Matt had lifted Rachel clear off the ground. There was already a bruise forming around her eye and her lip was busted, dripping blood onto her blue sweater. Her ear was bright red. Karofsky had scratch marks across his cheeks and neck and he hissed when Puck pressed against his chest.

Mr. Schuester and Ms. Hutcherson parted the crowd and she said, breathlessly, "Office. Now."

Karofsky snatched himself from Puck and Matt put Rachel down carefully before they were frog-marched to the office. They both made sounds at the grip to their upper arms. The crowd murmured. The last time many of them had seen a physical fight between a boy and a girl had likely been elementary school. A few teachers came out to control the chaos, but soon gave up. Considering Mr. Schuester was her first period, she doubted there would be much done. Finn touched her shoulder, and she turned to him when Ms. Hutcherson appeared and said, "You two come with me."

There were too many people for the principal's office, apparently, and instead they were in a conference room. All of the tables but one had been pushed to the side. Karofsky and Rachel were sitting in front of Mr. Figgins. Rachel had a balled up napkin pressed to her mouth and the nurse was applying antiseptic to Karofsky's scratches. They stared ahead with murder in their eyes.

The principal saw them and made a gesture. They approached and he asked, "Do either of you know what happened?"

They shook their heads.

"Are you sure?" Figgins asked. "Because this seems to be about you, young lady."

Quinn hesitated, then said, "Karofsky pushed me into a locker and called me a skank this morning. That's all I know."

Figgins bent down and wrote it on a notepad quickly.

"Is this true?" He asked Karofsky.

Karofsky's jaw tightened but he didn't say anything.

"Did you see them fight?" He asked them.

They nodded.

"Who started it?"

"Karofsky pushed Rachel first," Finn told him.

He wrote that down as well, and then asked, "Did Rachel go find a teacher or attempt to look for one?"

Rachel stayed silent.

"No," Quinn replied.

Finn added, "She got pushed into the crowd, and when she came out she sorta – tackled him. Then they were on the floor and rolling around. Puck – Noah Puckerman and Matt Rutherford pulled them apart."

Figgins nodded, wrote it down, then said, "Mr. Karofsky, Miss Berry, I'm calling your parents."

They both sat up, "No!"

His eyes widened, then went back to normal, "There's no arguing about it. I'm calling your parents and they'll come in for a conference. You're both getting three days outdoor suspension."

"Shit," Karofsky muttered.

"Four, Mr. Karofsky," the principal said. "There's a strict profanity ban."

"Then so should Noah and Santana," Rachel argued. "I greatly dislike David-"

"Right back atcha, freak."

She ignored him, "But fair is fair."

"Four for you as well," Figgins said. "Back talk is discouraged."

Rachel glared at him.

Figgins called the office on the PA and said, "Please contact Mr. Dave Karofsky's parents and Miss Rachel Berry's parents."

There was a short pause before one of the secretaries said, "Rachel is her preferred name, right?"

Rachel nodded, tightlipped again. Her ear appeared to be puffing up and the nurse gave her an ice packet. "Yes," The principal said.

There was a longer pause, at least three minutes, before the secretary said, "Mr. Karofsky will be here in five minutes, and one of the Mr. Berry's will be here shortly. Jeremiah, I believe."

Rachel paled rapidly.

Both of them started to shiver lightly.

Figgins told Quinn and Finn, "Take a seat, young lady. Young man, you can go on to class."

Finn left and Quinn sat quietly for almost five minutes before the men entered the room. Both of them were tall, at least Finn's height, broad, and White, which was were the similarities ended.

One of them reminded her of Russell; he was wearing a suit and tie with neat, gray hair and a small goatee. He put one large hand on Karofsky's shoulder, but it was gentle.

The other, obviously Jeremiah Berry, looked as if he'd just woken up. His jeans were wrinkled and he wore a plain green t-shirt and paint splattered boots. His hair was red, with sandy spots, and around his ears, one of which had small studs from his lobe to the top; there were tattoos on his bare arms and chest. He glanced at her with very blue eyes, then turned to Rachel where he said, in a deep, accented voice, "Spencer Broadhurst Berry, what did you do?"

Her voice was meek, "Hi, abba-leh."