!
They spent the next few hours in her room, watching movies. Daddy had come back loaded with groceries and she was pleasantly surprised when Noah offered to help him bring them in. He was gone a little while and when he came back up, he was carrying two plates of the lunch Daddy had made. After they ate she had taken a quick shower, being careful not to move her shoulder too much.
She dried off quickly and shrugged into her long fluffy bathrobe. It was warm and one of her favorite comforts after a long day. She padded back down the hallway into her bedroom and found Noah was still watching Sweet Home Alabama and hadn't bothered to pause it when she left.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Good movie?"
He kept his expression even. "It's ok."
She smiled and went to her dresser, retrieving her hairbrush and sitting down in front of her vanity. She raised her arm to brush her hair and winced as her shoulder pulled. She switched the brush to her good hand and struggled to pull it through the tangles.
"Here, let me," Noah said, coming up behind her. He held out his hand for the brush and she gave it to him skeptically. "I used to have to brush my sister's hair all the time," he explained, working the brush gently through the tangles.
"Such a good big brother."
"Damn straight," he said. The brush caught on a tangle and he deftly used his fingers to help untangle it. "Am I hurting you?"
"No, you're being amazingly gentle," she said. He looked a little wounded so she added, "My hair tangles really easily and I always have a hard time with it."
He nodded, concentrating on her long locks. After a few minutes he announced he was done. She changed into track pants and a t-shirt. Her shoulder was throbbing a little so Noah helped her into her sling and they went back to her bed, sitting up with their backs against the wall to finish their movie.
About an hour later they heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Glancing at the clock she realized it was too early for Daddy to be home so she knew it must be the glee kids. She shifted, suddenly nervous, though she didn't know why. Noah patted her leg reassuringly.
She heard the doorbell ring, voices in the hallway and feet thudding up the stairs. Her door was open and Mercedes stuck her head in, wide grin on her face. "What's up, Diva?"
Rachel smiled. "Oh you know, same old, same old."
Kurt followed Mercedes into the room, and Matt, Mike, Brittany, and Santana followed. Kurt approached the bed cautiously, staring at the bruise on her cheek. He clucked his tongue. "I bet that hurt."
She flushed a little as they all gave her the once over. "It wasn't too bad," she lied.
The group stood awkwardly in the room for another minute until a blonde blur flew at the bed. "I'm so glad you're ok," Brittany said, hugging Rachel tightly.
"Britt, watch her shoulder," Noah cautioned.
Rachel returned the hug with her good arm. "She's ok, Noah, it's fine."
The ice broken, one by one the members came forward and embraced her. Mike and Matt told her how good she looked, Mercedes told her she better not pull any stunts like this again, and Kurt eyed the sling in horror, voicing ideas about how to spruce it up so it wasn't so plain. She laughed and tensed slightly as Santana approached the bed. They had made peace, kind of, but they still weren't best friends and Rachel wasn't quite sure what to expect from the Latina.
Santana reached out and gently hugged her. "We really want Nationals this year, Berry, so don't ever do this again," Santana said dryly. "Schue nearly had a nervous breakdown and we're no good without our coach. Or our star," she added. She saw Noah scowl but she saw Santana's small smile and knew that was the Cheerio's way of saying she had been worried about her.
She smiled back at her. "Don't worry, I won't be doing this again any time soon."
Santana nodded. "Good," she said sternly.
"Where are Finn, Quinn, Artie and Tina?" Noah asked. "I thought you were all coming."
Mercedes waved him off. "Oh, they'll be here. We had to take two cars and you know Finn."
Puck rolled his eyes. "Fuck, he could be in Canada by now."
Brittany just looked at him. "We just got out of school, it takes hours to get to Canada," she said seriously.
Puck looked at her like she had two heads, but Rachel just giggled and patted the girl's hand. "Noah's just being overdramatic," she said, her eyes twinkling as she glanced over at him.
He scoffed. "Yeah, look who's talking, babe."
Brittany started to get up and Rachel looked at her curiously. "Where are you going?"
"To get you a mirror, so you can look at yourself," Brittany explained. They all looked at her blankly. "He said to look who's talking," the blonde explained slowly. "And if you're talking, the only way you can look at who's taking is to use a mirror." She smiled at them all, clearly proud of her intelligence on this issue.
Puck was staring at the blonde, mouth hanging open. "How have you managed to-"
"Noah," Rachel cut him off quickly. She turned to the blonde. "It's ok, I don't need a mirror, but thank you anyway, Brittany."
Brittany shrugged, climbing back onto the bed. "Your choice," she mumbled.
Rachel giggled and poked Noah, who was still scowling at the blonde, before turning back to the group. "So what's new with you guys?"
Matt and Mike filled her in on their football training and she politely tried to pay attention. Kurt babbled on about the latest fashion trends and what celebrities had been labeled fashion victims in the newest magazine issues.
She turned to the Cheerios. "What about you guys? Don't you have a competition coming up?"
Santana blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah, this weekend," she said, surprised Rachel had remembered.
"We're going to be great," Brittany said emotionlessly. "It's going to be awesome."
"It's going to be at McKinley," Mike said proudly. "A bunch of us are going to support our girls."
"You should come, Rachel!" Brittany said, some excitement injected into her voice. "You can be our good luck charm."
"Oh, uh, I don't know," Rachel stuttered.
"Don't you want to?" Brittany was pouting now.
"Oh, well, yes, but-"
"She just got out of the hospital, Britt," Puck reminded her gently. "She needs to get her rest. She might not be up for it this weekend."
"Well, actually," Rachel started slowly, "maybe I will be. I'm thinking of coming back to school this week, so we'll see how that goes." She turned to the blonde Cheerio. "Can I let you know later in the week?"
Brittany beamed. "Sure!"
"So you're thinking of coming back, huh?" Matt asked, leaning against the door frame.
"Yes, I think so."
Puck looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure you're ready?"
She shook her head. "No, but I have to go back sometime and the longer I wait, the more difficult it's going to be."
"There's no rush," he urged her. "You can take your time with this, your dad said so himself."
"I know. I just think it's time." She turned to the others. "Has Tina gone back yet?"
"Today," Mercedes confirmed.
Rachel bit her bottom lip slightly. "How was it?"
"Well, I don't know. We ran interference as much as we could but I don't know how much it helped."
Almost as if on cue, they heard another car pull into the driveway. Looking out the window, Kurt announced it was Finn, Quinn, Tina and Artie. Matt and Mike went downstairs to help with Artie's wheelchair.
Brittany bounced slightly on the bed. "All together again," she said happily. Rachel saw Santana roll her eyes at the blonde but then she sent her a small smile when she thought no one was looking.
Rachel heard shuffling in the hallway and Quinn appeared, moving aside to the boys could carry Artie in, Tina trailing behind him. They all exchanged hugs and their eyes lingered on her bruises as well.
"They don't hurt," she said hastily. They all looked at her like they didn't know what she was talking about and she felt her face flush.
Tina came to sit at the foot of her bed. "Glad to be home?" she asked, distracting everyone from the previous conversation.
Rachel smiled. "Yes, so glad. That hospital was killing me."
"Hospitals do that. People don't think so but you have to be careful," Brittany deadpanned.
Tina giggled. "She was starting to go a little crazy."
"A little?" Puck piped up. "She actually voluntarily watched Deep Blue Sea…and liked it!"
Rachel blushed again as the guys voiced their amazement. "I merely said it was an interesting movie that I might have to add to my collection," she defended.
"I get it," Tina said, coming to her defense. "There is absolutely nothing to do in a hospital bed and all your energy builds up until you feel like you're going to explode."
"Exactly," Rachel said, casting a smug look at Puck. "Which is why I don't really want another few days of that."
"What do you mean?" Tina asked.
"Diva's thinking of going back to school tomorrow," Mercedes informed the four latecomers.
Quinn eyed her sling. "Are you sure you're ready?"
"I can't stay cooped up in my house forever," Rachel said, determination evident in her voice. "How was it?" she asked Tina.
Tina hesitated before looking the girl in the eye. "Weird," she confessed. "People that never talked to me were coming up to me saying they were glad I was ok. Some people had questions and wanted to know what it was like, if he had, you know, done anything to us. That kind of thing."
Rachel's eyes widened as she gasped. "People really asked you that? That's no one's business!" She heard a sharp intake of breath and saw Noah turning red, fists clenched in anger. "Oh, Noah, he didn't," she was quick to reassure him. "He left us alone for the most part. But that is no one's business and it amazes me the nerve that someone must have to ask such a question."
"I'd kill him," Puck said lowly, relaxing his hands and settling back against the wall. "He'd be a dead man if he'd even tried."
Rachel took one of his hands in hers, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles. "He didn't," she repeated. "He never even tried. We never felt threatened that way, did we, Tina?" she said, looking to the other girl for support.
"Absolutely not," Tina said firmly. "He seemed content just to drug us and leave us. When he did hurt us, he seemed almost reluctant to do it, almost like he didn't really want to."
"He stabbed Rachel," Finn said angrily. "How can you say he didn't want to hurt you?"
"He could have done a lot worse," Rachel said quietly. "He hit me when I screamed for help. He stabbed me when we tried to escape. But when we were compliant, he left us alone." She paused, glancing at Tina again. "It makes me wonder what he wanted with us to begin with."
"And what he would have done with us if we hadn't escaped," Tina added with a nod. "I'd really like to know what his plan was."
Rachel hesitated before asking her next question. "Do you think…maybe, that he was really on a military exercise?"
"No way the military would assign a mission like that," Mike cut in. "No way."
"I just don't know what he wanted," Rachel murmured, the crease in her forehead showing her frustration.
"We may never know," Tina sighed. "But maybe it will come out in court."
"Court? You guys have to go to court?" Kurt asked, voice pitched slightly higher than normal.
Tina nodded. "They said we probably would have to, and the District Attorney has already contacted my mom to set up some meeting dates."
Rachel froze. "So we're really going to have to testify?" she asked quietly. "Be in the same room with him and everything?"
Santana crossed her arms over her chest. "That's bullshit," she declared.
"But if we want him convicted, they have to know what he did," Tina said. "We don't really have a choice." She trailed off for a moment. "Though, we could probably get away with only one of us testifying, so if you don't feel up to it or-"
"No," Rachel cut her off firmly. "If you're testifying, I'm testifying. We're in this together, just like before. This guy needs to be put in jail and we need to do everything we can to make that happen."
"I'll be there," Artie said, taking Tina's hand in his. "You won't be alone." Rachel could see Puck nodding beside her and he squeezed her hand for emphasis.
"We'll all be there," Quinn said from her spot in Rachel's desk chair. "I mean, unless you don't want us there."
Rachel and Tina exchanged a look before the Asian girl nodded to their friends. "I think we could use all the support we could get," she said slowly.
Matt nodded at the two girls. "Done," he said firmly, speaking for the group.
Rachel smiled as Puck squeezed her hand again.
!
Rachel's dads were a little reluctant for her to go back to school so quickly, but she reassured them that she was ready. Noah had promised to pick her up and drop her off from school, her cell phone was already fully charged and in her purse, waiting by the front door for her to grab on the way out and she really was on the verge of going stir crazy.
"Besides," she'd told them, "if I'm not ready then at least I'll know and can stay home the next day." They'd been skeptical but had granted their permission for her return.
Early the next morning she woke up to her alarm, rolling slowly out of bed, nothing like her usual leap towards the elliptical machine. She glanced warily at the abandoned machine, part of her wishing she could work out and part of her glad her ribs weren't quite up for it.
She took her time with breakfast and chatted with her fathers. By the time Noah knocked on the door, she had been ready and standing at the door for ten minutes.
"Hey," he greeted her, taking in her appearance. She had chosen a sweater and a pair of jeans. For some reason her skirts just had not looked appealing today.
"Hi. Would you like some breakfast?"
He shook his head. "No, I ate at home. Ready to go?"
She nodded and called out to her fathers that she was leaving. They both came from the kitchen to give her a kiss and greet Noah. She let them fuss a little and Daddy adjusted her sling slightly before she stepped back. "We really have to go," she told them, inching toward the door before they could change their minds.
Noah took her bag and opened the door for her. "I'll have her back here right after glee," he told her dads. "I have my cell on and it's charged so if anything happens, we'll call."
"I have my cell phone as well," Rachel said. "It's also fully charged. Don't worry," she called over her shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk toward Noah's truck. "Everything's going to be fine."
She knew her dads were watching at the door so she tried not to cringe as she pulled herself up into the cab of the truck as Noah stashed her bag with his behind the seat. Her shoulder ached slightly and her ribs pulled. She didn't dare breathe until they were two blocks away.
"Ow," she muttered, soothing a hand over her stomach.
"Shit, I'm sorry, I should have helped you up," Noah said, glancing over at her in alarm. "Are you ok?"
She nodded. "It's fine. I just didn't realize they were still so tender. They've been fine since we left the hospital."
"But you've pretty much just been lying in bed," he reminded her. "You've gotta be careful so they can heal."
"I will," she promised him.
He smirked at her and she got the distinct feeling he had done something, something she didn't know about. "I know you will."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you do?' He continued to smirk at her and then she knew that he had absolutely done something. "Noah Puckerman, what did you do?"
He turned his eyes back to the road, smirk still on his face. "Nothing major, babe."
"Noah!" she practically growled.
He barked out a short laugh. "Easy there, Tiger," he teased. He pulled into a parking space at the school and then turned to her. She was still glaring at him. "Listen, it's nothing. I just, you know, you seemed so nervous about coming back after Tina told you what it was like, so…"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "So?"
"I've got some people lined up to run interference," he told her. "Nothing major, just so you won't be alone if someone starts bugging you."
Her glare melted and she was practically beaming at him. "Oh, Noah, that's so sweet," she fawned.
He shrugged his shoulders self consciously. "Well, you know, people can say dumb things and I don't want anyone making you cry. I hate crying chicks," he mumbled.
She laughed and unbuckled her seatbelt with her good arm. "So who's on duty today?" she teased.
"Me, unless I can't," he told her with a smirk. "No one will mess with you when I'm around. But since we have some different stuff going on, I've got Mike and Matt lined up when I can't be there."
She smiled as he took her bag out of the car and carried it with his. "And what exactly are Matt and Mike supposed to do?"
He grinned down at her. "Just keep people from being stupid," he said.
"You do realize this is Ohio, right? They're not miracle workers, Noah."
He chuckled and slung an arm around her shoulders gently. "I just don't want some idiot asking you questions and getting you all upset," he said softly. "You're supposed to take it easy and like you said, what happened is nobody's business."
"It's natural for people to be curious, Noah," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked. "But it's true, it's nobody's business."
He opened the door for her and she felt everyone's eyes on her as soon as she stepped through the door. She stiffened and Noah put his hand on her back, steering her toward her locker. "Easy, babe," he said in a low voice.
She could hear everyone whispering about her as she passed and her face burned as she worked her locker combination with her good hand. Noah stood to her left, blocking the crowd from her view and when she opened her locker she was hidden from the rest of the crowd.
Noah handed her one book at a time from her bag and she replaced them with the ones she would need for class. "You ok?" he asked quietly. "I can take you home any time, you just say the word."
She shook her head adamantly. "I'm fine," she said. "They'll get over this eventually."
"Absolutely," he agreed. "And until they do, my badassness and impressive guns are gonna keep them in line."
She giggled, angling her head up to look at him. "That's so not even a word," she countered.
"What's not?"
Rachel turned to find Matt and Mike, twin grins on their faces, glancing back and forth between her and Noah.
She greeted them with a smile. "Badassness. Not a word."
Matt shook his head. "It's totally a word."
Mike tossed him a look. "Dude, whatever. I totally agree with Rachel, not even close to being a word."
"It sounds as though you could use a tie breaker," a nerdy voice spoke up.
Rachel recognized it before she even turned around. She fought back a sigh. "Jacob."
Jacob Ben Israel stood behind the foursome, glancing eagerly at the petite brunette surrounded by men. "Rachel. It's so good to see you."
She smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Jacob."
"Would you care to give me an exclusive on your time spent in captivity for my blog? In your own words?" She sputtered a response but he continued. "And then perhaps a celebratory welcome home dinner? I have the perfect bottle of wine, I've been saving it for our first date."
She gaped at him and before she knew it, Noah had him by the collar, feet dangling in the air as he lifted him off the ground. "Listen, freak, she doesn't like you, she's not talking to you and she sure as hell is not going out with you." He shook the trembling kid a little before setting him back on his feet and giving him a shove. "Now get lost."
She watched Jacob flee down the hall and turned to Noah with a small sigh. "Thank you. I guess some interference wouldn't be completely out of place today." She glanced at Matt and Mike. "If you don't mind, that is."
Both boys shook their heads and Mike answered for both of them. "No way, Rach," he said. "People need to back off, give you your space." He grinned. "That's what we're going to make sure of."
"I've got to meet with Coach Tanaka before class," Noah said, touching her arm briefly. "Missed practices and everything. The guys are gonna walk you to class, make sure no one does anything dumb."
She grinned at him. "No welcome back slushies?"
"Not today anyway," he said, regret evident on his face.
She linked her hand with his briefly, squeezing tightly. "I forgive you, remember?" she said lightly. "Not your fault."
"Totally my fault but I'm a jackass and I'm taking the forgiveness," he said, leaning down to kiss her briefly on the cheek. "I've gotta run, but I'll see you at lunch, sooner if I can swing it."
"No worries," she assured him, smiling up at the two grinning football players. "I'm in good hands."