Another chapter. Not much to say. Damselindestress98 - this chapter is for you! There is some Hunclaire.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, and the quotes above the chapters belong to the show. I do not own the songs. I do own the main character, though.

Song(s) used: I know I said there would be a song this chapter ... well ... there isn't. But you can guess at the end. :-)

Swan Song

"Don't dream it's over."

Sectionals. Her birthday. Hell. It equalized each other.

Everything was white and clean surrounding her. Bright lights blinded her view, even now, when she had closed her eyes, willing to drown herself in the darkness. It was quiet. The silence she had missed, was now dreaded. She wanted the laughs, the talks, the jokes from the guys, but they weren't there. Life suddenly was so contradicting. The peace outside, the war inside. Her head was bursting. It wasn't pain. Thoughts were so much more than pain, they could torture like no one else, broke you down from the inside, while it went unnoticed by others.

Ha – and they said that medicines were supposed to calm you down, even drug you.

It clearly didn't exactly work on her. Or they hadn't given her enough. But she didn't want more, because her very philosophical sate of mind actually pleased her. It took her focus away from her brother, brought it somewhere else. Apart from the fact she now thought of Sebastian again. Sebastian.

She could kill her father. It wasn't in the way teenagers usually said – when they were forbidden to do something and hated their parents because of that. No. Her father was the reason why Sebastian was laying white as a sheet, with closed eyes, unmoving. Her brother didn't deserve this – the siblings were a lot, but not that cruel to end up like that. So she had turned her hatred to her father. If she saw him, she would certainly be able to kill him. She didn't have to, though. She had no idea where Howard was, but – in the words of some smiling nurse – 'he couldn't harm her anymore'. Like he would be the one to harm her. Next time, when she was fully recovered, she wouldn't be the one being beaten up. Next time, she would attack him in pure rage. Next time, Sebastian wouldn't have to stand in front of her.

She shivered.

"SEBASTIAN!"

Everything happened in a slow-motion scene. Marie-Claire felt adrenaline rushing through her body and with a shout she managed to raise, effectively lounging at her fathers legs. He was caught off-guard, stumbled away to regain his balance, but let Sebastian slip in the progress. From the corners of her eye, she could see her brother crumbling to the ground, eventually laying unmoving on the ground. She couldn't even see if he was breathing – before she could make another movement, she felt another kick being planted in her chest, shoving her backwards, back on the floor.

Her hands immediately moved to protect her head, but nothing came. Instead, she heard angry – no, furious – shouting. The voice scared the crap out of her, sounding more fearsome than she had ever heard. But she knew it. She recognized it. Feeling numb again, exhausted by everything and everyone, she slowly moved her heavy arms, placing them under her body and pushing her slightly up. She could see what was happening with tired eyes.

Her father was now the one being beaten up and pressed against a wall. The boy who held the man in a strong grip looked full of hatred, but mostly … fear? He looked somehow scared. She understood when he tossed her father aside, as if the man weighted nothing, and he focused on her brother. Marie-Claire turned her head, causing a hammer to crack her scull open, and looked with huge green eyes at her brother. He still hadn't moved. She came forward, pulled herself forward on the ground.

"Sebby?" Her voice sounded so small, so childish. She didn't care. She just wanted her brother to be okay – she was so exhausted, her whole body ached, her heart was broken, her mind was a mess, her thoughts were confusing… Nothing worked properly. She wanted her brother to work properly.

"MC!" a few voices behind her chorused. She didn't have to look to know that the other Warblers were closing in on them. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes. "MC?" another voice said, sounding much closer. She tried to look in his eyes, but felt so tired. Her eyelids were falling. "Don't. Don't sleep. You need to stay awake," the voice coached her. The voice of her hero.

"It hurts," she mumbled.

"I know, Claire, but you need to stay awake. Stay with me and Bas and the Warblers."

"Hunter?" she whispered.

"He is fine," Hunter immediately said, somehow guessing her thoughts. "He will be fine. He has a concussion and he is unconscious now, but an ambulance is coming and they'll know what to do."

She focused on his voice, leaned against the cold wall. Her eyes closed slowly.

"Stay awake, Claire! I'm not joking," the captain of the Warblers warned her. She heard footsteps coming closer. She felt a hand on hers – fingers grapping her tightly, squeezing her hands. It was Hunter.

"I'm … awake..." she managed to get out. "The light hurts. Looking hurts." Her explanation sucked. She let out a hysterical laugh and felt another comforting squeeze in her hand. She tried to squeeze back. "Just talk. I'll listen," she said softly.

She heard Hunter sigh. "The others are here."

"David called an ambulance," she heard Trent saying, sounding shaken. She could imagine his pale face, his huge eyes. "Niff is here, holding hands and acting as a perfect couple comforting each other. Now they're looking angry at me." She snorted. "Thad is somewhere hyperventilating, Flint is with him." She smiled slightly. "'Box is here too. David too. Wes is keeping the other Warblers away, to give us some peace." She frowned. "Oh, Wes is an alumni, but he came to watch the performance. He's awesome."

Hunter didn't let go of her hand. "For once, Niff is speechless," he told her. "And Sebastian – he will be fine, MC. He won't suddenly give up. He's the perfect asshole brother, he'll first want to see you when he wakes up. Let's hope that's in the hospital, before he hurts himself even more." She smiled. "Your father is right now being held by David and Meatbox," she then heard. She tried to open her eyes. "Don't. Just, lay still, stay awake. You don't need to open your eyes," Hunter hushed. "Your father is shocked." His voice was softer now, only for her to be heard. "He looks at you guys with huge eyes. I'm definitely not talking good what he has done to you, but he is scared and worried, I can see that. He isn't angry anymore. Though beaten up a lot." She smirked. "Don't laugh at the pain of others!"

"He's a cunt," she croaked.

"True –"

"- story."

Niffs voices echoed through the hall. If she had opened her eyes, she had surely seen Trent and Hunter glaring at the two boys. She knew the Warblers so well now. In the distance, she heard an ambulance. And other voices and footsteps.

"Blaine, calm down…"

She didn't know that one.

"I need to see them!"

Blaine. A hysterical Blaine.

"Damn, where…"

Puckerman Jr? Sam?

"What about Marley?"

Ryder.

"Come on little bro."

Puck.

"I'll kill him! I'll go Lima heights on his fucking ass!"

Santana.

"Tuu duu tuu duu."

Ambulance.

She really needed the last one.

"MC?"

She looked up, saw Hunter entering her room. He looked incredibly tired – huge bags were under his eyes, he was pale and as she could see the blood on his shirt, he still hadn't changed his clothes.

"What's up?" she tried to sound bored.

He chuckled. "Sebastian is doing fine. He'll wake up soon."

Since when had Clarington began to read her that good? The question had been laying on her lips, but he had already figured out from her eyes. She shook her head. The medicines had caused her not to feel any pain, but it made her stomach turn inside. It just didn't feel right. She was used to some pain – why couldn't she just take it, as usual?

"Go away," she told Hunter.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? No, thank you for saving my life or at least a how are you?"

"I meant to say 'get sleep'," she told him. "I'm just no good at saying nice things." The captain chuckled again. She liked the sound of it. He hardly ever laughed – not sincerely. She tried to sit up a bit more. Hunter came forward, but she shook her head again. "Come on, I'm not invalid!" She pressed a button and the bed changed into a very uncomfortable mix between a stupid chair or a pathetic couch. "Thank, Hunt…" she mumbled then.

Hunter ignored her thanks – and she was glad for it. Instead, he glanced at the door. "The nurses said you could have guests," he said, question evident in his voice. She just nodded. "Do you want guests?" he asked hesitantly. She nodded. "Who?" She shrugged. "Can you talk?" She nodded. "Smythe…"

"Damn, I'm laying in a hospital bed because my father likes to use me as a punching bag –" she really used that expression too much "- and you are asking me a thousand questions when I'm supposed to have rest, be silent and especially be traumatized. Look, I'm in shock, I've got a blanket!" She gestured towards the blanket that – fair enough – was laying on her feet.

Hunter grinned. "You watch Sherlock?"

"Hell yeah!" she exclaimed. "It's only like the best series ever."

"Maybe you're not that bad," Hunter told her.

"Maybe you're not all bad and straight either," she stated.

"What's with you and thinking I'm gay?"

"Ah, don't get me wrong. I've got an excellent gaydar and you're not even in the slightest giving me the 'pling pling'-vibes, something a gay person would do. But Sebastian and you would just be perfect together. The two assholes," she grinned.

"I just saved your life and your brother is laying in a hospital bed in a worse shape than you are in. Yet you call us assholes?"

"I'm not a very nice person."

"Figured that. So, I'll get some of your biggest fans. They have been waiting all this time."

She chuckled when he walked out of the room, but when he was gone, she sunk back into the mattress, sighing deeply – something that caused her ribs to ache a bit. This lightened her up a bit. At least she felt something. She thought about Sebastian and frowned. Hunter was right, she shouldn't call him an asshole. But she wanted to keep up the façade, not let anyone think her father would break her. He wouldn't. Marie-Claire Smythe wasn't to be broken that easily. She would be just as always, at least to others.

"MC! Finally!" Niff came storming into the room. She glanced at the clock – she had been in the room for many hours, most of the time unconscious. It was already far past midnight. She wondered why the nurses allowed her friends to be with her. But she didn't complain. Instead, she smiled thankfully at the dismayed looking nurse who stood on the hall, looking inside the room and seeing the two overenthusiastic Warblers running to the patient.

"Guys, if you don't want to get thrown out, you shouldn't attack me," she managed to warn before she was pulled in an immense – bit painful – hug.

"Nice to see you too," Jeff grinned.

"Don't scare us like that ever again," Nick warned.

Trent was the second one to embrace her – even more bone crushing than his friends – and whispered in her ear. "Be more careful." As if it was her fault. Thad and David came walking in as well, with an Asian guy following them. The first two hugged her carefully, while the other offered her his hand.

"Wes," he introduced himself. "Former Warbler."

"The best leader we ever had…" Trent added. Wow. Even better than Blaine? Maybe he was from before Blaine. Or it had something to do with the complicated system the Warblers had – with councils and everything.

"Marie-Claire Smythe," she answered Wes, shaking his hand. He squeezed hers. She smiled. "But I'm sure the birds already told you everything."

"You're right about that. A girl Warbler – that's something new." She shrugged, not really indentifying herself as Warbler. "Look, guys, I only agreed on this if you kept your calm. The nurses will never allow it, so they can't know."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

Wes laughing sheepishly. "The guys all wanted in. I couldn't really stop them." She looked at him, shocked. He understood her immediately. "No no! Not all the Warblers. Well, yeah, all of them wanted in, but we are only left with a few now, and they all wanted in. Your best friends at Dalton," he explained.

She smiled. Your best friends at Dalton. After that statement, two other boys joined the group. Flint and Meatbox. They hugged her awkwardly and then stared at their shoes. A silence fell over the boys. She rolled her eyes. "So you are just going to stand here and do nothing?" No answer, of course. From the corners of her eyes – that hurt, which meant the painkillers were finally ebbing away – she saw Hunter entering … with no one else than Blaine. Behind them, she could see others. When Anderson entered though, the silence became awkward. She groaned. Then, again people entered.

The two Puckermans, Ryder, Santana, Brittany, Quinn – Quinn? –, Mike – huh? – together with Tina – why was she there? –, Mercedes – well, she couldn't be surprised anymore, even if an elephant entered – and Sam.

She whistled. "Party hardy…" she muttered.

Her words were followed by comforting hugs, awkward handshakes and an even more uncomfortable silence than before. Classic.

"MC, you mind telling us what was going us?" Hunter suddenly spoke up.

Yay. He had found a conversation subject. And it was the one she wanted to avoid as much as possible. But when Nick and Jeff tried to say something, she raised her hand and smiled thankful at them. They understood a bit from what was going on. They knew about her situation and the family Smythe. And somehow, she had decided the others should know too.

"Well, it all started five years ago – no wait, six. Six! Holy crap, it's my birthday. Great." She rolled her eyes, then quickly spoke again. "If anyone of you is going to say something cheesy as 'happy birthday' I'm going to ask Santana to go all Lima Heights on you, because I'm seriously not in the mood."

Santana just grinned, the others remained silent.

"Okay, six years ago."

The story went quite well.

Apart from all the New Directions members who – apparently having lost – were all looking like a nest of puppies had been killed and the Warblers ended up standing in a row, all having their arms around each others necks as if they were singing the national theme at a football game. Apart from a crying Blaine, as well as Brittany who was sobbing in Sams shoulder while Jeff was doing the same with Nick, and Quinn and Trent standing with wet eyes. Apart from the Puckermans claiming they wanted to beat her dad up while Ryder just miserably shook his head. Apart from Santana being held back by Mike and Mercedes from doing what the hell she could have done. Apart from Tina looking like she had caused everything. Apart from Thad started to hyperventilate again, David clinging onto Wes as if he was his mother – the guy seemed like a mother to the Warblers, really – and Flint punching the wall. Apart from Hunter almost crushing her shoulder while she was talking. Apart from Meatbox fainting.

The last thing made her day, though. She had never laughed so hard before in her life.

The very defeated and down New Directions – who she had actually told that everything would be alright again, despite her still believing they were losers – eventually left. Some stayed a bit longer, like Santana and Blaine, but after an hour they were all gone and Claire was left with the Warblers. Then, the boys slowly dripped off, too. Wes first, probably because he didn't know her at all. David and Thad went with him. Then Flint, Meatbox and Trent. Niff eventually went too, but not before reporting that every single one of them would be waiting on the hallway until she could get out of bed.

Hunter left as last one. He had been hesitating for a very long time until he finally asked. "Why didn't you tell me?" His eyes looked sad. She had never seen him unhappy – not that she had ever seen him particularly happy, but at least there was almost this confident aura around him, making him seem content with himself. Now, that was gone. He looked incredibly worn-out. His voice was raspy.

"No reason to," she answered cold.

He sighed. "MC? I don't think that's a good answer."

"It wasn't a good question. We were never close." She shrugged.

"Were?"

"Well, you saving my brother and me and staying with me in the ambulance was some good bonding time, I suppose. And just when I was talking and you were beside me the whole time. Awfully cliché, but true – it helps when someone standing next to you. Or in front of you. Or behind you. Hunt, you pretty much became some kind of hero today. And I'm really thankful for that. And the constant bickering and fighting between you and Seb and me? That was just our way of showing friendship, I suppose. I just only realized it now." She licked her dry lips and looked right in his eyes.

"Now? When you were staring death in the eyes?" Hunter snorted.

"Pretty much, yeah," she grinned.

Hunter laughed. He actually laughed. Marie-Claire looked curiously at the captain of the Warblers, saw his white teeth flickering. He looked so much less uptight and stresses when he just relaxed and laughed. But, she figured, that would probably be the same thing with her. She knew she had become more relaxed since spending time at Dalton. The Warblers were actually really good to be around. She had always been older than her true age, but it seemed the Warblers brought her back to her puberty a bit.

"Go and get some sleep, Hunt," she told the boy.

He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. She responded by ruffling through it. He shook his head in dismay. "Fine, fine, I'll sleep. What about your bed?" He raised an eyebrow and grinned goofy.

She wondered if he had drank too much. But an instant later, she realized that she was right now seeing the side of Hunter Clarington that hardly anyone got to see. He looked at her with twinkling eyes. She bit her lip, thinking about when she would see this side again. It was probably her choice. "Sure playboy. Just be happy Seb isn't fit enough to kill you." She moved aside.

Hunter stood with an open mouth.

"Well, yes or no?"

He smiled, jumped on the bed. Luckily for him, he kept enough distance – if that was possible on a hospital bed. It surprised her that he fell asleep immediately. Though it was a restless one and he moved around the whole time, he was sleeping. Only he hadn't got the same peaceful expression on his face some had when they slept.

She closed her own eyes, still sitting up a bit, Hunter curled up beside her.

The Warblers had won Sectionals – there had been no party, of course, but they had won, and fair too, even though Marley had passed out. The girl was fine, according to everyone. Marie-Claire sighed, wondering about the New Directions. Blaine had become a good friend of hers. Marley was a friend, and somehow Ryder and Jake were starting to be her friends too. Sam was still just another Glee club member, but she liked him, in a weird way. She was annoyed by his dumbness, the same with Brittany, but they had better hearts than her. Tina and Kitty were bitches, but she realized she herself wasn't that good either. She had known that, but still, she only really realized it now, laying in a hospital bed, after telling 'her story'. Joe, Wade and Artie were in her eyes pretty neutral.

She wondered what the hell was wrong with her that she had quit a group she actually liked a bit, that she had run away from home as a coward when she should have just stayed and confronted her father, that she had watched her brother getting beaten up because he wanted to protect her.

Maybe it was time to change. Really change. She knew she had become someone and she couldn't just go back. But she could adjust a bit, let people in a bit more. She couldn't erase the shocked and most of all betrayed expressions of the people listening to her when she told them her father had been beating her up occasionally and her mother was dead. They didn't pity her. They just felt sad she hadn't trusted them.

And she understood that.

Hunter grunted, grabbed the blankets so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His face was strained and he was sweating a bit. She sighed softly and instinctively put her arm around him. Marie-Claire sometimes forgot he wasn't that much older than her. Two years, maybe, but not much more. She pulled her fingers through his hair without thinking. He relaxed a bit under her touch and she smiled.

Maybe she could get used to trusting and opening her heart.

He hadn't even put his name under the mail. She wondered how he had gotten her address – maybe he got it from a teacher. It didn't really matter to her, because when she read the e-mail, a smile appeared on her face. She had quit. She had never looked in the choir room again and she had supported the Warblers during Sectionals. Yet now she was reading an e-mail directed towards the New Directioners to come to practice.

It was days later. The Warblers, ensured that she was almost ready to leave the hospital and was perfectly fine, had finally gone back to Dalton a day ago. She visited Sebastian often, most of the time illegally, though they both didn't care. Their most frequent guests were – not surprisingly – Nick and Jeff, and – surprisingly to her brother, but not anymore to her – Hunter. They kept them up to date about all the gossip at Dalton, while Blaine texted her about everything in McKinley.

She looked at the screen of her phone, thoughtful. Then, she made her decision. She jumped out of bed, took a quick shower, washed her hair, dried it, brushed it and pulled it in a nonchalant ponytail. After putting on jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt and a jacket, she practically stormed out of her room.

The nurse who tried to stop her was being shouted at. "Lifetime opportunity, made a mistake, second chance," she told the lady when she ran by while dialing a number on her phone. A second later, a familiar voice came through. "Hi Hunt, you close? Nice. I need you to bring me somewhere." She paused. "Please. Yeah, the hospital is fine with it." She sprinted past the reception, hoping no one would catch her. Her head ached and her body was still bruised, but it wasn't about to stop her.

Hunter stopped in front of the building. "Where would it be, madam?" he asked her.

"William McKinley High School," she responded with a confident smile.