AN: OK. I'm sick, just got back from seeing family and am about to take off for parts unknown on vacation with my immediate family. So, sorry about any confusion, I'm not even technically sure what I'm posting besides what I have marked as chapter 3. Anyway I won't be able to post for a week, unless something happens to change plans, but I will be typing once I get better and can stop getting a headache every time I look at a computer for longer than 5 minutes. In the mean time I'm kicking it old school (my favorite) with a pencil and notebook when I'm coherent and not on OTCs (over the counter medication). Hope ya'll are well. Night.
Chapter 3:
A month passed.
The trio developed a friendship with Rachel and the petite diva had discovered the wonder of having actual friends.
She had been over to visit the apartment the three cheerleaders were renting and the trio was at Rachel's house frequently, staying over about three to four days a week. Santana usually took Rachel to her voice lessons, Brittany accompanied the singer to her dance lessons, and Quinn usually did her homework outside of the small diva's acting classes. In between all their activities it was hard to find time to just hang out but that was Rachel's favorite time.
When the final football game of the season came around Rachel decided she was going to ask the trio to move into her house. She had been debating the pros and cons of asking for over a week and there was a flock of nervous butterflies in her stomach that would not calm down.
The brunette diva no longer thought that this was an elaborate joke, those fears had been crushed during the first week of their friendship; this was a different type of nervousness.
Rachel was nervous because she was not sure about the reaction she would get, or even which reaction she was hoping for. 'No' would mean they did not trust her, while 'yes' meant that there was a greater chance of them figuring out her secret.
Rachel pulled on a pair of jeans and her black t-shirt that read: Duck tape is like the force, it has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together. She grinned at her reflection in the mirror. Brittany had bought the shirt for her when the trio had first found out about her Star Wars obsession. Quinn had gotten her a grey one with: Aren't you a little short to be a storm trooper? on the back and two storm troopers on the front. Santana had gotten her a dark green v-neck with an ewok on it.
Rachel reluctantly tried to pull herself out of her memories, a smile seeming to be firmly affixed to her face as she continued to be immersed in memories.
In her freshman year, Rachel had gone to one game, a basketball game, and had been slushied on her way out of the school. The first time she had gone to a football game with the Cheerios she had sat in the far back corner, closest to the parking lot, so that she could see not only the game but have easy access to her various escape routes as well.
That night had been the real start of her friendship with the trio. After the game the three Cheerios had quickly changed, went over to collect her before the stadium even became empty, and had escorted her back to her house.
The four of them had then spent the night having a sleepover. They watched movies, did each other's nails, gossiped about school, talked about deeper topics, and basically had a girls' night in.
It was the first girls' night of Rachel Berry's life. Ever.
Shaking herself from those memories as well, Rachel went downstairs and got into her daddy's truck, slowly driving herself to the game. Brittany's varsity jacket lay across the passenger seat. The blonde had refused to take it back after Rachel had borrowed it at the second game she had attended, saying that Rachel needed it and she could handle the cold. After watching the tall dancer not even shiver for the past few weeks, Rachel was inclined to agree with her, but she still kept an extra hoodie in the truck and always brought at least two blankets, just in case.
Rachel made it to WMHS in time to meet Santana and Brittany in front of the school. The two Cheerios were already decked out in their uniforms and their pom-poms lay nearby, ready to be scooped up and used to incite the crowd.
Brittany smiled and picked Rachel up in a hug while Santana looked on with a soft smile on her face. Once the blonde had put the diva down, Santana pulled the brunette into a hug as well. When Santana finally released her, Rachel grabbed the bag that had fallen to the ground when Brittany had hugged her, and straightened the hang of Brittany's varsity jacket on her small frame.
"Where's Quinn?"
"Being talked at by our fearsome leader," Santana responded as she picked up the four pom-poms from the sidewalk and led the way into the stadium while Brittany linked arms with Rachel and questioned the small diva about what she had planned for tonight. All Rachel did in response to Brittany's questions was to blush slightly and let out part of a nervous laugh, not sure what to say. She hadn't been able to think past asking the trio to move into her house.
The two Cheerios escorted Rachel to her now "reserved" spot, two rows back and directly in front of where the Cheerios usually performed their routine. It offered a good view of the scoreboard and was tucked into a small corner as the bleachers were separated into smaller sections by two foot high partitions.
They waited until Rachel got situated, helping the diva pull out a blanket and some refreshments, before "stealing" three cookies, one for each of them including Quinn, and headed down to where the varsity football team and Cheerios were mingling. Rachel smiled at their antics as they bounded down the stairs toward Quinn, who waved at her from the field.
A happy sigh left her lips as she leaned back against the chilly metal, protected from the cold by Brittany's jacket, and arranged her blanket.
Having friends, being accepted, was the best feeling she had ever experienced, something that would never become old, and she wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible. Hopefully tonight would not mess that up.
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WMHS won the last football game of the regular season 28 to 24. The football team celebrated right on the field, hugging each other and grinning like fools as plans were made for parties later that night and over the weekend. Most of the Cheerios were mingling with the football players, getting numbers and congratulating them on a good game.
A few people from both the Cheerios and the football team made their way to the locker rooms, ecstatic to have won the game, but more eager to get home, either to loved ones or a warm bed, in most cases both. The trio was among those headed to the locker room, dodging invitations and grabby hands as most of the players celebrated, intoxicated by their victory.
Santana had punched or pushed at least a dozen people by the time she was able to herd Quinn and Brittany into the locker room, all of them on a natural high from the game and hoping that tonight would continue that streak of happiness.
Half an hour later, the trio emerged from the locker room, freshly showered, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, with grins plastered onto their faces. They made their way over to Rachel's spot, where the brunette always stayed seated until they showed up and escorted her out, since the small diva did not like crowds of people. People in a crowd tended to push her around and generally ignored the singer because of her small stature, making it one of her least favorite situations to be in.
Smiles instantly became frowns when, instead of finding a smiling Rachel Berry full of congratulations, or sympathy depending on the outcome of the game, as had been the case for every other game, they found instead a folded blanket next to Rachel's bag, with the container of cookies on top. Santana and Quinn were about to head in opposite directions to look for her, leaving Brittany to repeatedly call the small brunette and hope she came back, when they all heard a whimper.
The sound echoed slightly, but they turned and ran in the same direction, dread making them hope they were wrong about who made that whimper. They made it to where Rachel was sprawled out on the blacktop underneath the bleachers in less than a minute. Brittany was a few steps in front of the others, and she pulled herself to a stop by Rachel's head, collapsing to the ground beside her. Quinn and Santana skidded to a halt as they caught sight of Rachel, leaving them both stunned and furious.
Rachel was barely conscious, blood covered her clothing from cuts on her face and, while it was hard to tell what the rest of her body looked like, if her face was any indication, it would look like a purple and black explosion.
Brittany touched the diva's forearm to try and get her attention. The small brunette whimpered again. Rachel then curled into herself a little bit more, clearly in pain and afraid.
"Shh. It's Brittany. Your safe, Rachel, I promise."
Rachel seemed to relax slightly at that and nodded slightly to convey that she understood what Brittany was saying. The blonde dancer stroked her hair as she gave the other two orders.
"Quinn, go to the car and place a blanket over the backseat, you're driving."
The blonde took off without another word.
"Santana, go get Rachel's things from the bleachers, we're going to need her other blanket to keep her warm. And grab anything you might need from your car."
Santana nodded and raced back up to the bleachers. Brittany refocused on Rachel.
"We're going to get you out of here and make you feel better, ok Rach?"
Brittany wasn't really expecting a response but was glad when the brunette's head nodded.
"Ok. I'm going to have to pick you up and move you to the car."
Rachel nodded again as Brittany crouched beside the small diva and scooped her up, holding the brunette close to her chest as gently as possible while maintaining a good grip. The tall blonde walked slowly towards Quinn's car and placed Rachel in the backseat, covering her with the blanket handed to her by Santana. Brittany knelt beside Rachel in the backseat and Santana shut the back door before going to sit in the passenger seat.
As soon as all the doors were closed, Quinn took off, trying to drive as carefully as possible while getting to the hospital as quickly as possible, obeying all the traffic laws, but cursing them under her breath.
Rachel passed out as they entered the hospital parking lot, losing her tenuous grip on consciousness. Santana was the first out of the car jumping out while the car was still moving, heading straight to the ER while Quinn parked. Right after she finished parking, the head Cheerio rushed out to open the rear passenger door and help Brittany get out of the car. The blonde dancer then picked up Rachel and carried her toward the ER doors.
As Brittany entered, with Quinn not far behind her, they found Santana arguing with one of the nurses. When the nurse saw Rachel, she stopped arguing and called over a gurney, and then tried to take Rachel from Brittany. Santana and Quinn both winced as they stepped up to flank Brittany, knowing that this would probably end badly.
The nurse tried to tug Rachel out of Brittany's arms, but the blonde refused to let go.
"I need to take your friend."
Double wince again as Santana and Quinn saw the dancer tense and tighten her hold on Rachel. Not the right thing to say to Brittany when she was being protective. A growl erupted from Brittany's lips as she tightened her grip on Rachel, while still trying not to hurt the diva. Luckily, Rachel regained consciousness and snuggled deeper into Brittany with a whimper when she felt hands trying to tug her away.
The nurse heard and released the brunette.
"Rachel?" she asked, glancing at the Latina that had been arguing with her moments before for confirmation. Santana nodded.
"Rachel." the nurse called a little louder, trying to get the brunette's attention.
Rachel turned to face the nurse while still curling herself as far into Brittany's arms as she could manage.
"We need to take you to an exam room."
"They come with."
The words were said so quietly and the four people surrounding the diva could barely hear them. The nurse sighed.
"Ok. But you have to come with me for some tests. We need to see how bad you're hurt." Rachel nodded and curled her face back into Brittany. The nurse sighed again and motioned the gurney back before leading the way towards the exam rooms.
"Only one of you can come to the tests with her."
Brittany immediately followed the nurse with Rachel still in her arms while Santana and Quinn began pacing around the exam room.
Half an hour later, Brittany and Rachel were in an overnight room, Santana and Quinn hovering by the door. The small brunette was tucked into the bed, her eyes drooping as the trio tried to keep her awake. The nurse came back an hour later with the scans and a doctor, who explained that Rachel had a fractured wrist and multiple cuts and bruises all over her body. No concussion, but the small brunette was going to be kept overnight just to be safe.
Quinn took Rachel to get her cast while Santana and Brittany moved into the room that they'd be staying in. The doctor had stopped arguing with Santana and Brittany about hospital policy only after several threats had been issued, and Brittany had glared him into submission.
Brittany curled up in Santana's arms as they lay on the couch by the window. Quinn tucked Rachel back into bed and the rest of the night passed quietly. The only sounds to be heard were those of the trio switching places as they each took turns sitting by the brunette's hospital bed, watching over their diva.
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