Title: You Hit Like a Girl (4/?)
Rating: PG 13
Pairing: eventual Quinn/Rachel, Puck/Rachel friendship
Spoilers: Season 1 compliant, AU Season 2.
Summary: The summer after her sophomore year, Rachel Berry has three goals: 1. Prepare for Glee 2. Befriend Quinn Fabray 3. Create a Lasting Romance with Finn Hudson. By the fourth week of summer she's completely failed two of them. Now what is she supposed to do?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
When Rachel's alarm went off at 6 o'clock in the morning, She studiously ignored it. Her whole body ached, some placed a little more than others. She didn't get up until her dad pounded on her door. When she looked at the clock, it was 8:30.
"Rachel Barbara Berry! It's time to get up, your breakfast is getting cold."
She groaned and sat up slowly, "Hold on." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and winced when she brushed a scratch on her right eyelid. Her hand found it's way to her phone and she shot Quinn a quick text (Morning) before shuffling over and unlocking the door. "Good morning, Dad."
Her father's jaw dropped. Rachel almost wished she had taken the time to look in a mirror, because if his face was any indication, she looked pretty horrible. She could feel a bruise on her jaw and the scratch over her eye made her feel like Scar. At least Noah hadn't gotten her nose. Her body felt like it had been properly tenderized, but she could breathe well and she wasn't limping.
She caught her father's eyes and smiled, "Is there something on my face? It's not a pimple is it because that would be horrible. We paid good money for—"
Her father pointed at her, "You..you… downstairs. Now."
Rachel winced. He dad, Hiram, was normally as articulate as she was. She followed him downstairs and sat on the couch as directed. He left the room and came back a couple of minutes later with a first aid kit.
"Shirt off, young lady."
"Dad," she pouted.
"Now, Rachel. I need to check your ribs."
She sighed, pulling up her shirt. "I'm sure they're fine."
Her father's face was tight as he inspected her. He got out some salve for her bruises and scratches. If Rachel didn't know any better, she would think she had gotten into a really violent catfight.
"I called your father, he's on his way home."
"Dad! That was completely unnecessary. Daddy had a very important job to do and—"
"I think this is a little more important than writing speeding tickets."
"I am perfectly fine. And, I take offence on Daddy's behalf that you would think so little of his job to say it consisted only of writing tickets. As a police officer—"
"Listen, missy, you're in trouble. If I were you I would keep my answers succinct."
Rachel huffed and then winced when her dad touched a particularly tender spot on her ribs. Her daddy was not going to be happy. In general, Elias Berry was the more relaxed of her parents. He was a tall black man who had spent his childhood surrounded but a large family. He got dirty, played hard, and played to win, but his mother had taught him to always have fun and to accept the things that couldn't be changed. Rachel had never met any of his family because her grandmother couldn't accept her own advice and had kicked Elias out in high school when she found out he was gay. Her daddy had to create a family of his own. Because of his experiences, her was more likely to let her learn to make her own mistakes, to take risks. When it came to the rules of the Berry household, however, he was a stickler. Integrity and respect were important above all else.
Her dad, Hiram, was very different. He was short and obviously Jewish and he fussed over everything. He was an only child and his mother was the stereotypical Jewish woman. He acted a lot like her and had mastered the use of guilt to win arguments. However, Rachel was pretty adept at guilt trips to and she could always get her dad to fold like a deck of cards when it came to punishment.
He had just finished putting disinfectant on the scratch on her eye, when they heard the door close and her daddy walked in. He looked at Rachel and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Explain to me how this isn't a clear violation of my trust."
"Well, you didn't specify that I had to come back in one piece, only that I had to be safe."
"This is safe?"
"Very safe."
Hiram scoffed and Elias shook his head. He sat down next to Rachel.
"We gave you fifty dollars, didn't we? Did you know that happens to be the entry fee to the local fight club?"
Hiram gasped, "Rachel, that's illegal!"
Rachel crossed her arms, "So is gay marriage in the state of Ohio, but you and Daddy got married anyway!"
"That's not even remotely the same!"
Elias sighed, "Both of you need to calm down. Rachel, the truth, or I'm going to call your aunt."
Rachel spoke quickly, "Noah's been having a hard time and has been frequenting the fight club. I talked to him and he said he'd stop. I was going to help him work on football to replace it. I told him if I found out he went again I would go there and beat him up. Long story short, I found out he went back and I did what I said I would."
Hiram grabbed her hand, "Noah did this to you?"
"It was a fight club, dad." She turned to Elias, "Do you remember when his dad left?"
He frowned, thinking. "You mean when you fought in the yard?"
She nodded, "It was like that."
He gently placed his arms around her shoulders and kissed her head, "Do I need to send your father over to his house and make sure he's still alive?"
"Probably, but he wouldn't appreciate it."
Hiram squeezed her hand, "Rachel, I know you're a capable young woman, but you're still my pumpkin, so no more fight club. I understand why you did it, but you should have warned us. You're still in trouble."
Rachel pouted.
Her daddy cleared his throat. "I bet you want to stay in bed all day."
She eyed him suspiciously, "That would be wonderful."
"Well, it's too bad your dad needs help running errands. Shopping, wasn't it? Lots of heavy bags to carry. If you're going to fight, you're going to suck it up and get on with life. Time stops for no one, especially people with your impetuous nature." He stood up and kissed them both on the forehead. "I have to go back to work. Hiram, I'm feeling like a turkey dinner, maybe 20 pounds or so, how about you?"
As far as Rachel was concerned, grocery shopping was just awful. Her dad was making her do everything and she was sure he was buying some stuff just so she would have to pick it up. Like the turkey. Not only was it heavy, it was morally reprehensible. She was in pain and people were gaping at her. Frankly, Rachel was used to attention; she thrived off of it She wasn't ashamed of her battered appearance at all, but when she saw a woman throw a dirty look at her father, it made her a little sick.
Rachel had just turned down the frozen food aisle when she saw Quinn standing there with her mother. She squeaked and backed up quickly, running into her father.
"What's wrong, pumpkin?"
Rachel's heart thundered in her chest. "Quinn's there."
Her father's eyebrows rose. "Quinn? As in Quinn Fabray? The girl who doesn't want to be your friend but you plan on charming into submission anyway?"
"Yes that Quinn. But I'm not trying to charm her into submission."
"Mhmm. So, what's the hold up?"
"I can't go down there, Dad!"
"Why not? Don't you want to show off your new look?"
"It's not that. I don't know what the protocol is! What if I'm breaking the rules? This is beyond texting."
"Rachel…" Hiram put his hand on her shoulder, "You two live in the same town. It's expected for you to run into one another from time to time. If she can't accept that, if she doesn't realize that she's not in control of everything, maybe she's not the kind of friend you want."
Rachel frowned, "She's not like that, not anymore. Quinn is strong and beautiful and good. Our…relationship is just so fragile. I don't want to destroy it. I need her to be my friend, Dad."
"Then go be her friend. Where's the confident Rachel I know? The girl who's destined for Broadway? The girl who went to the club and got those bruises?"
Rachel sighed, "I'm here, Dad. It's just… with Quinn, everything is different."
He nudged her forward, "Just be polite. Now move, frozen peas wait for no man or woman."
Rachel took a deep breath and pushed the cart forward. Quinn and her mother were still in the same spot, the blonde cheerios back to her. Rachel's palms were getting sweaty and her heart just about pounded out of her chest when she realized the Fabray women were standing directly in front of the vegetable she needed. Rachel brought the cart to a stop and Quinn glanced up with a slight scowl on her face. Then she did a double take and the scowl fell away leaving Quinn staring at her with wide eyes. Rachel squirmed under her gaze.
"H-hello, Quinn, Mrs. Fabray. If you'll just excuse me, I need to slip pas you to grab some snow peas."
"For your face?" Quinn blurted out and then snapped her mouth shut.
"Quinn!" Judy gasped. Hiram just chuckled.
Rachel blushed, "Actually, I think they are for a salad. Or maybe a stir fry."
She squeezed past Quinn, careful not to touch her and grabbed the vegetable and put them in her cart. Her dad nudged her.
"Rachel, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"
She turned cautiously towards him and he smiled. She allowed herself to glare at him for a second.
"Of course, Dad, where are my manners. Father, this is Quinn and Mrs. Judy Fabray. Quinn and Mrs. Fabray, this is my dad, Dr. Hiram Berry."
Judy smiled hesitantly and offered her hand to her him. "It's Ms. Fabray now, actually. It's a pleasure to meet you. Is your husband here as well?"
"The pleasure is all mine and, no, he's at work. I'll say, Quinn, it's nice to finally meet you. Rachel always talks about what a great singer you are. In fact—"
Rachel elbowed him, "I'm sure Quinn doesn't want to hear about that. Shouldn't we be going? Didn't you say something about dry cleaning?"
.He smiled, "Of course. How could I forget? Quinn. Ms. Fabray."
Rachel ignored Quinn's raised eyebrow and practically raced out of the aisle. She didn't stop until they were a good two rows away.
"What was that?" Rachel snapped.
"What was what?" her dad asked innocently.
"You're not a very good actor."
"You do talk about her."
"She doesn't need to know that!"
"Maybe she does."
Rachel frowned and her dad sighed.
"Pumpkin, I'm going to go find the coffee. Take a moment to get it together, okay?"
Rachel nodded and stared at the turkey in her cart. She didn't like feeling so out of sorts. Quinn made her feel so any different things that she couldn't pinpoint specific emotions.
"Berry"
Rachel jumped and looked up to see Quinn standing in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest. It was strange to see Quinn both without her uniform and without her baby bump, but Rachel thought she was beautiful. Her hair was down and it made Rachel's fingers twitch. She started to get distracted by her eyes, so she shook her head lightly and licked her lips.
"Quinn. Am I in your way? IF so, I apol—"
"I see why my text was so short and inarticulate this morning. What happened?"
Rachel stuttered, "I, well, you see—"
Quinn took a step closer and Rachel inhaled sharply.
"Did Finn do this to you?"
Rachel gasped and then recovered quickly, "Finn Hudson? Absolutely not."
"Rachel, you don't have to protect him."
Quinn looked so worried that it made Rachel's heart clench.
"I assure you, Quinn, that Finn Hudson did not do this to me. He doesn't have the spine, or the balls." Besides, I haven't seen him since we broke up."
Quinn stepped back. "You two broke up?"
"Several weeks ago."
Quinn glared, "And you didn't think to mention it to me?"
The quick change of mood flustered Rachel. "I didn't think you would care. Besides, I didn't want to waste one of my text talking about Finn."
Quinn tapped her foot, "I limited the number of texts you could use, not the number of words. I was wondering why, for someone so verbose and articulate, you limited yourself to no more than two short sentences."
"You actually read them? Wait. Are you suggesting that your disappointed but how short said messages are?"
Quinn's eyes narrowed. "What I'm saying is that you should share pertinent information."
"How was it pertinent? You don't care who I date."
"You're right, I don't. Look, just stop changing the subject and tell me what happened."
"But you're the one who keeps changing—"
Quinn stepped forward again and her voice came out in a low growl.
"Rachel"
The hairs on the back of Rachel's neck stood up and she gulped, "Yes, Quinn?"
Quinn's eyes were practically glowing with… was it anger?
"What happened?"
"I was just helping a friend out."
Quinn raised her eyebrow.
"Okay, we were sparring. Things got a little out of hand."
Quinn searched her face before stepping back again and rolling her eyes. "Something you do get out of hand? Shocker."
Rachel huffed and relaxed now that they were in familiar territory, "I have no idea to what you could be referring to."
"Don't make this a habit," Quinn said gesturing to Rachel's bruised body.
Rachel tilted her head slightly to the side. Quinn was being entirely serious.
"Okay."
"Whatever, Berry. I've got to go."
She began walking away when Rachel called out, "Wait, Quinn. I wanted to let you know that you look magnificent."
Rachel thought she saw Quinn blush slightly before turning away. Rachel's eyes followed her until she disappeared.
Rachel spent the rest of the day in bed listening to songs for Glee. When dinner came, her daddy laughed about her dad's antics at the grocery store. By 10 o'clock she was ready for bed. She hesitated before sending Quinn 's text. She bit her lip as she typed.
Rachel: Quinn, you'll never guess who I saw at the grocery store today. Have a wonderful night.
