(no subject)
A/N: This is my response to a request on the Glee_Fluff_Meme boards!
Disclaimer: I don’t own Glee or Billy Joel’s song
Celine Kristina Berry- Fabray sat on her bed, door closed and locked, in her moms’ New York City penthouse flat… Well, it was her Mommy Rachel’s now, but it would always be Celine’s childhood home.
“Celine, please open the door!” Rachel begged. “I need to talk to you and I have to be at the theatre in an hour!”
“No!” Celine wiped away the fresh set of tears sliding down her cheeks with her fists and snuggled her face into her favorite teddy bear, Mr. Snuggles, who was sitting on her lap, between her crossed legs.
Mr. Snuggles was the only thing left in her room, aside from the essentials which were in her designer suitcase and matching messenger bag, that wasn’t packed in a box and loaded into the moving van with her Mama Quinn things.
“Please?” Rachel’s voice begged, her voice almost stoic, a huge contrast from the emotion- filled, broken voice that Celine had been hearing for the past months.
“No!” Celine shouted again, rolling onto her side and curling into a ball. She looked around her room- everything seemed so clean. She had never kept her room clean in her entire life- and now there was nothing but her sheets on her bed, her bedside table, matching lamp, and dresser. Her closet door swung open, a few hangers rocked on their hinges and a few outfits that she had outgrown or hated swung like ghosts in the barren space.
“Lean,” Rachel’s voice dropped softly into a tone so gentle an eavesdropper would have never guessed that it was the high- strung, coffee- addicted Rachel. “Baby, locking yourself in your room isn’t going to do anyone any good.”
“Yes it is!”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because!” The 11 year old exclaimed and took a deep breath. “If I lock myself in here, then when Mama Q. comes, no one will be able to get in here and I won’t come out, so I don’t have to leave you! ‘Cause of what that stupid judge says, I’ll never be able to see you again! How am I supposed to live without you?! How am I suppose to celebrate Hanukkah this year?! When am I ever gonna see Grandad and Pappy? When am--“ Celine was cut off by the only person in the world who could out- talk her.
“That’s not true, Mei Mei.” Rachel cooed, in a voice that made Celine remember the days when the three of them would cuddle on the massive white couch in the living room with air- popped (fat- free, unsalted) popcorn and watch Beauty and the Beast together. Celine would sit between her mom’s and they would share all share a blanket. Usually Mommy Rachel would get so distracted by singing along that she would forget about the fact that their feet dirty feet were on her favorite white couch. Mommy Rachel would sing along in a voice so pure that sometimes Celine would find herself falling asleep.
“Yes it is!” Celine felt another set of tears fall over eyes that had finally crusted again. “Tommy Peters says that when his parents go a div’orce, he never got to see his mom again!”
“The judge says that I work too much and that because your only 11, it will not be good for you if I’m not here with you at nights.”
“Even with Aunt Santana and Aunt Brittany downstairs?” Celine said, referring to her Aunts who lived on the flat below the Berry- Fabray’s- or just Berry’s now.
“When will I see you, then?!” the little girl demanded with a pout that she could have only learned from Rachel.
“You’ll fly or drive up here once a month. Grandad and Pappy said that they’d help. I’ll make sure that we’re together on Hanukkah- if you don’t come here, then I’ll go there. You can visit for New Year’s definitely. Not to mention you can come here on every break to see a show or for you to watch me in one.” Rachel listed all of the times that she and Celine could be together, but in reality, she was thinking of all of the times that she and Celine would not be together.
There were thousands of things that she had said to the judge. Twenty appointments or more, but only one where Celine actually met with the judge and talked to her about what she wanted. The judge thought that Celine was still too young to have a valid opinion, and Quinn didn’t say anything, because the judge had leaned in her direction.
Why couldn’t Santana have become a divorce lawyer?
Rachel knew that she had rambled and been truthful (she prided herself in being bluntly honest, after all), but she still wondered if there was something that she had said or done wrong.
Rachel pressed her ear to the door, an action that made her feel like one of the sometimes silly characters that she played. She could hear sniffles.
“Qu--“ Rachel began to say, but didn’t know if she could even say her name. “Quinn…” Rachel said her name, this time with more assurance, but her voice still tentative. “Won’t be here until 1 or 2… there’s still time, if you want to come to my show with me.”
Rachel could hear the sound of feet hitting the carpet, then bare feet hitting the wood floor and padding over to the door- they were quiet, dancer’s steps. Ones of a girl who had spent much time practicing being quiet behind stage during a show, but Rachel had a practiced ear from years of performing.
She felt Celine getting closer to her, then finally the door unlocking, and a lean face with enormous blue eyes poking out from the door. (The rest of the girl was shielded by the mostly- closed door).
“Really?” The girl’s eyes widened like Quinn’s did and her eyebrows arched like Rachel’s did when she was trying to figure something out.
“Yes!”
“No joke?”
“Do I look like I’m joking? I’m not! And I have a show I have to get to in 45 minutes! So hurry…” Rachel began to ramble.
“Up… I know, Mommy.” Celine swung open her bedroom door and opened her arms wide and jumped into Rachel’s arms.
“I’m glad that you came out! Aunt Brittany said that she was going to send Duck in, if you didn’t come out!”
Celine giggled. “She knows I can’t resist him.” Celine commented, referring to her Aunt Brittany and Aunt Santana’s 2 year old Golden Retriever.
“I’m going to miss you, baby.” Rachel hugged her daughter back.
“You too, Mommy.” Celine hugged Rachel tigher.
There was a moment, where both forgot what was coming for them. But the moment was short- lived and the 11 year old was still high on her emotional- whirlwind induced adrenaline.
“Do I wear the skirt that Uncle Kurt made just for me as an example for his girl’s line, or do I wear my new dress, or…?!” Celine demanded to know, excited to see her mom’s show. Though Celine was Broadway- bred and though Broadway was in her blood, she never tired of going to the theatre. She had been critiquing shows since she was 8.
Rachel sighed nervously at her daughter’s question. “You know that Q. is much better at those things.” Quinn’s old nickname slipped from Rachel’s mouth thoughtlessly. Rachel bit her tongue, then cursed herself for biting her tongue- especially right before a show.
“It’s okay, Mommy,” Celine kissed Rachel’s cheek. “I have that yellow skirt, white shirt, and matching sweater, and flats in my bag,” Celine said and disappeared back into her bedroom.
----
Celine sat in Rachel’s dressing room on Rachel’s favorite gold colored futon that had five points and looked like a star, fiddling with Rachel’s gold star cup. She looked around. She loved this place. She didn’t want to leave.
Lawyers were stupid. Celine decided. She never, ever wanted to be one and she hated them with a passion. They were stupider as the therapist that her Mom’s made her see after she asked if their (then) pending divorce was her fault. Why couldn’t everything be like singing a song- everything was easier in the world of music, of theatre, of dancing.
Thinking of her art’s classes, Celine fought back another set of tears. She didn’t want to leave Madam Noelle, Jean- Paul, Tim, her teacher’s; she didn’t want to leave her friends in her classes (even though she was better than them). She didn’t want to leave her best friend Bear (well, his name wasn’t really “Bear”, but that’s what her Aunt Brittany called her son, despite Santana’s protests…)
“Lean?” Rachel asked, walking into her dressing room and picking up her container of make-up removing face pads.
Celine looked up.
“Yeah, Mommy?”
“I’m going to skip the stage door tonight.” Rachel told her daughter.
“What?!” Celine panicked, knowing how much Rachel hated disappointing her fans. “Don’t!”
Rachel looked shocked. “But it’s my last night with you!”
“I know.” Celine acknowledged. “But I like watching you with the fans and seeing what I have to look forward to one day!”
Rachel chucked- Celine was a star in the making.
“I’m going to go say ‘bye’ to ever’y’one!” Celine announced. “I’ll meet you out front!”
“Okay,” Rachel agreed. “Don’t get lost.”
Celine pretended to scoff. “As if!”
Celine exited her mom’s dressing room. She found the director, Paulo, talking to someone. “I shall have a part for you someday, Celine!” he promised with a kiss to each of her cheeks. She found the office ladies, who each gave her a bag of homemade cookies, which she put in her messenger for her ride to Lima. She found, Zach, her Mom’s charming co-star, who gave her a high- five. She ducked around, Tiffanee, Rachel’s co-star, who never really liked Rachel. Finally, Celine made her way to the stage door where Bobby, her favorite security guard was watching the door.
“Bobby!” she jumped into the forty- something guard’s arms.
“Lean!” the giant man exclaimed.
“I’m gonna miss you!”
“You, too, kid! The Terrance Theatre will be boring without you!”
“Really?” Celine asked, taking the attention for all that it was worth, even though she knew the answer.
“Yes.” Bobby nodded. “And remember, you gotta work for some things. Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter, kid.” Bobby gave the talented girl a reality check.
“I know, I know.” Celine said, accepting the teddybear’s words. She would miss his honesty. Some people wouldn’t give her the truth because of who Rachel was, other’s took it as a reason to be bitchy and rude. Celine liked Bobby because he said it like it was.
“Are you stealing my daughter?” Rachel demanded to know, half serious, half a joke, sounding a lot like when she rambled to Jesse about not breaking her heart, but also with a mix of joking, that she had learned from Quinn.
“Maybe.” Bobby grinned and grabbed Celine and swung her around.
“Please hurry it up, Lean and I have to go. It’s late…” Rachel told the guard with only half an effort. The divorce had taken and lot out of her, and doing it while her show was debuting on Broadway made her tire easier.
“You go’d it, Ms. Berry.” He set Celine back down on her feet and bent down to her height. “Be nice to your other mom, kid. If she’s taking this as hard as Rachel, then things are going to be tough. And…” he took a breath and changed his serious tone to a slight tease, “Rachel is a lot calmer when you’re here.”
Celine nodded.
“I already called a cab for you two lovely ladies.” Bobby told the girls.
Rachel nodded and offered the guard a smile.
“Thanks, Bobby!” Celine nodded.
Bobby walked the two girl’s out to the curb and opened the door of the cab. Rachel went in first, then Celine slid in after her mother.
Rachel gave the cab driver her address and he nodded.
Celine slid into the center seat, wanting to be closer to Rachel. She let her head rest on Rachel’s shoulder.
“Can you sing to me, Mommy?” Celine asked, her voice drowsy.
Rachel was exhausted. She needed to preserve her voice for the two shows the next day. But she answered, “Sure, baby.”
She couldn’t say “no” to Celine. Not now.
Rachel began to sing.
“Good night my angel time to close you eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Where ever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away.”
Rachel finished the song and kissed the top of her daughter’s head.
It was hard, but she managed not to think about how much Celine’s hair was like Quinn’s. She managed to separate Celine from Quinn. It felt odd- and maybe not right- but the next thing that she said did. “I love you, baby.”