Fic: Identity (9/9)
Title: Identity
Author: cranberry_pi
Rating: NC-17, for description of abuse and other things
Spoilers: Up to and including 1x3 "Acafellas," but it's so AU that it's not likely to spoil anything.
Summary: AU. One morning at McKinley High, a girl who no one knows, who can't remember her own name, appears in the halls. She's short, blonde, and carrying a piece of paper that reads "Quinn Fabray."
“I want you to know, Quinn - when I met you the other day, I wasn’t faking my surprise - I’d never seen you before.”
“But you knew I was here,” Quinn surmised.
“Yes. “I’m getting ahead of myself, though, so let’s back up. And I apologise if I get a bit disjointed - I wasn’t present for most of this, so it’s based on second or third-hand accounts. Anyway, like I told you, Russell was a gambler. And not a good one - if you’re going to gamble full time, you have to have some skill, and he just didn’t. By the time he found out Mom was pregnant with you, he owed more than he could ever pay back. So the people he owed money to offered him a deal - they’d take you, and wipe the slate clean.”
“And he just-“
“Wait, wait,” Frannie shook her head. “Don’t interrupt yet - this is important.” She looked seriously at Quinn. “For all Russell’s flaws, he didn’t want to give his daughter to a bunch of criminals. So he worked something else out instead. He had influence in Lima, and the attending physician at your birth was a friend of his. Through the church, he found a couple in Mexico who were desperately trying to adopt and getting nowhere - they were good Christians, he was told, and would love you like their own. So, when you were born, he had the doctor hustle you out of the delivery room and tell Mom that you’d been stillborn.”
“Mom didn’t know?”
“Not at first. Anyway, so they smuggled you out of the hospital and delivered you to this couple, who paid a sizable amount of his debts in exchange. That got the worst of the people off his back, and kept you away from them. The doctor forged all the right paperwork, and they buried an empty casket in your grave, and we moved to Cleveland to get away from the memory of you. For a while, I think Russell was actually okay with how it all turned out. But Mom was devastated over losing you, and I think the more time went by, the guiltier Russell felt about being the cause of that. It drove them apart, and they divorced.” She took a drink of water. “Are you with me so far?”
The snatches of half-remembered things in Quinn’s mind were maddening, but she nodded. “When did you find this out?”
“We’re getting there. After the divorce, he went to Mexico. This part of the story is a little fuzzier, but we think he lived in the same city you lived in. He brought your - your adoptive parents, I suppose you could call them - pictures of Mom. They showed them to you as you grew up, and explained that she was your mother, but she’d died giving birth to you, so they’d adopted you. Russell might even have posed as your uncle or something - like I said, we don’t know a lot about this part of the story.”
Quinn shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts into something coherent. Rachel squeezed her hand, and she gave her a small smile.
“Anyway, Russell’s old habits caught up with him in Mexico. He went back to gambling, and straight back to losing money. In the end, he was so desperate for money that he held up a bank in Mexico City. Not the brightest move - the cops were well-armed and well-prepared, and they took him down before he’d taken three steps out the door. The trial was over in, like, a day, and they sentenced him to thirty years in prison. And then there’s a big black spot in the story here - we know you were given excellent schooling, and that you were apparently happy and loved, but beyond that we have no idea. We need to skip way ahead now - to about a year ago.”
“What happened a year ago?” Quinn felt like she was fighting a strong current, but she needed to hear the rest of the story.
“Mom got a letter - from Russell. He laid everything out - what he’d done, where you were, everything. At first, she didn’t want to believe it - it had taken her a decade to come to terms with losing her child, and she was overwhelmed at the suggestion you were still alive. So she did some digging - talked to the doctor, to Russell’s contacts at the church, trying to verify his story. In the end, she was convinced that he was telling the truth. So, six months ago, she opened that bank account and safe deposit box in your name at the bank - she was planning to bring you home, and she wanted to be sure you’d be taken care of.”
“Where did she get two hundred thousand dollars?” Quinn interrupted. “What kind of tax accountant has that much money sitting around?”
Frannie fidgeted uncomfortably. “Quinnie - you have to understand, everything she did was for you.”
“Answer the question,” she demanded.
“She, uh, she was blackmailing the doctor that delivered you. He’s the one who made the wire transfers.”
“What?” Quinn exploded. “So, she was making sure I was taken care of by giving me stolen money? What the hell is wrong with this family?”
“She was doing it for you, Quinn.”
“That doesn’t make it any better!” Quinn sighed, staring at the floor. “Finish your story.”
“Anyway,” Frannie looked everywhere but at Quinn. “That’s when she called me. She told me everything - I didn’t want to believe it, but she was adamant, and she showed me every scrap of proof she’d collected. So, now that we’d confirmed you were in Mexico, we started on the next step - Mom wrote you a letter. She didn’t tell you who she was, at first - just that she was an old friend of your mother’s. She called you Quinn, but when you wrote back you told her that wasn’t your name. Your name was Ramona-“
“De Cruz,” Quinn finished for her, tears running freely down her cheeks. “Ramona De Cruz. My mother’s name was Anita, and my father’s was Hector.”
“That’s right,” Frannie nodded. “Mom got you to sign ‘Quinn’ at the bottom of one of your letters, though, so she could get your signature for the bank records. You corresponded for months - and then Mom took the plunge and told you who she really was, that she wanted you to come back to America. You didn’t believe her - you wrote a very angry letter back, almost all in Spanish, telling her that you knew your mother was dead, and she should just leave you alone. Then you stopped answering her letters.”
“And then?” Rachel prodded, noticing that Quinn seemed too overwhelmed to speak.
“And then, about a month ago, we got another letter. The tone was completely different. It was all in English, and you signed it Quinn. You said - and I’m missing a bit here, because you were light on the details - that you were kissing another girl that lived near you-“
“Nevara,” Quinn murmured, “she lived on the farm - the one I told you about before, Rachel.” She rubbed her temples. “We were kissing in their barn - her dad found us, and called my dad. He was furious - I’d never seen him like that before. He dragged me all the way home,” she swallowed, “by my hair. He never once let go of it, even though we had to walk for miles, and he pulled a bunch of it out. He whipped me, and he hit me - and then,” she squeezed her eyes shut, and tears rolled slowly down her cheeks. “Then he called the family of a boy down the street, who had a crush on me. Told them I needed to be taught how things were supposed to work between a man and woman. He,” she whimpered.
“You don’t have to do this-“ Rachel started, but Quinn shook her head.
“I need this,” she whispered. “I want to get it out. Dad - Hector - tied me down so I couldn’t fight back, and the guy - I can’t even remember his name now - didn’t have any problem raping me, apparently, even though my back was still bleeding all over the bed and I screamed,” she shuddered. “I never stopped screaming, not even when,” she trailed off, looking haunted.
“Quinn,” Rachel whispered, pulling her close. She stared daggers at Frannie. “We can finish this later.”
“No,” Quinn protested, “I want to know all of it. I have to know the rest.”
“Well, that’s a problem,” Frannie said. “There’s another gap. In your letter, you told Mom you wanted to come home to her. You sent her your cell number, and she called and talked to you. You were going to cross the border, and then come straight to Lima. The house key at the bank opens a little place Mom had me buy for you, and you were supposed to use the money to get settled. But then you disappeared. For three weeks, we had no idea where you were - Mom was absolutely beside herself. Then, out of the blue, she gets a call from the doctor at Triumph Hospital-”
“The one she was blackmailing?”
“That one. He said you’d been brought in suffering from amnesia, and they were going to put you under social services’ care. And then he called again, saying you’d walked out of the hospital. Mom paid your bills, trying to keep you off the police’s radar, but you ended up going right to them. When they called me, Mom told me to fly to Lima and feel you out, see what you remembered - but I screwed up and left my phone at the police station. They looked though the recent calls and found ones from Mom’s cell, and that kind of gave the game away. So I had to tell you all this before I really wanted to, before you were really ready. I need to ask, though - do you remember where you were during those three weeks, Quinnie?”
“Don’t,” Quinn whispered hoarsely, “call me that. You have no right. And no, to answer your question - I don’t remember anything about those three weeks. I have no idea how I got here. All I remember is Judy’s voice, calling me Quinnie - and trying to answer, but her not hearing me when I did.”
“Quinn-“
“Don’t!” Quinn shouted. “Just stop. Tell me one thing - where is Judy, exactly?”
“Akron,” Frannie admitted. “I needed the police looking in the wrong place - and with Mom having gone back to her maiden name, I knew it’d be a while before they found her.”
Quinn jumped to her feet, pacing the room. “Why didn’t you and Judy just go to the police? When you first found out I was alive?”
“We didn’t want to have the authorities rip you away from people you loved, pull you out of Mexico,” Frannie insisted. “We didn’t want you to hate us - we wanted it to be your choice to come home. Besides, if we’d gone to the police, they would have charged Mom as an accessory to selling you in the first place - and she didn’t know, so that wouldn’t be right.”
“Anything else?” Quinn’s voice was deadly quiet.
“No, I think that’s all I can tell you.”
“Then we’re done here now,” Quinn snarled. “You’re going from here to the police station,” She levelled an accusing finger at her sister. “You’re going to tell them all of this - or I will. Then, you’re going to call Judy and tell her to leave me alone. And you’re going to let the police decide what to do with both of you, and stay the hell away from me. Now and forever.”
“Quinn,” Frannie said desperately, “we’re family.”
“You’re not,” Quinn’s voice was little more than a feral growl, “my family. The Fabrays sold me like an old couch - trying to get me back sixteen years later doesn’t make that okay. The De Cruz’s may have raised me, but they let me be raped - hell, they made it happen. I don’t have a family. I am my family. I don’t ever want to hear from any of you, not ever again. Rachel, let’s go.” She didn’t wait, just walked out the door and down the hall to the elevator. It was taking too long, so she pushed open the entrance to the stairwell, letting Rachel catch up before she exited into the lobby. She stormed outside and found a taxi waiting at the stand. They climbed inside, and the driver asked for a destination. Quinn looked at Rachel helplessly.
“Lincoln Park,” Rachel instructed, and they pulled away from the curb. Quinn put her head between her knees, gasping for breath. Rachel gently rubbed her back, unsure what to say. When the car stopped, Quinn didn’t wait for Rachel to pay before getting out. She wandered a few steps onto the grass, fell to her knees, and was violently sick. Rachel was mere steps behind, and helped her to her feet, moving them to a park bench where she laid Quinn’s head in her lap. Quinn’s tears were like a rainstorm, and she sobbed until she saw stars and had to gasp for breath. When they’d stopped, though, her expression was peaceful. She looked up at Rachel, her eyes puffy and swollen, and gave her a shaky smile.
“Are you sure,” she hiccoughed, “that you want to be involved with someone that comes from genes that loco?”
“Absolutely.”
Quinn put a hand on her stomach. “I’m keeping my baby,” she announced. “I don’t care where it came from - I’m not ever letting it feel like I feel right now. I’m not ever letting it feel like it’s been abandoned.”
“I think that’s very noble,” Rachel hugged her. “It’s a shame they probably won’t let you have that money - it would be a tremendous help.”
“There’s got to be some kind of assistance I can apply for,” Quinn mused. “But I don’t want to think about that right now. Right now, I just want one thing.”
“What might that be?”
“I want to celebrate this moment. I remember all of the most important things now - and the rest of it, that missing three weeks, the name of the school I went to in Xalapa, all of those things, all of it’ll come back when it’s meant to.” She smiled. “I know who I am, and where I came from. This is the start of my life. Quinn Mary Fabray is a girl that never existed; Ramona De Cruz is a girl who never should have existed. I’m just Quinn Fabray. I live in Lima, and I go to McKinley High. I’m in Glee Club, and I’m absolutely, completely head over heels for Rachel Berry. That’s who I am, and all I want to be. And even though my breath must be just gross, I’d really like to kiss you right now, to seal this moment in time.”
“Yes,” Rachel agreed, leaning down to share a searing kiss. When they broke apart, Rachel grinned.
“What are you smiling about?” Quinn poked her in the ribs.
“Can I call you Ramona sometimes? It’s very sexy.”
Quinn pealed laughter. The hard times weren’t over, she knew - but there was more good than bad on the road in front of her, she was sure. Rachel helped her up, and they wandered toward the Berry house - wandered toward home.
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Sergeant Daniels was in touch later that night - there would be charges against both Judy and Frannie, he informed Quinn, in addition to the doctor, and the De Cruz family would face human trafficking charges. The Lima Police had also been in touch with the relevant federal agencies, and they would get to work on producing all of the documentation she’d need to start her new life properly, though it would take weeks at the minimum. “I want to thank you for your help, Quinn - for your patience and your cooperation.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “For being on the ball, finding Frannie’s phone and forcing her into telling me everything.”
“I really wish we could let you have that money.”
“But it’s the proceeds of crime, I know. What’s going to happen to the house?”
“Well, we’ll be investigating - we’re not sure whose name the deed is in, or whose money was used to buy it, and we’ll need to find that out before we can decide what to do with that.”
“Okay - thank you again, Sergeant.”
“My pleasure, Quinn. We’ll be in touch when your papers are ready. Take care.” He hung up with a soft click, and Quinn wandered back into the kitchen to finish telling her story to Rachel’s dads.
“You’re amazing,” Rachel told her later as they sat in bed, Quinn nestled between her legs and leaning back against her. “I think I would be curled up in a ball for the next month if I was in your shoes.”
“Hey, it’s tempting,” Quinn said. “And if it wasn’t for you, and your dads, and everybody that’s helped me since I got to Lima, I probably would be. I know there’s going to be nights when I wake up screaming, and times when I shut down a bit, but I know I’ve got you to bring me back. You’re way more amazing, ‘cause you put up with me.” She tipped her head back, and Rachel kissed her.
“I’m pretty sure we could get you out of your exam tomorrow,” Rachel nodded. “There’s got to be somebody that would write you a note.”
“Wait - there’s another one?”
Rachel ticked them off on her fingers. “Math, history, English, science - oh. No, I guess that’s it, then.”
“Outstanding,” Quinn grinned. “I think I’m going to start looking for jobs, once they get me a Social and stuff.”
“Jobs?”
“Well, yeah. I’m not going to live here for free, Rach. I want to start paying for my food and clothes and stuff. I’ve got to do some research on some kind of assistance for my doctor’s bills and things, too.”
“You’ll probably have to be emancipated before you can apply for assistance.”
“I’ll have to be what?”
“Emancipated,” Rachel explained. “You’ll have to be declared a legal adult, or else they’ll deny you on the basis that your parents should be paying your bills.”
“How do I do that?”
“You’ll need to apply to the court. My dads know a great many lawyers that would be able to help you.”
“Cool,” Quinn nodded.
“If you’d like my help with any of it-“
“I couldn’t do it without you, Rachel, not any of it. Speaking of which-“
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“I know,” Quinn stood at the front of the choir room, Rachel at her side, “that there’s been a lot of rumours about me since I started coming here - some true, some not, some that are hilariously wrong. If we’re going to be a team, though, I don’t want you all to have to wonder - I think you guys deserve to know my story.” She laid it all out, glossing over the most unpleasant parts.
“Girl, that’s just crazy,” Mercedes was the first one to speak when she finished. “You might be the only person I know that could have stepped out of a soap opera. But it’s cool you made it through all that. Welcome to McKinley.” She, and the others in the club, stepped forward to embrace her.
There was chatter around the room, and Quinn squeezed Rachel’s hand as they took their seats. Behind them, Santana raised her hand. “Mister Schue? I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” she announced.
“Uh - okay, Santana, you really don’t need to ask.”
She walked out as he started to discuss their second number for the Invitational, and made her way down the hall to Sue’s office. She knocked and let herself in.
“Santana,” Sue smiled. “What have you got for me?”
“Oh, I found out a lot,” Santana smirked. “Her whole life story, pretty much. But you know what?”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not getting any of it. Do what you want to me. I’ll spy on Glee Club for you, but I’m not going to spy on her. Clear?”
“Crystal,” Sue acknowledged, removing her glasses and tossing them on the desk. “I assume you know where the door is.”
Santana stepped back into the hall and exhaled shakily. She re-entered the choir room just as Finn and Kurt began their duet. Her eyes found Quinn’s, and they exchanged nods that seemed to speak all the words that needed to be said.
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“Rachel?” Will asked at the end of the rehearsal. “Could you stay for a minute?”
“Absolutely,” Rachel agreed. “I’ll meet you outside, Quinn?”
“Sure,” she nodded, wandering out of the choir room and down the hall, out into the afternoon sun. She stood just outside the doors, eyes closed, feeling the sun on her face and the wind in her hair. She thought of a day, just like this one, when she’d stood outside in her school uniform, waiting for Hector to pick her up. She could smell the city around her, feel the heat radiating from the ground that made her thankful for the loose skirt of her uniform. She could sense Nevara standing beside her before she felt her hand around her waist.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Nevara had whispered.
“I’ll be there,” she’d promised. It was the last good day, she knew, and she opened her eyes to dispel the memory before her mind played it back any further. She wondered what the other girl was doing now, if she was okay. She hoped so. But before she could wonder any more about it, she felt a hand slip comfortably into her own.
“Are you ready to go?”
“What was that about?”
“Oh,” Rachel looked flustered, “Mister Schue just wanted to pick my brain about our potential song selection for Sectionals.”
“Ah, okay. Yeah, I’m ready to go.” And just like that day four months before, she looked into the sunny sky with a smile. But today wasn’t the last good day - today was just the first of many.
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The weekend was over far too quickly for Quinn’s liking - and was punctuated with several hours-long disappearances by Rachel, who explained them away as community theatre auditions - but come Monday morning she was happy to be assigned a locker and given her class schedule. “After review of your exam scores, you’re likely a grade or maybe even two ahead of where we’re placing you,” Figgins warned, “but I and Miss Pillsbury decided it would be best if you stayed with your peer group.”
“So I’m in the same grade as Rachel, then?”
“Yes - you and Miss Berry have a similar schedule,” Quinn looked down at the page and groaned.
“Wait - you put me in Biology?”
“Yes - it seems to be the science you need the most improvement in. Welcome to McKinley High, Miss Fabray.” He extended a hand, and she shook it with a grin.
“Happy to be here,” she grinned, and not even the slushie she got in the face as she left the office was quite enough to wipe the grin away. Rachel helped clean her up, and she changed into the extra outfit she’d stuck in her locker on her advice. The two of them slid into the only empty desks in History, and Quinn took studious notes - for the first ten minutes. And then, like every other high school student, she doodled and only paid attention when there was no other choice.
Math, on the other hand, she put her full effort into. When she was called to the board, knowing Rachel was watching her, she put a bit of extra sway in her hips, and was rewarded with a dazed expression when she returned to her desk. She grinned to herself and wrote Rachel a note that she carefully passed across the aisle.
“Was that worthy of a gold star?” it read, and Rachel had to disguise a laugh as a coughing fit.
Lunch was eaten outside, as they both knew the weather would make that impossible soon enough, and they had separate classes in the afternoon. Quinn went to the choir room when she was through, but found it dark and empty. She was glad when Rachel turned up.
“Quinn! We’re rehearsing in the auditorium this afternoon,” Rachel took her hand. “Invitational is next week, so Mister Schue thought we had better run through our choreography in a proper environment.”
“When did he tell you that?” Quinn asked, puzzled. “Did he mention that last week?”
“Y - Yes,” Rachel stammered. “On Friday, when I stayed to help him with Sectionals songs.”
“Oh, right,” Quinn nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” Rachel led her into the auditorium, which was oddly dark, and to a seat. “Here,” she said. “Stay right here, Quinn.”
“But-“
“Just stay there,” Rachel warned, making her way on stage. “Brad?”
The piano started to play, and Rachel’s powerful voice filled the auditorium.
“Tu no estas solo
permaneceremos juntos
yo estare a tu lado
tu sabes que yo tomare de tu mano
cuando esté fria
y se sienta como el final
no hay un lugar a donde ir, tu sabes que no quiero darme por vencida
no, no quiero darme por vencida”
Quinn’s eyes filled with tears as the curtain pulled back, revealing the rest of the Glee Club, gathered behind Rachel. Their voices joined in the song.
“sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
solo permanece fuerte
porque tu sabes que yo estaré aqui por ti
no hay nada que puedas decir, nada que puedas hacer
no existe otro camino cuando buscamos la verdad
asi que sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
estando tan lejos, deseo que estés aqui
antes de que sea demasiado tarde, esto podría desaparecer
antes de que las puertas se cierren, esto llegará a su final
contigo a mi lado yo luchare y defenderé, luchare y defenderé si si.
sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
solo permanece fuerte
porque tu sabes que yo estaré aqui por ti
no hay nada que puedas decir, nada que puedas hacer
no existe otro camino cuando buscamos la verdad
escuchame cuando digo, cuando digo
que creo que nada cambiará, nada cambiará nuestro destino
sea lo que sea
nosotros lo sortearemos de manera perfecta si si si si
lalalalalalala...
sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
solo permanece fuerte
porque tu sabes que yo estaré aqui por ti
no hay nada que puedas decir, nada que puedas hacer
no existe otro camino cuando buscamos la verdad...”
The last notes of the song faded away - and Quinn, speechless, mimed blowing them kisses. Rachel beamed at her and mouthed “I love you.”
Quinn didn’t mouth it back - she shouted.
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Fin
A/N 1: That final song is a really severely patchy translation (of what song - anyone?), but I thought it made more sense that way - like Schue had translated it for them, maybe, with a bit of input from Santana - than having a picture-perfect translation.
A/N 2: Kudos to motylik, who totally guessed how this would turn out back in chapter 5.
A/N 2: I know there’re unanswered questions - what happened during those missing weeks? Where did Quinn’s tattoo come from? What happens next? There are plans for a sequel, but I really hope that the story stands okay on its own as well. It’s one of the most ambitious things I’ve written, and the first thing I’ve ever been confident enough to put out there, Faberry-wise, and I hope I didn’t embarrass myself! Thanks to absolutely everyone who’s read and commented - you guys rock, every one of you! Thanks for making me feel so welcome!
Author: cranberry_pi
Rating: NC-17, for description of abuse and other things
Spoilers: Up to and including 1x3 "Acafellas," but it's so AU that it's not likely to spoil anything.
Summary: AU. One morning at McKinley High, a girl who no one knows, who can't remember her own name, appears in the halls. She's short, blonde, and carrying a piece of paper that reads "Quinn Fabray."
“I want you to know, Quinn - when I met you the other day, I wasn’t faking my surprise - I’d never seen you before.”
“But you knew I was here,” Quinn surmised.
“Yes. “I’m getting ahead of myself, though, so let’s back up. And I apologise if I get a bit disjointed - I wasn’t present for most of this, so it’s based on second or third-hand accounts. Anyway, like I told you, Russell was a gambler. And not a good one - if you’re going to gamble full time, you have to have some skill, and he just didn’t. By the time he found out Mom was pregnant with you, he owed more than he could ever pay back. So the people he owed money to offered him a deal - they’d take you, and wipe the slate clean.”
“And he just-“
“Wait, wait,” Frannie shook her head. “Don’t interrupt yet - this is important.” She looked seriously at Quinn. “For all Russell’s flaws, he didn’t want to give his daughter to a bunch of criminals. So he worked something else out instead. He had influence in Lima, and the attending physician at your birth was a friend of his. Through the church, he found a couple in Mexico who were desperately trying to adopt and getting nowhere - they were good Christians, he was told, and would love you like their own. So, when you were born, he had the doctor hustle you out of the delivery room and tell Mom that you’d been stillborn.”
“Mom didn’t know?”
“Not at first. Anyway, so they smuggled you out of the hospital and delivered you to this couple, who paid a sizable amount of his debts in exchange. That got the worst of the people off his back, and kept you away from them. The doctor forged all the right paperwork, and they buried an empty casket in your grave, and we moved to Cleveland to get away from the memory of you. For a while, I think Russell was actually okay with how it all turned out. But Mom was devastated over losing you, and I think the more time went by, the guiltier Russell felt about being the cause of that. It drove them apart, and they divorced.” She took a drink of water. “Are you with me so far?”
The snatches of half-remembered things in Quinn’s mind were maddening, but she nodded. “When did you find this out?”
“We’re getting there. After the divorce, he went to Mexico. This part of the story is a little fuzzier, but we think he lived in the same city you lived in. He brought your - your adoptive parents, I suppose you could call them - pictures of Mom. They showed them to you as you grew up, and explained that she was your mother, but she’d died giving birth to you, so they’d adopted you. Russell might even have posed as your uncle or something - like I said, we don’t know a lot about this part of the story.”
Quinn shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts into something coherent. Rachel squeezed her hand, and she gave her a small smile.
“Anyway, Russell’s old habits caught up with him in Mexico. He went back to gambling, and straight back to losing money. In the end, he was so desperate for money that he held up a bank in Mexico City. Not the brightest move - the cops were well-armed and well-prepared, and they took him down before he’d taken three steps out the door. The trial was over in, like, a day, and they sentenced him to thirty years in prison. And then there’s a big black spot in the story here - we know you were given excellent schooling, and that you were apparently happy and loved, but beyond that we have no idea. We need to skip way ahead now - to about a year ago.”
“What happened a year ago?” Quinn felt like she was fighting a strong current, but she needed to hear the rest of the story.
“Mom got a letter - from Russell. He laid everything out - what he’d done, where you were, everything. At first, she didn’t want to believe it - it had taken her a decade to come to terms with losing her child, and she was overwhelmed at the suggestion you were still alive. So she did some digging - talked to the doctor, to Russell’s contacts at the church, trying to verify his story. In the end, she was convinced that he was telling the truth. So, six months ago, she opened that bank account and safe deposit box in your name at the bank - she was planning to bring you home, and she wanted to be sure you’d be taken care of.”
“Where did she get two hundred thousand dollars?” Quinn interrupted. “What kind of tax accountant has that much money sitting around?”
Frannie fidgeted uncomfortably. “Quinnie - you have to understand, everything she did was for you.”
“Answer the question,” she demanded.
“She, uh, she was blackmailing the doctor that delivered you. He’s the one who made the wire transfers.”
“What?” Quinn exploded. “So, she was making sure I was taken care of by giving me stolen money? What the hell is wrong with this family?”
“She was doing it for you, Quinn.”
“That doesn’t make it any better!” Quinn sighed, staring at the floor. “Finish your story.”
“Anyway,” Frannie looked everywhere but at Quinn. “That’s when she called me. She told me everything - I didn’t want to believe it, but she was adamant, and she showed me every scrap of proof she’d collected. So, now that we’d confirmed you were in Mexico, we started on the next step - Mom wrote you a letter. She didn’t tell you who she was, at first - just that she was an old friend of your mother’s. She called you Quinn, but when you wrote back you told her that wasn’t your name. Your name was Ramona-“
“De Cruz,” Quinn finished for her, tears running freely down her cheeks. “Ramona De Cruz. My mother’s name was Anita, and my father’s was Hector.”
“That’s right,” Frannie nodded. “Mom got you to sign ‘Quinn’ at the bottom of one of your letters, though, so she could get your signature for the bank records. You corresponded for months - and then Mom took the plunge and told you who she really was, that she wanted you to come back to America. You didn’t believe her - you wrote a very angry letter back, almost all in Spanish, telling her that you knew your mother was dead, and she should just leave you alone. Then you stopped answering her letters.”
“And then?” Rachel prodded, noticing that Quinn seemed too overwhelmed to speak.
“And then, about a month ago, we got another letter. The tone was completely different. It was all in English, and you signed it Quinn. You said - and I’m missing a bit here, because you were light on the details - that you were kissing another girl that lived near you-“
“Nevara,” Quinn murmured, “she lived on the farm - the one I told you about before, Rachel.” She rubbed her temples. “We were kissing in their barn - her dad found us, and called my dad. He was furious - I’d never seen him like that before. He dragged me all the way home,” she swallowed, “by my hair. He never once let go of it, even though we had to walk for miles, and he pulled a bunch of it out. He whipped me, and he hit me - and then,” she squeezed her eyes shut, and tears rolled slowly down her cheeks. “Then he called the family of a boy down the street, who had a crush on me. Told them I needed to be taught how things were supposed to work between a man and woman. He,” she whimpered.
“You don’t have to do this-“ Rachel started, but Quinn shook her head.
“I need this,” she whispered. “I want to get it out. Dad - Hector - tied me down so I couldn’t fight back, and the guy - I can’t even remember his name now - didn’t have any problem raping me, apparently, even though my back was still bleeding all over the bed and I screamed,” she shuddered. “I never stopped screaming, not even when,” she trailed off, looking haunted.
“Quinn,” Rachel whispered, pulling her close. She stared daggers at Frannie. “We can finish this later.”
“No,” Quinn protested, “I want to know all of it. I have to know the rest.”
“Well, that’s a problem,” Frannie said. “There’s another gap. In your letter, you told Mom you wanted to come home to her. You sent her your cell number, and she called and talked to you. You were going to cross the border, and then come straight to Lima. The house key at the bank opens a little place Mom had me buy for you, and you were supposed to use the money to get settled. But then you disappeared. For three weeks, we had no idea where you were - Mom was absolutely beside herself. Then, out of the blue, she gets a call from the doctor at Triumph Hospital-”
“The one she was blackmailing?”
“That one. He said you’d been brought in suffering from amnesia, and they were going to put you under social services’ care. And then he called again, saying you’d walked out of the hospital. Mom paid your bills, trying to keep you off the police’s radar, but you ended up going right to them. When they called me, Mom told me to fly to Lima and feel you out, see what you remembered - but I screwed up and left my phone at the police station. They looked though the recent calls and found ones from Mom’s cell, and that kind of gave the game away. So I had to tell you all this before I really wanted to, before you were really ready. I need to ask, though - do you remember where you were during those three weeks, Quinnie?”
“Don’t,” Quinn whispered hoarsely, “call me that. You have no right. And no, to answer your question - I don’t remember anything about those three weeks. I have no idea how I got here. All I remember is Judy’s voice, calling me Quinnie - and trying to answer, but her not hearing me when I did.”
“Quinn-“
“Don’t!” Quinn shouted. “Just stop. Tell me one thing - where is Judy, exactly?”
“Akron,” Frannie admitted. “I needed the police looking in the wrong place - and with Mom having gone back to her maiden name, I knew it’d be a while before they found her.”
Quinn jumped to her feet, pacing the room. “Why didn’t you and Judy just go to the police? When you first found out I was alive?”
“We didn’t want to have the authorities rip you away from people you loved, pull you out of Mexico,” Frannie insisted. “We didn’t want you to hate us - we wanted it to be your choice to come home. Besides, if we’d gone to the police, they would have charged Mom as an accessory to selling you in the first place - and she didn’t know, so that wouldn’t be right.”
“Anything else?” Quinn’s voice was deadly quiet.
“No, I think that’s all I can tell you.”
“Then we’re done here now,” Quinn snarled. “You’re going from here to the police station,” She levelled an accusing finger at her sister. “You’re going to tell them all of this - or I will. Then, you’re going to call Judy and tell her to leave me alone. And you’re going to let the police decide what to do with both of you, and stay the hell away from me. Now and forever.”
“Quinn,” Frannie said desperately, “we’re family.”
“You’re not,” Quinn’s voice was little more than a feral growl, “my family. The Fabrays sold me like an old couch - trying to get me back sixteen years later doesn’t make that okay. The De Cruz’s may have raised me, but they let me be raped - hell, they made it happen. I don’t have a family. I am my family. I don’t ever want to hear from any of you, not ever again. Rachel, let’s go.” She didn’t wait, just walked out the door and down the hall to the elevator. It was taking too long, so she pushed open the entrance to the stairwell, letting Rachel catch up before she exited into the lobby. She stormed outside and found a taxi waiting at the stand. They climbed inside, and the driver asked for a destination. Quinn looked at Rachel helplessly.
“Lincoln Park,” Rachel instructed, and they pulled away from the curb. Quinn put her head between her knees, gasping for breath. Rachel gently rubbed her back, unsure what to say. When the car stopped, Quinn didn’t wait for Rachel to pay before getting out. She wandered a few steps onto the grass, fell to her knees, and was violently sick. Rachel was mere steps behind, and helped her to her feet, moving them to a park bench where she laid Quinn’s head in her lap. Quinn’s tears were like a rainstorm, and she sobbed until she saw stars and had to gasp for breath. When they’d stopped, though, her expression was peaceful. She looked up at Rachel, her eyes puffy and swollen, and gave her a shaky smile.
“Are you sure,” she hiccoughed, “that you want to be involved with someone that comes from genes that loco?”
“Absolutely.”
Quinn put a hand on her stomach. “I’m keeping my baby,” she announced. “I don’t care where it came from - I’m not ever letting it feel like I feel right now. I’m not ever letting it feel like it’s been abandoned.”
“I think that’s very noble,” Rachel hugged her. “It’s a shame they probably won’t let you have that money - it would be a tremendous help.”
“There’s got to be some kind of assistance I can apply for,” Quinn mused. “But I don’t want to think about that right now. Right now, I just want one thing.”
“What might that be?”
“I want to celebrate this moment. I remember all of the most important things now - and the rest of it, that missing three weeks, the name of the school I went to in Xalapa, all of those things, all of it’ll come back when it’s meant to.” She smiled. “I know who I am, and where I came from. This is the start of my life. Quinn Mary Fabray is a girl that never existed; Ramona De Cruz is a girl who never should have existed. I’m just Quinn Fabray. I live in Lima, and I go to McKinley High. I’m in Glee Club, and I’m absolutely, completely head over heels for Rachel Berry. That’s who I am, and all I want to be. And even though my breath must be just gross, I’d really like to kiss you right now, to seal this moment in time.”
“Yes,” Rachel agreed, leaning down to share a searing kiss. When they broke apart, Rachel grinned.
“What are you smiling about?” Quinn poked her in the ribs.
“Can I call you Ramona sometimes? It’s very sexy.”
Quinn pealed laughter. The hard times weren’t over, she knew - but there was more good than bad on the road in front of her, she was sure. Rachel helped her up, and they wandered toward the Berry house - wandered toward home.
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Sergeant Daniels was in touch later that night - there would be charges against both Judy and Frannie, he informed Quinn, in addition to the doctor, and the De Cruz family would face human trafficking charges. The Lima Police had also been in touch with the relevant federal agencies, and they would get to work on producing all of the documentation she’d need to start her new life properly, though it would take weeks at the minimum. “I want to thank you for your help, Quinn - for your patience and your cooperation.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “For being on the ball, finding Frannie’s phone and forcing her into telling me everything.”
“I really wish we could let you have that money.”
“But it’s the proceeds of crime, I know. What’s going to happen to the house?”
“Well, we’ll be investigating - we’re not sure whose name the deed is in, or whose money was used to buy it, and we’ll need to find that out before we can decide what to do with that.”
“Okay - thank you again, Sergeant.”
“My pleasure, Quinn. We’ll be in touch when your papers are ready. Take care.” He hung up with a soft click, and Quinn wandered back into the kitchen to finish telling her story to Rachel’s dads.
“You’re amazing,” Rachel told her later as they sat in bed, Quinn nestled between her legs and leaning back against her. “I think I would be curled up in a ball for the next month if I was in your shoes.”
“Hey, it’s tempting,” Quinn said. “And if it wasn’t for you, and your dads, and everybody that’s helped me since I got to Lima, I probably would be. I know there’s going to be nights when I wake up screaming, and times when I shut down a bit, but I know I’ve got you to bring me back. You’re way more amazing, ‘cause you put up with me.” She tipped her head back, and Rachel kissed her.
“I’m pretty sure we could get you out of your exam tomorrow,” Rachel nodded. “There’s got to be somebody that would write you a note.”
“Wait - there’s another one?”
Rachel ticked them off on her fingers. “Math, history, English, science - oh. No, I guess that’s it, then.”
“Outstanding,” Quinn grinned. “I think I’m going to start looking for jobs, once they get me a Social and stuff.”
“Jobs?”
“Well, yeah. I’m not going to live here for free, Rach. I want to start paying for my food and clothes and stuff. I’ve got to do some research on some kind of assistance for my doctor’s bills and things, too.”
“You’ll probably have to be emancipated before you can apply for assistance.”
“I’ll have to be what?”
“Emancipated,” Rachel explained. “You’ll have to be declared a legal adult, or else they’ll deny you on the basis that your parents should be paying your bills.”
“How do I do that?”
“You’ll need to apply to the court. My dads know a great many lawyers that would be able to help you.”
“Cool,” Quinn nodded.
“If you’d like my help with any of it-“
“I couldn’t do it without you, Rachel, not any of it. Speaking of which-“
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“I know,” Quinn stood at the front of the choir room, Rachel at her side, “that there’s been a lot of rumours about me since I started coming here - some true, some not, some that are hilariously wrong. If we’re going to be a team, though, I don’t want you all to have to wonder - I think you guys deserve to know my story.” She laid it all out, glossing over the most unpleasant parts.
“Girl, that’s just crazy,” Mercedes was the first one to speak when she finished. “You might be the only person I know that could have stepped out of a soap opera. But it’s cool you made it through all that. Welcome to McKinley.” She, and the others in the club, stepped forward to embrace her.
There was chatter around the room, and Quinn squeezed Rachel’s hand as they took their seats. Behind them, Santana raised her hand. “Mister Schue? I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” she announced.
“Uh - okay, Santana, you really don’t need to ask.”
She walked out as he started to discuss their second number for the Invitational, and made her way down the hall to Sue’s office. She knocked and let herself in.
“Santana,” Sue smiled. “What have you got for me?”
“Oh, I found out a lot,” Santana smirked. “Her whole life story, pretty much. But you know what?”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not getting any of it. Do what you want to me. I’ll spy on Glee Club for you, but I’m not going to spy on her. Clear?”
“Crystal,” Sue acknowledged, removing her glasses and tossing them on the desk. “I assume you know where the door is.”
Santana stepped back into the hall and exhaled shakily. She re-entered the choir room just as Finn and Kurt began their duet. Her eyes found Quinn’s, and they exchanged nods that seemed to speak all the words that needed to be said.
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“Rachel?” Will asked at the end of the rehearsal. “Could you stay for a minute?”
“Absolutely,” Rachel agreed. “I’ll meet you outside, Quinn?”
“Sure,” she nodded, wandering out of the choir room and down the hall, out into the afternoon sun. She stood just outside the doors, eyes closed, feeling the sun on her face and the wind in her hair. She thought of a day, just like this one, when she’d stood outside in her school uniform, waiting for Hector to pick her up. She could smell the city around her, feel the heat radiating from the ground that made her thankful for the loose skirt of her uniform. She could sense Nevara standing beside her before she felt her hand around her waist.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Nevara had whispered.
“I’ll be there,” she’d promised. It was the last good day, she knew, and she opened her eyes to dispel the memory before her mind played it back any further. She wondered what the other girl was doing now, if she was okay. She hoped so. But before she could wonder any more about it, she felt a hand slip comfortably into her own.
“Are you ready to go?”
“What was that about?”
“Oh,” Rachel looked flustered, “Mister Schue just wanted to pick my brain about our potential song selection for Sectionals.”
“Ah, okay. Yeah, I’m ready to go.” And just like that day four months before, she looked into the sunny sky with a smile. But today wasn’t the last good day - today was just the first of many.
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The weekend was over far too quickly for Quinn’s liking - and was punctuated with several hours-long disappearances by Rachel, who explained them away as community theatre auditions - but come Monday morning she was happy to be assigned a locker and given her class schedule. “After review of your exam scores, you’re likely a grade or maybe even two ahead of where we’re placing you,” Figgins warned, “but I and Miss Pillsbury decided it would be best if you stayed with your peer group.”
“So I’m in the same grade as Rachel, then?”
“Yes - you and Miss Berry have a similar schedule,” Quinn looked down at the page and groaned.
“Wait - you put me in Biology?”
“Yes - it seems to be the science you need the most improvement in. Welcome to McKinley High, Miss Fabray.” He extended a hand, and she shook it with a grin.
“Happy to be here,” she grinned, and not even the slushie she got in the face as she left the office was quite enough to wipe the grin away. Rachel helped clean her up, and she changed into the extra outfit she’d stuck in her locker on her advice. The two of them slid into the only empty desks in History, and Quinn took studious notes - for the first ten minutes. And then, like every other high school student, she doodled and only paid attention when there was no other choice.
Math, on the other hand, she put her full effort into. When she was called to the board, knowing Rachel was watching her, she put a bit of extra sway in her hips, and was rewarded with a dazed expression when she returned to her desk. She grinned to herself and wrote Rachel a note that she carefully passed across the aisle.
“Was that worthy of a gold star?” it read, and Rachel had to disguise a laugh as a coughing fit.
Lunch was eaten outside, as they both knew the weather would make that impossible soon enough, and they had separate classes in the afternoon. Quinn went to the choir room when she was through, but found it dark and empty. She was glad when Rachel turned up.
“Quinn! We’re rehearsing in the auditorium this afternoon,” Rachel took her hand. “Invitational is next week, so Mister Schue thought we had better run through our choreography in a proper environment.”
“When did he tell you that?” Quinn asked, puzzled. “Did he mention that last week?”
“Y - Yes,” Rachel stammered. “On Friday, when I stayed to help him with Sectionals songs.”
“Oh, right,” Quinn nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” Rachel led her into the auditorium, which was oddly dark, and to a seat. “Here,” she said. “Stay right here, Quinn.”
“But-“
“Just stay there,” Rachel warned, making her way on stage. “Brad?”
The piano started to play, and Rachel’s powerful voice filled the auditorium.
“Tu no estas solo
permaneceremos juntos
yo estare a tu lado
tu sabes que yo tomare de tu mano
cuando esté fria
y se sienta como el final
no hay un lugar a donde ir, tu sabes que no quiero darme por vencida
no, no quiero darme por vencida”
Quinn’s eyes filled with tears as the curtain pulled back, revealing the rest of the Glee Club, gathered behind Rachel. Their voices joined in the song.
“sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
solo permanece fuerte
porque tu sabes que yo estaré aqui por ti
no hay nada que puedas decir, nada que puedas hacer
no existe otro camino cuando buscamos la verdad
asi que sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
estando tan lejos, deseo que estés aqui
antes de que sea demasiado tarde, esto podría desaparecer
antes de que las puertas se cierren, esto llegará a su final
contigo a mi lado yo luchare y defenderé, luchare y defenderé si si.
sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
solo permanece fuerte
porque tu sabes que yo estaré aqui por ti
no hay nada que puedas decir, nada que puedas hacer
no existe otro camino cuando buscamos la verdad
escuchame cuando digo, cuando digo
que creo que nada cambiará, nada cambiará nuestro destino
sea lo que sea
nosotros lo sortearemos de manera perfecta si si si si
lalalalalalala...
sigue aguantando
porque tu sabes que sobreviviremos, nosotros sobreviviremos
solo permanece fuerte
porque tu sabes que yo estaré aqui por ti
no hay nada que puedas decir, nada que puedas hacer
no existe otro camino cuando buscamos la verdad...”
The last notes of the song faded away - and Quinn, speechless, mimed blowing them kisses. Rachel beamed at her and mouthed “I love you.”
Quinn didn’t mouth it back - she shouted.
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Fin
A/N 1: That final song is a really severely patchy translation (of what song - anyone?), but I thought it made more sense that way - like Schue had translated it for them, maybe, with a bit of input from Santana - than having a picture-perfect translation.
A/N 2: Kudos to motylik, who totally guessed how this would turn out back in chapter 5.
A/N 2: I know there’re unanswered questions - what happened during those missing weeks? Where did Quinn’s tattoo come from? What happens next? There are plans for a sequel, but I really hope that the story stands okay on its own as well. It’s one of the most ambitious things I’ve written, and the first thing I’ve ever been confident enough to put out there, Faberry-wise, and I hope I didn’t embarrass myself! Thanks to absolutely everyone who’s read and commented - you guys rock, every one of you! Thanks for making me feel so welcome!