Simple Parts (from fanfiction.net)

Chapter Three- Giving Up

Simple Parts

Chapter Three- Giving Up

Now hold me 'til you fall asleep.
Not making it easy, no.
We're holding secrets underneath.
Not making it easy, no.

QFRB

The second the connection was broken, the second that the adult version of herself slumped completely into Older Rachel's arms and turned her face into the crook of that smooth tan neck, Quinn's feet were suddenly loose from the hardwood floors and she turned to flee.

Through the distortion of sound that was echoing off the sides of her skull she could hear one of the Rachels calling out to her but she ignored the noise. She was in the middle of making a break for the front door and there was no way she was going to stop for anything.

At least that was the plan, but then Alex's long strong arms wrapped around her middle from behind and she found herself being twirled through the air and manhandled back to where everyone else had remained motionless. Her vision was a swirl of clashing colors and she could feel the nausea from earlier returning, but through the haze her eyes automatically sought out that older her, still twitching and jerking in Older Rachel's arms, but to a lesser degree.

Quinn struggled as much as she could, but Alex held her just tight enough to keep her from being able to do any damage to him. She stomped on his feet a few times and gave her the satisfaction of a few muttered 'ouches,' but he was too strong for her to break free from.

She's really only half paying attention to her escape, the other half of her mind is focused on the older her sitting on the floor in her comfortable clothes (she can see now that the sweatshirt has a faded penguin on it) and messy hair. The clothes hide all signs of shape that could be underneath, so she couldn't tell if she has stayed fit. She looked older than Older Rachel did and that kind of ticked her off, but it's mostly around her eyes, so it would seem that she had decided to skip the Botox, unlike her mother.

Older Quinn had stopped shaking and was getting up with help from Older Rachel. She didn't stumble; she didn't need to be held up while she gained her bearings. She was strong and sure footed and took the space separating her from her younger self in two strides. She brought her hands up and clasped them on Young Quinn's cheeks with just enough force to leave a bit of sting and then held her still. "Hey! Stop it."

She didn't say anything else, she didn't have to. Young Quinn stopped out of surprise more than obedience, but it was a halt nonetheless. She stared into identical eyes again and she just wanted to cry, could feel her eyes stinging with want of tears. She wanted to cry because the whole situation was just so fucked up. She wanted to cry because she couldn't figure out why she was so happy.

Older Quinn smiled gently at her with something akin to pity. Young Quinn would have been upset had any other person looked at her that way, as it was though, it didn't do more than tweak her nose. She had always enjoyed a good pity party. Older Quinn broke eye contact and looked up at Alex. "Take her to Morgan's room. That's where she'll be staying. I'll be up in a little bit." The last was directed to Young Quinn.

"Where's Morgan going to sleep?"

"On your top bunk, so that means you'll need to go clean it off after you show her to her room."

"Do I not get a say in this?" Young Quinn asked the adults, it came out less forceful than she wanted.

"No," they said at the same time, Older Rachel with conviction and Older Quinn with a quiet weariness.

"Come on," Alex commanded gently, leading her up the stairs by the arm. In the upstairs hallway they passed several doors and she got glimpses of a few photo frames but there was no opportunity to stop and look at the contents. Not that she wanted to or anything.