Simple Parts (from fanfiction.net)

Chapter Eight- Simple Parts

Simple Parts

Chapter Eight- Simple Parts

Time goes by so fast.
One last breath is all I have.
The people come, they fade.
I try so hard to shape these words
I cannot formulate.

QFRB

Rachel was awake before the 6 o'clock knock at Alice's door. Beside her, Alice groaned and rolled over, burying her head in her pillow. Older Quinn didn't come inside; she just called through the door, "Up and at 'em, Alice," before moving on.

"Don't wanna," the cheerleader whined into her pillow. She rolled back over onto her back, but kept the pillow on her face.

Rachel couldn't help but giggle. When Alice released her pillow and then attacked her with it, Rachel found it far less funny. "Hey!" She took the pillow and walloped the other girl with it, but Alice just lay there, unresponsive. When Rachel lifted the pillow away it was to find Alice just staring up at the ceiling, a little frown flirting around her mouth. "What's wrong?"

The cheerleader sighed. "I just hope she didn't wake up Carmen. I don't want her to go with us."

"Why?"

Alice flicked her eyes over to the young version of her mother and raised an eyebrow. "Did you seriously just ask me that?"

"I was wondering if there was any reason other than your dislike for her, is all."

"What do you mean?"

Rachel shrugged in an attempt at subtlety that failed miserably. "I happened to notice your reactions to your mothers doting over Carmen yesterday evening. Then when Beth called, you looked very...put out."

The other girl sighed and stared back at the ceiling. "Running in the mornings is just something for me and Momma. She has long hours but she always tries to do something special with us. It's easier now that Morgan and Carmen aren't around all the time."

"That didn't really answer my question."

"I just feel different, ok!" She didn't shout, but her tone was more forceful than anything she had used with Rachel before. "I'm different from Morgan and Carmen and Alex and Shay!" She sat up and tore back her covers, jumping out of bed and storming around collecting her running clothes. "I'm the only one that has Momma's genes. Except Beth, and she got rid of her. She didn't want Beth, and she didn't want me, at least not the way I am." Rachel didn't have to opportunity to offer a rebuttal, not that it was really her place, as she didn't know exactly how Quinn felt about Beth or Alice. She just couldn't imagine the blonde feeling that way about her child though. "She tried to talk you out of having me," Alice informed her, "I mean, she tried to talk Mom out of having me."

"Why?"

"Cause of her career. She was at her height. Everyone wanted her in everything. But Momma didn't want to use her genes if she had the kid, so Mom insisted that she have me. She wanted at least one of us kids to look like Momma. She was actually going to have two of us."

"Why didn't she?" Rachel asked, too caught up in the story to realize she was technically speaking in the third person.

"Complications. She's really small, and I was big. I ended up arriving early and her doctor was out of town. He couldn't get back in time, so some young guy ended up delivering me and he fucked some stuff up. Momma wouldn't let her have another one. Said it was too dangerous."

They both fell quiet and Rachel wondered what kind of complications would keep her from having another baby. Alice picked at her duvet, anger drained away a little.

"That doesn't have anything to do with you though," Rachel rationalized, "there was nothing you could have done about it. I highly doubt that Quinn doesn't want you."