Disclaimer: I do not own Glee – if I did, Lea and Cory would never leave, Brittana would have more kisses than everyone other than Finchel and there would probably be a lot more sex scenes...

Also, the title and lyrics used at the beginning are from Never Alone – Lady A.

This is an AU fiction.

Never Alone

Chapter One

"May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you, heaven accept you when it's time to go home. May you always have plenty, the glass never empty, know in your belly, you're never alone."

Rachel Barbara Berry was her father's pride and joy, she was their precious gift, she meant the entire world to both of them, so much so that they based their whole life around the girl. They were protective, they were loving, they were supportive of every decision she ever made and they were her biggest fans. They were proud of their little girl, she never failed to astound them with her strength, and her passion. They loved listening to her sing, if asked their favourite sound, they would reply with 'our daughter's voice' without a moment's hesitation.

When they had made the decision to have a child, it had been the biggest but the best decision they had ever made. And when they held that bundle of joy in their arms for that very first time, neither had ever felt so much love for another person. She was perfect, and they never regretted that huge decision as they watched her grow up. She was always so full of energy, and when she learned she could speak, it was non-stop from then on. They encouraged her in the arts, they loved to see her dance, hear her sing, they entered her into beauty pageants for the experience – so their daughter could look back on her childhood and truly say she had a varied but fun experience.

It was a concern of her dance teacher when she was just four years old that made them take that trip to the doctor's. Both Leroy and Hiram would always remember that judging looks on the teacher's face, as though she had already decided that the bruises on Rachel's body was because of them, even when she had approached them with her concerns for the tiny girl, the two men had no idea what she was talking about until later that night. Rachel informed them that she hadn't fallen over, she didn't really know where they had come from, as she looked up at them with her big, brown eyes which quickly watered at the looks on their own faces. Their hearts broke then, because she thought she had done something wrong.

They held onto her tiny hands as they walked into the doctor's office, explaining the bruises to him. She was just four years old, and the man just said she was clumsy, she had probably fallen over a few times in dance, and because there were no other symptoms, there couldn't possibly be something wrong with her. They both went home that night, feeling relief that their perfect angel was going to be okay. They never went back to that dance class again though.

Just a few weeks later, two weeks before her fifth birthday, was the first time they had to call an ambulance for their little girl. Hiram cried as they waited, Leroy holding onto the unconscious girl, tears falling down his own face. Neither of them said a word as they were made to wait in the family room of the hospital that evening, both of them just gripping tightly onto each other's hand, silent tears running down their faces. "Your daughter has an abnormally low white blood cell count, we're going to run some more tests but you need to prepare yourself." The Doctor was sympathetic, as though he already knew what was wrong with their four year old daughter.

The two men sat by her bedside as she went through a physical examination, both of them answering questions to get a basis of her medical history – neither had a way of contacting Shelby, both of them guiltily shaking their heads when asked if they could, neither wanting to mention the contract in shame.

Their eyes watered more when they saw their tiny girl on the bed for the first time, wrapped in a blanket, wires running from her small body – she had been two months premature, she was already so small for her four years, the white hospital bed and the machines just made her seem so much smaller.

Leroy's voice travelled around the small room, playing with the small girls hair as she slept, "Twinkle, twinkle little star.." He sung gently, tears running down his face quickly as he watched her sleep. Hiram sobbed on the other side of the bed, both of them having just been told the worst news they could ever imagine - "Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia." - both men had broken down at the news, not being able to imagine a world without their little angel.

"She's only four years old, this shouldn't be happening.." Hiram finally whispered the next day, looking at the man he loved so much. Leroy could only nod as he looked around the empty room – Rachel had been taken to get some more tests done, so they could reach a verdict on what treatments she needed to undergo.

"She's strong.. she can get through this." He murmured, going through the bag he had brought from home a few hours ago, pulling out a fleece blanket covered in gold stars – it was Rachel's favourite, she was going to grow up to be a star some day, the Berry's loved metaphors. "We... we need to be strong for her." He managed to choke out, tears threatening to fall down his face once more, but instead he forced them back to look at the other man, "Okay?"

Hiram nodded, biting down on his lip, standing up to help him unpack the bag, smiling at all the memories as he put them around the room – they wanted her to feel somewhat comfortable, the doctor said she could be there for a while. "We need to do something special for her fifth birthday, she's going to be here when she celebrates it.. but we have to make it special for her." He broke the silence, and Leroy nodded, a huge grin on his face.

"Leave it to me." They both grinned at each other, before sitting down to await her return, gripping onto each other's hands as they waited anxiously, neither of them wanting to speak the words they were both thinking, this birthday could be her last.

They celebrated her five years in the world in the hospital, with the nurses and the doctors who had been so amazing to the girl since she had arrived in the hospital two weeks ago. "You need to make the most of a bad situation." They had been told by a nurse – Rachel's favourite nurse; Carole. They had both nodded as they set up the star decorations, reminding themselves that metaphors were important – their daughter would grow up to be a star.

Rachel was so full of life, and at times, the dads would find themselves forgetting she was sick – the wires and machines were just there now, they barely noticed them. She giggled, opening all her presents eagerly, thanking everyone with so much enthusiasm. The nurses complimented them on having such a strong girl, and they had never felt such pride before. Sure, they had been so proud when she won all those awards, when she took her first steps, her first words, the first time she said 'I love you' to them but this was a stronger sense of pride – their daughter was a fighter, they were proud that she wouldn't go without a fight.

"I love you, dad, daddy." She whispered, fighting the exhaustion later that day, holding onto their hands before she finally gave into the sleep that she had been fighting all day. "We love you too, bumblebee." Leroy whispered, kissing her forehead as he watched her sleep. She would be starting chemotherapy and radiotherapy the day after, and they both knew the reality of the situation would truly hit all three of them, the two men knowing the effects the chemotherapy would have on her small body.

Hiram absent mindedly ran his fingers through her long hair, tears falling down his face as he thought about his perfect little girl being in pain. He wouldn't wish this on his worst enemy, it was heartbreaking to watch his only daughter go through it, and it was becoming exhausting to try and convince himself that she was strong, that she could get through it because the fact that she was just a five year old girl, a girl already too small for her age, was always burning in the back of his mind.

They both held each other as she went for her first chemotherapy session, both of them crying into each other's shoulders as they thought about all the things she would be losing as she fought the cancer that had forced itself into their lives. She couldn't go to school, she wouldn't be able to go outside and play with anyone, no more dancing, no more of those activities she loved so much. They sobbed at the thought of her losing out on all those friends she could have made, the precious first days of school that they wouldn't be able to wave her off to until she was at least seven – maybe more. They cried harder than they ever had before for their sick child, praying to every God they had ever heard of to let her be okay, to make sure she got through it. They prayed, and they prayed, holding onto each other for extra support, clinging onto the love they had for each other and for the one thing they shared – Rachel.

She was weak, and always tired and when she was awake, that smile was gone, replaced by tears of pain and loss. It broke her dads heart to see her cry, but they understood. "I'm so lonely." She whispered to them, just a month into her chemotherapy, tears falling down her face. "Everyone will have made friends in school now and I have no one." Her fingers played with the IV drip carefully, silent tears making their way down her pale face.

Leroy could only give her a small, sad smile as he kissed her forehead, "You have us." She nodded, not saying another word before closing her eyes, letting tiredness taking over her body again. He sighed as he watched her sleep, looking up at the nurse who had been checking her vitals, tears in his eyes as he shook his head, "What do I do?" He whispered, knowing she probably didn't have the answer.

Nurse Carole Hudson gave him a soft, kind smile and shook her head, "I have a son her age, I'll bring him in one day if that's okay with you?" Leroy gave her the first genuine smile he managed for the first time since her fifth birthday, nodding his head eagerly.

"Please.. I hate the fact she's so lonely. She should be in school now, she should be doing everything other kids her age are doing." He sighed, squeezing Carole's hand in appreciation when she placed her own hand on his shoulder, her own eyes travelling over to the tiny girl in the bed. "I'll bring him soon."

It was just the day after when a wide eyed, brunette boy made his way into the large hospital room, staring at the girl in the bed. He made his way slowly to the bedside, his mother following him not so far behind, his eyes not moving from the small figure that lay in the too large hospital bed. "It's rude to stare, you know."

He jumped at the voice, stopping in his tracks, looking back at the girl who had now opened her eyes fully to look right back at him. "I'm sick, but don't worry, it's not contagious." She rolled her eyes, turning to lay on her back to stare up at the ceiling.

Finn turned to look at his mom, "I thought you said she was sick? She doesn't seem sick, she just seems rude." He wrinkled his little nose in confusion as his mom just shook her head and pushed him to the bed,

"I already explained to you, Finny." She whispered, pulling him a seat up as Rachel watched them both curiously, "Rachel, this is my son Finn Hudson... and Finn, this is Rachel Berry. There are plenty of board games in the cupboard over there, or you can both just talk. I'll be starting my shift in a moment so make sure you don't cause too much trouble." She ruffled the boys hair, giving him a big kiss – much to his horror – as Rachel grinned at him, waving at her favourite nurse before turning to look back at him when the door was closed.

"So.." She whispered, she had never really had a friend, the other kids usually hated her because they were all as competitive as each other, and you don't make friends with the competition.

"You're sick." Finn stated, looking at the machines, clearly uncomfortable at the constant beeping that ran around the room, his eyes wandering over to all the wires, his eyes growing wider at the bag of blood that was being pumped into her body. His face visibly paled, and Rachel shifted a little, a tear of embarrassment running down her face when she followed his eyes. Finn quickly jumped up, moving closer to her beside, "Don't cry. My momma always says you shouldn't make a girl cry, Rach.. don't cry."

She bit down on her lip, "I know I'm sick, it's all anyone ever talks about.. c-can we please talk about something else?" He quickly nodded, smiling when she wiped away the tear.

"Do you have like.. homework and stuff to do here? I mean, I go to school and stuff, and that can be so annoying sometimes.. like this teacher, told me off because I didn't know how to spell 'animals' and it was horrible, I went all red and then everyone laughed at me.." Rachel giggled and shook her head when he shot her a horrified look,

"No.. no.. I'm not laughing at you.. it's just.. you're rambling." She giggled again and he laughed with her, crinkling up his nose, not truly understanding why his heart felt that way – he was only five years old, at sixteen he would tell you that it was the first time he fell in love with the other girl, at five years old, he thought it was just something he had at lunch.

"I could help you with your spellings, if you want!" She grinned at him, "I get homework and work to do here, but I have nothing else to do so that all gets done pretty quick. Usually when I'm in chemotherapy, it's just something to keep my mind off things."

Finn bit down on his lip, "C-can I ask what chemotherapy is?" He almost whispered, his eyes full of curiosity as Rachel cleared her throat,

"Uh.. it's like... these drugs that are meant to make the cancer go away." Tears brimmed her eyes as she played with a thread on her blanket, "It's supposed to make me better, but it makes me feel sick.. but daddy always says that you have to get sicker, to get better.." Finn nodded and gave her a lop-sided grin, standing up. "A-are you going?" He shook his head and walked to the cupboard, getting out a game, not missing her sigh of relief as she watched him.

"These are neat games!" He said loudly, grinning when she laughed, watching him finally pick out one. She played happily with him, talking about school, friends, homework, hobbies, their families – everything their five year old minds could possibly think of. She almost cried when his mom walked in, thinking he was about to be taken away from her but instead a tray of food was placed in front of both of them, and she giggled when Finn licked his lips before digging into his food.

"Try and eat today, sweetie.." Carole whispered to her, "I know you feel sick, but you will feel better once you eat." She smiled at her son before slowly walking out of the room, giving Leroy and Hiram a reassuring smile, watching them both relax into their seats as they went through some work as their daughter finally made the friend she had been longing for.

Finn stared at the girl, frowning, "Aren't you going to eat your food? It's really good, I promise." Rachel shook her head, sniffing slightly, her fork hovering over the plate,

"Feel sick." She mumbled, a tear escaping, making it's way down her ghost-like skin. Finn stood up, setting his own food aside before he climbed up onto the bed, careful not to sit on any of her wires before he took the fork from her, "When I'm feeling sick, my momma feeds me. I know you might not feel like eating, but you heard my momma, and anything she says is usually right."

He grinned innocently, lifting the fork to her mouth, his smile getting even wider when she ate the food he offered – unaware that it was the first piece of food that she had eaten in over a week. "Thank you." She whispered when the plate was empty, and he held the cup to her lips. He shrugged and jumped back down from the bed, picking up his backpack.

He pulled out an old bear, smiling at it before placing it in Rachel's arms, "My dad gave that to me when I was a baby, before he died.. I hug him whenever I'm sad. So, when I'm not here, I want you to hug the bear, and pretend it's me!" Her eyes watered at the gift, holding it close to her.

"I'll take extra special care of him, Finn.. you can have him back when I'm better." She sighed and settled down into her cushions, holding the bear close to her. "I-I'm sorry.." She whispered, "I'm always so tired.." He shook his head and settled down in his chair,

"Me too. Momma said that I'm a growing boy, so I need to take my naps." She opened her eyes again, giving him a small smile before they both closed their eyes, Rachel falling into a quick sleep, her grip never ceasing on the small bear – it was the first gift Finn ever gave her, and it was the first present she had ever received from someone who wasn't family.

Carole walked into the room just a few minutes later, looking at her son, "Did Rachel eat?" She whispered to him, kneeling down in front of him, he nodded quickly and smiled,

"I really like her, momma.. we can come again, right? Can I come here everyday?" Carole nodded and wrapped her arms tight around him,

"You can come here whenever you want, my special boy." His eyes sparkled and he looked at his mom, wiping a tear that fell down her face, "You know when I tell you how your daddy was a hero?" He nodded, taking a deep breath, that feeling of loss taking over his body whenever he thought about the man he never got the chance to know. "You're a hero, too.. you're going to be Rachel's hero.. you'll understand what I mean when you're older, but you're a hero, Finn."

He could only smile wide as he looked at Carole, hugging her tight, his eyes looking over at the girl on the bed that he felt a strange connection with. "I like being a hero." He said simply, smiling proudly at his mom as she nodded and ruffled his hair.

"I'm just going to tell her dads and her doctor that she finally ate something, I'm so proud of you." Finn nodded and stood up, puffing up his chest as he stood by Rachel's bedside, watching her sleep. "I'm going to be the bestest hero." He whispered in her ear, tucking her in like his mom always did to him before turning to sit back in his seat, falling asleep quickly.