Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th cycle. Now cycle 13!

"Oh Captain, No Captain"
Sue & Brittany
Sylvesters Series #9 [Sequel to "And Hair of Gold"]

She would have figured that Schuester would find a way around her pull for Figgins not to give Glee Club a photo in the yearbook. Now it became a matter of letting that tiny quarter of a page remain just that. Tiny, insignificant… but then there came a hitch.

Walking down the hall, she spotted Rachel Berry… with a glimmer in her eye. Sue's eyes, they focused: something was up. She brought herself a little closer, discreetly listening, to find out what it was that had her going like this all of a sudden.

She'd stopped by Mercedes Jones, and she asked her to co-captain with her. Co-Captain? Oh, no… When Mercedes said no, Rachel scurried off, no doubt on her way to continue in her recruitment efforts. Immediately, red lights flashed in Sue's mind. She didn't have to worry about Santana, she'd never do it. But Brittany…

She walked with great strides toward her office, at the same time pulling out her phone and hitting speed dial two. "My office, now," she spoke, no hello or goodbye, then hung up. By the time she reached the office, there was her daughter waiting, tugging at her white sleeve. As Sue opened the door, Brittany followed her inside and sat down. "Talk to me about this Glee Club captain business?"

"Mr. Schuester wanted one of us to be captain. We made Rachel be it," Brittany explained.

"But now she's looking for a co-captain," Sue carried on. Brittany shrugged; she had no idea. "Right, now you listen to me. Rachel Berry will very likely come to you, asking you to be her co-captain." Brittany sat up at this. "You're going to say no," Sue met her eyes. Brittany blinked in surprise. "No," Sue repeated. "You understand?" Brittany remained quiet for a moment, but then she nodded.

"Okay," she spoke.

"Okay," she repeated. "Go," she indicated the door. Brittany got up, moving to the door. When she got there, she paused, hesitating. She turned back, looking to her mother, who looked up after a moment. "Yes?" she stared her off.

"Nothing," Brittany turned and left the office. She'd barely turned a corner when Rachel fell in step with her, making the very request her mother had just been warning her about. Her face flashed in Brittany's mind right away, with that face she had… Brittany quickly said no, finding a fact she knew was bound to be true, and pointed it out to Rachel: She'd be defacing her own picture.

As she kept on walking, distancing herself from Rachel, part of her did feel some regret. For all she'd been able to say and not say, do and not do, if she were to truly ask herself, maybe there was some part of her that would have wanted to say yes to Rachel, only it had been blocked by her mother's word. And even though she'd made it very clear she would only ever speak to Brittany within the capacity of one role or the other at any given time, in this case it had felt like both of them at once, and the power of it had been enough for Brittany to turn a deaf ear on her own wishes. It was a power she could sometimes start to resent, but that she didn't know how to get around.

The fact was Glee Club had become a great part of her life. And maybe this whole thing was her mother resenting the distance it could put in between them, which hadn't existed when all there had been were the Cheerios… She didn't know. For her part, it made Brittany feel closer to her, because of the distance. She only wished her mother could see it, because she surely hadn't figured out how to let her know. And the more time went, the more she'd take issue with some of what she had her do.

THE END