AN: I am so sorry to all of you who have so patiently waited for this chapter. A lot has been happening in my life. Plus I got a new computer, so I had to find the time to search for the file to transfer it over. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Also I do not own Glee or SAB.

Daphne POV

The next day went well enough until Mr. Schue had students write a couple of sentences using only Spanish. That wouldn't have been too bad, until he read my sentences and asked if I had ever taken Spanish before. I shook my head no, and gave him a look that clearly asked why. He stated that my vocabulary was better than any of the other students that he taught. I wrote on the bottom of the page in Spanish that my grandmother was Puerto Rican and liked to speak Spanish when she was upset. He asked me to read a couple of my sentences to the class, except the look on his face said he wasn't asking. I nodded yes reluctantly. I watched as some of the other kids struggled to read their sentences. Mr. Schue called me to the front of the room. As I stood up to go read, Bay ever so slightly brushed her hand on my sleeve. She asked me if I was sure I wanted to do this. I nodded and proceeded towards the front of the room. I read my sentences without looking at my paper and slowly gained confidence as I realized no one except the teacher understood me, and that the others thought I sounded really Spanish with my "accent". The rest of the day wasn't too bad. Some of the kids in our lunch were from glee and they saved us seats at their table. I just ate my food and stared at my plate. I felt guilty for making Bay do all the work, but I didn't want to let my new friends down, and right now they were practically worshiping me. When we got to glee, Bay and I took seats on the side, waiting for further instruction. Apparently, we would not be getting any special treatment though, because Mr. Schue simply wrote "rewrite duets to be same sex duets" on the white board and then sat down as if expecting something. Rachel jumped up, faced the rest of us and said something about her hoping this day would come.

Bay POV

I watched, mortified, as Rachel walked towards Daphne and I. She leaned over and whispered in Daphne's ear that she would just have to sing a couple of lines from a duet in Phantom of the Opera. I was about to say something to Daphne, but she was already being pulled from her chair with the lyrics being shoved at her face. I didn't have to see her face, I knew her pretty well at this point. I knew she was ready to walk away from everything she was good at. I didn't want to give away the secret, so I stayed silent and waited for the coming fireworks.

Rachel POV

I couldn't understand the look on the redhead's faced. She looked like she had no idea what she was about to do. That was strange considering the lyrics were in her hand, and I had told her exactly what to do. Oh, well. I'm sure the truth about this girl who is quieter than Tina will come out soon enough. It was almost funny how fitting the song was. And so I began to sing:

No more talk of darkness

Forget these wide-eyed fears

I'm here, nothing can harm you

My words will warm and calm you

There was a small break in the lyrics and I looked at the girl, indicating that it was her turn. I was surprised to see how closely she was watching me. Maybe she was one of those creeps, like Jacob Ben-Israel.

Daphne POV

I knew it was my turn to start singing. I could tell by everything from the girl's look, right down to her stance. Not to mention the fact that I could see in her eyes that she wanted to sing the whole song by herself. She would probably get her wish. She had no idea what she had done, at least I don't think she did. If she knew, this was a really big joke that was meant to expose everything about me. I looked down at the lyrics and tried to go off the notes the girl had seemed to sing.

Let me be your freedom

Let daylight dry your tears...

I stole a glance at Rachel. The look on her face told me I had not done as well as she had hoped I would. I felt horrible. I had let her down. Not only that, I had probably let Artie down too. I didn't want to be in the room anymore. I ran for the door, I didn't want to go anywhere. I just had to leave the choir room. I found the door blocked by Bay. I looked at the other door to see Mr. Schue casually leaning against. He didn't seem to want to keep me in, but I figured he wouldn't understand. I took my chances and hoped I could catch Bay off guard. I shoved her a few feet, opened the door and ran for the nearest bathroom. I didn't care what the consequences were anymore. I could just see through my tears that someone was trying to open the stall door. I opened it without thinking. It was Bay. I figured she would be mad at me for pushing her. Instead, she signed to me that she understood and then opened her arms and hugged me. She just held me and let me get out all my anger at Rachel. I'm sure Bay could only understand half of what I was saying since I was crying pretty hard. I knew she fully understood though because when she dropped her arms, it was only briefly. Then she started to sign again. Wow, I hadn't noticed how much better she had gotten at signing. She told me someone was coming in.

Bay POV

I felt so bad for Daphne. Rachel had made such a fool of her. I heard somebody pick up where Daphne had left off, and I had to admit, they were pretty good. I looked at who was entering the bathroom. I saw in the mirror that it was Rachel. The anger was already steaming out of my ears, and like any good sibling, I gently pushed her into the stall and out of harms way.

"Oh my goodness, Daphne, I am soo sorry." Rachel pleaded over and over.

"Just go away. She's not going to listen to you right now anyway. Leave us alone so I can calm my sister down. I don't know how your home life is, but in our home, we are the only ones who understand each other." Looking at the mortified look on her face I added, "It doesn't mean what you think. Just go back to choir room and I will talk with Daphne. If all goes well, you will understand soon enough." Rachel left the bathroom without another word. I turned Daphne around, and we decided to trust them all with our secrets.

Daphne POV

I really didn't want to face anybody in the room. If it had been up to me, I would have gone to the gym to shoot some hoops or run home. I wanted to be as far away from this situation as possible. I didn't want to run from my problems, but I was scared, to be honest with myself. So I reluctantly followed Bay back to the classroom. I could feel all eyes on us. I was trembling. Anything I said would be totally unintelligible. I looked at Bay. She was watching the other kids. I pulled a little on her sleeve.

Bay POV

Everybody was staring at us. They all expected an explanation, but it wasn't mine to give. I could only start the conversation. "Guys, we apologize for earlier. My sister is really shy and self-conscious. She practiced her audition song for hours, she wouldn't even let me hear. Rachel put her on the spot before, and she got scared." "Bay, don't you think it would be better if Daphne gave her own apology," Mr. Schue asked. "She will. I know she will, but first you all have to make a promise. This is not my idea, or Daphne's. Our parents and brother want you to make this promise. You cannot judge Daphne, or make fun of her, and you must help protect her from the bullies. She has attended a very different type of school in the past. Her last experience with public school was third grade bullies, who made her scared to go to school. And the two of us want you to promise not to think of her any differently." I pointed at Daphne indicating it was her turn, and gave her an encouraging smile. "My name is Daphne Paloma Vasquez, and I am deaf." I was kinda glad to see that everyone was watching her hands, instead of her face. I took it as a sign that they were going to try to help. Then Tina seemed to realize why I had been so impressed with Daphne's singing, and started a standing ovation for Daphne. But Daphne wasn't done talking. "I know this seems crazy, but despite being a new student, I have felt all week, like I fit in. Nobody here except Bay could easily talk to me, but none of you managed to realize what was different about me. The teachers haven't been treating me special, and sometimes I wish they would, but I appreciate being treated just like everyone else. I don't know how to ask this of all of you, but can you not tell anyone that's not in this room. I'm not ashamed to be deaf, but I don't necessarily like the special treatment that seems to automatically come from being deaf."

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