A/N - So I've got like three weeks to kill where I'm doing nothing but working and wishing my friends hadn't gone home for summer, and what better way to spend it than fanfiction. My first in maybe two years. Enjoy.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure? Because...you've seemed a little distracted in Glee Club recently."

"I'm fine."

"Come on Quinn, you know - "

"Mr Schue, I have a baby who keeps me up all night, I'm being forced to marry an idiot just so my parents will let me back in the house, and I'm still carrying at least half of my baby weight. So I'm sorry if listening to Kurt and Mercedes argue about whether Beyonce or J-Lo has the better ass is not at the top of my priorities list."

Mr Schue stroked his chin, "Yeah, especially since it's clearly Beyonce."

Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, look on the bright side, you and Rachel seem to be getting pretty close these days."

"I guess."

She was so adored by everyone
When it came to looks she was next to none
But loved partying and having too much fun
Then she hooked up with the wrong someone

The late afternoon sunlight filtered through Rachel's hideous curtains, and Quinn watched the patterns of light dance on the other girls face. She ran her fingers through the thick brown hair, smiling as Rachel let out a small noise of contentment. She was engrossed in some movie though, could barely tear her eyes away, which was okay by Quinn, since she got to feel the other girl lean against her, and watch as she went from sorrow, to excitement, to happiness in time with the characters.

"Anyway," Quinn said eventually, withdrawing reluctantly from Rachel's arms, placing the bowl of popcorn they'd abandoned carefully aside as she climbed off the bed, knowing the lecture she'd get if she spilled it, "I have to go pick up Beth from Puck." her face twisted into a grimace at the mention of her fiancé's name, and Rachel mimicked her, the disappointment evident on her face.

"Well, could I come with you?"

Quinn raised her eyebrows as she lifted up the lace edged cover of the bed to search for her bra, "You really want to?"

Opening a drawer with her trademark flourish, Rachel began to dress quickly. "Of course, I like spending time with you and so, by extension, your family."

"Well, alright... It's probably a good thing, Beth and I have been meaning to talk to you about your awful taste in shoes."

Rachel rolled her eyes, pulling her shirt over her head as she did so. "Quinn, try as you might, I refuse to be convinced that your daughter, who is only two months and three weeks old, has developed a taste in fashion."

Bouncing into her still-slightly-too-snug jeans, Quinn couldn't help but smile at Rachel remembering Beth's exact age. "Oh but, Rach, she totally has." she said with mock sincerity, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice as Rachel frowned, "The other day we were walking down the street and we saw this lady wearing this hideous hat, and Beth just threw up everywhere."

"Well you know, there may be something to that, when I was four months old I heard "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in it's entirety for the first time, and didn't stop crying for three days, so if I can develop my appreciation for - "

Quinn looked at her and laughed, "I was kidding, Rach."

"Oh." Rachel frowned, "Really?"

"Yes, baby." and Quinn tugged her forwards by the waist, and kissed her deep and slow.

Touch my waist, pull me along
You kept me safe, you kept me strong
Wishing we could stay right here
And time would slow down forever
I love you and every little thing that you do for me

"Yeah, since her mom died, it's been just me and little Beth here." Puck gave an exaggerated sniff, "It's okay though baby girl, we'll get by."

Two girls looked at each other and back at Puck and Beth in immense concern, "That must be SO hard for you."

"Puck. How many times have I told you, stop using our daughter to pick up girls."

Puck's mask of fake sadness dropped immediately, "Oh hey, it's a miracle, she's alive."

The girls Puck had been flirting with sneered in disgust and stormed away, pushing past Rachel at the doorway of the diner.

"And stop bringing her to work." Quinn said, but the ferocity of her statement was lost as she took Beth from him, smiling and saying hello.

"Whatever. What's she doing here anyway?" he said, nodding over at Rachel.

Quinn glanced awkwardly towards the other girl, "She's my friend."

He pursed his lips, "Really? Because there's a rumour going round McKinley that you're a little more than that."

"Puck, you don't even go to McKinley anymore. You dropped out after the vice-prinipal giving you a free pass got fired and sent to jail. How do you know what's going on there?"

"I have some...friends there still. And in case you've forgotten, you both have boyfriends."

"First of all, Finn has barely spoken to her since he went away to college - he's probably too busy trying to remember his left from his right - and secondly, I have a fiancé, one I regularly catch flirting with other girls, and doing God knows what else behind my back."

Puck smirked, "Well that seems a little hypocritical."

They glared at each other for some minutes, but in the end he was the one to break it, leaning down to zip up the baby bag with Beth's things in it.

"Look," she said, "We may be getting married, but if you stay out of my business, I'll stay out of yours."

I taught myself the only way to vaguely get along in love
Is to like the other slightly less than you get in return
I keep feeling like I'm being undercut

As she watched Beth sleeping in her crib, she felt familiar arms slip around her waist, and a kiss planted to the back of her neck, and felt too soon the diminishing hours before her parents came home. She turned to face the other girl, scratching her fingernails against her forearms.

"You understand why we have to do this, don't you? Why we can't..."

"Yes." Rachel gestured around with forced humour, "So you can live your life of grandeur." When her attempt at a joke failed to lift the sadness on the other girl's face, she kissed her gently, "Quinn, I get it. Your parents can't know. You and Beth come first, it's okay."

They lay on Quinn's bed later, listening to Beth's peaceful breathing through the baby monitor, Rachel's head on the other girl's shoulder, her fingers running soft circles on her stomach.

"Do you remember how this started?" she said, quietly.

"Remind me." Quinn smiled, her fingertips scratching gently at Rachel's scalp.

"After Glee Club, I stayed behind to practice and you stayed to watch. When I was done you asked what kind of psychopath would subject other people to both my face and "that sweater" at the same time."

Quinn cringed a little at her insult, born out of nerves, but she didn't interrupt - this story had a happy ending.

"And I said I hoped your baby was born fat, and then you kissed me."

"Yeah, I thought it went something like that."

They lay in a comfortable silence for some minutes before Quinn said abruptly, "Wait, you were joking about the fat baby thing, weren't you?"

Rachel just looked at her with a smirk, and kissed her deep and slow.

She put her hand around my waist.
I told her no, she cried "Te amo",
I told her I'm not gonna run away, but let me go

"Hey Rachel,"

"Oh, hi, Finn."

"Just thought I'd call and see what's up."

"Finn, while that's a nice sentiment, I haven't heard from you in several months. I assumed we'd parted ways."

"Uh, oh yeah, I'm sorry about that - it's just, the whole college thing and so I wanted to say -"

Rachel sighed, "Yes, Finn?"

"It's just - "

A clearly female voice called out something indistinct to him in the background.

"Damn, sorry Rach, I've got to go - it's um, football practice."

I ain't sayin you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don t think twice, it s all right

A few weeks later, everyone was assembling for Glee club when Rachel bounced into the room with even more enthusiasm than usual, looking all set to make an announcement.

"Well this is sure to be horrific." Kurt muttered, but instead of the expected speech, she simply squealed, "Quinn! May I talk to you in private please?"

As Quinn was dragged out of the room, Mercedes looked around increduously, "What was all that about?"

"I don't know," Santana rolled her eyes, "I swear Rachel thinks she's the star in some kind of stupid tv show."

The rest of the club snorted in laughter.

"As if anyone would put her on TV."

"And if they did she definitely wouldn't be the star." Artie laughed.

"Yeah, she'd dance in the background at best," Mike chipped in.

A few minutes passed in companiable silence, before Brittany announced, "And you probably wouldn't even know her last name!" They give her smiles of encouragement at her belated, and slightly lame, joke.

In the girl's bathroom meanwhile, Rachel was practically hopping with excitement, and Quinn had to laugh despite her confusion.

"Rach, calm down, what's wrong?"

"I got a call!" she squealed in excitement.

"Um...congratulations...?"

"No, I got a call from the "New York City School for the Performing Arts", offering ME a scholarship!"

She embraced Quinn in a hug then that nearly lifted her off her feet, and with her face buried in Rachel's neck, Quinn was glad she didn't have to try and force out a congratulations.

When Rachel bounced out of the room, ready, Quinn was sure, to make a speech to the rest of Glee, she sank to the floor, head in her hands.

I'm gonna miss the sunshine of your smile,
And when the train pulls down the track,
I'll be wishing you'd come back,
Because my heart will be with you each passing mile,
And if the trail you're ridin' ever has an end
Turn around and ride right back to me again

"Would you and Beth like to come to my house after school, Quinn?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess."

Rachel beamed, "Excellent! Beth and I need to catch up on our vocal exercises."

Quinn gave a half-hearted smile, and turned to escape through the crowd of students bustling to lunch, clutching her books to her chest.

"Q, I've noticed you're looking less rotund recently."

Quinn looked up in disbelief, "Uh, yeah, Ms. Sylvester, having a baby will do that to you."

"You're not pregnant anymore? I wouldn't have guessed." she took a sip from her flask, "I guess that means you want back on the squad?"

"It's been more than three months, why - "

"Shift that weight, and while I obviously can't let you back at the top of the pyramid, there's a respectable middle-to-bottom position available where I think you'd fit nicely."

"That's nice of you, Ms. Sylvester, but I'm really not interested."

Sue glanced at her sharply. "I won't lie, that's a surprise to me. Of all my Cheerio's, I thought you would come out on top."

"I have a daughter, Ms. Sylvester, and a fiancé...I have to put them before myself."

"So, Quinn Fabray is going to be yet another Lima loser. You know, Q, I once thought I'd be stuck in the same place for the rest of my life, looking at the same few faces day in, day out. You know what I did? Of course you don't, I haven't told you yet. I chiselled a hole in the wall of my cell, snuck out through the ventilation ducts and swam the San Francisco Bay."

Quinn stared at her in confusion.

"Point being, Q, I thought you were like me. Thought you would do anything to make something of yourself. I guess not."

So help me heal these wounds
They've been open for way too long
Help me fill this soul
Even though this is not your fault
That I'm open, and I'm bleeding
All over your brand new rug

Quinn lay on her side on Rachel's bed, turning the pages of a magazine with a lot more force than necessary. Rachel barely noticed, she was brushing her hair in the mirror and talking animatedly, hardly pausing for breath.

"...and my fathers have said they'll help me pay for an apartment, so while I'll have to get a job - which will hinder my rehearsal time and potentially socialising with my - "

"Ow, crap." Quinn's battering of the magazine had finally taken it's toll, and she sucked her finger to take away the blood from a papercut.

Rachel turned around and watched her carefully, finally coming to sit next to her on the bed. "Are you alright, Quinn? You've seemed very quiet recently."

"Yeah. Fine."

Rachel looked at her expectantly.

Quinn stared back, sad and silent, then all of a sudden she was kissing her, hard and possessive, pushing her back into the bed for her hands to scrabble at Rachel's clothes, biting her neck and muttering something like "Mine" but it was almost indistinguishable, grabbing at her back as though this way she could keep hold of her and then she was crying.

Rachel pushed her away so she could sit up and pull her back in, hold her in her arms as she sobbed and Rachel felt the tears come too, fall into Quinn's hair as she whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Eventually, their breathing returned to normal, their cheeks dried. Quinn's face was still buried in Rachel's neck, when she heard the barely audible, "Come with me."

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life,
I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky, but why,
Why can't it be mine?

Months passed. Rachel left.

I want to break free

"Where were you last night, Puck?"

I want to break free from your lies

"Maybe if you put out once in a while I wouldn't have to stay out all night."

You're so self-satisfied

"Do you have to chew like a fucking animal all the time?"

I don't need you

"Don't swear in front of the kid."

I've got to break free

"My parent's aren't going to give us free handouts forever, you know."

God knows, God knows I want to break free

"What the hell are you crying about now?"

I've fallen in love

"Quinn, this isn't working."

He was playing with Beth on the floor, in the living room of the house her parents had bought them. She looked at him with red eyes, playing with the wedding ring on her left hand.

"I know." she said, "This is stupid, trying to make this happen."

"Mooo," he said, making Beth giggle, "Your parents will kick your ass."

The corner of her mouth twitched, "Let them."

There are things that used to make me laugh
But now they're deeply buried in the past
I left them there so far away
Replaced my humor with my pain
I'll be happy on the day it dies
Remember when I said I love you, well, forget it I take it back

Rachel was nervous, she'd changed clothes three times and it was only eight am, she'd vacuumed twice and replaced the plastic flowers on the coffee table, in case they looked like they were wilting. Now she was changing tv channels more quickly than she could register what was showing on them, uncrossing and crossing her legs and staring out of the window and towards the front door, her finger never pausing on the remote control.

It was 8:03 AM when the doorbell rang, but it seemed like hours had passed - she'd just been considering vacuuming again. In front of the closed front door, she smoothed down her shirt, straightened her back and gave the famous Rachel Berry smile, before flinging the door open.

But when she saw Quinn, looking tired, resting on the handles of a stroller, giving her a nervous smile, her face softened, and all she could do was kiss her, deep and slow.

Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange you said everything changed
You felt as if you'd just woke up