You Do Want To Get Married, Don't You?:

"Busy day today?" Quinn asked over breakfast.

"Yeah, I've got a couple more songs to record, we're hoping to have finished one by today."

"How many do you have officially finished?"

"Five,"

"So another five to go?"

"Well we were thinking of ten official tracks and then a bonus track,"

"Sounds good. How's it going with the technician?"

"Much better, we have a good time together now. He's a cool guy and you were right he'd never seen me perform on Broadway. We talked about a couple of tracks and when he said he didn't think I was able to hit the higher notes, I needed to show him that I could."

"You showed him a video didn't you?" Quinn asked quirking her eyebrow upwards. Rachel blushed under Quinn's intense gaze. "I totally knew it!"

"I couldn't help it. He had to see that I can totally kill 'Defying Gravity' and that no song is out of my range."

"Yeah I get it baby, I'm just happy that everything's going well."

"I feel bad that our wedding plans haven't been happening lately."

"Don't worry we just might have to push back the July idea,"

"No! I really wanted a summer wedding. It'll be far too hot in August."

"Well why not September? The leaves will be falling and it'll be really romantic."

"But I wanted July," Rachel pouted.

"It's mid February though,"

"We could go look at reception venues tomorrow, I'm free from the studio and you set your own schedule."

"I'll have to see because I really need to get this draft finished by this weekend."

"Oh ok, well we'll talk when I get home?" Rachel said grabbing her purse off the counter.

"Sure thing," Quinn said pouring herself another cup of coffee. Rachel chastely pecked her lips before heading out of the apartment. Once outside she slouched against the wall and released a deep sigh. She thought Quinn would be excited about looking for a venue for their forthcoming wedding. She took a long stride to the elevator and just hoped that her fiancée would have a good day and would be more willing to discuss venues when she got home from the studio later.

"Let's run the chorus again," Stu said pressing the talkback button in the booth.

"How can I make it different?"

"I'm going to slow it down just a little bit so you can do the first one slowly and then build up the finale of the song."

"Sounds great," Rachel said pulling the headphones back on securely. She heard the bridge of the song and then the chorus slowly began to play. It was a slightly slower version than the original. Rachel knew the song well and was glad when they'd allowed her the rights to it. She'd sung it before and loved it dearly.

"So who do you think you are?

Running round leaving scars,

Collecting your jar of hearts.

You're gonna catch a cold,

From the ice inside your soul.

So don't come back for me,

Who do you think you are?"

She sang softly and quietly, desperately searching for the right balance. She tried to lock in her emotion. It wasn't a song she could emotionally connect to Quinn. She knew the blonde would never hurt her. She was always going to be there. She gave it a few attempts when finally she knew she'd hit it. It was so soft it was almost chilling. It would give her a great boost when she finally got to the final chorus when she could belt the notes out of the water. Rachel wasn't naïve enough to think that Quinn was at the forefront of her mind the first time she'd sang this song. She really was singing it to Finn. He had broken her heart and at the time Quinn didn't realise that neither of them needed to be with him. They needed to find each other.

A couple of hours later, she hung up her headphones and was getting ready to leave the studio when her phone rang. It was her label manager.

"Rachel? I'm so glad I've finally caught you at a good time."

"Hi Gerry, is everything ok?"

"I should be asking you that, you just got out of the studio, right?"

"I did indeed."

"Well? Was it a good session?"

"Yeah pretty good. I'm happy with the outcome so far."

"We are too. Stu sent us a demo of 'Without You' the other day and it blew us away." Gerry gushed. "You are a solid investment Rachel Berry!"

"Well thanks, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and if it makes you happy then I'm happy."

"Well we're generating a small buzz about your album. We've placed advertisements in a couple of magazines and we are trying to shake off the 'Broadway' tag when it comes to you."

"What's bad about the 'Broadway' tag?"

"Nothing per se. It's just we need you to be more marketable for non-Broadway lovers."

"Oh, so more sales?"

"Exactly! The buzz has been okay so far, we're going to release a song via the internet when they're finished and see what happens."

"That sounds great,"

"We thought so," he laughed. "Well if you get a big buzz we do want to do a tour, so we need to discuss locations with you."

"A tour?" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yes. We're staying in the US for now, but we wouldn't be opposed to London, Manchester and Dublin possibly."

"Wow. That's amazing."

"It certainly is. I know how busy you are, but I noticed you should have a free day tomorrow. Can you come in for a meeting? I know its short notice but we've been trying to arrange something with you for a while. Stu's been holding you captive in that studio."

"Well my fiancée and I were going to look at venues for our wedding tomorrow. I'm going home to discuss whether we can go tomorrow or not right now actually."

"Look Rachel, it's extremely difficult to get everyone on our team in one room at the same time, if it's not tomorrow then I have no idea when it could next be."

"I understand that, but we're looking at getting married in July. We really need a venue."

"So go on Friday after you've been in the studio. Do this for me Rachel, just this once. I promise I'll never ask you to compromise your wedding plans again." Gerry begged. He was desperate. Rachel was his big coup, he couldn't let her lose this opportunity. He heard Rachel sigh into the speaker.

"Ok. I'll do it. I doubt Quinn will be available to go tomorrow anyway."

"Okay. It's meeting room twelve on the third floor at eleven."

"No problem. I'll be there."

"Thanks again Rachel."

"No thank you. It is a fantastic opportunity."

"That it is! See you tomorrow, Rachel."

"Bye Gerry."

Rachel hung up and put her phone away. She was screwed if Quinn wanted to go and look at venues tomorrow. Even if she did it wouldn't take the whole day, or so she convinced herself. Who was she kidding? She was a high maintenance diva who was hell bent on finding the perfect reception venue for her first evening as the wife of Quinn Fabray. It had to be perfect. She sighed once more when she knew that finding that perfect venue was going to be that bit more difficult with one less day to do it. She would have given Gerry an outright 'no' to the meeting if Quinn had given her a definite 'yes' but she hadn't. It was either take the meeting or do nothing around the house while Quinn worked in her office.

Quinn meanwhile was firing through her novel. She was really impressed with what she'd created so far. It was hard at first to tap into her past but she knew she wouldn't be alone in losing her parents love and respect. She felt bad denying Rachel the opportunity to look for venues but she was on a creative rush. She thought the diva would understand. It wasn't like she was saying 'no' completely; she just wanted to make sure that going out wouldn't mess with her creativity. As her fingers tapped the keys ferociously she began to smile. It felt good writing all of the hurt she felt then and knowing how she feels now always makes it worth it.

Her protagonist was created from the worst bits of Quinn's personality. Well the old Quinn. Her character was: selfish, angry, repressed and cruel. Quinn sat back and thought about how long it had been since she'd been able to describe herself like that. It was necessary though, she needed to show the true journey of her character; of herself. Sure she was still repressed in college but finding writing had helped her come to terms with that. Her girlfriend at the time had helped her deal with that too. She frowned at the memory of her first girlfriend, it felt like such a long time ago. She was truthful when she'd said to Lindsay none of her past girlfriends would sell a story on her. It wasn't like there was a lengthy list of them. She treated them well. She was attentive and loving. At times she'd been a workaholic sometimes working three jobs and writing on the side but then Lindsay came along and completely changed her perspective on dating.

Lindsay was a breath of fresh air to Quinn. She'd just found the coffee shop where Quinn was working at. She took her drink to a booth and pulled out a pile of manuscripts. Quinn watched as this woman just sat and did her work with the business of the shop just passing her by. Quinn sighed when she watched as she put one manuscript to the side without as much as a glance. 'Wow' was all Quinn could think. She suddenly understood how ruthless the industry could be. She shook her head and continued with her work. Unbeknown to her but the woman with the manuscripts kept glancing across at her too. The minute Quinn looked around for any tables to wait on or to clean she would drop her head. She was impressed by the simply beauty of the blonde waitress. For the next couple of weeks Lindsay would bring her manuscripts back to the same coffee shop and would run through them. She didn't know whether she liked the environment or the attractive blonde who would not so subtly check her out as she walked past.

Sick of the constant tiptoeing around each other, Lindsay beckoned the waitress across and politely asked for a refill. Quinn obliged, knowing if she did so promptly and politely she was more likely to be tipped more than normal. She placed it gently on the table in front of the woman and began to turn around and return to her place at the counter. It had been a slow afternoon and Quinn had brought her notebook and was developing her characters. She'd written her first rough outline of 'From Old Foes To New Friends' a couple of weeks earlier. She always found it odd when she tried to develop her characters because it was as if she was developing herself. She found it oddly soothing though, she could create someone she aspired to be. However, the woman kindly asked her to sit down. Looking around and seeing no tables needed waited on and there was no one waiting to be served Quinn obliged. They chatted for a while before Quinn had to go back to work. Their interactions continued for a couple of months before Quinn finally got the guts to ask what it was the woman did. She knew she read manuscripts but then did she pass them on to an editor or to a publisher? Quinn wasn't one hundred per cent sure how the industry worked and if this woman could point her in the right direction then she would.

It was a few months later before Quinn handed Lindsay a manuscript of 'From Old Foes To New Friends' but the minute she did, she felt free. She'd accepted her sexuality a few years ago but finally handing something over that would only cement that to her at least, was a weight off her shoulders. Once Lindsay had read through and given it back to Quinn with some notes, she told her that she needed to stop dating. By stopping dating she'd be able to delve back into the part of her life where she'd been repressed for so long. Lindsay said all of this knowing that Quinn was the protagonist. The more Quinn fell in love with someone else the harder it would be to get back into the part of her heart where she held the pain of a failed relationship. Lindsay was right, because it got her noticed. Not just by publishers but eventually by Rachel. Although it took Rachel that coffee shop meeting with Quinn to finally understand it was about her, they were together and something Quinn had wanted since she was seventeen had been achieved.

Lindsay and Quinn had fiery chemistry, often discussing plot continuity and character development to well into the night. Both were stubborn and thought they knew what was best. Despite their initial attraction and the subtle glances, nothing ever transpired. Lindsay wasn't stupid enough to think that Quinn's heart would ever belong to someone else and Quinn herself thought the same. Soon enough they became colleagues and would laugh about their initial feelings for the other.

Quinn was brought from her thoughts when she heard Rachel arrive home. Sighing and preparing for their no doubt heated discussion, Quinn saved her work and exited her office. Rachel was taking some vegetables out of the fridge when Quinn got to the kitchen.

"Hey," Quinn greeted safely.

"Hi," Rachel replied as she washed the bell peppers before beginning to chop them.

"Good day?"

"It was ok,"

"Can I help with anything?"

"No, I'm all good." Quinn wasn't sure why she was getting such cold treatment from her fiancée, but she sure enough was about to find out.

"Rachel, can that wait a minute?"

"I really wanted to eat before it gets too late. I need an early night I have a big day tomorrow."

"I thought you wanted to look at venues tomorrow?" Quinn asked.

"Well since you couldn't give me a definite answer, I've booked a meeting with the label for tomorrow. They've been desperate to arrange one and I wasn't sure when I could make it."

"Oh, okay then." Quinn sighed. "Look Rachel, I'm sorry about this morning."

"Do you actually know why you're apologising Quinn? Or are you doing it because you think you need to?"

"Both I guess. I'm sorry I couldn't give you the perfect answer. I have deadlines too. I might set my own schedule but that doesn't mean I can clear it because you've finally got a free day and want to plan our wedding."

"I'm sorry. I was under the impression you wanted to get married!" Rachel said beginning to raise her voice. She had diced the peppers up that much in her anger that they were close to becoming nothing. She put the knife down and turned to face the blonde.

"Oh don't you dare pull that one on me. Don't make me be the bad guy here, Rachel. I do want to marry you. That's why I asked didn't I?" Quinn replied beginning to lose her cool.

"If you really wanted to then you'd take a few hours out of your schedule and go look for a venue with me."

"If you really wanted to get married then you'd be taking time out of your schedule too. It works both ways Rachel!" Quinn argued. "Don't even try and come back with 'the studio books my time I'm restricted, unlike you' line because I am restricted. I want this out by May, do you know how stressful that is on me? I'm delving into stuff I haven't thought about since I was sixteen. I'm emotionally exhausted, have you ever considered that?"

"Of course I have."

"You have a fantastic way of showing it!" Quinn said shaking with anger. Rachel slowly and cautiously moved over to her. She gently reached out and tried to touch the blonde's arm. Quinn pulled away.

"Quinn! Calm down, right now!" Rachel shouted.

"You're scaring me. I'm sorry ok! I shouldn't have just demanded you to take time off because I had the time free. We work better together, not when one's calling the shots." Rachel said her voice beginning to soften with every word.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm just your puppet, today was one of those days."

"I know and I'm sorry for that. It's just I know I don't get a lot of time off and I really want to plan this wedding too. I just wanted you to be more enthusiastic about it."

"I am enthusiastic but you have to understand that I'm under a lot of pressure too." Quinn said as she calmed down. Rachel had begun drawing soothing circles on her arms. Quinn pulled away and wrapped her arms around her fiancée. Her hands resting on the small of the singer's back.

"I do understand, sometimes I just get caught up in everything going on in my life. I'm selfish, you know that."

"You're not selfish," Quinn argued. "You're just focused."

"I should be focusing on us, not just me though."

"I should be focusing on us too. You're not the only one that wants to get married in this relationship."

"I'm sorry that I questioned whether you really wanted to marry me or not. I know the answer to that." Rachel said as she looked down at the ring on her finger. It sparkled up at her before she looked back at her fiancée. She stared deep into the hazel eyes and all she saw for miles was love. It literally poured out of Quinn. How could she doubt the blonde's commitment to their relationship? She knew right then that she would never do that again.

"I'm sorry too. For everything. Especially for losing my temper like that, I never meant to scare you." Quinn said tightening her hold on the diva. She held her tighter like she was protecting her from herself. Quinn pressed her lips to Rachel's forehead and left them there. Eventually she pulled away and dropped her forehead to rest on the brunette's. Rachel instantly lifted her head slightly and kissed her fiancée tenderly.

"Want to skip dinner?" She asked softly. "I'm not hungry anymore. I just want to cuddle with you on the couch instead."

"Whatever you want babe." Quinn replied.

"Whatever we want." Rachel corrected before leading them to the lounge.