A/N: This is a WIP, and I wasn't going to post it until it was finished, but I'd really like some more feedback. I'm also thinking about writing a one-shot based on Silly Love Songs. We'll see. This has a lot of original characters, which I hate about other fics so I promise only one of them will be close to a main character. Thanks to my beta and friend, Laura. :)

Chapter 1 – The Phoenix

One of the wheels on the grocery cart was squeaking loudly with each rotation. Under the unforgiving florescent lights of the Save-a-Lot, Quinn Fabray pretended that this was the reason for every pair of eyes in the store to flicker back and forth between grocery lists, unruly children, and herself. Lima, Ohio was the definition of small town and when you were the center of as much controversy as the blonde ex-cheerleader had been in the past year, you might as well be Lindsay Lohan for all the gossip. Over the sound of the squeaking wheel, screaming children, and the Muzak playing over the loudspeaker, Quinn could barely pick out the harshly whispered "baby," then "divorce," "drunk," and finally, "bless her heart." Sighing heavily, she pushed her unrelentingly chirpy cart to the produce section and began to load up on fruits and vegetables. She was determined to lose the baby weight.

Since Beth had been born and Quinn had terminated parental rights, the blonde had changed. The Glee clubbers noticed it, little by little. She was more reserved, more cooperative, and less preachy, although not necessarily nicer. It just simply seemed that the teenage angst and drama had been drained from her when she had brought someone else into the world. She had held her baby, and felt the hitherto unparalleled want and need to give that little human everything on a silver platter. To look into that little face every day and see her endless love reflected back at her. To feel needed and important to the same person every single day, no matter what. And then she had recognized and accepted that she couldn't do any of those things, that she was sixteen, and alone, and scared, and broke. She gave that baby girl the only thing she could: the opportunity for a better life. Prior to giving birth, Quinn never would have given herself the credit for that kind of mature thinking. After giving birth, she couldn't imagine thinking about anything but what was best for her baby. If that rocked her tiny town to its foundation, so be it. Quinn knew that her actions made her Beth's mother for the rest of her life, even if she couldn't be her Mom. It didn't make it hurt any less; it didn't make her stop missing her baby. Quinn supposed that this was the real consequence of being irresponsible and getting pregnant; not having the baby, but recognizing Beth's need above her own desires.

Quinn ignored the whispers as her cart squeaked over to the apples and she began to fill one of the little plastic bags.

"Quinn?"

Quinn froze. Since the summer had begun, she had hardly seen any of her friends. They hadn't sought her out, and she didn't mind. The kind of life experience that came with having a child seemed to set her apart from them. She turned around hesitantly and was met with a tall, well kept dark-haired boy with stylish glasses and a bright smile on his face. Quinn was surprised.

"Jason?"

Her sister's ex-boyfriend enveloped her into a giant hug, "I haven't seen you in ages!" he cried. Quinn smiled softly. When Annie and Jason had been dating, the boy had been a permanent fixture at the Fabray house, but Quinn hadn't seen him since her sister had put an abrupt end to the relationship.

"How are you?" She asked, looking him over. In the four years since she had seen him, he had grown taller and thinner.

"I'm good. I'm home for summer. I'm up at the University of Cincinnati. How have you been?" he asked. Quinn began to tell him about Glee club, but just then, a pair of older women from Quinn's church passed, staring at her and talking in hushed voices. The blonde blushed in spite of herself. When she looked back to Jason, she could tell that even though he'd been away at college, he had heard all about her. Instead of looking scandalized, however, his eyes were full of pity and he appeared deep in thought. Quinn wasn't sure which would have been worse.

"Well, I should get going," she began, but he cut her off.

"Quinn, I know I'm definitely a secondary character in your life, but could we have lunch some time? Tomorrow, maybe? I have a proposition for you, and I'd really like you to consider it." Quinn raised an eyebrow. Despite the fact that the lunch could easily just be a giant pity party, something she had no desire to experience, she was intrigued. What could her sister's former love interest want with her?

"Alright," she nodded, "But not Breaksticks." Jason grinned and the two exchanged information. Quinn couldn't help but notice how much easier his smiled seemed these days. She drove home contemplating what he could possibly have in store for her.

When she got home, Quinn brought the groceries in and cleared a place on the counter for the bags as she unloaded them. The kitchen was strewn with dirty dishes, abandoned sections of the newspaper, and empty liquor bottles. She sighed as she put away her produce and began to clean up. Ever since her parents' divorce and her father's subsequent departure, her mother seemed lost, sad, and lonely, and hell bent on self-medicating with alcohol. She seemed of the same opinion of her ex-husband, that if Quinn had birthed a child, she was no longer one herself and was no longer in need of parenting. All Quinn saw of her father since she had returned home was a monthly check that more than covered her and her mother's living expenses. Quinn knew it was guilt money and lost no sleep over cashing each and every check. As Quinn closed the refrigerator door, Judy shuffled in wearing her bathrobe, clutching a sweating glass full of melting ice and amber colored liquid.

"Oh, hello, dear." Judy smiled vaguely as she took a seat on one of the barstools at the island in the center of the room.

"Hi, Mom. I bought some groceries." Quinn placed some dishes in the dishwasher.

"Oh, thank you, Quinnie. Very sweet." The older Fabray woman downed some of her drink and pulled a section of the newspaper toward her. It was a month old.

"I ran into Jason today at the supermarket."

"Hmm? Oh, is that one of your little singing friends dear?" Judy didn't look up from the paper, but Quinn could also see she wasn't quite reading anything there, either.

"No, Mom, Jason Attkisson. Remember? Annie's old boyfriend?" Quinn studied her mother's vacant expression.

"Oh, yes, dear, Jason. From the choir at church." Mrs. Fabray stood and shuffled out of the kitchen as Quinn nodded, and the younger Fabray sighed and collected all the old newspapers. She needed to get out of the house; her mother was going to drive her insane.

The next day was hot, and Quinn spent the morning trying to get the house clean while her mother slept in. By eleven, she had managed to clean the kitchen and living room and got ready to meet Jason, reluctantly changing into one of her sundresses. The former cheerleader still had no idea what this "proposition" was that Jason had mentioned, and was wary of the boy's intentions. Although, Quinn mused to herself as she fixed her hair in her vanity mirror, if he was going to make a move he was certainly going about it in an unusual way.

Downtown Lima hardly constituted as a "downtown" area. It boasted a few square blocks of taller business buildings, nothing above ten stories besides the massive bank, and a few shops and art galleries situated around what was commonly referred to as "Lima Square," which consisted of an extended sidewalk and three park benches. And of course, there was Breasticks, and the movie theater. This was as far downtown as Quinn had ever had cause to go, and had to admit she was curious as to what lay on the south side of Elm Street.

The GPS in the car led her onto Metcalf Drive, past the shops she had at one time frequented, until the neighborhood became abruptly industrial. She turned the car onto Albert Street and began looking for the restaurant. She felt her blood starting to boil, sure Jason had put her up to something. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number, stopping the car on the side of the street.

"Quinn!" he sounded cheerful. The blonde scowled, sure now that he had been playing a joke on her.

"Listen, choirboy, your little pranks may work with your frat boys back in Cincinnati but I really hope you didn't think you could get away with sending me to the middle of Egypt for no reason and-"

"Quinn!" Jason interrupted her monologue, biting back laughter. "Quinn, look to your right."

Jason was standing on the sidewalk beside her car, waving sheepishly. Quinn opened and shut her mouth and then hung up the phone, climbing out of the car.

"What kind of a place is this to eat lunch?" She snapped, coming around the back of the car to stand beside him. Jason chuckled.

"It's okay, I forgive you for accusing me of being an asshole." Quinn ignored him and looked at the building in front of them. It was in bad need of a paint job and sat low to the ground, like it was tired. It was clearly an old storefront, but a hopeful little sign above the door read The Phoenix Theatre. Quinn turned to Jason with narrowed eyes.

"What is this?" she asked accusatorily. Jason threw his hands up in a sign of innocence.

"Relax! I just brought you here to meet a few of my friends before we go to lunch. It's all part of my proposition." He held the door open for her. Quinn passed through, still wary.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did she saw a very small lobby painted a deep red color with framed production posters lining the walls. A tiny box office window sat to one side with a square of plywood covering it from the inside. Across from the front door were two large double doors, painted black, and on the opposite side of the long, skinny lobby, across from the box office was a door marked "restroom." Jason grinned at her again.

"Home sweet home!" he announced, and crossed to a door in the corner beside the box office that Quinn hadn't noticed before, as it was painted the same red color as the walls. "Come on."

She followed him through the door into an extremely narrow hallway. Along the walls were shelves and hooks that housed the most random assortment of objects Quinn had ever seen. Boxes, books, candelabras, swords, spectacles, tea sets, maracas, daggers, mirrors, chipped china dishes, framed portraits, desk lamps, old telephones, and even an ancient metal cash register, all sat under layers of dust of varying thicknesses. Quinn tried not to trip as she gawked while simultaneously maneuvering around the boxes along the floor. It was like walking through a never-ending pawn shop. Eventually the hallway widened slightly and they passed a few empty tables and another black door before making a sharp left onto another hall, this one completely clear of clutter and slightly wider. It was lined with bulletin boards and several other doors. Jason opened the nearest of these and pulled Quinn into a mid-sized room that was also full of random, assorted junk as well as wooden platforms and stray walls from stage sets. There were also four sofas from varying time periods. Two large bookcases stood with their backs to the room, sectioning off the far corner. Quinn could hear the sound of typing.

"Rod?" Jason called out, and there was a grunt and scraping of chair as "Rod" slowly climbed out from between the bookcases. As Jason drew her nearer, she saw there was a desk and filing cabinet crammed into the makeshift office behind the bookcases.

"Rod," Jason continued, "This is Quinn. Quinn, Rod. I used to date Quinn's sister."

Quinn watched as Rod, for some reason, let his head fall back as he laughed loudly. He was an older man with salt and pepper hair and a small belly that hung over his belt buckle.

"Nice to meet you, Quinn," he stuck out a hand and she shook it gingerly, "Rodney Arbaugh."

"Rod owns the theatre and is the resident director." Jason said. Quinn nodded and looked around, still not sure why Jason had brought her here.

"Rod?" a woman's voice came from the hallway they had just left, and as Quinn turned she saw a tall, thin woman with blonde hair appear in the doorframe, followed by a girl who had to be about thirteen and a fit-looking middle-aged man. They all squeezed into the room.

"Oh, I didn't realize we had company!" The woman smiled warmly.

"Quinn, this is Nancy, she's Rod's wife, and this is their daughter, Tiffany. And this is Allan, the technical director. Everyone, this is Quinn. I dated her sister in high school." Again, everyone laughed and Allan even slapped Jason on the shoulder. Quinn was about ready to go; these people were weird, until, amidst the "nice-to-meet-yous" she realized something was missing. None of these people were nudging each other and whispering while avoiding eye contact with her. In fact, despite their inappropriate laughter, they were all warm and friendly. They asked her where she went to school and joked about what Jason must have been like in high school. Quinn realized it was the most pleasant and friendly interaction she'd experienced in a long time.

After a few moments she felt comfortable enough to ask, "So, what kind of plays do you guys do here?"

Rod smiled, "Well, in December we did A Lion in Winter and in March we did On Golden Pond," He glanced at Jason, "And now we're getting ready to start rehearsals for our summer musical, which will be Songs for a New World this year." Quinn nodded politely, having only heard of the first two as old movies her mom sometimes watched. Rod and Jason were exchanging looks. Quinn shifted uncomfortably.

"Listen, Quinn, that proposition I told you about. It's really a proposition from everyone here," Quinn's eyebrows jumped and looked around at all of them. They looked hopeful as Jason continued, "You see, I'm an understudy in the show but I'm also the stage manager," he paused. Quinn had no idea what a stage manager was so she waited for him to continue. "Well," he rambled on, "we were thinking about all that responsibility and we decided, you know, I could use an assistant. But I don't know anyone in town anymore, really, and so when I saw you yesterday and I realized how much you've grown up since I last saw you, well, I figured, you could be my assistant."

Quinn looked incredulously from him to Rod, who was nodding, although looking at Jason as though he thought the speech could have been more convincing.

"Uh," Quinn began, feeling uncomfortable, "I don't even know what a stage manager is…"

"That's okay!" Nancy said quickly, smiling warmly again, "It's easy to learn. It'll be a wonderful experience!"

Quinn shook her head, "Look, it was great to meet everyone and your shows sound great but I really don't have any clue as to why you would even think I'd want to do this." She looked at Jason accusatorily. He shrugged.

"You were grocery shopping for your parents, I kind of assumed you didn't have anything better to do." Quinn's eyes narrowed as Allan spoke up.

"Listen, kiddo, no one's forcing you but I will tell you it can be a blast working in here."

"We'd really love for you to come and work with us," Rod said kindly, "but of course if you're not interested, that's fine, too."

Quinn bit her lip. It was the first time anyone had expressed any real interest in having her around in a long time.

"Could I…think about it?" she asked, looking at Jason, "Maybe you could explain it a little bit more during lunch?"

Everyone beamed and nodded as if she'd already said yes.