Note: Hey! I did try to get this up sooner but with GCSEs and competitions and dancing and such I have been left with no time! Anyway, thank-you so much to those who reviewed, alerted or favorited last chapter and to all of you for just still reading this! Sorry for any mistakes, I wrote most of it at 4am and some of it following 3 all nighters and so some stuff may make no sense! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Yeah... So... 'Glee'=not mine. All clear :)

Quinn groaned as she squirmed under the covers. She winced slightly as she snuggled further into the warm pillow next to her. The constant ache of her body sent her non-chronological flashbacks of yesterday's events, but the rest was just a blur, whilst the throbbing of her wrists reminded her of what she had done to make it all seem okay. 'The fucking bullshit.' Quinn thought as she subconsciously nursed her wounds. Her current light state of mind was soon darkening as negativity started to shadow her. For now though, she tried not to think, tried not to cry, and just tried to breathe. She cuddled in closer, finding comfort in the warm... Body? Quinn quirked open her left eye.

'Hey sleepyhead.' Quinn heard the brunette greet warmly next to her.

'Shit!' Quinn half-screamed as she jumped up viciously. 'I'm so sorry Rachel...' Quinn stuttered as fast as she could.

'Why are you sorry?' the brunette asked, now sat up, truly confused by the situation.

'I-I forgot tha... That it was you there...' Quinn managed to force out through her loss of words.

'Oh, Quinn, it is fine- it was probably me. I am known to be a cuddler in my sleep.' the brunette smiled goofily. 'Now come back here?' Quinn stumbled lazily back over to the bed, the pain of the sudden movement starting to take over. The brunette offered her hand to the sleepy blonde who immediately slumped back into the pillow.

'So, how come you are dressed?' Quinn mumbled as she looked at the girl who was currently wearing sweats.

'I have to leave for school in half an hour, so I figured I would get ready and just change last minute. You know, I have compromised my morning rituals for you?' Rachel smiled.

'I'm sorry.' Quinn's voice dropped.

'I'm not.' the two smiled deep into each other, letting the warmth of the others upturned lips spread through their bodies.

'You didn't have to do that for me.' the blonde ducked her head. Rachel reached out, tucking a piece of the blonde's hair behind her ear.

'You are always worth it,' Quinn could have sworn she was blushing by now, 'remember that.' she simply nodded with large, admiring, vulnerable eyes. Rachel's hand remained lingering on the other's pale skin, stroking her thumb backwards and forth in a soothing motion. 'I never want to lose you.' Rachel spoke softly, boring into hazel eyes.

'I promise never to leave you, Rachel.' Quinn replied without hesitance. 'And even if I tried, I just couldn't- you don't know it but you mean so much to me. You have always meant so much to me. I promise to never abandon you... Ever.' Quinn reached up and held her hand to hold Rachel's which was still tracing delicate patterns on her soft cheek.

'Rachel!' LeRoy knocked on the door. 'You have twenty minutes until you need to leave!' Neither girl wanted to pay any attention, they just wanted to stay locked in that moment, with eachother's eyes so full of promise and hope. 'Rachel!' She chose to ignore him again. Quinn held on to Rachel's hand tighter as the smaller girl spoke.

'I don't understand how you were able to go through so much, all this time alone.' The blonde slowly began to turn away from Rachel in order to try and hide the shame creeping into her features. Tears of guilt rose in her eyes as Rachel continued 'You must be so strong, never faltered, never even let on.' 'Where are you going?' The brunette asked as Quinn stood up and started moving quickly towards the bathroom.

'I need to get ready for school.' Quinn spoke through the sobs she was yearning to be able to contain.

'Rachel!' She heard her dad call louder.

'Okay, I'm nearly ready!' she shouted back, before following Quinn immediately in order to prevent her from closing the door. 'Wait Quinn, please?' she placed a soft hand onto Quinn's upper arm. 'Please can you stay home just today, please?' Quinn did not turn around, but she communicated to Rachel whilst looking at their reflections through their eyes in their reflections in the mirror before her. 'Please?... For me..?' Quinn shook her head as she spoke,

'I'm going in to school, I'm fine.' she shifted her gaze as she spoke those last few words, hating the fact she had to lie to Rachel.

'Stop with the lies,' Quinn was taken aback by Rachel's sudden outburst, 'please. I know that you are not fine. So please? Just for the day?'

'You don't understand Rachel,' Quinn turned to shut the door, 'I'm sorry.' Rachel put her foot in the door in order to stop the blonde from closing it.

'Then help me to understand.' Rachel insisted, removing her foot. Quinn squeezed her eyes slowly shut, furrowing her eyebrows, before lowering her head. She closed the door slowly, causing the dark wood to be within an inch of the brunette's face.

The blond locked the door almost immediately. Quinn sighed, letting her unshed tears fall. Walking over to the sink, she retrieved the blade she remembered from before she went to sleep.

Rachel was sat, her back leaning against the door, and her arms resting on her slightly bent legs. She tilted her head back, releasing a long, shaky breath.

'I'm sorry.' Rachel heard the whisper through the door.

Quinn took the small metal implement to the skin on the top of her right forearm. She watched as the blade painted delicate, intricate lines of crimson on to the skin she had not marked those mere hours ago. Once the canvas was filled, she placed the blade next to the sink, the red blood prominent in contrast to the white surface. The blonde pulled out a wad of tissues, pressing them firmly to her arm in order to stop the bleeding. As she pressed, the sharp pain was present again as it felt as through the blade was still in there, whilst she let the soothing pain to take over. This was her private escape, allowing her soul to run free from it all.

Quinn slid down to the floor with her back against the door, practically unknowingly mirroring Rachel. She let out a long sigh before replying 'I need to make everything else normal.' She spoke aloud, only just audible to the other girl.

'What?' Rachel asked, confusion etched across her features.

'You wanted to understand.' Quinn breathed, 'So I want you to understand too.' She removed the soft paper from her arm, giving her chance to inspect her still bleeding wounds. 'School is the one place where I can pretend that none of this happens, where I can be that person with the perfect life.'

'Nobody will think any less of you just for one day.' Rachel offered.

'But that is one day less of life I get to live.'

'It shouldn't be like this Quinn; it shouldn't be this way.'

'But it is how it is. Nothing can change that.'

'We can change it, Quinn.' Rachel was turned facing the door now on her knees. 'All we need to do is tell someone, even if it is Mr Schue, or even my dads. Someone just needs to know, someone who can help. And if you don't tell someone, then I just might have to.' She then heard the familiar click of the door lock as it opened slightly, revealing Quinn on her knees, just visible through the opened crack. Her sleeves were pulled tight down, bunched into her fists, and tears lined her face.

'Please don't tell anyone. Please, that is all I ask.' The blonde pleaded.

'I can't promise not to; I hate seeing you like this, knowing what he does to you, knowing that next time it happens, he may make you never live the same again, or even worse, you may not live at all. And I can't bare that. I care about you Quinn, and I know you think that nobody gives a damn about you, but they really do- especially me. And I'm not losing this battle Quinn. I'm not losing you.' Water was leaking from both pairs of eyes now. Quinn looked to the floor, more droplets of water running through her eyelashes before splashing the tiled floor. Rachel opened the door a little more, just wide enough to fit her hand through to offer to Quinn. The taller girl took the tanned hand, however, she gripped on to it with her fingers only, in fear of what might otherwise be revealed.

'Don't let my shit excuse of a life effect you. Please.' Quinn pleaded. Rachel simply shook her head as she squeezed Quinn's hand a little tighter. 'So how about a compromise? I will go into school, but I won't go in first thing. How about that?'

'Okay.' Rachel smiled. 'What do you have first period?'

'Math. You have a free period, don't you?'

'Yes, but I normally spend it in the-'

'in the library, normally in the theatre section, or if not, you go to Between the Sheets to pick out a selection of trial songs for glee club, which both showcase your perfect pitch, vocal range and emotional depth.' Quinn laughed. 'I should not know this.'

'How do you?' Rachel too began to laugh.

'I have my sources.' Quinn joked, winking. Both girls stood up simultaneously before walking over to the bed hand in hand. Quinn climbed back under the covers, cautious not to aggravate any of her already painful injuries. Rachel sat next to Quinn, her torso propped up against the headboard. 'Stay with me?' One glance into those vulnerable, almost child like, hazel eyes was all it took to make Rachel nod in agreement, laying back down on to her left side, mirroring Quinn, putting their faces mere inches apart.

'Can I ask you something?' Rachel asked, slightly hesitant. Quinn simply nodded in response. 'Why were there pregnancy tests in your bin? Are you.. Are you...' Rachel hesitated, '... Pregnant?'

'No... No. I was telling the truth about them being from when I had Be- when I was pregnant. I don't know, it is just like that is the only part of her I have left.' Quinn diverted her eyes from Rachel's comforting gaze. 'I don't want to let go of my daughter, not yet.' Rachel tried to process all of this in her mind. With all of these recent problems, the brunette had forgotten all about little Beth; she felt her chest tighten further as she realised that not only was she having to deal with all of this crap at her home, she also had to mentally about Beth. She realised that Quinn still wasn't over her, nor would she expect her to be, but also that the baby had left Quinn just completely fucked up. Those were the only words she could find to describe it, even though she wasn't one to curse. She breathed deeply, her head aching slightly with all of this emotional stress whilst the blonde sighed as a mental argument began about what to tell Rachel- she didn't speak for a few moments until she had decided to tell her the truth, 'I... I thought I was again.' She closed her eyes as she mumbled those difficult words. The tests... They told me I was and I was so, so scared.' Quinn's voice was thick with tears she was trying so desperately to hide. 'It was in that moment that I couldn't take anymore of it, of all this shit.' The girl was angry, angry at herself for what happened, angry at him, at Puck, at everyone, but that just made her self-hatred grow more for getting mad at everyone. 'That was the moment that I decided I couldn't take anymore of this. I had just had it... W-with everything. I didn't want to have to wake up the next day knowing that it was just another day of utter shit, or at all... Ever. And I had tried so hard to be perfect... I tried so hard to sort everything out, but I couldn't. And I knew that no-one would care if I was gone... My father would be mad that he no longer had his punch- bag and that would be all. Everyone else would just pass over the thought... Only pretending to care long enough to make them seem human. To make me feel human. And if that was what I could feel, even just for a split second, I didn't care for the consequences no longer. I wouldn't have been around to take them. So...' Quinn took another shaky breath, daring a chance to look back to Rachel to see of she was still following. 'So I... I just...' Quinn closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, determined to sound strong for just her next few words at least. 'I tried to end it all.' Quinn started rushing through her words as she too broke down with Rachel and cried, 'But then S-Santana called. She sort of new what I was doing. She doesn't know like you, but she knows that I am in a bad place. When she realised what I was trying to do, she started shouting at me in Spanish,' she chuckled slightly at the memory, 'And then she did even louder in English. Until then I could have sworn it was impossible for someone to create a whole paragraph of curses and let alone have the need to say it. But I needed that. I needed her to wake me up and rescue me from... Well... from me. We were on the phone for hours, until she was sure I wouldn't do anything stupid. That was why she was so scared the other day that I had reached that point again.'

'I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea.' Rachel had tears streaming down her face, as she looked up with complete empathy.

'No, I was an idiot. And how were you to know? But anyway, I went to the doctor a little while after and they confirmed it. It was another little girl. But... There were... Issues. The baby had to be a-aborted. What I felt then, it was like nothing I had felt in a while. I felt as though suddenly this weight was taken off my shoulders and I felt... I was happy. I was so scared about this little baby, my baby girl- I couldn't bring it into this word. She deserved so much more than she would have ever got, she deserved a family, a home... Love.'

'Quinn...' Rachel breathed, her tear stained face mirroring that of Quinn's. Rachel brought her hand up to smooth the other girl's hair, suppressing her inner want to do nothing more than just hold that girl tight to her until all of the darkness in this world had disappeared forever. Quinn's tone dropped as she became deadly serious with her next words,

'That is why I can't go to the hospital ever again, understand? They were already interrogating my parents, asking where the bruises were from and why I had old and new injuries. I was the one who lied. I could have gotten out of it all then, but when my parents looked at me horrified, I just had to. And I know it sounds stupid; the fact that my parents were frozen, yet I still saved their asses, but you can not understand how it feels unless you have been there. Felt the inner fire inside like I did. They had police officers, child workers and everything in. I just told them I was badly bullied, but the school were dealing with it now, and they didn't see through me, thankfully. I prayed desperately through the pain that no-one would find out and I still do, even though I don't even know if I believe anymore. And it never happened. But... But it makes me think that someone finding out was the best thing that ever happened to me, because it brought you to me.' Quinn released the sobs that she could no longer refrain from emitting. The brunette still led there, her mind and heart in pieces as she tried to pull herself together to then piece together the broken mess of a girl that lay before her. She kept her fingers running through blond hair for only a moment longer before she brushed her hand down to wrap her arm firmly around Quinn's waist.

'Was it... Was it his?' The other girl simply nodded as her body wracked with sobs. Rachel held the girl even tighter, ensuring that she could make the other girl know that she was grounded, that she was safe in her arms. Rachel soothed her own breathing as she opened her mouth, singing softly;

When I look into your eyes,

I can see a love restrained,

But darlin' when I hold you,

Don't you know I feel the same?

'Cause nothin' lasts forever,

And we both know hearts can change,

And it's hard to hold a candle,

In the cold November rain.

She watched as Quinn's eyes slowly began to dry and her breaths became smoother, as she continued;

We've been through this such a long long time,

Just tryin' to kill the pain,

But lovers always come and lovers always go,

And no one's really sure who's lettin' go today,

Walking away.

If we could take the time,

To lay it on the line,

I could rest my head,

Just knowin' that you were mine,

All mine.

So if you want to love me,

Then darlin' don't refrain,

Or I'll just end up walkin',

In the cold November rain.

Rachel continued to lull. This was the first song that came to mind right now, knowing that this was the thing she could do best to comfort the other girl. The other thing was to just hold her, lay there and hold her in her arms, never letting her go.

Do you need some time...on your own?

Do you need some time...all alone?

Everybody needs some time...

On their own,

Don't you know you need some time...all alone?

I know it's hard to keep an open heart,

When even friends seem out to harm you,

But if you could heal a broken heart,

Wouldn't time be out to charm you?

Sometimes I need some time...on my

Own,

Sometimes I need some time...all alone,

Everybody needs some time...

On their own,

Don't you know you need some time...all alone?

The brunette noticed as Quinn's softened eyes began to flutter closed, yet she didn't stop;

And when your fears subside,

And shadows still remain,

I know that you can love me,

When there's no one left to blame.

So never mind the darkness,

We still can find a way,

'Cause nothin' lasts forever,

Even cold November rain.

Don't ya think that you need somebody?

Don't ya think that you need someone?

Everybody needs somebody,

You're not the only one,

You're not the only one.

Rachel held Quinn even tighter. Their bodies fitting perfectly together. She pulled her close, enclosing the blond, protecting her from the dark shadows that kept trying to engulf her and from the taunting ghouls that haunted Quinn's tainted mind, tearing her down from within. The air fell silent as they both fell in to a trance- like state. The silence was soothing, and only the soft sound of the two of them breathing laced the air. Breathing. The simple thing had never sounded so beautiful as it did right now. Breathing... Simple. Just to breathe.

Song= 'November Rain' by Guns N' Roses, but Rachel is singing a softer, sweeter version :)

Note: Thanks for reading! :) Please, as always, let me know what you thought about this chapter and if you want me to continue. I may start posting on my profile to let you know how long it will be until an update as at the moment I have no clue sorry! (And also sorry about the lack of what actually happened in this chapter- I was going to include the whole day, but then it started writing itself and I wanted to get this uploaded as otherwise it would be doubly long until I did. So, yeah, Sorry!) Thank-you again! And I hope you have a good week! Xx