Quinn's eyes traced over the smooth bench of the Berry's kitchen, the light granite was clean and well presented. Upon it sat two water bottles, one was opened and already half consumed, the other which was Quinn's sat undisturbed. She stared at the plastic bottle intently, watching as a small droplet of water tracked its way to the bench below. Rachel was standing behind the island, talking insistently about the assignment Mr. Schue had set for them and why working together would be good for their relationship – enemies coming together – or something like that.

Quinn just nodded along when she thought it was needed, she honestly didn't mind that she was partnered with Rachel. Sure, she'd have preferred Santana or Sam, maybe at a stretch Artie – because silently she thought that her voice was much more suited to those three, than Rachel. Although the mere fact she hadn't been paying any attention to the assignment Mr. Schuester had eagerly given them, made her more than happy to be partnered with Rachel Berry.

Okay, so not more than happy – but at least she could count on the Diva to drag her through the project and hopefully if she smiled and acted like she knew what she was doing, Mr. Schue would accept their finished product.

Passing the Glee assignment would be easy, Quinn had thought.

She didn't bank on Rachel cornering her after rehearsals and talking so quickly and loudly about the pros and cons of working together, nor did she expect in the slightest, the girl would invite her over to her house. Okay, so maybe that part was expected – but the part of her accepting wasn't.

She'd been to Rachel's house before, although admittedly it was only the basement and she had drunk too much to really remember much of the décor – was there a stage? All Quinn really remembers is the loudly proclaimed; 'it tastes like pink!' from Rachel and then nothing. Why she only remembers Rachel's inventive exclamation about the wine cooler she had drank, Quinn didn't know.

"- a song is an expression of emotion and although I'm highly aware that you probably have better things to do on this Friday afternoon, I can assure you I'm grateful for your cooperation."

Quinn blinked heavily as Rachel's words broke into her thoughts and slowly she nodded, she really didn't have anything better to do, unless she wanted to go home to an empty house and channel surf the whole night.

No, thank you!

"It's fine." She said lowly and looking away from the water she glanced around the kitchen until her eyes found Rachel, when had the brunette moved to the other side of the room?

"I have already selected a list of songs we could sing, in my mind I've listed each positive potential for the duets. Taking into consideration our difference in pitch and tone and also adding the preference that you would want to sing within your vocal range, I have at most six songs you'd most likely agree to singing." Rachel looked away quickly as she headed towards the fridge, opening it swiftly a second later. "Would you like a biscuit?"

The question itself wasn't surprising although Quinn found herself slightly caught off guard at how strange the words had sounded to her ears. The mere fact that Rachel kept biscuits in the fridge made Quinn smile, too rectify the small moment of breaking her HBIC façade Quinn lightly shrugged.

Rachel must have taken her gesture as a silent 'yes' because seconds later a plate full of light brown biscuits were placed gently upon the bench, the treats looked really good – and Quinn only just abstained from greedily snatching them up like some starved manic.

She settled instead for accepting the offered snack politely and with restraint.

Rachel seemed pleased her offering of food was accepted, "They're vegan made," She explained, "My Dad makes them every other weekend when he's not working – he's very supportive of my vegan lifestyle. He also made a small cake, although Daddy ate that yesterday otherwise I would have offered you a slice."

Quinn would have smiled was her mouth not full with a biscuit, apparently her polite etiquette had abandoned her once she took the first bite of the surprisingly tasty snack. After the bite was swallowed her mind seemed to deem that placing the whole biscuit in her mouth at once was a top idea, so she did, the cookie was much larger than she first thought.

Covering her mouth with one hand Quinn nodded, "They are very nice." She affirmed and Rachel smiled happily as she grabbed one for herself.

"I'm glad you like them, Quinn." It was silent for a second before Rachel picked up her bottle of water, holding it near her mouth as she spoke, "My Dad will be glad too."

For a long moment nothing was said, for an even longer moment Quinn chewed the remaining biscuit in her mouth and for a moment so long things became even more uncomfortable, Rachel stared at Quinn. Resisting the urge to snap at the Diva, Quinn slowly raised one of her eyebrows – it was meant in question.

Asking silently – why are you staring at me?

Rachel for her part just mimicked the gesture, effectively raising her own eyebrow. Hers however wasn't meant in question. Quinn deemed it was only a reaction. Probably not even a conscious one because Rachel didn't seem to register it, a second later the brunette was lowering her eyebrow and turning around as she made her way over to the sink.

Quinn swallowed the remaining snack thickly and while Rachel's back was turned she reached for another, effectively stuffing the tasty morsel into her mouth with ease.

They had the slight taste of caramel and chocolate, although Quinn wasn't sure which one was the more dominate flavour. Either way they were now her new favourite treat, she'd have to ask Rachel for the recipe.

The low sound of Rachel grunting made Quinn look up quickly, the brunette was gripping the tap with both hands as she struggled to turn the silver handle. Her face was serious and if Quinn didn't know better she'd have thought Rachel was glaring at the unmoving tap.

Quinn rolled her eyes because it was either that or laugh and with a mouth full of biscuits she didn't trust herself enough to even smile, let alone chuckle.

"Dad always turns the tap off too tightly…" Rachel explained, grabbing a towel from the sink to use as more leverage.

For a few seconds Rachel stayed in a silent battle with the inactive tap, the decorative towel scrunched between her hands as she tugged violently on the faucet.

"Oh my, God." Rachel whispered with annoyance and Quinn couldn't help but notice that she actually looked embarrassed.

"Let me try, Berry." She said quickly and without waiting for a response Quinn walked up to the sink, grabbing at Rachel's wrists to get her to let go of the tap.

"It's hard." Rachel stated and Quinn's only thought was 'that's what she said' – she scolded herself for spending so much time around Puck.

Placing her hands firmly around the tap, Quinn twisted.

Nothing happened.

Again she attempted the twisting motion, maybe if she turned it the other way?

Nothing happened again.

"I did say it was hard, perhaps it is stuck." Rachel said and Quinn rolled her eyes at the statement.

"Perhaps what is stuck?" The low voice of Leroy Berry streamed into the kitchen as the man hovered in the doorway, his hands were placed upon his hips and an amused lopsided grin covered his face.

Quinn turned to acknowledge him politely with a smile however Rachel just sighed dramatically from beside her.

"The tap Daddy, I cannot for the life of me turn it on." Quinn was half expecting a foot stomp; instead Rachel just crossed her arms and again sighed. "It's an impossible task."

Leroy smiled kindly in his daughters direction and sent Quinn a playful shrug at the dramatics that is Rachel Berry, for some reason it made Quinn feel included – almost as though to two of them were sharing an inside joke, it was a strange feeling and one that left her feeling warm and content.

"Why don't I give it a little go," Leroy said, it was hardly a question although Rachel nodded strongly.

The dark man smiled with confidence as he removed the towel and with one hand grasped the taps handle, his smile was short lived and within seconds a tight lipped grimace graced his features and just like Rachel, he seemed to be glaring at said tap. Quinn smiled at the sight and held back a chuckle when Leroy slowly stepped back from the sink. He looked to Rachel seriously for a second before grabbing the tap again, this time with two hands.

"My, word!" He grunted out although just as he did a small amount of water trickled into the sink, "I've loosened it." He exclaimed with pride before a loud thwack sound filled the room.

Quinn wasn't completely sure what happened next, she was aware that suddenly there was water everywhere and that Rachel's squeal of surprise was because she had grabbed the smaller girl's wrist and pulled her backwards. She was conscious of the fact Leroy had yelped his distain at being soaked and vaguely Quinn was attentive to the solid thud next to her, Rachel had fallen.

"Tap is faulty!" Leroy bellowed as water cascaded across the kitchen, "Tap is faulty!"

Moving away from the direct stream of water Quinn reached out for Rachel's arm, grabbing it forcefully as she pulled the screaming girl into a standing position. Rachel stumbled forward and Quinn stumbled back, colliding with an out of breath Hiram as Rachel collided with her.

It was all very clumsy and awkward.

"Sorry." Quinn mumbled out lightly and Hiram gave her a friendly smile before looking worried again.

"What happened here?" He asked quickly and Rachel pointed radically at the spurting water.

"Daddy broke the tap." She explained looking at her Dad through wet hair.

"The tap is faulty, Hiram." Leroy defended in a panic. He was now trying to suffocate the torrent of water with the small towel – to no avail. "I didn't break it."

"Okay, okay." Hiram said calmly before turning to Rachel, "Honey, go grab something to stop this water, something thicker than the towel being used."

Rachel nodded strongly and before Quinn had a chance to blink the small girl was fleeing out of the kitchen and Hiram had placed his hands upon her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" He asked kindly and Quinn nodded, immensely aware she must have looked like a drowned rat. Hiram smiled, "Good."

"The tap is faulty, tap is faulty!" Leroy screamed and Quinn suddenly realized where Rachel got her loud demeanor from.

Rachel returned quickly and shoved something pink into Hiram's hands; she looked pleased however he just looked confused.

"Rachel, honey, why did you hand me my slippers?"

The Diva looked perplexed, "You said to grab something thick, these were the first things I thought of – may I remind you that under spontaneous circumstances I am notorious for making on-the-spot decisions."

Quinn smiled because damn-it-to-hell Rachel's scowl was just about the funniest thing she'd seen.

Hiram looked slightly bashful at Quinn as he held the light pink rabbit slippers in his hands, before clearing his throat rapidly, "Birthday gift." He stated calmly.

Rachel just looked at Quinn blatantly, "Too himself."

The mere seriousness in Rachel's voice made Quinn grin without restraint and when the brunette smiled back - Quinn upgraded to a light chuckle, Hiram blushed and made haste over to a panicking Leroy – the slippers still in his hands.

"Calm down Dear, I've got…" He looked at the pink fuzz, then back to his husband. "I've got slippers."

"I'm drowning!" Exclaimed Leroy in a high voice, "I'm drowning, Hiram!"

Quinn couldn't help it. A loud chuckle left her lips so quickly even her hand slapping her mouth couldn't stop it. The fact that Rachel was out rightly laughing at her Dad's made Quinn feel better about her own chuckling, although because Rachel was laughing – Quinn laughed even harder – which in turn set the brunette off again.

To the girls amusement Hiram and Leroy both squashed the slippers against the flow of water, yelping every time the cold liquid sprayed them.

"Don't move, just stay still." Hiram was instructing, his own hands clutching one of the soaking slippers.

"It's slowing, the water's slowing." Stated Leroy almost too cheerfully than needed, the torrent of water now just ran lazily out of the broken/faulty tap.

Hiram allowed his slippers to drop heavily to the floor as he surveyed the kitchen, Quinn followed his gaze – it was like the room had been flooded – in reality it had been flooded.

It looked a mess and Quinn internally winced when she saw the now soggy biscuits, why hadn't she eaten more when she had the chance.

"Oh Dear," Hiram breathed out and Quinn was half expecting him to be angry - her father would have been - instead the man just shrugged and looked to his husband, "You broke the tap."

Leroy blanched – another quality Rachel seemed to have picked up from him. "It was faulty." He stated quietly.

"You broke the tap, honey."

A beat and a soft sigh filled the room, "I broke the tap."

Quinn held the light green towel as she dabbed the soft fabric against her soaking body, rubbing at her hair a moment later before returning to her previous action. Her clothes felt heavy and they stuck to her like they were giving her some kind of weird hug, weird – suffocating – hug. She was standing on another towel, a white one, mainly to keep the living room floor dry against the never ending drops of water that cascaded down her clothes and from her hair. It was soft under her feet.

Rachel was next to her and to Quinn's amusement the brunette was jumping on the spot, she switched between that and jogging and at one stage even attempted a few star jumps. Leroy sat in a small wicker chair off to Quinn's left, a towel wrapped up his hair and another one was loosely draped over his legs.

"I've called the plumber. He'll be out tomorrow morning." Hiram said loudly as he walked briskly into the living room, a tray in his hands. "I've got coffee, I've got tea and I've got hot chocolate. Take your pick."

He smiled kindly at Quinn as he placed the tray down upon the coffee table, four mugs sat fittingly upon it.

Hiram set to work pouring out his preferred beverage and Quinn smiled when she noticed he had changed his clothes, apparently ringing the plumber wasn't the only thing he did. His hair for the most part was damp, although one might think he just put too much gel in it.

"Quinn," he said with a smile, "What would you like?"

Quinn wasn't sure and her long pause probably hinted at that, Hiram just grinned kindly at her lack of an answer and he grabbed a mug.

"How about some hot chocolate, I make a good brew." He inquired and Quinn nodded politely, from beside her Rachel stopped jumping.

"I'll just have black tea. I'm too worked up to even consider drinking something with caffeine or sugar."

Hiram nodded then turned his attention on Leroy, a raised eyebrow being sent the man's way.

"Coffee," He exclaimed rather dramatically, "White with two sugars."

Hiram was smiling fondly, "So the usual."

Quinn watched on silently as Hiram poured out everyone's beverage, he seemed to take it seriously and by the time all the mugs had been filled - nearly to the brim, he was smiling proudly. Grabbing the hot chocolate and Rachel's tea he ambled over carefully, handing the warm mugs forward.

"Thank you," Quinn said lightly as she accepted her hot chocolate, it really did look appetizing.

Rachel was reaching for her tea a moment later and Quinn heard a quiet 'thanks' being uttered.

Hiram quickly gathered his husband's coffee and passed it to the man, a sigh of gratitude being the only thing heard from Leroy.

It was silent after that, Quinn sipped on her amazingly-good hot chocolate slowly as she every now and then glanced at Rachel – the Diva was shifting back and forth on her feet contently – Leroy basically inhaled his coffee while Hiram perched on the edge of the small wicker chair, trying – although not succeeding – to look comfortable.

"I'm really sorry, Quinn." Rachel said softly, so softly that Quinn actually thought she'd imagined it, when she looked to Rachel however the girl was staring at her. "About the water that is, I can't imagine any of this was enjoyable."

Quinn smiled, because in reality she'd had a pretty interesting time.

"It wasn't that bad," She stated holding her mug up, "I got hot chocolate out of it."

"Quinn, I nearly drowned you." Rachel whispered, almost as though she were telling a secret.

The sentence made Quinn smile even more as she shook her head, "Its fine."

"Your calmness is making me slightly worried, am I to expect a double slushy Monday morning?"

That actually kind of stung!

Quinn looked away for a moment, before shaking her head. "No, no slushies."

"Then what?" Rachel asked so low and cautiously that Quinn found herself frowning, "Dirt in my locker, because I heard Sue Sylvester did that to Brittany and Santana, I don't really want dirt in my locker."

Quinn held her hand up and again shook her head, "No dirt, nothing." She said simply and Rachel looked even more frightened. "Look we're outside of McKinley, so its fine, I don't even mind about the water Rachel. Now if it happened inside the walls of the high school, I'd have to slushy you. Head bitch in charge and all that. But it didn't. I may be mean sometimes Berry, but I'm not about to slushy someone because their tap broke."

"Oh." Rachel said in a breathy whisper and Quinn took a large gulp of her hot chocolate, "You called me, Rachel." She stated before taking her own sip of her beverage.

Quinn just nodded slowly, jumping visibly when her phone buzzed from her school bag – it was loud – had to be for her to hear it from the living room.

Placing her mug down on the coffee table Quinn apologetically smiled as she shuffled her way out the room, making sure the towel under her feet came with her. Her bag sat near the front door and quickly Quinn fished out her phone, it was a message from Santana.

Breadstix? 10 mins? Brittany's coming too.

Smiling at her friend's obsession with the restaurant, Quinn quickly texted back;

Can't. Berry made me wet.

She realized her mistake as soon as she sent the message, Quinn blushed. Damn her poorly chosen words!

Not even twenty seconds later Santana replied.

Wanky, Wanky, Q.

Quinn had a lot of explaining to do, but first she was going to blush furiously and slowly die from embarrassment.

fin