Glee 1. Chapter 1

**I got the idea for this story from The Spill Canvas song "Self-Conclusion." If you don't know the song, I suggest you look it up and give it a listen. For the opening, everything they have to say will be through the song lyrics. I'll have Quinn in italics, Rachel in bold, and the narrations regular.**

**Disclaimer: obviously I do not own anything Glee or the whole show would be about Faberrittana and Mike Chang :)**

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As Quinn stood at her favorite thinking spot, a cliff on the outskirts of Lima with what seemed to be a fifty foot drop and a beautiful view overlooking her town, she noticed the reason she had ended up there at this time of night walking straight towards her. Rachel Berry.

_Fade in, start the scene  
>Enter beautiful girl<br>But things are not what they seem  
>As we stand at the edge of the world <em>

Rachel was making her way to the top of what she liked to call Gold Star Point. As she approached the edge of GSP she noticed a girl wearing a zip-up jacket with the hood pulled over facing away. She made her way up to the mystery woman.

Quinn was hoping if she didn't turn around that she could avoid all contact with the girl, and then she heard...

**Excuse me, miss,  
>But I have plans to die tonight<br>Oh, and you are directly in my way  
>And I bet you're gonna say it's not right <strong>

Quinn couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yes Rachel Berry had a difficult life with the looks she would receive when she was out with her gay dads and the constant teasing and slushies at school, but the blonde never imaged that anything could make her want to end her life. Going against her initial wish of avoidance, she decided to turn to the girl she tormented all these years...

_Excuse me, miss  
>But do you have the slightest clue<br>Of exactly what you just said to me  
>And exactly who you're talking to? <em>

The last person Rachel Berry expected to see on the night where she would end it all was Quinn Fabray. Not being in the mood to be polite she said

**I don't care, you don't even know me**

Being caught off guard by Rachel's uncharacteristic harsh tone, she barely noticed confessing her new intentions

_I know but I'd like to change that soon, hopefully_

There was no going back on that comment, she decided to continue to open up to the brunette

_Yeah, we all flirt with the tiniest notion  
>Of self conclusion in one simplified motion<br>You see the trick is that you're never supposed to act on it  
>No matter how unbearable this misery gets <em>

Rachel couldn't believe the irony. Quinn Fabray trying to talk _her_ out of jumping, one of the reasons she decided to jump in the first place.

**You make it sound so easy to be alive  
>But tell me, how am I supposed to seize this day<br>When everything inside of me has died? **

Quinn _knew_ what she was about to ask Rachel. The same Rachel that has always been below her in social status. The same Rachel that she nearly tortured in high school. The same Rachel that she had trained herself to freeze her emotions around. And for once in her life, she didn't care

_Trust me, girl  
>I know your legs are pleading to leap<br>But I offer you this easy choice-  
>Instead of dying, living with me <em>

Rachel was stunned. She wasn't sure if Quinn meant living with her in the same world, maybe the same town? Or was this an invitation to become a major part of each others' existence? The brunette had to ask again

**Are you crazy? You don't even know me.**

With a small smile towards Rachel Berry's ongoing question, she decided to playfully repeat her own words

_I know, but I'd like to change that soon hopefully_

As she met the smaller girl's chocolate eyes with her own, she felt a connection more intense than anything she had ever known. She took her by the hand and explained

_I would be lying if I said that things would never get rough  
>And all this cliche motivation, it could never be enough<br>I could stand here all night trying to convince you  
>But what good would that do?<br>My offer stands, and you must choose _

Rachel's breath hitched as she never expected to run into this dilemma tonight. It was suppose to be the night she never had to worry about anything again, and suddenly she couldn't help but feel attached to this new woman standing right in front of her. The electric charge between their interlocking fingers was enough to convince her

**All right, you win, but I only give you one night  
>To prove yourself to be better than my attempt at flight<br>I swear to god if you hurt me I will leap  
>I will toss myself from these very cliffs<br>And you'll never see it coming**

Quinn could barely process the words she had just heard. Rachel Berry was giving her a second chance. For once, she couldn't let the brunette be the only vulnerable one...

_Settle, precious, I know what you're going through  
>Just ten minutes before you got here I was gonna jump too <em>

As the ex-cheerleader reached her hand to wipe away the tear running down Rachel's face, the smaller girl placed her arms around Quinn's waist and engulfed her in a tight squeeze while sobbing into her hoodie with overwhelming emotion.

Quinn couldn't help but look out to the town beyond them and be thankful for the opportunity to change everything. And then she broke out into a cold sweat realizing that she now had to plan a night that would give the girl in her arms a reason to live for.

So that's the first chapter. I know where I want to go with the story but I'm not exactly sure how many chapters it's going to be. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys thanks for the reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter! **

"Rachel"

_sobs_

"Rachel"

_more sobs_

They had been standing wrapped in each other's arms for the last ten minutes.

"Come on, it's ok. Let me take you home. "

"I don't want to go home Quinn."

"Well, we could go to my house?"

"Ok..."

Rachel had a tight grasp on Quinn's arm as she was led to the blonde's regatta blue Hyundai Elantra. As Quinn turned the key in her ignition, the radio immediately resumed playing the mix CD right where she left off.

"_I feel pretty.."_

Quinn immediately pushed the knob to turn off the music while her cheeks turned pink. She pulled out of GSP and headed towards her house.

"Quinn?"

"Yes?"

"Was that a recording of our duet?"

On any other given day, she wouldn't have admitted to anybody that she had a CD in her car dedicated to Rachel Berry. She usually made sure to remove the CD before exiting her car and hiding it under her seat after an unexpected afternoon when Santana told Quinn to take her home after glee club a few months back. But this was different. This was a night of honesty where thoughts of repercussions cease to exist.

"Yes."

"Oh. I wouldn't have expect that..."

"Well prepare to experience a lot of things you didn't expect tonight Miss Berry."

Quinn turned to her right and flashed a smirk. And for the first time that night, a smile appeared on Rachel's face.

As they approached Fabray residence, Rachel noticed the emptiness of the driveway.

"Are your parents home?"

"No. They're away on a cruise. It's usually just me here anyway..."

"Oh... Do you ever get lonely?"

She turned to the brunette as she unlocked the door.

"You just found me standing on the edge of a cliff. What do you think?"

Quinn lead Rachel to the kitchen, which was about the three times the size of the Berry's. Quinn handed a bottle of water to a Rachel that was much calmer than the one she ran into an hour ago.

"Hungry?"

"Why yes Quinn I do find myself quite famished but I doubt that you have much of a variety of vegan friendly foods in your household."

There's the girl she knew. A girl who turned what needed to be a one word answer into something much longer.

"Prepare to be shocked by the unexptected again."

"What do you mean?"

"I tend to do most of the grocery shopping in this house, considering I am basically the only person that lives here, and recently, I've been experimenting with preparing vegan food."

Rachel's eyes lit up causing a smile to creep on Quinn's face.

"That is quite unexpected Quinn. And if you don't mind me asking, what exactly made you want to give vegan food a try?"

The blonde leaned in slightly closer to the brunette.

"Because someone very important to me tries to convert people daily."

"_She couldn't possibly be talking about me... could she? I'm sure she knows plenty of vegans... right?"_

"Oh my goodness Quinn! This is delicious!"

"Haha, well thank you Miss Berry."

"Ok _Miss Fabray_, what is with the Miss Berry's and the Rachel's? The last time I knew it, you only referred to me as Manhands."

Her tone became more serious. Quinn was dreading this moment of the night. Although she knew her past relationship with Rachel would be brought up, it hurt her to talk about the things she used to do."

"Rachel, I never meant to call you those nam-"

"And all the slushies? I bet you never meant to do those either, right? Just like today, I'm sure when you walked up to me with that slushie in your hand that it was actually just your drink."

"I wasn't going to slushie you."

"Oh really? Ha. Then what were you going to do?"

_12 hours earlier..._

"_Ok Fabray, you can do this." _Quinn tried giving herself a pep talk before she made the biggest move in her live. Her plan? To be slushied by Rachel Berry during the change between classes while she publically apologizes for anything hurtful she ever did or said to the girl, ending in an invitation to a dinner at Breadsticks on her.

"_Ok. Here we go."_

As Quinn walks down the hallway to Rachel Berry's locker, which she knows she _always_ visits after 3rd period, the slushie in her hand caught the attention of almost every bystander.

This was by far the worst day of Rachel's life. When she heard the static noise of the crowd die down, something she was all too familiar with, she knew someone would soon be approaching with a slushie. She turned around and locked eyes with Quinn Fabray.

"_I'm not dealing with this today." _Rachel thought to herself. And before Quinn had even reached Rachel's locker, the brunette marched straight up to her.

"Hello Ra-"

And before she could finish her sentence, the slushie was slapped out of her hand onto her shoes.

"Quinn Fabray I have had enough! As if your constant teasing and hurtful remarks to me wasn't enough, you just can't seem to go a day without throwing a slushie in my face either, can you? You're the most popular girl at this school and yet you can't seem to leave me, the lowest of the low, alone. What have I ever done to you?"

Quinn stood speechless. This was suppose to be the day she changed it all, not the day Rachel snapped.

"Oh nothing to say to me for once? Honestly Quinn, how do you live with yourself?"

"Oh..."

"Yeah, oh..." the blonde replied.

"Quinn I didn't know you planned to do that with the slushie"

"How could you have? I never gave you the chance to expect anything positive from me."

"Oh my goodness, the last thing I said!"

Quinn looked away from the girl and down to the floor as tears began to swell in her eyes.

"Quinn... please tell me that that wasn't the reason that made you decide to..."

"Of course it was Rachel."

She grabbed the blonde girl's hand and squeezed tightly. She hadn't actually meant for Quinn to question her life.

"I'm so sorry Quinn."

She looked back up to meet the chocolate eyes across the table.

"It's ok. I deserved it. And besides, if you never would have said that to me, we wouldn't have ended up on that cliff together. And right now, you wouldn't be holding my hand."

A smile came across the blonde's face while Rachel reciprocated a similar one while blushing. They stayed like that for a few seconds, which actually felt like an eternity.

"_Yeah, I'd say my night of saving Rachel Berry has taken a turn for the better."_

**Well there's chapter 2! I know I told a few of you that I'd be updating on Monday so I'm sorry for the delay :( Thank you all for reading and I look forward to getting to more of the fun and romantic side of the story!**


	3. Chapter 3

Ok don't kill me! I know it's been months and months since I've wrote, but I PROMISE to keep with the story this time! Thank you to any returning readers and Hello to any new ones.

"Well, I guess I should clean this up" Quinn said as she reluctantly removed her hand from Rachel's to walk over to the sink and start the warm water to wash the dishes.

"Can you hand me your plate please?"

"Sure Quinn."

But as Rachel extended her arm to give the dish to Quinn, it slipped out of her hand and landed directly on the floor and broke in to a hundred pieces. Rachel felt guilty and mortified. "Oh my goodness Quinn I'll buy you a new one and clean up the mess I am so sor-"

"You know my parents bought these plates while they were in Greece on their 15th wedding anniversary…" Quinn walked over to grab the other plate from where she was sitting.

"Quinn I feel terrible. I really did not mean to –" *CRASH* "Quinn!"

As Rachel looked up from the smashed plate on the ground to the blonde, she saw Quinn trying to choke back her laughter.

"Quinn?" The confused girl continued to stare at her waiting for her to say something. All Quinn gave her was a huge smile and nod while looking back and forth between Rachel and the almost empty glasses of water on the table. Although slightly uncomfortable, Rachel took the hint and slowly slid one off the edge. *CRASH* A smile crept onto her face as she smacked the second one off with more force. *CRASH* Quinn ran to the cabinet and grabbed a whole stack of plates and bowls that all looked different.

"And these are the bowls they got in Paris on their honeymoon!" *SMASH* Both girls giggled as they took turns smashing Mr. and Mrs. Fabray's rather large collection of dishware. After the cabinets were almost empty the girls collapsed onto the couch in the living room which looked like it had barely been lived in at all.

"Quinn that was ridiculous! What will your parents think when they get back?"

She shrugs. "Rachel, I'm not sure if you remember how we met up tonight, but about an hour and a half ago I was ready to jump off a cliff! I'm not too concerned about my pretty much nonexistent parent's coming back to see that I've had a tiny little accident." At this Rachel's chuckles out, "a tiny little accident, huh? You mean like this!" She proceeds to hit Quinn in the arm with a pillow from the couch.

"Well actually, I was thinking more like this!" Quinn climbs on top of the smaller girl, pins her arms above her head and begins tickling her side relentlessly.

"Quinn! *LAUGHS* Quinn! *LAUGHS* Quinn I can't take it please stop!" And just like that Quinn stops tickling and moves her free hand to hold Rachel's other arm in place. Both girls are looking at each other in the eyes with intense stares while breathing heavily. Neither of them has ever felt this deep of a connection with anyone. "God Rachel, you are so beau-" before she can finish she gets cut off but her ringtone. After sighing about the ruined moment, she looks down and sees Santana's picture on the screen.

"Yes Satan?"

"Woah Q, is that any way to talk to the person who could have gotten arrested doing a favor for your ass?"

"_Oh my God, THE favor" _Quinn had completely forgotten about what she had asked Santana to do earlier tonight.

_**3 HOURS EARLIER**_

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Q, open up!" Quinn walked to the door to let Santana in.

"Ok what's the emergencyyyy, shit." Santana scanned her best friend who she could tell had been upset and crying for hours, as it looked from the stained mascara running down her face. "Quinn what's wrong?" her tone suddenly less harsh and more concerned.

"I can't talk about it but I need you to do me a favor. Stay here." Santana watched her walk up the stairs and waited a few minutes before she came back down with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder.

"What's this for?" Santana asked her.

"Listen San, I know we've had a lot of rough patches in the past but I need you to be the most amazing best friend in the world that I know you are right now ok?"

"Okaaay. You're starting to freak me out here, what's going on?" Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath preparing for Santana to neglect what she needed.

"You know Mr. Sopko's flower shop on Greensprings Avenue?"

"The Petal Patch? Yeah. Britts likes the bouquet that comes in the vase shaped like a duck. What about it?"

"I need you to break in, without actually breaking anything, and leave this duffle bag in Mr. Sopko's office."

When Quinn resumed eye contact with Santana she knew the other girl was having a hard time understanding. "Look Santana, he keeps a spare key under the garden gnome with the green hat. It'll be so easy to sneak in, drop off the bag, and sneak back out like nothing ever happened. .. And, I'll give you a hundred dollars to buy Brittany multiple duck bouquets…?"

"And WHY can't you do this yourself?"

"_Because I'll be too busy standing on the edge of a cliff"_

"Because I have other things I need to take care of, ok?" Quinn had almost lost hope when finally Santana agreed. "Ok Quinn. Clearly you're upset. AND you look like shit. I'm going to help you with whatever you need. But what's in the bag?" As Santana reached for the bag Quinn immediately picked it back up and said, "one more thing, you have to promise you won't look in the bag." Her heart thumped as she waited for the Latina's reply.

"Ok, Quinn. But you really owe me for this you know?" Quinn dropped the bag and walked over to her best friend engulfing her in a hug. "I know I do…"

_**End flashback**_

Quinn got up from the couch, leaving Rachel alone and walked to a separate room. "How did it go?"

"Everything was fine Q, I even managed to grab a few duck vases." Quinn rolled her eyes but wasn't surprised. She knew her best friend would do anything for Brittany, just like she would do anything for Rachel…

"Santana thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"I know Q, don't mention it. Seriously though, don't mention it to anyone." Quinn chuckled and wished her friend good night. She now knew the next step to giving Rachel Berry the best night she ever had.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello readers! Just to be clear in this universe Beth never happened. Also, there is mild Quinntana in this chapter but if you're patient with me I promise it was for a reason. Please continue to review as it is great motivation for me to see the alerts in my email. Hope you enjoy!

Quinn returned to the living room to collect Rachel. "Are you ready to go Miss Berry?" Rachel couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face at the return of the name. "Yes, but go where?" Quinn didn't answer but simply walked over and extended her hand instead. Rachel willingly accepted the gesture and placed her hand in Quinn's. The blonde forgot her intent to pull the other girl up once she felt the soft and smooth flesh in her hand that sent electric waves through her whole body. She let out a heavy sigh of content before rubbing her thumb over the back of Rachel's hand. Once she realized what she had been doing she cleared her throat and pulled the other girl to her feet.

As they made their way to the car, Quinn hurried to the passenger side and held the door open with a cheesy smile on her face. Rachel was surprised by the gesture and said, "Oh, how chivalrous of you," in her best southern accent as she moved into the car. Quinn shut the door and she moved her way over to the driver's side, Rachel couldn't seem to stop smiling at how nice Quinn was being and wished she had known this side of her previously.

Quinn sat down and looked over at Rachel before she started the car to find that she had still been smiling. This was one of her favorite sites to look at and couldn't help but stare.

"What?" Rachel said as she started to blush.

"I was just admiring your smile."

"Well that's all thanks to you Quinn."

"All I did was open your door for you."

At this Rachel laughed, "Yes, but what you don't understand is that no one else ever does that for me. Maybe Finn once when we dated but that was only because Burt reminded him when we walked out of his house."

She rolled her eyes. "_Of course Finn Hudson wouldn't remember to open a car door for you himself. He never deserved you." _Quinn thought to herself.

She started her car and headed towards Greensprings Avenue. There seemed to be an awkward silence between them and Quinn tried thinking of things to talk about. Thankfully her struggle was interrupted by Rachel asking, "Would you like to play the question game? You see it's very nerve racking not knowing where you are taking me and how long it will be until we get there and Quinn, I don't want to sit in silence this whole time. Plus, I think it would be a good idea if we continued to get to know each other a little better tonight."

"_Saved by the Berry."_ Quinn nodded her head and suggested that Rachel start.

"Ok. Let's start off with your favorite movie."

"That's easy. Scream 4."

"Hmm. I guess that makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Quinn asked confused.

"Well throughout all of high school thus far, you've kind of had a certain nickname that we associated with you whenever you were angry..." Rachel didn't want to offend Quinn but she knew she would push on.

"And what exactly was this nickname you speak of?"

Rachel hesitated for a second and then slowly said, "Serial Killer Quinn." There was a short pause that felt long to Rachel where she didn't make eye contact with the girl. Honestly, she wasn't sure how she'd take the news and didn't want her to act on said nickname.

"Hahaha, wow." Rachel looked over at the other girl relieved.

"To be honest I take that as a compliment. I know I used to be harsh and a little crazy at times, but that just reminds me of how much I've changed from freshman year, I hope...?" Quinn bit her lip and slowly raised her eyebrow hoping Rachel would get the hint that this was actually a question she wanted answered.

"_How cute can she possibly be? Every time she raises that eyebrow I can't help but want to kiss her."_

"Oh yes Quinn, you have definitely changed." Both girls smiled at each other. "Your turn."

"Right, lets see..." Quinn tried to think of something she didn't know about the girl but the truth is that she had always watched and listened to her carefully. She could guarantee that she knew more about Rachel when her and Finn were dating than Finn did. "If your dream wasn't to be in show business, what would you want to do with your life?" Quinn was pretty sure she knew the answer to this would be something to do with animals, either a vet or a zoo keeper, but she couldn't come up with another question and felt pressured by the amount of time that elapsed.

"Even though it is extremely hard for me to imagine a life where I do not end up on stage Quinn, I would say that I would be interested in becoming a veterinarian."

"_Knew it." She thought to herself as she got a cocky look on her face._

"So have you ever, um, you know, with Brittany and Santana?"

Quinn was caught off guard to say the least, but she was used to being asked this. Although, this is one of the first times that she actually ever answered the question honestly.

"If you are referring to sex, I have not. But if you are referring to not innocent but still over the clothes times... then yes." Quinn wasn't sure how Rachel would take the news, but she seemed excited and interested.

"When? If you don't mind me asking...?"

"I don't mind at all, and even though it is technically my turn, I will let you turn this into a two part question. It was the summer going in to sophomore year. I was dealing with some, um, issues with myself. I was over Santana's with Brittany having a sleepover while her parent's were away. We broke into the liquor cabinet, which I'm not even sure why there was still a lock on it considering her parents knew we did it every time they were away. Anyway, we started drinking and put a movie in. Even though the two of them would never intentionally make me feel like a third wheel, I was sitting on the floor while they were on the bed making out. I let out a heavy sigh, not necessarily because I was bothered by the two of them kissing, but because I was lonely." The thought of Quinn feeling lonely made Rachel hurt inside.

"Santana heard me sigh and said '_Geez Q, if you want some of this then just come up here, don't throw a tantrum on the floor haha_.'" Quinn recalled the moment and explained to Rachel "I'm sure you already know, but Santana knew something was wrong with me and her way of trying to make me feel better always involves some kind of bitchy humor..."

Rachel wasn't sure if the story was going to stop there because she was smart enough to figure out the ending, but wanted to hear it from Quinn herself. "But.." she nudged her along.

"But, like I said I was lonely and after another minute passed I took a shot, and got onto the bed."

Rachel couldn't help but get a small tingle in her body just by the thought. "And?"

Quinn chuckled because she could tell how into this story Rachel was. "And, I sat down against the head board. I was nervous. I knew Santana didn't actually expect me to get in her bed, but I knew she wouldn't kick me out either. Santana sat up and faced me and before I knew it she was straddling my lap. She stared at me waiting for a confirmation and I nodded."

There was a long pause and Rachel couldn't figure out why Quinn stopped talking. "You nodded."

"Yes." there was another long pause.

"Are you going to finish the story Quinn!" Rachel didn't mean for the question to come out so abruptly and loud but she couldn't help herself.

Quinn was caught off by Rachel's response but decided teasing might be a better approach. "Maybe."

"Maybe, Quinn?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to get you too hot and bothered." "_Did I just say that? Was that too forward?" _Quinn immediately felt herself blush.

Rachel did all she could do to calm herself down and focus. "I, um, uh, next question?"

Quinn laughed to herself at Rachel's lack of composure.

"Why didn't you want to go home tonight? Why did you choose my house instead?" She immediately sensed the shift of mood in the car as Rachel's expression changed to a sad one.

"I wouldn't call it much of a home anymore..." Her voice was soft and cautious.

"What do you mean? Is it something with your Dads?" She was nervous to ask.

"Yes."

"Ok... do you want to tell me what's happening?"

"Daddy moved out."

"Oh. You know we don't have to talk about this Rachel, but I'm here if you want to."

Sucking in her tears she decided to tell Quinn. "It happened two months ago. I was out for a run and decided to take a different route. This new one lead me past Daddy's office so I decided to stop in since I haven't been there for awhile. I thought he would appreciate my surprise visit on a weekend he had to work. Ha. I went in and as I approached the door I heard, well, grunting. I was disgusted because any child's thoughts of their parents engaging in such activities is traumatic. But then I remembered that my Dad was out of town on a business conference until Tuesday..."

"Rachel, I'm so-"

"I opened the door and saw him and Mr. Kerner... I ran straight home and couldn't stop crying. When he came home he came to my room and asked me not to tell Dad. I didn't say anything to him the rest of the weekend. As soon as Dad came home and hugged me I broke down. I couldn't even talk the first twenty minutes and then I told him." Quinn felt so bad, especially because if she had actually been friendly to her, Rachel would have had someone to talk to about this and not deal with it herself.

"They fought for hours and then Daddy just packed his stuff up and left. He called the house a few weeks later and wanted to talk to me, I thought he wanted to apologize but instead he blamed me for telling Dad. I haven't spoken to him since." Quinn reached over and grabbed Rachel's hand and held it in her lap.

"Rachel it wasn't your fault you know that right? You are the most amazing person I've ever met and for any one to try to turn that on you is ridiculous. I am so sorry you-"

"Quinn, can we just talk about something else." It was more of a demand than a question.

"Of course. Actually we're here now." Quinn pulled her car up to the curb and exited. Rachel saw Quinn quickly run over to her side of the car and open her door, extending her hand. Suddenly, Rachel's thoughts were off of her fathers and concentrated on Quinn's repeating actions. When Rachel placed her hand in Quinn's this time she asked, "Are you going to pull me up right away or stare at my hands like last time?"

"_Busted." _Quinn nervously smirked and helped her out of the car.

"Quinn, what are we doing here?"


	5. Chapter 5

I want to thank all of you for the alerts! It's very encouraging :) I appreciate all of you readers. Also just throwing this out there, I had a little minor "operation" on my foot yesterday so I'm home from work and under the influence of pain killers so please excuse any mistakes I make. Love you all.

Rachel looked up at the store in front of her and wondered why Quinn would take her to "Horace's Barber Shop." The blonde saw the confused look on her face and quickly explained, "Oh, this isn't the _here _here. I just didn't want to park by actual _here."_

Rachel could only half follow what she was saying but decided to smile and nod anyway.

"Come on." Quinn took her hand again and this time they interlaced their fingers. It was amazing how perfectly they fit together. She led them down the sidewalk until they got to the lot the Petal Patch was on. The front of it had a stone path leading up to the door with sections of grass on each side. In the grass was various lawn ornaments such as pink flamingos, bird baths, and garden gnomes. Quinn walked up to the one with the green hat and took the key out from underneath. She was relieved that Santana had actually remembered to put it back.

Rachel had no idea what was going on. "Quinn how did you know that key was there and what exactly _are_ we doing here?"

Quinn walked up to the door and inserted the key. "If you follow me inside I'll answer your questions." She held the door opened and waited for the brunette to enter.

"Quinn if you are engaging in any illegal activities I want no part of it." She crossed her arms and gave the other girl a stern look.

"Would you please just trust me Rachel?" She doesn't know if she'll ever get used to hearing her actual name fall from the blonde's lips. It's nice. It makes her feel comforted. How could she not trust her after that?

"Fine."

After Rachel walked through the door, Quinn shut and locked it. She handed Rachel a flash light and turned one on herself. "I'm waiting for you to answer my questions."

"Oh right! Ok well I knew about the key because the owner Mr. Sopko, well actually I know him as 'Calvin', is actually a close friend. A couple of years ago I was volunteering at a hospital. I would play cards, talk, or read stories to the residents. I became extremely close to his wife, Caroline. She had very aggressive cancer. She would always have me read to her. She said her favorite part was how soothing my voice was. A lot of times Calvin would be sitting there holding her hand while I read to her. In her last week she stopped responding and we both knew the end was near. I still kept reading to her anyway until I finished the book we started back when she was awake. I sat by her side every day that week and got to know Calvin better. I'll never forget what he told me." Quinn changed her face to imitate his "Now I've listened to you read my wife story after story, but I'm about to tell you one that puts them all to shame. It's a story about hate that turned into love."

She changed her expression and voice back to her own. "He was right. His story was better than any one I had ever heard. It turned out it was the story of him and Caroline, and god, it was beautiful Rachel. It was another one of those cases where they were both too scared to admit their feelings."

"_Sounds familiar..." _Rachel thought to herself.

"He finally decided to ask her out but she said no. It didn't even phase him. Every day for the next two months he had flowers delivered to her. One day he decided to kick it up a notch and during their lunch period he stood on top of his table and screamed at the top of his lungs. Every one stopped talking and looked over at him where he began to yell off everything he loved about Caroline. He jumped from table to table while Figgins chased him!"

Watching Quinn beam at telling this story made her fall in love with her all over again. Who could have thought that Quinn Fabray was so passionate about love? Rachel looked at one of the pictures hanging on the wall. It was a ripped out page from the McKinley High yearbook of 1992. It was a picture Calvin on the lunch table with Figgins behind him pointing his finger. Underneath that picture was a picture of Calvin with his arm over Caroline titled "Biggest Sweethearts of '92."

"He wouldn't stop until Caroline agreed to go out with him! Finally she did and they never went a day without seeing each other ever since. Well, until she passed away. Thirty-seven years old Rachel." Her demeanor changed upon speaking of Caroline's passing.

She put her Calvin face back on. "You know what Quinn, I am thankful for those twenty years we had together. I know in those twenty years that we shared more love than other couple could have in a hundred." Back to Quinn face. There was a long pause.

"Calvin and I had met up a every week after that just to talk and comfort each other. He told me that her plan had always been that when she retired from being an accountant that she had wanted to open up a flower shop so that she could witness other people doing what Calvin did for her. So that's how he ended up with the Petal Patch. He offered me a job a few days a week and of course I took it. That's why I know about the garden gnome."

"What?" Rachel had been so drawn into the story that she had almost forgot it came from her question. "Oh the garden gnome with the key, right!" Quinn laughed. "Well I don't know how you expected me to not be completely enthralled in that story Quinn." She laughed again. "Come on let's go into the office, I have something to show you."

They walked into the back room and Quinn's heart was about to burst right out of her chest. She walked over to the desk which had a laptop, a lamp, the duffel bag, and miscellaneous office supplies. "Please sit down Rachel." Quinn pointed to the office chair that was tucked under the desk with the green duffel bag sitting on top of it.

"Listen. I'm going to walk out of this room and shut the door behind me. While I'm gone I want you to look at the contents in the duffel bag. Come out when you're finished and let me know if you want to continue this night with me or if you'd rather be done with me."

"Quinn why would I want to be done with you tonight?"

"Just please. Look inside the bag. The password to the computer is Caroline. You'll need it if you want to play the discs. I guess I'll see you when you're done." With that said, Quinn walked out the door and shut it behind her.

Rachel cautiously unzipped the bag and was shocked at what she saw first. Inside was chunks of money tied together like you would see inside a briefcase a criminal would have in an action movie. She pulled out the money and put it on the desk. There had to be at least twenty thousand dollars there.

She saw a note inside issued to Calvin. After Rachel debated if it was ok to read it or not, she decided that Quinn wanted her to see it for a reason. She unfolded the note and read it to herself:

"_Dear Calvin,_

_I want you to know that since we met I have always considered you one of my best friends. I have never known a better and more loving man in my whole entire life. You always thanked me for taking care of the person you loved and now I would like to ask that you return the favor and do the same for me. I won't be around anymore after tonight and I need to know that the person I love is taken care of. I've messed up a lot in my life with her and I need a chance to get it right." _

Rachel read the line over and over again. "_Her? Get it right? That can't just be a coincidence." _She continued reading.

"_Inside here you will find a list of instructions and enough cash to compensate you for your trouble. I emptied my trust fund today and want some of the money to go towards this. I left you with enough to pay for the flowers and shipping. Here are the instructions:_

_Send Rachel Berry a gardenia every day for the rest of her life."_

Rachel gasped. It wasn't just a coincidence, this was about her. And then she remembered another line in the letter "_the person I love. Quinn Fabray LOVES me." _How could this be happening? She had dreamed about this moment ever since she saw the girl. "_Pull yourself together Rachel, there's more."_

" _2) I have made and titled a DVD for every important milestone in her life that she will go through. This requires you to keep tabs and research her daily life to know when to ship it. Don't worry, she'll be a big star someday and it will be easy to find out any of this information."_

Rachel smiled at this. Quinn believed in her! She grabbed a handful of discs out of the duffel bag and popped the one entitled "Graduation Day" into the computer.

When the video window popped up Quinn was sitting in front of the camera smiling holding a sign that said "Congrats Grad" on it. The audio started.

"_Hello Rachel. Congratulations on graduating! I know it might be weird seeing me like this but I had to make a video for you to let you know that I am sorry for any mean thing I have ever said or done to you. I let high school popularity get to my head and pushed aside people that I care about to get to the top. If I could go back in time I would. You didn't deserve any of the crap you got and I hope that since my "departure" that things have gotten better for you. I bet you looked beautiful in your cap in gown. I hope you like the flowers and that they remind you every day of how special you are. Talk to you soon." _

The screen went black. She quickly ejected that DVD and put in another one named "First Broadway Show Debut"

"_Hello again Miss Super Star. Congratulations on your first Broadway show! You have no idea how bad I wish I was there in the front row to watch you perform. The truth is, you gave me goosebumps every time I heard you sing in Glee. Which was a lot being that your voice was so amazing. I thought that I was going to pass out the time we sang Pretty/Unpretty together from how overwhelming it was to look into your eyes. That was one of my favorite memories in high school. You want to know another one Rachel? It was during junior prom in the bathroom after I had just slapped you. And no, slapping you wasn't my favorite part, even though just that brief touch was overwhelming. It was wh you told me that I was the prettiest girl you had ever met, but more than that. It's weird because I had always thought the same thing about you but never had the guts to say anything, so I'll say it now. Rachel, you are the prettiest girl I've ever met, but you are a lot more than that... and soon you'll be famous and the whole world will see that as well." _

Black screen again. Eject. Insert "First Tony Win."

"_You did it! Your first Tony award! I am so proud of you! I always knew this moment would come. You really showed all those Lima losers who the better person is. I wish I could be there to call you in person and congratulate you but... Anyway I know this is the first of many and hopefully it's for playing Elphaba because I know you were meant for that role. Have fun at the after party and I know you'll look gorgeous in every single picture the paparazzi takes of you. I'm happy your dream came true."_

Rachel rummaged through the DVD's finding "Wedding Day."

"_This video was the hardest for me to film... I want you to be happy, I really do. But honestly Rachel, it should have been me. I wanted to be the one to propose to you. I wanted to be the one waiting at the alter while you walked down the aisle looking absolutely beautiful. I wanted to be the one that slipped the ring on your finger before I kissed you as my wife for the first time... I would have given anything to have had a first kiss with you. If only I could have realized that the reason I was so obsessed with you when we were younger wasn't because I hated you, but because I loved you... God, then maybe it actually would have been me up there with you today."_

Rachel was staring at the black screen. So many emotions were running through her. She never knew that Quinn felt this way about her and had she, she probably would have actually made a move and made things right. Rachel knew she couldn't miss her chance now. She backed the chair away from the desk and walked to the door.

Quinn was standing in the lobby admiring the flowers. She noticed the spot on the shelf where a few duck vases were missing. "_Oh, Santana."_ She was wondering how long Rachel would be in the office. How far through was she now? "_Maybe this wasn't a good idea." _ Quinn always had a huge fear of rejection but this was her last chance at getting the girl she was in love with. She waited patiently and finally the door opened and Rachel walked through.

Both hearts were racing as Rachel made her way up to Quinn standing mere inches away. Neither of them spoke but instead Rachel grabbed Quinn's hands and placed them on her waist. She then wrapped her own arms around Quinn's neck. The girls were both breathing heavy and staring into each others eyes. It reminded Quinn of the duet they sang together and how intense this moment was. Rachel gave a slight tug on her neck, hoping Quinn would take the hint and lean down. When Quinn felt the tug she licked her lips and leaned down slowly. She lingered mere centimeters away from the brunette's lips and tightened her grip on her waist. _"Please don't pass out before you do this." _In one swift motion, she pressed her lips firmly against Rachel's.


End file.

Glee, Romance