So I've had the idea for this story in my head for at least 4 years now (yes, even before Glee) and never really had the confidence to write it until now, but I am very happy with the way it's panning out. As all my readers know, I am a Quick fan all the way so even though this story will start out with Fuinn together, just keep reading because I promise you'll get your Quick :)

I want to thank Scarlett88 for betaing and my friend Katie (lilgulie5) for giving me advice and helping with the story.

I really hope you enjoy this first chapter and pretty please leave a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter One: Pretty as a Princess

Quinn Fabray stepped out of her car into the cool, crisp spring afternoon. She let the fresh air fill her lungs, wanting to replace the stale, greasy air that she breathed at work. She closed her car door (with a lot of effort because her car isn't what it used to be) before walking up the familiar stone driveway and knocking on the red, wooden door.

"Hey Quinn," Carol Hudson greeted as she opened the door wide for the blonde. The sound of tiny, pattering footsteps could be heard as Quinn's daughter, Beth, entered the room.

"Hi Mama!" she said excitedly as she walked into her mom's open arms for a hug. Quinn gave her daughter a gentle squeeze before letting go and kissing her atop her head.

"Were you good for your Grammy today?" asked Quinn.

Beth smiled wide, looking extra adorable without the two front teeth she had lost the week before. "I did! We did a puzzle today and watched Tangled and we even got to go outside and play for a whiles! But don't worry mom," Beth said when she noticed her mom opening her mouth to say something, "I wored my hat so I wouldn't get burnded."

"That's my girl," Quinn smiled proudly at her daughter. "Why don't you go get your bag so we can leave?" Beth nodded as she skipped back into the kitchen to collect her things. Quinn then turned to Carol, "How'd it go, being outside?"

"Great," Carol said, "We played with some sidewalk chalk and went down the slide a couple times. It tired her out, though, and she took an extra-long nap, but I think she was so happy to be playing outside again that it was worth it."

"Thank goodness," Quinn sighed.

"Big doctor's appointment tomorrow," Carol said, putting her hand on Quinn's back. "You nervous?"

"Aren't I always?"

Carol nodded. "Well, with the way she's progressing it seems to me that tomorrow might be a good day."

"Let's hope," Quinn said, her voice tired and apprehensive.

Just then, Beth walked back into the room carrying her bag and her favorite stuffed lamb, Curly, she took everywhere.

"Ready to go, Critter?" Quinn asked. Beth nodded and gave her grandma a hug good-bye before taking her mom's hand and walking out to the car. Quinn buckled the young girl into her booster seat before taking off.

"Mama, can we have McDonalds for dinner?" Beth asked on their drive home. "I's hungry now."

Quinn sighed. She really didn't like her daughter eating greasy fast-food, but she liked to take advantage of the little girl showing interest in eating something. "Okay, but just this once," she compromised.

"Yay!" Beth smiled, clapping her small hands together. "Can we go inside and play on the play set?"

"I don't know Beth, you've had a long day already," Quinn said hesitantly, "Are you sure you're up for playing some more?"

"Please, it's so fun," Beth begged, sticking out her bottom lip and batting her large, hazel eyes.

Quinn sighed; she was such a pushover when it came to her daughter. "Okay, but you have to work extra hard on math tonight with Mama. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Quinn pulled into the parking lot of McDonald's. She let Beth out of her booster seat before taking her daughter's small hand and walking into the facility.

There was already a line of about three people, so the mother and daughter got in the back and waited patiently for their turn to order. Quinn looked around the restaurant and saw people staring at them. It was the same everywhere they went. She held onto her daughter's hand a little tighter, like it could somehow protect her from all the staring. Beth didn't seem to notice, though, she was eyeing the 'My Little Pony' toys displayed on the wall.

Quinn made Beth finish all her chicken nuggets and most of her fries before she allowed her to play on the play set. She watched her daughter closely, smiling at how far she had come in the last month since her treatments were over.

After a while, though, Beth was worn-out and ready to go. Quinn drove them back to their apartment and by the time they got there it was already seven. She knew she shouldn't have let Beth play so long because now there wasn't much time for a lesson.

She sat at the kitchen table with Beth and helped her with the adding page in her math workbook. "You have three oranges at your house," Quinn said, holding up three fingers. "You go to the grocery store and buy two more oranges. How many do you have now?" Quinn asked, adding two more fingers to the three already up. Beth concentrated on her mom's fingers, counting them in her head.

"Five?" Beth answered.

"Correct!" Quinn said giving her daughter a high-five. Beth smiled proudly.

"Hey Mama."

"Hey what?"

"Do I get to go to real school next year for first grade?"

Quinn sighed. "We'll have to see how your doctor's appointment goes tomorrow." Ever since Beth was diagnosed with Leukemia almost two years ago she hadn't been able to do what most "normal" kids get to; one of those things being going to school. With all the germs in a classroom they just couldn't risk it. During Beth's treatments, just getting a cold could have been life-threatening.

"If I get to go to school next year, can I have a pink backpack?" Beth wondered.

"You can have any backpack you want."

The pair was interrupted by the sound of keys jiggling in the front door as the knob turned. "Daddy!" Beth said, jumping from her chair and greeting her father at the front door. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her own skinny arms around his neck, hugging him tight.

"Hey baby," Finn smiled, hugging his daughter back. "How was your day?"

"Awesome! Grammy let me play outside and Mama let me go to McDonald's for dinner and play on the play set!"

"Wow, sounds great," Finn said enthusiastically as he set his daughter back on the floor. He walked over to Quinn and pecked her on the lips before opening up the fridge to get himself some dinner. While he ate, Quinn bathed Beth and got her ready for bed.

After the big day Beth had had, she was asleep within minutes. Quinn kissed her daughter's silky forehead good-night before quietly leaving the room. She walked back into the kitchen and joined Finn at the table.

"Did you remember to ask if you could get off early tomorrow to come to the doctor's appointment?" Quinn wondered.

"Yea," Finn nodded, shoveling some chicken into his mouth. "Burt said to tell him and my mom how it goes."

"Let's just hope its good news," Quinn sighed as she settled her elbows on the table, laying her head in her hands. She was exhausted from all the worrying she had been doing and she just wanted it all to be over with.

X-X-X-X-X

The next day Quinn left Breadstix a little earlier than usual so she could take Beth to her doctor's appointment. Apprehension filled every ounce of Quinn's body as she arrived at Carol and Burt's house to pick her daughter up. Around Beth she tried to pretend like this doctor's appointment was no big deal, just one of a million she'd had to go to in during the past two years, but honestly it wasn't true. This appointment was crucial as to whether her daughter gets to be normal again or go through another agonizing year of treatments.

Carol gave Quinn an extra strong hug before she and Beth walked out the door and to Quinn's car.

"Mommy, is I ever gonna have hair again?" Beth wondered during their car ride.

"Of course you are, sweetie. But like I tell you, you're beautiful without it, too."

"Like a princess?"

"Prettier than a princess."

"Wow," Beth smiled.

They arrived at the doctor's office and made their way up to the third floor. Quinn signed Beth in at the counter before they took a seat. She looked at her watch. They had gotten there about fifteen minutes early and Finn was to meet them any minute. Unconsciously, her leg began to shake as she waited.

"Mommy, that girl looks like me," Beth whispered, pointing to another little girl diagonal from them. She was about a year older than Beth, sitting beside her mom reading a book. She had very large blue eyes that stood out compared to the baldness of her head.

"She does look like you, doesn't she?"

Beth nodded. Quinn picked up a magazine so she could try (and fail) to take her mind of the impending meeting with Beth's doctor. She didn't even notice Beth had gotten up until she heard her soft, tiny voice on the other side of the room.

"You're very pretty," she heard Beth say. She looked up to see Beth had walked across the room to where the other little girl was sitting with her mom. The little girl looked up from her book and gave Beth a sad smile.

"No, I'm not. I don't have any hair," the little girl countered.

"Me neither," Beth said, pointing to her shiny, pale head. "I still think you look like a princess, even with no hair. My Mama says I look like one, too. She says princesses are pretty because of what's on the inside. She says as long as I'm nice to peoples I is a princess."

"So does mine," the other girl said, her smile lifting now.

"I'm Beth, and that's my Mama," she said pointing back to Quinn. "She's pretty, too, even if she has hair."

Quinn chuckled as she got up and walked to the other side of the waiting room, joining her daughter. "I'm Quinn," she said, holding her hand out to the little girl's mom.

"I'm Anne and this is my daughter, Alice," the little girl's mom said. She looked to be about eight to ten years older than Quinn. She had a short, brown bob and a friendly, white smile. Like Quinn, she had more worry lines on her face than someone her age should.

"What kind of cancer do you have, Beth?" wondered Alice.

"Acute Myeloid Leukemia," Beth said, proud that she had finally conquered remembering the name. "You?"

"Hodgkin's Lymphoma," answered Alice, "But I'm in remission now. You see? I have a couple hairs growing back." She pointed to a couple blonde hairs poking from atop her head.

"I'll be in remission someday, and then I'll get to go to school and have a pink backpack," Beth explained.

Just then the nurse called Alice's name and the little girl and her mom stood. "Maybe we could exchange numbers?" Quinn suggested. "Sometimes it's nice for them to play with someone who understands."

"Good idea," Anne said as she got out her phone and exchanged numbers with Quinn. Alice waved back to Beth as she followed her mom and the nurse to the doctor's office.

Quinn and Beth made their way back to their seats. "Even though that was sweet, Critter, I don't want you talking to any strangers without telling me first, okay?"

Beth nodded, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Quinn said, rubbing her daughter's back.

Finn walked through the door a minute later and spotted his daughter and girlfriend. He took the chair to Quinn's right, putting his hands on his knees and moving back and forth nervously.

"How was work?" asked Quinn, trying to take their minds off the worrying.

"Not too busy today," Finn answered simply. They sat in silence for the rest of the wait.

About ten minutes later, Ashley, the nurse came out to the door. "Elizabeth Hudson," she called and the three of them rose out of their chairs and went to meet the familiar nurse. She was in her mid-twenties and a little on the chubby side. She had long brown hair that went mid-length down her back, and she always wore a welcome smile, which was especially helpful on nerve-wracking days such as this one.

"Hey there Beth!" greeted Ashley as she closed the door behind them and led them down the white halls of the office. She led them through a maze of hallways before stopping in front of a door. "Mom and Dad are to go in there and have a chat with Doctor Cohen. Bethy gets to come with me and get a couple tests done. Nothing big, just weight and blood test."

Ashley then knocked on the Dr. Cohen's office door before opening it slightly. "Miss Fabray and Mr. Hudson are here," she said. There was a mumbled response from the doctor before Ashley opened the door all the way.

"You be good, Beth," Quinn said as she kissed her daughter.

"I will!" Beth promised as she took hold of Ashley's hand and skipped down the hall. "Do you still have those Hello Kitty Band-Aids?" Quinn heard her daughter ask and she turned to enter the office and couldn't help but giggle to herself.

"Hello you two," greeted Dr. Cohen, "Come, take a seat." He pointed to the two empty green chairs on the other side of his desk, and Quinn and Finn sat down. They looked up at the familiar doctor before them. He had been Beth's oncologist for nearly two years now. He was older, in his early sixties, but he was sharp and he cared a lot about Beth's health. His hair was thinning considerably and he had plenty of worry lines on his forehead, probably from taking care of sick kids for the better part of his life.

"I received Beth's test results last week and things look very good," he said. Quinn and Finn both visibly relaxed, relieved by this news. "It seems the chemotherapy has worked and Beth is, again, in what we call phase two or post-remission therapy. Now, last year when this happened we went ahead and just did another round of chemo to try and get the last of the cancer cells out of her body, but as we all saw the remission didn't last long. So this time around I would like to try something else. Have either of you heard of a bone-marrow transplant?"

Finn shook his head.

"Vaguely, but I don't know much about it," Quinn answered.

"Basically, it's another form of treatment for patients with Leukemia. First we would destroy of all Beth's bone-marrow with high doses of chemotherapy and radiation. Then we would put healthy, donor marrow into Beth via needle and it will replace all of her old marrow," explained Dr. Cohen.

"How intense is this chemo we're talking about?" Quinn wondered. She's already witnessed her six-year-old daughter go through three rounds of chemotherapy and is not exactly looking forward to seeing it again.

"It'll be pretty intense," Dr. Cohen answered honestly, "But as of right now, the transplant is Beth's best bet at remission and ultimately survival."

Quinn sighed as she scrunched her eyes and pinched the top of her nose. Finn reached over and massaged the back of her neck. "So, who…who do we get this donor marrow from?"

"The number one choice is a twin and then a sibling, but considering Beth has neither, we would probably test the two of your first. Parents have about a 35% chance of having compatible marrow with the child. If it happens that neither of you are a match, we'd have to put her on the waiting list to find a random donor."

Quinn nodded as anxiety filled her body once again. She knew right away Finn would not be a match to Beth because, well, because he was not her real father. He didn't know he wasn't the father, either, and Quinn would like to keep it that way. She began to pray that she was a match because if she wasn't she knew she would have to ask Puck (her real father) to be the donor and that would raise too much suspicion. Sure, Finn was the least observant man she had ever known, but even he would know something was up if Puck was a match and he wasn't.

"When can we get tested to see if we're matches?" Finn wondered.

"Today if you want," answered Dr. Cohen. "All we need is a cheek swab and some blood. But if you need time to think about whether you want to do the transplant or not, you have a week before you need to decide for sure."

"And you said this is her best chance of survival?"

The doctor nodded. "Especially since another, lighter round of chemo didn't work the last time."

Quinn thought about the day they had learned Beth's cancer had come back. It had only been four months since she had heard the beautiful word 'remission' and they were already telling her it had returned. Quinn knew she couldn't go through that again. She looked over at Finn and could tell, just by looking at his face, he was thinking the same thing.

"I don't think we need time," Quinn said, "If it's Beth's best chance than we want to do it."

"Great," Dr. Cohen said, clapping his hands together. "You two are making the right choice here." He reached into his top draw and took out a pad of paper and scribbled something down before tearing the paper off and handing it to Quinn. "This is a note for the lab on the first floor that you can give to them. They'll do your tests and I'll see you back here in a week to tell you the results?"

"Sounds good," Quinn said as she stood up from her chair, Finn following suit. "Thank you for everything."

"No problem."

Quinn turned and opened the door. She stepped out of the office with Finn right behind her. She put her hands over her eyes and sighed loudly. "I don't want to do this again." She began shaking her head back and forth. "And with the transplant, it's going to be even worse than before. And oh God, Finn, how are we going to afford this? We could barely afford the last round of chemo, but this is going to be even more costly."

Finn embraced his worried girlfriend in a hug and pulled her tight. She relaxed a little as she laid her head against his chest. "It'll be okay, Quinn; we'll find a way. If it comes down to it, I'm sure my mom and Burt would be more than willing to loan us some money."

"I hate borrowing money," Quinn pouted, "But it may be our only choice."

X-X-X-X-X

That night while Finn and Beth were watching Finding Nemofor the hundredth time, Quinn slipped out the door to go get the mail. She walked down to the first floor of their apartment building where the mailboxes were. She got out the key and unlocked their mailbox. After collecting their mail, she started to go through the pile of envelopes. Mostly it was bills and a couple past-due notices. Quinn looked at the last envelope and immediately recognized the barely-legible handwriting. She tore it open to find the usual five-hundred dollar check.

Thank goodness for Puck, she thought as she looked closely at the check. He had been sending them once a month since the day Beth was born. With a lot of difficulty, Quinn had managed to convince him back in high school that she was going to keep telling Finn he was the father. It took Puck a long time to accept the truth that he was not going to get to raise his baby girl, but, true to his word he would not end up like his dead-beat dad, he sent monthly checks to make sure she was taken care of, financially at least. In return, Quinn would send a letter back with an update about Beth's health along with some pictures.

She looked back in the envelope to find the usual letter he sent with the check. It read:

Dear Baby-Mama,

I am very happy to hear that Beth's chemotherapy is over for now. She's a strong little girl; she gets it from her you. The pictures you sent were beautiful as always and she seemed to have gained a little weight, which is good. I look forward to seeing more pictures and hearing how the doctor's appointment goes. I wish I could be there for it and for her and for you. I'm always here if you need anything.

Love,

Puck

Quinn sighed. She loved getting Puck's letters but he always stuck in some line about how he wished things would have turned out differently had she given him a chance. And if Quinn was honest, she spent many nights wondering the same thing. How different would her life be right now if she had given Puck a chance? She knew Beth would still have cancer; that had nothing to do with who the man raising her was. But she always wondered if she would have been able to finish college or if he would have been a good dad. Maybe she would have ended up doing the parenting thing alone. She hated wondering about it, though, because it was a hopeless cause. The past is the past and it cannot change.

She put the check and letter back inside the envelope and walked back up to the apartment. She walked straight back to her and Finn's room and opened the closet. In the back was an old shoe-box filled with every letter Puck had written since he went away to college. He told Quinn it was too hard being around Beth and not getting to raise her, so he took a scholarship to play football at the University of Kentucky about four hours away. Quinn understood completely why he did, although she did miss having him around at times. Puck still came over to visit when he was on a school break because he was still 'best bros' or whatever with Finn, but whenever he did, Quinn could see the sad look in his eyes every time he had to say good-bye to Beth. She felt like a monster when she saw that look. Maybe she is a monster, though. What she did (and is still doing) to Finn and Puck is pretty messed up. She was a child when all this occurred, but she's older now and can see how badly she screwed up back in high school. She's too deep into this lie, though, to do anything about it. But she knows one day it will all blow up in her face; it's just a matter of time.

Review :)