When Rachel and Finn stood up in the middle of Glee practice to announce that they were getting married, Quinn felt bile rise in her throat, unable to fathom how that could end well. Finn living in New York while Rachel was on Broadway? A very, very bad idea. Rachel living in Lima with Finn? An equally awful alternative.

So Quinn spoke up, making up some bullshit excuse about how they weren't responsible enough for that kind of commitment, wishing someone would call her out on how much of a hypocrite she was being (Quinn Fabray, lecturing someone about responsibility?). As Rachel stood there, listening but not understanding, standing on her high horse and uninviting her to the wedding like Quinn had cared about going in the first place, Quinn tried her best not to explode. She knew from experience that anyone like Rachel marrying anyone like Finn ended in tragedy for everyone involved. She also knew that she was not telling the entire Glee club the story that proved her theory.

Quinn took a deep breath, nodded in defeat, and left the room.

Two days later, she noticed Rachel sitting at the piano in the choir room, absentmindedly playing scales. The fact that she was alone made Quinn realize this might be her only chance to warn Rachel of the flaw in her decision, so she entered the room with no small amount of trepidation.

"Rachel?"

Rachel jumped slightly. Clearly, she hadn't heard Quinn come into the room. "Hello, Quinn."

Quinn frowned at the sound of Rachel's voice. She seemed… subdued, which never boded well when it came to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

Quinn merely arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine. I'm not fine. I'm angry and upset. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Well, at least now you're telling the truth." After a pause, Quinn continued speaking. "What happened?"

Rachel sighed. "Promise you won't say 'I told you so'?"

"Promise promise."

Rachel smiled slightly at the familiar retort before frowning again. "Finn and I are fighting. About the wedding, I mean. He just wants us to go to Town Hall and sign the papers and call it a day. I've been trying to tell him that our wedding day is supposed to be special. I've been planning it for years! But whenever I try to talk to him about chairs or caterers or the color of his boutonniere, he just says we don't need any of that. And I know that technically, he's right. All I really need is him to be happy. But you only get one wedding day, and I want more that a Justice of the Peace and vending machine food at the reception. Is that too much to ask?"

Quinn smiled and sat down on the bench next to Rachel. "Rachel, I have a story to tell you."

"Um… okay." Although clearly confused, Rachel seemed curious, which Quinn took as a sign to start talking.

"There was a girl one time that I knew. She was smart and pretty and so, so talented. She danced… ballet, mainly, but she was good at tap too. She had an incredible gift, but on top of that, she worked so, so hard. When she wasn't studying, she was dancing."

Rachel nodded in affirmation, despite the confusion that lingered on her face.

"When she was a sophomore in high school, she started dating this boy. He was the quarterback of the football team, captain of the lacrosse team, and the most popular boy in school. She didn't just love him for that, though. She loved how kind he was, how he put her first. He bought her flowers sometimes, just to brighten her day, and kissed her goodnight after every date. She told me one time it was like dating a prince from a fairy tale, all chivalry and manners and heart."

"That's how Finn makes me feel," Rachel said quietly.

"I know," Quinn said. She took a breath before continuing her story. "Well, as time passed, she realized that he wasn't perfect. He cared a little bit too much about his popularity, and his pride, but he tried to be a good man for her, and she appreciated that. She thought that he would outgrow that, that after he left high school he would grow up a little bit and move on from things like that. So when he proposed to her in their senior year of high school, she said yes without hesitation."

Rachel's eyes were glued to Quinn with such rapt attention it made Quinn a little uncomfortable.

"Over time, she realized that all those things she'd thought he would outgrow? He didn't outgrow them. In fact, as time passed, he became a little more controlling, a little more obsessed with his social status. But she was so blinded by her love for him that when he asked her to stay in their hometown and start a family, she agreed, even though she knew she'd have to give up her dreams of being a professional dancer."

Rachel spoke up, her voice faint. "Then what happened?"

"After they'd had children, he started to realize that he was never going to be all that important outside of their small town. He realized that he'd settled for less than he'd wanted, and that his wife had agreed to do the same thing. He became bitter, and he started drinking."

Quinn paused for a moment, closing her eyes, trying to ignore the burn behind her eyelids. "As time passed, he got more and more angry. So he started drinking more, and more, and more. He became so miserable to live with that his wife started drinking, and eventually she was so dependent on alcohol that she was always drunk. And because of that, when her husband started beating their children, she didn't intervene. She let it happen."

Rachel looked close to tears. "Finn loves me. He would never do anything that awful. And I would never give up my dreams for him, because he would never make me!"

"Rachel…"

"What, Quinn?" Rachel's voice had risen in anger. "Whoever your friend was in that story, I am so sorry that her husband ended up being such a jerk, but Finn's a good person, and he would never stoop that low!"

"The girl in the story is my mother."

The room fell into a suffocating silence. Looking over, Quinn noticed that Rachel was frozen in place, staring at Quinn with horror.

"What?" she whispered.

"The woman in the story," Quinn repeated, "was my mother. That story? That's the story of my parents' lives."

Rachel said, "Quinn…" with a strange mix of anger and revulsion in her voice.

Choosing to ignore her tone, Quinn continued, "I'm not saying Finn would force you to give up Broadway. I'm not saying that he would resent you for your choices in life. And I'm not saying that he would ever become an abusive alcoholic. But my mother loved my father the same way that you love Finn, and that didn't stop him from treating us the way that he did."

"Your father hit you?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. Of course, Rachel would focus on that part. "That's not the point. My point is, you're eighteen years old. You're also the most talented person I've ever met. But you're so willing to risk your entire future for Finn Hudson. I could be wrong. Maybe you and Finn would be truly happy together. But he would die in New York, and you can't survive in Lima."

Rachel was crying silently, tears dripping onto the floor of the Glee room with soft plinks.

"I don't think you should marry Finn. If you really, truly think that you two will last forever, then marry him… just make sure you're completely sure."

Rachel didn't respond.

"Just promise me one thing, Rachel."

"Yeah?"

"Choose whichever option makes you happy. Your joy is the most important thing to consider."

With that, Quinn left Rachel to think by herself, walking out of the choir room as silently as she had entered.

Two days later, Finn didn't show up to Glee. Rachel did, but her eyes were red-rimmed. She didn't say a word the entire day.

She wasn't wearing an engagement ring.

Kurt caught Quinn's eye from across the choir room. He gave her a sad little half-smile and a nod. Clearly Rachel had told him about the entire confrontation.

Quinn nodded back.

It was a start.