Summary: An interaction between Rachel and Quinn during Born This Way, where Quinn finds out something about Rachel that may make her revise her opinion of the girl. Part of the Deleted Scenes series. One-shot.

Spoilers: S02E18

Characters: Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry

Pairings: None.

Notes: I do not get how Rachel's dads weren't present with her in the doctor's office when she was there the second time and it wasn't even mentioned once. Also, how Q/R are supposed to be 'friends' now, but all we get are these vague, stupid interactions.

Quinn carefully reversed her car out of the parking space and started driving home at a slightly lower than average speed, not wanting another scratch on her baby to match the one she'd made the other day. She automatically glanced towards the main gate before remembering that Rachel would probably be at the doctor's office right now, so there wasn't any chance of spotting the brunette waiting outside school well after every other person had left.

When she'd first started noticing the brunette standing there, she'd put it down to Rachel's micromanaging nature, thinking that the other girl probably stayed late in school of her own accord to use the auditorium or sound equipment. But after seeing Rachel standing outside the gates every day, she'd realized that neither did they have Glee every day, and nor did Rachel ever seem to stay behind. In fact, the brunette was often the first to pack up. Then why was it that she'd still be standing there an hour later, when Quinn's Cheerio practice got over?

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind - it wasn't as if she didn't spend enough time thinking about that when she did actually see the brunette. In fact, the dent in Quinn's car was because she'd been looking at Rachel, even thinking of offering her a ride to try to figure out what was up, and she'd been to engrossed in her thoughts to keep an eye on where she was going. So yeah, she pushed Rachel out of her head and concentrated on getting home safely.

But a few minutes after she pulled on to the main road, Quinn saw a very familiar face standing in front of the doctor's clinic, a bright red raincoat on to protect herself from the light drizzle. This time, Quinn couldn't help but pull over - Berry had gotten punched in the face by Finn's decidedly large fist, which meant she should have been at home with an icepack plastered on her face.

"Berry, what the hell are you doing out here in the rain?"

"Quinn, what a pleasant surprise," said Rachel, giving Quinn a slight smile that didn't hurt her face too much. "I um... Well, one of my dads were supposed to pick me up, but I believe there was a miscommunication of some sort, so they've been delayed."

"Right... Listen, if they're still going to take some time, I could drop you off. Your house is on my way." Which was really a lie, because their houses were in the opposite direction. Quinn didn't know why she felt so eager to help Rachel, but she did, and hoped the other girl didn't know where she lived.

"Um.. well, I appreciate the offer," said Rachel, clearly looking a bit... uncomfortable, Quinn though. "But... Well, if they arrive soon and-"

"And you leave with me it'll be troubling them, right?" said Quinn. She didn't know Rachel's parents, but she sure as hell had been taught a lot of stuff about politeness. "Just... climb in for a moment, and call them and see if they can just meet you at home, 'kay?"

"Alright. Thanks, Quinn," said Rachel, more than a little surprised at the blonde's accommodating behavior. She got in nonetheless, carefully removing the raincoat and pulling out her cellphone. As Quinn waited patiently, Rachel first called Leroy, who's phone went to voice mail, then Hiram.

"Daddy, it's me. Yes... No, nothing else has happened. I was just wondering where you were... He was? But his phone's going to voice mail... Oh, alright... No, that's fine Daddy. I was really just calling to ask where you were, because Quinn has very kindly offered to drop me home... Okay, I'll see you then. Bye, Daddy. Love you too... Yes, I'll tell her. Bye."

"So, I guess this means you can come with me," said Quinn, giving Rachel a choice to not explain anything. She had no clue what that conversation had entailed, but there was obviously something wrong when the brunette's nose had practically gotten crushed into her face and her parents didn't seem to be able to

"Yes. Daddy asked me to thank you for him. He said that Dad was supposed to pick me up but.. Well, anyway, let's get going, shall we?" said Rachel brightly.

"Yeah, sure." Quinn programmed Rachel's address into the GPRS system and started driving again, sneaking quick glances at the girl next to her who was staring out of the window, occasionally touching her nose.

Rachel absently took in the rows of houses disappearing behind them, thinking about her conversation with her father. He was still at his office, thinking that his husband was going to go and pick Rachel up, but on calling his secretary, Hiram found that Leroy was in a meeting and hadn't gotten his message. Hiram had been very apologetic and embarrassed, but what was that supposed to do, really? She was used to waiting for them in school, because she understood that they had to work, and having three cars just wasn't feasible for their family right now.

But today... they hadn't been able to take out a few minutes to just talk to each other after getting calls from her and from school. And while Rachel never liked thinking about her fathers increasing absence from her life and each others - the way their work hours seemed to get longer and clash more often, how they never really attended any of her performances together with one of the crazy banners they'd make when she was little, how the family dinners were just Rachel sitting down once a week with either of them and take-out - it was getting harder to ignore now.

"So... what did the doctor say?"

"Huh.. I'm sorry, what?"

"The doctor. What did he say about your nose?"

"Oh. Well luckily, it's a clean break, so all I have to do, really, is wait for the swelling to subside and the bone to heal itself and it should all be back to normal."

"Cool. That's good... I mean, with Finn's hand, it could have been a lot worse."

"Hmm... I suppose he wasn't really hitting with a lot of force, or I might not have had a nose left at all."

"Exactly," said Quinn, offering Rachel a small smile. "And speaking of Finn, where is he? I thought he'd come with you."

"Oh, he did. But I assured him there was really no need for him to wait after the doctor started asking some.. odd questions, and since my dads were coming, he left. You really don't need to worry about him, Quinn," said Rachel gently. "Finn's with the person he always wanted. He's not going to come back to me because he hurt me."

"What? No, I wasn't asking because I thought you guys were... hooking up or something. I just wondered why he'd left you alone like this, that's all. Really."

"Oh, alright," said Rachel and relapsed into silence. Quinn quirked her eyebrow a bit at the short reply, and wondered what was up with Rachel today. She was pretty sure that she had, for the first and probably last time, spoken more than the brunette.

"Quinn.. are you free this Friday?" asked Rachel after a minute, something the doctor had said coming back to her.

"Um... I guess. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to come to the doctor with me."

"I... thought you'e said you didn't need to go there again."

"Not for this injury, I don't. But... the doctor said that since I already have a problem, and it'll take some time to heal, why not use it to my advantage?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"A... a minor adjustment to the bone structure of my nose."

"A nose-job! Rachel, no."

"W-why not?" asked Rachel, taken aback at Quinn's strong reaction. "It has nothing to do with vanity. The doctor reckons that it might possibly help me take in more air, which in turn-"

"Is that what the doctor told you? You're going to tell yourself that you'll get a nose-job which will improve your singing just to appease your conscience, and that's all there is to it. A nose-job is a damn nose-job, Berry, and it's not to make you sing better, it's to make you look better, no matter what you say."

"But the doctor-"

"Likes making money off of people, even if it's by giving them surgery they don't really need. God, Berry, you cannot fall for that crap he gave you. I mean, look at Barbra Streisand - you think that she wouldn't have gotten a nose-job if it really helped out with singing?"

"I-I suppose she would have."

"Exactly... You've always been fine with the way your nose looked, Rachel. Don't change that because of something a random person told you."

"That's so easy for you to say," said Rachel. "You look like you've been carved out of marble, Quinn. How would you know about being unhappy with the way you look?"

"Yeah well... Fine, I look gorgeous and I don't know what it's like to look in the mirror and see something you don't like," said Quinn, reciting the lie she'd been used to telling for the better part of her life. It was easier than trying to explain to someone that just because people thought she looked good did not automatically mean that she was comfortable in her own skin. No one would understand something like that.

"Then you cannot tell me not to change something in my body I'm not completely pleased with."

"Yeah, actually, I can. Don't you get the fact that it's your... stubbornness that makes you... you? You're so proud of everything about you, no matter what everyone thinks of it. And that's what makes you really special Rachel. That.. That's why Finn still talks about you even when he's with me. Because you have this huge nose, but you don't let people tell you it's ugly... and if you change that, you're gonna change a lot, lot more than just the shape of your nose."

"I... this isn't a discussion," said Rachel finally, unable to come up with a retort. Not only was it beyond odd that Quinn Fabray was advising her, the blonde was actually making the same points that had been troubling Rachel. But although she knew that she'd been adamant about never getting a nose-job, the opportunity was dangling in front of her face right now, along with no fear of having her voice affected. Rachel didn't think she was strong enough to resist the temptation of having at least one less thing to be teased about, not when it'd be so very easy to get it done and she just wasn't interested in hearing someone else voice the objections of her conscience.

"Won't you at least think about it a little?"

"Of course I will. I do believe I've decided about getting some changes, but I'd rather know exactly what the final result will be before going under the knife. Which was why I'd like you to come with me. I leafed through a pamphlet, and it seems that you can get a nose grafted onto your photograph, to see how it'll look."

"And you want me there because...?"

"Because of your nose, of course. It's widely regarded as the best in our school, and I'd like to see how it would look on me."

"I hate to break it to you.. but it's my nose. On my face. Don't you think that you should find a nose that like, suits your face rather than one that you think just looks good?"

"Maybe your's will. What's the harm in trying, right?"

"Fine," sighed Quinn when it became clear to her that Rachel wasn't going to back down. "I'll come with you to that stupid doctor."

"Excellent."

They spent the next ten minutes making small talk till Quinn pulled up at Rachel's house and Rachel made a move to get out.

"Rachel, wait," said Quinn before she could stop herself. Given the way Rachel's parents had been absent earlier, Quinn was pretty sure that they weren't going to be waiting to welcome the girl home and for some reason, it made her uncomfortable to leave Rachel to herself in the state she was in presently. "I... Are your dads at home now?"

"Um... They'll be here soon. Since it was so close to the end of Daddy's workday, I told him not to bother cutting it short to just be home a few minutes early," said Rachel by way of explanation, and Quinn decided not to push. She could tell that Rachel was covering for her parents, and she'd done it herself enough times to understand how embarrassing it was to get caught out.

"Well, I could... I mean, maybe we could hang out till they get back? Discuss Glee some more or something," said Quinn casually, the look on Rachel's face telling her what the answer was going to be before she even spoke.

"That's really very sweet of you, Quinn, but... I'll be fine. And anyway, Finn was saying he had something planned for the two of you today. You've already wasted time dropping me and I don't want you to be late because of me.

"If you're sure... I'll see you tomorrow then, I guess."

"Bye Quinn. Thank you for the ride."

"Not a problem," said Quinn, watching the other girl wave to her and climb up to the front porch of her house, fumbling with the keys for a moment before she managed to get the right one in the lock. She waited till Rachel was inside the house with the door firmly shut behind her before heading home, realizing that maybe the things she'd just learnt about Rachel meant that they really weren't as dissimilar as she'd thought.

Reviews are sugar, spice and everything nice.