Disclaimer: Own not. Profit not. Sue not.

AN: A little explanation - this story is actually two stories in one! This first chapter is in the 'present' and the one following will be a flashback chapter. It will continue to flip-flop like that until we reach the end. Enjoy!

Kelly's Law: Nothing is as simple as it seems.

(Present)

Rachel had thought that Peter Pan had been a big hit, but Moulin Rouge was even bigger - bigger than anything she could have hoped for or imagined. It was an absolute sensation and that alone made Rachel feel like a superhero. The cast was amazing; her leading man was a sweet, chivalrous, amazing human being who complimented her well, and their chemistry was the talk of all the local papers.

All the media attention on their production had her feeling like a princess, and she wanted to cry and shout and sing for the pure joy of seeing all of her dreams come true. Finally, there were people shouting her name and approaching her on the street to ask for an autograph, even the occasional instance of photographers hounding her and magazines blowing up her manager's phone to beg for interviews.

In her wildest dreams where all of that was a possibility, she hadn't imagined that it could be like this.

As ecstatic as she was – and she was over the moon – she also hadn't anticipated the strain that being in the public eye would cause. Nor had she ever thought that she would have things that she desperately wanted to keep safe, to keep private. Things to keep for herself, out of the hands of people who would pull every little detail apart. It felt strangely selfish, but the idea of sharing anything as intimate as her love life made her cringe. She was used to whispers and not so quiet comments - thank you high school - but she didn't want to share Quinn or see what others would have to say about their relationship. After seeing more than a few relationships ruined by media exposure, she wanted nothing more than to protect herself and Quinn from any more stress.

It no longer startled her to find that she adored Quinn more than anything in the world, more even than the applause and bright lights of success. Standing on stage every night, she would grin and wave at her fans, but it was Quinn she thought about. Knowing that as soon as she was finished she could clean up, sign autographs, and then be home with her - that was what really made Rachel feel like she was invincible.

As wonderful as the fame was, as the feeling that she was finally accepted and appreciated was, it somehow couldn't compare to Quinn. Quinn made her feel special, cherished, and loved for more than her ability to hit those notes that made people shiver. They loved her voice, her performances, loved the Rachel Berry they 'knew' from those interviews and pictures. Quinn loved all of her. Her neuroses, odd habits, every part that made her her. Rachel could barely believe it was true, that she could be loved like that - and that she could love Quinn as deeply as she did in return. She'd fallen fast and she'd fallen hard, but it was so different from any other time she'd thought she was in love. Their relationship was complex, Quinn's job saw to that, and it added a layer to things that Rachel hadn't experienced before.

Rachel felt like maybe she was actually growing up.

She did love to perform still, and Quinn was supportive even as she did her best to hide from the public eye. It was out though – people were clever and they had technology on their side. Web sites had popped up dedicated to Rachel and inside almost every single one were pictures of them together. 'Rachel and mystery friend out at lunch', 'Rachel and mystery friend's shopping excursion'.

Then they got hold of Quinn's first name and the speculation started. Was Quinn just a friend or something more?

Fortunately Rachel wasn't yet a big enough star that they were stalking her at home, but it was only a matter of time. They weren't in Vanity Fair or People or anything like that. Not yet. But they would be, if someone sniffed a big enough story. Broadway was still it's own little world, not nearly as exposed as Hollywood. She'd envisioned beating off paparazzi with an umbrella when she was younger - actually looked forward to it. Reality was different and blessedly so, because they didn't circle like vultures or chase her around town. They didn't even pry all that much.

It seemed enough at the moment that her fans were on the trail. Some hotly denied that Rachel was in any sort of relationship with Quinn and others steadfastly believed they were more, but none of them had any 'hard' evidence to support either claim. It was sort of funny to watch them argue back and forth but also a little disturbing. She enjoyed anonymously visiting fan pages, vain though it was. It could be creepy, but it was mostly fun.

They were more, so much more, but Quinn wasn't sure about announcing that and neither was Rachel's manager. Quinn wanted to keep Rachel as safe as possible, and to her that meant making sure her job stayed in the dark. Levi, her manager, completely understood their wish to keep their private life private, so he worked around them, keeping Rachel public without leaving her completely exposed. It's not like she was a recluse. As much as she'd learned from veterans of the business about the sanctity of a private life and private relationships, she still went out with Quinn, often with the rest of the cast as well. In doing so she created even more speculation about who she was dating, if she was dating, so on and so forth. They left it alone and let people think what they wanted. Let them speculate to their hearts content. It hardly mattered anyway; they could guess away - she and Quinn were far too busy with each other and work to really pay it too much attention.

She was very much swept up in the idea of making Moulin perfect and devoted most of her time to practice. If she wasn't on stage or with Quinn she was with her vocal instructor or working over the choreography for the show. Always working, she feverishly put her full effort into making this show the one that would get her that Tony. In doing so she fully admitted that she had been overlooking certain other aspects of her life. It's just that they were small things to her, really; eating at least two meals a day and sleeping just didn't seem as important in the face of a Tony.

Quinn, for her part, was very much aware of how close Rachel was getting to running herself right into the ground. Whether it was sickness or exhaustion that got to her first, Quinn knew it was coming and she had every intention of getting Rachel to take a break before that happened.

The trick would be convincing Rachel that a break was a good idea without getting a lecture. Quinn had already heard the 'These Are the Moments' speech twice before. She'd tried suggesting Rachel slow down, but Rache - ever the goal oriented, whirling dervish - ignored her. There was one thing she hadn't tried yet, but as she saw the circles under Rachel's eye grow more pronounced and her weight plummet, she knew she had to.

"I was thinking," Quinn said quietly one evening, stepping into the master bath as Rachel was soaking in the tub. Rachel opened one eye and looked up at her, not even bothering to pick her head up from the towel it was pillowed on. "I was thinking," Quinn repeated, carefully sitting down on the slippery edge, "that maybe we could use some stress relief. We've both been busy, and I thought maybe we could just have a little fun and relax for a change. What do you say?"

"I would say that I'm not actually sure what you're trying to say," Rachel replied, both eyes now open and staring at Quinn in confusion. "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing too big," Quinn rushed to say, not wanting Rachel to say 'no' outright. "I mean, yeah ok, a vacation sounds pretty awesome right now but that's – we went to Mexico before your show started. What I mean is… could I make some tentative plans for us to do something together? A night? A weekend?"

"I've been busy," Rachel realized, biting into her lip. "I've been neglecting you."

"No, Rach" Quinn quickly assured her, smiling. "I do miss you, but this is your dream and I want you to have it, have all of it. It's just... my case just wrapped up and it struck me that we haven't seen much of each other recently, just the two of us, I'd like to fix that. What do you think?"

"I think your plan manipulation skills have gotten clumsy." Rachel threw the comment back with narrowed eyes, but she pulled one hand out of the water to lay it against Quinn's cheek, giggling as she slathered suds on her face. "But I also think you're right. So yes, yes please."

Quinn froze for a moment as the bubbles slid towards her chin, simply quirking an eyebrow in response. Raising a hand, she wiped the offending bubbles away and then rolled into the tub on top of a shrieking Rachel.

Days flew by in a blur of bright lights and applause, and Rachel completely forgot about Quinn wanting to make plans. She didn't mean to, but she got so wrapped up in her show again that it slipped her mind, only to pop up right when she was in the middle of singing "Come What May" with Aaron.

Feeling guilty, she rushed home from the theater as soon as she could get free.

Light from the lamp by the couch greeted her as she opened the front door to their apartment. It made her smile, knowing that Quinn had waited up for her. Stealthily she crept forward, quietly losing her shoes on the way and aiming for the light. The lamp cast a warm glow over the couch's occupant, making Quinn's hair shine, and Rachel was struck once again by how achingly beautiful Quinn could be in even the simplest of settings.

A book lay beneath one pale hand and as Rachel pressed against the back of the couch she could see it was a novel, not something for work. Quinn's hair was all over her face; Rachel gently brushed the errant strands clear of her girlfriend's features and lightly traced her fingertips along an eyebrow, smirking when it arched. Hazel-green eyes blinked open slowly, dazedly staring at the far wall in confusion for a second before they focused up at her. A sleepy smile quirked on Quinn's pink lips and her eyes closed again. Rachel bent down and kissed her eyebrow softly.

"It's really late, baby. Why are you still out here?" she asked, leaning into the couch and running her hand through Quinn's hair.

Quinn groaned and shifted onto her back, tossing an arm over her eyes as she replied. "I was trying to wait up for you."

Touched, Rachel stopped her ministrations and stooped as far over the back of the couch as she could without toppling onto Quinn – this time to kiss her properly, dangling precariously over the couch, one hand pressed into the cushions for support. Quinn hummed contentedly in response and curled her hand around Rachel's bicep, apparently not too sleepy to respond, and kept hold of the muscle when the kiss eventually broke, her thumb rubbing in small circles. Rachel sighed and nuzzled against Quinn's nose as the rest of her body slid down the couch, coming to rest over Quinn's snugly. She managed to do it without just flat out falling and she was proud of that, at least. Quinn still huffed a little but her arms wound around Rachel's neck all the same, so Rachel figured she was forgiven.

"I can't believe you tried to stay up for me; it's two in the morning, Quinn" Rachel admonished, speaking directly into the silky skin of the blonde's throat.

"Well you can't say I'm not devoted," Quinn mumbled, eyes closing once again. "I'm so tired."

She protested briefly with a small whine when Rachel started to get up, but accepted Rachel's hand and allowed herself to be pulled up off the sofa. "Come on," Rachel coached, "let's get you to bed."

"Mm, but I wanted to spend time with you," Quinn complained, leaning heavily into Rachel's side as they padded down towards the bedroom.

Rachel helped her down onto the mattress and ruffled her hair affectionately. "We'll get a chance soon, okay? I promise."

"Soon should be now," Quinn grumbled, rolling over as she spoke and snuggling up to the nearest pillow.

"I miss you too," Rachel whispered and tugged the comforter out from under Quinn. "We could maybe have lunch together tomorrow?"

Quinn nodded against the pillow and 'mm-hmmed' her acknowledgement, already fading back into dreamland. Rachel pulled the blankets over her, and rather than walk around to the other side of the bed - her side - simply crawled over Quinn. She slithered beneath the blankets and swallowed a groan as aching muscles encountered cool sheets. As soon as she settled Quinn moved forward, rejecting the pillow and pressing into Rachel's space, nose to shoulder, hands nestled between them. Rachel murmured a quiet 'goodnight' against the top of Quinn's head, sleep tugging heavily at her eyelids.

What seemed like seconds later her eyes snapped back open.

Rachel propped herself up on an elbow and rubbed at her face with her free hand. Turning to look at the clock, she sighed heavily as she noted the time the blurry green numbers read; she'd been asleep all of two hours.

A resounding 'what the fuck' echoed around her head as she glanced around their dark bedroom, wondering what could possibly have woken her. She felt fine, a little achey from a long night, but fine. No need to pee, not cold, and she couldn't remember dreaming. The tension in her body started to unwind as she sat there in sleep-clouded confusion.

Slumping back against her pillow she willed her brain to relax with the rest of her so she could get back to sleep. Beside her Quinn muttered something and jerked. Rachel turned to regard her with a frown which deepened as Quinn mumbled again, slapping her hand out at something only she could see.

"Quinn?" Rachel whispered, lightly shaking her girlfriend's shoulder. "Baby, wake up."

"It hurts," Quinn keened, hands flopping against the mattress.

All thoughts of sleep easily abandoned, Rachel clicked on the bedside light and rolled to fully face Quinn. She knew better than to actually touch her, though she wanted to, because Quinn would often wake up swinging from a nightmare. It was hard not to - she couldn't even move Quinn's hair out of her face - but she also knew that Quinn would never forgive herself if she accidently hit her. "Quinn, come on, wake up. You're having a nightmare. Wake up, Quinn."

"Nooo," Quinn whimpered, shaking her head and then clutching at her chest. "Rachel. He has a gun."

Someone might as well have thrown a slushy in Rachel's face. She realized instantly what Quinn was dreaming about and her ability to breathe quickly vanished. "Quinn, please open your eyes."

"It hurts," Quinn repeated, hand violently twisting in the fabric of her shirt right over her heart.

Teary eyed, Rachel grabbed onto Quinn's tight fist and coaxed it open, hissing in pain when Quinn reflexively clamped down on her fingers. "I need you to wake up, baby. Please."

"I don't want to go," Quinn cried, just before her eyes snapped open, pupils dilating until they left only a thin ring of hazel-green. Rachel quickly reacted, dropping her bodyweight down onto Quinn, covering her shivering form like a living blanket and holding on tightly. She'd learned over time with Quinn's nightmares that the easiest way to soothe her was to bodily cover her. "What?" Quinn gasped, teeth chattering she was shaking so hard. "What happened? Are you okay?" Panic and confusion laced her voice, and it squeezed at Rachel's heart.

"Quinn," Rachel choked, flexing her arms against Quinn's ribs. "You had a nightmare."

"I – oh." Another hard shudder worked up through Quinn's body. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Rachel assured her and reluctantly sat up just enough so she could peer into Quinn's face. She looked incredibly groggy and disoriented with her eyes half-lidded against the light, head tossing on her pillow. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now," Quinn whispered, tears running from the corners of her eyes. "Don't – Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"I won't," Rachel vowed, dropping her head back down and settling her ear against Quinn's heartbeat. "I won't." The rhythm was fast, pounding away as Quinn continued to battle the aftereffects of her nightmare. Eventually her breathing slowed back to normal and her heart rate fell back to a steadier pace, thumping away strongly. Rachel counted the pulses for a while, drifting until she felt secure that Quinn was sleeping again and not having another nightmare any time soon.

Stretching out she turned the light back off and slid onto her side, keeping contact with Quinn but not laying on top of her any longer. Quinn turned her head, frowning slightly, and wiggled more snuggly into Rachel, most likely seeking body warmth.

Rachel stared until her eyes adjusted and she could actually see Quinn again. Smiling sadly she pushed Quinn's hair back behind her ear; hopefully it would stay there and not fall into the drool that would most likely escape her beloved mouth-breather as she slept. The tears came gently at first, a few escaping hotly down her cheeks as she watched Quinn sleep until she gave in completely and turned her face into the pillow, muffling the sounds as she cried for relief and remembered terror. Relief that Quinn was still there, breath rasping through her lips and snorting lightly, her chest moving slightly with each breath.

Shivering though she wasn't cold at all – not with Quinn the human heater sharing her bed – Rachel pulled the blankets up higher on her shoulder and closed her eyes. A tear made its way over the bridge of her nose, tickling her, and she wiped at it, holding her breath until she had tentative control back.

It struck Rachel then, as she nestled a leg between Quinn's and found her chilly hand under the sheets, that it could happen again. It could happen again and she might not be there… and Quinn might not be as lucky.

In the blink of an eye she could lose her, for good. She could be in car accident, or there could be another shooting - anything really, considering how danger-prone Quinn had proven to be.

Closing the scant space between them, Rachel pressed a lingering kiss to Quinn's warm forehead and pulled her pale hand up against her chest. Shutting her eyes, she listened to Quinn breathe and begged her brain to stop swirling long enough for her to get a little rest.

Eventually she fell asleep, clutching Quinn's hand as a lifeline between them, like otters floating together.

TBC...