Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just watch them on TV!

~Late November~

"…..and then you turn the right wheel really fast." Quinn listened as Artie explained to Brittany how to complete one of the dance moves for Proud Mary. It was the seventh time he'd explained it to her since they'd boarded the bus to Sectionals fifteen minutes earlier.

"Thanks, Artie, but how do you…."

"Why don't I just talk you through the whole thing," Artie offered before Brittany had a chance to finish her question. His patience with her made Quinn smile, and she was glad they had raised the money for the bus Artie needed to ride with them. Besides, Quinn had spent the previous night at Brittany's and she welcomed the break from her incessant question asking.

Quinn stared out the window of the bus, absently running her hand over her slightly swollen abdomen in response to the soft kicks of the baby inside of her. For the past few weeks, she'd felt fluttering that she had passed off as digestion, but today the fluttering had turned into the unmistakable movements of a baby. In the beginning, Quinn took comfort in pretending that she wasn't pregnant. She passed her exhaustion off as a result of Cheerios and Glee Club and blamed her near constant nausea on bad cafeteria food. Now, thanks to her expanding waistline, ample amounts of baby daddy drama, and the kicks and rolls of the baby, her personal charade was over. Quinn felt the baby move again and wondered what had gotten her so riled up. Could she sense her nerves over Sectionals? Quinn was a competitor at heart and she wanted to win. She wanted to win for herself, for Mr. Schuester, and for her teammates. Most of all though, she wanted to win to show Coach Sylvester that she was wrong about Glee club, they were not a bunch of misfits and losers. Okay, maybe some of them were misfits, but somehow they had become her misfits. Her misfits?!? Quinn played with the phrase in her mind over and over again. At the beginning of the semester, her contact with the kids from Glee consisted solely of sending Rachel Berry mean messages through MySpace (a decidedly un-Christian thing to do) and possibly holding the door open for Artie, but only because it was the Christian thing to do. Now though, only four short months later, they were the only people she had left in the world.

"Hi," Rachel Berry said, shaking Quinn from her thoughts, "mind if I sit?" She'd apparently had enough of sitting next to Jacob Ben Israel.

Quinn shook her head, "No."

"Thanks," Rachel smiled sweetly and slid into the seat next to Quinn. "I just wanted to tell you again how sorry I am for telling Finn….."

"Rachel," Quinn interjected, making eye contact with Rachel so she'd know that she meant what she was saying, "it's okay, I forgive you. Like I said, you just did what I wasn't brave enough to do."

"I know, but I'm still really sorry."

"Look at it this way, that secret was killing me, so no matter how bad things seem now, it's better in the long run, okay? It's just better for everyone involved."

"Okay," Rachel agreed, and then began rummaging around in her bag, "I got you a little something. Well, really, I got her a little something." She indicated Quinn's belly and then placed a small pink present in Quinn's hand.

Quinn looked genuinely shocked, "Rachel, you didn't have to."

"I know," Rachel said smiling, "I wanted to. Open it!"

Quinn slowly unwrapped the present and found a beautiful ornament of a baby resting in a bassinet that read 'Baby's 1st Christmas'. "I was helping Mr. Schuester earlier this week with some stuff after Glee club and we were talking and he mentioned that every year when he was growing up, his parents bought him an ornament for their tree. I thought it sounded like a neat tradition to have."

Quinn's throat ached with unshed tears, "It's beautiful," she finally whispered, "but I don't know if….."

"I know you don't know if you're going to keep her, Quinn. But it doesn't matter, right now she is yours and this is technically her first Christmas. This time will always be important to you, no matter what you decide to do when she's born."

"Thank you," Quinn managed to choke out, despite the tears that were now running freely down her cheeks. She couldn't bring herself to look at Rachel, but she felt her take her hand and squeeze it.

"You don't have to do this alone, Quinn."

Quinn continued to stare at her lap, "I do."

"Why?"

Quinn sighed heavily, "Because I screwed up. I don't deserve anyone's help."

"You made a mistake, but no one is perfect, not even me."

Quinn laughed in spite of herself. There was the Rachel Berry she knew. "I made a lot of mistakes. My parents have disowned me, Finn hates me, and Puck spends all his time sending dirty text messages to Santana."

"Well, Puck is an immature teenage boy who doesn't know what he wants. Finn's understandably angry but he'll forgive you one day, because he's Finn. And I know it's not really any of my business, but I think your parents are horrible for the way they've treated you. What you're doing is brave, they should recognize that."

"I don't feel very brave."

"You are," Rachel assured her, "you don't have to be doing any of this, but you are, for your daughter."

Quinn felt fresh tears welling in her eyes. No one had ever referred to the baby as her daughter before. "She deserves a chance," she said, placing her hand protectively on her belly.

Rachel smiled, "She does. And you deserve our help. Please let us give you that."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Quinn asked, finally looking up to meet Rachel's eyes. "I was horrible to you."

"I know you were, but you need a friend and I know what that feels like. You're not as bad as you like everyone to think you are. I know you're the reason Glee Club got the full page spread in the yearbook."

Quinn looked surprised, "No one was supposed to know about that."

"I have my ways," Rachel said with a shrug. "Face it, Quinn. You like us and we like you too. Embrace it."

"Well," Quinn hesitated, "I did sign up for some childbirth classes at the hospital. I don't really want to go by myself and you're supposed to bring a partner."

"Perfect, I'll go with you." Rachel exclaimed, sounding more enthusiastic about childbirth classes than probably any person ever had before. Quinn experienced a brief moment of panic as she imagined Rachel taking control of her entire pregnancy and trying to run the show, as she did so often in Glee Club. She imagined Rachel putting headphones on her belly and playing show tunes for the baby. Her panic passed quickly though, when she realized that it didn't really matter. She had someone in her corner now, and that was all she needed. "You're sleeping on the couch at Brittany's house, right?"

Quinn nodded, "Yeah, for now."

"Well, that just won't do. We have a spare bedroom at my house. You're coming to stay with me." Rachel didn't ask, she demanded.

"Rachel, I don't know….." Quinn said hesitantly.

"You can't sleep on a couch for the rest of your pregnancy, Quinn! That's ridiculous! It won't be good for your back, or for the baby."

Quinn recognized a determination in Rachel's voice that wasn't so different from her own when she set out to get something that she wanted. At that moment, she realized that some of the traits that made Rachel an obnoxious teammate probably also made her a really good friend. She knew Rachel wouldn't give up until she agreed and Quinn was too exhausted to go head to head with her at the moment. "Alright, that's very nice of you."

"Good!" Rachel said, clapping her hands excitedly. "You can move your stuff later today if you want."

"I'll have to tell Britt..." Quinn broke off mid-sentence. "Whoa," she exclaimed, her hand flying to her abdomen.

Rachel's eyes grew wide in panic, "What is it? Are you okay? Do you want me to get Ms. Pillsbury?"

"No," Quinn smiled, "I'm fine. She just kicked really hard!"

"Oh, wow." Rachel was visibly relieved.

"Do you want to feel?" Quinn was already reaching for Rachel's hand. She took it and pressed it firmly to the spot where the baby's movements were concentrated.

Rachel smiled broadly as her palm was met with a firm kick, "I think she'll be a good dancer one day. She has strong legs."

"Maybe she will," Quinn smiled softly. They rode in silence for a few minutes before Quinn spoke up again, "Hey, Rachel?" she asked, studying the ornament in her hands.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you Jewish?"

"Yeah, but I figured you wouldn't appreciate a Menorah quite as much as an ornament for your tree."

Quinn laughed, and then, in a moment that made Kurt fear the Apocalypse was coming, threw her arms around Rachel's shoulders and gave her a tight hug, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," and she couldn't help but smile.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave me a review so I know! And if you didn't, tell me that as well!