Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 42nd cycle. Now cycle 43!

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** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 43 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about shift days!

This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: The Long Aloha, chapter 4.

"Sunless Days"
Rachel & Quinn
Sunshine Girls #43 (following "Downed Sun" & "Shiny Happy Girl")

A/N: Today is the 900th day of Gleekathon! :D 100 days 'til the big four digits!

It had been a few months now, since the day Rachel had broken up with Puck, and some things had changed, others… As much as it had been difficult for Rachel to even face him again for the first time, for now it did seem as though their relationship was a thing of the past. They had not gotten back together, they were on their own, but even then… The fact that they had been together, that they no longer were, and what had caused it, was still there to pain them, but with months to adjust to it, the whole thing felt less urgent now, and maybe that made it even worse. For now, Rachel chose to focus on other things, whether that was a distraction or…

She arrived at Quinn's house the day of Regionals, carrying her costume over her arm. She had a few things she'd been wanting to bring her, gifts from her fathers, and so now it would be done and they could ride to school together.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be dancing right now?" Rachel asked her as she came walking along, her belly as round as ever – it wouldn't be long now, a few weeks at the most.

"We've been through this, I'll be fine," Quinn insisted. "You're worse than my mother," she chuckled, teasing her friend.

"Fine, be that like," she smirked. "And, hey, we've got a competition to win."

"Yes. Yes, we do," Rachel got back on track.

They went on to McKinley, where soon they would board that bus with the rest of the New Directions and go on their way to Regionals. They would be facing off against Vocal Adrenaline now, the great beasties who'd seemed so powerful when they'd first seen them in the fall. The last few months had made them into proper rivals, none more than their lead vocalist. Jesse had swept into her life, and maybe in some other time he might have also swept her off her feet, but he'd caught her still in a slightly broken post-break up place, and she wouldn't have him. Now the only thing that existed between them was something of a rivalry… She could feel he was holding something over her, some information he had but wouldn't share, and she was thinking he might try and unleash it on her right before their performance today, to throw her off her game.

"He's got something, I'm telling you," she shook her head as the bus drove on.

"Forget about him, we've got this," Quinn insisted.

"You're very calm right now," Rachel frowned at her.

"Why not?" she shrugged. "Things could be worse, you know?" It was good to see Quinn smile, it really was. With how things had been, months ago, she could imagine her situation could have been that much worse. It wasn't like any of them had meant for this pregnancy to happen, but now here they were, the whole lot of them, four of them hovering in anticipation of the baby girl's arrival, the girl who would be daughter to some, to all, whether she shared their blood or not. She and Finn had strengthened their bond like never before, and through surely deep down he still had pains over the deception, the fact that the girl had been conceived from an affair with his best friend, he once again awaited her arrival.

And then there was her… her and Puck, and their break. If not that they still went to school together, still were in Glee Club together, it would have been easier to not be confronted by reminders, and memories that carried with them the good, the bad, and everything in between. They had only been together a short time, really, but that didn't make it any different to her. It was about quality, not quantity, about heart, not time. And that heart, her heart, it would continue to miss him, for… she didn't know how long, didn't want to know how long.

"He misses you, too, I know he does," Quinn told her at one point, without prompt – she just knew.

"How?" Rachel asked, shrinking at the mention. Quinn peered over her shoulder, spying him further back, staring out the window as they rolled on.

"I hear things," was all she'd say. She heard girls talk was what she heard, and what they'd say amounted to a portrait of Puck after Rachel, something of a man changed. He hadn't gone out with anyone since her, and Quinn could see it in his face… Somewhere, he still hoped. That was something she wouldn't have expected of him, from what she'd known of him, but then that was him and Rachel, and she must have meant so much to him. Now if only they knew how to get through these issues of theirs…

When they got to the auditorium, they all had to get their game faces on. She crossed Jesse and the rest of that lot as they went, but Quinn just took her by the arm and led her away, before either of them could engage and start psyching each other out.

"Don't make me a mom yet," Quinn whispered to her, with a smile at the corner of her lips.

"Right, sorry," Rachel shook her head with a breath. They went and changed, fixed their hair and makeup… Quinn's bump was miraculously well hidden by the dress they'd chosen. She wasn't sure the people in the audience would even realize they had a girl this close to delivery singing and dancing among them. Up close they could still see it, and even then… "Please, just… be careful," she still had to tell her before she went to get into position.

"Go," Quinn just pointed and Rachel scurried.

Everything had been perfect. They were proud of their performances, as they should have been. New Directions made their way backstage, letting any and all know how happy they were, primed for victory. Rachel turned at one point, falling behind so she could get up side by side with Quinn. "Be honest," she started, and Quinn just smirked.

"We did great, you were amazing, and we're going to win," she told her what she needed to hear, meaning it all the same.

"I know we were going to stay back here, but…"

"You want to go see how Vocal Adrenaline does," Quinn guessed. "Look, it's done, you don't need to…" She paused, they both did. Quinn didn't need to look down to know, but she did it anyway.

"Oh… O-oh, is that, is she…" Rachel had looked down, too, and now she looked back to Quinn.

"It is, and she is, now hurry and get someone," she begged, gasped… Her water had broken, and soon her daughter would come…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!