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 37th cycle. Now cycle 38!

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"Beaming"
Rachel & Quinn
Sunshine Girls #38 (following 'Sunrays')

[A/N: Posting at 2:30am on account of braving boxing day tomorrow/today ;)]

Rachel hadn't wanted to ask her for this. Friend or not, asking Quinn for help to get ready to go on a date with her ex and her baby's father was just this close to being too much on the side of odd and uncomfortable… But then there they were.

Things had been going kind of good though. Maybe she'd expected failure because it was easier, but she had been going out with Puck for a few weeks now, and there hadn't actually been any disaster… They were happy, and people noticed.

That night, they were to have what Rachel had come to code as 'the big date,' as it would involve something a bit more dressed up than what they'd done so far, something new to try. So Rachel had told Quinn about it, and then the blonde had offered to help. Rachel's hesitation had been squashed by the fact she really wanted this night to go well. So she said yes.

On the day, it was a strangely quiet Quinn who showed up at Rachel's house. It wasn't that she looked upset, the opposite really. She was quiet in a way that was almost as though her mind had taken up silent observations… and she wasn't sharing. She sat on Rachel's bed, hands laid out on her ever-growing belly, and she played critic to the outfits paraded before her.

"I know it's silly," Rachel stopped after a while, maybe unnerved by the blonde's calm, and the sense like she was resisting the urge to laugh. "We've been together a few weeks, and as sweet as he can be sometimes I wonder if at some point he's just going to pull away, or we won't be on the same page and he'll walk away…" She paused, getting a silent half-smirk. "You think I should put the red one, don't you?" she went back to the closet. In doing so she missed how Quinn's smirk slowly crumbled, letting way to a complete and unrestrained giggle fit. Rachel emerged from behind the closet door to find a red-faced blonde, clutching her belly from laughing so much. "What…"

"I'm… sorry… I'm… sorry…" came Quinn's voice from out of the laughter, and Rachel wasn't sure how to respond. There was confusion as to what was so funny, some frustration to the silent act, but still some part of her was happy to see her like this. Rachel could see the wonders it had done her, to have the madness settle down, despite the complications of being an expectant mother at her age. Having her mother there for her, and Finn still there for her, and then Rachel herself, restored into friendship after so long… Quinn was in a good place, and it showed in how she was beginning to open up more and more everyday… And she was still laughing…

"Do you want a glass of water?" Rachel motioned for her to breathe.

"I'll be alright," Quinn promised, finally getting her breath back and standing to face her. "I'm just really… really… amused."

"Yes, I guessed that," Rachel chuckled. "But about what?"

"You, Rachel Berry, are smitten," she declared, making her friend laugh, maybe blush a little. "I didn't think it'd amuse me like this…"

"Well I'm just glad you can laugh about it, considering…"

"Please, it's not even an issue," Quinn shook her head, then smiled. "I'm happy for you guys, I really am." She moved to the closet, pulled out a blue dress. "Here, put this on."

Rachel took the dress, looking back at this girl smiling back at her. It was almost hard now to remember the angry, mean girl she'd been to her just a few months back. There was none of that left. Instead, the more they grew closer as friends again, the more Rachel felt she could remember the Sunshine Girls.

She'd only had vague recollections at first, a few more bits and pieces as time went on, but it really wasn't all that much. With time though she found all these memories resurfacing, as though the joy on Quinn's face called back the little girl she used to be, brought her to the surface again.

She remembered the bad, the incident that had led to their friendship falling apart. She remembered what had come after, a wound that had gone infected until… rupture. But that was only one part, and after she pushed those away there were other memories, better memories… happiness… sunshine.

She realized, or at least began to consider, how these last few years even without her and with them both on the outs with one another, part of her had been trying to get back to her. There was always something in her, no matter what mean things she could do or say, that tried to dig out the fact that Quinn Fabray wasn't her enemy, wasn't supposed to be… She was meant for such greater things as far as being part of Rachel's life… a friend, an ally, almost… a sister. But she hadn't been able or maybe hadn't been ready, something… because no matter what, that truth hadn't reached her. Instead she'd spent years pushing her away… they'd both done that… It had taken one incident, a picture found, lost and found again, and so many questions until the truth had started to emerge.

After that it had taken more time to readjust, compensate for going from childhood friends to teenagers reforming a friendship as they weren't exactly those little girls anymore. But that was okay, really. They had grown and with that came the need for a new definition for how they benefited from having the other in their life. For Rachel it had brought so much of what she lacked, and for Quinn it had been a much needed reality check.

"How do I look?" Rachel asked after she'd put the dress on. Quinn motioned for her to turn, so she did.

"That's definitely the one," she smiled, and Rachel returned it, looking back in the mirror.

"Okay, shoes…" she began again. Quinn sighed, moving to sit once more. She could hear her rummaging through the closet for a while, and then… nothing – silence.

"Rachel?" Quinn frowned, getting up. The brunette reappeared, and there was an odd look on her face. "What's wrong? The dress is fine."

"It's not the dress, I…" she clammed up again, like she was embarrassed to even think what she thought.

"What is it?" Quinn encouraged.

"It's you, you got me thinking about it, with the laughing, and the…"

"Rachel, breathe."

"What if we do make it, me and Puck…" Quinn stayed silent, waiting for her to go on. "If we ever… get married, or even just stay together, then basically won't that make me…" She couldn't say it, but she nodded to Quinn's belly, and then it came off clearer.

"Right, of course…" Quinn looked to herself, amazed she hadn't thought about it that way herself. But it was true. Rachel could end up being her daughter's stepmother… "Wow…" was her first reaction, which made them both laugh.

"Is it weird? It's weird…"

"No, it's… I mean look at us already… We're not exactly the most normal family. And if she has you looking out for her, too, then… I couldn't ask for more," she gave a decisive nod and a smile. Rachel looked on the verge of losing it, too, which meant one thing: they should get back on task. "Shoes…"

When she was finally ready, Rachel looked back to Quinn. "What if I slip and I say something and he freaks out and he runs?"

"Not going to happen… Well, just don't go into the whole stepmom thing, alright?" Quinn tried to reassure her.

"Good thinking," she chuckled. "What are you going to do?"

"Maybe I'll hide in the bushes…" she intoned, 'pondering,' then dropped the act, smiling. "Finn's coming over tonight, just going to take it easy," she revealed. Rachel could still see the relief in Quinn's eyes over the improvement of their situation. They were moving on, getting ready for the baby and all that would follow.

"Right, well I should go…" Rachel breathed out.

"Don't pass out, okay?" Quinn patted her shoulder carefully.

"Don't worry I wo… shouldn't," she edited herself, smiled. Quinn shook her head.

"I think you'll do just fine."

THE END

A/N: Dear hateful anon, if I may be so bold as to point out,
no one is in fact forcing you to read my stories, you've come of your own volition,
that is if you even bother to read. I think we've established that you don't care for my work.
That's alright, I don't expect everyone to. What bothers me is that you decide to take
the time to come and be hateful to me. That's time you could probably put to better use.
So if you don't like my stories, that is your choice, but next time just stop and think about
the effect of your words on the person they are intended for. Thank you and good day.

COUNTDOWN TO 801: 5 DAYS!

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!