Rachel was the last one to exit the choir room after they had celebrated the fact that glee club would live to see another year and was about to make her way to her car when she heard sobbing. She followed the sound until she reached the car park and saw a figure hunched over on a wooden bench, head in hands, shoulders shaking. She moved closer cautiously when she recognised who the silky blonde hair belonged to. Quinn.

Quinn hadn't heard Rachel approaching over the sounds of her crying. She had just stepped out of the choir room when she recieved a call informing her that Beth had been adopted and after much pestering, discovered that Shelby Corcoran was her new mom. Despite the baby having been a mistake, she loved her so much that it physically hurt to know that she would never get to hold the tiny girl or see her piercing blue eyes, much like her own, smile at her as she was picked up and sung to. The pain was too much and she needed to let it out through every tear and heartbreaking sob.

Suddenly, she noticed somebody taking a seat next to her and a tissue being thrust in her face. Not caring who it was, she took it and muttered a quick word of thanks before using it to dry her hazel eyes. "Quinn, are you okay?" Quinn internally groaned, of all the people in the world to find her, it had to be Rachel Berry.

When she recieved no response, the brunette reached out a hand to rub comforting circles on the other girl's back only to have her hand swatted away. "Go away, Man Hands!" The blonde's words were muffled by the hand still covering her face and Rachel chose to ignore them, proceeding to give Quinn a hug and saying softly, "What's wrong? You can tell me. Is it about Beth?" The silence was enough for Rachel to know she was right and she decided to continue pushing the ex-cheerleader to open up. Knowing that the diva was persistant and stubborn and hence wouldn't stop until she got the desired reaction, Quinn made the decision to just get it over and done with.

"Y-yeah, someone took h-her. I didn't even g-get to see her one last t-time."

"I'm so sorry-"

"I mean, what if she'll hate me for giving her up? What if I forget what she looks like? What if she never knows that I exist? What if-" She couldn't believe that all these worries were just tumbling out of her mouth, that she was actually confiding in Rachel Berry but was interrupted by the girl who had grown impatient and understood the blonde's train of thought.

"Quinn, there are tons of 'what if's in life and we have to learn to look past them. We can't go back in time and change our decisions but we can try and live with our choices. We just have to hope that we've chosen the best option and pray for the best. Beth is gone, Quinn, but at least you know that she'll have a better life than you could've provided her had you kept her. She'll be happier there." She said and squeezed Quinn's hand, trying her best to provide some sort of comfort for the distraught girl beside her. Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Rachel deserved to know.

"It was Shelby." She lifted her head and watched as Rachel furrowed her brows in confusion. "Shelby adopted Beth. I'm sorry, Rachel." She internally cringed as hurt washed over the brunette's features.

Rachel turned her head away from the blonde as her vision began to cloud with tears. She felt her heart clench painfully as she thought to Shelby's rejection and the days she had cried herself to sleep. She hadn't been what her mother wanted and so she wouldn't get the relationship she had longed for since she had been a little girl. She just hoped for someone that she could talk to about girl things, someone who could guide her through life from their own experiences. Puberty had been difficult enough without a mom and it made her realize just how much she wanted one. She had been denied this because she wasn't good enough and now she had been replaced.

Quinn, not knowing what she was supposed to do when Rachel's eyes welled up with tears and looked away, decided to squeeze her hand back. She was caught off guard when the girl turned back to her and asked in a shaky voice, "Quinn, if you ever, I repeat, ever get the opportunity to know Beth and to have a relationship with her, take it. Don't think about what you missed, just remember how much more there is to her life." Quinn nodded slowly but knew this had something to do with the gilr's own encounter with her mother. She needed to distract herself from the pain of loosing Beth and Rachel was the perfect chance.

"Look Rachel, I don't know you very well and you tend to be annoying and such but you've had your moments. This is her loss, Rachel, not yours. She doesn't deserve you." She said as she surprised both herself and the petite girl by pulling her into a hug which was quickly interrupted by the sound of the diva's phone ringing. The smaller girl excused herself as they broke apart form the embrace and answered it. The blonde watched Rachel as she waited for her phone call to end and saw a flash of annoyance cross her face and she huffed as she hung up.

"Quinn, I'm really sorry but I've got to get home before my dad kills me! I just wanted to thank you so much and I'm glad we had this opportunity to talk. I hope we can stay in touch over the holidays?" Rachel asked shyly and broke out into a beaming smile as Quinn nodded and returned her smile with a softer, smaller but genuine one. They quickly exchanged phone numbers and Quinn sat on the bench as she watched the brunette hurry off.

Quinn smiled sadly. She knew she wanted to be back on top when the new school year started and being friends with Rachel wouldn't fit in that equation but she was determined to make every moment last before she had to end their friendship.

Rachel grinned to herself. She didn't have many friends, any friends actaully, and maybe this was a turning point in her high school life, perhaps the blonde could be her good friend, someone she could turn to whenever she needed help. After all, that was what friends did, right?

A/N Hope you enjoyed it! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought!