This is an Quintana AU story, and my first with that pairing. This will be fun and probably sparsely updated. I have 3 stories going already and this will be 4 so sorry about that. Anyway this is for Deb, you'd better be reading this or I'm gonna complain.

Santana's POV

This was a fire. A goddamn fire, it was the last thing I wanted to be dragged out of my comfortable studio apartment for at 2 a.m. on a Thursday for. I thought about letting it go, I got the second call, but I easily could've let Frank Stone get it, and I still could be sleeping. But I didn't want him stealing my thunder, yes this was a fire, but I still got points from the captain for taking it as seriously as I did now.

I pulled into the parking lot and I was immediately told to park across the street by some rookie cop with wide eyes and a crew cut. I pulled out and parked across the street like I was told and grabbed my gun and badge as I stepped out onto the street and looked at the house fully for the first time since I arrived.

There was no apparent damage, at least not to the outside, but I could see a fireman coming out, carrying a fire extinguisher in his left hand. "Hey where are you takin that?" I asked him as we crossed paths.

"It's busted, the lady's kitchen is a mess, stove looks like it went through a goddamn hurricane." I nodded and let him go, that's all I needed from him. This seemed accidental, but with the sudden outbreak of arson in this neighborhood, I still had to double check.

I walked into the house, it was small but cozy, I could still see a few boxes in the corner of the living room. The woman must have moved within the past few months or something. The house was two stories, but I didn't hear any footsteps upstairs, so I figured everyone was downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen, I was met by an array of people. 6 firefighters were standing around, making sure they cleaned up as much as they could and all the hazards were taken care of, and my partner Buddy McCray was leaning up against the threshold of the door watching. "What are you doing?" I asked him, walking over and standing next to him.

"Watching these chumps piss themselves over a kitchen fire." He muttered before patting my back. "The lady's in the next room, I figure she'd want to talk to a woman or something, just have her admit it was an accident and we can all get back to fucking our girlfriends." Two of the firemen shouted out a 'here here' while the other two shook their heads like they were damn annoyed.

"Don't you mean fucking yourself?" I joked as I pushed past Buddy and walked into the living room where a blond woman was sitting on the couch. She was biting her nails, I'm assuming it was by force of habit, and she was just staring out the window. It was daunting. I cleared my throat and sat down on the couch next to her. I figured my badge and gun might scare her, but if I got down to her level, where we could physically see eye to eye, then she'd be willing to talk. "Hi, I'm detective Lopez."

"I'm Quinn…Fabray." She looked at me for just a brief second before looking away. "I can't believe this is happening, I just moved in and-…I was only trying to make tea but the over mitt was near it and…I can be so careless sometimes." I rested my hand on the back of the couch and watched her struggle with her emotions for a few moments before speaking again.

"It happens to the best of us. I'm just here to make sure that this was an accident. Some kids have been going around setting fires." She nodded because I think she understood where I was coming from, that or she just wanted me to continue. "Do you feel okay staying here tonight? I can make arrangements and have you set up in a hotel."

"Yea I feel safe, it's a nice neighborhood." She said absentmindedly standing up and watching the firefighters in the kitchen.

"Ms. Fabray would you like to call someone?" I asked her. Her eyes immediately stuck me at that moment, as if the hazel had melted into a sugary sweet caramel and then been ignited by flames.

"W-what'd you call me?" I didn't answer because I thought I'd screwed up her name. She said Fabray right? Or was it something else? "No…you can't call me ms. anything, it makes me feel strange."

"Okay…Quinn." I took a step into the kitchen. "Hey guys finish up, the lady needs her rest. McCray get your ass back home and make sure you grab the donuts for tomorrow." Buddy gave me a salute before shaking Ms. Fabray's hand and telling her he's happy she's safe before he made his exit, including a side comment about how pathetic firefighters were.

"We're done here." Roco Rivers, the only firefighter I was buddies with said as he stood up and his crew waved and left without saying a thing. "Tell McCray he's got two strikes." He joked before he left the house as well.

"Thank you for everything." Ms. Fabray said as she walked me to the front door. "I'm such a total mess and-."

"Like I said, it happens to the best of us."

…

Quinn's POV

I could feel the rain soaking through my shirt. This is what I get for forgetting an umbrella and living in New York. Sometimes I hated living here. I absolutely found most of the people appalling, but then there were always people that I just couldn't get enough of and that's what made it worth the stay.

I was late though, and Rachel was going to kill me for holding her up from her rehearsal, and I knew she'd be overly passive aggressive and I'll be stuck apologizing for the next month. Well that or she'd be sitting on her living room floor playing with legos.

I didn't know what to expect when I used the spare key that Rachel had entrusted me with. I opened the door and Rachel was in the kitchen singing a song while Beth was sitting in her baby chair watching her as she cooked. I wish I could just take a picture of them, just to show Rachel how good she is with her god daughter. "Rachel, God I'm so sorry! Hurry hurry hurry, are you late?! Jesus Christ! It's all my fault, Mr. Bronstein kept me late in the office and-."

"The rehearsal was cancelled, so calm down." Rachel said as she walked over and gave me a hug. "We're having ravioli, and for my witty baby girl, veggies a juice." Rachel jogged over and pinched Beth's checks before she returned her attention back to the stovetop.

"You are such an angel." I told Rachel as I tore off my shoes and slumped down in my regular seat next to Beth. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably burn down your entire house, not just your kitchen." I just laid my head on the table because I wasn't entirely sure if I should retort or just agree with her. "I'm joking."

"Imagine if Beth didn't start crying right then-."

"Stop thinking rhetorically. You are both safe, that's all that matters." Rachel told me. I stood up and helped her set the plates while she divvied up the food. "So how was your day at the office?" Rachel asked once we finally got comfortable and began eating.

"Harrison is gonna make me pull out my hair, he's sleazy and such a prick. I hate my job." I told her truthfully.

"Quinn you're an artist, stop being miserable and keep up with your work. Please, I can't stand to see you like this anymore."

"What happens if nothing sells? I can't support a baby on leaded paint." Rachel was so persistent when it came to my job. Since I'd arrived she'd been hounding me about quitting and just going with my passion. But I had to think about Beth and I had to support her. "And who knows with Puck, he's on and off sometimes, and I'm not taking this to court-."

"When are you going to stop being so nice to him, he signed a contract on the child support agreement, and he can't renege. He's an adult too, Quinn." I knew she was right but sometimes I had to cut Puck some slack. He was running a restaurant buy himself it was a struggle and we both knew it.

"God I would kill for a drink." I said taking my last bite of the ravioli.

"How about tomorrow? While Puck has Beth for the weekend we could have a dinner party here." Rachel threw the best dinner parties so of course I was nodding before she even finished her sentence. "God I'm so excited!" Rachel exclaimed as she kicked her chair back and sprinted into her bedroom. I looked at Beth and picked her up, following Rachel's trail. "So I've got to go black cocktail dress, right?"

"Definitely." I told her as I bounced Beth on my hip.

"The real question is whether or not Kurt will be able to make it that could make or break my outfit." I knew why, and that was because Kurt and Rachel tried to match their outfits when they went out or had parties. It was sort of a tradition. A weird one, but also kind of adorable considering everything they've been through together. "What are you wearing?" Rachel asked me. I looked down at my raggedy jeans, damp blue t-shirt, and blue and white tennis shoes. I wasn't exactly Cinderella.

"Um…slacks and a button down?" I never got excited about this stuff like Rachel did. Dressing up wasn't my forte and I wasn't going to pretend it was. "Look I just want to drink."

"And you can but…you can also look hot too." Rachel grabbed my shoulders and stared at me intensely until her eyes lit up and she smiled. "You're going strapless." She said with a grin. "Oh and if your heels aren't at least three inches, I'm not letting you in here."

Rachel could be a handful.