A/N: So, this was intended to be a one-shot, but heck, given all the stuff that's made us Fuinnjas so thrilled of late, I was inspired to write more. At this it is probably going to be become AU, though the degree to which that is true depends on how things develop in canon. Anyway, this is set prior to and probably during 'Comeback,' which airs tomorrow. So I have a day before all of this is rendered moot.

Chapter Two

When she walked tiredly into the choir room, Quinn was not having a good day. By any stretch of the imagination. Well, to be more accurate, she was not having a good week. And she had mono. From cheating on her boyfriend with her ex-boyfriend, the one she'd manipulated, lied to, cheated on, and generally taken for granted before it had all exploded in her face.

Other than that, her life was just perfect, thank you very much.

~o~

Two days ago

Sam had visited her at home, where she was laid up in bed, unwashed, disheveled, vaguely feverish, and an emotional wreck. And he had told her, in what had to be one of the most awkward and difficult conversations of her life (she didn't count Finn's outburst as a conversation), that he was not stupid, that he knew she had kissed Finn again, that it hadn't been a peck, that she had cheated on him, and that he couldn't trust her anymore.

And then he had sat down, brought his hands to his face, and said softly. "And I don't know what to do about this."

The familiar feeling of her world coming crashing down upon her had set in at that moment. She had searched for words, desperately, before she managed a cough. She searched her capable mind for some magic combination of thoughts and arguments that would exonerate her, would put Sam at ease, would get him to go along with her just a little longer while she figured out if her feelings for Finn were just the faintly glowing cinders of their old relationship, or something new altogether.

Of course, those words didn't actually exist. And in her diseased state, Quinn was not likely to find them anyway.

"I don't know," was what came out.

Sam glared at her for a moment, but couldn't keep it up. "I thought we were happy. You know that I love you."

"Yes," she said weakly. Why was she such a horrible person? First Finn, then Puck, and now Sam? When had she turned into a serial heart-breaker?

"Isn't that good enough for you?"

Quinn closed her eyes, as if his absence from her vision would take away her boyfriend's presence.

"Look, Quinn, I'm sorry about what I said before, the whole 'you just like Finn 'cause he's popular and you want to be too' thing. But can't you tell me what's going on?"

"No," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I don't…I don't know what to tell you, what to think right now. I'm just tired and sick and so confused…"

She opened her eyes again and met his gaze. She saw compassion there, real caring. It broke her heart all over again.

"Look, Quinn, I'm not being fair right now. You're sick, but…this worries me, you know." His expression grew angry. "Damn Hudson for messing with you like this."

"I kissed him first," she blurted. Then she realized what she had said. Sam had gone paler than usual. His eyes were a bit harder now.

"What?"

"After the game, he was talking to Karofsky, trying to get him to join Glee. It didn't work, but I was standing there, watching. And I just…I told him that everything he'd done that week, rallying Glee club and the team, stopping me, San, and Brit from making the wrong choice, and then trying to talk to Karofsky… It, well, reminded me of why I liked him so much in the first place."

She trailed off, unwilling to volunteer what happened next.

"I scored a touchdown, remember?" Sam said, sounding almost desperate at this point.

"Yeah. You were great." She coughed, as her voice sounded even more hoarse than it had been. Her composure was on the ragged edge as she desperately tried to prevent Sam from storming out, from leaving her.

Just like Finn.

~o~

Two days gone by, and not a word had passed between them. And so perhaps she should not have been so surprised to see Santana, that opportunistic bitch, hovering over Sam. But she supposed that she could not help but be surprised when Sam laid a gentle hand on the other girl's shoulder, whispering something low that made the Latina smile widely. Because she was Santana, she then threw a wicked, taunting smile towards her rival. Quinn's composure buckled, and she turned away.

Her desperate eyes fell upon Finn, looking much worse for the wear, and holding a cold compress limply on his knee. His eyes were glazed with fatigue, and he looked like he might drop at any minute.

In English class that fall, they had read The Scarlet Letter. She knew what it was like to be Hester Prynne. Again. At least this time, only the members of Glee club could make the connection.

Finn shared in her badge of shame. He coughed loudly. Mercedes looked over from a discussion with Rachel, looking a bit disgusted as Finn wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.

Oh hell, she thought, and walked as confidently as she could towards him, sitting down one seat away. She hoped desperately for Mr. Schuester to show up to end her agony.

"Hi Quinn," came a voice from beside her.

"Hey," she replied, not looking at him.

"You been feeling any better?"

"Not really. You?"

"Awful," he replied, coughing again. "Mom says I'm going to have another week of this." A pause. "Wait, you aren't sitting with Sam?"

She turned to look at him again. She saw understanding dawn in his eyes. Then worry. Then guilt. Not excitement, like she might have expected. "Oh man, I'm sorry. Are you..?"

"I don't know," she said quietly.

~o~

"You were great," she told him.

"I guess Finn threw the pass, but I had to get open, you know. That corner was nasty, kept trying to trip me up at the line, then hit me hard when I caught the ball. It wasn't easy."

"Stop making this a competition," she commanded - or tried to, at least. Her voice was so weak that most of the accustomed authority was completely gone.

"You went there first," he said defiantly. "You kissed him, Quinn? Not the other way around?"

"Yes," she said, nodding weakly. "Sam, I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment, it just felt so weird then, like it was a year ago, before you even got here. And I just…I wanted to, and he was there, and I knew it was wrong and I was so ashamed."

"You cheated on Finn last year."

"Yeah. And I got pregnant because of it. It was the biggest mistake of my life."

"Bigger than this time?" Sam demanded.

Oh God, why did I say that? She could feel the walls closing in.

"I can't…Sam, I need to rest. I'm sorry."

He suddenly looked guilty. "Yeah…me too. But yeah, you should sleep. We'll talk about this, okay? When you are feeling better?"

She nodded gratefully, feeling immensely relieved that Sam was giving her what she wanted…and intensely ashamed that she was manipulating him like this. If she was stronger, if she really wanted to, she could have this conversation now. But she really didn't want to do that.

Sam hesitated, then kissed her on the forehead, before leaving without a word.

Quinn closed her eyes, and letting herself go, began to sob until sleep took her.

~o~

"This is totally my fault," Finn was saying. "I just…I was stupid. I'm always stupid. And I wanted it, you know? But it was wrong."

"We're both responsible, Finn," she said.

He opened his mouth to say something more, when Mr. Schuester finally arrived. "Alright guys, settle down. We've got Regionals coming up, and this time we are going to win this thing! Sam, you said you had something you wanted to show us?"