A/N: Thanks for the response, guys! Hope you like this one too :)

Quinn

Quinn really hates her house right now. Which is weird, because up until this past year she's always loved it. It had just never felt the same after she came back once Beth was born. She didn't know whether that was because she'd been kicked out and now it was awkward, because she missed her baby, or because her dad was no longer there.

Oh hell, it was all three.

The facts are that Quinn is very smart, very strong, and very beautiful. These three characteristics enable her to automatically survive in the world. But it's times like these that she feels like she really can't. She's cleaning the kitchen, just to have something to do, when her mom comes in and is surprised to see her daughter on her knees, scrubbing the bottom shelf in the refrigerator.

"Uh, honey?" Judy ventures.

Quinn jumps, almost banging her head. "Hi, Mom." She rolls back to a sitting position on the kitchen floor.

"What are you doing?"

Quinn looks from her mother to the fridge, and back again. "Uh, cleaning."

Judy tilts her head to the side. "Sweetie, we have a maid."

"…Yeah," Quinn says lamely. She's sort of frozen with an awkward look on her face. How does she explain that she just wanted to clean?

"Well, why are you cleaning it?"

"…It was dirty?"

Judy sighs and puts down her coffee cup. "Honey, I'm worried about you."

Quinn drops her sponge and stands up, brushing off her hands on the back of her jeans. "What?" she says.

"I'm just wondering if you're okay."

"I'm fine, Mom."

Judy pauses, studying her daughter for several long moments until Quinn says "What?" again. "Sorry," Judy shakes her head. "I was just thinking…you look so grown up."

Quinn's not sure how to respond to that, so she doesn't.

Her mother sighs again, and changes the subject. "Your father's coming to visit today," she states.

Quinn freezes. "Wait…like, today today?"

Judy nods. "In an hour."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know; he just called me."

Quinn doesn't realize that her mouth is open. She looks shocked. "Why is he coming over?"

"He wants to see you."

Quinn suddenly feels like she needs to be sick. Bile rises in her throat. "This is coming from the man who threw me out last year?" she demands, and her voice shakes a little. It doesn't sound as strong as she wants it to.

"Honey, please try to understand—"

"Mom!" she protests.

"Quinnie… He's your father."

"He hates me!"

Judy shakes her head immediately. "No, Quinnie, he – he doesn't. He's just—" She's flustered and takes a breath before she forms a full sentence. "Please, Quinnie. See him just this once and if you want, I can tell him to stay away for good."

Quinn exhales very slowly. She makes her decision. "Fine."

He arrives ten minutes earlier than expected and sits down on their couch like he belongs there. "Place looks nice," he says. Quinn's mom is in the kitchen getting coffee for the three of them.

"Yeah," she replies.

He rubs his hands together, looking around the room. If he notices that all the pictures of him are gone, he doesn't say.

"How's Mary?" she finally asks, her voice flat. She couldn't care less if Mary the Tattooed Freak had been shot in a bank robbery. She hadn't known it was possible, but now the house felt emptier with her dad inside.

"She's doing well," Russell answers. "She ran off to Vegas with her boyfriend two weeks ago."

"Oh." She's glad.

"It's good to be here," he states, like a damn news reporter.

Quinn shifts position.

Russell looks at her and sighs. "I'm sorry, Quinn," he says softly. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you."

For one brief second, Quinn's heart swells at the idea of her father apologizing for what he did. But then that one phrase catches in her throat, and she feels sick again. "Had to?" she chokes out, her eyes already turning red. She looks away.

"Quinnie, you—"

"Don't call me that," she snaps, her gaze whipping up to meet her father's in a perfectly level stare. She wasn't helpless any more. She didn't crave his approval and she didn't need it, either.

He looks surprised. "Why not?"

She scoffs. "Don't pretend like you don't know!" she spits, lurching to her feet. She's pissed. "You threw me out! You said I was a disappointment!"

"You're not a disappointment—"

"Oh, sure, I'm not one now!" she fires back, her hands gesturing wildly. She's never felt this angry before. "Now that I've shoved out the little bastard child! I'll warn you, though, I still have stretch marks."

Russell stands up too, shaking his head. "I never said— Quinnie, you're putting words in my mouth—"

"No, I'm not!" she shouts. She doesn't see her mother standing in the kitchen doorway. "What gives you the right to come in here and apologize but say you didn't have a choice!"

Russell just stares at her, his mouth straight. She can see he's still trying to talk down to her. But, damn it all, she gave birth to his grandchild – she can handle this.

"Quinn—" he starts again.

"You know what?" she cuts him off, her voice finally lowered. "I don't need to listen to you any more. Get out, and don't come back."

The next day at Glee practice, Mr. Schue calls on Quinn to perform after Rachel. She's still agitated over her dad's visit and she's unsure of her song choice, so she's on the verge of telling Mr. Schue that she didn't do the assignment when she decides Oh, fuck it and gets up to stand in front of the class. Despite how hard it is to deal with Rachel, she knows the girl is talented and she knows that it's going to be hard to top her. But she tries to push her competitive streak aside for now, because she's not really in the mood to care about who does best.

The band begins to play, and she closes her eyes, trying to feel where the words begin. "Someone told me long ago," she sings, her voice rippling quietly over the room. "There's a calm before the storm – I know. It's been coming for some time."

A few of the Gleeks nod in approval as they recognize the song. It's pretty well-known and it suits her voice, so that's no surprise.

"When it's over, so they say, it'll rain a sunny day – I know. Shining down like water." She sways a little bit in time with the music. "I want to know – have you ever seen the rain? I want to know – have you ever seen the rain, coming down on a sunny day?"

As she sings, she becomes a little more sure of herself and why she chose this particular song. "Yesterday and days before, sun is cold and rain is hard – I know. Been that way for all my time."

The rest of the choir room begins to fade away and this is about her. She gets to be selfish for a little while.

"'Til forever, on it goes. Through the circle, fast and slow – I know. It can't stop, I wonder. I want to know – have you ever seen the rain? I want to know – have you ever seen the rain? Coming down, on a sunny day..."

The song ends and Quinn sees the others clapping and smiling at her. She smiles back, not really relieved from anything. She knows she did well, though, and for now, that's enough.

A/N: The song was "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Leave a review!