Disclaimer: See part one for all pertinent information.

Note: Since I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the timeline of the show, I'm going with Quinn being due in June 2010, having gotten pregnant in late August or early September 2009. Rachel being a sophomore will place her graduating from William McKinley High in 2012.

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I Wish You Were Here

Rachel's only been in New York twenty-four hours and she already misses her family. She misses her dads a little but not nearly as much as she misses the others.

It wasn't until she'd gotten her first acceptance letter from the college division of Julliard, offering her a spot in their drama department that she realized that leaving Lima would mean leaving Finn and Quinn and Puck and Rosanna, the four people who held her heart. Then she got a letter along with a scholarship offer for Julliard's music program. This was one of the goals she'd spent her life striving for and she was no longer sure that she wanted it.

The first person she told was Quinn one day when they're at the park with Rosanna. Quinn is the only one she told about her doubts concerning Julliard because Quinn made her come to her senses.

The blonde frowned as Rachel explained her reasons and when she had finished, Quinn was glaring at her. She shakes her head, "You have to go. This is your dream."

Rachel gazed at the toddler playing in the sandbox, "But that was before I realized how important being a part of Rosanna's life is to me. I can't stand the thought of not being here to watch her grow up."

Quinn shut her eyes and steeled herself. "You're not her mother, Rachel, I am. It's not your job or your duty or your responsibility to be there for her."

Then it had been Rachel's turn to frown as she looked at Quinn, "Yes, but consider how detrimental it could be to her psychological development if I leave. She could develop trust issues and a fear of abandonment."

"I don't think that you following your dreams is going to do any damage my daughter, Rachel. I happen to have her best interests at heart and I will do anything in my power to protect her. I never asked for you help so stop trying to raise my child for me." Quinn didn't want to be harsh with her but it had been necessary. She knows how attached Rachel is to Rosanna but she is not going to let her waste her life baby-sitting and doing community theatre. "Look, I appreciate everything you've done for us over the past couple of years—you've been the best friend I could have ever asked for—but now you need to get on with your life. You need to live your own life. I don't need you to take care of me."

They had both sat in silence for a few minutes, each holding back tears.

Rachel swallowed, "I suppose you're right, Quinn; you have matured exponentially and are quite competent and capable as a mother. And it is my dream to be recognized by the rest of the world as the star that I have always been."

Quinn smiled, "It's the best thing for you. Man hands."

The two laughed and never mentioned the conversation again. Later that day, Rachel went home and mailed in her deposit check, officially joining the music department of Julliard.

Rachel never told her or anyone else that she was scared that she'd fall apart without the system of support that had been formed in and outside of Glee Club. She never told anyone that she was afraid that when she came home for breaks that everything would be different, that somehow she'd go back to being on the outside looking in.

She feels alone in her new room at Julliard; her roommate, a dancer, is out at some party. And so, Rachel sits on her bed and stares at a framed picture of her, Quinn, Rosanna, Puck, and Finn from Rosanna's second birthday that summer. She places the picture on the desk beside her bed and gets on her laptop. She Skype's Quinn; seeing her smiling brightly with Rosanna on her lap, reaching towards Rachel's face on the screen calms her.

"Yeah, Rosie, there's Aunt Rachel," Quinn coos to the toddler.

When Quinn looks back at the screen, Rachel grins at her, "Thank you."

Her smile widens and Rosanna giggles.