Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, nor its characters, or the words to any song lyrics. Nor the words quoted by Barbra Streisand.

A/N: The dinner with the Berry's has arrived!

CHAPTER FOUR

"I wonder how I ever made it through a day

How did I settle for the world in shades of gray...

And I realized I'd never lived before your love

I'd never felt before your touch

And I'd never needed anyone to make me feel alive

But then again, I wasn't really livin'

I'd never lived before your love."

-Before Your Love by Kelly Clarkson

When the girls arrived at Rachel's house, Quinn remained in the car before Rachel dragged her out promising that her dad's were still at work. When they entered, Quinn was filled with a warmth and comfort she'd never felt before. She looked around noticing the differences between her house and Rachel's. While Quinn's house was made to look regal and pristine with furniture that were for show not luxury, the Berry's home however, was tastefully decorated but also comfortable.

Quinn gravitated toward the stairs to take in the various pictures of Rachel and her fathers through the years. All of them were of a happy brunette and two fathers whose eyes were filled with nothing but adoration for their daughter.

Quinn had pictures at her house as well but not as many and the few that were of her was when she was a small child. There used to be more pictures that contained the whole Fabray family, standing stock still with serious faces to show off their appearance of wealth and affluence with Russell Fabray towering over the three women.

After the divorce however, Quinn had woken up one day to find her mother filling boxes with anything and everything that contained the face or remembrance of her ex-husband. Quinn was overcome with a strong but silent pride for her mother's actions that day.

Shaking her head to clear the memory Quinn turned to face Rachel, who she found to be watching her intently. "You have a beautiful home Rach."

"Thank you." Rachel beamed at the nickname and kind words. "Are you hungry or thirsty? We have a wide variety of non vegan snacks."

"Water would be great." Quinn said as she followed Rachel to the kitchen.

"So did you have any particular favorites today from the ones that performed?" Rachel asked.

"Kurt surprised me but I loved Mike's choice. It was a beautiful song. What about you? Any songs you think would make the cut for Nationals?"

"I agree with you about Kurt, especially Mike. His vocal skills have improved extensively since the last time we heard him sing. But I think Kurt's choice may be a leading contender for the solo portion. The song was especially powerful by his choice to perform it acoustically and with Noah's proficiency at the guitar, its very likely that the judges will find it refreshing." Rachel said as she grabbed two water bottles out of the refrigerator.

"Speaking of songs, have you found one yet for Friday?" Rachel asked excitedly.

Quinn smirked. "I did."

"Care to share?" Rachel asked to which Quinn shook her head. The brunette's pout made Quinn chuckle. "Oh c'mon," Quinn said. "I'm still psyching myself up for it. I'm not sure that I'll be able to pull it off since its more of your vocal range than mine but the lyrics to the song were perfect."

"Now you're just teasing me at all this non information you're giving me. The least you could do is tell me the artist's name."

"Its all about the teasing…" Quinn said in a sing song voice. Rachel cut her off with, "Don't you dare finish that sentence." The blonde couldn't contain the laugh that had escaped her throat when Rachel mock glared at her.

Deciding a different tactic that she was sure would work, the brunette slowly sauntered over to stand in front of Quinn and batted her eyelashes, giving the blonde her best doe eyed expression. With the best demure tone of voice she could muster, Rachel asked, "Please?"

Quinn, who wasn't fooled at all, decided to give Rachel what she wanted even though she was sure she could have teased the brunette quite a bit longer. "Alanis Morissette."

Rachel didn't even bother to hide her expression of pure satisfaction and openly relished in getting what she wanted.

"What about you?" the blonde asked. "Although I'm pretty sure you already had a song prepared the day you gave us the assignment."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Initially yes I did have a song prepared but yesterday I found a different one that I felt would do a much better job of expressing my emotions."

Quinn arched her eyebrow but said nothing.

"So would you like a tour of the house?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded and held her hand out to Rachel. "Show me."

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise but she recovered quickly and took the blonde's hand in hers. After the tiny diva showed Quinn around, they ended up at the last stop - Rachel's room. Tacked to the door was a small cutout of a gold star with the brunette's name elegantly scripted across the middle.

Before Rachel revealed the interior of her room, Quinn held her expectations to be bombarded with Broadway paraphernalia but found she was mistaken when she looked around. It was a typical teenage girl's room with framed pictures sparsely set around the room. Above the brunette's desk was an intricately organized calendar. The only semblance of Broadway she could find was an autographed poster in a frame of Funny Girl. Upon closer inspection she found there was a personal message that said, "Dear Rachel, Remember you have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it. Best of luck when you make it to Broadway!" and below it was a signature by no other than Barbra Streisand herself.

Rachel smiled at the blonde's shocked expression. It was the same look she had when she received it. "I know. Dad and Daddy gave it to me on the last night of Hanukkah two years ago. I can't imagine the trouble or expense they went to, to get it. Its my most prized possession."

Quinn's jaw just hung open as she listened to Rachel explain.

"I know this is a bit off topic and probably entirely none of my business but the Skanks didn't beat you up or anything after you left the group did they?"

Quinn snickered. "No even if they wanted to they wouldn't have dared. Even though I've fallen from proverbial grace as the captain of the Cheerios, I still have Santana as a friend and that earns me a bit of leeway. Even the Skanks wouldn't be crazy enough to face up to her if anything happened to me. They may seem like they don't care about anyone or anything and they honestly don't but Santana's really good at keeping up her 'I'm from Lima Heights Adjacent' act up so nobody messes with her."

Rachel's eyes furrowed in confusion. "So...she's not from Lima Heights Adjacent?"

Quinn burst in to rampant laughter. "God no. Her dad's a doctor remember? Her family's loaded. She just says that she is to give her street cred."

"Well regardless of her financial status, I personally remain terrified of her especially when threatened with the possibility of violence."

Shaking her head, Quinn reassured. "Don't be. She's a real softy underneath all the bravado she puts out and though she may say it, she'd never actually hit you. She doesn't even hate you...not that she'd ever admit to that."

"I find that very hard to believe. What about the fight that you two got in? And how can you know for sure that she doesn't hate me?" Rachel asked.

"First, Santana and I have a unique friendship. One thats based mostly on our competitive natures. Its always been that way but when it really matters, we're always there for each other. I know for a fact that she doesn't hate you because of Brittany. Brittany has a weird but surprisingly accurate perceptiveness about people, especially Santana. When it comes to her, there isn't anything that Britt doesn't know. Plus, Britt likes you and Santana would never do anything to upset B intentionally. But please don't let Santana know I told you because she would totally kick my ass again."

Rachel beamed from learning some of Santana's secrets. Rachel made her promise by way of motioning her zipping her lips shut and tossing away an invisible key.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Rachel honey? Can I come in?" Leroy asked.

"Come in Daddy."

Although Quinn knew she would face this moment eventually of meeting Rachel's parents, she still couldn't help but be nervous as hell about it. A tall black man entered the room smiling at them both.

"Hey honey. We're home." Leroy said to Rachel. Turning his attention to Quinn he said with a genuine smile, "Hello, you must be Quinn. Nice to meet you."

Never one to forget or disregard her manners, Quinn quickly held out her hand to shake his. "Hello Sir. Its a pleasure to meet you. You have a wonderful home." she said as exceedingly polite as possible.

Chuckling, "Call me Leroy dear. No need for formalities here. I must say you're the spitting image of your mother when she was your age."

Noticing Quinn's blush, Rachel exclaimed, "Daddy! Stop, you're embarrassing her!"

"You knew my mother in high school?" Quinn asked incredulously.

Leroy grinned, "Sure did. Rachel, your dad is getting ready to make dinner. Oh and Quinn, will you be joining us for dinner? We all would love it if you said yes."

Quinn turned to Rachel for confirmation. Seeing Rachel's expression of anticipation, Quinn accepted their invitation. "Please make sure to tell your mother I said hello when you tell her that you're staying." And with that he left.

The blonde face palmed when she realized she forgot to tell her mother where she was. She grabbed her cell phone and quickly shot a text to her mother informing her whereabouts and included Leroy's message. Moments later, her phone buzzed notifying her of a new text.

That's fine dear. Have fun and please let me know when you're home. Give my best to Leroy and Michael for me! Love you.

Quinn couldn't help but stare at her phone puzzled by her mother's reply. She didn't know what to expect from her mother when she informed her of her current whereabouts. Maybe something akin to a short stern order to come home immediately but not this...friendly response.

Trying to understand, she thought back to instances where the Berry's were topics of conversation. She could remember clearly her father's self righteous ranting about the Berry's sinful way of living and other derogatory remarks that made her sick to her stomach. Upon further thought, she also called to mind that her mother had never contributed to those conversations. Judy just remained quiet during her husband's pontifications. Maybe her mom didn't agree with everything Russell had spouted.

Just to be sure, she sent a second text message to her mother. You're not mad? I'm at Rachel's with her two gay dads.

Quinn hid the message she was typing from Rachel, not wanting to offend the brunette but she had to be sure that her mother understood where she was.

Her phone buzzed again. No of course I'm not mad. Yes I know their preferences dear. Please give them my best. Rachel too! See you later.

"Huh." Quinn said aloud but mostly to herself.

While the blonde was busy texting her mother, Rachel made herself busy by tiding up her already organized desk. After she was done, she sat on the end of her bed to wait for Quinn. "Is everything all right?" Rachel asked.

Realizing that the brunette was speaking to her, Quinn answered. "Uh, yeah everything is good. My mom just surprised me. She told me to tell you hello. And your dads."

"Oh that was sweet of her. Please mention to her I said hello back when you see her."

Quinn nodded, still a bit off kilter from her conversation with her mother, decided to just go with it. If her mother was somehow secretly replaced with an alien bodysnatcher, she'd deal with it when the time came.

Quinn put her phone away. "So what's for dinner?"

"I don't know. Lets go find out." As they left the room, their hands instinctively intertwined bringing dopey smiles to both their faces. When they reached the dining room, Michael caught their attachment to each other but didn't remark about it. Instead he quirked an eyebrow much similar to Quinn's signature expression and said, "So you're Quinn Fabray."

Quinn immediately paled, her eyes wide and full of terror. Before she could apologize or politely introduce herself, Rachel spoke up. "Dad! Thats not funny. Be nice."

Clearly she must have missed something because the next thing she knew Michael was smiling apologetically at her. Trying to get his laughter under control, he said, "I'm sorry Quinn I was just pulling your leg. As Leroy probably mentioned earlier when he met you, there are no formalities here so please call me Michael. Or Mike. Whichever you prefer."

Seeing that Quinn was still somewhat shook up, Rachel placed a comforting hand on her arm. "I apologize for my dad. He has a sick sense of humor."

A wave of relief fell over the blonde. After taking a deep breath, she asked the Berry men if she could help with dinner. They politely shooed her away to the table to keep Rachel company.

After the food was plated and set to eat, they all sat down at the rectangular wooden dining table. Rather than sitting at the head of the table, Leroy sat beside Michael. Across from them, Rachel and Quinn sat together sneaking smiles at each other.

Quinn knew what veganism entailed but hadn't ever eaten any meals comprised entirely of vegan friendly ingredients. Once she took a bite of the vegetable lasagna, she immediately closed her eyes and moaned in delight at the bombardment of delicious flavors that her taste buds were experiencing.

Giggling at the blondes reaction, Rachel quipped, "You doing all right over there? It looks like you're having a religious experience or something."

Quinn blushed momentarily before smiling broadly at Rachel. "This is heavenly."

Michael grinned at Rachel and said, "She's a keeper." The blonde choked on her water as she heard this. The brunette immediately attempted to help Quinn get over her coughing fit by patting her back. Quinn blushed and reassured Rachel she was fine.

"Unlike that gangly giant of a boy who still doesn't know the difference between veganism and vegetarianism." Leroy said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Daddy," Rachel pleaded. "Please can we not indulge in any Finn bashing tonight?"

"But honey," Leroy said. "You explained it to him three times and he still didn't get it. You should be dating someone who isn't as...intellectually challenged."

Rachel glared at her dad while Quinn showed only a hint of a smile on her face even though, inside her mind she was grinning like a complete and utter fool.

Wanting to have a bit more fun Leroy turned to Quinn and asked her if she knew the difference. Once she did so, and quite eloquently, Michael gestured to Quinn.

"See? She knows the difference!"

Rachel turned to Quinn. "How doyou know the difference?"

Quinn shrugged. "You were talking about it before Glee Club started."

"But you were busy talking to Santana and Brittany!"

The blonde shook her head. "I may have thrown in a whatever once and a while but I wasn't really a part of the conversation. Just because I pretended that I was ignoring you, doesn't mean I wasn't listening to what you were saying."

Captivated by the girls' conversation, the Berry men remained silent as they analyzed the girls' interactions with each other. Hearing Quinn's words caused three different reactions from each member of the Berry family. Leroy decided to hide his smirk behind the glass of wine he was pretending to sip. Michael just raised his eyebrows at the implication. But Rachel however just looked strangely at the blonde. "Really?" the brunette said, so softly in fact Quinn almost didn't hear her if she hadn't have been sitting right next to her. Quinn nodded in affirmation.

Realizing that all eyes were on her, Quinn averted her eyes to her plate.

Everyone sat quietly until Michael had enough of the awkward silence and spoke up. "So Quinn, what are your hobbies beside Glee Club? Rachel had mentioned something about you being a Cheerio?"

Quinn blushed. Not sure of what to say, Rachel decided to help her out. "She used to be the Captain but after being forced to choose between cheerleading and Glee Club, she picked Glee Club and Coach kicked her off the Cheerios. While she was an accomplished athlete, she is also quite proficient both vocally and artistically."

Hearing the 'artistic' part made Quinn's head whip to the side to give the brunette a wide eyed disbelieving look. Quinn knew exactly what Rachel was referring to but she didn't think for one second Rachel would bring it up to her dads. Wondering if they already knew about the not so appropriate pictures she had drawn of their daughter in the bathroom stalls of their high school made her blush even harder.

Quinn found that Rachel's eyes held nothing but mirth in them. Quinn noticed that when it came to the Berry's sense of humor, Rachel definitely got hers from Michael.

"What medium do you use?" Michael asked.

Before giving the blonde a chance to answer, Rachel spoke for her with a straight face. "She draws. Portraits mostly." Quinn groaned in embarrassment.

Both the Berry men didn't realize why Quinn was so mortified so they just figured it was her being modest. After dinner was finished the men went into the adjoining kitchen to grab dessert.

Feeling a sudden presence of a warm hand on her thigh made Quinn jump in her chair. Not daring to look at the brunette, Quinn closed her eyes to focus on calming her rapidly beating heart. "What the hell Rachel?" Quinn whispered harshly. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Revealing a devious grin, Rachel said, "Oh c'mon I was just having a little fun." Rachel moved closer to Quinn's ear. "Don't worry, they don't know about the bathroom portraits."

Quinn narrowed her eyes at Rachel. "You're mean, you know that?"

"You like it." Rachel said playfully.

The blondes lips quirked up into a small smile. "Yeah okay you caught me. I've got to work on my poker face." Keeping Rachel's gaze, Quinn interlocked her fingers with the brunette's.

Both girls reveled in the quiet but significant moment they were sharing until they were interrupted by a throat clearing.

Thats really starting to get annoying, Quinn thought.

Since their hands were out of eyesight, they didn't let go but Rachel began to notice a faint tingling sensation when Quinn started to rub slow circles with her thumb on her hand. Rachel noticed yet again that Quinn had produced another feeling that she found lacking in her relationship with Finn and her ex's Puck and Jesse.

"So who's up for some vegan style chocolate cake?" Leroy offered cheerfully.

Both girls tore their gaze away from each other to nod at the men. Once they were served, the girls used the hand that wasn't being used to eat to hold the other's hand.

As the night went on, they continued to make small talk, laughing and enjoying each others company. Quinn felt both delighted and amazed in the fact that she never felt more at home than she did with the Berry's.

After the dessert plates were scraped clean, the girls offered to do dishes but were shooed away told to have some fun away from the 'parental units'. Quinn regretfully informed them that she had to head home. She thanked both men for allowing her to stay for dinner and complimented them on the meal. "I'll walk you out." Rachel murmured. Rachel casually grabbed Quinn's hand as they walked to Quinn's car.

Rachel didn't stop to think why exactly she had been so fascinated with holding Quinn's hand but whatever it may be, she liked it. A lot. The tingling sensation was new but definitely something she would be willing to get used to.

"I just realized that we came over here in my car. Would you like a ride to school tomorrow?" Quinn offered.

Rachel smiled brightly. "I would love one. I just hope it didn't get towed."

"Don't worry about it if it happens."

Part of her mind wanted to explain in length why she should worry about it but the voice seemed to drown itself out when she looked into the blonde's hazel eyes. "So...is 7:45 okay?"

Rachel nodded. "Would it be too much for me to ask you to text me to let me know that you got home safely?"

The blonde shook her head. "I'll let you know the moment I step inside."

The front porch light started flickering on and off, signaling Rachel to wrap it up. Covering her face with her left hand, she groaned in embarrassment. "I guess thats my cue," Quinn said, squeezing Rachel's other hand before she let go. "Night Rachel."

"Good night Quinn." Rachel said softly.

Waiting until Quinn's tail lights were out of sight, Rachel turned to walk back into her house. Before the short trip from the street to the door was over, she notice that the tingling in her hand had increased. She couldn't wait until the next opportunity to hold Quinn's hand.

Closing the door behind her, Rachel went into the living room to bid her fathers a good night unaware of the broad smile that adorned her face. Both of the Berry men looked at each other then at their daughter knowing full well what, or perhaps who, was responsible for the smile. A few minutes later, Rachel's phone beeped. She opened her phone to find a new text. I'm home safe and sound and am texting you as promised. See you tomorrow! xQuinn.

After Rachel saved the blonde's number in her phone, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Downstairs, Leroy turned to Michael on the couch and said, "Well it looks like history might be repeating itself."

Michael sighed. "I couldn't agree more."