Happy Sunday and I'm on time this week! Woot Woot! Oh, and I have my Quinntana week stories on my computer, I just need to get my friend to read through them and they will probably all be uploaded tomorrow (definitely soon, anyway). "By Dawn" is a oneshot (Day 1 which has already been uploaded). Day 2, 3, 4, and 6 will all be in the same story titled "One Crazy Ride" and will have a spinoff story coming soon. Day 5 and 7 will be individual oneshots titled "Puzzle Pieces (7)" and "Spark (5)." So, be on the lookout for that.

The last thing I'm going to say is I have another oneshot (that is Quinntana but has nothing to do with Quinntana week) that I'm uploading simultaneously with this chapter. It's called "Give and Take" and is extremely angsty. If you want to read it, I suggest reading that first and then coming back to this chapter.

4:11 p.m.- Lima, Ohio

Quinn finds a strange comfort in the fact that Santana's room has changed since the last time she saw it which was sometime junior year. Her eyes are involuntarily drawn to the pictures of Santana and Brittany in their cheer uniforms and at prom and just of Santana and Brittany in general. She feels the comfort slip away a little bit until they land on one of Santana and her grandmother and one of Santana by herself in New York.

She always thought Santana would be a photographer because Santana's pictures are beautiful. She always snaps the camera at the right time. Quinn wanders over to Santana's dresser and she's taken aback at all the other people Santana has pictures of and with.

Rachel, Puck, Mercedes, and her own smiling face stare back at her. She ghosts her fingers over one of her the day before freshman year. She's glaring in the picture because Santana would not stop taking pictures that day.

At the very corner of her dresser, behind bottles of perfume, lotion, and jewelry, Santana has a picture of Finn. Quinn feels a pull in her chest and she turns away from the dresser completely to find Santana watching her lazily from the bed.

"I'm ready when you are." She smiles in a way that Quinn is positive is supposed to be reassuring, but it's just unnerving. Quinn clears her throat and nods once.

"I- uh… I don't know where to start."

"How about with your pills," Santana's voice is harsher than it was seconds before and Quinn slowly shuffles to the bed. She perches on the edge of it so she's facing away from Santana and clears her throat again.

"It started right after sophomore year. After I had Beth," Quinn rushes out. Santana's shuffling behind her stops and Quinn wishes it didn't. Something about Santana's full attention being on her makes her insides coil. "Well, my mom- she took me to a psychologist because I wasn't eating, or coming out of my room and I- I cried a lot. Dr. Woodard recommended me to a psychiatrist. They're like psychologists, only, they can prescribe medicine. So, Dr. Hyde diagnosed me with depression." Quinn stops speaking and fingers the charms on her silver and gold bracelet. "I should've- I should've kept her," her voice cracks and she swipes angrily at the tears leaking out of her face.

Quinn looks over her shoulder at Santana who's not looking at her, but picking a stray string in her comforter. Quinn takes a deep breath to start talking again, but Santana speaks up before she can.

"No, you shouldn't have. But continue," Santana says blandly. Quinn shakes her head a bit before doing as Santana ordered.

"Then, I started birth control because I couldn't afford to get pregnant again… I mean," she chuckles, "you saw me when I came back to school junior year. I was disgusting. And I just- well, my dad has to pay for the birth control so I just haven't stopped. Plus, I still need it."

"Why? I thought-"

Quinn cuts Santana off with a cough. She's not entirely, completely, 100 percent ready for that side of the talk. "And then senior year," she sighs the words, happy that her Beth tears have stopped falling. "I stopped sleeping at night. I started taking vitamins in the morning and caffeine pills to get through the day. I would pop one or two in whenever I got tired. But they weren't working, so I went to the doctor and my doctor, Dr. Reynolds," Quinn glances at Santana when she makes a surprised sound. If Quinn wasn't on a roll, Santana probably would have said "I didn't know we had the same doctor!" Quinn starts her statement again. "Dr. Reynolds diagnosed me with insomnia, but I still had depression and still took birth control. But by then I had become addicted to caffeine pills and I decided to keep taking vitamins along with the sleeping pill she gave me."

She pauses to catch her breath and lays back on the bed so her head is resting on Santana's thighs. Santana looks down at her but Quinn can't read the expression in her brown eyes. She's terribly out of practice at the art of reading Santana. Or maybe she just hasn't been around as Santana developed new guards, looks, and defense mechanisms.

"At Rachel and Fi-" She stops when Santana looks away suddenly. "When I got in the car accident," she fixes. "They prescribed me pain medication for my back. I still need those because when I stopped taking them, there were days I couldn't get out of bed by myself."

Santana looks back down at her, brushing some of Quinn's hair behind her ear. Quinn paints a smile onto her face. "And that's how I became a drug addict."

"I'm still worried about you," Santana says. Quinn's fake smile drops and she trails her eyes down Santana's face to the cross necklace that hangs at her chest. Quinn brings her hand up, instinctively, to the cross necklace that should be around her neck, but she's met with bare skin.

"Santana," Quinn murmurs, rolling off of the girl so she's laying on a pillow and looking up at Santana's ceiling which is adorned with even more photos.

Santana's ceiling always fascinated her, for the girl has a brilliant chandelier in the middle of her room and over the years has had glow in the dark stars, splatter paint, hand prints, literally everything that can be thought up decorating the ceiling around it.

"Santana," she starts again. Santana turns her upper body so she's facing Quinn's general direction. "Who's the oldest person you've slept with?" she asks. Quinn hopes it's someone older than her professor because then Santana won't be allowed to bother her about that anymore.

"Well, at NAYADA, there was this teacher that hated Berry. Her name was Cassidy- Cassandra or something. And one day, I came in the classroom to fuss at Rachel about something completely annoying that she did, and me and Cass hit it off. When Rachel and Kurt kicked me out, Cass said I could stay with her… and, well…"

Quinn enjoys the laughter that bubbles out of her because it's the first time she's laughed all day. "Tell me you're lying." Quinn wheezes in between giggles. Santana nods, and once Quinn finally catches her breath, she sits up to ask, "So why did you say that?"

"'Cause, you're much prettier when you smile." Santana holds out her hand and gives Quinn a look. Quinn sucks her lip into her mouth and takes Santana's outstretched hand. "And whenever you need me, Q, you can call me, okay?" Santana squeezes Quinn's hand before letting go. "I have some questions, now."

Quinn has to answer Santana's questions because it was part of their deal. Now that she's told so much already, she doesn't want to do it. Plus, she wants to ask Santana some questions because this conversation doesn't seem very fair. It's like she got the bad end of the deal. Santana clears her throat dramatically.

"Quinn, why the fuck are you still on birth control?"

"Because it's one more expense my deadbeat of a father has to pay." The answer is automatic, just like a lot of her answers she's programmed into her brain.

"Bullshit. Q, who else are you sleeping with?"

Quinn's brain runs through conversations of 'no, I'm not going to put on a fucking condom. Now bend the fuck over if you want this grade,' and, 'you slut, I have a vasectomy.' She feels her stomach tighten and thanks God she got her period this month.

"Can we drop it? Please?" Her voice is weaker than she's ever heard it before. Ever. Even when she was going through all the other shit, she managed to stay strong. But nobody will be able to get it. Not even Santana. She can pass the class without sleeping with her professor, he will just fail her if she doesn't and…

"Okay," Santana says. "Another question."

Quinn braces herself.

"And this is purely for my own curiosity. Do you prefer to sleep with men or women?"

"Women." The answer comes as quickly and automatically as the first one, but she never programmed that answer. Actually, she programmed the opposite answer. Quinn's face flushes and she crosses her arms, determinately not looking directly at Santana.

"Why?"

Quinn thinks about her words carefully because she wants to completely deter Santana from this sexuality talk. She needs some more time to think about it. Maybe by the summer, she'll be ready. "They're easier to sleep with. They're weaker than me… and I've never slept with a woman who used me." Quinn shakes her head. "I-I've never gotten pregnant by a woman," she spits, Puck flashing across her eyes. Santana gets off the bed.

"You sleep with women because they can't get you pregnant?" she demands. Quinn nods, still glaring at the wall. "And because they don't use you. Like the way you use Jaqueline? Like the way you're apparently using all women that you sleep with? Or is that not what you meant?"

Quinn's jaw drops. How dare Santana actually turn this around? She's trying to open up here, and of course Santana changes it. "I don't use Jaqueline, Santana! Not the way people use me. Women are just- just different."

"Different how?" Santana growls. Quinn doesn't understand Santana's sudden change in mood. "Because they're weaker than you? Well, Quinn, once upon a time, you slept with me and you definitely aren't stronger than me! And they're easier to sleep with?" Santana stomps over to her ensuite bathroom door. "I can't believe you can be so shallow after everything you've been through!"

Quinn stiffens, clutching a decorative pillow. She shouldn't have opened up to Santana. She shouldn't have trusted her the way that she did. "I told you," Quinn says in a low voice to show that she's done with the conversation (even though a part of her knows she can't match the fury in Santana's eyes [or the hurt, but she ignores that part]). "Not to ask questions you don't want to know the answers to."

With that, Santana steps into the bathroom, slams and locks the door behind her, and Quinn angrily throws the pillow in her grip at the closed door. She falls back on the bed in frustration, and finally succumbs to the sleep that comes every time she thinks too hard about things she's been blocking out.

6:00 p.m. on the dot- Lima, Ohio

Quinn knocks on the apartment door in front of her, looking over her shoulder quickly at Santana. Santana's still mad at her for her earlier comments about sleeping with women, but somehow Quinn got the stubborn girl to come along. It took a lot of coaxing and empty promises- that Quinn doesn't exactly remember because at the time, she wasn't completely awake.

The door opens after seconds of waiting and Quinn is met with blinding, white teeth. "You're here," Emma steps back. "Come in, come in."

Quinn steps through the door and hears Santana close it.

"You two wait here. I'll be right back. I'm going to get Will and check on dinner… Oh, and I'm sorry about the mess, girls. I was doing some spring cleaning." She disappears from the room. As soon as Emma's red hair leaves her view, Santana touches her to get her attention.

"Why are we here?" she hisses. Quinn tugs her arm from under Santana's fingers and says nothing. Sure, she'd love to tell Santana why- it would certainly make peace more easily, but that would ruin the surprise.

"You're the surprise guests! Oh it's so good to see you!" Will comes into the room. "It's been so long!" His acting is so mediocere and it sickens Quinn the way his presence caused Santana to tense up a little.

Quinn may play a good game, but she loathes William Schuster. He talked a good talk about family and acceptance, but it was all bullshit and every time she sees him, she sees the man that yelled at her and put her down when she needed family and acceptance and a hug. Her hatred of him got worse when she found out how he stole from Santana and smiled in her face while lying about it- how he's smiling in their faces now.

She wills all the tightness in her body away, but she just has the urge to attack him- to knock that fake smile off of his face.

A warm hand touches hers and this time she doesn't move away. Quinn feels the question in the way Santana's hand puts pressure on hers. Quinn nods- she'll be fine.

"Sue told me what you did to her, Santana- and I'd just like to say, feliz bien." He smiles again and Quinn doesn't know if he's joking or not. The pressure on her hand increases and it leads Quinn to believe that maybe Santana doesn't like him either… Or maybe her infamous psychic third Mexican eye is tingling. Quinn sees Ms. Lopez's glare and hears the woman's voice. "Aye, Santana! You're not even Mexican! Don't let your abuela hear you talking like that!" Quinn smiles a little at the thought of Mama Lopez before tuning back into the conversation.

Quinn has heard, through the grapevine, what Santana did to Sue. She hasn't heard it from Santana yet and is kind of afraid to ask her.

"Dinner's ready! Come eat!" Emma calls. She and Santana follow Will through the door into the kitchen.

7:52 p.m.- Lima, Ohio

Santana doesn't know why Quinn accepted this dinner invitation. She sure wouldn't have.

They're back on the couch across from Will, and Santana, for a millisecond, is happy that Finn died before he could become a replica of the douche bag in front of her. But only for a millisecond.

"Quinn," Emma stutters. "I have some dresses I'm going to get rid of. Maybe you can wear some?"

Santana has to stop her jaw from dropping when Quinn actually goes. She tries to make eye contact with Quinn, but Quinn seems to be avoiding her eyes carefully. A few months ago, Santana is positive that Quinn would have politely declined Emma's offer because they were just laughing about Emma's style at the not-wedding.

"So," Will gets her attention. "What brought you and Quinn to Lima?" he questions. Santana takes a minute before answering.

"Quinn is helping me find Finn's jacket. She's been asking around but she hasn't found it yet…"

"Oh yeah?" He seems genuinely interested in their search and it puts Santana a little bit off. "Who have you asked?"

"I don't really know everyone… But she asked Emma just yesterday but s-" Santana doesn't get to finish because Will is up from his seat and disappears through the same doorway Emma and Quinn did.

Santana hears muffled yelling and a scream. A door slams shut and another one creaks open.

"William! Move! Let Quinn go!"

"You're my wife, Emma! You're supposed to-"

"But I refuse to be a liar!"

Something keeps Santana from going back in the back. She casts her eyes out to the window because Emma and Will's fights sound a lot like her parents' fighting- except, of course, her parents yell in Spanish. Well, her parents yell in actual Spanish opposed to Will's butchered crap.

More doors slam and she stares even harder out of the window. It reminds her of all those times when her parents would go on for so long, that she was driven to tears. She'd stare out the window and pretend like she was outside, not hearing anything that was happening. Of course, it's not like her parents would even notice if she was outside but she stayed inside to be closer to them. To show that she was staying no matter what happened, she'd always stay with them- claim them both.

That mentality changed as she got older.

Santana jumps when she feels dry, large hands squeeze her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Santana," Will says, crazy look in his eyes. "I need it more than you. You don't understand." Will's grip tightens causing Santana's heart to pound. She steps back, yanking her arm.

"What are you talking about? Get off me!" She finally gets her left shoulder free and instinctively slaps him. While he's stunned, she steps around him and sees Quinn grinning at her.

"Q, have you gone mad too?" Her eyes travel down to the red and white jacket in Quinn's hand. "Quinn, we have to get out-" She does a double take, glancing back at the fabric in Quinn's hand.

"You're welcome." Quinn's voice is cool as if she's had it all along.

"Oh my God! Quinn!" Santana gives Quinn a quick one arm hug. Quinn puts the jacket around her arms and Santana pulls it around her.

It doesn't smell like Finn anymore, but like the pine of the apartment she's in. Emma must have cleaned it once or twice which means she knew as well as Will and it bothers Santana. She always thought Emma would help her no matter what. She always thought Emma remembered their promise as vividly as Santana does.

Santana gets the urge to call Rachel and Kurt right away to inform them the stolen jacket has been found, but she refrains. She looks back up at Quinn to say thank you, but her hazel eyes are hard.

"You bastard." Quinn hisses. Santana turns to see Will crying but still looking defiantly at them. Emma stands beside him, just shaking.

"Girls, you- you should go," Emma breathes. "I'm sorry I was rude, yesterday Quinn. I'm glad I could help. And Santana-"

But Santana stops her with her own words. "Thank you, Emma." Santana says, smiling despite herself because the fact that Emma did help soothes her anger towards the woman for taking so damn long to help. Quinn tugs the hem of the jacket and Santana follows her out of the apartment.

9:26 p.m.- Lima, Ohio

Santana drove back to the hotel, Finn's too big jacket on her shoulders the whole way. She was happy that Quinn slept the entire time because she's not sure if she could handle the blonde's questions without giving anything away.

"Quinn!" Santana flicks Quinn's ear as she pulls into a parking space. The first thing out of Quinn's mouth is a question, as she expected.

"Santana, why are we back at the hotel? We checked out. You said that we weren't staying here anymore."

"I didn't say that," Santana answers, turning the car off. "Notice I never packed our luggage into the car. We just got a different room."

They walk through the automatic doors and straight to the elevator, Santana pretending not to hear the muttering under Quinn's breath. She pushes the button that will take them to the twelfth floor and finds Quinn's hand.

After what seems like an eternity, the door opens. She tugs Quinn along behind her, getting giddier and giddier along the way to the room. She slides the card into the lock and pushes the door open when the lock turns green.

"Santana what?"

"Welcome to the honeymoon suite!" Santana exclaims, closing the door behind her. She leans against the closed door, still holding Quinn's hand. She squeezes it once so Quinn will turn her attention from gazing around the huge room back to Santana.

"Why did you book the honeymoon suite?" Quinn asks, finally turning back around to face Santana.

"It was a joke at first, but you found the jacket. So now, I guess, we can crack open a bottle of champagne, and celebrate." Santana sucks her lip into her mouth and Quinn steps closer to her.

"You're crazy," Quinn breathes. Santana drops Quinn's hand and looks seriously at her.

"Thank you, Quinn. You're the best. Honestly. I know you're supposed to be at school and everything, but you came to help me and-" She sucks in her next word with a small gasp when Quinn steps closer to her so their chests press together.

"I've been thinking," Quinn husks, eyes darkening. She brings a hand up to Santana's chin. "About how to redeem myself for my earlier comments because as a feminist, what I said was rude." She pauses and Santana raises her eyebrows, ready to hear Quinn's reasons. "And I'm not just telling you what you want to hear. I'm telling you the truth."

"Okay," Santana shrugs and nods slightly, she can't give a full out nod because then her lips would brush Quinn's. Quinn's fingers move some hair out of Santana's face and her hazel eyes dart to the brunette's lips. Santana's mind returns to her dream this morning and all she can think is that at least this time, they're on the door so Dani nor Brittany can interrupt them.

"And I never would have said those things, I just- I didn't want to give you the satisfaction of being the only one who had me open up to them fully all in the same day. There are some things that I'm still not ready to talk about." Quinn looks away from her fingers back up at Santana.

"Go ahead," Santana prompts, smiling encouragingly at Quinn. "So why do you prefer women?" She brushes an eyelash from under Quinn's eye like it's the most normal thing in the world and, maybe it is.

"It's because I like the way women feel," Quinn says. "They're soft. They're smooth. And they smell nice, which is a definite plus because guys are smelly and when they sweat, it's gross."

Santana leans her head back on the door and Quinn's hand trails down her cheek to her arm.

"I love the way they try to hide that they're turned on. How they can be loud, or quiet… Rough or gentle. I like the fire in their eyes all the way down to their… well, you know." She smirks. Santana feels herself start to shake a little bit. Quinn's other hand moves under the draped letterman jacket to her waist and her thumb circles there. Santana tries to look somewhere other than Quinn's eyes because the desire in them is too much to handle.

It was much like when she couldn't look at Quinn earlier when she was having a break down. Santana doesn't do well managing her own emotions, she can't help anyone else with theirs.

"…I like the way they make love… well, when they decide to make love. Other times, I love the wild, crazy way they fuck. I love how they cuddle and kiss. I like how women have to choose to submit to me," Quinn's other hand touches the cross necklace on Santana's throat.

Quinn's nose brushes hers and Santana finally decides to just close her eyes. "Q-Quinn." And Quinn is actually the only one who could make her go from a composed, articulate woman to a mind reeling, stuttering fool in the same conversation. It's always been like this just with different emotions (like making Santana sad instead of confused) and different reactions (like crying verses being turned on).

"Don't talk," Quinn snaps. "I'm answering your question. Where was I?" she pauses, "Oh yeah. See, women, they're not weak. They have to decide submit and when they do, they love it. They tremor under my touch."

Santana can't even say anything, because her body trembles and all Quinn is doing is lightly squeezing her waist and playing with the chain of her necklace. Santana, tired of her hands hanging limply by her side, grips the waistband of Quinn's dress. Santana finally opens her eyes and is thankful that Quinn's eyes are trained somewhere behind her on the door.

"And if they don't want to. They just," a finger brushes over her lips. "Say." Another brush. "No." And then their lips connect.

It's nothing like the last time they kissed. This time is much slower and Santana allows herself to focus only on the feel of Quinn's lips- the feel of Quinn. The way she sees so experienced since the last time they kissed. The way she's calmer and more sure of herself.

There's no ripping off of clothes and the only noise is heavy breathing. Everything is slow and just… amazing is the only word Santana can think of.

Santana tries to stay in the moment, and make sure everything is perfect because this moment will change everything. Well, actually, she hopes it won't because what she has with Quinn is not as complicated as it will be once they break away. Because Quinn is as confused and messed up as they come and having this sit on her mind could make it worse.

She doesn't want the kiss to end, but at the same time she does because they haven't had any alcohol. Because they can't blame it on anything other than what's actually happening between them and she doesn't want to think about that yet. Because Quinn just told her (in her own way) that she wasn't ready to have the sexuality talk or be in a committed relationship. Because, Santana has a girlfriend.

Santana has a girlfriend.

Santana pulls back, keeping Quinn's bottom lip between her teeth for a second too long for anyone to believe she actually wanted to break the kiss. Quinn's eyes dart away from Santana's face and she tries to pull away, but Santana keeps a firm grip on the fabric of Quinn's dress. She thinks carefully about what she's going to say next, but Quinn beats her to it.

"Santana, I-"

Santana shakes her head. She doesn't want Quinn to apologize or- say anything, actually. "I didn't say no," she breathes. Quinn smiles at Santana as if she's a child who just fell.

"If I could, Santana, I would have you screaming, back pressed against this door." Quinn drops her hand from Santana's face. "But, I'm on my period," she says. Santana drops her hands back to her sides, feeling a tightening in her chest. "And you have a girlfriend." It's snappier than anything else Quinn said that night and Santana just nods.

"You're right." Santana takes a deep breath, trying her hardest not to feel embarrassed or ashamed but Quinn doesn't give her enough time to because the blonde grins at her,

"Champagne?"

She tugs Finn's jacket back around her before crossing her arms. Santana chuckles a little. "Yeah."

Shananigan- Yes, Will angers me in ways I cannot even understand. *Shudder* Thank you and here is chapter six, right on time! So that means you forgive me? (I hope so...)

silent12reader- The jacket is most definately relevant and now that it's found, we have to think about what happens now. I'm sure it's what Quinn and Santana are asking themselves at the moment. Like, when are they going back to school (Quinn) and work (Santana)? And now that San knows a little more about what's been going on with Quinn, what's going to happen. And is Dani pregnant? That would suck if she is.

ErosEternalGlee- Thank you! I think it's time Quinn start trusting somebody other than herself and who better to trust than Santana? (Hopefully Santana doesn't eff up.) And Santana is a pretty unpredictable woman. Who knows how she'll react once she finds out Dani is pregnant- or if Dani is not pregnant.

To my guest reviewers, thank you so much for reviewing! I do think their conversation changed something between them (other than Santana stomping out) and I guess we'll see what later. ;)

~SW