Author Note: Two more chapters to go! :)

"You want some coffee?" Quinn asked pouring herself a cup of the steaming black liquid and looking across her kitchen to her Husband perched at the breakfast table. He wore his usual attire, a checked shirt and jeans, his stubble was thick today and his shoes left a trail of mud even though Quinn had asked him millions of times to wipe his shoes before he came inside.

"No" he waved off blankly, more concentrated on the newspaper in his hands. If you saw him you'd think he was one of those smart people who enjoy reading about the current economical crisis, but Joe couldn't pass elementary math at this age, and Quinn knew he was just making his way through the sports section and then to the comics.

"I was thinking about taking Luke up to my mom's house for a while" she mentioned calmly, her back still turned for him and facing the view outside. The street was already buzzing with housewives in jogging kits and little children playing with bikes and toys. She chewed her bottom lip nervously. She knew that she wanted nothing more than to get Alice back, but at the same time she didn't blame her for not wanting to return to this environment. She knew she was in New York, she knew she was trying to find Rachel – and at the same time her pride wouldn't let her help and she knew it was wrong to try and stop her. She was stuck. Maybe finding a way to tell her she's at Judy's house would make her more likely to come home, and then again, maybe not. She felt the bags under her eyes grow tired and her throat felt sore and scratched. She wanted to do the right thing, but she didn't even know what that was. There were nights she just thought about packing up and leaving Joe forever, but she'd already done that. She had Luke to think about too – it wasn't fair on him. There were other nights where she hated herself for being so obsessed with it all, why couldn't she just accept this was her life and she was lucky to have it? Maybe because the few years with Rachel had made 'this' life unbearable, it was like being dead. Being with Rachel made her alive. Joe looked up, Quinn could hear the chair creaking under his large build and the newspaper being shoved aside. He left out a groan of a sigh.

"No" he said bluntly, and Quinn turned around to face him, leaning against the sink. Her eyes trailed up to his and she was glad they couldn't talk, even though Joe (though hardly intelligent) probably knew very well what they were saying. Let me go. "You know why, too." He added, maybe a little more sympathetically. He ripped off a piece of his croissant and turned back to his paper. Because it was a rhetorical question, of course Quinn knew why. Because the last time she did that with Alice she never came back, or at least tried not to. Why couldn't he stand the thought of her being happy? The idea of how he reacted when he found out her and Rachel were in love made Quinn sick. The names he called her, how he grabbed Alice when she was screaming for mommy that was Rachel (Quinn got the mother southern version of momma), how he said it was just a phase she was going through. If Luke hadn't been born she'd try again, but she still felt blessed to have him.

"I'm going to my mom's, and I'm taking Luke with me." she slammed down her mug and marched through the kitchen, boy did that catch Joe off guard. Before he could even open his mouth the blonde was making their way up to her bedroom and packing her bag. She noticed Luke hovering by the doorway, sticking close to it in his light blue t-shirt and smart jeans.

"Are you leaving me" he asked with a blank expression, his large eyes looking straight at Quinn. She took a deep breath; it was time to finally be a good mother.

"Go and pack your books, we can share one suitcase" she said softly, she thought that he might cry and protest, but then Luke's eyes lit up like she'd never seen before, and the widest smile sprawled across his face. Before she could say another word he was already bringing up a pile of close and adjusting his rucksack across his back. Her eyebrows rose curiously.

"I keep it packed just in case, it's got all my favourites in" he said with a proud smile as he presented her with the various pairs of folded shirts and trousers, throwing in his toothbrush with his other hand. "How long are we staying at grandma's?" he asked with an optimistic glow.

"Oh, we're not going to grannies just yet. First stop, New York City." And just when Quinn thought she'd never seen him smile so widely, he showed her all three missing teeth in one huge grin.

"Amy...your memory's...god it's incredible" Alice turned the next page delicately and took another sip of her coffee as the two girls sat on the couch in the lobby. She was still trying to soak in all the information the girl had told her in the last twenty minutes. Alice found out that Amy's dad owned the hotel, and she'd grown up here all her life (her technical house and bedroom was the whole top floor penthouse which she kindly offered to show afterwards). Her mom had died during child birth and Amy had never really fitted into school, she was home schooled by the hotels version of a banker, which meant Holly wasn't the only one working there (Alice also found out that there were other employees of course). She said that the lady in charge of all the money had home schooled her since she was a little girl, and when Amy was sixteen she finally got to do her passion of painting and is opening up a studio a little downtown with the help of Holly. She told Alice that she didn't have much to do growing up since she didn't go to school so friends were kinda rare, she entertained herself mostly by drawing and her garden which was on the roof (which she also offered to show but at this stage Alice had no idea why the girl was telling her all of this, it probably came from the no friends thing). She also said she spent a lot time talking to the guests, and just looking through the sign in book and wondering what the people were like and what their life stories were. Alice tried not to be judgemental, she was pretty sure even though she wasn't a party animal that she had a much better childhood than Amy, even though living in a hotel (even if it wasn't in exactly the best part of town) seemed pretty...interesting. she couldn't really imagine Amy running around with a bow in her head like Eloise, a story her mom used to read to her. Amy then brought out a book, which Alice soon found out was the signing book, but one of the older ones from about ten years ago. It had a little dust on it but not enough to cause a mess. This was when Amy flicked to the date June 22nd, 12 years ago. Amy pointed at a name half way down with a proud smile, she mentioned something about having a great tact for remembering things since her dad was good at that sort of thing, she didn't say anything about his actual job though. But Alice didn't really have time to concentrate, what she was reading was her moms name – and her own, signing into this hotel for one night. She'd shown Alice out of pure coincidence, she just thought it was neat. But something in Alice was desperately lonely, and she could use a friend or more importantly a stranger to share her problem with. It took about five minutes to explain Amy everything, and she partly regretted it. There wasn't anything she could know though.

"Thanks, like I said – got my dad to thank for that." Alice smiled back at the girl, still trying to figure out what that meant. So her mom and her were in New York, which just confirmed her suspicions about the connection to Rachel. It was reassuring, but unless Rachel's address was printed somewhere in the book she really didn't think she had enough time to think about it anymore. "Speak of the devil" Amy said with a slight roll of the eyes, but it wasn't directed at Alice, it was directed to the man slowly walking towards them. Amy's dad was incredibly tall, he had to clear six and half feet at least. He was broad shouldered too, as well as pretty muscular (though his conservative shirt and trousers hid it pretty well, considering the heat she admired him and tugged down on her daisy dukes a little bit). He and a handsome face and light caramel skin, he was Caucasian but there was definitely something a little tropical about him, the same went for Amy. The girl jumped up with more delight than Alice expected someone with black lipstick to have as she threw her arms (with some difficulty) around the man's neck. He smiled politely and held her for a moment, but from his body language Alice could tell he wasn't really a touchy feely man, maybe him and her dad could be friends. She shrugged and thought about smiling politely at him, but then again she was probably just another guest in his hotel to him. She looked back down at the book and tried to avoid awkward eye contact.

"Dadster, I want you to meet my friend, Allie." Ok, she definitely was an only child with little friends, the girls had only known each other for a day, less than that (and most of it had included Alice being furious at her). But she didn't want to burst her bubble and confess that feelings weren't mutual, beside she felt pretty special about potentially being Amy's first and only friend. She liked her too, and she had pretty much just told her her life story - though she still missed her t-shirt. She sighed silently and missed her washing machine. Yep, you can't fully take the south out of the girl. She mentally slapped herself for the thought; she was in New York city for crying out loud. She would have happily continued thinking about the plans for her day but unfortunately Amy's dad was walking straight towards her, a formal smile on his lips and his hand extended. Alice awkwardly rose and knew there wasn't time to yank her shorts down so they weren't so short, but before she had the chance she shook his hand as she was meant to.

"Nice to meet you, sir." She didn't know his name, and she didn't want to make conversation. But he kept on looking weirdly at her, more like staring; it was as if he was taking in her every feature. She smiled nervously and hoped that there wasn't more to Amy needing to be home schooled, she shook the judgmental thought out of her mind.

"John." He said with a nod, letting go off her hand. "How long you visiting New York for?" he asked with more intent in his voice than just polite chit chat. Amy looked a little deflated by the fact he guessed Alice was staying at the hotel, but was more interested in the rose nail art that glittered her fingers. Alice didn't blame her.

"Two days, it's a short trip." Just like I hope this conversation is.

"That's not enough to get a feel for the city surely, if that is what you are here for?" Alice shrugged and disliked the tone in his voice, it was unreadable and she didn't really know what he was up to.

"No, it's just for me. I've been here before" she lied confidently, a southern smile gracing her lips, unfortunately this only made him more curious.

"Oh really?" he looked as if he was about to say something else but then stopped himself, Amy was staring at him intently, her eyes were beautifully big but her gaze was unmistakingably menacing.

"Dad, Alice has important things to do and you shouldn't be distracting her from them" she said through her teeth with a knowing smile and half wink towards Alice. She just blushed awkward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Yep, she was pretty sure Amy would tell this secret to someone soon enough. She was partially comforted by the fact that she probably didn't have anyone to tell. She mentally slapped herself again; maybe the whole situation was making her cranky. John nodded and excused himself; he walked over to the front desk and looked like he was desperately trying to make a phone call. "So you need any help with...stuff?" Amy asked. Alice just shook her head.

"No, I'm going to go see if my brother got the address, and then I guess I'll take it from here. But thanks, Amy. You've been a really helpful friend." Just as she was about to turn to make her way up the stairs Amy grabbed her hand.

"I didn't want to show you it because I didn't think it was important...plus I'd thought you'd think I'm a bit weird." She confessed with a silent nervous laugh, though there was deep sincerity in her piercing eyes. "I think I need to show you something" she said with a slight gulp, taking Alice by the hand towards the elevator. The journey to the top floor was down in a haze of silence, and Alice couldn't be more relived as finally the doors open. Amy was right; it did look like a normal apartment. It seemed like two rooms had been knocked down to make space for an open plan kitchen and living room, which was cosy enough. There were four dears leading off from the corridor, Quinn made a wild guess that one was John's room, the other Amy's, the third the bathroom and the fourth...well John looked like someone who had an office. She put her money on an office. "I have cats too, but they're in the garden." She pointed to a door Alice hadn't seen in the kitchen, it lead out to the balcony or in this case the rooftop. She followed Amy to the second door that was, like Alice had suspected, her room. She wasn't sure if she'd expected some kind of vampire dungeon, but what she was met with definitely wasn't that. It was...light. the wall were white and there was a lot of artwork on the walls, photographs and paintings and sketches, it looked like a studio and had a large desk, or work place on one side, and a very comfy modern bed on the other. It smelt like violets and oak, It also had a huge window to the rooftop and a skyline of the city. Yes, it may not have been in a good location, but this was definitely a room with a view. Instead of saying anything Amy sank to her knees and pulled out a box from under her bed. Opening up the plain cardboard Alice was a little confused as to the contents. There were notes and bracelets and buttons and keys and hair scrunchies and even some face cream.

"What is all this..." she said apprehensively, deciding not to join her new friend on the hard wood floor. Amy didn't notice and continued rummaging until she pulled out a piece of paper near the bottom, it was folded in half. She handed it to Alice.

"People forget stuff when they leave hotels. It inspires a lot of my art work. I think this one belong to you, I think Holly gave it to me around the time when you and your mom checked in. I don't think she left it on purpose but I don't know." That's all that Alice heard, but Amy continued talking. Instead she couldn't stop starring at what was in her hands. It wasn't a piece of paper at all, it was a photograph. In the picture was a very beautiful blonde, she had short hair though. She was laughing and she had one arm around another young woman. it was a candid shot so she probably didn't even know it was being taken. She certainly wasn't looking at the camera, she was looking at the young woman like there was nothing else in the world that mattered. It was her mom. It was Quinn. The woman next to her made Alice's breath hitch. It was like someone from your dream suddenly being real. In dreams everything's blurred and distorted, but here as clear as ice was the woman who used to sing to her. She was holding the other girl with one arm and resting her head on her shoulder, but in her other arm she was holding very carefully an extremely happy four year old. Alice's own eyes shone back at her even though the photo was black and white. Her eyes immediately returned to looking at Rachel. She had glossy brown hair, it was thick and straight – or at least it looked brown, she hoped she was right. She had a fringe that suited her perfectly, and beautiful bone structure. She had a prominent nose and two shining eyes with thick eyelashes. A beaming smile radiated down at the little girl in her hands.

"I'm not leaving till I find her." Alice choked back tears. "Ever."

"Surprise!" Rachel smiled in her periwinkle blue rain coat as she placed two coffees on the reception desk. "So I know you take your coffee black but hey I thought you deserved a treat, it's a caramel mocha with vanilla syrup, Kurt says it's great and if they used Vegan friendly chocolate I'd definitely try some but-" Rachel stopped herself with a faint blush as the tall man stared back at her sceptically. Sometimes she got like this when she was nervous, she just couldn't stop talking. She got so emotional and it was like she was in high school again. But she didn't really have anyone in that moment, she didn't have Kurt and Blaine, she sure as hell didn't have Quinn, she probably would never have Alice and now she didn't even have Andrew. Yes, John would be getting very annoyed with her. Somehow Rachel couldn't imagine him crawling in bed with her in his jammies and being prepared to watch the Wizard Of Oz eight times. He stared back at her, not as sympathetically as she'd hoped he would, but it was refreshing.

"Rachel" He said in a clear tone.

"Oh stop it, I know you look hard and mighty on the outside but come on who doesn't like a little bit of a sugar here and then...except for cows you know, did you know than an average cow's lifetime is cut in half at least due to over milking?" his expression didn't change and Rachel felt embarrassed all over again. She just wanted to disappear. Or be on stage. Actually, this was probably the first time in her life that she didn't want to be. She wouldn't have minded looking through old photos of her performing though. Her spirits sank as she took a sip of her own soya latte. "Sorry. I'll just get black next time." She said looking up to him with hopeful eyes. Hopefully he wouldn't think she was hitting on him.

"Rachel, stop." He said in a serious tone.

"You don't have to be mad" she glared back innocently.

"Just stop talking for a second."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok."

He took her drink away from her which resulted in a confused expression, her eyebrows furrowing in despair. He placed both hands on her shoulder and looked down at her, trying to look her in the eye.

"She's here." He said in a tone similar to a human telling a dog to sit, well maybe less severely, but he definitely wanted to get the point across without any misconceptions. Rachel's confused expression didn't really help. Drawing in a sharp breathe he composed himself and looked again, ignoring the smiling flirty look of approval he was getting on his interaction with Rachel from Holly in the office, he wished she'd just close the door. "Rachel, Alice is here." Well, he definitely got the reaction he was looking for, and he was mighty glad that he'd taken the drink out of her hand. At first it was still sinking in, then he was sure she was losing some colour to her skin, and then he held on to her just that little tighter because she felt weak. Then she started smiling. At first it was small, subtle and still unbelieving, then the smile erupted into a grin that was full of – hope. Her eyes shone brightly up at him in both amazement and confusion.

"How?" she felt like a teenager all over again, receiving her NYADA acceptance letter, running into Quinn's arms as she did. John held back a chuckle, he wasn't one that often chuckle but there was no mistaking a smile on his mouth.

"I don't know, but it looks like she came to find you." He said earnestly with a shrug, letting go of her shoulders. Rachel's smile was radiant, but then it dropped like a pin. Her expression turned to a mixture of both hope and dread, but underneath it all was yearning.

"Is she here too..." she asked a little quieter looking up into his eyes. He shook his head solemnly and Rachel nodded. This wasn't time for her to mull over her heartbreak. Quinn was the love of her life, but Alice was the light of it. "Oh but I'm not dressed right" she shimmied off her coat and thrusted it into John's unprepared arms, he caught it and tried his best to fold it with his bear hands. She straightened out her red cardigan that covered a short nude dress. The cardigan was hardly necessary in this heat, but since there was a downfall of summer rain she felt funny putting a raincoat over bare shoulders. She straightened out its pleats and matted down her chestnut hair. She felt anxious and was sure her heart would just explode out of her chest any minute. John signalled Holly (who of course was eves dropping) to get her a glass of water. "John what do I even begin to say..."

"Just tell her everything you've ever wanted too. Explain."

"I can't. I can hardly understand it all myself - let alone make sense of it to someone else" her face danced around in expression, her forehead creasing in worry. "Maybe you could talk to her before?" he just shook his head and she sighed deeply rubbing her temples and trying to organise her thoughts.

"You can do this Rachel, she's your daughter too." His voice was strong and comforting.

"You're right, I guess...She's all I ever wanted, and I loved her so much, I do love her. I never meant for this to happen, I wish I had fought harder for her, I wish I could have watched her grow up...I just wish I could tell her so much" she shrugged exasperated.

There was a much needed moment of silence in the room. That was until a little voice behind John spoke up.

"Tell me what?" Alice asked her mom with a half smile.