Title: In the Broken Night, Set Against the Sky

Pairing: Quinn/Rachel

A/N: Lyrics from "Lifeboats" by Snow Patrol. Holy cow, only 3 chapters to go. Where does the time go? Never ceases to amaze me. Thank you so much, everyone, for continuing to read and all the kind reviews I'm getting. I really appreciate it. You guys are wonderful and the response I've gotten has made me feel really happy that I can share the things that go on in my brain and people enjoy it. This will be the last chapter of the girls in New York - a bit fast, I know, but I have a plan.

kymikub: I'm sorry for making you cry! If it makes you feel any better, I cried writing it, sooo... bahah. Yeah, thank you again for another wonderful review. There's a bit more struggle in store for Quinn, definitely. I really wanted to give her some closure but anyone who has been through such a loss understands that there's a lot of pain before you can get any closure.
helloberry: ^_^ Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it and that I made you speechless.
Sharene19: I'm just rendering everyone speechless, muahaha. It's all part of the plan. Lol, no, really though, I appreciate your review quite a bit. Rachel's definitely the kindest person, and it just is nice to explore that a little more here, with the situation being as emotional as it is. I considered making Shelby a bit unlikeable but I just think the mother-daughter dynamic is great between all four of the girls. Get your work done! :P Haha, even though I'm glad I distract people from productivity... _

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Chapter 7: Pushing Through

Flashed up in my wildest dreams, the dark red blood streams,
stretching out like vast cracked ice,
the veins of you, the veins of me like great forest trees,
pushing through and on and in...

###

After those first few days, Quinn thought perhaps it would get easier, but each night she awoke with the same cold sweat coating her skin, the same nightmare haunting her. As much as she wanted and loved being able to see her daughter, being around her seemed to resurface all the feelings she'd dealt with in losing the child in the first place. Correction, not losing her, letting her go. Giving her up. Abandoning her. And here Quinn was, intruding on Shelby's life and she felt like she was back at the hospital, looking through the nursery window and wondering if she really made the right decision. She had no right, not know, to ask herself those questions. What could she do but let Beth go again? It was then that she found herself wondering if Shelby had ever tried to visit Rachel and been through the same experience, the same rehashing of the most devastating loss in her life.

"Rach," Quinn knocked gently on the bathroom door, and the brunette cracked it open just a bit, to make sure it was Quinn, and let her in. Rachel was in her towel, hair wet, and brushing her teeth. The familiar expression of questioning was on her face, and Quinn offered a quiet sigh. She pressed her lips to Rachel's bare shoulderblade, saw the toothpasted smile, "Do you mind if I talk to your mom for a little bit this morning? Real quick? I want you to spend.. as much time with her as you can but I just have .. questions. About Beth." Her words threatened to halt on her tongue, and she searched Rachel's eyes hopefully.

Rachel didn't attempt to speak through her toothbrush and toothpaste, but instead answered by stroking a hand delicately through Quinn's hair and nodding. She gestured toward the door, as if indicating Quinn should as soon as she could. Quinn loved that about Rachel - she was so incredibly perceptive and Quinn knew, without having to communicate her feelings, Rachel was very aware of her current emotional state. Quinn kissed Rachel's hand gratefully before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind her, the door clicking shut audibly. The blonde made her way down the hall, unsure of where Shelby might be. Beth was still asleep in her crib - Quinn had snuck in to check on the little girl once already, one time too many - so she knew Shelby was probably taking the opportunity to clean or finish some kind of laundry. In the week they'd been in New York, the foursome had settled into the familiarity of a routine, excluding the night they'd gone to a Broadway production.

Quinn found Shelby folding laundry in her bedroom, and she hesitated in the doorway, hazel eyes darting unsurely before she knocked on the doorframe. Her foot felt like lead, and even as she tried to step in, she couldn't, so she waited for acknowledgement.

"Hmm? Oh, Quinn," Shelby glanced over. "Is everything okay? Did Beth wake up?"

Quinn shook her head, "I was just wondering if I could...talk to you for a few minutes about something." She felt small, she felt as if she were only three inches in height and she couldn't really breathe very well. She was still hesitating in the doorway.

"Of course," Shelby offered, and gestured at her bed. "Sit down," she commanded in a motherly way and the look on her face so mirrored the concerned expression Rachel always got that it made Quinn do a bit of a double-take before she sat. "What is it?" Shelby continued folding clothing.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Quinn folded her hands in her lap, glanced over her shoulder at Shelby before dipping her head again and fidgeting with her dress. "Did you.. ever try to visit Rachel?"

Shelby looked a bit shocked at the question. Her expression was unreadable for a brief second and slowly she set down the shirt she'd been folding. "Why are you asking?" Her initial reaction seemed to be a little defensive, and Quinn flushed red with embarassment.

"If you did.. I just -" Quinn felt her chest tighten, "seeing Beth. Leaving her the first time was so hard, letting her go, even though I did the right thing. You're such a good mother for her and .. I just.. it's hard," her emotions started to swell to the surface and she tried to bury them for the moment. She couldn't look Shelby in the eye right now. "And I just wondered if you'd ever tried to see Rachel, if it was too hard for you to keep doing it."

Shelby hadn't spoken, and Quinn didn't really know if she'd moved until she felt the weight shift on the mattress beside her and felt Shelby's shoulder brush her own. Rachel's mother reached over and delicately took Quinn's hand, stared at it thoughtfully, "I never could. I tried. I'd contact Hiram and Leroy, ask them if they'd let me come see her, but I'd always .. run away last minute. I'd get to the airport and then turn around and go home," the smile Shelby wore was tearful as her free hand moved to stroke some stray blonde hair behind Quinn's ear, much like any mom would if having a heart-to-heart with their daughter. "You're braver than me that way. I can't imagine how hard it is for you, and knowing the family you came from, to give up everything."

Quinn's eyes filled with tears, and she wiped a few stray ones away with the back of her hand. She sniffled, hoping to keep some of the tears at bay, "I just keep having this nightmare where Beth is all grown up and she's angry with me. I don't want her to be angry with me. I feel like I shouldn't even be here, like I'm intruding on this life you're building, because she's yours now - "

"Sweetie," Shelby crooned softly, that sweet and sultry voice so like Rachel's that it was chilling sometimes, "she's mine but she'll always be yours, too. She was a part of you and always will be, no matter whose name is on the paper locked away in some cabinet."

"I'm still intruding," Quinn shook her head, felt Shelby gently squeezing her hand in response. "I knew it would be hard, I mean I'm not dense, I just - I look at her and I fall in love every single day with that little girl and I never thought that would hurt, but it does."

"Listen to me," Shelby delicately but sternly pulled Quinn's gaze forcibly to meet her own, "as Rachel's mother, as Beth's mother, I'm telling you to listen to me. You are a part of Beth's life, and I'd never deprive you of that," for the first time since they'd arrived, Quinn saw tears in Shelby's eyes. "I made the mistake of letting Rachel go for too long and I regretted it every second. I live with the pain of knowing she never knew me, that I missed everything, even if I could have spent one Hannukah with her, or anything. I didn't get that chance because I was terrified. Learn from my mistakes."

Quinn felt tears in her eyes still and she nodded quietly. Shelby's hand trailed lightly over her hair once more before she let go and stood.

"Now come on, I have to finish laundry before the little monster wakes up," she offered Quinn a comforting smile.

The blonde returned it the best she could. She was still processing everything as she made her way out of the bedroom and headed back down the hall, dragging her hand quietly along the surface of it as if to keep herself tethered. There was so much she was feeling, all the doubts and fears. That dream had been plaguing her all week and it wasn't getting any easier. Quinn wondered if she was capable of staying for the entire week ahead, and at one point questioned if she'd even have the guts to ask Rachel if they could leave a little early. She couldn't do that to Rachel, though. This time was for her, too, and Rachel would do the same for her if the tables were turned. Hazel eyes turned and moved along Beth's door. She touched the surface; she wanted to go in so badly but decided against it. If she was going to make it through this week she would have to spend a little less time mooning over her daughter. That beautiful little girl was a part of her, this much was true, but she didn't belong to Quinn anymore. She felt a sting and closed her eyes, gathered a breath.

"Hey," Rachel's voice greeted her, and Quinn felt that familiar hand slip into her own.

"Hey back," Quinn opened her eyes and was grateful for the sight of Rachel's deep brown eyes.

Rachel searched her expression, and without even asking, gently pulled Quinn into the guest room and closed the door. The brunette sat Quinn down, and took her place beside her. "How'd it go?"

"Good. She basically told me to learn from her mistakes," Quinn found those eyes staring into her heart, her very source of feeling, and she pulled Rachel's hand gently against her torso, closed her eyes. "It's just getting so hard, Rachel. Seeing her. It's bringing back all those feelings, everything I worried about when I let her go in the first place. It's making me doubt my decision and then feel guilty for it because I'm here just .. intruding on Shelby's life, the life she's building for Beth, the relationship she's trying to mend with you. I feel like I don't belong here." Her eyes slipped shut as if to contain the swell of emotion flooding her.

Rachel cupped either side of Quinn's face and pressed her soft lips to her cheeks, and then to her forehead. "You belong here," was all she said before she captured Quinn's lips with her own. The softness of her kiss was almost unbearable, and caused that spark in Quinn to light. It amazed her what Rachel could do to her with a simple kiss. It was sweet and desperate all at once - Rachel desperate to prove to Quinn she belonged, Quinn desperate to feel that human connection with the one person she'd grown to need and love. "Okay?" Rachel questioned against Quinn's bottom lip, ghosting over Quinn and causing her to shiver.

Quinn nodded, grasped the hands placed on either side of her face. "How do you do that?"

"What?" Rachel pulled away, regarding Quinn with a soft curiosity.

"Comfort me and make me ache all at once?" The sparkle in her hazel eyes must have given away the fact the ache she spoke of wasn't exactly meant to be something you should feel during the daylight.

Rachel blushed only a little, but her hand slid slowly up Quinn's bare thigh, fingers eliciting a flood of heat in Quinn's flesh and soul. "I don't know. Just good I suppose," the smile on her face was full of promises to be fulfilled later, and her fingers teased at the meeting of Quinn's torso and thigh.

Quinn swallowed thickly and closed her eyes, glad for the smile that Rachel had brought back. "Come on, before I get us kicked out of your mother's," she breathed, capturing Rachel's lips in a final kiss before standing and taking Rachel's hand, tugging the brunette playfully out of the room and in a more public area - where there wasn't a chance of Rachel continuing that delicious teasing she did when Quinn couldn't be soothed any other way.

It was funny how well Rachel knew Quinn, knew just how to bring her up from her lowest lows, pull her out of the deepest and most difficult thoughts. She could bring Quinn from depressed to turned on to simply enamored. Rachel was slight-of-hand, a magic trick, an illusion, the secret to all things. A day didn't go by without Quinn thanking her lucky stars (as Rachel would prefer) for the fact that all that time ago she'd dared let herself break down in the diva's arms, when they were still enemies.

Life was never that simple, easy thing that everybody wished it would be, but Quinn had come to the conclusion if you had someone at your side, someone who truly knew you, you would pull through it. If you believed in someone, they'd make it through. And Rachel had always, always believed in her.

###

It was the day that Shelby and Rachel had gone out shopping together that brough Quinn crumbling to the ground, dust to ashes. It started out wonderfully. Beth was well-tempered and not overly fussy. Quinn had picked the little girl up out of the crib after her late-afternoon-nap and woken her gently, warmed a bottle and sat down with her on the couch to feed her. The ex-Cheerio thought it must have been a sight, barely a teenager but still holding the child she'd had nearly 10 months ago. She rocked Beth a little, coaxed the girl to take the rubber nipple and eat. She looked down at Beth and saw the child in her arms as she never had before - as hers.

That broke her. Quinn had felt all at once the shattering of the pieces of her heart. Beth wasn't hers, couldn't be, but she felt so much like hers in that moment that it completely tore down all the tenuous repairs she'd made. Tears flooded her eyes and she shook her head, smiled at Beth, "Sorry, baby Beth," she spoke softly. "I guess I'm not as okay as I thought I could be."

Beth only continued to suckle at the bottle and regard Quinn with curiosity.

"I'm going to miss everything," she murmured tearfully, "your first steps, first words. The worst part is that I don't deserve to see those things. Shelby does."

Those dark, Puck-like eyes searched the woman above her, and a wandering hand reached up and grasped at the air near Quinn's face. Quinn laughed tearfully.

"I hope you'll forgive me one day. I'll write you. I don't know if I can keep seeing you, my sweet girl. I want to, but it hurts so badly, and I don't want to confuse you," Quinn breathed the confession. "Just don't tell your sissy or your mom, okay? I don't want them to think I don't want to see you. I just can't as often as I want." Quinn all but sobbed, but caught it just as it came out of her mouth and breathed it out shakily. "We'll be okay though. I'll write you every day, maybe see you once a year. Then when you get old enough, you can tell your mom whether or not you want to see me more than that."

As Beth finished all 6 ounces of formula, Quinn had slowly regained her composure. It was enormously difficult, looking at the little girl in her arms and realizing that she wouldn't be a large part of Beth's life. No matter how much Shelby tried to help her, tried to tell her she'd be able to see Beth and be in her life, there was still the looming knowledge that her rights as Beth's mother had been given up the moment she had been born. Quinn's long fingers grazed over Beth's hair, smoothed the silky blonde hair, and kissed her forehead.

"I'll love you forever," she spoke sweetly to the infant and took the empty bottle. After that, it was a matter of pretending this child was not her own. She rubbed Beth's back, soothed out that little baby burp, and set about cleaning up the mess around the livingroom, with Beth sitting up in the middle of the floor surrounded by toys. Quinn spent the rest of the afternoon tending to Beth and picking up Shelby's apartment. When evening came and the door unlocked, Quinn felt a quiet rush of relief. She needed Rachel, needed Rachel's arms, her hands, her comfort. Quinn gently picked up Beth to greet the pair at the door.

Rachel was laughing animatedly just behind her mother, the shorter diva's hand wrapped around her mom's arm. Shelby was grinning widely and her face brightened upon seeing Beth.

"Hi, baby!" Shelby crooned as she picked Beth gently out of Quinn's arms and bounced her a little. Beth giggled, her entire demeanor lightening at the sight of Shelby's smile. Quinn felt her heart ache and she fought off the urge to cry. That was something she'd never get to see - Beth's recognition, her bright smile when she saw her mother. Quinn, for the first time, felt as if she'd lost. Her legs were a little shaky and weak but she maintained a soft smile.

"You guys have a good time?"

"It was amazing, you wouldn't believe who we saw from afar," Rachel beamed and bounced into Quinn's arms, looped an arm around Quinn's waist. "Conan O' Brien. He's so tall! He literally looks like nine feet tall!"

Quinn laughed, smirked devilishly, "It probably only looks that way because you're approximately the size of a 10 year old," she teased and bumped her hip against Rachel's playfully.

Rachel gasped and narrowed her gaze. She was biting back a smile and she poked Quinn in the ribs, "So not nice!"

"Leprechaun?"

"No!"

"Dwarf?"

"Quinn Fabray!"

"Hobbit?"

"Did you really just - "

"Pygmy?"

"I swear if we weren't - "

"Gold star!" Quinn exclaimed laughingly, felt the weight in her heart ligthen with each play back and forth. She lifted Rachel up in her arms and spun her around as Shelby walked away, shaking her head amusedly. Quinn leaned up and kissed Rachel playfully, the brunette laughing and burying her face against Quinn's neck.

"You're insufferable," Rachel playfully shoved Quinn back a bit as she was set back down, but her tone dripped with affection.

"Yeah but you like it," Quinn drew out the liiiike playfully as she wrinkled her nose, leaving Rachel to mirror the action.

"How'd it go?"

Quinn narrowed her gaze a bit and her expression darkened only slightly; the blonde found herself chewing on her bottom lip with a hint of anxiousness, "It went good, Beth was a dream," she spoke honestly, but decided against divulging all the details. "I just...realized some things and it was.. emotional." She knew Rachel would inquire later, she always did, but she was grateful when Rachel accepted the explanation for now and nodded. Those soft fingers traced Quinn's jaw and their lips connected ever so briefly before Quinn gestured to the livingroom, where Shelby was playing with Beth and waiting for the couple to come back in.

"I still just could not believe how tall he looks, even from afar. He was on the other side of the street and he quite literally towers over people who are even average height," Rachel continued on her earlier tangent as she sat on the loveseat, Quinn sitting beside her.

"Well just think, when you're on Broadway you'll be on his talk show," Quinn's smile creeped over her lips as she stretched out on the loveseat, her legs draped over Rachel's lap. Quinn glanced over at Shelby and Beth, who were quite occupied with one another. She ignored the pang she felt and turned her gaze back to Rachel. "At least once. I mean, hopefully, because I really want to meet him sometime and I've already hired myself as your manager."

Rachel laughed quietly and shook her head, "I guess all that practice as head Cheerio would make you an appropriate choice for manager. You'd be out for blood."

"Yes, but only in your honor," Quinn teased softly, leaned forward and poked Rachel playfully in the ribs once more.

Rachel beamed at her, reached forward and sifted a hand through Quinn's hair. The look they shared expressed silent affection, expressed the fact that despite having equally important days apart, they'd missed one another. And Quinn remembered the spark from that morning's kiss, the unspoken promise for more to come, and she thought just maybe that ache in her heart felt a little less painful. Rachel was slight-of-hand, master of tricks, and she always managed to transform Quinn from one person to another at the snap of a finger.

###

How's it going so far over there, Q? How's Frodo and little B? - S

Rachel's doing well. She's in the shower right now. Beth's already asleep, Shelby, too. - Q

How r u? - S

Good. It's hard but enlightening I suppose. - Q

How so? - S

Just thinking .. - Q

Quinn didn't know how to explain to Santana what she was thinking and feeling. There really weren't adequate words to describe what it felt like to give up your child not once, but twice.

Abt what? Corrective surgery? - S

Hah hah. No. Thinking about Beth. - Q

Wanna tlk abt it? - S

Maybe when we get home. We come home Friday. - Q

Ok. I'm here if u need me b4 then. Britt says she misses u and the Dox. - S

Dox? - Q

Daschund. - S

She's really not that short. - Q

I kno, its just fun mking fun of her. U kno I think she's alright - S

I'll tell her you said that. :P - Q

Don't u dare. - S

Quinn laughed and closed her phone, sighed a bit quietly and closed her eyes. She lay back on the bed, listened to the sound of the water running in the other room. A smile crossed her lips as she heard Rachel singing. Rachel didn't seem to be able to ever stop singing, and Quinn didn't mind. Back when things had been bad, she remembered never really allowing herself to listen to Rachel sing, at least not really sing, the way she did when she put her whole heart and soul into it. She remembered all too well the impact Rachel's song "Get It Right" had on her - it'd taken everything in Quinn not to absolutely fall apart.

"You don't belong here, Rachel, and you can't blame me for sending you on your way." Quinn had meant those words with all her heart and soul, had wanted Rachel to hear the words behind them. The way Rachel had broken down immediately upon leaving that stage had made Quinn's heart shatter.

It had never been about anything but keeping Rachel at a distance, keeping Rachel on track to achieve her dreams. In some sick, twisted way, Quinn had used torture to help the brunette toward her goals, to light a fire underneath her. She knew how messed up it was, knew that it was some kind of sick game she played with Rachel and with her own emotions. It had been cat and mouse for so long, Quinn didn't know how to stop. She had mixed hatred with passion and there felt like there was no deciphering either of those things any more.

Rachel had avoided Quinn like the plague after that, and what stripped Quinn bare of all refute was when Rachel had found Quinn alone in the choir room and tore her to shreds. The little diva had reached her breaking point and she'd let Quinn know.

"You are the most self-righteous, deluded person I have ever met, Quinn!" Rachel had exploded into the room and practically shoved Quinn into a wall. The blonde didn't even have time to hit the HBIC switch as Rachel folded her arms over her chest. Rachel's eyes were red with the strain of tears, her fists balled at her sides, "How dare you assume that you can just make decisions for me and 'send me on my way' because this isn't even about that! This isn't about me at all! This is about you living some perfect teenage fantasy!"

Quinn had no words, no way to respond to the ball of fury in front of her. She gaped quietly, her brow furrowed, "How dare you - "

"No! I am tired of this, Quinn! What is it? What is it that drives you so adamantly to bring me into heartache? You go around doing as you please and expect everyone to fall into whatever demented plans you have for your life. I'm not a pawn, Quinn, you can't just assume that I'll go where you think I should. I am destined for Broadway but you have not a hand in that destiny."

"You really don't get it," Quinn laughed sickly and glanced away, gritted her teeth, "You're possibly the most naive... you're so dense, Rachel! If you stay with him, if you keep playing these stupid high school games you're going to get it all wrong! You'll end up in the middle of Lima, Ohio with three babies and one on the way thinking about how you WISH you'd left here! You'll attach to him and lose all your dreams. I don't care what you think I'm doing any of this for, because I don't need to explain a thing to you." Her hand gripped Rachel's shoulder and pushed the girl away from her. She began to storm off when she felt Rachel's hand grip her arm and spin her around in place.

"You do not get to walk away from this, Fabray. You may think I should believe a word you're saying but what have you ever done to show me you cared about my dreams? You've stepped on me every inch of the way, you've tripped me every time I've passed by you or crossed paths with you."

"Because every hero needs a villain, Rachel," Quinn's voice dropped a little, her brow furrowed as she wrenched her arm from Rachel's hand, "Otherwise they'd have no reason to exist. Don't touch me again," she murmured, shot Rachel a dark look, and stalked out of the room before the diva could say otherwise.

Quinn felt the memory sting her raw. She'd been so convinced that the only way she could benefit Rachel was by being her enemy, by being negative reinforcement, and now her life was the complete opposite of what she'd ever expected it to be. How lucky had she gotten, to be here now? The shower in the other room fell silent and Rachel appeared a few moments later, in a tank and t-shirt, and Quinn sat up to take in the sight of the girl she loved.

Her eyes filled with devotion, appreciation, with everything in her heart that she felt for Rachel. She felt such a surge of affection that she felt no adequate way to express it. Quinn stood and crossed the distance between them. Rachel looked both confused and curious at Quinn's silent reaction to her coming into the room, but before she could say anything, Quinn tilted Rachel's head up just slightly and kissed Rachel as reverently as she had that very first night she'd come into Rachel's room and kissed her. It was explorative, soft, and left Rachel's chest heaving gently against Quinn's. She didn't break way, even as her lungs burned, even as she felt her head swim with the power of her feelings. Quinn deepened the kiss, fingers slipping to Rachel's waist and tugging her close against her body. It was gentle and without demands, like saying a prayer in the most spiritual moment of your life. It started a spark, a small flame, and grew so slowly that by the time Quinn was backing Rachel into the mattress, the brunette was whimpering and her fingers were gently holding on to Quinn's shoulders, raking over fabric quietly.

She needed this, needed to remind Rachel (and herself) of the powerful connection between them, even now when all was settled and they were both in a calming place in their relationship. Quinn needed a fire, needed to be consumed by passion instead of everything else she'd been feeling while they were there. Quinn wanted to love Rachel, worship her, wanted to explore her as if it was the first time and the last. The blonde lifted Rachel up, an arm scooped around Rachel's waist and hand rested on her lower back - she guided Rachel back onto the mattress and righted the brunette beneath her. She took her time joining Rachel on the mattress, slowly stripped off her night-shirt and happily taking in the way Rachel gasped and her eyes darkened at the sight of Quinn's bare breasts and pale skin. Rachel reached out, as if to pull Quinn against her, but Quinn caught her hands and kissed each one slowly. It was a gesture that suggested tonight, Quinn was going to be calling the shots, was going to be the one to take things slow until Rachel couldn't take it anymore. Tonight would be special. It was what Quinn needed, and what Rachel wanted.

Quinn slowly leaned in, caught Rachel's lips in for a languid kiss, and kept her boyshorts on as she slowly straddled Rachel's body. Her hand slipped at an achingly slow pace beneath the edge of Rachel's shirt, and the brunette gasped against Quinn's mouth as gentle fingers grazed an already hardening nipple. Quinn smirked against Rachel's lips, let out a throaty chuckle, "Eager," she all but murmured against Rachel's lips. She would take this slower than Rachel could stand. Again, she brushed a finger just barely over Rachel's nipple. The brunette attempted to grasp Quinn's hand and demand a more forceful touch, but Quinn tsk tsked and stopped her. Lacing her fingers with Rachel's, she pinned her hand down and leaned in for a barely-there kiss, ghosting her lips over the diva's. Quinn made barely a move, only took in the feel of Rachel's breath mingling with her own. Rachel didn't speak, but a small whine came from her throat as her body craved more contact. Quinn didn't relent just yet - she wanted to bring Rachel to an unbearable peak, wanted to have to stifle Rachel's moans with kisses, and in order to bring the brunette to that point, she'd have to tease her into it. Quinn dipped her lips against Rachel's, pulled away slowly, smiled as Rachel leaned her head up carefully to reconnect, but Quinn refused with a husky reprimand. "Uh uh."

Rachel's head fell back helplessly, her eyes pleading with Quinn's hazel ones. She complied to her lover's request, though, and waited. Quinn leaned down, dipped her lips against Rachel's, and drew her tongue along Rachel's bottom lip, the brunette arching and whimpering, her free hand clutching momentarily at Quinn's shoulder and dragging downward. That explorative hand dipped below the curve of Quinn's back and squeezed, causing Quinn to nearly lose her composure. Rachel's hands set her on fire. The blonde kept control though, and captured Rachel in a slow kiss that built into gasps and quiet pleas. Quinn distracted her with the sensuality of it as her fingers danced in slow circles around Rachel's right nipple, delighting in the puckering skin and pinching delicately. When Rachel gasped against her lips, into her mouth, that was the best. Quinn's hand moved to the left and repeated the same agonizingly slow pace. Rachel breathed hotly against Quinn's mouth and rolled her hips upward, but her need for contact wouldn't be satisfied just yet. Quinn sat up and guided Rachel out of the t-shirt she'd put on, drinking in the sight of her before she dipped down and let her tongue trail slowly from Rachel's collarbone to her throat. Quinn's bare skin brushed against Rachel's newly bared flesh and they both inhaled quietly. Quinn bit down just enough to cause Rachel to moan quietly and laugh at her own sexual frustration.

"Please," Rachel begged softly, but Quinn ignored the request. Her mouth placed lingering and lazy kisses along the side of Rachel's breast, taking in the soft flesh once in a while and sucking, nipping at it. Quinn finally rolled her hips down ever so carefully, just enough to make Rachel groan and close her eyes. The blonde repeated the action once more, and as she did so, she sat up. Rachel seemed lost in the slow build-up, so Quinn took the opportunity to turn the brunette on even more. She guided Rachel's hands at a deliciously slow pace up her side, along the side of her ribs, stopping Rachel's hands just below her breasts. Rachel's eyes slipped open and Quinn was bowled over at the sight of Rachel's incredibly dark eyes, the way Rachel was hungrily biting her bottom lip to keep from moaning. Quinn arched her back a little, guided Rachel's hands over her hips ever so slowly. Rachel's touch - even when guided and intended by Quinn - set her skin on fire. She felt goosebumps everywhere. Quinn rocked her hips slowly against Rachel's, head dipping back as she felt Rachel's fingers move over each rib. She slowly - to her own torture - guided Rachel's hands to her thighs again and made her leave them there as she rolled her hips downward. She needed to keep control, take it slow. Rachel was panting quietly beneath her and looking as if she was already about to burst. Again, she rocked, a little more insistent, and heard a small noise of arousal spill from her own lips. Quinn memorized the sensation of heat building up between them, groaned softly as she resumed trailing Rachel's hands up over her ribs. She caught Rachel's gaze amidst the flame as she slowly guided Rachel's hands to the soft flesh of her breasts. Quinn circled, rolled her hips slightly and her head fell back slightly in passion as she felt Rachel kneading the flesh beneath her palms, Quinn's hands pinning them there. As she trailed her hands down Rachel's arms and rocked her hips in a circular fashion once more, Quinn gasped as she felt Rachel pinch and roll one of her very sensitive nipples in her fingers. Quinn all but growled as she rocked again, harder. The motion was slow and insistent and hungry. The blonde removed Rachel's hands at the point she thought she might lose control, and once again latched them onto her thighs.

Quinn leaned down, captured Rachel's nipple between her teeth before sucking languidly. She rolled the tip of it just beneath her tongue, flicked across the puckered surface, before hungrily repeating the action against the left. Rachel's fingers gripped Quinn's thighs hard enough to bruise. Quinn's hips hadn't stopped rocking the whole time, and it was becoming almost too much for the both of them. Quinn ceased her ministrations and began kissing slowly down Rachel's stomach. Her favorite place to kiss was just near Rachel's hips. Her mouth hungrily sucked on the flesh there, marked her, and she felt Rachel's skin erupt in goosebumps as her tongue dipped against the place she'd so easily and so hungrily marked. Quinn's fingers slid underneath Rachel, grasped tightly and pulled Rachel's hips upward. Her tongue snaked out before finding another place to mark. Rachel gasped and moaned simultaneously, arched upward as Quinn sucked and bit at the sensitive flesh that stood as a precursor for the place she was burning the deepest. Quinn made a slow path downward, until she was removing the rest of Rachel's clothing. Her finger danced along Rachel's thigh before she moved Rachel's hands to her breasts again. She wouldn't satisfy Rachel's carnal desire just yet. She needed this to be monumental, needed this to be blinding. Quinn groaned as she resumed straddling Rachel's hips and rolled against Rachel's.

"Jesus," Rachel gasped as her bared heat was connected with Quinn's barely-clothed hips. Quinn rocked again, more insistently, mouth agape slightly as Quinn allowed a quiet, strangled moan to escape her own throat.

"Fuck, Rach," Quinn breathed. "God," she panted as she rolled her hips again. "Here," she needed Rachel's mouth, needed contact. She maintained control as she helped Rachel sit up and leaned on her knees, giving Rachel access to the bare skin of her stomach and the skin peeking at her hips from beneath the boyshorts. "Don't get greedy," she instructed softly as she felt Rachel's mouth connect with her stomach. She gasped and felt Rachel's insistent but submissive kisses along her stomach and hips. Quinn rocked her hips carefully against each kiss, and felt Rachel's hands moving up her thighs. "Fuck.. mm, no. Not yet." The instruction was breathed out and Quinn guided Rachel backwards. Rachel looked aroused and disappointed but as they kissed, Quinn climbed off the bed just long enough to strip herself of the remaining clothing on her frame. Rachel looked even hungrier, if possible, and Quinn climbed on top of her once more. Quinn connected their lips in a passionate kiss as her hips rolled downward, now bare flesh against bare flesh. The sounds Rachel made were too perfect not to enjoy, and Quinn broke away just enough to listen to the delicious sound Rachel made as Quinn rolled her hip-bone down into heat and desire.

"Oh god," Rachel's head dipped back at that, and her hips jerked upward momentarily. Quinn removed herself, hating the lack of warmth as her skin lost contact with Rachel's, but she slowly spread Rachel's most sacred place and before Rachel could register what Quinn was planning, the blonde had Rachel in her mouth, sucking hungrily at the eager nub awaiting her. Her tongue stroked up and down the hidden muscle beneath soaked skin, sought the perfect moment for Rachel. She felt Rachel's hips arch sharply into her mouth and she moaned softly at the contact. She could hear Rachel gasping her name, feel Rachel's hips clenching around her thighs. Her tongue continued its languid stroke, and she was alternating it with sucking hungrily. She breathed against Rachel's heat as she did these things, adding to the intense sensations washing over her lover. Each moan of appreciation for Rachel's taste was met with another rolling of Rachel's hips. Soon, Quinn's pace quickened and she slipped a finger, then two, into Rachel's eager wetness. She felt the pulsing of Rachel's insides already and continued sucking hungrily. Her fingers pressed in, further, and further, until she met that place that made Rachel ache the most. Her mouth broke away as she focused all her attention on that spot, fingers triggering it again and again, until Rachel was raking her nails hard enough to leave welts on Quinn's shoulderblades.

"Now," was all Quinn had to say, hotly, just before taking Rachel's clit between her lips and sucking. Rachel came gloriously, muffled by a pillow she'd had to cover her face with, and Quinn tasted Rachel's unique essence, sucked. "Not done yet," Quinn gasped as she slowly made her way back up Rachel's body, just enough, and guided Rachel's hand to the place where she now ached beyond description. Rachel groaned and her head dipped backward as Quinn rocked into Rachel's fingers. Quinn felt Rachel fill her, felt Rachel's expert touch, and the two shared an intense, needy gaze as Quinn panted heavily above Rachel, holding on to the brunette's hips as she rocked downward, harder and harder, against Rachel's touch. "Fuck," Quinn gasped, her eyes slamming shut, "Fuck Rach, right there," her words all tumbled together as she increased speed, Rachel more insistent and panting in arousal at seeing Quinn so close to her own edge. Purposefully, Rachel shoved a third finger inside and curled just inside Quinn, that place that made Quinn desperate. The blonde rocked, harder and faster, losing her breath, lungs burning. "Just - yes," Quinn pleaded and her head dropped back. Her hands flew behind her, used the blanket as leverage as she rocked downward, once, twice, and a third time. She felt her insides clenching, coming alive, begging, and finally Rachel hit that spot and she cried out as quietly as possible. Tears sprung to her eyes and she continued rocking even after she came. "More," she leaned down, captured Rachel's lips, and kept going. "Don't stop, not even if I beg you." Her arm bent between them, sought out Rachel's heat, and they rocked together. Their hips rolled, begged, crashed like waves against one another. They continued like this for what seemed like ages, until their muscles ached and begged for release.

"Quinn -" Rachel moaned deeply into Quinn's mouth.

"I know -"

"Qu- god, you feel so good I'm - "

"Stay with me, Rach," Quinn managed to gasp out. She was so close, so unbearably close, and as her hips crashed again and again, she felt her muscles tense. Simultaneously, she increased the pressure inside Rachel, found that little bundle of nerves hidden, and roughly insisted on that spot until Rachel was arching into her, biting down hard to keep the possibly earth-shattering moan inside, fingers stilling inside Quinn. The blonde dipped her mouth against Rachel's a few seconds later, moaning loudly into Rachel's mouth as she felt Rachel's fingers flicker unbelievably inside her.

Quinn's head was spinning, and she thought maybe Rachel's was too, because she found the pair of them laughing, both with blown expressions of passion before they kissed. She felt radioactive, felt perfect, felt completely alive, and as she tiredly removed herself from atop Rachel, she covered them both and got lost in Rachel's passionate afterglow kisses.

The dream didn't haunt Quinn that night, and for that she was grateful. The world could wait until tomorrow.