Quinn,

We always knew that choosing the career paths that we chose that we would be inadvertently selling our souls to the devil. Being in the entertainment business is a game, a game that either plays us, or, one that we can stand up and be brave enough to challenge head on. And we've done that baby, we've played it and we've succeeded. We know this world of celebrity like a well learned dance that we never tire of rehearsing.

But sometimes, sometimes there are moments that creep in, that challenge our love for what we do, that make us question whether or not it's worth it. We've faced those moments together and time and again we've decided that yes, yes it is. Because you were born to act Quinn, you have a gift that you deserve to share with the world.

Even though I'm no longer with you, I believe you have what it takes to continue to overcome these obstacles. Don't let the fear of the media or the paparazzi prevent you from doing what you love. You just do what you do best, protect you family and live with as much integrity as you can and that's all the world will see, regardless of how others try and prove otherwise.

I love you,

Rachel x

Quinn was livid. Furious. She hated the media just out of basic principal, though most of the time she ignored what they wrote or the lies they tried to spread. But this really riled her up. Staring up at her was a headline on the front of Us Weekly, 'Has movie star Quinn Fabray found love again?' attached to a picture of the blonde leaving a restaurant with a fellow actress which the magazine alleges was a date night for the pair.

In actual fact, Quinn was leaving a birthday dinner for her long time personal stylist and happened to exit at the same time as a new up and coming actress called Megan Sharpe who was fast becoming a media darling. A person Quinn had met several times before and had quickly grown to dislike. You see, while many celebrities of Quinn's calibre played the media game to overrule the power of the media, Megan played along to entice them and to keep them onside.

So, while Quinn vehemently denied the pair were an item, Megan played the no comment card, keeping interest swirling around them from the media. It was wrong and Quinn couldn't get over how disrespectful the entire thing was to her marriage and to the memory of her dead wife. On top of that, it showed a blatant disregard for Quinn's role as a mother. A woman who was trying to raise her daughter single handed while trying to keep Rachel's presence alive in Charlie's life.

Quinn didn't want her daughter seeing those types of articles, they were vicious and spiteful. If Quinn ever began dating again, a very big if, she wanted to ease her daughter into it, not have her hear rumours on the playground from other kids whose mothers were too busy gossiping to notice their own kids were listening in. But this was all a distant thought for the time being. Right now Charlie was too young to know what was going on, let alone understand. However it didn't do anything to calm the anger it managed to rise within Quinn.

"Don't worry about it okay. You know it's a lie, everyone you care about knows it's a lie. Don't let it get to you," Kate said from her place sitting on the couch in the green room backstage at the Ellen Show. Charlie was sitting on the floor playing with some toys that the staff had brought in earlier to keep her occupied, though Quinn had brought Lucy Lamb just in case she got anxious or tired and wanted home comforts. The blonde, threw the magazine down and sat back, resting her head against the back of the couch.

"I know, I know," Quinn sighed, rubbing her brow, making sure she didn't mess up her make up at the same time. "It's just, it's only been a year…" she trailed off not wanting to say the words but knowing she didn't need to elaborate because Kate knew anyways, "We always dealt with these things together. Now I'm realising what it means to deal with them alone." Quinn let out a laugh as she sat up, glancing down at the magazine again.

"The thing that really gets me, it's not even the lies. It's the fact that people I care about have to see these things on the front of magazines. My friends, Rachel's dad's, they don't deserve this. These gossip mongers talk about Rachel like she's a ghost, like she was never real," Quinn's voice trembles at that and she swallows thickly to rid the emotion from her voice. "That's what hurts me the most. Because she was more than real, she was everything, she was mine. And the thought that Charlie is going to have to live with seeing her mother being talked about in this way, it just…"

Quinn couldn't even finish the sentence. Instead she stood up and walked over to where Charlie was sat on the floor and leaned down on her haunches. The little girls gazed up at her with brown eyes and smiled that adorable smile before handing Quinn one of the building blocks to help her build her princess castle. The blonde smiled lovingly at her little girl and gently stroked her cheek. At that moment, a staff member came into the green room. "Quinn, you're up." Quinn nodded and then stood up with Charlotte in her arms walking out the door and to the backstage are where the show entrance was.

Kate accepted Charlie into her arms and sat down in one of the chairs that were set up next to some monitors where they could watch the show. Once the make-up artist had briefly checked on Quinn's make up, Ellen announced her name and giving Charlie a quick kiss she made her way out to the sound of rapturous applause. They pair talked about Quinn's new movie, Rachel being nominated for the Grammy's and when the show was over, Ellen brought Charlie out so she could dance with the audience, much to Quinn's delight.

Once her promotional duties were done Quinn exited the building with her daughter and assistant and headed straight for her chauffeur driven SUV where Puck was waiting for her. Climbing into the car, she strapped her daughter into her car seat and then made herself comfortable, Kate sitting up front with Puck. "So, where to?" he asked, glancing in the rear-view at the hazel eyes staring back at him. "Chateau Marmont, Santana was meeting a client there so I said we'd swing by for an early lunch before heading home," Quinn replied and Puck nodded his head and manoeuvred the car out of the Warner Brothers lot.

Upon reaching the infamous private hangout where celebrities were able to dine in private, Quinn made her way inside with Charlie, followed by her assistant and Puck. They made their way to the outside dining area were Santana flagged them down from her place sitting at their table. "Nice interview Q," the Latina said once the blonde was sitting down. Santana instantly reached out and lifted her niece into her lap and began babbling away to her while the others scanned the menu.

"Well, it had to be done. At least now I can move on from it and focus on promo for next project," Quinn stated, smiling at the interaction between her oldest friend and her daughter. When the waiter arrived they ordered their food and sat back enjoying the typical LA sunshine. After clearing the cheque and politely conversing with several well-known faces over lunch, the gang handed for their cars, Charlie mumbling away while slowly walking beside her mother about the birds that had landed in the outdoor dining area while they were having lunch.

The second Quinn came into view at the entrance of the hotel, what seemed like hundreds of flashing bulbs began blowing up in her face as the men shouted random things at her to get her attention. The intensity of the situation unsettled poor Charlie, who clung to her mother's leg, tears streaming down her face as she tried to hide from the scary men. On instinct, Quinn quickly leaned down and cradled her daughter against the crook of her neck, holding her close as Puck walked ahead of her while Santana and Kate flanked her on either side offering as much security as they could.

Quinn are you and Megan dating? Do Rachel's fathers approve? Has Megan met Charlotte? Question after question was thrown at her, some genuinely curious, others with the purpose of getting a rise out of her, and it was working, especially when she felt the hot tears coming from her daughter land on her neck. Reaching up a hand she cupped the back of Charlie's head to keep it hidden and held her tightly with the other as she kept her feet moving, trying desperately not to rise to the bait.

And she almost, almost, slipped up. When her ears caught wind of a comment made by one of the men about moving on rather quickly she almost lost. Because anyone who knew her, really knew her, would know that the last thing Quinn was doing was moving on. Being honest she wasn't sure she was capable of moving on. The only thing keeping her from turning around and nailing the jerk in the face was Santana's hand on her lower back, and the stream of sobs coming from her terrified daughter. Luckily they arrived at the car and she quickly climbed in, Puck slamming the door shut behind her before sending a big fuck you to the paps.

"Sssh, it's okay sweetheart, it's okay. They're gone now, Mommy's here, Mommy's here it's okay," Quinn shushed as she rocked Charlie in her arms. She began to panic a little when she thought the little girl wasn't going to settle down. Crying fits weren't good for Charlie, because she was too young to learn how to control her breathing so she didn't suffer an asthma attack. However, in that moment, Quinn's brain kicked into gear and she pulled Lucy Lamb from the carrier bag and gave the teddy to her daughter who slowly began to quieten down.

She hated this, she hated seeing her family tormented in this way. It wasn't fair, unfortunately she knew that it was part of the job, even if she wished she could change it. What really broke her, were the tears on the tiny infants face. An innocent child who never asked to have her picture taken, who didn't even know why people were so eager to know her or why so many people were always trying to take her Mommy's attention away from her.

As tortuous as it was for the young family to have to deal with the media, she couldn't help but think it was even more tortuous standing on the side line and not being able to do anything to make it easier. When she saw the blonde about to lose her temper, she fell into step next to her and placed a comforting hand on her lower back, a gesture that always used to calm her down and it seemed to work. So, she kept it there until they were inside the safety of the car and then she stepped back and watched on as the car pulled off, thankful that her words seemed to be taken to heart.