Disclaimer: I own nothing of Glee and everything related to it. Just borrowing Quinn and Rachel for a bit.

Spoilers: Flashback scenes from '2.04 - Duets' forward.


"NO! QUINN!" Rachel screamed out into the crisp New York air as heavy sobs encapsulated her.

The petite brunette raced across to the other side of the road, rain pouring and soaking the diva in its dreadful misery as she moved her body gracefully throughout the waves of oncoming traffic. She dodged cars as they came to a screaming halt in front of the sight before them; Quinn's motionless body lying splayed out on the wet, black asphalt, with a watery, red trickle beginning to inch it's way down the street towards the nearest drain.

Rachel bent down over her lover, scooping her pale, unbroken hand up into her own. Chocolate eyes searched through the sleet for hazel, finding them wide open as Quinn remained still with each passing second.

"Quinn! Please don't close your eyes. Fo-c-cus on me, focus on my voice and we'll get you t-to a hospital as soon as we can. I love you. Just d-don't close your eyes." Rachel sobbed, watching Quinn's eyes find her own.

"That's my girl. Just keep looking at me, ok?!" Rachel reassured her.

"I l-love you, Rach." Quinn breathed out, gripping onto Rachel's hands around her own.

Rachel bent over Quinn's still body, placing a chaste kiss to her reddened lips. Spitting the taste of blood out of her mouth, Rachel held onto Quinn's hand as the paramedics loaded her onto the gurney and wheeled her into the ambulance, letting go only when she rolled through the doors into surgery.

xQRx

Rachel was startled awake with a soft but unfamiliar hand rubbing her shoulder and a kink in her neck from falling asleep in the waiting room. Rubbing her eyes and looking to her left, it was Judy Fabray half-smiling with sadness and pain in her eyes with the surgeon standing over them, his shadow casting a melancholic darkness over their seated bodies. Rachel looked into Judy's eyes, trying to discern what was going on. Glancing between Quinn's mom and the doctor, she began shaking her head, tears filling her chocolate brown orbs.

"No! N-no!"

"Rachel, honey, I am so sorry -" Judy started.

"NO!" Rachel practically screamed out, tears flowing as she felt two strong and protective arms envelope her tiny frame from her right.

"Rachel!"

Burrowing her head in the shoulder that carried a scent she'd only smelled three times before in her life, she knew it was none other than Santana who had her wrapped up and protected in her arms. Still shaking her head and sobbing violently, she howled in pain into Santana's shoulder, whose own grief broke her steeled mask from the sight of Rachel in so much pain and she broke down too, each girl being someone to lean on and let everything out as the realisation dawned upon them:

Quinn died during surgery.


"Rachel!" Quinn asked, trying to stir the distraught brunette, who was thrashing about in her seat.

"Rach, wake up." She shook again.

"No! Quinn! She can't be dead!" Rachel cried out, tears rolling down her face.

"Rach… Rachel!" Quinn said louder, finally watching the brunette's eyes spring open.

"Oh my God! Quinn!" Rachel said, throwing her arms around the worried blonde.

"Shh. It's okay. I've got you now." Quinn cooed, rubbing soothing circles on the diva's back.

"It was so real." Rachel sobbed into Quinn's shoulder.

"What was baby?"

Y-you. In m-my dream. You were crossing the street in New York a-and it was pouring down rain… and a c-car lost control and hit y-you. You told me you loved me b-before you closed your… eyes and then the paramedics l-loaded you into the ambulance and t-took you to the hospital again and… and then they wheeled y-you into surgery and I f-fell asleep in the waiting room and your mom a-and Santana were there and then the doctor told me y-you had d-died during surgery." Rachel finished, breaking down, convulsing in Quinn's arms as the pain wreaked havoc on her emotions.

"Rachel, I am not going anywhere! Not now, not ever. Okay baby?"

All Quinn felt was a nod in the dip of her collarbone in reply. The blonde wrapped her arms tighter around the diva, pulling her as close as the confined spaces of first class seating would allow them, whispering shushes and cooing "Its okay, I've got you." continuously into her ear until she felt herself slip into slumber with Rachel now peacefully in her arms.


They made their way out of the terminal after being cleared by customs, suitcases in tow, and were greeted with flashbulb after flashbulb of paparazzi in their faces:

"Rachel Berry!"

"Over here!"

"Who's the mysterious blonde you're with?"

"Miss Berry, look this way!"

In amongst the haste and being hustled around while trying to get their cases to their waiting town car, Rachel sorrowful chocolate orbs found Quinn's eyes, silently pleading for her forgiveness as they stepped around the throngs of camera-happy men and women and made their way to the doors of their waiting car.

Closing doors, Quinn folded her right leg over her left and rested her elbow upon the door handle, watching the people and cameras begin to slowly fade away as Rachel scooted closer, grasping Quinn's right hand, motioning her to turn toward her.

"Quinn, I am so, so sorry for that unfortunate welcome home of cameras and rowdy paparazzi in your face. I had made sure explicitly that no-one except for Kurt and my manager knew when I was, when we were, coming home." Rachel delicately began.

"Rach, it's okay, really. I just didn't think it'd start so soon is all. After the last six weeks, which were nothing short of perfect by the way, I want nothing more than to start the rest of our lives right with the way that we both deserve it. I know you said you broke up with me to make yourself a better person for me, to be the person that I deserve to be with, but what about you? What about the person you deserve to be with? Are you sure that I'm that person?"

"You are Quinn! I had no doubt in my mind that you were going to become something so wonderful and great when I let you go. I wanted you to become everything you are and you wanted to be for you. Not for me. You were already everything I deserved and I just wanted you to have the same in return for how beautiful and absolutely astounding you are not only to me, but to the way everyone else sees you too."

"You know I love you and I've never stopped since the first day I laid eyes on you, but I just need a little time to reassure myself and make sure that this is it for us when we do start our journey together. Are you okay with that?" Quinn gently enquired, rubbing soothing circles on the back of Rachel's hand.

"I completely understand Quinn and given what I did to you seven years ago, it's more than okay." the diva smiled.

"When the car drops me and my things off, just give me a little time to figure out if I am everything you say I am. I want to be the person you see in me and I want to make sure that I'm that person before I call you to ask you out the most romantic second first date you'll ever go on." Quinn grinned, pulling Rachel towards her, encouraging the smaller woman to lean into her.

"Okay Quinn, but just can we just be the way were not even twenty four hours ago in Italy: all loved-up and just being with each other before the reality of now crashes down upon us when I do drop you off?"

"We can do that, baby. I did have a fantastic time though and although I was hesitant at first, I'm so happy you followed me down to Naples. I wouldn't change the last four weeks for the world." Quinn reassured, gently tugging Rachel's chin up and placing a very delicate kiss on the brunette's plump lips.

"I love you, Quinn."

"I love you too, Rach." The blonde replied, hugging Rachel tighter into her body for the rest of the car ride home.


"Here we are Ms. Fabray." The driver called out as the car came to a stop infront of Quinn's town house.

"Babe, wake up." Quinn mused, gently shaking Rachel awake, who was fast asleep in the blonde's nook.

"Quinn! Why'd you let me sleep? These are the last few moments I got to spend with you before the inevitable and you let me sleep." She trailed off, rubbing her chocolate eyes awake.

"I wanted to let you sleep as there's nothing more beautiful to me than you so peaceful and content when you're happily asleep."

"Well, when you put it that way Fabray, I guess its okay then." The brunette smiled, placing a chaste kiss on Quinn's lips.

Quinn motioned to get out of the car, opening the door and was engulfed with the late New York summer air she'd missed. Rachel followed suit and closed the door behind her, following Quinn around to the trunk of the car where her cases were already waiting on the sidewalk.

"I'm going to miss you so much after the best vacation of my life." Rachel began, her head hanging dejectedly towards the ground, kicking a loose stone on the sidewalk.

"I'm going to miss you too Rach, but I have to do this for me and for us if we want to have any chance at the rest of our lives together."

"I know that, I just wanted to say it anyway." Rachel replied.

"I know you did." Quinn returned, taking a few steps, closing the distance between their bodies.

Quinn placed her hand on Rachel's cheek, with the brunette smiling and leaning into her touch. Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck and pulled her down for a searing kiss. Quinn glided her hand down Rachel's chest, gently skimming over her heart and wrapped both her arms around the diva's waist, lifting her up off the ground with lips remaining intact, dancing the steps to the melody for each other they wrote so long ago, with their lips and tongues moving in a kiss that was laced with nothing but promises of the future and the love that burned so fiercely between them.

Quinn gently placed Rachel back on the ground, placing a last kiss on her lips, finding her eyes and reassuring the brunette with the words she couldn't say that everything is going to be okay between them.

"I love you." Rachel said.

"I love you too."

"Be seeing you."

"Be seeing you." The blonde flippantly waved, watching Rachel open the car door not forgetting to adorn the smile that she only ever reserved for Quinn.

The lawyer watched the diva drive off down the road and turn the corner as she grabbed her things off the sidewalk and make her way up to her town house to collapse on her bed and fall asleep, taking in her last few moments with the love of her life before she started putting her plan into action for herself and her future with Rachel.


A/N: Apologies for taking such a long time to post this. This chapter was a pain in the ass for me and I'm completely happy with it, but after two months, I'm back in the writing game. Happy reading - K x