Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update. Life and whatnot.

Edited December 2014

Rachel woke up the next morning and discovered a note from her Mom.

Rachel,

Hey baby. I hope I get back before you wake, but if not, don't worry. I went grocery shopping. I'll be back soon.

Mom

She began to feel a little uneasy. She hadn't been home alone since her rape. A large part of her had the urge to run all over the house and check every door and window. She was starting to have a panic attack. She began searching her room frantically, every noise the house made added to her increasing panic. She was nearly ready to scream when she spotted a note on the floor with her name on it, written in Quinn's handwriting. She grasps her chest and feels her heart pound beneath her hand. 'Calm down Rachel. Calm down. No one is here.' She tells herself. She gets off her bed, standing on shaky feet and picks up the note. She turns it over in her hand, afraid to open it but her curiosity gets the better of her and she tears it open and begins reading.

Dear Rachel,

I hope that doesn't sound lame. I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what happened to you. And I'm really sorry for how big of a bitch I was to you in the past. I just have to tell you, that I'd do anything to protect you even if it meant getting expelled for kicking Karofsky's ass. I would do this, because I love you Rachel Berry. I am in love with you. It happened the day you found out I wasn't really pregnant and had the courage to say something about it. I know it seems like an odd time to fall in love with someone, but I just couldn't help myself. Normally if I had been caught doing something manipulating and awful no one said anything. You challenged me and backed me into a corner until I was forced to tell the truth. It was hot! I know it's going to take a while for you to trust me, but I will do anything to earn your trust. Please call me.

Lucy Quinn Fabray.

Rachel was shell-shocked. What was she supposed to say to that? She didn't have long to think it over though, because she heard her Mom downstairs. She didn't even bother putting the note down before she headed down to help her.

Shelby heard Rachel's bare feet slapping on the linoleum before she saw her and she smiled to herself. Her smile grew when she saw her baby girl with bed head, but her smile faded when she noticed the look on her face. She dropped the groceries onto the countertop and walked over to Rachel. "Baby, what's the matter?" She asked.

Rachel looked up at her Mother perplexed. Then she gazed back down at the note. "When did Quinn leave this here?" She asked.

Shelby glanced down and remembered. "The night before yesterday. I was downstairs with her when you..." She couldn't force herself to finish that sentence and she didn't want to make her daughter feel guilty.

"She says she's in love with me." Rachel said. She couldn't deny that she had feelings for the head cheerleader. She couldn't lie and say she hadn't thought about kissing her. She didn't know what to make of it now that she knew Quinn felt the same way. What did it matter now? She was damaged goods. Never to be whole again. Even if she had a shot with the blonde she didn't have anything to offer her but heartache.

Shelby could see the wheels turning in her daughter's head. She could feel Rachel tearing herself down. She did the only thing she could think of and pulled Rachel into her arms. "She would be lucky to have you. You're a jewel Ray." She said.

Over the last two weeks Rachel had gotten use to her Mother's ability to see through her. Yet, she still dropped her jaw when her Mother wiped away all her self - loathing with a simple sentence. She shook her head. She couldn't let herself believe what her Mother had said. "No, I'm damaged, I'm fat, I'm disgusting. She deserves better than the leftovers of who was once Rachel Berry. So do you and so do my Dad's."

Shelby sighed and shook her head. "Baby, I know you feel that way and you have every right to feel that way but please don't try to tell me what I deserve. I deserve you Rachel. I love you. I'm not leaving." She said firmly. Even though there had been a large considerable amount of growth in their relationship, she knew Rachel still had her doubts about her intentions. She was determined to assure her as often as it took. "Go call her. It's been days since you talked to her, I'm sure she'd be happy to hear from you." She said gently pushing Rachel towards the stairs.

"But, the last words I said to her weren't very nice." Rachel mumbled. It's not that she didn't want to call Quinn, because she did. She just wasn't sure if the other girls feelings had cooled off since she had written that letter. She sighed and picked up her phone. She flipped it over in her hands before mustering up the courage to pull up the blonde's contact information and calling her. She held her breath while the phone rang. Three rings later and Quinn finally answered.

"Rachel? Is everything alright?" Quinn asked worriedly.

"I read your letter and I had something I wanted to say to you." Rachel said after a long stretch of silence.

"O-ok. Do you want to meet somewhere? I could come over." Quinn suggested. Her heart felt like concrete. Rachel's neutral tone of voice gave her no indication of whether or not she was about to be rejected or not.

"How soon can you come over?" Rachel asked.

"I can come now!" Quinn answered a little too quickly. She mentally face palmed herself for sounding so desperate.

"Ok, I'll see you soon. Drive safe Lucy." Rachel said before hanging up.

Normally Quinn hated to be called Lucy. She hadn't used that name since her fat days. But the way Rachel said it made her want melt into a puddle of warm chocolate. Like the chocolate in the brunette's eyes. She could get very used to Rachel calling her "Lucy". She raced over to her walk in closet and laid out an outfit composed of a dark blue spaghetti strap, a black shrug, dark wash skinny jeans and her cocoa brown UGGS. Once she was dressed she let her hair down around her shoulders in it's natural curl. 'Perfect.' She thought. She got in her car and headed over to Rachel's Mother's house.

15 minutes later...

Rachel was dressed in a sweatshirt, yoga pants and her grey UGGS. Her hair was swept up in a messy bun, piled on top of her head and her face was make up free. She was nervously playing with the cuffs of her sweatshirt when the doorbell rang. She knew who it was. "I'll get it." She said loud enough for her Mother to hear from the office. She cleared her throat before opening the door. When she saw Quinn she was stunned. How the blonde could turn a simple outfit into something so...mouthwatering, she would never get used to it. "Hey, would you like to come in?" She asked nervously. 'Good job Rachel, she probably thinks you're a freak!' She thought.

"Hey, you look...skinny." Quinn said with a frown. She stepped into the house and looked around curiously. She turned back towards Rachel and placed her hands on her cheeks, "But you're still beautiful." She said.

"Thank you. You look pretty. As always." Rachel said. She reached up and placed her hands over Quinn's which were still holding her face. She gently removed the hands and held them as she lead the blonde to the couch. Once they were seated she reluctantly let go. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I hope I didn't interrupt any plans you might have had." She said.

"Stop, Rach. You didn't interrupt anything. I was planning on coming to see you anyways." Quinn said.

"Oh, I don't know where to go from here. So, I'll just start by saying I have feelings for you too. But with everything that's happened there's nothing I can offer you. I'm not worthy of you." Rachel's voice cracked towards the end. She hung her head and began absent mindedly tracing patterns on the couch.

Quinn placed her finger under Rachel's chin and tilted it up until their eyes met. "Don't sit there and tell me you're not worthy of me. As long as our feelings are the same then we have plenty to offer each other." Without thinking Quinn closed the distance between them and kissed Rachel passionately. She pulled away and paled when she saw the look on the brunette's face. "Please don't slap me." She squeaked.

Rachel burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She muffled.

Quinn didn't hesitate to pull Rachel into her lap. She stroked her hair. "You have nothing to be sorry for Rach. Please, think about it. Please think about being an us. Rachel, will you be my girlfriend?" She said.

Rachel sat up and stared at Quinn in shock. "You can't be serious." She said.

Quinn didn't say anything. She placed a hand at the back of Rachel's neck and brought their lips together again. She smiled when Rachel kissed her back. When they finally needed air they broke apart. "Does that feel like a joke to you?" She whispered.

"N-no it certainly does not...I would very much like to be your girlfriend Lucy." Rachel said with a flirtatious smile.

"I like it when you call me Lucy." Quinn said before kissing Rachel once more. She couldn't help it. Rachel's lips were so soft and supple. They were becoming addictive in that short amount of time.

The new couple spent a few hours on the couch talking about everything but the big fat elephant in the room. The elephant being the fact Rachel hadn't had a bite to eat since Quinn had been there and she seemed to spacing out a lot.

Shelby finally emerged from her office. "Hello, Quinn. Good to see you again. Are you staying for dinner?" She said.

"Hey Ms. Corcoran. If it's ok with Rachel I would love to. We have a bit of news for you." Quinn said.

"What news would that be?" Shelby asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew no one was pregnant.

"I asked Rachel to be my girlfriend and she said yes." Quinn said happily.

"Quinn, a word please." Shelby asked gesturing for the blonde to follow her into her office. Once they were seated she spoke once more. "I know you understand what has happened to Rachel. Let me be clear, you are not to push her into anything. Understood? She's still healing and I don't need anything you might do or say to set her back."

Quinn nodded. "I understand Ms. Corcoran. I want you to know that I love your daughter. I have no intent to hurt her." She said.

"Good. See that you don't." Shelby said. "Does pizza sound good to you?"

"Pizza is perfect." Quinn said following Shelby from the office. She'd never been threatened by a parent before, but it wasn't unwelcome. She was happy to embrace every new experience that came along with embracing herself.