"Quinn?"

The blonde's closed eyes twitched at the light that was turned on in a flash. She gave an annoyed grunt and turned away from it, gathering up more of Rachel's comforter.

"Quinn, wake up," she said, gently nudging the other girl.

Quinn groaned and opened her eyes, turning towards Rachel.

"We fell asleep," Rachel told her, thinking about how comfortable she'd been in her arm's. She didn't want to wake the sleeping beauty but it was getting late and she didn't want to get the girl into any trouble with her mom.

The blonde squinted at the clock on Rachel's bedside table. 10:47 PM. Shit.

"I really, really don't want to leave," Quinn said, nuzzling into Rachel's warmth. "But my mom is probably worried."

That was an understatement. Ever since her dad left, Judy had been completely over-protective of her daughter which Quinn found completely annoying but she understood. Her mom lost one part of her family already. Losing Quinn would absolutely kill her.

"I understand, Quinn," she said, placing a kiss to the girl's temple. "Which is why I woke you up. We did not acquire parental permission for you to spend the night at my house and although my dads wouldn't mind, your mom is probably worried sick. Come on, I'll drive you home."

Quinn nodded and reluctantly detached herself from Rachel. She suddenly realized how cold it was and shivered slightly.

"Here, put this on," Rachel handed her a white zip up hoodie that said Juilliard on it in navy blue. Quinn chuckled at it before putting it on and following Rachel downstairs and out the door.

The car ride was a comfortable silence in which Rachel's right hand was placed on Quinn's left thigh which caused the latter girl to concentrate on keeping her breathing in control.

"Please tell your mother that I am deeply apologetic for keeping you out so late and that it was completely unintentional therefor you should not be punished in any way, shape or form for the unexpected occurrence and that in the future, we will ask permission-"

Her words were cut off by a passionate kiss that Rachel had no choice but to give in to.

They parted a good two minutes later, realizing that this wasn't getting Quinn in the house any faster.

"I'll see you tomorrow," the blonde offered before quickly kissing Rachel again and getting out of the car. Rachel drove off smiling like a lovesick puppy.

Quinn opened the door to her house slowly, not wanting the old wooden door to creak. She winced as it did. It always did.

"Quinnie?" Judy jumped up from the sofa in the living room and rushed to the door, attacking her daughter with a hug.

"Hi mom," she said, afraid of what was coming next.

"I was so worried, you didn't answer my calls. I ended up calling Santana for Rachel's number, but she mistakenly gave me the number for Breadstix. Did you know the Berry's aren't listed in the phone book? I just phoned your teacher, Mr. Schuester, and had him give me her home phone number."

Quinn squirmed out of the embrace and saw her mom clutching a piece of paper with the Berry's number on it.

"Sorry mom, my phone died. Anyway, how did you know I was at Rachel's?" Quinn couldn't remember telling her that's where she'd be.

"I just assumed. You were, weren't you?"

She wanted to lie, just to prove her wrong. But she couldn't.

"Yeah, I was. And I'm sorry I wasn't home sooner. We fell asleep while studying," she said honestly. "Oh, and Rachel says she's sorry for keeping me so late except she said it in paragraph form," she said trying to hide the smile as she thought about her girlfriend's quirky habit of rambling.

Judy smiled in response before hugging her daughter again.

"I like that Rachel. Much better than those boys you dated."

Quinn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She wanted to swallow her own words almost immediately. She shouldn't have asked.

"I just mean that Rachel is much more suitable for you, Quinn," Judy said, releasing her daughter and smiling at her.

Judy had decided that if Quinn wasn't going to bring it up, she'd have to. She'd been itching to talk about it.

"I don't understand..."

"Quinnie, I know about you and Rachel," she started. "And-"

"You what?" She snapped her eyes wide open. "No. - No, no, no, no, no. This is not supposed to happen right now," Quinn said, tears forming in her eyes. Her chest tightened and she started getting dizzy.

"Honey, it's okay," Judy said, but the buzzing currently occupying Quinn's ears was far too loud for her to hear anything else. She was stricken with panic. Quinn was not mentally or emotionally ready for this. She had thought about it almost every day since she'd been with Rachel but every scenario that went through her head ended with her being thrown out of the house and ignored by her mother.

Her mother promised her the day her dad left that nothing like that would ever happen again. She promised to love Quinn no matter what.

But the memories were still all too fresh for Quinn. She was thrown out then, she'd be thrown out now. Thoughts that constantly ran through her brain told her that no matter when she told her mom, it would end in pain. She knew she couldn't keep it a secret forever, but now was definitely not the time. In her mind, there was only one thing coming now and that was disapproval and rejection.

"Oh god," she breathed out before swinging the door open and going outside, not bothering to shut the door.

The cool air felt good on her hot skin. She started walking what she thought to be aimlessly before she realized she was only a block away from Rachel's now. Her subconscious outsmarted her again.

Swiftly wiping the tears from her eyes, Quinn rang the doorbell, knowing it was late but where else could she go?

Hiram opened the door to a broken looking girl. He immediately engulfed her into a warm hug. She let her sobs go, tears wetting his shirt.

He slowly moved them into the living room, forgetting to shut the front door. They sat on the couch as Quinn cried for another minute.

"It's okay, Quinn," he said soothingly as Leroy entered the room with a glass of water, sitting himself on the other side of Quinn, handing her the glass.

"It's not," she choked out, trying not to hyperventilate like before. She took a sip of the water and felt the coolness slide down her throat.

Hiram released his grip on Quinn and the three of them sat in a row.

"Maybe it doesn't seem that way right now," Leroy said, placing his hand on Quinn's knee. "But I promise, it will get better."

Quinn shook with a sob and latched onto the man.

"Tell us what happened," Hiram said as Quinn stopped crying again. "We're here for you."

She wiped at her eyes again before gathering the courage to speak.

"She just... she said she knew. That's it. She told me she knew. Out of nowhere. And I just started freaking out," she said, trying desperately not to cry again. "It felt like I had been hit by a bus – I couldn't breathe."

She paused and looked at Leroy, suddenly grateful for him and Hiram. She felt safe with them.

"Then I left... I just left. I didn't even let her finish because I just – I just keep thinking that she's going to hate me."

Leroy hugged her again.

"She'll never hate you, Quinn."

The blonde shook her head.

"How do you know? She threw me out once..."

Hiram looked heartbroken from a moment. He'd been thrown out when he was Quinn's age and he knew how it felt to be rejected by family. But this was different and this wasn't about him. It was about Quinn and he knew Judy wouldn't do that again.

"Because she called here as soon as you left," Hiram said, smiling to Quinn. "She said she loves you no matter what and she's ready to talk when you are."

Quinn blinked, letting another tear slide down her cheek.

"She did?"

He nodded.

"She did," Leroy said. "She'll be there for you, Quinn, just like we are right now."

Quinn smiled, and let another tear go. She was lucky her amazing girlfriend had such amazing parents.

"Now go upstairs and get some sleep," Leroy said, standing up and bringing Quinn up with him. "We already told your mom we'd be holding you hostage for the night and she understands, so go get some rest."

She nodded, suddenly realizing how exhausted she really was. Walking towards the stairs, she realized she forgot to thank them. She turned around and quickly hugged them tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem, kiddo," Leroy said before scooting her towards the stairs.

Dragging herself up the stairs she thought that cuddling with Rachel would be the perfect way to end such a rough night. She slowly opened Rachel's door, the light from the hall creeping into the room and illuminating Rachel in a peaceful slumber. Smiling at the picture before her, she slowly entered and quietly shut the door behind her. Inching towards the bed, she took her shoes off and slid under the covers, wrapping her arm around Rachel's waist.

The girl subconsciously reacted by nuzzling her head into Quinn's neck. It only took her a few moments to realize it wasn't a dream and that Quinn was in fact next to her. Her eyes opened and met with hazel ones.

"Quinn?" Rachel sat up slightly. "What are you doing here? N-not that I'm complaining..."

Quinn smiled and kissed Rachel's forehead.

"I acquired parental permission to spend the night at your house," she said, grinning.

Rachel took the answer as is, knowing there was more to it. She could see in Quinn's eyes that she'd been crying. Not wanting to upset her more, she just let it go. There was always tomorrow.

She pressed her lips to Quinn's in a soft kiss before resting her head on her chest, letting her arm across Quinn's stomach. They both fell asleep soon after that, changing positions while dreaming. Rachel ended up being the little spoon.

Quinn woke up in the middle of the night in a slight panic, remembering what had happened only a few hours earlier but quickly calmed herself, as tightened her grip on Rachel, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. She pressed her lips to Rachel's bare shoulder and drifted back to sleep with nothing but dreams of the sleeping girl next to her.

She could definitely get used to this.

Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts and favorites! They really make my entire day. Sometimes even the whole week! Anyway, I hope this chapter is alright, seeing as I quite like it. I was really into the idea of some Quinn/Hiram/Leroy bonding time and it was a perfect opportunity.

Keep the reviews coming! Thank you.