A/N: Look who's back from holiday! Also, I'm sorry for updating almost a week later than I planned (even though you didn't know I planned to release this chapter a few days ago so shhhh!) but I had one idea then I completely scrapped it and tried again.

Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, it would be all Chord Overstreet, Lea Michele, Kevin McHale, Dianna Agron, and Riker Lynch.

Enjoy!

…

Wes banged his gavel against the desk. "Settle, everyone!" he called to the room. Once everyone was silent, he resumed speaking. "Now, earlier in the week we said goodbye to Kurt, who was valuable to us during Regionals. But today another Warbler leaves us who, although he may not have been a soloist, has still been an outstanding member of the choir. Jeff," he finally addressed, "you will be sorely missed by us all."

There were a few "Yeah!"s scattered around as the room burst into applause. Jeff bowed slightly, turning red as he didn't know quite how to acknowledge the applause.

"Speech!" Nick called, and others made noises of agreement.

"Er, okay." Jeff stood on the table. "First of all, Blaine – I apologise for just stealing your trademark here by jumping onto the table." Everyone laughed. "Second, I know I've tried to get the lead solo but I never got to, but I don't mind. Blaine's a fantastic lead and you're going to be huge, man, I know it," Jeff smiled, and Blaine nodded in appreciation. "All of you guys are. You're all insanely talented and I can only thank you so much for letting me be a part of this before you all get too annoyed by me," he laughed with them. "You've all been like brothers to me. Brothers that I don't want to kill," he added to more laughter. "And I know we'll all stay in contact and see each other and stuff, but I'll still miss seeing you all every day."

More applause followed Jeff's speech, making him embarrassed again. He jumped off the table and Blaine walked up to him. "Hey, Jeff," he smiled, leaning against the table next to Jeff. "Listen, I know that you worked hard to get a solo, and-"

"Say no more," Jeff interrupted. "It's like I said, you're like the cement that holds the Warblers together. I would never have gotten a look-in. Not that I'm bitter, I'm not," he corrected himself hurriedly and Blaine nodded to show he understood. "But I'm just a brick," he shrugged. "You'll replace me easily."

"Not necessarily," Blaine put a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "You need the right brick to fill a gap. And it'll take quite a while to find the right replacement," he smiled. "I don't know if you'll remember the day we met-"

"First day here. You had glasses and your mom had kissed your forehead so that there was a red mark and I thought you were Harry Potter or something," Jeff laughed.

Blaine laughed, too. "Yeah. Then I called you-"

"Draco Malfoy," they chorused, laughing.

"We convinced Thad and David that we were actually British for weeks," Jeff giggled.

"See? You were the one who got me settled into this place," he gestured around the hall they were standing in. "You and I made friends, then you made friends with Nick, who introduced us both to the others and now look! So you aren't that easy to replace. Nobody forgets their first friend in a hurry," Blaine grinned.

Jeff pulled Blaine into an unexpected hug. "I'll miss you, Potter," he laughed shakily.

"I'll miss you too, Malfoy," Blaine laughed back.

Jeff walked around a little before being stopped by Thad, who walked straight into him. "Whoa, sorry, man," Thad apologised. "Hey, look. I know I tease you a lot, and I don't get sappy that much, but you've been like a little brother to me," he smiled. "You've got a good heart, man. And it's a good job you've got that Quinn, otherwise the ladies would be all over you!" Thad raised his eyebrows.

Jeff let out a single laugh. "I seriously doubt that! But thanks all the same," he smiled.

"Speaking of, how are you and Quinn?" Thad asked.

"Oh, we're awesome. I thought there was a little bump in the road the other day, but that's sorted. I think. I don't know, everyone's keeping everything under wraps," Jeff shrugged.

"Oh no," Thad smirked. "You're not getting anything out of me that easily, Sterling."

"Dang it!" Jeff joked. They both laughed. "Nah, I wouldn't try and pull one over on you, anyway. You know me, I'm a terrible liar."

"True, true," Thad nodded. "So, back to you and your little girlfriend," he poked Jeff in the side.

"Hey!" Jeff pulled back, rubbing at where Thad had poked.

"Aww, did I hurt baby Jeffy?" Thad teased. "I kid, I kid. How far are you guys right now?"

Jeff shrugged. "I don't know how she feels, and I don't want to come on too strong and look stupid if she doesn't reciprocate it, you know?"

Thad paused. "Okay. Answer me this. How do you feel around her?"

"It's…It's like…" Jeff looked around the room, hopelessly trying to get some inspiration. His eyes fell on Blaine, who was talking to Nick. "You know how to cast a Patronus, you need to remind yourself of something happy?" Thad nodded, laughing at the Harry Potter reference. "When I'm with Quinn, or I'm thinking about her, or I'm talking to her, I feel like I could rid the whole world of Dementors with a single Patronus," Jeff grinned dreamily.

"Sounds like someone needs to break out the L-word," Thad said in a singsong voice as he cocked his head.

"Wait," Jeff's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"

"That's right," Thad brought his voice to a whisper. "Lesbians."

Jeff shoved Thad in the ribs. "Shut up," he laughed. "But are you serious? Should I tell her that I – I mean I don't even know if I do," he shuffled awkwardly.

"It sounded like you do," Thad smiled. "I mean, the way you described it was pretty much the same way I described how I felt about my girlfriend to Wes, and he to David and look at us – very happy in our relationships. Trust me, man, you should tell her!"

"Yeah…Yeah, I think I will!" Jeff grinned. "Thanks, I owe you!"

"Of course you do. See you around, Sterling!" he patted Jeff on the back as Nick approached them.

"Well." was all Nick said.

"Well." Jeff replied.

They then went into a long and complicated handshake that they had invented the day they met. They had agreed that they were to teach every one of their kids to approach others and do the very same until they found the only other child who knew it, and their kids would continue their Three-Six legacy.

At the end of it, they hugged. That was all they needed to do.

The bell rang and Jeff walked to his last lesson at Dalton. He didn't concentrate, though. He spent the entire hour wondering how to tell Quinn that he was in love with her.

…

"Quinn, honey, sit down," was the first thing Quinn heard when she entered her house.

Quinn looked at her parents suspiciously. "What's up?"

"Well, dear, you know how I was a soldier back in Iraq – " her dad began.

"Sure, but you're retired now, right?" Quinn stomach tightened. She had a very good idea what was coming next.

"I was retired, yes, but they've asked me to come out of retirement and serve again in Afghanistan," Quinn's father tried to look Quinn in the eye, but she averted his gaze every time. "Look, I know this is going to be tough, but – "

"Going to be tough? No. No! My math final is going to be tough. This – this! Is going to be unbearable! How will I even know that you're okay? That you're alive? How will I focus on school knowing that you could be getting blown up at any minute? How could you do this to me, Dad?" She flung her arms in the air in frustration and stormed up to her room. She threw herself onto her bed and cried into her pillow.

Once she had stopped crying, she got her laptop out and turned it on. As soon as it was loaded, a message popped up on her screen:

Jeff – Quinn Hello, beautiful :] How's the world's most awesome girlfriend?

Quinn let out a small laugh.

Quinn – Jeff Hey yourself, good-looking ;D Tbh I could be better.

Jeff – Quinn Awh, baby :[ What's wrong?

Quinn – Jeff Long story. But I don't think I can make it on Friday.

Jeff – Quinn …Wait, what? Why not?

Quinn – Jeff I'm so sorry, Jeff. If I wasn't this upset, you know I would have gone with you, but I can't now. Please forgive me.

…

Jeff didn't reply for quite a while, which was odd for him. Normally he'd reply to any message in a heartbeat. Quinn heard a knocking at the front door, followed by a familiar, yet breathless voice. "Is Qui-Is Quinn still here?" she heard, and she couldn't help but smile. She heard the footsteps running up the stairs and Jeff bounded into her room, red-faced. He knelt next to her and took her hand. "There are – a few things – you should know," Jeff panted. Quinn laughed slightly, but in a kind way. "First," he looked up at her, his breath regained, "you don't need to ask me to forgive you for anything. I either will or I won't. I most probably will, though," he smirked. "Second, if and when you're ready to talk about…Whatever's happening, I'll be right here. Even if I'm…Not right here," he laughed.

Quinn put their interlocked hands in her lap and played with Jeff's fingers. "You're the best, you know that?" she smiled, still looking at their hands. She looked sideways at him and sighed. "My dad's being deployed in Afghanistan. I'm going to have to go back to McKinley and worry the entire time about whether or not my dad's even alive." She sighed. "I just didn't want to ruin your night by being upset is all. I'm sorry."

Jeff sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "You have nothing to be sorry about," he whispered into her ear. "You have every right to be upset. But just understand that any night spent with you is an amazing one, okay? No matter how happy you are."

Quinn shuffled back on her bed a little and lay down. Jeff lay next to her, propping himself up on his elbow. She looked up at him. "You are absolutely perfect, Jeff Leonard Sterling," she smiled up at him.

"I'm honestly not," he shook his head. "And look, if you want to stay here tomorrow night, I won't have any objections. I'll stay right here with you." He bent down and kissed her.

When they broke apart, Quinn beamed. "I love you," she breathed hurriedly. She realised what she'd said immediately after and bit her lip.

Jeff's eyes widened. "I – I – "

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to – " Quinn started, but Jeff silenced her with another kiss.

"I love you too," he grinned, looking into her eyes. "Every little bit of you. I love your hair, little lion cub," he laughed lightly. "And your eyes. I could look at those all day and never, ever get bored. Ever. And then your cute little nose," he nuzzled her in an Eskimo kiss. "And don't get me started on how much I love your lips," he kissed her again, this time a lot more passionately. She returned with just as much passion, putting one hand on the back of his neck. He positioned himself over her to deepen it, even biting her lip a little. She gasped and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She ran her hands up and down his arms as he kissed her like this for God knows how long.

When they broke apart, Quinn let out a small "Oh" of disappointment.

Jeff chuckled and kissed her cheek before setting himself back next to her again. "Sorry, baby," he smiled, tracing random shapes on her tummy with his finger.

"Don't be sorry," Quinn grinned. "At all. In fact, that was really hot."

"You're really hot," he cocked his head and smiled, his tongue poking out through his teeth a little.

"You charmer, you," Quinn smirked. She giggled. "Thank you. For making me feel better. You really are the most amazing boyfriend ever."

"That's only because I have the bestest girlfriend in the history of eternity!" he beamed.

Quinn laughed. "You are such a little kid."

"You gotta enjoy being young while it lasts, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you do." Quinn nodded. She looked at Jeff. "I've changed my mind. I want to go with you to the dance."

Happiness swept over Jeff's face. "Seriously? Awesome!" His phone started playing the Indiana Jones theme song. "Oh, excuse me," he shuffled to get his phone out.

Fr: Jerry
Mom and Dad have gone and they've left Jodie in charge. For the love of God, come back and save us!

Jeff laughed. "I have to go before someone gets murdered." He took her hand again. "I love you." He kissed her nose before climbing off the bed. "See you tomorrow!"