Disclaimer: I don't own it.

A/N: Heeeeey! I'm back with a new chapter and I'd like to thank you all for reviewing and following this story. You make me very happy and I love you all very much! S2 A special thanks to my Beta harleysantana23. You are amazing!

Have a nice reading!

Chapter Ten

Awake in the Infinite Cold

"C'mon, Rach, please? Just one more bite." Quinn begged with a cute pout. Rachel eyed the vegan hamburger being offered to her and frowned when her stomach protested against the smell of it.

"I-I can't. I'm sorry, Quinn." The brunette said with a hint of sadness on her voice. Quinn scooted closer to her girlfriend and kissed her briefly under the colored lights of the auditorium. She had brought them there with the hope that Rachel would actually eat something during lunch time, but she was miserably failing in her task.

"At least take a sip of the orange juice, baby." Quinn said reaching for a small bottle. "I did it myself, so you can't possibly say no." Rachel giggled at her girlfriend adorableness and accepted the liquid. The Head Cheerio watched as the diva took slow sips of the juice and grew even more concerned when Rachel's shaking hand rested on her stomach.

"There. I drank it all. Happy now?" Rachel jokingly said giving Quinn a sweet peck on the lips.

"Very." Quinn said while beckoning her finger. "C'mere. Let's cuddle for a little while." Rachel beamed and sat on Quinn's lap. As always, the blonde's heart skipped a beat when the brunette's back pressed against her chest. She wondered if Rachel could feel how much she loved her by the simple contact.

"Your heart is beating so fast." Rachel observed while she intertwined their fingers. Quinn chuckled. Apparently the girl could feel it.

"It always beats fast when you're near me." The HBIC said. "Do you want to know what it's saying right now?" She asked kissing Rachel's temple. The starlet hummed happily and laid her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"What does it say?" Rachel curiously asked.

"It says, Rachel Berry, I am and always will be, unconditionally in love with you." Quinn whispered in the girl's ear. "It says that I want to have you in my life forever and that I'm extremely proud to date the shiniest star this world has ever known." She stated. Rachel bit her lip as she tried very hard not to cry. "It says that I want to wait for you at the altar, have talented babies with you and grow old with the most gorgeous singer I've ever had the pleasure to meet. It says…" Quinn murmured as she gently titled Rachel's chin to stare at shining chocolate orbs. "…it says that I love you very much." Rachel smiled teary and kissed her girlfriend's neck.

"It's not fair." The brunette whined. "You're always making me cry, pretty blonde Cheerleader." Quinn shook her head and chuckled.

"I'm sorry… Tiny Jewish teenager." She kissed Rachel before she could complain and when she felt the girl's warm tongue playing with her own, she barely remembered her surname. It could be Vanilla for all she cared, because that's what Rachel's lips tasted that day and it was more than alright.

"Quinn? Are you still with me?" Rachel asked amusedly when they broke apart. Quinn had her eyes closed and a dreamy smile on her face.

"Your kisses will be the death of me, Rach." Quinn said. "I'm serious. I can't live without them anymore." Rachel's smile lessened as she looked down at their hands.

"Don't exaggerate, Quinn." She whispered. "Besides… One day you might have to." Quinn lifted an eyebrow and lifted Rachel's chin. She got alarmed when her girlfriend avoided eye contact.

"What are you talking about, Rach?" She asked. "Don't you want me?" Quinn sounded so heartbroken that Rachel couldn't help but stare into worried hazel eyes.

"Of course I do, honey." She honestly said. "I want you. I want you so much that it scares me." She whispered. Quinn gently cupped her cheeks and wiped away a single tear that had escaped.

"Why does it scare you, baby?" Quinn asked. Rachel shook her head and tried to back away, but the blonde wouldn't let her. "Tell me why, Rach. Please."

"I-I can't." The brunette stuttered. "I'm so sorry, Quinn." The bell rang at the same time Rachel ran off the auditorium leaving a confused Quinn Fabray behind. She couldn't understand what went wrong and why the diva was keeping so many secrets away from her. First, the medications, then the fear, which was clearly not letting the diva expose her true feelings towards her.

Sighing, Quinn got her backpack and walked to her next class with a single thought: find out what was truly happening to her girlfriend. She wouldn't give up until she got her answers.

That's what Fabray's do after all.

XXX

Things didn't get any better during the following days. Quinn tried to talk to Rachel, but the brunette refused to answer any questions concerning her medications or her fear on their relationship. The starlet still wasn't eating properly and the fact that she was losing weight and sporting a paler complexion didn't help to lessen the blonde's worries.

Rachel was also avoiding Quinn as much as she could. She no longer waited for the HBIC outside school for a ride home and every time Quinn set up a date on the auditorium during lunch, the diva would convince her to head to the cafeteria instead. With the presence of the Glee kids, there was no way Quinn could question what was wrong.

Deciding that she would most likely get her answers at the privacy of Rachel's house, the Head Cheerio didn't waste time and headed there as soon as Sue Sylvester released her from the hard practice of the day. Taking a deep breath of encouragement, she rang the bell and anxiously waited for her girlfriend to answer the door.

Only that she wasn't so lucky.

"Oh, hello Quinn." Leroy greeted her with a pleasant smile. Quinn smiled back. She was glad that they were getting along just fine after Hiram and Leroy noticed how much she cared for Rachel. They were even on the first name basis for the blonde's delight.

"Hi, Leroy. Is Rachel home?" She asked expectantly as she tried to take a peck inside the house above Leroy's shoulder. The man shook his head.

"She's not, Quinn, I'm sorry." He said. "Didn't she tell you that she'd go out with Hiram today?" Quinn looked down at her shoes in disappointment.

"No, she didn't. In fact, she's been kind of avoiding me lately." For her astonishment, Leroy didn't seem surprised at all by this fresh piece of information. "Leroy? What's going on?" She asked. He sighed and stepped aside.

"Why don't you come in? You can wait for Rachel while we eat some cookies." Quinn nodded and followed Leroy towards the kitchen. They stayed in silence for a few moments while the short man prepared them a steaming cup of cocoa. Quinn was so confused that she didn't even care that she was drinking soy milk.

"So, Quinn," Leroy said taking a bite of his cookie. "How's school going? Rachel told me that you applied to Yale." Quinn nodded rather distractedly.

"I did. They might send me a letter by this week." She told him.

"That's great!" He said beaming. "I'm sure they'll accept you. Rachel will be so proud of you." He guaranteed. Quinn smiled at the mention of her girlfriend.

"I'm very proud of her too." She affirmed. "She's the most amazing girl I've ever known." Leroy smiled feeling a little surprised at Quinn's affectionate tone.

"You really like her, don't you?" He asked staring into shining hazel orbs. Quinn bit her lips.

"I love her, Leroy." She confidently said. "I've never felt this way for anyone before and I just…" She swallowed a lump on her throat and tried not to weep in front of Leroy. "She changed me. She taught me so much in such a little time and now I don't know how to live without her. I want Rachel everyday and all the time. I want to cuddle her, take care of her and tell her that my heart is hers. She's my first thought when I wake up and the first thing I see when I dream." She confessed in a whisper. She didn't dare look at Leroy, not when she had just declared her undying love for the starlet for the first time in the front of the starlet's father.

"I didn't know your feelings for Rachel were so deep." Leroy admitted. Quinn nodded and stared at him, glad when she met sympathetic eyes.

"She's everything to me. That's why I'm so worried that something wrong is up." Leroy sighed and looked down at his cup. Quinn reached out and gently grabbed his hand. "What's going on, Leroy? Why is Rachel taking so much medication? Why can't she tell me her true feelings?" She couldn't keep the anxiousness way from her voice, but she didn't care.

"It's not my role to tell you this, Quinn." Leroy said tapping the blonde's hand. "Rachel is the only one who has the right to tell you what's going on with her life right now. But please, don't doubt her love for you." Quinn shook her head.

"I never doubted her love for me. I just want to help her." She said.

"Quinn?" A small voice said from the entrance of the kitchen. Leroy and Quinn turned around surprised to find Rachel and Hiram staring confusedly at them. The HBIC immediately walked towards her girlfriend and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Baby…" She whispered before kissing her on the lips. "We need to talk." Rachel nodded slowly and searched for her fathers' approval.

"Go ahead, pumpkin. Just don't be out too late." Hiram said.

"I promise I'll take care of her, Hiram." Quinn said while she intertwined their fingers. The taller man smiled and waved his hand.

"I know you will, Quinn. I trust you." With their blessings, Quinn guided Rachel towards a beautiful park just a few blocks away from the brunette's house. The sun was going down and it created a beautiful halo all over Rachel's body. Quinn noted that the diva was trembling slightly, even thought it was pleasantly warm outside. The HBIC took her Cheerio jacket off and gently wrapped it around Rachel's frame.

"Thank you, Quinn." Rachel gratefully said giving Quinn a quick peck on the lips. Taking advantage of the brief contact, the blonde took a step closer and deepened the kiss. She circled her arms around Rachel's wait and felt small hands caressing her neck. After four days of avoidance, Quinn finally felt at home in the brunette's arms.

"I missed you, babe." Quinn murmured when they broke apart. Rachel sighed and stood on the tip of her toes to rest her forehead against the Head Cheerio's.

"I know. I missed you too." Rachel said.

"Then why were you avoiding me?" Quinn asked confusedly. Rachel looked down at her hands and took a step back. "Rach? What's wrong?" The Head Cheerio tried to approach her, but Rachel raised her hands and took two more steps back. Quinn stopped and felt her heart beating faster.

"Quinn, I… I'm sorry for causing you so much pain those last couple of days." Rachel said in a shivering voice. "It wasn't my intention, it's just that… I had some serious issues to deal with and I didn't want to worry you." Quinn shook her head in disbelieve.

"But you got me worried either way, Rach. Please, tell me what's going on." The blonde supplicated. Rachel gulped and hesitated for a moment. "Baby?"

"I-I'm sick, Quinn." The starlet said it in such a low whisper that Quinn thought she had misunderstood it.

"What?" Quinn asked with a nervous giggle. "I'm sorry, Rach, but I didn't understand…"

"I'm sick." Rachel repeated more forcefully this time. Quinn's smile died down. "I have Leukemia." It was if a weight had fallen down over the Cheerio's shoulder. She didn't want to believe in what Rachel had just told her. It wasn't possible. Her girlfriend had a wonderful life ahead of her. She'd go to NYADA. She'd shine at Broadway. They'd get married!

"B-but…" Quinn stuttered not caring if her tears were falling freely down her cheeks. "You're eighteen, Rach. You're perfect. Your doctor might have misunderstood…" Rachel shook her head sadly.

"I've found out two years ago, Quinn, and it seems like the treatments aren't so efficient anymore. At least that's what the doctor told me today." The brunette said. Quinn was in shock. Was this some kind of punishment? If that was the case, it wasn't fair. Not with Rachel.

"Why didn't you tell me this before, Rach?" She asked brokenly. "Why didn't you let me help you?"

"The doctors said I should go on and live my life normally as best I could and I… I just didn't want anyone acting weird around me." Rachel confessed for Quinn's astonishment.

"Including me?"

"Especially you!" Rachel said finally breaking down. "Everything was going fine before you happened. I was accepting it, but now… I'm so angry and so afraid, Quinn. I don't know how to act anymore!"

"Then let me in, baby." Quinn pleaded trying to envelop Rachel in a hug. The brunette shook her head. "Please, Rach. I love you so much, don't push me away!"

"I can't, Quinn. It hurts so much!" Rachel said crying.

"Baby, please. Please, Rach, don't do this." Quinn sobbed.

"I'm so sorry!" Rachel whispered as she turned around and ran away.

"Rachel!" Quinn called out but the brunette was gone. She let her knees sink into the grass as she let out a cry of frustration and pain. Why was this happening to Rachel? The girl was the nicest person she had ever known, she didn't deserve to get through this. Why was God punishing the girl?

"Why are you doing this to her?" She screamed at the sky. "Why did you choose her? She has so much to live for, damn it!" The Head Cheerio cursed punching the ground with all she's got. "This is not fucking fair, do you hear me? This isn't fair!" Her sobs were rocking her body, but she didn't pay any attention to it. "Is it because of me?" She whimpered. "If it is, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll get better, I promise, just please, don't take her away from me. I love her so much!"

Quinn didn't know how long she just stayed there crying and pleading. But when she headed home exhausted and emotionally drained she promised herself that no matter how hard Rachel tried to keep her away, she wouldn't go anywhere. She loved her so much to do this.

That night, she cried on her mother's lap and as much as she wanted to accept Judy's comforting words, she couldn't stop whispering Rachel's name over and over again. She prayed before she slept.

And for the first time since she could remember she hoped her pleas would be enough.

A/N2: I'm sorry for the sadness on this chapter, but it had to be done. Also, blame it on the Bridal Shop scene that was so perfect and gave me all those feelings while I was writing this chapter. Seriously, Quinn is so in love with Rachel it hurts! How can RIB deny it? And really, I'm scared of Ryan's sudden kindness… He must be up to something. Anyway, right now, I love him!

Now, please, review and let me know how what you think of this chapter! Pleeeeeeease?