A short hour later they were sitting in a diner just outside of Lima. Jesse had insisted on eating something, if it'd only was to ask her a little about her conversation with his mother. He'd wanted to ask her on the ride home, but as it turned out they spent the whole time singing along to the radio.

He could see the visit had relieved some of her worries though, and he was glad. She had a lot of quirk when she was a bit carefree, dancing a little in the car seat next to him. The first time he'd heard her sing, he was a little stunned to hear her calming voice, that had almost an angelic tone to it. That day in the choir room he had heard a new sound to her voice, something... broken. He had even more respect for her after that. He wanted to ask her about it, but decided against it. It wouldn't have been fair after today.

They were talking about nothing much of importance for a while, which didn't mean it wasn't nice. "I'll be there for you" was playing in the background and that reminded him of something.

"You know, I do watch sitcoms."

Quinn shot him a glance and broke out into laughter at this sudden statement. "What?"

Jesse looked around the room, a little embarrassed at his sudden outburst. "When I talked to you the other day, I told you I didn't watch sitcoms. That's a little exaggerated."

"So you do know Friends?" Quinn asked, an amused smile on her face.

"I have all 10 seasons on DVD and I know some episodes by heart. Wow, I sound like such a dork now." He complained, reddening more by the second.

"That's one thing we have in common then. I always watch it when I feel down or just want a good laugh." She bit her lip and Jesse noticed she had to keep from giggling. "So you didknow you used Joey's pick-up line on me? My my…"

Quinn knew she was cornering him but the look on his face was priceless.

"I just wanted to make you smile…" he said quickly, regretting he ever brought this up.

"And it worked. Thank -"

"Quinn, you need to stop thanking me all the time." he interrupted, reaching to put his hand over hers. She bit her lip again before catching his eye. "I'm your friend. I wantto help you. Okay?"

She smiled gratefully and nodded. "Okay."

That night, he brought her home and she had no trouble falling asleep.

When Mr. Schue gave them their new assignment two days later, Quinn didn't hesitate to ask Jesse to be partners. Their voices sounded good together. Granted, they'd only sung in his car – unrehearsed and not prepared at all, but it worked. They all had to find a song that expressed something "you really want to say", it could be anything to anyone. And Quinn already had an idea.
Jesse immediately agreed and so they practiced. A lot. It wasn't really necessary – they both knew the song by heart, but somehow it was important.

So when it was their turn, Jesse took Quinn's hand in his, guiding her to the piano.

"We have something we want to say. To all of you. I think the message is quite clear."

Everyone raised their eyebrows when she began to play with Jesse sitting beside her.

He began to sing and everyone's attention was theirs.

"Made a wrong turn,
Once or twice.
Dug my way out
Blood and fire.
Bad decisions,
That's alright,
Welcome to my silly life."

Quinn took over as her fingers moved easily across the keys.

"Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood.
Miss, no way it's all good.
It didn't slow me down.
Mistaken,
Always second guessing,
Underestimated,
Look, I'm still around…"

But it sounded even better when their voices harmonized on the chorus.

"Pretty, pretty please
Don't you ever, ever feel
Like you're less than
less than perfect
Pretty, pretty please
If you ever, ever feel
Like you're nothing
You are perfect to me"

"You're so mean
When you talk
About yourself
You are wrong
Change the voices
In your head
Make them like you
Instead"

"So complicated
Look how big you'll make it
Filled with so much hatred
Such a tired game
It's enough
I've done all I can think of
Chased down all my demons
see you do the same"

"Pretty, pretty please
Don't you ever, ever feel
Like you're less than
less than perfect
Pretty, pretty please
If you ever, ever feel
Like you're nothing
You are perfect to me"

Quinn finished off with a few improvised notes but after she was done, she didn't dare to look up. Then the others started to clap and she felt Jesse nudge her shoulder and the smile on her face couldn't stay away. She looked up to see Jesse beaming at her... and Rachel standing up.

For a moment, Quinn thought she might slap her or yell at her for singing with Jesse, but the genuine smile that settled on the brown haired girl's face made her stand up as well. To her complete surprise, Rachel came up and hugged her, Jesse too.

"You two sounded great together. That song was amazing. I've always thought of P!nk's songs as slightly controversial but always right to the point. Great choice." she ranted a bit in typical Berry style, but no one was used to getting compliments from their 'captain'.

They both thanked her and Quinn was still smiling when she got home.

After Glee, the next day, Jesse walked alone down the parking lot through the rain and got into his car, throwing his leather jacket on the backseat. Rehearsal had taken longer than expected and it was already dark outside.

Today he had watched Rachel sing her heart out as she always did, but he hadn't felt anythingromantic for her. He didn't hate or dislike her, but he no longer wanted to be with her. When she'd hugged Quinn the other day and told him that they sounded good, he got the message. She was no longer the possessive girlfriend, but the supporting friend.

Both of them were okay with that.

And of course he had spotted her holding hands with Finn. She looked happy, and that's what he wanted. It stung a little, but he recalled what Quinn had told him; as it turns out, they wereendgame. He no longer wanted to be the one who stood in the way of that.

He turned the radio on and landed on a song he'd come across on Rachel's iFame (did you expect any other name from her?). It was Carrie Underwood's 'So Small' sounding through the speakers. He sang along for a bit (He could remember songs really fast, a blessing and a curse because he often had songs stuck inside his head for days in a row) but after a few minutes he saw something that had him slamming the brakes and backing up his car.

Quinn was walking alone through the rain with just a cardigan on and holding only a small umbrella. Quinn. walking. Alone.

She turned her eyes away from in front of her and watched the black BMW near her with suspicision and fear in her brown eyes. At least, he seemed to remember they were brown. For a moment she considered running away, but in her condition even walking was difficult, she'd stand no chance in hell.

Jesse realized she didn't recognize his car and so he quickly got out and walked up to her.

"Jesse? What are you doing?" she wanted to know when he was standing in front of her in the pouring rain with just a jacket on. She moved her umbrella to somewhat shield him from it but he moved closer to her to prevent herfrom getting more soaked.

"Come on, get in the car. It's freezing and you're getting wet, that's not healthy for you or the baby. Come on."

She wanted to protest, however he took her hand and guided her to the car door he held open for her. He gave her an encouraging nod when she didn't oblige at first and closed the door when she was inside. He threw the umbrella in his trunk before taking place in the driver's seat. He immediately turned the heat up as he went through his curls with his left hand. Quinn tried to get some of the water out of her braided hair, but it still dripped all over her clothes, causing her to shiver heavily. Jesse noticed it and he quickly leaned back to grab his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, rubbing her upper arms to warm her up a bit. She thanked him, with that meaningful smile he'd already seen that time in the choir room gracing her features.

"What are you doing walking home alone in the dark and in the pouring rain? If you get sick, both you and your girl could be in danger." he warned her in a harsher tone than he had intended.

"Why do you care?" she shot defensively, gripping his jacket more tightly around herself. She took in his cologne and instantly regretted her attitude. But he answered anyway.

"Because I do. You know I do. I'm your friend. I can't stand you being out there by yourself, I don't want anything to happen to you, okay? I'm sorry but I can't help it." he admitted, glancing at her to see her reaction.

She bit her bottom lip trying to keep her emotions controlled, but again, his words touched her. She didn't know what she had done to earn his care, but it was nice to know she had someone to fall back on from now on.

"But seriously, why didn't Puck give you a ride? Or Finn?" he wanted to know. Anger boiled up inside him when he thought about it. It was Puck's baby too, and even if that wasn't his biggest concern, if anything he should at least care about Quinn's health. And Finn, he had loved her. She may have lied to him but that doesn't mean he shouldn't still be civil.

She scowled at the mention of their names and she turned towards Jesse a bit more to explain.

"Puck had a date with Santana right after Glee Club and Finn... Well, he just started to look at me in a normal way and talking to me somewhat casually, so that's about all the amount of Finn I can handle right about now. Besides, he had to drive Rachel to ballet." she added in a softer voice, avoiding his gaze during that last bit.

Jesse raised his eyebrows in disbelief at her answer. He so wasn't convinced.

"So? Puck couldn't drop the mother of his child off first before he went on his date? Or Finn couldn't take you along? That's just pure crap."

"I don't care. I'd rather be in the car alone with you than third-wheeling with Puck or Finn." she said, and it was so obvious but so out of the blue that they both smiled like crazy.

They drove on a bit, talking about nothing of great importance until they pulled up at an intersection. Quinn gasped silently and then she just froze up. Jesse noticed this change in behavior and he looked around trying to find what she could be afraid of or surprised by but he saw nothing.

"Are you okay? What's the matter?" he asked her when she simply stared out the window.

Giving him no response or chance to react, she grabbed the door handle, took off his jacket and mumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I have to get out here. Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow."

And then she just walked off into the pouring rain again. Jesse didn't know what hit him and he yelled her name before running out after her with his jacket in his hand.

Here I'm back with another chapter! Finally, I know. But to make up for it, this one is extra long! The third part is one I've had written for a while, I just had some trouble getting there. I hope you all like it, if you do, please tell me so. Thanks for your continuing support.

- Elien