Author's Note: I was feeling particularly thankful this evening and decided to work really hard to get this next chapter out to all of you who read this story. Thank you so much for all the positive response, you are all awesome! Happy Thanksgiving!

What causes a heart to beat? Rachel realizes that, scientifically, she has no idea. Something to do with blood, maybe? Quinn's heart is steady, strong. Rachel could lay in this bed for hours pressed up against the blonde just listening to her heart like it's the most moving piece of music she's ever heard.

It's quite surreal because never in a million years would Rachel have imagined being held by Quinn Fabray. They're cuddling for God sakes. A part of her wants to just die of happiness while the other is freaked out enough to jump out of her skin. As she regretfully rolls out of the older woman's embrace it's neither of these feelings that pushes her out of the bed. Shivering at the loss of her warmth Rachel can't help but lean over and plant the softest kiss on Quinn's cheek. For a moment she's utterly captivated by the long golden lashes that curl at her eyelids. She wants to crawl back into bed and count every single one. But there are more pressing matters at hand. Walking around to the nightstand she finds a piece of paper and pen, scribbling a quick message.

Gone to the hospital, back soon.

For the first time in a while she feels a sort of peace. Quinn's given her strength and she can't bear to waste a drop of it. Her father has waited long enough.

The walk to the hospital is so different from the last. Rachel finds herself appreciating the warmth of the sun on her skin, every leaf that hangs on the trees above her head. It's a new day. Walking straight up to her father's room, the brunette doesn't hesitate as she enters. Once again her father is slumped over in a chair next to the hospital bed. The defibrillator is still making that awful mechanical noise but she tries to tune it out. Wordlessly she walks to her father and climbs onto the chair. She presses her face in his shirt, taking in the familiar scent of his cologne. "Daddy," she says in a hushed voice. The weight and emotion of how much she's missed her family is heavy on her heart.

Henry stirs, bringing a hand to his eyes in an attempt to rub away sleep. His other hand wraps around his daughter and he gives her a comforting squeeze. "Hey Pumpkin." His voice is low and raspy. Tentatively Rachel reaches across the space between the chair and the hospital bed. She takes her other father's hand, clasping it tight. It doesn't make things better, not really. Rachel is still scared as all hell of losing her father, still ashamed for having taken so long to come and still trying to sort out everything with Quinn at the back of her mind but having the three of them together in a room makes her feel less alone.

They stay like that for a while, the silence between them a comfortable one. Only when the nurse comes in to check Paul's charts do either of them move. Rachel stands up, followed by Henry and they embrace once more. Henry stares down at his daughter. He offers up the biggest smile he can muster though Rachel can tell he's beyond exhausted. Rubbing his bloodshot eyes once more, Henry lets out a deep sigh. "You hungry, Rach?"

"Starving."

"Great, let's get some breakfast at the cafeteria. Coffee too, definitely coffee."

Fifteen minutes later finds them seated on plastic benches, facing one another as they munch on respective bagels. Steeling herself, Rachel takes a sip of coffee before asking the inevitable question that has been silently hanging between them. "So, how is he?"

Henry doesn't look up at her when she answer and Rachel knows it's because he doesn't want to start tearing up in front of her. "It's been pretty much touch and go for the last few days. The doctors say he's stable now but that things could turn around at any second. At this point we've got to just pray for the best. It's out of our hands now."

Rachel pushes the bagel away and reaches for his hand. "But, he's gonna be ok, right Daddy?" The thought of a world without her dad was making Rachel sick to her stomach.

"I hope so Pumpkin, I really really hope so." Henry doesn't cry but his voice breaks in the middle of the sentence and it's one of the saddest things Rachel's ever heard. Her guilt for leaving him to deal with this all by himself for the last few days won't be denied. It sloshes around in her stomach.

"Daddy I'm…I'm so sorry I didn't come here sooner. I don't know why, I just couldn't do it. Too scared or too…something, I don't know. I'm an awful daughter." She hangs her head low and tears threaten to slip down her cheeks.

Henry is across the table in a flash. He pulls Rachel to him once more, hugging her so tightly it makes it impossible for her to breathe. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that Rachel. You're the best daughter any Dad could ask for. It's not your fault, ok?"

"Ok."

"To be honest, I don't even want you to be here. You don't belong in a place like this Pumpkin. It's too sad."

"But I want to be here for you. I want to help you Dad."

A sad chuckle escapes Henry's lips. "That's not your job, Rachel. Your dad and I are the one's who're supposed to help you, take care of you."

"When are you going to come home?"

"I guess it all depends…" he trails off, neither of them wanting the sentence to finish. "Since things can still go either way at this point I want to stay here for at least the next few days. Would that be ok with you?"

"Of course, don't worry about me." That means a few more days with Quinn. The fact that her heart jumps a little at that makes her feel guilty all over again.

As though her father can read her mind he asks, "by the way, how is staying with Beth and her mom?"

"It's…good. I mean, you know it's far from the best of circumstances right now but Beth has been really great these past few days. She really is a true friend. And Qui…Ms. Fabray has been great as well."

"I'm glad. We're lucky to know such good people."

"Yes, definitely…" Rachel wonders what would happen if her father knew exactly what had been happening the past few days between her and Quinn. The thought makes her cringe.

The next few hours are spent together with her family. She talks to her fathers like always, their conversations falling into the same patterns. The setting is different and Paul can't make any funny commentary or add any insights like he always does but in a fucked up, half-glass full kind of way it still feels like the Berrys are all together once more. When she leaves it's regretfully, Henry practically pushing her out the door. "No," he says, "you're eating real food and sleeping in a real bed tonight. You can come back tomorrow bright an early. I know your Dad wouldn't want it any other way too." They hug goodbye and he kisses her on the top of the head.

As she's walking out the front door her phone rings. Staring at the screen, Rachel watches as Beth's name pops up. She hesitates before answering. How can she continue whatever it is she has going on with Quinn and still be a good friend to Beth? It seems an impossible task since the last thing she wants to do is hurt her best friend or lie to her. But Rachel is selfish. She wants Beth in her life and she just can't help it. Before really making a decision she's pressed talk and the phone is to her ear.

"Hi."

"Rachel, hey!"

"What's up Beth?"

"So a freaking Christmas miracle in April has occurred over here at McKinley and Coach Sylvester actually let us out of practice a little early today. Mom told me you were over at the hospital visiting your Dad so I just wanted to call and say that I can pick you up from there whenever."

"Actually I'm just leaving the hospital now but you don't have to…"

"Say no more, I'll be there in like three minutes."

Beth hangs up the phone before Rachel can get another word of protest in, leaving her to her guilt. Sitting down on a bench outside she hangs her head low in despair. If it's not one thing she's feeling bad about then it's another. She just can't win. Thinking about it logically she knows the best choice would be to end things with Quinn. Without the blonde complicating everything she could go back to at least a semblance of her old life. She could concentrate all her energy on her father and his hopeful recovery and not have to worry about what an awful best friend she's being to Beth. But even as the though finishes she has a rebuttal. First of all, her life before kissing Quinn had been it's own brand of carved out misery and going back to that would be a truly torturous act. And then there's the fact that the "thing" with Quinn doesn't even have a name yet. It's just a fledgling of what could be and Rachel doesn't have the heart to stamp it out. Not when Quinn is the only person she wants.

The sight of Beth's silver Altima stops her thoughts. She beeps the horn once causing Rachel to stand up and begin walking over. As she nears the car she notices someone in the front seat and another in the back. Frowning slightly she opens the backdoor next to the free seat and gets in. Her suspicions are confirmed as Santana and Brittany stare at her.

"Hey Rach," Beth waves from the driver's seat. "So, how is he?" She looks concerned which almost erases Rachel's irritation at the two other Cheerio's presence.

"Hi Rachel!" Brittany waves animatedly a huge grin on her face.

"Hey…Berry." It's not exactly the friendliest hello but coming from Santana it's the equivalent of a bear hug and two pecks on the cheek.

"Um, he's ok I guess, still unconscious. They still aren't sure what's going to happen. If it's ok with you I'd rather not talk about it right now." She means in front of Santana and Brittany but feels bad being unable to convey that point without being so obvious.

Beth's posture goes rigid and she bits her lip a little. "Of course, of course, sorry." She notices Rachel's gaze shifting between the two other girls in the car. "Oh! Yeah, so I thought that since the past week has been really heavy for you we could have a girl's night, Cheerio-styel. It is a Friday after all. San and Britt are gonna come and sleepover at my place. We can just hang out, watch movies, eat junk food, maybe drink a little wine. What do you think?"

Friday. Rachel had completely forgotten it was a weekday. Good thing she was sort of suspended anyways. She focuses on Beth's hopeful grin. She's really not up for a girl's night but loves Beth for trying. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Ok, yeah that sounds great." She forces a smile.

"Sweet!" Beth does a fist pump before starting the car. The drive to her house is casual, the conversation peppered with commentary about the latest Cheerio practice and the last rehearsal in New Directions. The whole time Rachel wants to ask Brittany what happened to her last night at Breadstix but she doesn't want to draw any attention to it. However, by the time they pull into the driveway she's resolved that the blonde had genuinely forgotten and decides she can't be mad at her, especially considering how the night turned out.

The four of them file into the house. Quinn is sitting on the couch in the living room. Rachel is the first to enter and when she looks up the blonde gives her this earth-shattering smile that practically knocks her over. She falters, causing Santana to bump into her from behind. "Watch it Man-…I mean, Berry. You should maybe look out where you're going or something…"

"S-sorry Santana." Rachel's eyes regretfully leave Quinn's. If she was surprised to see the other girls it doesn't show. Her smiles is a little less bright now, Rachel thinks, but still breathtaking.

"Hi Rachel, Santana, Brittany. Beth how was practice?"

"Awesome, we actually go out early. By the way Mom, is it cool if Santana and Brittany stay over? We're doing a girl's night."

"Yes, that'd be fine with me."

"Cool, thanks."

"Yeah thanks for letting me and Britts stay over Ms. F."

"Of course Santana, anytime."

Ms. F? Rachel thought that all of Beth's friends called her mom Quinn. Maybe not? She made a mental note to ask Quinn about it later. Though, who knows when that'll be. It's the weekend now so Beth will probably want to hang out non-stop in an attempt to make her feel better. If only she knew that the best medicine for her right now would be one-on-one time with her mom…

Girl's night actually turns into a pretty fun event. They raid Beth's kitchen for all the snacks and steal a few bottle of wine from the liquor cabinet. "Won't your mom notice?" Rachel wonders aloud.

Beth shrugs it off. "Probably. I'll deal with that later. No Cheerios girls night is complete without a good bottle of wine…or two."

They watch Zoolander, which leaves all four of them in stitches and devoting a good chunk of time to each perfecting their versions of blue steel. Hanging out with Brittany and Santana turns out to be more fun than expected. Brittany really is a sweetheart and for reasons Rachel doesn't understand the blonde is completely determined to befriend her. Santana, strangely enough, is actually being almost nice to her. It's weird and makes her more than a little uncomfortable but Rachel has to admit that it's a much-preferred alternative to her hostility.

Somehow as many sleepovers do, things boil down to an intense game of truth or dare. A bottle of wine deep, all of the girls have shrugged off any inhibitions and are all lounging lazily on Beth's carpeted floor. When Beth asks for a truth Santana demands an in-depth description of what her drunk hook-up with football player Mike Chang was like. There are details of that story Rachel is never going to be able to erase from her mind. It's Brittany's turn now. She predictably turns to Santana. "San, truth or dare?"

"Dare, definitely." She's staring at Brittany suggestively and Rachel once again has to ask herself how anyone could be blind to their relationship. It's just so obvious.

"Ok then, I want you to kiss and make-up with Rachel. It wasn't cool to be so mean to her when I gave her a ride to school in your car. Rachel's so nice."

"Britt," Santana lowers her voice. "You know I feel bad ok? I AM trying. Have you been paying attention at all tonight?" Suddenly all of her weird behavior makes sense to Rachel.

"No San" Brittany giggle drunkenly. "I KNOW that. I said kiss and make-up."

"Wait you mean…what!" Santana looks like she's going to self-destruct. "You can't be serious Britt. You want me to kiss that...I mean, her?"

Rachel finds herself shaking her head as well. "No way, uh-uh, I really think you should pick a different dare Brittany."

Brittany crosses her arms and shakes her head. "Those are the rules. You have to."

Beth chimes in, clearly enjoying the moment way too much. "Yeah, those ARE the rules you guys." She grins at Rachel wickedly who responds with a death glare."

"No way. I'm not doing it Britt."

"Santana if you don't do this I'm going to stop talking to you…forever. You can't just not follow the rules of truth or dare, it's against the law."

"Britt c'mon," Santana pleads but Brittany turns her head away, ignoring the Latina. "God damn it, seriously? Fine. FINE!"

Before Rachel can truly comprehend what's happening she finds herself swept up by Santana and suddenly the dark-haired girl's lips are pressed against her own. The kiss is a forceful one, fiery and spilling over with frustration but Santana's skilled. God knows she's had enough practice. Her lips are soft and she smells of some exotic kind of perfume. It's nothing like kissing Quinn but Rachel can't say it's the worst thing that's ever happened to her.

"Hey girls, I brought you some popcor…oh." Breaking apart Santana and Rachel look up at the doorway. Quinn is standing there looking completely stunned. Rachel's eyes widen in horror. She wants to explain herself but no words are coming out of her mouth. She can hear Beth chuckling uncontrollably somewhere to her left and Santana grumbling at her side. Bending down Quinn sets the popcorn down on the floor. Their eyes lock but Rachel can't read the hazel gaze. "I'll just leave this here for you all." And in a second she's gone.

The next thing she knows Brittany's arms are around her and Santana's necks pulling their bodies against her. "Yay! I'm so glad you kissed and made up! We can all be friends now!"

Rachel replies with the only word she can think of. "Shit."

Beth is still laughing. "Shit is right. My mom is totally gonna think you're gay now."