Author's Notes:

I'm grateful for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. To those who turned off their private messaging in FF, and I'm not able to send you a PM and to anons, thank you so much. :)

Any errors in this chapter, I blame on the hangover. :)

Disclaimer:

I don't own anything. I'm just borrowing them.

[ Chapter 11 ]

Hiram Berry arrives home early on Friday morning and instantly notices all the flowers that are sitting on several surfaces around the house. It's a rare sight, and wonders if Rachel hosted some type of party while he was away, but what kind of party will require flowers? Teenage parties usually consist of loud music, snacks, and alcohol. Besides, the house looks spotless and nothing is out of place.

He hears his daughter's footsteps coming down the stairs. He checks his watch and it's about time for Rachel to leave for school.

Rachel lights up at seeing her daddy, and she gives him a big hug. She barely sees him because he's always out of town for work, so she's always thrilled when he's home.

"Welcome home, daddy. How was your trip?" She asks him when she pulls away from the hug.

"It's the usual boring and dull work business, sweetie. What are all these flowers? Are they from Finn?" He doesn't remember Finn ever bringing nor giving any flowers before, but whom else can they be from.

"Finn and I broke up months ago." Rachel rolls her eyes at her daddy for forgetting. She's sure she had told him about the breakup, but she guesses he has a lot on his mind and forgot about it. He wasn't there to console her through her heartbreak, since he was away on one of his business trips. Thankfully, Kurt was there for her when she needed him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I never really liked that boy anyway. I know we haven't talked in a while, and I've been away too much. So how about we catch up tonight over dinner and maybe even do a Barbara movie marathon? Just you and me?"

"Tonight does not work for me, daddy. I have a date." She walks to the kitchen and grabs an apple from the fruit bowl, her father following behind her so they can continue their conversation.

"Who's taking my baby girl out tonight? Is this the same boy that's filling our house with all these flowers?" He asks curiously. He didn't know that she's already seeing someone else, but then again, he wouldn't know because he's rarely home.

"Quinn." Rachel answers simply. She's not sure how her father is going to react when she reveals the gender of her date, but she's not worried because her family has always been pretty open and liberal.

"Is he nice and good to you? I want to meet this new boy." Hiram prods. He wants to make sure that this new boy in his daughter's life is good enough for her.

"She's wonderful. You'll meet her tonight when she picks me up." Rachel reveals and anticipates her father's reaction when he picks up on the pronouns she uses.

"She? Her? What? Since when?" Hiram is surprised to hear that this new boy is in fact a girl. He did not expect that at all. Rachel's only shown interest in boys. Maybe he's been away for too long that he doesn't even know his daughter anymore and what's been going on in her life.

"It's a long story, daddy. It just happened, but I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I have school." She tells him, expecting this talk to take a while. She doesn't want to blemish her perfect attendance record today.

"Ok, sweetie. We'll talk tomorrow. How about brunch?" He knows how much his daughter values punctuality and prides in her perfect school record.

"That works, daddy." Rachel kisses her dad's cheek and heads out to school.

The school day goes by like a blur for Rachel. She is surprised to find Quinn waiting for her by her locker, breakfast in hand, like the previous days. She expects those gestures to end now that she has agreed to a date with the blonde, but Quinn keeps it up throughout the day, leaving gifts and notes in her locker and bringing her another home cooked meal for lunch.

When she questions the blonde about it, Quinn just shrugs and tells her, "Just coz you said yes to a date doesn't mean I can't continue giving you stuff."

It's such a typical Quinn answer but Rachel thinks it's thoughtful and shows just how sweet the blonde is even though she tries to pretend that she's not with her indifference.

That evening, Quinn nervously stands outside the Berry's front door, a bouquet of two dozen red roses in her arm. She's 10 minutes early because she knows how much Rachel dislikes tardiness. With a shaky hand, she reaches for the doorbell and presses it.

The ding from the doorbell echoes throughout the house and she takes a couple of deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She quickly runs a hand through her hair to make sure it's in place. The door swings open, revealing a tall older man about her dad's age.

"You must be, Quinn. Please come in. Rachel will be down in a minute." Hiram politely greets the nervous teen. "I'm Hiram Berry, Rachel's father." He introduces himself after closing the door behind them, offering his hand to the blonde.

Quinn shakes his hand and tries to confidently say, "Nice to meet you sir. I'm Quinn… Uhhh… you already know that." It's comes out more like a squeak.

Hiram looks the young blonde over and visibly frowns when he sees the tattoos on her arm. "I haven't seen you around before..."

"I just moved here a few months ago." Quinn quickly explains. She notices his expression change as soon as he saw her arms. She tugs on her shirt's long sleeves that are rolled up, pulling them down to partially cover her arm. She's never been self-conscious of herself before, but this is Rachel's father. She feels the need to impress him or at least get his approval.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" He asks sternly without a smile, giving her the best don't mess with my daughter or else look.

Quinn swallows the lump on her throat and musters enough courage to give him an intelligible and sincere answer, but her nerves are making it difficult. "Uumm… Date her…? Not hurt her…?" It doesn't come out as she hopes and she just sounded so unsure, lacking confidence.

It's obvious from his expression that he's not impressed and she's definitely not getting his approval anytime soon or ever.

Quinn clears her throat and tries again, but before she can start her speech, Rachel comes down the stairs and everything else fades away for Quinn as soon as her eyes land on the diva. Quinn can never get over how stunning Rachel looks and she never fails to render her speechless, especially with all these dramatic entrances.

Quinn stands by to make sure she's close enough to catch the brunette in case she trips down the last few steps again.

Rachel makes it all the way down without tripping. She's prepared this time and made sure to wear comfortable and practical shoes, although she definitely doesn't mind being carried by the blonde again.

"You look beautiful, Rachel." Quinn breathes out. She wonders how Rachel always manages to look breathtaking.

"Thank you, Quinn. You don't look too bad yourself."

"Thanks. Here. These are for you." Quinn gives her the two dozen roses.

"These are lovely. Thank you." Rachel beams and takes the flowers from the blonde. It's such a romantic gesture that none of her exes have ever done for her.

Hiram clears his throat to bring the teens' attention over to him. He's been watching their interaction and there's no doubt that the blonde is smitten with his daughter but it's also obvious to him that his daughter is just as smitten too.

"Daddy, this is Quinn Fabray." Rachel introduces.

"We've been acquainted." He's still wary about the blonde and he doesn't know her enough to trust her yet but he also doesn't want to end his daughter's obvious happiness due to the blonde.

"I'll put them away for you, so you can be on your way." He offers and takes the flowers from his daughter.

"Thank you, daddy."

"Bring her home by midnight." Hiram exerts, focusing his glare on the blonde girl who visibly gulps.

"What? Daddy, I never have a curfew. I don't see any reason why you have to start…"

"I will, sir." Quinn agrees, interrupting the brunette's argument, and she takes Rachel's hand in hers and leads her out of the house and to her jeep.

Hiram watches them go and closes the door once the two girls reach the jeep.

Quinn opens the jeep door for Rachel and Rachel doesn't move, giving the blonde a questioning look for rushing out of the house.

"Your father doesn't like me." Quinn explains.

"That's how he is with every person I dated. He doesn't know you yet. Once he gets to know you, I'm positive he'll like you." Rachel tries to reason.

"I don't know about that. Adults tend to dislike me." Quinn pouts.

"Don't worry about it, Quinn. Right now, I want to find out what this silly pouting blonde has in store for tonight." Rachel kisses the blondes cheek and gives her an assuring smile.

"Ok." Quinn's pout is now replaced with a goofy smile. Rachel's kisses always does that to her.

Rachel gets in the jeep with Quinn's help, and the blonde closes the door for her, and then walks around to the driver side.

Quinn takes Rachel to the only vegan restaurant closest to Lima, which is the next town over and about an hour drive away. The drive is mostly spent with Rachel controlling the music and singing along with the songs, and Quinn simply enjoying the brunette's singing.

Quinn made reservations for 7:30 and they arrive at the restaurant with enough time to spare. She parks the car and opens the door for the brunette, helping her out of the jeep.

The restaurant is definitely fancier than Breadstix but still has a laid back ambience to it. Rachel is impressed that Quinn didn't take her to Breadstix, which is the default dinner spot for everyone in Lima.

Quinn walks up to the host and informs him of their reservation.

"What name was the reservation on again?" The host asks.

"Quinn Fabray."

"When was the reservation made?"

"Yesterday evening." Quinn replies with a frown. She has a bad feeling about all the questioning.

"I'm sorry. I don't have you in our book for tonight."

"What? I was told that the reservation is confirmed." Quinn raises her voice, but does her best to keep it down, failing to do so.

Rachel is listening to the entire exchange and decides to step in, since she's the calmer one. She figures they can get this situation remedied quicker in a calmer manner. She intertwines her fingers with the blonde's, and rests her other hand on Quinn's arm, slowing rubbing up and down to sooth her.

This seems to help since Quinn takes a few slow deep breaths, but her face still sports a frown.

"Can we just get another table then?" Rachel calmly asks the host.

"Let me check." The host goes over the seating for the evening and apologetically glances up to the brunette. "I'm sorry, miss, but we're fully booked for the evening."

"What? No fucking way. I made a reservation." Quinn protests a little too loudly, bringing attention to them from the other restaurant patrons.

"Is there anything you can do to help us out? We were really looking forward to enjoying a fine vegan meal, especially from your establishment." Rachel tightens her hold on the blonde, while she addresses the host with a smile.

"Uuumm… We don't usually do this, but you can order to go." The host offers. His hands are tied and even if he wants to seat them, there are no available tables tonight. It's a busy evening and their restaurant is very popular, since it's one of very few vegan restaurants in the area.

"But we wanna to eat in here." Quinn whines, getting close to slamming her fist on the host's table. Rachel's hold on her is the only thing keeping her from losing it.

"Is there nothing else you can do?" Rachel asks, keeping her voice calm, a stark contrast from her obviously annoyed companion.

"No, miss. I'm sorry. That's the best we can do. We can even add in a complimentary appetizer."

"I want to talk to your manager." Quinn demands, and the host calls the manager over, not wanting to argue with the annoyed blonde any further.

The manager comes over and the best offer she gives them is to order their food to go, so in the end, Quinn accepts it. It's either get the food to go, starve, or find some subpar place to eat that probably will not have any vegan food available. She doesn't want Rachel to eat stale salad on their first date. That's just not acceptable.

Quinn rubs her temples with her knuckles to ease the growing headache from the reservation ordeal. They're both sitting in the waiting area waiting for their order to be ready. This night is not turning out the way Quinn planned and it's making her anxious.

Rachel notices the restless blonde, and rubs a hand on her back. "It's ok, Quinn. We'll find a nice park close by, and we can have an impromptu picnic. We will have a nice view of the clear sky and get some fresh air. It'll be lovely."

Quinn gives her a tight smile. Yes, it's definitely a great idea but she still can't help the disappointment.

Their order arrives, and Rachel tries to pay for it, but Quinn stops her.

"I got this, Rachel." Quinn insists.

"You promised me that I get to pay next time."

"I'm the one who asked you out on this date. It's only proper for me to pay for our dinner. Please?" The blonde pleads with her.

"Ok, fine." Rachel gives in.

Quinn beams and pays for their food. She grabs the bag of food, and they hop into Quinn's jeep. Using an app on Quinn's phone, they drive to a park with a little lake in the middle.

After Quinn helps Rachel out of her seat, she sifts through the junk in her backseat. She doesn't realize how badly her jeep needs a wash and a cleaning, but for now, she focuses on looking for items that may be useful for a picnic. They're not prepared for it, but she prays that she can find something.

Rachel checks the take out bags they have. "They even gave us disposable utensils and napkins with the order." She confirms that they're set with their meal.

Quinn pulls up two large pieces of cloth, a red one and a yellow one. She studies it closely and realizes what it is. "It's Sam's cape from his Halloween costume. He can't decide which color would go well with the rest of his outfit so he bought both colors."

Rachel giggles at the image of Sam in a superhero costume. "We can use them as blankets, something to sit on."

Quinn nods and continues to digs through the random things in her backseat. She finds her spare skateboard, which they can use as a makeshift table. She also finds an unopened bottle of soda, vodka, tequila, and a pack of unused red solo cups. She takes the soda since it's probably not a good idea to be intoxicated on her first date with Rachel.

She empties her gym bag, and takes a quick sniff inside. Thankfully, it doesn't smell since it's a new one that she had only used once to store clean gym clothes in. She throws in all the items they need that fit into the bag, tucks the skateboard under her arm, and grabs the bag of takeout food.

"I think we have everything we need." Quinn checks everything, closing the jeep door with her foot.

"I can help carry some things." Rachel offers, seeing that the blonde's hands are full, and there's nothing else for her to take.

"Nah, I got it. Just lead the way and find us a good spot." Quinn motions for Rachel to start walking.

Rachel leads them to a spot that she thinks is best. It's well lit and has the best view of the lake.

They settle down and set everything up on the capes and skateboard. Once everything is set they dig in hungrily. It's a late dinner and both girls are famished. The food is delicious, the weather is nice, and the view is great.

"This is good, but I think my mom's cooking is still better." Quinn says in between bites.

"I agree. I should really get the recipes from her." Rachel agrees. "You know you do not have to eat a vegan meal with me. You are more than welcome to order anything you wanted to eat."

"I'm ok, but next time, I'm probably going to want a juicy steak dinner."

"Of course. I was never under the impression that you would ever abandon your love for animal products." Rachel says with a chuckle. Just the fact that Quinn is trying to eat vegan food is good enough for her.

"I'm sorry about the reservation snafu." Quinn apologizes, once again feeling bad about how their evening turned out.

"It's not your fault, Quinn. This is actually better than sitting inside a cramped restaurant."

"You're not just saying that make me feel better right?"

"I speak only the truth. This is definitely lovely."

They finish their meals in no time since they're both hungry, and they're now just sipping their sodas, staring at each other, but then lightning flashes above them followed by a loud rumbling sound. A few seconds later, rain starts pouring down.

They quickly pack everything up, grabbing as much as they can carry. They sprint away from the lake to find shelter. They spot a covered picnic area nearby and make their way towards it. By the time they make it there, the rain is coming down really hard, lighting flashes every few seconds with roaring thunders.

"Fuck." Quinn curses, setting the things in her hands down on the wooden table, running her hands through her damp hair.

"Language, Quinn." Rachel scolds, also dropping the things in her hands down on the table. She checks herself and the blonde. They're both drenched in the rain, and for some reason, she's finding their entire situation amusing, so she starts laughing.

Quinn raises an eyebrow at the laughing brunette, wondering if she's lost her mind. This is definitely not funny. The evening is a disaster, and she's angry at whoever is responsible, internally cursing at anything.

Rachel notices the frowning blonde, and she wraps her arms around the taller girl's waist, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "It's fine, Quinn." She pulls back and rummages through the things on the table. She's surprised to find Sam's capes dry. Quinn must have grabbed it very quickly as soon as the rain started and was able to save it from getting soaked.

Rachel takes the yellow one and turns back to the frowning blonde. She wraps the cape around the taller girl, and loosely ties to around the blonde's neck so it doesn't fall off. She takes the red one and wraps and ties it around herself. The cape's actually keeping them warm and absorbing the water from the rain. She moves toward the table and sits atop the table. She looks at Quinn who's watching her every move. Her frown is now replaced by a confused look.

Rachel pats the empty spot to her left, signaling Quinn to sit beside her. Quinn sighs and drags her feet over to the brunette and plops down beside her. Rachel wraps her arms around Quinn's arm, and she rests her head on the blonde's shoulder. She feels the blonde tense up next to her.

"Quinn, let's just enjoy this, ok?"

The blonde sighs again and caves in, letting her anger and disappointments go. She relaxes and tilts her head to rest on top of the brunette's head. She breathes out a content breath, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds from the storm surrounding them. It's surprisingly calming.

They sit like that for a few minutes, sharing each other's warmth and content in the closeness and silence between them. It's not awkward at all. In fact it's comfortable and it feels right.

Quinn surveys their situation and she internally scoffs at how silly they probably look. Damped like wet cats, wearing silly bright-colored superhero capes, but there's nowhere else she'd rather be than exactly where she is right now, with Rachel close at her side.

"Thank you." Quinn turns her head and kisses the top of brunette's head. She knows she can be very difficult and short-tempered, but the brunette has been nothing but patient with her, putting up with her moods.

Rachel glances up at the blonde, and she gives her a smile, understanding what the blonde is trying to tell her with the few words she used. She rests her head back on the nook between Quinn's shoulder and neck, shifting closer and tucking herself closer to the blonde's side.

Quinn moves her arm to wrap around the brunette's waist and tugs her closer. She sighs contently. The brunette starts playing with her free hand that's resting on her lap.

Rachel runs a couple of fingers delicately on the blonde's tattoo covered arm. "Can you tell me about it?"

Quinn peeks down at what the brunette is referring to. "I got it almost a year ago. It was an impulsive decision one drunken evening." She confesses.

Rachel chuckles at the revelation. "That sounds like something you would do."

"It turned out ok. You should see what Sam got." Quinn smirks at remembering the tattoo her brother ended up with. She'll never stop teasing him about it for the rest of his life.

"Does it mean anything?" Rachel asks curiously. Quinn's tattoo looks so intricate and detailed. Surely, there's some meaning and story behind it.

Quinn tenses, staying quiet for a few seconds, and she starts talking in a very quiet and somber voice. "My big brother… He used to draw all these random stuff and turning them into awesome murals. Works of art really."

"This was one of his pieces…" Rachel surmises.

"He was a really good artist." Quinn tells her, lost in thought, memories of her older brother flooding her mind.

"Was?"

"He passed away a few years ago." Quinn chokes out, doing her best to keep her emotions in check. She's not going to break down in front of the brunette right now.

Rachel whispers a soft, "I'm sorry," at the revelation.

"The tree and the branches… it's like our family tree and the flowers are like the people in our direct family. He added random stuff that I enjoy like the skateboard items and books and stuff, but he hides them well around the other abstract stuff he added to make it look cool." Quinn explains, staring out into the dark park. She furrows her brows, not wanting to continue this conversation right now.

Rachel recognizes the blonde's discomfort about the topic, so she decides to steer the conversation towards something lighter. "It's really good. It makes you look very bad ass." She comments lightheartedly, moving the topic away from what Quinn is obviously not ready to talk about.

Quinn glances down at the brunette, studying her face, looking for any hint of insincerity or malice, but finds none. She instantly understands what the brunette is trying to do, and she melts even more at how perfect the brunette is. She chuckles at the brunette's statement and the fact that she uses the word ass.

"I'm glad you think so too. That's what I was going for, even in my drunken stupor."

Rachel giggles. She's glad that she's able to pull them away from the heavy conversation that Quinn is not comfortable to share with her just yet.

They stay cuddled together for a little bit longer, just happy to be in each other's company, talking about random things and getting to know each other more, but sticking with lighter topics.

When the rain lets up, they jump off the table and stretch their legs. Quinn figures they can still do something that is in her original plan for their date. "Are you up for dessert?"

"Quinn Fabray. What are you implying?" Rachel teases the blonde, but she puts on her best serious face. She's a really good actress, after all.

"I didn't mean that kind of dessert. I mean like real dessert, like ice cream." Quinn sputters out to explain what her intentions are.

Rachel giggles at the sputtering blonde. "Have I ever told you how cute and adorable you are when you're nervous?"

"I'm not cute or adorable. I'm cool and tough. A total bad ass, remember?" Quinn pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

This makes Rachel laugh harder, because pouting Quinn is even more adorable and so much cuter, but she decides to stop teasing the blonde, because she wants ice cream. The blonde may change her mind if she taunts her further. "Yes, I'm up for ice cream... Vegan ice cream."

"Of course, I found this place we can go to that serves vegan ice cream."

"Let's go then. You want to make sure you get me home before curfew like you promised my daddy."

"I'll race you to the car. Winner gets to pick the flavors." Quinn scoops all their things in her hands, and sprints away.

"Hey, you're cheating." Rachel screams, running after a laughing Quinn, both their capes still hanging around her necks and flowing behind them as they run to the parking lot.

After ice cream, Quinn drives Rachel home with a few minutes to spare before the curfew time that her father established. Quinn walks Rachel to her front door.

"I'm really sorry about how the date went with the reservation and the storm…"

Rachel cuts Quinn off by connecting their lips together in a soft and tender kiss, her arms around the blonde's neck. Quinn instinctively wraps her arms around the brunette, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

They pull back a few seconds later before they get carried away because the porch light flickers on and off, distracting them and letting them know that Rachel's father is watching them.

"Don't apologize, Quinn. I had a wonderful time."

"Really?"

"Really. Tonight's one of the best dates I've had."

"Me too. Thank you for…" Quinn can't find the right words to say… for being so wonderful, so amazing, for not running away, for staying through the night, for being so patient, and she can go on and on, but she seems to be lost for words right now. Instead, she leans down and kisses the brunette once again.

The girls jump apart when the front door suddenly swings open, revealing a frowning Hiram.

Rachel rolls her eyes at her father. "I'll be inside in a minute, daddy."

Hiram ignores his daughter's words and continues to stare daggers at the blonde, who gulps and avoids eye contact with the Berry man.

"Daddy, can you please give us a moment?" Rachel demands, louder this time to let her father know she's not amused at his over-protectiveness right now. She really just wants to spend a little bit more time with Quinn.

Hiram gives in, walking back inside the house and disappearing around the corner, but leaving the front door open.

"I don't think he likes me very much." Quinn states what she thinks is very obvious based on the older man's attitude and reaction towards her.

"He'll warm up to you once he gets to know you."

"I think you should go inside before he comes out with a gun. Does he have a gun?" Quinn asks worriedly.

"You're silly." Rachel grins at the flustered blonde. She gives her a quick peck on the lips. "Good night, Quinn. Please text me when you get home."

Quinn gives her a goofy grin, forgetting about Hiram. "Yes, ma'am." She replies, walking backwards away from the brunette, who closes the door behind her after a wave.

Their night didn't go as planned, but it turned out great. Rachel seemed to enjoy their date, and that's all that matters to Quinn, and so she drives home and goes to bed with a permanent smile on her face.

A/N: Please review. Thanks for reading.