A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated. But, this chapter was a really big pain. Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter. And a big thank you to Passionately Simple who is always a tremendous help!
Quinn sighed as she pushed the greyish blob, that she assumed was supposed to be a meatball, around her plate and twirled some of her mushy, overcooked pasta onto her fork. The food served at Breadsticks was mediocre at best, but she knew that as soon as she went home she would have to confront Peter. Quinn was dreading that discussion, and her desire to put it off for as long as possible was the only reason she readily agreed to this lunch.
At the other end of the table, Santana and Kurt were involved in a heated conversation about the Cheerios' uniforms. Quinn wasn't able to hear them well enough to become involved in the conversation,but she was pretty sure Kurt was attempting to persuade Santana into letting him design a much more fashionable uniform, while Santana was quickly losing her patience with him.
She had no interest in trying to get in the middle of that, so Quinn turned her attention to Beth and Brittany instead in hopes of better conversation. Unfortunately, what she saw was almost worse. The two were seated across from each other not talking at all. From what she could tell, it looked like Beth was attempting to communicate with Brittany by using hand signals, while Brittany just looked extremely confused.
"Why don't you two just talk?" Quinn asked, after she noticed Beth getting frustrated with Brittany's lack of understanding.
"Beth said we couldn't," Brittany explained, as Beth glared at her.
"It's just a game, Mom. We're just playing a game," Beth added quickly.
"Okay, just make sure you eat some of your lasagna," Quinn said when she noticed that the vegan lasagna Beth usually scarfed down had been untouched.
Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn could see the intense stare that Jesse was shooting in her direction. She wondered if Rachel and Kurt had picked up on the tension between the two of them, she hoped Beth hadn't, and could only assume that Brittany was oblivious.
Deciding that completely ignoring Jesse was the best route to take, Quinn looked over at Rachel, who was sitting next to her at the end of the table. Quinn frowned a little, Rachel was glancing around the table, eagerly waiting for the chance to join in a conversation. Quinn could tell Rachel was feeling left out when she put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.
Jesse was too busy brooding to engage the brunette in any kind of meaningful conversation, and Quinn certainly didn't expect Santana or Kurt to make any effort at including Rachel. But, she was surprised at how Beth seemed to be too busy with Brittany to talk to Rachel.
"Beth, I'm surprised you haven't been bombarding Rachel with questions about the dress she chose for the Tonys," Quinn said turning to her daughter, hoping to get Rachel involved in the conversation.
"Oh." Beth hesitated for a few seconds before continuing, "I was just teaching Brittany this hand game."
"What's the game called?" Rachel asked. She had been curious about all the hand gesturing going on between Beth and Brittany throughout their meal.
Beth bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to come up with a clever name for the fake game everyone thought she and Brittany had been playing.
"Duck Game. It's called Duck Game," Brittany said, surprising Beth with her resourcefulness.
Beth smiled widely at Brittany, and decided to reward the blonde for her quick thinking by not scolding her for obviously not paying attention to the chapter she had written about important hand signals.
"Yes, Duck Game. You try to make different ducks with your hands."
Beth could tell her mother was suspicious, and she was extremely grateful when Quinn just narrowed her eyes at her before turning her attention back to the animated conversation Santana and Kurt were having. Rachel was still looking at her, though. Even though Beth wanted to continue their conversation, she knew that getting Quinn and Rachel alone was more important.
As she looked around the table, Beth noticed everyone was distracted and decided it was time to try and get Quinn and Rachel alone. Kurt and Santana were still engaged in their conversation, and her mother was still trying to listen. Rachel had become distracted by her cell phone and Jesse was sitting with his arms crossed. Beth briefly wondered why he looked so angry with her mom, but decided now was not the time to worry about that.
Beth nodded her head and raised her eyebrows at Brittany, indicating that the time had come to put their plan in to motion.
Brittany bit her lip and shook her head slowly, trying her best to get Beth to change her mind.
Beth sighed a little and ignored Brittany's plea. She held her hand up to her glass, and slowly began counting down from three with her fingers. Once she got down to one, she quickly knocked her full glass of water into her own lap, and made sure to knock Santana's glass of soda over as well.
Brittany hesitated once she saw Beth knock over her drink. She knew this was a bad idea but, she made a promise to Beth, and promises were not supposed to be broken. Just as Beth was knocking soda into Santana's lap, Brittany very obviously knocked her, Kurt, and Jesse's drinks over, drenching them all.
Quinn's eyes widened as she took in the mess her daughter and Brittany just made. Since the moment Beth and Brittany arrived at the store, she could tell that her daughter was up to something, and that Brittany had somehow been persuaded into helping with whatever it was. Just as she was about to question her daughter, she heard Kurt yelling at the other end of the table.
"What the hell, Brittany? You did this on purpose!" he shrieked as he began to frantically wipe his soaked clothes with a napkin.
"Hey! Do not speak to her that way!" Santana snatched the napkins out of his hands and began to wipe her own clothes. Even though she too thought that Beth and Brittany spilt their drinks on purpose, she was not going to let Kurt get away with yelling at Brittany.
Kurt snatched the napkins back. "Stop worrying about your track suit, Santana. These pants are from Marc Jacobs' new collection!"
"I cannot believe this," Jesse muttered under his breath. After seeing Santana's reaction to Kurt, he ignored the urge he had to confront Brittany, and just smiled gratefully at Rachel who handed him a couple napkins.
Beth cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "I think the best plan of action would be to clean ourselves up in the restroom."
"I think she's right," Jesse said as he stood from the table. "These thin napkins are pretty useless."
Beth let out a sigh of relief. Out of everyone at the table, Jesse was the one she was most concerned about ruining her plan.
"Come on Beth, let's go clean you up," Quinn said as she started to get up. She intended on using the time in the bathroom to speak to Beth, and find out exactly what she was up to.
Beth opened her mouth to protest, but Santana spoke before she could.
"I can clean her up, Q. The bathroom here is really small. There's probably not going to be enough room for the three of us as it is."
"Thank you, S." Quinn gently grabbed Beth's arm as the little girl went to walk away. "We will be discussing this later, and I have a feeling you will be losing the privilege to use your PowerPoint software."
Beth resisted the urge to storm off to the bathroom, knowing getting Quinn and Rachel alone would be worth it. She just nodded at her mother, and followed Kurt, Brittany, and Santana to the bathroom.
"This bathroom is for ladies," Santana rolled her eyes as Kurt pushed his way into the small bathroom. "Go next door with Jesse."
"Oh come on, Santana. You've known me for ten years, you should be used to this by now." Kurt grabbed a handful of paper towels and began wetting them with warm water. "Actually, under normal circumstances I would go to the men's room. Dealing with the smells and urine soaked countertops is much more appealing than being in such a small space with you, but Jesse is in there and I am not in the mood to deal with him."
"Whatever, Hummel." Santana waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, B, spill it. What the hell are you two up to?
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Auntie Santa," Beth said as she glanced down at the floor to avoid meeting Santana's eyes.
"I said B, not Lil B," Santana clarified. "Brittany, why did you spill your drinks all over us?"
Brittany looked back and forth between Beth and Santana. She didn't want to lie to Santana, that would be just as bad as breaking her promise to Beth. "We wanted Rachel and Quinn to be alone. Beth told me if they were alone they might get back together, and if they did Rachel might move back here. Beth said that Rachel would be glad that we got them back together, and that she was rich enough to give a lot of money to the Ohio Waterfowl Preservation Group. She also said waterfowl are ducks."
Santana took a few deep breaths, trying her best not to lose her temper. She glanced over at Kurt who seemed to be more worried about cleaning his designer pants than figuring out why they wet in the first place.
"Lil B, why did you think that spilling drinks all over everyone was a good idea?" Santana squatted down so that she was eye level with Beth.
"I'm so sorry, Auntie Santa. I was so bad, and I shouldn't have done it." Beth's bottom lip began to tremble, and large tears fell from her eyes.
"Way to go, Santana. You made her cry," Kurt said as he glared at Santana in the mirror.
Santana rolled her eyes. "Settle down, Hummel, her tears are fake. Probably something Berry taught her. Did you even think about what your mom wants?" she asked, turning her attention back to Beth.
"I'm not some dumb little kid. I can see the way my mom looks at Rachel, she doesn't look at Peter like that. I just thought that if they were alone for a little while they would realize it. Just like when they were alone in New York they decided to see each other again for lunch," Beth tried to explain.
"I think she's right," Kurt said as he threw away his paper towels.
"Don't encourage this, Hummel," Santana warned. "I admit, I see the way Q looks at Rachel, and it concerns me. We can't forget the reason Q chose to end it with Rachel, though." Santana tried to choose her words carefully since Beth was with them.
"Rachel told me she made a mistake and that she's really sorry," Beth said before Kurt could reply. "I thought we were supposed to forgive people when they made mistakes, especially if they're sorry."
Santana took a deep breath and decided to ignore her wet clothes for the time being. "B, clean her up. I'm going to talk to Hummel out there," she said pointing to the door.
Brittany nodded and led Beth over to the sink. "I knew this was going to bad, Lil B. S looks really mad."
Beth sighed as she watched Kurt and Santana leave the bathroom. "I'm sorry, Auntie B. I just wanted Rachel and Mommy to be happy."
Once they were out of the bathroom, Kurt and Santana began speaking in hushed whispers. They knew Beth had a tendency to be nosey, and they didn't want her listening through the door.
"Why would you agree with her?" Santana asked.
"Don't get upset with me, Santana. We're on the same side, we both want what's best for Quinn," Kurt replied.
"Do you really think Berry is what's best for her?"
Kurt sighed. "I don't know. Can you honestly say that Peter is the best thing for her?"
Santana took a few seconds to think. "Berry broke her heart, and Beth's heart too. Peter has never done anything like that. He cares about them. Berry made her choice, and she should have to live with it."
"Maybe Quinn acted too hastily. This is Rachel Berry we're talk about. Rachel is impulsive, and she thought that her career was going to be taken from her. It was foolish for us, and for Quinn, to think that Rachel would react any differently than she did."
"You know what, Hummel? You sound exactly like, St. Douche," Santana said motioning towards the men's room, where they assumed Jesse was. "While you were dressing Berry, he and Quinn got into it. He went on and on about how wrong she was, and about how heartbroken Berry was."
"I never thought I'd say this," Kurt paused for a second, he knew Santana wasn't going to like what he had to say, "but, maybe Jesse is right. It's been five years since Quinn and Rachel broke up. When I see Rachel interact with the two of them, she doesn't seem like the lying, selfish crack whore that we all make her out to be. She seems like she still cares for them. I mean, think about how much we've all changed over the past five years, maybe Rachel's changed too."
"I'm not saying you're right, because I honestly don't know. But, what about Peter? Q loves him. I personally think Peter is boring, and extremely insecure. He isn't right for her, but they're getting married. I don't think Q would just drop everything to run off with Berry," Santana pointed out.
Kurt nodded in agreement. "I don't really know either. You know what I think we need to do?"
"What?"
"Be supportive of Quinn. She needs-"
"We are supportive," Santana interjected.
Kurt rolled his eyes, he didn't appreciate being cut off. "As I was saying, she needs to make her own choice, without our influence. If she stays with Peter, we support her. If she leaves Peter for Rachel, we support her. Or if she decides she's better off without either of them, we support her."
"I actually agree with you, Hummel. Let's finish cleaning up so we can get the hell out of here," Santana said as she pushed open the door, not surprised at all when she found Brittany and Beth attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Back at the table, Quinn and Rachel exchanged awkward glances while the waitstaff finished wiping up the mess.
"I don't think this was an accident," Rachel said attempting to break the silence.
Quinn shook her head and sighed a little. "I knew Beth was up to something. Once she gets an idea in her head, she'll do anything to see it through."
Rachel nodded in understanding. "And what was the reasoning behind this idea?"
Quinn blushed a little. "I think she wanted us to be alone."
Rachel frowned; she had been completely oblivious. "Why?"
"I don't know. I guess she's like any little kid, she wants the two people who raised her to be together." Quinn nervously tore her napkin into little pieces. "She doesn't understand that we've both moved on, me with Peter, and you with Jesse."
'Oh." Rachel's eyes widened in realization. "Jesse and I are just friends, though. Don't worry, most people assume that we are together."
Quinn turned her attention away from her napkin and looked up to meet Rachel's eyes. "Just friends? Rachel, you don't have to hide your relationship from me. I'm not going to go to the tabloids or anything. When you were trying on dresses with Kurt earlier, Jesse admitted that you two were in a relationship."
"I'm going to kill him," Rachel muttered under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing. Quinn, I'm not lying to you. Jesse and I are just friends. He just has a tendency to be overprotective. He thinks he's helping, he really doesn't mean any harm. Jesse probably just told you that because he thought that if you were under the impression that him and I were together, it would deter you from pursuing me."
Quinn quirked her brow, not really sure how to respond. It was then that Rachel realized how her comment might've sounded and rushed to explain before it was too late.
"What? No, I mean not that you ever would pursue me. You are obviously engaged, and whatever we had is in the past. I'm not pursuing you, you're not pursuing me." Rachel fumbled over her words. "Jesse is just overreacting."
"Right." Quinn was silent for a few seconds. "Rachel, you should know that Jesse and I had a little argument back at the store."
"What?" Rachel gasped. "I'm so sorry, Quinn. I told him to behave. Did he say anything hurtful?"
"Yeah, he did," Quinn answered honestly. She held her hand up when she saw Rachel open her mouth to most likely apologize again. "Everything he said was true, though. I need to apologize to you. When I ended things with you, I thought I was doing the right thing for Beth's sake. I was so scared she was going to grow up feeling like she wasn't good enough for you. I felt that way with my parents, and I didn't want her to have to go through the same thing. But, lately I've realized that I might have made a mistake. You loved us, and I just walked out on you. I'm sorry I did that, Rachel; and I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize how wrong I was."
Rachel creased her brow as she took in Quinn's apology. "You certainly shouldn't be the one apologizing. I don't know what he said to you, but whatever it was just forget it. You weren't the one at fault, Quinn, I was."
"I can't just forget it, Rachel. Jesse's right, it's time I own up to my mistakes."
"I was so selfish. When I left for New York, I promised you that I would never put my career before our family, and I broke that promise. I publicly denied our relationship and our daughter." Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath, in an attempt to stop the tears she felt stinging her eyes.
"Yes, you did," Quinn said bluntly. "But, I should have taken the time to think about the situation rationally before I confronted you. I never gave you the chance to show me how much you regretted it."
Rachel shook her head. "That's not true. You gave me the chance to retract my statement, and I didn't take it. I regret that every single day, Quinn. I'm so sorry."
Quinn smiled, and placed her hand on top Rachel's. "I know you do, and I forgive you. I just hope that one day you'll be able to forgive yourself, and realize that you aren't the only at fault."
Rachel smiled back at her, and relished in the feeling of Quinn's soft hand on her own. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop blaming myself, but I am glad we had this conversation."
"Me too. I'm also glad that Jesse was able to make me see my own faults today." Quinn paused for a second. "I just wish I had realized it before it was too late for us."
Rachel's heart pounded as she listened to Quinn speak. This was the moment she had been waiting for since the day Quinn walked out of her life. The moment where she got the chance to make Quinn see that it wasn't too late for them, and that they could still be a family.
"Maybe it's not too late," she said quietly.
But, Quinn didn't hear her. She was too busy staring at Peter, who was walking towards their table. As he approached, Quinn let go of Rachel's hand and tried to prepare herself for the inevitable tension.
Rachel glanced up when he stopped at their table. She instantly knew that he was Quinn's fiancé, she attributed this knowledge to her sixth sense; and she wanted nothing more than to scream at him to get the hell out of there, because he was ruining her moment. But, she just stared at him silently instead, and waited for him to whisk Quinn away from her.
"I called the store, the cashier girl said you and Kurt came here with some clients," Peter said glancing around the restaurant for Kurt. "Where is the pretty boy?"
Quinn grimaced. "Please don't call him that. He's in the bathroom getting cleaned up. Beth spilled her drink."
"Oh, the little one's here too? I was thinking about taking her fishing this weekend," Peter said smiling.
Quinn looked over at Rachel, and she could tell the brunette was fighting back a rant about how inhumane fishing was, especially for sport. "Peter, you know Beth isn't into that. She's staying with Santana and Brittany tonight, anyway."
Peter nervously shoved his hands in his pockets. He knew that Quinn only had Beth sleepover at Santana's when she needed to discuss something with him that she didn't want Beth to hear. He decided to avoid whatever the looming conversation was about for as long as he could and turned to Rachel, trying to look interested.
"So who's your friend?" Peter recognized Rachel from the tabloids, but he didn't want her to know that.
Quinn's eyes darted over to Rachel. "Oh! I'm sorry for being so rude. Rachel, this is Peter Provo, Peter this is Rachel Berry."
"Nice to meet you," Rachel said extending her hand.
Peter took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "Her future husband. Doesn't Quinn Provo have a nice ring to it?"
Rachel smiled and nodded, despite thinking that Quinn Fabray-Berry sounded much better. "Quinn Provo, that sounds lovely, Quinn."
"Do you mind if I join you?" Peter asked when he glanced down at Quinn's plate and noticed that she still hadn't finished her meal.
"Actually, we were just finishing up. We're just waiting on everyone else to get out of the bathroom." Quinn bit her lip nervously, and paused for a second. "I'll just meet you at home, I have something I want to discuss with you."
Peter knew she found out he lied to her about Rachel calling, and that was what she wanted to discuss. Despite the urge he had to defend his actions, he thought it would be best if he just smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure. See you in a little while." He placed a quick kiss on the top of her head and did his best to smile at Rachel as he walked towards the exit.
"Who was that?" Jesse asked as he returned to the table, still wet from the soda.
"That was Peter Provo, Quinn's fiancé." Rachel did her best to hide her disappointment and smile.
Jesse nodded. "If we're going to stop by your parents, we should probably get out of here soon."
"We will, I just want to say goodbye to Beth. Is that okay with you, sweetheart?" Rachel raised her brow and placed her hand over his.
Quinn shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she listened to Jesse and Rachel's conversation. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two friends. She had been concerned that the two of them would start fighting, and was extremely relieved when they both look relatively calm.
Jesse's eyes widened, he knew he had been outed. "I can explain-"
"Yes, you can, and you will as soon as we leave here. Beth is coming, and this is not an appropriate topic to discuss in front of her." Rachel moved her hand off of his, and gave him one last scowl before Beth got to the table.
"Lil B has something she would like to say," Santana said once they all reached the table.
Beth cleared her throat. "I am sorry for spilling my drink all over Auntie Santa; and I'm sorry I persuaded Brittany with the preservation of waterfowl to get her to spill her drink all over Uncle Kurt and Jesse St. James. Mommy, I am sorry my behavior was poor during this lunch, and if you choose not to take away my PowerPoint software, I can make you a slideshow explaining to you just how sorry I really am. Rachel, I am sorry I wasted our time together, and I hope I get to see you again before you leave."
"That was a very nice apology, Beth. Rehearsed, but, still nice. We have to go, give Rachel a hug goodbye," Quinn said.
Beth ran over to Rachel and hugged her tightly. "Will I be able to see you again before you go back to New York?"
"I don't know, Beth. That's up to your mom." Rachel glanced over Beth's shoulder at Quinn.
Quinn thought for a moment. "Well, you're staying the night with Santana tonight, but if Rachel is free tomorrow afternoon, we could meet her at the park."
"Yeah, my plane doesn't leave until late tomorrow night. How about one o'clock at Lima County Park?" Rachel asked.
"Sounds great. We'll see you then." Quinn smiled at Rachel before taking Beth's hand and leading her out of the restaurant.
"Bye Rachel, bye Jesse," Kurt and Brittany said simultaneously.
Santana just gave the duo a halfhearted wave.
Rachel smiled as she watched Quinn and Beth leave. She was extremely excited about their plans for the following day but, she knew she had to deal with Jesse first. With little hesitation, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the door.