Title: Drawing The Line
Summary: Quinn's estranged aunt, Rachel, returns to Lima after being away for several years. The two spend more time together and become much closer with every day that passes. It's not long before Quinn starts developing feelings that she should not be feeling. Complications soon arise.
Warnings: None for this chapter.
A/N: Wait, what? An early update? :)
There's one thing that I want to say. I REALLY appreciate how passionate a lot of you are about this story and how you take the time to critique and analyze it. Like seriously, your interest and your words always blow my mind.
Kurt peels onto Rachel's street and comes to a screeching halt in front of her house. He throws his door open and hops out of the car. When she had called him, he knew right away that something serious happened. She was in complete hysterics and he couldn't understand a word she was saying, so he told her he would come by as soon as he could.
He races up the driveway and knocks on the door, waiting for a moment. He hears music blasting inside and figures that it's useless knocking. He tries turning the knob, and luckily, it's unlocked.
"Rachel?" he calls out, letting himself in. He frowns as he listens to Un-Break My Heart blaring throughout the small house.
Kurt now has a pretty good idea of what's going on...
He finds the brunette in a heap on the living room floor, sobbing next to an empty liquor bottle.
He kneels down next to her and carefully taps her shoulder. "Rachel?"
"Kurt!" She looks up at him with mascara running down her face. "You came!"
He grabs the remote to turn down the music and sits on the floor next to her. "I told you I was coming. What's going on?"
Rachel hiccups loudly before the sobs return, "Quinn left me! She left me!"
His suspicions are confirmed. He then wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Oh, honey. When did this happen?"
She tries to pull herself together long enough in order to answer him. "A couple –" she hiccups, "hours ago."
"And you're already drinking yourself to death?"
"I tried to hold it together," Rachel cries. "I really did. But I couldn't and now I'm like this!"
She puts her face in her hands and continues releasing all of her anguish and sorrow.
Since she's not looking, Kurt quickly pulls out his phone and sends a text to Blaine. He says that he's going to stay with Rachel for the night because she was a mess right now and couldn't be alone.
"Okay, up you go." He hoists the woman up off the floor to sit on the couch.
He sits down next to her and she leans her head on his shoulder and sniffles. He sighs to himself. It was Jesse St. James all over again…
"Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"I'm so stupid," she slurs sadly. "I'm always fucking up this…and that…and –"
"Rachel, talk to me. Just tell me what happened."
"It all started with that idiot Marley girl," she snarls.
"Okay, who's Marley?"
"She's as dull as a dishwasher. I kept getting jealous but I shouldn't have because Quinn loved me and I don't know why I couldn't just trust her. And then I called her a child. Then I saw Finn."
"Sweetie, slow down. You're losing me." Kurt was beyond confused.
Rachel shakes her head, ignoring him. "And then Quinn had to go to the hospital."
"Wait, what!"
"Because I pushed her," she turns to him and widens her eyes. "I pushed her really hard! Oh god!"
"Rachel, were you fighting?"
"I didn't mean to! I pushed her and she hurt her arm."
"Is that why she ended things?"
"No," she hiccups. "She said that all we do is fight and we can't trust each other. And that we weren't ready to be together."
Kurt still didn't know much about Quinn, other than she was really young and really really pretty. Besides that, the girl was still a complete mystery to him.
"Rachel, maybe she was right. Maybe you weren't ready for this."
She frowns, "What do you mean?"
"I mean you just barely got divorced this year. Quinn's a young, beautiful girl in college. Maybe this was just a rebound for you. Something to help you get over Finn."
"Quinn is not a rebound," she snaps. "And I love her. Probably more than I loved Finn."
"Alright calm down. I'm sorry, okay?" He didn't mean to make her feel defensive. "Obviously I don't really know anything about your relationship with her."
"And trust me, I never would have willingly chosen to fall for her."
"Why do you say that?"
"I," she frowns to herself. "I need more vodka."
Kurt sighs as Rachel gets up and stumbles to the kitchen. She returns with more vodka as promised and starts drinking straight from the bottle.
"Okay..." He takes the bottle away from her. "I think that's enough for you."
Rachel pouts, but doesn't argue with him. She's going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.
"I'm sorry you have to see me like this. Even I think I look crazy."
"Nothing I haven't seen before," he smiles reassuringly.
"I just don't have anyone else to talk to."
Kurt frowns, "You can't talk to Judy about these things?"
She shakes her head, "No. Judy would be so mad if she knew I was dating Quinn."
"Mad because Quinn's a girl?" He doesn't recall Judy ever having a problem with gay people. "Or because she's so young?"
"Because Quinn's her daughter."
"What!" He sits up and gapes at her.
Her mouth drops open. "What?"
"Quinn is her daughter?" he squeaks.
"Yes..."
"Jesus Christ, Rachel." He rubs circles on his temples. "Did you ever once think that this is probably a bad idea?" he scolds.
"Of course I did. But Quinn and I aren't related. You know I was adopted," she defends.
"And you think reminding Judy of that would have made her okay with this?"
"No...But I was going to tell her. I'm still going to tell her. One day."
He shakes his head quickly, "Bad idea. I highly recommend keeping it to yourself. There's no reason she ever has to know about it now. You and Quinn aren't together anymore, remember?"
Kurt thinks that Quinn did them all a favor at this point. Maybe she is a smart girl after all.
"But we will be!"
"Rachel..."
She starts crying again as she thinks about everything she ever wanted to do with Quinn. "We're going to get married and move away and have kids and be so happy. Just you wait!"
"Rachel," he tries again. "She just broke up with you. You can't plan a life with someone if they don't want to be with you."
"I need to get her back, Kurt!"
He knows there's no getting through to her tonight. Not when she's like this.
"Okay Rachel."
"You have to help me get her back," she pleads with him.
"Why don't we sleep on it tonight and talk about it again in the morning?"
He pulls her off the couch and guides her to the bedroom.
"I know! I'll call her!"
She grabs her phone on the night stand, only for it to be snatched away by Kurt and shoved in his pocket.
"For the love of god, Rachel," he gripes. "Go to sleep."
She sits on the bed and glares at him, holding out her hand. "Give me my phone! I want to call Quinn."
"You're drunk. And I really doubt she wants to talk to you."
Rachel whines and curls up on the bed. She knows he's right. She just wants to hear her voice.
Kurt sighs and rubs her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I know that this hurts a lot. But you really need to get some rest. Things won't seem so bad tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," she whimpers softly.
"I'm gonna crash on your couch. Let me know if you need anything." He then steps out and closes the door, leaving her alone to her thoughts.
She hugs her pillow and imagines Quinn. Her Quinn. Her perfect Quinn.
Maybe this is all just a bad dream. Maybe she'll wake up tomorrow with Quinn in her arms.
More tears fall and she knows she won't be getting much sleep tonight.
At around seven in the morning, Rachel rolls over in her bed and sighs. She's only had a few hours of sleep, and she knows trying to go back to sleep would be futile.
She slowly gets up and makes her way to the bathroom. She turns on the light and grimaces at what she sees in the mirror. She looks like shit. No, she looks like death.
After washing up, she goes out to the living room to see Kurt asleep on her couch. She internally face palms as she thinks about the night before and all that she told him.
She nudges him lightly, causing him to open his eyes.
"How are you awake?" he groans.
"I didn't get much sleep. You want some coffee?"
"Yes please. Just give me a minute," he says as he starts stretching.
Rachel goes into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot. She opens a cupboard to grab a couple of mugs and feels her heart lurch when she sees Quinn's favorite blue mug. She quickly grabs it for herself to use.
Kurt comes in a few minutes later when the coffee is ready. "Morning," he murmurs sleepily while pouring himself a cup.
She smiles politely back at him. "Did you sleep okay on the couch?"
"As good as I would sleep on any couch," he shrugs.
She stands there awkwardly, trying to think of something else to say.
"I don't think I told you last night, but thank you for coming." He didn't have to come. And he certainly didn't have to stay after everything she told him. But he did. And he was still there, which was a lot more than Rachel could ask for.
"It's fine, Rachel. Being alone was the last thing you needed."
She purses her lips and nods, looking down at her feet.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asks.
"Not really," she says softly. He doesn't say anything else, and it makes her nervous. "Are you judging me?"
He sighs, "No. I of all people understand that we can't choose who we fall in love with."
Rachel nods because this is very true. "I never meant for any of this to happen. It just did."
"I know you didn't. Life is just weird like that sometimes. I don't think any less of you because you're only human."
She smiles.
"Everything suddenly makes sense now," he adds. "I just knew there was something about her that felt familiar."
"I'm sure you would've figured it out eventually," she huffs.
"Probably."
"So this means I'm guaranteed to see her again at some point. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing." She knows that she can't run away this time. Not again at least.
"You can't avoid seeing them forever. Just give it some time and maybe you'll be okay with being around her again."
Rachel already knows that she can't do that. She'll never be able to look the girl in the eyes and not be overwhelmed by the love she has for her.
"I can't, Kurt. I can't go on without her. I need her back."
"Rachel..."
"Please. I know I've already asked too much of you. But I really need you to support me with this."
He sighs, "I just don't want you to get hurt any more than you already have. Not just with Quinn, but everything that's happened before."
She understands where he's coming from. It's like her life continuously shits all over her with every choice she ever makes. And she's done with it.
"I know I've made a lot of terrible decisions in my life. But Quinn is not one of them. She's the one thing I know in my heart that I got right."
Kurt chews his lip and smiles sadly. "You know, Blaine cheated on me once. It was a couple of years ago."
Rachel gasps, "I didn't know that." They seem so happy together that she never would have guessed.
"It was with some guy that he met online," he shrugs. "Or an app. I don't know. But anyway, he told me he did it because we had become so distant and were fighting all the time. I was angry of course. God, I was so angry."
"But you were able to forgive him right away because you love him?"
"Hell no," Kurt chuckles. "I broke up with him and moved back in with my dad. We didn't get back together until a few months later. When we were both ready."
Realization dawns on Rachel. "Because you needed that time apart."
He nods. "The main thing I learned from the whole ordeal was that no matter how much you love someone, you need to be the best version of yourself that you can be. Otherwise it'll never work."
She takes a deep breath, "So I need to work on myself."
"In the meantime, yes. If you honestly believe that you and Quinn will end up back together, then I have no doubt you will be. But for now, you definitely need to work on yourself."
"Looks like I've got my work cut out for me," she rolls her eyes.
"Let's just take this day by day. How's your waitressing job going?"
Rachel shrugs, "I hardly get paid anything. Most of the money comes from tips. And I haven't been getting many hours lately. I guess it's like a hobby more than anything else."
"How about this, I'll see what openings I have at my store that you would be good for."
"Kurt, you really don't have to do that. You've done enough for me already."
He holds a hand up to stop her. "We're going to need help with the holidays coming up, so you'll really be doing me a favor. And you'll be making a lot more there than you would waitressing. Plus, serving food isn't really you."
She laughs. "That's true. But only if you're really okay with this..."
"Of course! You just can't tell other employees that we're good friends. So I don't get in trouble for fraternizing."
"I'm sure I can manage."
"Great!" He outs his empty mug in the sink. "Well anyway, I have to get going. But I will definitely call you later on today after I find out what positions are open."
She tugs him closer and latches her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Thank you so much. For everything."
He smiles before pulling out of the embrace and placing his hands against her shoulders. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."
After all the happened over the past few days, Rachel was starting to believe that maybe things really would be okay.
Kurt wasn't kidding when he said that they needed help for the holidays. The Calvin Klein store had sales going through the roof, and Rachel had definitely found herself busy.
Thanks to Kurt, she had gotten the position of a sales associate. She promptly quit her job at Breadstix. And after working at the store for over a couple of weeks, she felt like she had the hang of it.
With her schedule, she was still was able to help out with coaching at glee rehearsals every day, also thanks to Kurt. Blaine was really pushing the kids for perfection since sectionals was only a month away. Nevertheless, Rachel enjoyed helping with the choreography and vocal exercises. Thanksgiving was only two days away, and she was looking forward to a small break.
But no matter how occupied she made herself out to be, she still couldn't stop thinking about Quinn.
She wonders how she's doing with everything. How she's doing in school and at work. How she's doing at home. How she's been dealing with their break up. And of course, if she thinks about Rachel just as much as Rachel thinks about her.
As she adjusts the blouse on one of the mannequins, she feels someone's presence beside her. They clear their throat.
"Can I help you?" she asks politely, still focusing on her task.
"For starters, how about some fucking eye contact?"
Rachel's hands drop down to her sides and her eyes widen as she turns around. "Santana?"
The girl smirks, "You are literally the last person I would expect to run into here."
"Oh my god!" Rachel can't help it. She lunges forward and encases the girl in an enormous hug.
"Whoa, okay then." Santana awkwardly pats her back.
"What are you doing in Lima? Quinn said you wouldn't be coming back for the holidays."
"Well, me and Brittany worked out a deal with the folks and agreed that we would come up for Thanksgiving, and they would come down for Christmas. But it's all good since my dad's a doctor and has frequent flier miles and all that shit."
"That's great!" Rachel beams.
Santana eyes her. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed me."
"I...well I –"
"Or you just miss Quinn. And seeing me somehow makes you feel closer to her in some fucked up psychological way."
Rachel snaps her mouth shut because that was pretty spot on.
She rings her hands together, mustering the courage to ask. But nothing's coming out. She's almost too afraid to ask...
Santana notices this and rolls her eyes. "Go ahead. Ask me."
"How's Quinn doing? I mean...I just want to make sure that she's been okay."
The girl shrugs, "She's doing all right I guess. Just really focused in school. And she's been picking up a lot of extra shifts at work. And I've only been in town for a couple days, but Marley's been over a lot."
Rachel instantly deflates at the mention of Marley. "Oh. Okay."
"I can't stand that fucking girl anymore. You have no idea. I'm so close to tossing her out a window."
"Why? What's she been doing?" Rachel frowns.
Santana freezes, as if she's trying to choose her next words carefully. "I just...think she's annoying."
"Really?" Rachel's not convinced.
"Listen, don't worry about her. Quinn's still in love with you. Like...she just loves you."
She feels butterflies in her stomach. "How do you know that?"
"Because she told me! She's told me like ten times since I've been back. She says that she's always thinking about you and...Hey, stop smiling at me like that. It's weird."
Rachel doesn't care that she looks like a buffoon. "She really said that?"
Santana sighs, "Yes, she did. Look, I don't ever say shit like this, but I'm really rooting for you."
She's taken aback by this. She actually has Santana's support? "You think there's still a chance for us?"
The girl nods, "Yeah I do. You just have to give Quinn some time to pull her head out of her ass. Trust me. She's my best friend. And after how much she's helped with me and Brittany, I just want to see her happy."
Rachel nods with a smile, "That's sweet of you."
"Yeah whatever. Anyway, I'm ready to check out now."
"Oh! Of course."
They go to the register where Rachel rings her up. "Doing some holiday shopping?" she asks as she hands over Santana's change.
"Yeah. It's one of my Christmas presents for Britt. She loves that perfume."
Rachel frowns and pulls the small box out of the bag to examine. "But this is for men..."
Santana promptly yanks it away. "Don't get started with me."
Right then, Kurt comes out of the back room and skips towards them excitedly.
"Rachel, when you have a minute, I have something to tell you!" He turns to Santana and narrows his eyes, "Didn't I ban you for shoplifting?"
"Yeah like three years ago. Get over it already." Santana smirks before turning on her heel and walking out of the store. "See you later, Rachel!" she calls out.
"Bye!" Rachel waves.
Kurt turns to her, "Please don't tell me you're friends with her."
Rachel smiles and simply shrugs. "You had something to tell me?"
"Yes! Guess what the Lima Community Theatre is having auditions for tomorrow?" he sing-songs.
She groans, "Kurt, I've already said I'm not doing Rocky Horror with you. The production from back in college was a disaster."
"No, that was last month. But they're doing White Christmas for the holiday show this year."
"Oh. That...doesn't sound as bad as Rocky Horror."
"We put on a White Christmas production in high school," he reminds her.
"I know. I was there. And we killed it."
He throws his hands up, "Which is exactly why we're auditioning tomorrow!"
"I don't know, Kurt. I'll think about it."
"Come on, Rachel! We haven't done a stage production since college! It'll be good for you."
She quirks an eyebrow. "Who's to say I'll even get a part?"
"You're Rachel Berry. Of course you'll get a part. And hopefully I will too."
She sighs, "Blaine can't audition with you?"
Kurt shakes his head, "He's so busy with glee he won't have time for anything else. So please, Rachel? Pretty please?"
She chews her lip in contemplation. After all Kurt's done for her, she owes him this much. And he's right, it would probably be good for her and give her more to focus on.
Something other than Quinn.
"What time are the auditions?"
The next morning, Rachel and Kurt went by the theatre and performed a duet of Sisters. Since they were the last ones on the list, they were pressed for time and had no choice but to audition together, which actually worked out in their favor.
The director was quite impressed and seemed to love them. But of course he was impressed, Rachel thinks. It was a community theatre in Lima. It wasn't like the place was a goldmine for talent…
But nevertheless, the guy promised to give them a call soon.
After the eventful morning, Rachel goes into work later that afternoon still on a high. Her coworker said that they would be doing inventory for a while, so Rachel had to watch the store in the meantime. She had no problem with this. She was having a great day and she wasn't going to let anything ruin it.
About ten minutes until her shift is over, she hears someone walk in as she's organizing her receipts.
"Hello! Can I help you find something?" she calls out.
She looks up at whoever was approaching the counter and feels like the wind has just been knocked out of her.
"Santana said that you were working here now."
"Hello Marley," she smiles as sweetly as she can muster while she grips the countertop to keep herself from physically assaulting the girl's face. "What brings you here on this wonderful day?"
Marley returns a smile just as fake and furrows her brow. "Oh, you know, just happened to be at the mall and decided to stop in."
"Is that so?" Rachel challenges.
"It seems to be."
She doesn't say anything else after that, and the woman taps her finger impatiently. "Okay, what do you want?"
"Right to the point, are we?"
"I don't have time for games."
Keep it together, Rachel thinks. Be the bigger person. Be the adult for once...
"Okay fine," Marley becomes serious. "As I had mentioned, Santana said that she ran into you here and you both talked. It's come to my attention that you're still holding onto hope that you and Quinn will get back together."
Rachel bites the inside of her cheek. "I don't see how that's any of your business," she responds without any hint of emotion. Besides annoyance.
"Be that as it may, I just wanted you to know that you shouldn't hold your breath. You're just wasting your time."
"With all due respect, this is a private matter between Quinn and me."
"She probably wouldn't have told you, but we slept together."
Rachel feels likes she's just been hit by a train. There's no way Quinn would do that to her...
"Excuse me?"
"Last night," Marley says before adding a slight smile, "And this morning."
No, she's just trying to get a rise out of her. It can't be true, Rachel thinks.
Not a chance in hell.
"And you've come here...for what? Just to rub it in my face?"
She wants nothing more than to leap over the counter and give this girl two black eyes to go home with. How dare she try to play mind games with her.
"No! I would never rub it in your face..." There she goes again with that fucking fake smile, Rachel thinks. "I just wanted you to know that you really shouldn't expect Quinn to come back to you. Trust me."
She doesn't trust her. Not one bit.
"You're lying."
"Oh, I'm not. She was the one to make the first move. She said that she needed help getting over you. And well, since I'm such a good friend and all..."
Rachel chuckles humorlessly. "Well Marley...I don't mean to be rude, but I'm just having a hard time believing you."
Marley's face falters for a second. "And why is that?"
"Because I know Quinn. And I know you a lot better than you think. I actually feel quite bad for you."
"You don't know me," the girl snaps.
It's Rachel's turn to smirk now. "But I do. You're just this sad little girl pining after someone who will never return your affections. And I get it, I really do. Quinn tends to have that effect on people."
She can see Marley's jaw clenching, and knows she's hit a nerve.
Rachel knows that it's time to say what she should have a long time ago.
"But she will never feel the same way about you. You know that. And it makes you crazy, doesn't it? So crazy and desperate that you're willing to do and say anything to manipulate Quinn into falling for you. But trust me, she never will. And you may even be trying to manipulate me. That will never work either. So why don't you save yourself the embarrassment, and leave both of us alone. I wouldn't normally be so harsh on you, but you just had to make it personal."
Tears are starting to fill the girl's eyes before she speaks up in retaliation, "I'm just trying to help you out. So believe what you want. I don't care. And for the record, I want you to know that Quinn truly deserves better. You're not good enough for her."
"That may be true. But neither are you."
The two continue to stare one another down, silently daring the other to throw the next punch. Rachel's ready to catch anything the girl has to throw at her.
"Well it was good seeing you, Rachel," Marley glares.
"Likewise."
The younger girl is the first to break eye contact as she finally turns around and walks out of the store.
Rachel releases a breath she didn't know she was holding. She's surprised with herself, honestly.
She handled that a lot better than she thought she ever would.
Much to Rachel's relief, Thanksgiving had finally arrived. And she was glad to finally have a day with absolutely nothing to worry about. For the most part.
Judy had called her early that morning asking if she would be coming over for the family Thanksgiving dinner. As much as Rachel wanted to see Quinn, she knew the whole affair would no doubt be awkward. And it would be even worse if Marley was joining them as well.
So she politely declined the invitation and said that she had already made plans. Judy sounded a bit disappointed, but then was very adamant about having Rachel over for Christmas. Rachel just agreed because she has no excuse for pulling out of that this early. But she'll cross that bridge when she gets there.
She had dinner at Kurt and Blaine's apartment along with Kurt's father and Blaine's parents. This was her first actual Thanksgiving celebration in years, and she enjoyed every moment of it.
After dinner, all of the parents left and the three of them brought out the alcohol with holiday cheer and engaged in an entertaining game of charades.
More like drunken charades. Either way, Rachel found herself laughing harder than she has in a while.
"Blaine, that is not a penguin!" she yells.
"Sure it is," he says from his place on the floor while flapping his arms. "I've got my bow tie on and everything!"
She and Kurt snort and shake their heads at him, still not convinced.
Kurt hears his phone ringing from his kitchen and gets up from his spot on the couch.
"We'll settle this when I get back!" he calls out.
Rachel keeps laughing as Blaine continues his impression of a penguin. They've all been acting completely ridiculous. But having a good time, nonetheless. Having the best time.
She just wishes that Quinn could be here right now.
"Guys!" Kurt comes bouncing back into the living room. "Guess what!"
"Barbra Streisand is in town?" Blaine snickers.
Rachel whips her head towards him and points her finger. "Don't you ever joke like that, Blaine Anderson!"
They both burst into another fit of giggles before Kurt grabs their attention again.
"No! Guys listen!" He waves and stomps his foot. "That was the White Christmas director!"
Rachel quickly stands up and holds out her hands to steady herself. "And?"
"We've been cast!" Kurt squeals. "I got Phil Davis! And you got Betty Haynes!"
"What!" Rachel starts jumping up and down in excitement, only to trip over herself and tumble right back down to the floor. She picks herself up and tries again. "I can't believe this!"
"It's amazing!" Kurt cries as they jump around together.
Blaine walks up to Kurt and wraps his fiancé in a hug. "I told you that you would get it!"
"Wait," Rachel stops. "When do we start?"
"Rehearsals start next week. Monday through Thursday for a couple hours during the evenings," he says cheerfully.
She raises her fist in the air. "I can do that!"
"Yes!"
The three continue on with their drunken games and cheers for the rest of the night. Getting a part in this musical was just one more reason to celebrate.
Rachel knows that she may not be quite there yet, but things were starting to fall together.
There was still just one thing missing.
The rehearsals were really kicking her ass. Mainly the dancing part of it. And her role required lots of it, being one of the main leads and all.
Rachel thinks she should probably work out more than once a week, but she'll worry about that later. She might just be getting used to having a routine again.
Working at Kurt's store was definitely paying off. She had enough money to make a down payment on a car, so she decided to be practical and got a slightly used Camry earlier that week. She knows that she could have easily used Finn's money to buy the car all at once. But she trashed that idea as soon as it crossed her mind. She was determined to make something of herself on her own.
The days were coming and going in a blur. It was already less than two weeks until Christmas and only a few days until opening night. Between glee club, working, and rehearsals, she was keeping herself plenty busy. Which is just what she needs.
And right now, what she really needs is some sleep. It was only a few minutes past nine, but she was completely exhausted after another long day.
She quickly changes for bed and curls up on the mattress. She can always take a shower in the morning. Sleep now. Hygiene later. Good plan.
She groans when her damn phone starts ringing just as she's drifting off. She looks at it and instantly sits up when she sees the caller ID.
"Hello Judy," she answers.
"Hey Rachel. Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No, I was just lying down," she yawns. "I'm sorry I haven't called lately. I've just been so busy."
"It's all right. We've been getting slammed at the hospital, so I've been working nonstop as well."
"Oh. Is everything okay? How's Russell? And...how's Quinn?"
"Russell is fine. We still have the same hours at work so that's been a lot easier on us. And Quinn is good too. Her semester at school is finished, so she's just been sleeping in all week," Judy chuckles.
Rachel smiles as she thinks of an adorable, grouchy Quinn rolling out of bed at noon. "That's good to hear."
"Well anyway, the reason I'm calling is because someone's birthday is coming up."
Rachel rolls her eyes as she can hear the smile in Judy's voice. "Don't remind me."
"We were wondering if you would come over tomorrow so we can have a birthday dinner celebration?"
She frowns, "My birthday is the fourteenth. It's not for another two days."
"I know that!" Judy laughs. "But Russell and I will be stuck at work that night. And I figured you were already planning on doing something with your friends."
That was true. Rachel had already made plans to go out with Kurt and Blaine on her birthday. But she was still nervous about going over to Judy's house...
"I don't know, Judy. I'm not exactly excited about it this year."
"Rachel, please come. I promise we won't make a big deal about it. And we all miss you. Even Quinn's been asking how you've been, but I have no idea what you're up to either."
Rachel perks up, "Quinn's been asking about me?"
"Yes, she misses you. We all miss you. So will you please come tomorrow?"
The thought of being able to see Quinn again was incredibly tempting. But she still needs to be very careful.
"Okay, but only if it's just the four of us. I don't want anyone else to come."
"Of course! Who else would we even invite?" Judy laughs.
There's just one bitch in particular that Rachel doesn't want anywhere near her.
"I don't know. But I just want this to be a small, intimate thing. I meant it when I said I'm not too excited about celebrating."
"Sure thing, Rachel. I understand. So, is seven o'clock okay with you?"
"That sounds great."
"Wonderful! I'll see you then!"
Rachel puts the phone down and smiles to herself. She suddenly doesn't feel like sleeping anymore.
She was finally going to see Quinn. And for once, she thinks this might actually be a good idea.
A/N: Next chapter, we'll see what Quinn's been up to. So stay tuned!
Another thing I want to say. I know that a couple of you think that I'm going about this story all wrong and that my writing is terrible. And you feel the need to anonymously remind me every chapter. I would like to be able to reply and talk one on one, but I'm not able to. So I just want to say that if you feel that way, there's sooo many other amazing Faberry fanfics that you could be reading besides this one. Trust me, it won't hurt my feelings :)
I just don't want you to feel like your invested time was wasted. I have a clear idea of how the rest of this story is going to play out and it's not going to change.
As always, thank you ALL for taking the time to read this!