Chapter 37 – Family

"Quinn, this is beautiful," Rachel said, tears springing to her eyes as she looked over at her girlfriend.

She ran her finger along the pendant—a diamond musical note—and then slowly lifted the necklace out of the box. When she looked at Quinn again, she was intently watching her, an expression on her face that almost looked worried.

"I love it, Quinn," Rachel said, holding it out for her. "Will you put it on me?"

Quinn took the necklace from her, and Rachel reached behind, unfastening the chain she was already wearing. She then turned her back to Quinn and lifted her hair, glancing over her shoulder. Quinn locked eyes with her for a moment before dropping her gaze and stepping forward to put the necklace around Rachel's neck.

"Thank you," Rachel said, letting her hair down, and touching the pendant on her chest.

"Do you really like it?" Quinn asked.

"I told you, I love it," Rachel replied. "Really. It's beautiful."

Quinn smiled. "I have one more thing for you."

"This was more than enough," Rachel said as Quinn picked up her bag. "You didn't have to get me anything else."

"I know," Quinn replied. "This isn't something I bought, though. At least not recently."

Rachel furrowed her brows as she looked down and watched as Quinn pulled a familiar red, white, and black jacket out. She hadn't seen it since they were in high school, but she would never forget Quinn's Cheerios jacket. She wore it every winter along with all the other cheerleaders. Rachel had been envious of the girls who had that jacket. They were the popular ones, which was something Rachel never got to experience.

"This was in my old room," Quinn said. "As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted you to have it. I know you always wanted to be able to wear it when you were my girlfriend, but I couldn't let you then. And I wanted to. I wished I could have given it to you and walked down the hallway, hand in hand, with you in my letterman jacket. And that will never happen. I can't go back and change anything, but I want you to have it now."

"Quinn—" Rachel shook her head. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Quinn said.

Rachel took the jacket from Quinn and ran her hand along the collar. When she looked up, Quinn was watching her again, a soft smile on her face as she watched her.

"Thank you," Rachel whispered, walking forward, and pulling Quinn down into a kiss.

Quinn's arms slowly snaked around her waist, pulling their bodies closer together. Rachel put her free arm around Quinn's neck, her other hand still gripping the jacket. When Quinn pulled back, Rachel let out a contented sigh. After a few moments, she opened her eyes to find her girlfriend staring at her with a look Rachel was finally beginning to get used to. A look that told Rachel she was the one for Quinn.

She would be lying if she said it didn't scare her, but it was a different kind of fear than before. She had been afraid that Quinn would break her heart, but now she wondered what would happen if she didn't. Rachel Berry had always been a dreamer, and now that everything she'd ever wanted was right in front of her, it was slightly terrifying. Especially when Quinn was standing in front of her, looking at her like she was.

"What time do you have to be home?" Rachel asked.

"Who says I need to be home?" Quinn asked back.

"Well, it is Christmas Day; I assumed you needed to spend the evening with your family," Rachel replied.

Quinn shrugged. "I would rather be here with you."

"I would rather you be with me, too," Rachel replied with a soft smile. "But I would hate for it to cause things to be even more strained between you and your family. Your mother already doesn't approve of our relationship; I don't want her to dislike me even more. And your sister—I've never even gotten a chance to meet her. What if she hates me before she ever even meets me?"

"So, what you're saying is you're kicking me out?" Quinn said.

"No! Of course not!" Quinn began laughing at Rachel's quick repose and the brunette huffed. "That was very mean. And of course I don't want you to go, but I also don't want to upset your family."

"Okay, fine," Quinn replied. "I guess we shouldn't make Wednesday even more difficult."

"No, we shouldn't," Rachel said. "I plan on charming them, and that will be more difficult if they're angry with me."

"Can I at least stay another hour before I have to go?" Quinn asked.

Rachel smiled. "Of course."

"We're going to the high school?" Rachel asked, looking over at Quinn when she pulled into McKinley High's parking lot.

Quinn nodded as she drove to the parking spot nearest to the door, the space typically reserved for the principal, and brought the car to a stop. She noticed a slight hesitation in Quinn's actions as she slowly reached up and turned the car off before pulling the keys out of the ignition. Quinn didn't immediately move, though; she remained seated as she stared out at the building, and Rachel stayed silent as she watched Quinn while wondering why they were at their old high school.

"Are you okay, Quinn?' Rachel asked after several minutes.

"Yeah, sorry," Quinn replied, looking over at her. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "Everything."

Rachel slipped her hand underneath Quinn's, her palm facing up, and intertwined their fingers together. Before she could say anything, though, Quinn had squeezed her hand and was opening her door. The rush of cold air sent a shiver through Rachel, and she let go of Quinn's hand, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck before following Quinn out of the car.

"You know, the school is probably locked," Rachel said, closing her door as she watched Quinn.

"As cheap as the administration is, something tells me they haven't changed their locks in the last five years," Quinn replied, holding up a set of keys.

"Are those to the school?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows together.

"Coach Sylvester gave them to me when I became cheerleading captain," Quinn replied with a smirk. "She never asked for them back, so I never returned them."

"Quinn!" Rachel said, gaping at her girlfriend. "What if they had tried to have you arrested for stealing school equipment?"

"They're just keys, Rachel," Quinn replied. "C'mon."

"What if someone catches us?" Rachel asked.

"What are they going to do, arrest the biggest success to come out of McKinley High?" Quinn asked, waving toward Rachel.

"I would hardly consider myself a huge success," Rachel replied.

"You graduated from NYADA, you've been on Broadway—that's more than you can say for anyone who graduated from this place," Quinn argued.

"That doesn't mean they won't arrest me for trespassing," Rachel said, shaking her head.

Quinn held out her hand and Rachel stared at it for a few moments. Sighing, she walked over and grabbed it, bringing a smile to Quinn's face.

"If we get caught, you know I'm blaming you, right?" Rachel asked.

"If we get caught, run," Quinn replied.

"I've never known you to suggest evading the police," Rachel said as Quinn opened the front door.

"That's not entirely true," Quinn replied. "Have you forgotten that time at the lake?"

Rachel slowly smiled and then let out a light laugh. "How could I forgot? I think skinny dipping with you is the craziest thing I've ever done."

"You and me both," Quinn replied.

They fell silent for a few moments before Rachel asked, "So, are we here for a particular reason?"

"I just thought—I wanted to come back where it all began," Quinn said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Where we began."

Rachel nodded and let go of Quinn's hand, looping her arm around Quinn's instead. "I've spent so much time hating this place, but I guess I can't hate everything about it. We did meet here and have our first kiss here. We danced together for the first time and—"

"Said we love each other for the first time," Quinn added.

Rachel smiled. "We had a lot of firsts here."

"And then we had our first, and hopefully only, breakup," Quinn remarked with a sigh. "I screwed up so much back then. I was so terrified that I just ended up hurting us both. I felt completely alone except for you, and then I let you walk away. If I had just stopped you, maybe we wouldn't have wasted so much time."

"Quinn—"

"Us breaking up is the worst thing that's ever happened to me," Quinn said with tears in her eyes.

"I know," Rachel quietly said.

"I don't even really know why I wanted to bring you here," Quinn replied, looking over at Rachel. "I've just been thinking a lot about it since we got into town, and I wanted to come here. Maybe I was hoping we could put everything to rest if we came back here, which is stupid. Nothing is that easy."

"You're right," Rachel agreed. "It's not. But I think we've been putting everything to rest for a while now and that we're going to be okay. That's not to say we're not going to have issues on occasion, but we're okay."

Quinn nodded as a smile slowly spread across her face and she whispered, "We're okay."

"Hey, Rachel!"

Rachel turned around at the sound of her name and looked around for a moment before seeing Tina walking her way. She gave the other woman a smile and then noticed Mercedes lagging slightly behind her.

"I didn't know you were in for Christmas," Tina said.

"Really?" Rachel asked. "I'm surprised Kurt didn't mention it."

"We heard about your breakup with Finn," Mercedes said.

"We were sorry to hear about it," Tina added, shooting Mercedes a slight glare.

"Oh, yeah, it's fine," Rachel replied.

"Sam told us a few weeks ago," Tina said, giving her a sympathetic look. "I guess he heard it from Finn."

"I guess the gossip mill isn't what it used to be," Rachel said with a light laugh.

"Yeah, he said you two broke up months ago," Mercedes replied. "I don't know how Kurt didn't tell us about that."

"Oh, well, I think Kurt was just trying to protect Finn," Rachel remarked, causing the two women in front of her to suddenly look more interested.

"But I thought Finn broke up with you," Mercedes said, earning a nudge from Tina.

"Yes, but—it's complicated," Rachel replied with a shake of her head.

"Hey, Rach, they didn't have Red Vines, so I got you Twizzlers," Quinn said, coming to a halt when she looked up from her phone and saw Mercedes and Tina.

"Quinn!" Tina said, looking between the blonde and Rachel.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Mercedes asked.

"We just thought we would see a movie since there isn't a lot else to do in this town," Rachel answered.

"You're here together?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah," Quinn said, slipping her hand around Rachel's waist.

The action didn't go unnoticed by the other two. Their eyes both darted down and then Tina slowly looked between the two of them while Mercedes had a frown on her face.

"Rachel was just telling us about her breakup with Finn," Tina said. "I know it's hard to break up with your first love."

Rachel glanced up at Quinn before looking back at Tina and Mercedes. "Actually, Finn wasn't my first love."

She looked over at Quinn again, hoping the blonde understood what she was trying ask with her eyes. She knew Quinn had said that she didn't care who knew, but saying that and standing there having the actual conversation were two different things. Quinn smiled at her, though, and gently squeezed her side, and Rachel knew she had no objections. So, after shooting a quick smile back at Quinn, Rachel turned to the other two and said, "Quinn was."

Mercedes was the first to break the silence with her laughter. "Okay, you really want us to believe there's something going on with you two?"

Mercedes was still laughing, but when Rachel looked over at Tina, she was definitely not laughing. The dark haired girl's eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open, and Rachel knew she didn't believe it was a joke like her friend did.

"When did this happen?" Tina asked.

"You don't seriously believe them, do you?" Mercedes asked back, rolling her eyes.

"Why would Quinn and I lie about our relationship?" Rachel said, frowning.

Quinn's eyebrows rose. "Well—"

"Why would we lie again," Rachel interrupted. "There's a difference between pretending you're not dating and pretending you are dating. I see no benefit to faking a relationship." She looked at Mercedes. "Quinn and I dated in high school and we recently rekindled our relationship. I'm sorry if you do not believe us, but I can assure you it is the truth."

Mercedes looked at Quinn, her mouth open as if she was about to argue.

"Don't look at me," Quinn said with a light laugh. "Rachel's telling the truth."

"Rachel's telling the truth about what?"

The four turned to look at Kurt, who stopped next to Mercedes with a smile. With one look at her face, though, his smile faded and he looked around in confusion.

"What did I just walk into?" Kurt asked, his eyes flitting from one person to the next and back.

"Mercedes doesn't believe that Quinn and I are together," Rachel answered.

Kurt gasped. "You told them without me!"

"I'm sorry, Kurt, but you had your chance," Rachel apologized.

"But I didn't want to make it worse for Finn," Kurt replied.

"I know, but Quinn and I aren't going to hide our relationship anymore," Rachel said.

Kurt sighed. "Fine. I guess I can forgive you."

"Whoa, hold up," Mercedes replied, holding her hand up. "You mean you knew about this?"

"Why don't you take this," Rachel said, patting Kurt's shoulder. "We're going to miss the beginning of the movie."

"But—"

"You're the one who wanted to tell them," Rachel interrupted as she began pulling Quinn toward the theater entrance. "So tell them!"

"I think they're going to miss their movie," Quinn commented with a glance over her shoulder.

"Better them than us," Rachel said, linking her arm with Quinn's.

"Mom, you remember Rachel."

Judy looked at Rachel and gave her a smile, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "Yes, your friend from New York."

"Yes, my girlfriend from New York," Quinn corrected.

Judy's smile faltered for a moment before she plastered an even bigger—and more fake—smile on. Beside Rachel, Quinn let out a quiet sigh. Rachel reached over and squeezed her hand, hoping to offer her a little reassurance. Judy caught the movement, looked down, and Rachel began to release Quinn's hand, but her girlfriend only tightened her grip.

Rachel knew how hard it was on Quinn that her mother didn't accept her to the point that she was in complete denial about Quinn's life. She hated feeling helpless, wishing there was something she could do, but she knew it was going to be an uphill battle with the elder Fabray. Rachel was there to try, though. Judy had seemed to instantly dislike her, but Rachel was going to do her best to make it hard on Quinn's mom to hate her.

"I should go check on dinner," Judy said before turning on her heel.

"Welcome to the Fabray household," Quinn remarked in a low voice. "I'm going to apologize in advance for anything my mom or my sister say to you."

Rachel gave Quinn a smile. "Maybe we should have invited your mother and sister to my house."

Quinn let out a loud laugh, which made Rachel's smile grow. She could see the tension in Quinn's body all day and the blonde had been grumpier than usual, so it was nice to hear her laugh.

"Why don't we go into the den?" Quinn suggested. "Dinner won't be ready for a while and I'd rather you not spend more time with my mom than you have to."

Rachel shrugged. "I don't mind, Quinn."

"You will," Quinn replied before she began walking, pulling Rachel along with her.

As Quinn began leading her through the house, Rachel glanced around the rooms. She'd only been there twice before, both times when Quinn's parents had gone away for a weekend. Not a lot had changed about it; she noticed all the pictures of Quinn's father were gone and a few pieces of furniture were new, but everything else had remained relatively unchanged. Which was a little surprising to Rachel considering her fathers were constantly rearranging the rooms in their house. It seemed like Mrs. Fabray didn't like change the way the Berry men did, though.

"I was wondering what all the noise was."

"I thought you were lying down," Quinn remarked, stopping in her tracks, and looking at the other blonde in the room.

Rachel needed no introductions to know that the other woman was Frannie Fabray. She had been at their graduation and there were pictures of her scattered around the house. Quinn had never talked about her much, except to say what a bitch she was and how happy she was that she'd moved out of the house to go to college by the time Quinn had turned thirteen.

"Rachel, this is my sister," Quinn said. "Frannie, this is Rachel, my girlfriend."

Rachel suddenly felt like she was being appraised by Quinn's sister, but it was nothing she wasn't used to. She had spent most of high school feeling judged by others, and it was an inevitable part of life given her chosen profession.

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel said, holding her hand out, and giving Frannie her best smile.

"Likewise," Frannie replied, lightly shaking her hand.

"Do you want something to drink?" Quinn asked, nodding toward the bar.

"No, thank you," Rachel replied.

"So, Rachel," Frannie took a seat, crossing one leg over the other, "what is it you do?"

"I'm an actress," Rachel answered.

"Really?" Frannie asked, her eyebrow rising.

"Yes, really," Rachel said, trying to ignore the slight look of disbelief on the other woman's face. "I studied musical theater at the New York

Academy of the Dramatic Arts. My dream has always been to move to New York and be on Broadway. Fortunately, I've been lucky enough to have my dream come true."

"So, you're in a Broadway show right now?" Frannie asked.

"I was until last month," Rachel replied. "I had been performing in a show for over a year, but it closed."

Frannie hummed and averted her eyes from Rachel as she reached for her wine glass. Rachel could tell she wanted to comment and clearly Quinn noticed too, because the younger Fabray looked at Rachel and rolled her eyes.

"Remember that this was your idea when the night is over and you want to break up with me so you never have to see my family again," Quinn mumbled.

Rachel smiled. "I'll remember."

Rachel sighed as the car pulled to a stop. Neither she nor Quinn had said a word on the way to Rachel's house, and Rachel couldn't help wondering what was going through her girlfriend's mind. She didn't look angry or sad, both of which would have been perfectly acceptable given the evening. Instead, she looked completely passive, and Rachel wondered if she was masking her true feelings or if she was actually okay.

"You can stay the night if you'd like," Rachel said, breaking the silence.

"I would, but I should probably go back," Quinn replied. "It is our last night here."

Rachel nodded. "I—"

"I'm sorry about my mom," Quinn said, interrupting Rachel. She then shook her head and sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit. "And my sister."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Quinn," Rachel replied. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I was the one who wanted to have dinner with them. I'm sorry you had to go through that. And not just tonight. I couldn't imagine growing up with your family. We'll work on them, though. I'm confident they will both eventually come around and learn to not only accept, but to approve of our relationship. Even if it means incredibly uncomfortable dinners every time we come to Lima and every time one of them comes to visit you in New York."

"You're crazy," Quinn said, a small smile appearing on her face.

"I think the word you're looking for is determined," Rachel said, smiling at Quinn. "I know your family isn't ideal, but they're still your family. I know how much it hurts that they don't accept you and I really think that—with time—we can change that."

"And if we can't?" Quinn asked.

"Well, then, I'm glad we have hundreds of miles between us and them," Rachel replied.

Quinn laughed, which made Rachel smile. Ever since they had walked into the den and began talking to Frannie, Quinn had barely been able to contain the scowl on her face, so her smiling and laughing was something Rachel had missed all evening.

"Are you sure I can't talk you into spending the night," Rachel asked.

"I wish," Quinn replied.

"So do I," Rachel said before leaning forward and kissing Quinn. As she pulled back, she put her hand on Quinn's cheek. "I'll see you in the morning?"

Quinn nodded. "Breakfast with your fathers will be so much easier than dinner with my family."

Rachel gave Quinn another, quick kiss. "Goodnight, Quinn."

"Night," Quinn replied.

Rachel exited the car and gave Quinn a wave before turning on her heel and walking into her house. As she closed the front door behind her, she heard her fathers' laughter coming from the living room and Rachel smiled to herself at the sound. She had grown up so differently from Quinn and during the night she repeatedly thought how lucky she was to have been raised by Hiram and Leroy Berry. Her fathers weren't perfect, but she wouldn't trade being their daughter for anything. They had been nothing but supportive throughout her life and she couldn't imagine not having that love and support.

"Honey, is that you?" Hiram called out.

"No, it's the ghost," Rachel joked.

"Well, as long as the ghost helps with the mortgage, he can have our daughter's room," Hiram replied.

Rachel laughed. "And here I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you two. I'm going to have to reevaluate now that you're giving my room away."

"How was dinner?" Leroy asked.

Rachel sighed as she sat down on the couch with them. "Not good. Quinn's mother is still in denial; she kept referring to me as Quinn's friend no matter how many times Quinn corrected her. Any time the subject of our relationship came up, her mom would always find a way to change the subject. Of course, I don't know if she was worse or if Quinn's sister, Frannie, was. She somehow found a way to insult both Quinn and I every chance she got."

"She insulted you?" Leroy asked, frowning.

"She was covert about it, but yes," Rachel replied. "She clearly thinks she is better than both of us and she let it be known." Rachel sighed. "Every time I spend time with Quinn's family, I'm more and more sorry that I tried to push her into coming out while we were in high school. I can understand now why she wouldn't even risk it by letting me tell you guys. She couldn't trust her own parents, so why would she think she could trust mine?"

Hiram put his hand on her knee and gently squeezed it. "Is she still coming for breakfast?"

Rachel nodded. "She wouldn't miss the opportunity to get away from home quicker."

"Good," Hiram replied. "Because I kind of need to give her a hug."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate the sentiment," Rachel said, smiling as she laid her head against his shoulder.