Chapter 39 – The Getaway
"You know, I could enjoy the scenery a lot more if you would simply tell me where you are driving us."
Quinn looked over at Rachel and rolled her eyes. "Nice try."
"Fine," Rachel said, crossing her arms with a sigh. "I just hope I've packed the appropriate clothing since you refuse to tell me where we are headed." Rachel looked over. "You could at least tell me how long we are going to be away. What if some producer calls me, wanting me to audition?"
"Then we'll go back home," Quinn replied.
"You're really not going to tell me?" Rachel asked.
"I haven't for the past two hours, so why would I now?" Quinn asked back.
"Because you know the secrecy is driving me crazy?" Rachel replied.
"You'll see when we get there," Quinn said.
"That's what you keep saying," Rachel replied.
"And it's still true," Quinn said.
"Can I at least have a hint?" Rachel asked.
Quinn laughed as she put on her signal, turning down a smaller road. "It's your birthday present."
"My birthday present?" Rachel asked. "But my birthday was weeks ago."
"I know," Quinn replied. "You had the flu, though, so I postponed it. But then we went to Lima and I had so much to do at work, so this is the first chance I've had to finally give you your present."
"You really didn't need to do anything," Rachel said, shaking her head. "Taking care of me when I was ill was gift enough."
"I think I can do a little better than that," Quinn replied.
Rachel opened her mouth but closed it a few moments later. She didn't really know what to say; she wasn't used to people doing anything special for her birthday. The year before, her cast mates did throw a surprise party for her, but other than that, her birthday was usually a subdued affair. Since it fell so close to the holidays, it was hard to get many people over for a party, and Finn was never the best at getting gifts. He always tried, though, which she had appreciated.
"We're here," Quinn said.
"What?" Rachel asked, too busy looking at Quinn to notice the car had stopped.
When she looked out the window, she let out a light gasp. They were parked at a beautiful cabin that set on the edge of a partially frozen lake. Everything was covered in a light snow, and Rachel couldn't help feeling like she was staring at a painting rather than something out of real life.
"Are we staying here?" Rachel asked.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Quinn nod. "Until Monday morning."
"Quinn, this is amazing," Rachel said, finally tearing her eyes away from the cabin to look at Quinn. "Thank you."
"Come on," Quinn said, nodding toward the door with a soft smile.
Rachel quickly got out of the car, eager to see what the inside of the cabin looked like. She had stayed the weekend at a cabin once before with her fathers, and it had always been one of her favorite memories. This, though—this cabin looked even nicer than the one she had stayed in back then, and as much as she'd enjoyed spending time with her fathers, she knew it would be even better to be there with Quinn.
"It's so peaceful," Rachel commented when she stepped out and could hear nothing but the light rustling of the trees. "How did you find this place?"
"One of my bosses owns it," Quinn answered. "She saw me looking at cabins and offered to let us stay here. They usually only come here in the summer."
"Wow," Rachel said. "You'll have to be sure to send her my thanks. That was very kind of her."
"Here," Quinn said, pulling a set of keys out of her pocket, and holding them out for Rachel. "I'll get the bags."
"Nonsense," Rachel replied, walking around to the trunk. "I'm not going to make you carry both of our bags."
"And here I thought you would milk this birthday present for all it's worth," Quinn said with a grin.
"Hmm, you're right," Rachel replied, keeping a serious expression on her face. "I really should. It would be nice to have servant for the week."
"Your wish is my command," Quinn husked as she leaned over and placed a kiss on Rachel's cheek.
Rachel laughed and rested her hands against Quinn's shoulders. "While I appreciate that you're willing, you really don't need to. It's amazing enough that you brought me here. Thank you, Quinn; all of this is really sweet of you."
"I just thought it would be nice to get away for the weekend," Quinn replied. "Just the two of us."
"It certainly is," Rachel agreed with a smile.
"I still can't believe this is the guest room," Rachel said, sitting down on the edge of the king size bed. "I can only imagine what the master bedroom must look like."
The guest room was nearly an entire apartment on its own. Rachel had actually seen apartments in the city that were smaller than it. Not only did the guest room have an enormous bed, but it also had its own sitting area, a nook with several bookcases, a large bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, and even a little kitchenette.
"You could sneak into the master bedroom," Quinn said, lying back on the bed, and turning her head to look at Rachel.
"As tempting as that is, I will respect your boss's wished," Rachel replied.
They had free reign of the house, but they had been asked to stay out of the master bedroom. Rachel had no problem with that—it wasn't their house, after all, and the owners had been gracious enough to let them stay there for free—so she wasn't about to betray their trust even if she was curious. Plus, the owner was one of Quinn's bosses, and it didn't seem smart to risk her job simply because Rachel wanted to see the room.
"It's beginning to snow again," Rachel said, seeing the flurries as she glanced out the window.
"I'm glad it stopped for the drive up," Quinn replied.
"Me too," Rachel said. "I've always hated driving in the snow. It's pretty, but it's always made me nervous. The only car accident I've ever been in was when it was snowing. Daddy was driving and we slid into the back of another car. Thankfully, no one was injured, but it still terrified me. For a while, I refused to get into a car if it was snowing even a little bit. I was a very dramatic child."
Quinn laughed, though it was more of a snort than a laugh. "I can't possibly imagine you being dramatic."
"Very funny," Rachel replied. "I'll have you know, some people like that about my personality."
"I never said I wasn't one of those people," Quinn said, reaching over, and wrapping her hand around Rachel's. "In case you haven't noticed, I pretty much like everything about you."
"I find that hard to believe," Rachel replied, leaning down so she was hovering over Quinn.
"Well, you shouldn't," Quinn said before leaning up and giving Rachel a quick kiss.
Rachel smiled and sat up, glancing over her shoulder, her eyes falling on the fireplace. "Do you know if there's any wood for the fire?" She asked, looking back down at Quinn. "You know, since you said they only come up here in the summer. We're not going to have to chop down our own tree, are we?"
Quinn let out a light laugh. "Bridgette said it's in the shed. She said they occasionally let friends stay, so they always keep it stocked."
"Good," Rachel replied. "I have many talents, but upper-body strength is not one of them."
"Too bad," Quinn said. "I would kind of like to see you chop down a tree."
"That's funny," Rachel replied. "I was just thinking the same thing. I think you would like cute in jeans and a plaid shirt. And maybe those work boots and one of those hats with the ear flaps." Quinn looked over at her and raised her eyebrow. "Okay, maybe you could skip the hat, but the rest still stands."
"I'll keep that in mind," Quinn said, giving her a wry smile.
"Maybe next Halloween," Rachel joked.
"Come on," Quinn said, sitting up. "Let's go fix some lunch and then I'll go out and bring some firewood in."
"Can I convince you to wear plaid while doing it?" Rachel asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide her grin.
"Maybe if you play your cards right," Quinn replied.
Rachel smiled and then asked, "So, are we going somewhere for lunch?"
"Not unless you want to. Bridgette called someone to stock the fridge before we got here, so there should be food in the kitchen," Quinn replied.
"Wow," Rachel said. "It seems as if they've thought of everything."
"Yeah, so we get to do nothing but relax all weekend," Quinn commented.
"I think I may be able to do that," Rachel replied, smiling.
"This is amazing," Rachel said before she took another bite of the dessert she was sharing with Quinn, a brownie with a scoop of ice cream that was covered in chocolate and caramel. "Really amazing."
Quinn laughed as the last two words came out mumbled behind a mouth full of brownie and ice cream. Rachel didn't care, though; if the rest of the dinner had been a disaster, the dessert would have more than made up for it. Luckily, all the food had been great, which was a little surprising since the restaurant didn't look like much from the outside. Regardless, they'd decided to get out and try it after spending all their time so far at the cabin.
"Is there anything you want to do after we leave here?" Quinn asked.
Rachel shrugged. "I was thinking maybe we could take a walk around the town if you're up for it." She grabbed another spoonful of the dessert as she glanced over at Quinn. "We don't have to, but I thought it could be fun. If you want to go back to the cabin, though, that's fine as well."
"We can take a walk," Quinn replied, smiling.
"Great," Rachel said. "Maybe I can walk off some of this brownie."
"I think you'd have to walk for a half a day to walk off this brownie," Quinn joked.
Rachel laughed. "Probably, but it's more than worth it."
They shared the rest of the brownie and then, after some debate, Quinn finally won out and paid for dinner. Rachel had insisted on paying since Quinn had been so amazing by bringing them there in the first place, but Quinn refused to listen. It was hard to be too annoyed, though; not even when Quinn raised her eyebrow and gave Rachel a triumphant smirk.
After leaving the restaurant, the two began strolling down the street. The sidewalks were lined with old-fashioned street lights and the moon was shining brightly above them in the cloudless sky. Several inches of snow was still covering the ground, though some of it had melted in the afternoon sun.
"I'm glad we decided to come out tonight," Rachel said, looping her arm through Quinn's.
"Me too," Quinn replied.
"This town is so quaint," Rachel said. "I feel like we're in one of those Hallmark movies."
Quinn laughed. "Except they never have same-sex couples in those things. And they're so cheesy."
"I know, but sometimes it's nice to watch a cheesy movie and not worry about anything for a few hours," Rachel remarked.
"Let me guess, you and Kurt used to watch them?" Quinn replied.
Rachel smiled. "Maybe."
Quinn shook her head. "Why am I not surprised? I can just imagine you and Kurt crying over those sappy Christmas movies they always show."
"I won't deny that may have happened on occasion," Rachel admitted. "Okay, so it happened every Christmas. It was sort of a tradition of ours. Once we were both in the city and had a few days alone after the craziness that is the holidays, we would always marathon them. It was our way of de-stressing after the holidays."
"My friends and I would do something like that," Quinn replied. "Except it would involve pizza, ice cream, and wine."
"Our marathons would also usually include those three things. Or at least it did once we were old enough to purchase the latter." Rachel smiled. "And maybe once before."
Rachel moved her hand down to Quinn's and squeezed it before letting go completely. She paused for a moment, glancing at the short wall they were walking past, while Quinn continued on. Smiling to herself, she grabbed a handful of snow and quickly shaped it into a ball, tossing it at the back of Quinn's head. Unfortunately, Rachel had terrible aim and the snowball mostly flew past Quinn, barely clipping her shoulder.
The moment it grazed her, Quinn froze and turned around with a surprised look on her face. Rachel tried to give Quinn her best innocent smile, but she could tell her girlfriend wasn't falling for it. Slowly, Quinn walked the few steps to the wall and began gathering the snow into a ball of her own.
"Quinn—" Rachel said, trailing off when Quinn looked over at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Don't you do it!"
"Who is the one who started it?" Quinn asked, slowly turning the snowball over in her hands as she packed it tighter.
"Okay, I did, but—remember that I'm your girlfriend and you love me," Rachel tried.
Quinn smirked and Rachel knew nothing she said was going to spare her. So, she did the only thing she could think of and began sprinting across the street. As she began running down the sidewalk, she could hear Quinn's laughter behind her and knew she was about to catch up to her. Sure enough, a few moments later, the snowball hit her shoulder, exploding on contact. Rachel gasped as some of the pieces flew into her coat and down her shirt.
"I'm sorry!" Rachel shrieked as she tried to knock some of the snow out of her shirt. "You win!"
"You may want to practice your throwing skills before you try that again," Quinn said, walking toward Rachel, and wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist.
Rachel couldn't help laughing as Quinn smiled down at her. "I'll keep that in mind."
Rachel closed her eyes for a moment and let out a deep sigh as she listened to the crackling fire. When she opened her eyes again, Quinn was staring at her with a contented look on her face.
"What are you thinking?" Quinn asked, propping her head up, and looking down at Rachel.
"That we should really do this more often," Rachel answered, smiling softly.
"Which part?" Quinn asked, reaching out, and lightly touching Rachel's jaw.
"All of it," Rachel replied. "Being here has been wonderful. As much as I love living in the city and couldn't imagine being anywhere else, sometimes it's nice to get away to some place a little more quiet and relaxed. And the fireplace is certainly a bonus."
Quinn looked down at their barely covered bodies and then looked back at Rachel, quirking her eyebrow. "And this?"
"Wonderful as well, and we should also do it more often," Rachel replied. "As often as possible."
Rachel's smile grew and she reached up, putting her hand over Quinn's. After a moment, she entwined their fingers together and brought Quinn's hand to her lips, placing a kiss on it.
"What about you?" Rachel softly asked. "What are you thinking about?"
"How lucky I am," Quinn answered. "To get a second chance. To get to be here with you. I was afraid you would hate me for the rest of your life. That you'd never forgive me and you would never even talk to me again." Quinn brushed her thumb against the back of Rachel's hand. "But here we are even after everything."
"The last year was certainly unexpected," Rachel replied. "I never thought anything like this would happen. Not again. As much as I've always believed in second chances, I didn't think we would ever get one. So, I guess we're both lucky. Even if my life sort of fell apart this year, I don't think I would change it for anything."
"Good," Quinn said. "Because I love you and want to spend my life with you, and it would be kind of terrible if you wished things had turned out differently."
"I—"
Rachel hesitated. Every time Quinn said those words, she came so close to saying them back. At first, she didn't want to believe that she could be in love with Quinn. Not after everything that had happened. Not after being with Finn for so long and even being engaged to him. At least not so quickly after splitting from Finn and getting together with Quinn.
Now, though—now she knew she loved Quinn, and maybe she had never stopped. She just couldn't seem to get the words out even though it had been on the tip of her tongue a hundred times in the past few weeks. But she knew if she said it then all of this would seem that much more real. Because right now, she still had a hard time believing it sometimes. She was with Quinn; she loved Quinn. She was envisioning a future with this person who already broke her heart once before, and she didn't know what she would do if it happened again.
"It's okay," Quinn whispered.
"It's not—I just—" Rachel sighed and then paused for a few moments. "I'm happy now. I'm not angry anymore and I don't resent you anymore for what happened in high school. I actually think I'm happier than I've ever been. You make me happier than I've ever been. I just don't want you to think that me not being able to say it is a sign that I'm not happy with this. Because I am."
"It's fine," Quinn replied.
"Is it?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Quinn said, running her hand down Rachel's arm.
"Really? Because I feel like there's something wrong with me sometimes," Rachel replied.
Quinn shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with you, Rach. It's okay if you're not ready. And it's okay if you are ready but still can't say it."
"So, you're not going to go anywhere even if I'm emotionally inept right now?" Rachel replied, giving Quinn a small smile.
"Mmm," Quinn laid back on the floor and glanced over at Rachel, "maybe you're right."
"Very funny," Rachel said, moving over, so she could rest her head on Quinn's shoulder. "You are joking, right?"
Quinn laughed. "Yes. Of course. I told you before, I'm not going anywhere."
"Good," Rachel replied. "I'm going to hold you to that."
"Feel free," Quinn said, leaning down, and pulling Rachel into a kiss.
"Here," Rachel said, holding a mug in front of Quinn's face. "It's so you don't freeze to death out here."
"Hot cocoa?" Quinn asked, smiling.
"I thought it seemed appropriate," Rachel replied as she walked around the porch swing. "You can't watch it snow without cocoa."
Rachel sat down next to Quinn, who lifted up the blanket that had been sitting on her lap and tossed it over both of them. As she brought her own mug of hot cocoa up to her lips, Rachel glanced over at Quinn. Her girlfriend had been sitting out on the back porch for a while, watching the snow falling, and Rachel had been watching her from the house. She couldn't help wondering if everything was alright with Quinn; she'd been so quiet most of the morning.
"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked after several minutes of sitting next to Quinn in silence.
Quinn hummed and looked over at Rachel before giving a quiet, "Yeah."
"You just—you've looked kind of sad today," Rachel said.
"It's nothing," Quinn said.
"Quinn—"
"Don't worry about it," Quinn interrupted.
"Of course I'm going to worry about it," Rachel said, putting her head on Quinn's shoulder. "It's kind of my job as your girlfriend to be concerned if you're sad. Especially if I'm the cause of it."
"You're not," Quinn replied, kissing the top of Rachel's head. "Honestly, I don't know what's causing it, but it's not you."
"Maybe it's because we're leaving tomorrow morning," Rachel suggested.
"Maybe," Quinn said, taking a sip.
They fell silent again, both watching the snow as it slowly fell to the ground. It had been snowing off and on since the night before, covering the ground in a several fresh inches of snow, and it made Rachel not want to leave all the more. She couldn't remember the last time she had been some place so peaceful. Even though she hadn't realized it, coming there was exactly what she'd needed. To get away from the hustle and bustle of New York City. To spend a quiet weekend with Quinn, just the two of them.
"Thank you again for bringing me here," Rachel said, lifting her head off Quinn's shoulder so she could look at her. "I think this is the best birthday present I've ever received."
"That's not good," Quinn said. "How will I ever top it?"
Rachel smiled. "You don't need to feel as if you have to top it."
"I'll remind you of that next year when you're complaining," Quinn said, nudging Rachel.
"I would never complain about that and you know it," Rachel replied.
"Mmm, maybe," Quinn said, running her hand through her hair. "So, I-I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Should I be worried?" Rachel asked, noting the seriousness in Quinn's voice.
"No," Quinn quickly replied. "It's nothing bad. It's just—my lease is up at the end of February."
"Oh?" Rachel replied, furrowing her brows slightly.
"Yeah," Quinn said, trailing off.
Rachel suddenly sat upright and looked over at her girlfriend. "Quinn, is there a reason you've decided to tell me this?"
Quinn cleared her throat and looked around before her eyes finally landed on Rachel. "I was wondering if you would maybe want to move in together. Into your apartment or my apartment or an entirely different one. I mean, we're practically living together already. We're lucky if we spend a night or two alone each a week." Quinn shrugged. "I just want you to think about it. You don't have to give me an answer right now."
"I—okay," Rachel replied.
"Okay you'll think about it?" Quinn asked.
"I'll think about it," Rachel said with a nod.
Part of Rachel just wanted to say yes, but the other part of her was worried that it was too much, too soon. It was true that they practically lived together already. In fact, Rachel couldn't remember the last night they actually spent apart, but at least she had the option to. Not that she really wanted to spend the night away from Quinn, but at least she knew she could.
"I'm sorry," Rachel added after a few moments.
"For what?" Quinn asked.
"That I want to think about it," Rachel replied.
Quinn shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry, Rachel."
"I wish I could just say yes," Rachel said. "I wish I didn't worry so much about everything."
"Well, technically we've only been dating for a few months, so I'm the one moving a bit fast," Quinn replied.
"I don't think the traditional timetables apply to us," Rachel said. "We may have only been dating for a few months, but we've been together a lot longer than that." She reached over and entwined her fingers with Quinn's. "So, hypothetically, if I did say yes, would you rather live at your apartment, mine, or look for a new one? Because I'm pretty sure I could get out of my lease if I wished to."
"Hypothetically? I think it would be kind of nice to get a new place that's ours," Quinn replied.
Rachel nodded and then smiled at Quinn. "Well, as I said—I'll think about it."
Only two chapters left. Hopefully the next one won't take nearly as long to post, but my writer's block has not been kind to me.