EPILOGUE

Early on, Quinn and Rachel decide there are only two reasons they would ever return to Ohio: Mr Schuester and Rachel's brothers.

When they do first return, together, it is for neither of those reasons, and it is both heartbreaking and an offer of closure. So many years later.

The first time Quinn returns, she flies without Rachel the summer after she graduates to help Sarah officially pack up the house when Judy decides her best course of action is to move to Boston permanently, to be closer to her daughters and some of the best healthcare available.

At the time, Quinn's adapted show of 'Said Too Much' has been steadily making waves on Off-Broadway, but she takes the time to do this one thing that her mother asks of her.

She and Sarah still have a rocky relationship at best, and Quinn suspects her mother sends them together because she wants them to work things out. It's been more than a year since Quinn and Rachel even started dating again, and Sarah can't seem to get over whatever she claims is so wrong with the pairing... that she's convinced destroyed her family.

"The only things that tore apart our family were intolerance and prejudice," Quinn tells her while they're packing family pictures into boxes. Quinn isn't in any of the frames, and she doesn't expect it still to hurt as much as it does. She's aware she hasn't been a part of this family in years, but the evidence of it is still a little heartbreaking.

She suddenly misses Rachel so acutely, and she wishes she could have come with them, but Rachel is actually working in the Chorus of 'Said Too Much,' and acting as first Understudy for Rae, who is being played by an up-and-coming, established actress.

It was a little strange witnessing someone other than Rachel take the mantle, but they were realistic about her chances of landing the role once Quinn reworked the script to include more truths of the struggle of the relationships and, essentially, creating the masterpiece that already has Broadway buzz.

So, Rachel is in New York, and Quinn is in the childhood home she's come to hate with the sister she still knows doesn't understand her, and she sometimes hates that she let her mother convince her to do this.

Sarah doesn't say anything in response to Quinn's point, but Quinn knows she accepts it as truth. She does ask, "Was it worth it?"

"What?"

"Getting to be with her? Even in secret."

Quinn faces her fully. "Every second," she answers truthfully. "I was happier in every moment with her than I ever was in our home."

"Ever?" Sarah asks. "Even with me?"

And, Quinn thinks this is the maybe the moment she gets it. "Is that what this is about?" she asks. "That because I chose Rachel, I wasn't choosing you?"

"Isn't that what happened?"

"What happened is you threatened her with telling our parents about us to keep her away from me," Quinn points out, and Sarah flinches. "It never should have come to that, and you know it. So, please, you have to stop blaming me or Rachel for the decisions you, mom and Dad made that brought this family to its knees. We're never going to get anywhere if you can't accept the role you played just as much as the roles Rachel and I played."

Sarah clenches her jaw. "You left me."

"No, Sarah," Quinn says, and she's suddenly so exhausted; just so tired of repeatedly having the same fight with someone who won't understand. "That's where you're remembering it wrong. You left me."

Rachel's first trip back to Ohio is also made with only Sarah for Mr Schuester's wedding when she's a junior in college. It's a small affair that barely manages to happen, given all the drama behind it. Rachel can't even describe the horror of witnessing an actual runaway bride and the devastation of seeing how heartbroken Mr Schuester looks when he realises Miss Pillsbury isn't going to be walking down the aisle towards him.

"Is it us?" Sarah asks around a jalapeño popper as they sit in the reception space, waiting for news on whether the wedding is still going to happen or not. "Are we bad luck or something?"

Rachel looks up from her phone where she's been texting Quinn with unfortunate updates about the events of the day. "How many weddings have you been to that didn't work out?"

"This is the third."

Rachel's eyes widen. "How is that even possible?"

"I've been to a lot of weddings," Sarah answers with a shrug. "Probability would have that it would happen eventually."

"Shut up with your science," she mutters, looking back at her phone when it vibrates in her hand.

"What's Quinn saying?"

Rachel smiles at merely the sound of Quinn's name. "Apparently, Jesse is driving her up the wall at rehearsal," she conveys Quinn's message, referring to the show she's currently workshopping with Jesse as one of her leads. Rachel's sure Quinn regrets every second since she agreed to the casting.

It'll be her second go at a show on Broadway, even while 'Said Too Much' is still enjoying a strong run. There's even talk of expanding the show to the West End, and even taking it on the road. Her girlfriend is super busy, and Mr Schuester was understanding when Quinn called to say she couldn't get time off to make it.

Turns out, she's not missing much.

"As he is wont to do," Sarah says, grinning. "He's like the annoying brother she deserves, really."

"God, he can get so under her skin; it's a gift I wish I had."

"I can teach you a thing or two," Sarah says. "I know exactly which buttons to push."

Rachel glances at her. "I'm aware," she says, her voice losing its ease. "I wish you wouldn't, though."

Sarah sighs. "I know," she says. "Sometimes, I just can't help it. It's like I'm genetically wired to be antagonistic about certain things. And, I mean, I'm her kid sister; isn't it written in the rule books that I'm supposed to give her shit about her partner and basically every choice she's ever made?"

"Not when you once claimed it was those supposed choices that effectively tore your family apart," Rachel responds patiently. "Even though she won't show it to you, it still hurts her, and I think she's been hurt enough, don't you?"

Sarah breathes deeply. "Do you think that's why she's been so hesitant to meet Justin?"

Rachel laughs. "The boyfriend you've had for three weeks?"

"Don't laugh," Sarah pouts. "I swear he's the one."

Rachel just continue to smile as she sends a response back to Quinn, suddenly desperate to get back to her as soon as possible.

Quinn's next trip to Ohio is, once again, made with only Sarah, who was more than eager to accompany Quinn to visit Mr Schuester and Miss Pillsbury - they did finally get married - and their newborn son.

Rachel is currently performing on the West End, headlining as Rae in 'Said Too Much,' and she literally cried to Quinn that she won't be able to see little Daniel Schuester for at least another three months as she completes the remaining time on her year-long contract. Quinn promised her pictures, and she also expects the baby fever to hit them hard.

Well.

First marriage, right?

Sarah bounces in her seat throughout the flight and subsequent drive to Mr Schuester's house. She's visibly excited, and Quinn reasons it's probably because she's been stuck doing clinical practicals for an endless number of weeks now. Sarah definitely needs some sun.

"Don't you find it weird that Mr Schuester made Rachel his son's godmother?" Sarah asks as they're entering Lima. Not much has changed, but she didn't expect anything else.

"Only one of them," Quinn says. "And, no, I don't think it's weird at all. Mr Schuester is important to her, and she's important to them, as a couple and individually."

Sarah nods. "Oh, they totally wouldn't have got married without Rachel helping Mr Schuester realise Miss P couldn't handle the big wedding."

"Sometimes, you just need someone to point something out to you, even though you already know the truth of it."

"The way I'm about to point out that you've been extra prickly since you got back from London," Sarah says, giggling at her own joke.

Quinn glances at her. "At least I have sex."

"Gross," Sarah says, pulling a face. "And that's just mean. I have sex."

"What ever happened to Ricky?"

"Don't even mention that idiot."

"I thought he was the one," Quinn says, doing a terrible imitation of Sarah's voice.

"You mock me, but not everyone finds their soulmates at my age, you know?"

"I found mine at seventeen," Quinn points out.

"Well, yeah, you're a special case or whatever," she says, waving a hand rather dramatically. "And, I mean, if you've found your forever love, where's the ring, huh?"

Quinn side-eyes her, and then very calmly says, "In my bag."

"Whoa!" Sarah gasps. "Seriously?"

Quinn nods. "I want to talk about it to Mr Schuester, but, yes, seriously."

"You're going to ask Rachel to marry you?"

"I am," Quinn confirms, and she's never sounded so serious about something the way she does this. There's a certain maturity in her voice that they've both never heard when she speaks about Rachel before. "I've always known there's nothing temporary about what we have," she says; "I think it's time I make sure the rest of the world knows, as well."

The next time Rachel returns to Ohio is, again, with only Sarah, who is all too happy to take a weekend off of all the mundane scut work surgical interns are dumped with.

Rachel books the trip after she receives an unexpected and panicked call from Matthew in the middle of the night, her brother in tears and sounding hysterical, and she gets on the first flight to Columbus, taking Sarah when she can't take a heavily pregnant Quinn instead.

Sarah isn't as much as a calming influence as Quinn would be, but she chatters away the entire trip, which Rachel appreciates in a different way. She doesn't know what she's expecting when she finally arrives in Akron, but she checks into a hotel, calls her brother to tell him she's here and -

Rachel doesn't expect to cry at the sight of him. Seventeen years old, tall and broad, with sharp eyes and a defined jaw. He's no longer that eight-year-old with wide eyes and resentment in his very being, and Rachel feels lost and guilty and so angry that she's missed so much.

"Rachel," he says, his voice cracking, and she pulls him into a hug where she has to reach up instead of down, and she is heartbroken.

Rachel orders him a cheeseburger and a milkshake from room service and watches him guzzle it down, barely chewing, and she would wonder if he was being starved if he didn't look so healthy.

"You're married," Matthew says around a bite of his burger, eyes on the wedding set on her ring finger.

Rachel looks down at the platinum bands for a moment. "I am," she confirms. "We've just celebrated two years."

Matthew suddenly looks scared.

"You can ask me if you want to."

"Mom doesn't like us to talk about you or ask about you," he says. "It's like you just stopped existing, and - and I didn't understand why she would just... erase you."

Rachel likes to think she's moved on from the rejection of her family, but it still stings in ways Quinn has always understood. "She doesn't agree with the life I've chosen to live," she explains.

"Because you married a woman," Matthew states rather than asks, and Rachel realises he already knows.

Rachel nods. "I married Quinn," she says. "Do you remember her?"

"Sarah's sister."

Rachel smiles softly. "Sarah's actually here with me, probably wrecking havoc somewhere or getting drunk," she says. "Quinn is back in New York." She pauses, contemplating her next words. "We're expecting our first child in the next few weeks, so she couldn't travel."

Matthew's eyes widen and he stops eating. "You're having a baby?"

She nods, her smile growing.

"I'm going to be an uncle?"

Rachel blinks at the sound of the words, because it's not something she's actually allowed herself to think about. "Ultimately, yes."

Matthew abandons his food then, and leans back in the armchair he's claimed. He suddenly looks thoughtful, and Rachel can only imagine what had him so distressed he decided to call her after so many years with no contact.

Rachel waits, ever patient.

Matthew clears his throat. "Do you think Mom will do the same thing to me when she finds out?"

Rachel stiffens. "When she finds out what?"

Matthew can barely look at her when he says, "That I like boys."

Rachel breathes out slowly, unsure what to say in response.

"I - I kind of knew, but it was just in the back of my mind. I didn't realise it wasn't normal not to be overly interested in girls or want to hook up with them or whatever, but then - " he stops and flushes darkly. "There's this guy," he says. "The entire thing confused the hell out of me, because I sent him a text about a school project, and then I waited for a reply like a complete idiot, and freaked the fuck out when I figured out the way I was watching my phone wasn't normal."

And, honestly, Rachel doesn't think she's ever heard Matthew say so many words to her, let alone at all. It's the first time she realises she knows next to nothing about him, but, God, she's missed him so much.

"It's like the floodgates opened," he explains. "I don't - I had a whole breakdown about it. Ethan thinks I just failed a test, which, yeah, might produce the same result, but - " he stops abruptly and suddenly looks so young. "What if I'm gay?"

Rachel shifts forward in her seat. "Is that how you would identify yourself?"

"I don't know," he says. "Wouldn't I just know? Isn't that something I should just know?"

"Not always," she answers him, her tone soft. "Sexuality is different for everyone. It can be fluid in many ways. The way you identify doesn't require some kind of label, but sometimes it helps."

"I know that I like Simon."

Rachel can't help her smile, and Matthew blushes, ducking his head. "Simon," she says.

Matthew shakes his head, his smile automatic. "I don't even know if he's interested, but we've kind of been talking, and I - " he stops, his smile slipping away. "Nothing can happen, right? I don't - I can't just - "

Rachel closes her eyes, because she can't handle the stricken look on his handsome face. "It might be different for you," she says. "Her views might have changed. You're older than I was. She loves you more."

Matthew makes a strangled sound.

Rachel opens her eyes. "We all know it's true," she says. "It might be different for you," she repeats. "Better, or worse."

"Because she'll double down on a second child of hers being gay?"

"If you are."

He smiles ever so slightly. "I wish I'd been older when this was all happening with you," he says. "I wish I could have understood it better; that I could have told you I didn't care."

Rachel knows she shouldn't, but she still says, "I've been gone nine years, Matthew."

He leans back even further and sighs. "By the time I realised, I thought it was too late," he says. "Wasn't it always going to be too late?"

Rachel shakes her head, thinking hard about the reasons Sarah and Judy returned to Quinn's life. Something happened, and then they called. Something's happened to Matthew, and now he's called.

When doesn't even matter.

"Whatever you decide, I'm willing to help," Rachel says. "If you need to figure things out, I have some friends who could help by talking it out with you. If you want to tell Shelby, or if you don't. If you want to discuss options. Hell, even if you want to come to New York for a few days in the summer. We'll figure it out."

Matthew stares at her with wide eyes. "You would really do that for me?"

"Of course."

"But why?" he asks. "Don't you hate me?"

"Why on earth would you think that?"

Matthew fiddles with the zipper of his hooded jacket. "I sometimes hated you."

Rachel sighs. "That isn't news to me, Matty."

His gaze snaps up. "Nobody's called me that in a long time," he says. "It's just Matt these days."

Rachel shakes her head. "You'll always be Matty to me."

Matthew allows them to sit in silence for a long, long while, before he very shyly asks, "Can I tell you about Simon?"

"Of course," she answers with zero hesitation, and it's the start of something.

The next time Quinn even risks a trip to Ohio is after she receives a call from Lana Chapman (nee Puckerman). It catches her way off guard, and she almost hangs up the moment she introduces herself on the other end of the line.

The woman says, "He's back in Lima these days. I'm sure he would love to see you."

Quinn says nothing in response.

"He's stubborn, Quinn," Lana tells her. "And too damn proud. He wants to see you, I know he does, because he won't shut up about the fact he hasn't seen anyone from his past yet."

It's basically Puck speak, she knows. If he's back in Lima, then he must be okay with possibly seeing her again. Even possibly wants to see her.

Rachel tells her to go. She'll stay home with their eight-month-old. "This is something we both know you need to do," she says. "Take Sarah. Maybe you can talk some sense into her about that idiot, James."

Quinn rolls her eyes, calls her sister, and then books two tickets to Columbus; hers from New York and Sarah's from Boston. Sarah's complaints of my salary is balls and you're the one who makes the big bucks just make her roll her eyes.

Lima isn't different to what she remembers. Still an old, sleepy town, and Sarah gets weirdly excited when they drive through familiar streets.

"Do any of your friends still live around here?" Quinn asks as she steers the rental car towards the address Lana sent her. It's Puck's workplace, because she's definitely not about to show up at his home.

"Not really," Sarah says, looking out the window. "Mike and Tina, only, as far as I know." She fiddles with the hem of her shirt. "And Biff, I guess."

Quinn's grip tightens on the steering wheel. "Do you still talk to him?" she asks, visibly tense.

"No," Saran answers. "Just see his updates on Facebook. He married some blonde woman who's popped out something like five children already."

Quinn glances at her. "Not Katherine Wilde, I hope?"

"Nope," she says. "I don't even know what happened to her."

"Marley Rose?"

"Wow, now, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time," she says. "She was sweet."

"Any idea where she is?"

"Nope."

Quinn wonders if she should even bother to check. It's been so long; it's doubtful any of them even remember her.

Well.

She's sure she was the talk of the church town for quite some time, but she cut ties quite effectively back then. Deleted social media and put up some nifty privacy settings when she decided to rebuild her social presence an entire year later.

Now, well, she's famous in her own right, and she honestly doesn't care who knows who she is, at this point. Professionally, her name is out there, famous scriptwriter and producer, and critical novelist. Really, she couldn't have asked for anything better when it comes to her career.

It's her personal life that's always had its hiccups. Beyond finding and finally keeping hold of Rachel, a lot of her other relationships have suffered in some ways. Even her ones with Santana and Brittany, who now live in San Francisco, where Santana is plying her trade as an Assistant District Attorney.

It's just the distance between them, Quinn knows, but she misses them something fierce.

"Maybe you should find out," Quinn suggests, just because.

Sarah doesn't look convinced, but she still says, "Maybe," just as they're pulling up in front of a pool supplies store. Pool services. Pool everything, apparently.

Once Quinn manoeuvres into a parking spot and turns off the ignition, she doesn't move. Not for a long, long time. Sarah tries to keep as still as possible, but she's not very good at it, and the way she fidgets eventually coaxes a smile out of Quinn, and then they're both getting out of the rental car.

They haven't actually talked about it, so Sarah asks, "Do you want to go first?"

Quinn tells her no, because she doesn't think she's brave enough. She and Sarah have lived vastly different lives, and Quinn has gone through quite a bit without her, but this moment is not going to be one of them. No. Today, her sister is going to stand by her side, and it's something she's always wanted.

Quinn doesn't expect to cry, but she does.

Puck does, too.

Sarah, obviously, as well, but she leaves them alone to talk after a few minutes, claiming she saw a book store around the corner and ducking out without another word.

Puck gives Quinn a very significant look and says, "So, you're a lesbian, huh?"

Quinn laughs, and then hops up onto the counter, kicking her legs like she's still a hopeless teenager. "Man, have I got a story to tell you."

Rachel's next trip is solo and rather impromptu. She doesn't even mean to go, but there's something in the way Matthew says, "I'm finally getting out of here," that has her getting on a plane to watch him walk the stage as Valedictorian from behind the bleachers of the gym of a school she told herself she would never return to.

Carmel is different to William McKinley, and there are, thankfully, few demons around each and every corner. She just wanted to lay eyes on her brothers; to make sure of something. She's not sure what, but something manages to settle in the pit of her stomach when she does.

She doesn't hang around long enough to see either Matthew or Ethan, and she definitely isn't going to risk bumping into her mother. She would happily go her entire life without laying eyes on that woman, and she walks right back out of that school with renewed purpose.

In the parking lot, she stand for a little while, just taking it all in. She feels both heavy and light, and she thinks she might like to bring Quinn here, one day, just to show her that, even when they were apart, Quinn was always with her.

Speaking of Quinn.

Rachel's phone vibrates in her hand, and she briefly panics that someone might have seen her, but it's just Quinn sending a selfie of herself and her tiny mini-me, who is engulfed in a fluffy white towel, both of them looking miserable.

My Wife: I know you claim Olivia is my daughter when she does cute things, but whose daughter is she when she poops in the bathtub?

Rachel laughs, loud and happy.

It's magical, this feeling blooming in her chest. Maybe she shouldn't have come, sure, but she's suddenly glad she did. Her brothers are both eighteen now, and it means something that they can both get safely out, if they need to.

Especially Matthew.

Rachel glances down at her phone and sends off a quick text.

Still yours, my love đź’“

Quinn's next stop in Ohio is also made alone, and it barely lasts six hours. She's just in and out of Akron, to pick up a devastated Matthew Henderson.

The call comes while Rachel is watching their four-year-old build Lego that could be a dragon if one looked from a very particular angle. She doesn't generally use her phone when she's spending time with Olivia, but she reaches for it anyway.

It's Matthew calling, except it's Ethan on the phone, and the words he says are heartbreaking.

Mom knows. Matt's unresponsive. I don't know what to do.

Quinn flies out of LaGuardia two hours later, Rachel knowing she'll probably strangle Shelby if she was allowed anywhere near her. Quinn is more levelheaded about these things, and they have a plan.

Shelby wants Matthew gone, so he's going to go.

He's going to come to a home that accepts him for exactly the person he is.

Quinn arrives at the house just after eight o'clock, where Ethan tells her Matthew is in his room packing his things, and their parents are out.

Ethan looks lost and confused, and Quinn doesn't immediately go into the house. She rather hovers by the front door, wondering if she's looking at the indecision Sarah went through when it was her in Matthew's place. Ethan knows the family he's known is falling apart, and there's literally nothing he can do.

Well.

There are things he can do, but nobody would want him to.

"Matthew's going to be okay," Quinn tells him. "Maybe not today or tomorrow, but he's going to be fine."

Ethan's bottom lip trembles. "Promise?"

"I promise," Quinn says, and she vows to do all she can to keep it. "Now, why don't you take me to him, and we can get out of here before your parents get back and I break my promise to your sister and actually punch someone?"

Rachel makes a trip to Ohio alone, but not quite, when she plays two shows in Cincinnati. It's been years since she's stepped foot in the state, and she tries not to let her memories of it bother her.

It's been two months of her solo US leg already, and she misses home quite desperately. She misses Quinn and the kids, aching with the desire to hold them in her arms and shower them in kisses.

It helps that they'll be in New York soon, though, but she has to perform for a paying crowd here first, and her fans are important. They've always been, and it doesn't matter what state she's in.

It helps that Ethan is coming to see her, as well. They don't talk very often, but they've managed to build something significant in the years since Matthew went to live with them. It was only for a few short years, before he got a job in Washington D.C. and moved into his own place, but her brothers are very important to her in her older life.

She's getting old.

With several Grammys and Tonys under her belt, she knows it must be true. One look at Ethan and it has to be. He's twenty-four now, wide-eyed and genuinely happy to see her. He wasn't always, so she holds onto these moments as closely as possible.

Ethan's always been the more talkative brother, chattering in a way that reminds Rachel of Sarah. He tells her about work and his friends and this girl he thinks he might be interested in, but he carefully avoids anything about their parents.

Rachel isn't interested, anyway.

"Have you spoken to Matt about Kyle yet?" Ethan asks, sipping his coffee. "Because that dude is bad news, Rach. Like, the baddest."

Rachel smiles at him, marvelling at how he's grown so much. "Quinn's taking care of it," is what she says, and Ethan winces.

"Your wife is fucking scary," Ethan comments, which, yeah, is accurate. "How is she? How are Olive and Rosie?"

"They're good," Rachel says. "Driving Quinn crazy, of course. Olivia has an endless amount of questions, constantly asking about anything and everything, and Rose just wants to do whatever her big sister does. They're adorable menaces."

Ethan laughs. "This is why you should have a boy."

Rachel hums in thought. "We've been thinking about it," she reveals. "I would carry this time, because Quinn claims she is so over cankles."

Ethan grins at her. "That would be amazing, Rach," he says. "Try for a boy, please."

"And if we end up with a girl?"

"Who could say no to another princess?"

Rachel just smiles and says, "You should come up for a visit."

Ethan immediately nods. "I'll work on getting some time off," he agrees. "I'm definitely missing my nieces."

"You know, for someone who swore she wasn't ever going to return to Ohio when she left, you sure do make a habit of it," Sarah says, and Quinn flicks her arm from where she's seated beside her, the two of them waiting for the ceremony to start.

Quinn didn't think this day would ever arrive, really, but here she is, about to watch Noah Puckerman finally - finally - tie the knot.

He asked her to be his best person, but she declined. Even she isn't blind enough not to know that would have been a terrible idea, given he's never really been able to hide the fact there will always be a part of him that loved her first.

She knows. He knows, and his dear, dear bride knows as well.

So, Quinn said no, and she sits perfectly content in the fifth row with Sarah to her left, and Santana and Brittany to her right, the latter trying to keep their son sitting still. It's a futile attempt, of course, and Brittany has to get up and walk him to the dedicated 'wedding care' for the duration of the ceremony and reception.

Santana leans over to whisper, "Didn't I already tell her it was pointless to try to make him sit through this?"

Quinn chuckles. "We both know Britt can't say no to him."

"And he knows it," she grumbles, though she's smiling.

Quinn takes out her phone then, ready to snap pictures as Rachel instructed her to. She really doesn't want to deal with a grumpy wife if she shows up empty-handed.

"How's your boy?" Santana asks after a moment.

"Hmm? Oh, he's good, totally enjoying keeping Rachel on bed rest," Quinn answers, smiling automatically, even if it's always tinged with concern at how difficult this pregnancy has been for them. "Rach is convinced he's going to be a dancer from the kicking going on in there."

"Of course she would jump right to dancer," Santana says, clearly amused. "Not soccer?"

Quinn laughs. "I think she wants just one kid to show interest in what she does," she says. "Olivia is very into her soccer, and Rosie is into whatever Olive is. Rachel both loves and hates it."

"Winning."

Quinn bumps her shoulder with her own. "We miss you guys, you know?"

"I know."

Quinn says nothing more, diverting her attention to the altar. Puck is looking at her with slightly frightened eyes, and she flashes him a reassuring smile. It seems to settle him, for some reason, and she feels the guilt she's been carrying around for years lessen just a bit.

Look at where they are.

Look at what they've accomplished.

Sarah pinches her arm, and Quinn lets out a muted yelp. "Oh, my God," she says.

"What?"

"The best man is so fucking hot," Sarah tells her, and Quinn rolls her eyes.

"You are not hooking up with the best man," Quinn tells her, which is futile, really, because Sarah is going to do whatever she wants, and Quinn is going to have to deal with the aftermath later.

"Whatever, Mom," Sarah grumbles, and they both sober at the mention of their mother, who has deteriorated rapidly in the last few years.

Quinn rests a hand on Sarah's leg and gives it a squeeze. "If anything," she murmurs; "I think you'd have better luck with the maid of honour."

"I still don't know why you thought tricking me into coming to Lima with you was a good idea," Rachel grumbles, more irritated with herself for actually allowing herself to be dragged to this stupid town

"Well, I couldn't exactly bring Quinn with me," Sarah says, fidgeting rather nervously in her seat.

"And why is that?" Rachel asks, suddenly curious.

"Because she'll never let me live this down."

"Live what down?"

Sarah doesn't say anything for a long, long time, and Rachel starts to think she's not getting a response. But then Sarah says, "I'm visiting someone."

"Okay…?"

"My… uh, I guess you would say my significant other," Sarah says, quiet and confidential.

Rachel holds her breath, because this feels very important. And, add on the fact Sarah is effectively choosing her to tell first, before her sister. It has to be something monumental. "Is - is this the one, Sarah?" Rachel asks.

Sarah blinks, carefully rounding a bend in the road. "Yes," she finally says. "I know I've said that a lot about so many people, but this is it, Rachel." She sounds as if she's pleading with Rachel to believe her. "We met at Puck's wedding," she explains. "Well, we re-met, and it's kind of all Quinn's fault, so, you know, if I end up heartbroken or something, it's her fault for putting all sorts of ideas in my head."

Rachel frowns. "Ideas about what?"

"I - I don't actually mean that," Sarah says, sighing. "I just - I guess I've maybe figured out why all my relationships haven't worked out in the past. Like, at all. Ever."

Rachel's frown deepens. "Because you were waiting for the right guy?"

Sarah shakes her head, and then quietly reveals, "Because I wasn't waiting for a guy at all."

Rachel's expression twists into confusion, right before it settles into one of realisation. "Oh."

Sarah hums. "Oh."

There's an extended beat of silence, and then Rachel bursts out laughing. She can't help it. It's just - who would have thought?

"Stop it," Sarah says, trying to hold in her own laughter. "It's not funny."

"Oh, my God," Rachel wheezes, doubling over and laughing even harder. "This is like the fifth greatest day of my life."

Sarah lets her get through her uncontrollable laughter before she asks, "What are the other four?"

"Huh?"

"You said this is the fifth best day; what are the other four?"

"Oh," Rachel muses. "Number one is a three-way tie on the days my babies were born," she says. "Can't pick one, because they were all special."

Sarah hums in acknowledgement, because being parents seems like Rachel and Quinn's collective greatest accomplishment.

"Second has to be our wedding day," she says, smiling to herself at the memory. It'd been small, intimate in a way they always imagined it would be. With just thirty people in attendance, they said their vows in front of the most important people in their lives, promising to love each other for all of eternity. "Third was winning my first Tony, hands down."

Sarah laughs. "That was a crazy night," she says, which is a try understatement. The three of them, and Liz, had got so drunk that most of the night is actually a blur.

"And fourth has to be the day Quinn first told me she loved me," Rachel confesses, remembering a time in a sophomore year when everything felt impossible and overwhelming.

"And then today," Sarah says. "The day I come out to you."

Rachel chuckles. "Wow," she says. "I don't - just, wow."

Sarah rolls her eyes. "Keep going and I'm going to wish I'd asked Quinn to come instead."

"I'm sorry," Rachel says, but she's not, at all. "What's her name?"

Sarah groans. "God, Quinn is never going to let me live this down," she says, and she would cover her face with her hands if she wasn't driving. "It's Marley."

Rachel stops breathing. "Marley, as in Marley Rose, who Quinn convinced you to contact, and then - wait, Marley, who was the maid of honour at Puck's wedding? Wait, wait, the Marley Rose who Quinn is convinced had a crush on her when we were in high school?"

Sarah has turned bright red by the time Rachel is finished.

Rachel couldn't even stop her laughter if she tried. It erupts out of her, and there are even tears in her eyes. "I can't - oh wow - I'm too young for this."

"Dude," Sarah says. "Control yourself. You're a mother."

"Quinn is going to die when you tell her," Rachel says, breathing deeply. "Like, keel over and die, for real."

"I know," Sarah says. "But, I don't even care. She's - she's great."

Rachel smiles at her, her features softening with understanding. "Worth it, isn't she?"

Sarah's own smile settles into something soft. "I didn't always get it, you know?" she says. "Why Quinn would - " she stops. "I just didn't get it, but I think I do, now."

Rachel's smile grows, and then completely slips off her face as she realises something.

"What?" Sarah asks, suddenly worried. "What?"

Rachel barks out a laugh, and then says, "Do you think Russell would have a heart attack if he ever found out?"

Sarah's eyes widen, and then they're both laughing hysterically as they drive through the streets of Lima. Eventually showing up at Marley's house and piling out of the car with laughter in their eyes and something inexplicably joyful in their hearts.

The first time Quinn and Rachel return to Ohio, together, is to bury Judy Fabray. Years before her death, she asked to be laid to rest where the rest of her family is buried, in a cemetery just outside Akron.

Which, well, causes quite a lot of tension within the Berry, Fabray and Henderson families. But, it's what Judy wants and, when the time comes, Quinn spends a full day breaking down before she forces herself to see to the arrangements per her mother's wishes.

Judy fought long and hard, struggling every day, and Quinn needs to give her mother a fitting send-off, so the entire family makes plans to travel to another state to give her just that.

It's a weekend in October, when it's starting to get really cold, and Quinn plans everything, Sarah helping when she can between passing along patients, juggling a curious toddler and dealing with the loss of her mother.

Rachel and Quinn have always known it will hit Sarah the hardest, who has literally dedicated her entire life to finding cures not only for Multiple Sclerosis, but also for the diabetes Quinn has managed to keep under control through marriage, two pregnancies - one trickier than the other - motherhood and an enviable career.

But now they are just two daughters who have lost their mother.

Rachel keeps in constant contact with Marley, the two brunettes knowing they're going to keep very close eyes on their respective blondes.

Then there are the children. Judy is leaving behind four grandchildren who all love and adore her, and Rachel can only watch as Olivia withdraws, Rose clings and Liam just doesn't seem to understand. And, it isn't as if she and Quinn haven't done all they can to prepare their own children for this.

No amount of preparation would have been enough.

Instead of a hotel, Quinn rents out a pair of lake houses between Lima and Akron, which doesn't really put them in either place that holds ghosts a plenty for nearly everyone in their extended family. It's almost a retreat, Judy somehow bringing everyone together for one weekend, to celebrate her life while basking in one another's love.

Santana, Brittany and their boys make the trip from San Francisco. Puck, his wife, Theresa, and their twin girls join them. Matthew and his husband, Jack, come in from D.C. Ethan, the serial bachelor, pops in from Columbus. Even Liz manages to take some time off, leaving Ross in New York with their kids. Mr Schuester and his family promise to be there for the ceremony, like many others, and Quinn is overwhelmed by how far-reaching Judy has been, even through her daughters.

Rachel doesn't hover, not really, but she's always close whenever Quinn reaches out for her. Judy was like her own mother, the two of them having to learn to love each other again, just differently. It hits her differently, but she knows she'll have time for her grieving when her wife and children have got through the worst of it.

Sarah is catatonic, mostly, and Rachel can tell Marley is struggling to stay on top of that as well as keep an eye on their terrible two-year-old, Joshua, who last sat still when he still didn't know how to walk. They're all sad and exhausted, but Quinn still gathers little Joshua on her shoulders and leads all the children into the backyard and engineers some kind of system to get an actual fire going in the pit.

Rachel kind of hopes this'll be the last time they ever come to Ohio.

Now that they've managed to make an actual trip together, Rachel gets the feeling this is it for them. Somehow, they've come full circle, and bringing Judy home is the last thing that ties them to this State that almost destroyed them.

They're just thoughts.

The funeral is small, intimate in a way that Judy would have wanted. She passed as Judy Spencer, reclaiming her maiden name after the divorce was finalised, and the only people with the Fabray name in attendance are the two women she gave birth to - and their children, but who's worried about semantics?

The service isn't long. Sarah insists on saying a few words, which really results in Quinn going up to the podium to read her eulogy for her, and Rachel just holds Liam close to her chest, surprised when he doesn't even squirm.

Quinn, for some inexplicable reason, suggests they get ice cream once Judy is safely in the ground and an odd sense of closure begins to settle over their extended family. They're still at the cemetery when she says the words, and there is no home to go to for some kind of Wake, so Matthew coordinates getting the various children and adults into the respective cars to get them to the one ice cream shop that actually stocks vegan ice cream in Akron.

Quinn holds Rachel back a while, stealing little Joshua from Marley's arms, and waving away her sister-in-law when Marley looks conflicted. There's obviously something Quinn wants to do, and Rachel hovers near her, tasking her brothers with watching their rowdy children on the little trip.

Even once there's only one car left behind, Quinn doesn't say anything. She just stands there, Joshua perched on her shoulders, and Rachel knows she'll allow her all the time in the world.

"She asked me, once, what I thought of you," Quinn says, turning her body to face the sight of her mother's grave. It still feels surreal. "After the first night you spent at our house, and I remember thinking a lot of things about you, but I could never actually tell her. She thought you were nice, quiet, and she was relieved to know you were happy to spend your Friday doing homework… like a total nerd."

Rachel rests a hand on Quinn's back, rubbing a slow circle.

"I think she expected you to be a good influence," Quinn says, grinning at her as she taps some kind of rhythm on Joshua's shins. "She couldn't have been more wrong."

Rachel pinches her, and Quinn chuckles. "I make you happy," she huffs.

"You do," Quinn agrees, soft and heavy. "You continually make me very, very happy, and - and I think that my mother held on for as long as she did so she could make sure both her daughters got to experience this joy you have given me since the moment we met."

"Baby."

"She loved you," Quinn tells her. "She loved you so, so much."

Rachel draws Quinn into a hug, making sure to press a hand to Joshua's bottom, lest he goes tumbling right off. He squirms a bit, tugging on Quinn's hair, and both women laugh.

Quinn shakes his leg. "You ready for some ice cream, little man?"

"Ice cream!" he declares, lifting both arms in the air, and Quinn's hold is the only thing that stops him from hitting the floor. Never can be too careful with this terror.

It happens when they're leaving, Quinn passing Joshua to Rachel in the backseat, because they don't have a carseat, and she's going to hold onto him instead that Quinn sees him. She pauses, Joshua hanging in the air, when she recognises the thinning hair and the powerful walk.

Russell Fabray.

Quinn has thought about this moment a lot, but it still catches her off guard that she feels nothing at the sight of him. Not even anger. No hatred. Not even sadness for him.

So, Quinn just stands and watches as he ambles towards Judy's fresh grave, the wind blowing around them. She's vaguely aware of Rachel taking Joshua from her, but her eyes remain on the man who wanted so much from her, and ultimately ended up with nothing.

Quinn hasn't really spoken to Sarah about their father, Sarah losing touch with him when the man filed for divorce after Judy's diagnosis was revealed. Quinn can't say she's surprised by the move, but it was crushing for Sarah.

Losing Judy isn't going to be something Sarah will easily overcome, and Quinn can only wonder what it says about her that she knows she will get through this.

She's had to face the loss of her mother once before. She knows she'll be able to do it again.

Quinn watches him for a beat longer, absently wondering if this is something she'll mention to Sarah. Would it anger her? Would it offer some kind of closure to know the man still came to bid his ex-wife farewell? Would it even matter?

Just as she closes Rachel's door and starts to turn away, Russell lifts his head, and their eyes meet. Hazel eyes, so similar. There are mere metres between them, but the gulf is enormous.

Joshua's hands slam on the window, and Quinn looks at him, smiling and waving.

When she looks at Russell again, his back is turned, and Quinn is relieved. He's not here for her, anyway. He's here for Judy, and maybe that's all that should matter.

It's what she tells herself, at least, as she climbs into the car and feels Rachel's worried gaze on her. She's been so strong and so present through all of this, and Quinn wants nothing more than to show her how much she's appreciated. Maybe they'll go on a trip together, with or without the kids, depending on how the rest of the school year goes.

"Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream," Joshua sings, and Quinn's smile is small but present as she drives into Akron with the help of her Navigation. When they arrive, the parking lot is lined with familiar cars, and she feels a sense of belonging as she pulls into a spot.

These are her people.

This is exactly where she's supposed to be.

Quinn gets out first and retrieves Joshua before holding out a hand for Rachel. She's a little dramatic with her actions, and Joshua giggles in her arms, clapping his hands when Quinn does a dramatic bow.

Rachel just laughs, her fingers closing around Quinn's as she closes the door behind her. There's a moment of sheer, unguarded, happiness… that is shattered with one word

"Rachel."

Both Quinn and Rachel freeze, right there in the parking lot, and Joshua claps just once more before he senses something is very, very wrong.

Rachel turns first, her heart going still in her chest at the first sight of her mother in more than two decades. Shelby looks a lot older, even a bit frail, as she stands there, stiff and unreadable, with Pete hovering just behind her.

Quinn breathes in before she looks over at the woman, and she's, once again, surprised by how little she feels. There isn't even anger, and it takes her far too long to realise it's because the trade-off of having Rachel in her life has produced such a happiness that has overwhelmed every other feeling.

"Shelby," Rachel says, her tone even and steady.

Shelby looks at her, at Quinn, and then at Joshua. "Is - is that - "

"No," Rachel says, and her voice carries an edge to it that usually comes out only during therapy. "You don't get to ask about my life. Not now, and not ever. You lost that right a long time ago."

Quinn presses a hand to Rachel's back in comfort, and Joshua leans into Quinn's chest, probably alarmed by the way the temperature seems to have risen in the air around them. Quinn kisses the side of his head to soothe him, and then startles when she feels a hand on her own back, Sarah appearing at her side.

Quinn passes Joshua to her, and then catches sight of Matthew, Jack, Ethan and Marley all gathering behind them. One look into the ice cream parlour reveals that everyone else is on his or her feet, and Quinn spies Liam standing on the seats of the booth to be able to see. The critter.

"This is my family," Rachel tells Shelby. She reaches blindly behind her, and Quinn slides her hand into hers, the way Rachel always knew she would. "This is my family," she repeats, and then glances back at Matthew, who has his arm linked with Jack's, and Ethan, who no longer wears a conflicted look when faced with some kind of 'choice' between his siblings and his parents.

Shelby blinks once, twice, and then asks, "Are you happy?"

Rachel barely hesitates when she says, "The happiest." She clenches her jaw, fingers squeezing Quinn's. "Are you?"

And, well, the fact Shelby walks away without ever responding to the question is extremely telling. It's answer enough, and Rachel wonders if she should be feeling something more about meeting her mother again, when she's just bid farewell to the only mother who's mattered to her.

Quinn clears her throat and says, "Okay, good people, I do believe some of your ice creams are probably melting."

Sarah rolls her eyes, but shoots a small smile at Rachel before taking Joshua inside the store, Marley following.

Matthew lingers a while.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asks him.

He waits a beat, and then nods. "I'm okay," he verbally confirms.

Jack kisses his cheek and says, "She has a terrible moisturising regimen," and the five of them share a laugh.

Rachel looks at Ethan. "And you, E?"

Ethan frowns slightly, and then says, "I used to wonder who the villain was in the story. At first, I thought it was you." He winces when Rachel just stands and watches him, barely reacting herself. "Then I thought it was Matt." He clenches his jaw. "But then I thought it had to be me."

Rachel reaches out to run a soft hand through his hair. They may be so much older now, but he's still her baby brother.

"But, it's her, isn't it?" he finishes, deflating.

Rachel kisses his cheek. "She doesn't have to be the villain of your story, E," she tells him. "That's not something I ever wanted for you."

Ethan shrugs. "I'm okay," he says. "I've got all you crazy mother fuckers."

Rachel swats his arm at the same time Quinn laughs. "Go eat your damn ice cream," she tells him.

"Yes, Ma'am," he sasses, but does disappear into the store with Matthew and Jack in tow, leaving Rachel and Quinn standing there, the two of them forced to acknowledge just what's happened.

"All we need is to bump into my father, and we'll have a full set," Rachel says, rather darkly, and Quinn draws her into a comforting hug. "Sorry," she says. "God, that was an awful thing to say."

Quinn just kisses the top of her head.

"I'm okay," Rachel assures her, but she makes no move to remove herself from the embrace. "I promise I'm okay."

"Baby, you don't have to try to convince me," Quinn murmurs.

Rachel just stands and soaks in all Quinn has to offer for another few minutes, before she deems herself ready to face their family again. She scrubs at her face with her hands and wipes her eyes of tears she hasn't shed.

Quinn asks, "Are you okay?" once again.

Rachel nods, her haze lifting to meet Quinn's, steady and sure and oh-so-loving.

"I love you, you know?" Quinn says.

"I know," Rachel returns with a soft smile, a hand reaching up to cup Quinn's cheek.

"I have always loved you," Quinn confesses what Rachel has always, always known. It's their story, Shelby as a villain or not.

"I know," Rachel says again.

"It has always been permanent," Quinn whispers. "Our love."

Rachel latches onto that, her smile growing ever so slightly. "You and I, Quinn Berry-Fabray," she murmurs, pulling Quinn into a gentle kiss. "We have never been a temporary love."

Fin