A/N: Long time no post, guys. Sorry about that. This chapter brings forth a different perspective; we get to take a look inside Quinn's head for most of it. All mistakes are mine; especially when it comes to a specific part that you'll see. I had already written most of this chapter before I went back and looked over past ones, and I realized that I had already written what I had wanted to do I had to go back and make changes to this chapter. It's somewhat a filler, but it's also quite important. Hope you enjoy. Also- apologies if formatting is strange, I'm uploading this from my phone.

Rachel knew better than to even think about bringing up what happened a week prior. Hearing Quinn's voice for the first time.. Rachel didn't want that to be how it went, but she couldn't change the past. She was lucky enough to have two fathers that accepted her and loved her for who she was. It didn't seem like Quinn had that. Her mother seemed to be a raging bitch, for lack of better words, and her father.. well, he passed away. Quinn and Sam seemed to be entirely on their own. While they had Blaine to act like a brother, they didn't seem to have a good parent-figure in their life.

Taking this in, Rachel wanted nothing more than to show duo a pair of people who could love them unconditionally like a parent should. With the end of February approaching, Rachel had gotten a certain special piece of paper in the mail. It was time for the glee club reunion. While they had originally planned to do it on the four-year reunion, Rachel had heard from their director, Will Schuester, that one of the members, Rory Flanagan, was going to move back to Ireland later that summer and wouldn't be able to attend had they done the reunion in 2017. So with little reluctance, they scheduled it for February 20th, 2016. Rachel was excited nonetheless.

The morning she got the paper in the mail she discussed it with Kurt and Santana, both of which who were quite excited to go back to their old school and see everyone that they hadn't seen in four years. They were also quite glad that they would get to see Rory one last time before he moved back overseas.

With the paper in hand and Kurt by her side, Rachel rang the doorbell to the Fabray-Anderson residence twice and waited patiently for someone to answer. It was a Tuesday, and she knew that Blaine didn't have any classes today, and neither did Quinn. So at least one of them was home.

After hearing that Sam had gotten a modeling job, everyone was excited for the boy. He had told them when she and Quinn came back from their walk a few days prior, and Quinn took it as a distraction from what had happened with their mother.

To no surprise, Blaine was the one to answer the door for the two. With a warm smile he let them inside. "Hey guys, what's up?" He asked, shutting the door behind them.

Rachel looked to Kurt to see if he would speak up first, but he motioned for her to do the honors. Which, she didn't mind. She had a feeling she'd have to explain it anyways. "Kurt, Santana and I received something in the mail today that we'd like to share with you. Santana's actually sharing it with Brittany right now- but that's kind of irrelevant to us. You see, our high school glee club is having a reunion this weekend, because one of the members isn't going to be in the States next year for the five-year one, so he asked us all-"

"What Rachel is trying to say, is that we've all been invited to go see our glee friends from high school, and we'd love for you, Sam, and Quinn to join us." Kurt interjected, a grin on his face as he looked to his boyfriend.

"Like, as your dates? How does Sam fit into that?" Blaine asked, furrowing his brow. He knew how reunions worked; the people who were attending usually brought dates and as far as he knew, Sam wasn't dating any of the three people in the apartment across the street.

"Well, yes, yourself and Quinn would be Kurt and my dates, but I thought Sam could tag along as well. Meet some people from Ohio, maybe it wouldn't be as boring as he thought." Rachel explained, fiddling with the paper.

Blaine hummed, then crossed his arms. "You'll have to talk to Quinn and Sam about it, but I don't have a problem with attending as your date, Kurt."

Kurt grinned, and noticed out of the corner of his eye as Rachel headed back for Quinn's room. "I'm so glad you're going- you get to meet Finn and my dad and Carole and everyone from the club-"

"Wait, wait, I'm going to meet your dad?" Blaine asked, his eyes widening. He hadn't prepared for that in the slightest.

"Well, of course, that's where we'll be staying. Assuming that you don't want to have to pay for a hotel.."

"No, no, you just caught me off guard. Of course I want to meet him." Blaine explained, a small smile gracing his lips as he stepped forward. His nerves started to kick in already; he wasn't ready for that at all.

In Quinn's room, Rachel had slowly made her presence known so that her girlfriend wouldn't be startled by Rachel suddenly appearing. Quinn was laid back on her bed, a book in her hands. Rachel didn't expect anything less. With a smile she walked up and sat on the foot of the bed, waiting until Quinn finished to start signing.

Quinn was happy that Rachel had come over, despite not knowing what for. As far as she knew the brunette was working on stuff for school, even if she didn't have class that day. That's why Quinn hadn't stayed the night before.

'I thought you were working on school stuff today.' Quinn signed, putting her book down and sitting up, crossing her legs as she reached for Rachel's hand. It was only then that she realized that Rachel had something in her hands. Furrowing her brow, she looked up at her girlfriend. 'What's that?'

Rachel grinned and handed the paper over to the blonde, waiting for her to look back up at her before she spoke. "My glee club is having a reunion, and I'd love for you to be my date for it. Kurt wants to bring Blaine, and if it's okay I wanted Sam to come too." She started, pausing to see Quinn furrow her brow again. "After what happened with your mom.. I wanted to let you guys know that you still have a loving, caring set of parents to be in contact with if you needed it."

Quinn was confused. 'What do you mean?'

"I want you and Sam to come with me to Lima, and stay with my fathers and I."

Quinn's eyes widened slightly. She and Rachel hadn't been dating for that long, but here Rachel was, wanting to introduce Quinn to them as her girlfriend. Sure, she had met them before, but they had ended on such a bad note that she didn't know what to think. What did this mean for the relationship? It was such a big step- Quinn wasn't sure how to feel about it. What if Rachel's fathers disapproved of her? What if they were totally against Rachel even dating a girl? What if-

"Quinn?"

Quinn looked at Rachel.

"Everything will be okay. I just.. want them to be an option for you, too. They're caring, they're loving, they're open to pretty much everything.. Just think about it, okay? And don't worry about hotels, if you do want to come with me, that is.. I figured you could stay with me, and Sam could stay in the guest bedroom."

Quinn swallowed, but nodded. 'I'd love to come, Rach.. Just a little nervous about the whole thing. What if your friends don't like me?'

Rachel smiled shyly and moved to sit next to Quinn, pecking her lips gently. "Quinn.. Glee is about opening yourself up to joy. Everyone who was in that room at some point is different in some way or another. I'm sure they'll all love you."

Quinn nodded and laced their fingers together. 'Okay.. I'll go.'

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Friday afternoon had the seven of them gathering their luggage together and getting on a plane to Lima, Ohio. Sam was more than happy to join them all, and accepted Rachel's offer to stay in the Berry's guest room. Rachel was the most excited out of them all, having gone to the lengths to have her fathers get the rooms ready (mostly so that any embarrassing thing from her childhood was properly stored away so Quinn wouldn't see it).

'Don't be nervous, Quinn, they love you.' Rachel signed to her girlfriend as they buckled up on the plane.

Despite the fact that she and Rachel had been practicing signing for weeks together, Quinn felt like Rachel's hands weren't signing the words properly. Maybe it was her nerves messing with her eyesight, or maybe everyone around them seemed to be moving too much, but Quinn just couldn't focus on her girlfriends hands. Of course she was nervous to see the Berry men again- she had to make a good impression on them. It wasn't every day you meet your lovers parents for the first time as exactly that- the lover.

Lover.

That was a strange word for Quinn. She hadn't used it a lot; she didn't have many significant others in her life. In high school, she had friends (mostly Blaine and Mercedes, but that was roughly it) but she hadn't been that attracted to many people. Sure, there was that boy who was in her art class junior year, Mason, and they hit it off quite well, but his sister seemed to hate her. Not to mention her mothers disapproval of the fact that they were foster kids. Her mother disapproved of many things. Especially when it came to her "special school". Her mother didn't like things that weren't considered normal.

She had to stop thinking about that. Her mother was no longer in the picture. She was the one in charge of herself now.

What a way to think.

The plane ride for Quinn and Rachel was quite silent. Even Quinn noticed this. Rachel held her hand the entire time but didn't try to sign to her. She had the option of putting in headphones and watching the movie that the plane offered, but she didn't. She had her kindle in one hand, reading a book that Quinn didn't know the name of, and her other hand was mindlessly stroking the back of Quinn's hand.

It calmed her down. And she was thankful for this.

She could see Santana and Brittany to their left, lost in each other and to the left of them had Sam snoozing away. It didn't surprise her, but she was glad that Santana was so interested in the bubbly blonde that she didn't try and draw on her brothers face. Kurt and Blaine sat in front of them, and from what she could tell, they had each a single earbud in and were watching the movie placed in front of them.

Without sound, Quinn was left to observe things around her and try and imagine what noises came with it. She looked to her right, out the window at the late-afternoon sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight and if she looked down, she could see the distant land of what she assumed was Pennsylvania, Canada, and Lake Erie. A part of her wished that she had her camera with her, but that was safely stowed away with her luggage that she so desperately hoped she'd be able to receive once they landed. Instead, she opted to her phone's camera, and settled with the images she got.

When they landed in Ohio, the first thing Quinn noticed was that it was a little colder than New York. Not a lot, but the breeze she felt when they were piling into a taxi with Sam was definitely colder. She assumed that in New York, the wind was masked by the giant skyscrapers and bustling people.

Ohio didn't have those.

They had parted with Kurt, Blaine, Santana and Brittany at the airport, telling one another that they'd meet up for lunch before the reunion and they'd all arrive together. It was only when they were in the taxi that Quinn's nerves returned full force. Rachel squeezed her hand a little tighter and Sam's groggy eyes kept glancing over at her, and she only hoped that she'd be okay.

When the taxi stopped outside a decently sized suburban home in the middle of Lima, Quinn felt her heart beating erratically. Rachel was the first to leave the taxi, Sam the second and Quinn was only leaving the taxi when the two of them were getting their luggage from the trunk. When her feet hit the slush on the sidewalk she was engulfed in a hug from someone she didn't recognize, and she immediately stiffened until she felt Rachel's presence by her side. The person stepped back and she got a look at him, realizing that this was Rachel's father.

He was talking at a fast pace- something she assumed Rachel learned from him- and she couldn't read his lips fast enough. She was lost in the conversation until Sam came up next to her, tapped her shoulder, then began to interpret.

'They're glad you're here. He says that H-I-R-A-M is at work.'

She smiled gratefully at her brother, then turned to the small Berry gathering to her right, signing away and hoping either Rachel or Sam would translate for her.

'It's nice to see you again, too. I'm glad to be here.'

And she really meant it.

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Introductions went better than she thought they would. Quinn learned that Leroy was a part-time pediatric doctor at the local hospital and Hiram was a lawyer in Columbus. Sam had told Leroy about Quinn's schooling, and how they had met Rachel, all the way from the beginning when her brother and Blaine didn't feel quite sure about Rachel. He told her about him teaching her to sign, and she even managed to teach Leroy a few simple signs as well, and things were going smoothly. They hadn't had too much of a conversation when Rachel's fathers joined them for Christmas, so it was nice to get to know them. Leroy had shown Sam the guest bedroom while Rachel showed Quinn her old childhood room, and the moment Quinn stepped foot into the room she felt like she had met a new part of Rachel.

Quinn knew that a person's room spoke louder than anything. It showed how the person was when they were alone; when the opinions of others didn't mean a thing. Her own room back home was painted a dark green, like the leaves of the palm trees that lined the coast not too far from her house, but on one wall the entirely was painted white for a backdrop. She had black curtains from her windows and pictures she had taken throughout her life hung neatly across clothesline, held there by clothes pins. She felt it represented her best in high school. Basic, pristine, normal.

But Rachel's room was entirely different story. Quinn noticed this before the girl even opened the door to her room. There was a gold star attached to the pure white door; something Quinn internally chuckled at. Of course Rachel would have that on her door. When the door was opened and Quinn stepped inside, she was met with pale-yellow walls and pink polka dotted curtains; she had to refrain from making a lemonade comment to her girlfriend. Rachel bee-lined for her bed, which had a small amount of stuffed animals lining the pillows, while she let Quinn walk around the spacious room. In one corner sat an elliptical, one she assumed was collecting dust, and along the walls lined playbills and musical posters, some even framed and signed. A white desk sat parallel to the bed on the opposite wall, and the framed photographs drew Quinn in.

One of them was of Rachel and Kurt on their graduation day. They were engulfed in a hug and looked to be mid-laugh, with Rachel eyes crinkling and her mouth open wide in a smile, Kurt's face mimicking hers. They each clutched a diploma in hand and Rachel was holding onto her cap, her bangs slightly disheveled. It brought joy to Quinn's face, seeing the small brunette so happy with her best friend. She couldn't help but wonder who took that picture.

Another seemed to be a celebratory picture, but in it Rachel was younger. In the picture, she noticed younger versions of Kurt and Santana, and various other students surrounding a trophy. They held a plaque, and on it Quinn gathered that it was the glee club at their first victory. Quinn took in the expressions on all their faces, almost memorizing them and trying to assume what they all would look like so many years later.

The last image that caught Quinn's eye was a picture taken by someone in it. It was a man, with his hair done up in a faux-hawk dressed in a monkey suit with a much smaller Rachel at his side, in a red dress and her hair done up nicely, a wide grin on both their faces. The blonde picked up the framed image for a closer look, and it was only then that she felt Rachel's presence closer to her. Turning to her girlfriend, she furrowed her brow.

'Finn took that picture at his mom's wedding reception. It was such a nice party.. I wish you could have seen it.' Rachel signed, an off-distance look in her eyes.

So that was the notorious Finn. The one who almost stopped her and Rachel from getting together.

She didn't even bother trying to stop the way her nostrils flared as she exhaled. She hadn't even met the man yet and already she disliked him greatly.

Setting the image down, she looked over to Rachel and placed her hands on the girl's hips. She knew that Rachel could sense her jealousy; she never really was good at hiding her emotions. With so little ways of expressing herself in forms that other people would understand, it was hard to keep things hidden. Rachel knew her quite well at this point, and nothing could get past the girl that she was falling hard for.

That was also a new emotion.

Quinn never fell for anyone.

Not until Rachel came along.

And that's what was scary about Quinn. For all her life she had Sam to protect her, and when Blaine came along he was there too. They protected her from the outside world; the things that could hurt her more than anything. But this was something that they couldn't protect her from. Rachel had Quinn's heart in the palm of her hands and even if Blaine wasn't entirely okay with the shorter girl at times, there was nothing that he nor Sam could do to save Quinn this time. She was vulnerable, she was smitten, and she was falling head over heels for Rachel freaking Berry.

Rachel had to of read Quinn's mind because the next thing Quinn knew, Rachel was pressing her lips gently against Quinn's and pulling her along by her baby blue button up to the floral-patterned bed, bringing her closer. Their lips moved languidly against each other's and Rachel's hand found Quinn's hair, tugging and pulling and stroking so carefully that it was driving Quinn insane. Her blood pumped quickly through her veins and she knew that if she could hear all sounds would be blocked by this, while her heart beat so loudly in her chest she was afraid that Rachel would hear it. The kisses stayed innocent yet passionate and as they lay back on Rachel's bed with Quinn's hand on the brunettes side and Rachel's hand on the blondes neck, Quinn knew that she was done for. She was to marry that woman some day, or she would die of a broken heart.

But in reality, she wouldn't have it any other way.