A/N- Thank you all for reading, sorry this update took a bit longer. School is killing me right now but I'm doing my best to keep this story as recent as possible!
Special shout out to FanQuinn, afrojohardee, Nina1400, RVFlorida, gllover22, and ShadowClub for their warm reviews!
"Pain is temporary, pride is forever."
"You know what else is forever? Your stubbornness!" Quinn and Rachel had been going at it for the past half hour with Rachel trying to make her way around her apartment and ready herself to go to work and the blonde following, trying to convince her not to go. "The doctors said three weeks. You shouldn't be singing or dancing for three weeks."
"And?" Rachel asked trying to yank on a NYADA t-shirt but wincing at the stretching of her ribs.
"And it's been three days!"
"Tree days too many! Ouch, Quinn will you just help me get this on?" the blonde reluctantly stood and slid the cotton garment over the singer's head and down her abdomen.
"You can't even dress yourself and you want to go back to rehearsal. You are insane!"
Rachel ignored her and moved to choose her shoes for the day, "I promise I won't sing or dance or even have fun but I cannot take three weeks of just sitting here! I have lines to memorize, choreography to learn, blocking to practice. We will never open on time if I don't go in."
Quinn had stayed with Rachel in her apartment- except for a quick run back to her dwelling to get together an overnight bag- to make sure the brunette did not get further injured and over the past two days the pair had gotten quite close. But the singer was growing anxious and did not take well to just sitting around, even if she did have the gorgeous blonde to keep her entertained.
"You will never heal on time unless you rest."
"Come on Quinn you can watch me and make sure I don't do anything stupid and I will just sit around and observe so I don't miss too much. Please Quinnie?"
Rachel smirked, she knew the blonde could not resist when she used that nickname.
"Fine but you so much as try to sing or dance and I will drag you back here by force if necessary."
"Yay!" The shorter woman stood on tiptoe to join their lips, "Now help me do my hair."
"Rachel! What are you doing here? I thought Quinn was watching you, did you run away from her?" Kurt accused as soon as he saw the brunette stagger into his makeup room.
"No I didn't run away from her!" she replied indignantly. "Well kind of. I convinced her to bring me back here but then I gave her the slip so I could talk to you. Now move it, all the sneaking is killing my ribs."
The singer pushed past her friend and plopped down in the high chair, hard.
"Gez I wonder why that might be. What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I did it!" Rachel's eyes lit up like a child telling their parent of some impressive achievement.
"Did what?" Kurt asked in a mockingly high pitched voice.
"I took charge and showed her how I feel! I guess I didn't really tell her, well I kind of did but not exactly. But I still kissed her and she kissed me back and well then there was a lot of kissing after that... Kurt it was amazing!"
The boy gaped. "You kissed her but you didn't tell her exactly how you feel?"
"Well after the kissing there wasn't a whole lot of time for talking."
Kurt shot her a calculated glare.
"Ok there was talking. A lot of it actually, she has one hell of a past. And the way she can tell a story. I swear Kurt I could listen to her voice for hours." Rachel had a dreamy expression on her face as she talked about the blonde.
The boy hurumphed her, "Baby steps I guess. At least you two talked!"
"Among other things." Rachel wiggled her eyebrow and her friend just gave her a gentle mock punch on the shoulder.
"You are such a player Rachel Berry! I hope this one can make you honest."
"Oh trust me, she is."
Two hours into the day and Quinn had managed to track down the escaped brunette and force her to sit in the audience. Every few moments the blonde would look back from where she was helping Tina on the corner of the stage to make sure Rachel hadn't moved. She had, however, gotten her hands on Shue's megaphone.
"Mike! Stop! Those extras are going to be on top of me in this number unless you move them to the right!" the brunette called through the device. She was watching the rehearsal with a skeptical eye and trying to learn the choreography without dancing was proving to be a struggle.
The main choreographer sighed and spun around, "I'm trying Rach but it's just so hard for them to see where they can move without having you in here!"
"Don't I have an understudy!?" she snapped. It was a Broadway musical after all, the lead should have at least one understudy.
"Big show, small budget." He called back, "You did have one named Kitty but she complained about not being paid enough and stupid coworkers and she had a major bitch storm out. Schue didn't want a repeat and figured you would rather lose an arm than miss a show so he didn't hire another one."
"Well shit! Can't you just have someone else stand in for now?" Rachel was seriously concerned about getting shoved during the show, she was always insecure about her dancing and getting usurped by the extras would do nothing to quell her fears.
"All the dancers need to learn their parts, this is a whole cast number." the dancers were starting to whisper, bowing their heads together and forming into little cliques.
Rachel flushed, "Can't you just throw some random person in to hold my spot?"
"They have to at least sort of be able to dance!" Mike argued back, "They can't be standing there like a stick in the mud like you do." he was confident in jabbing at her dance skills, he had after all taught her most of what she knows. During Funny Girl he had perfected her technique and worked closely with her NYADA teacher, Cassie July, to get Rachel stage ready.
"Fine." she huffed, frantically looking around for a solution before locking eyes on a certain amused blonde. "Quinn can do it!"
The amused smirk quickly fell of the accused woman's face and was replaced with a nervous tight lipped frown, "No she can't!"
"Even though she has resorted to the third person, yes she can! She was a cheerleader in highschool so she can dance and I don't think Tina will mind." Rachel shot the older woman a questioning look.
"Of course I won't," it was Tina's turn to smirk, "we would all love to see our little ASM dance."
"Ok! Quinn, if you would just step over here please, next to Brittany. You will just have to fill in where Rachel would be and do whatever choreography you can. Keep on moving with the group and show us what you've got!"
Quinn shakily nodded and moved over to take the spot Mike had indicated- is Brittany wearing Santana's 'Hot Piece of A$$' shirt? It has to be, they can't sell those cheesy shirts anywhere outside of Lima, Ohio. Quinn thoughts were interrupted by the choreographer, "You spend enough time watching Rachel you should know where she moves in this number, right?"
"Yeah I think I can manage." The blonde blushed a bit but as she took her spot Rachel saw something else cross her face. It was an odd expression that seemed out of place on the normally smiling woman. It was steely detachment, the cold HBIC facade that only comes from years of practice. This is what she must have been like in high school, Rachel thought, thank God she doesn't wear that mask anymore.
"From the top! 5-6-7-8!" Mike counted and they were off. At first Quinn was hesitant, clearly out of practice. She carefully followed along and did as Mike told her. After the first couple run throughs to get Quinn up to speed he started adding in new steps once again, pushing the dancers to move and flow as a group with Quinn at the center. When she hit her stride she was a natural. Rachel got lost in watching the blonde's long athletic limbs move with easy grace and poise. Quinn got lost in the dance and was blending in perfectly. It was mesmerizing.
When they came to a halt to grab some water Quinn's face was flushed and her bright smile was back. The dancers all complimented her and she fell into easy conversation with them.
"So that's where my megaphone went." Schue said, plopping down next to Rachel in the audience. The dancers realigned themselves to continue with rehearsal, "Isn't she an ASM?" he asked pointing to Quinn.
"Yes." the brunette was still mad at the director and was silently outraged he dared to talk about Quinn to her.
"What is she doing dancing?"
"She's filling in since I don't have an understudy."
"Oh, well let's see what she's got."
A small crowd was beginning to gather to watch Quinn dance. The crew came out from backstage and were congregating in the wings, Comeon Quinn, kick ass! Sensing the impending showdown Quinn shrugged out of her plaid button up so she was left in a tank top. A small purple bruise was barely visible on her collarbone the kind of bruise that could not be spotted unless you knew it was there, Rachel knew exactly how she got it.
"Let's show 'em what we've got, 5-6-7-8!" Mike counted them down again and they all moved seamlessly. Quinn was simply radiant and when they finished the number everyone applauded. The brunette has a goofy proud smile on her face and joined the standing ovation.
Everyone except for Schue was on their feet. He was miffed that the blonde trouble maker had risen to the occasion and he snatched the megaphone from Rachel's clapping hands, "Let's get back to work everyone, we have a show to put on!"
The crew retreated grumbling and Rachel ignored the director, instead approaching the stage and the blonde on it. "You were amazing Quinn!"
"Thanks Rach!" she beamed back. "That was so much fun, I forgot how much I loved to dance." the blonde sat down on the edge of the stage and swung her legs off. "But I am so winded! God I feel old."
"Well you don't look old, you look stunning Q. Flawless. Well almost flawless." Rachel reached up and gently poked the bruise on the blonde's clavicle, smiling at the memory of how it had gotten there.
"I told you not to leave a mark!" Quinn gasped when she realized that the whole cast and crew must have seen her hickey.
"What can I say, I like to mark what is mine."
"And since when am I yours?" the blonde was mainly just bantering with the older woman but there was some genuine question in her voice.
Rachel gaped, "I- well I just assumed... After you know.. Do you not want to be?"
Quinn couldn't help but smile at the brunette's concern, "close your mouth hon, flabbergasted isn't the best expression on you. Of course I want to be yours. If you'll have me that is."
"Let me think about that one for a minute," the brunette feigned a thinker pose with her hand on her chin, earning her a punch from Quinn. "Of course I'll have you!" At the admission of their feelings both women wore matching ear to ear grins. Rachel couldn't contain herself, she reached up and cupped the blonde's face, bringing it down to meet her own and solidly connecting their lips in a soft, sweet kiss.
"Called it, pay up!" Rachel drew back to glare at whomever just remarked that, her eyes landed on a happy Tina holding out her hand to a frowning Mike.
"Damn it Quinn! First I thought you were straight, then I thought you were too good for Rachel, I just can't peg you!" he said fishing the money out for the Main Stage Manager.
"No shit you can't peg her now, she's Berry's." Tina shot back
Rachel stifled a laugh at the innuendo.
"You bet on us?!" Quinn was in disbelief, not sure whether to be offended by Tina's comment or amused at Mike's loss.
"We get bored easily." the short woman said in defense.
"You get bored easily!?" Quinn was gearing up for a full blown lecture on respecting boundaries and privacy, "You bet on my sexuality and relationships and that's all you have to say for yourselves? I cannot believe you would stoop so low as to-"
"Let's all take a quick lunch break!" Mike jumped in to diffuse the situation.
"Come on Quinnie." Rachel gently tugged on the blond's hand and, after grabbing her shirt so she could cover back up, led her outside on their way to their usual lunch haunt. It was a walk they made everyday, part of the routine, but today Rachel kept her hand entwined with Quinn's the whole way there and kept on holding until their food arrived. She couldn't be happier.
One week later Rachel rose an extra hour early, excited to get to the theater and see Quinn again. Since her recovery was going well- and the blonde had run out of clean clothes at Rachel's apartment- she had insisted her new girlfriend go back to assure Santana she was alive and get some new jeans.
To Quinn's surprise the Latina was not alone but her 'Hot Piece of A$$' shirt was back in her closet and a mess of long curly blonde hair protruded from the covers next to her. After getting over the initial shock and gut reaction to bash the unexpected visitor's head in with the bedside lamp Quinn smiled at the pair of them; it wasn't just anybody that could get Santana to snuggle all night so this dancer must be special.
The past few days had been bliss for the two of them. They spent every moment between rehearsals together, constantly holding hands or hugging to always maintain some sort of physical contact between them. It was as though the damn had broken and they could no longer contain their feelings for each other. Every day they walked to and from the diner for lunch with hands entwined or jumped in the same cab to go back to Rachel's after work with Quinn's arm protectively around the smaller woman's waist. Neither of them had stopped smiling since that first day in the theater.
The brunette was right in the middle of her morning exercise routine on her elliptical when her bedazzled cell phone rang, interrupting the blaring show tunes.
"This is Rachel," she answered, still a bit out of breath.
"Turn on the news."
"What?"
"Rachel just do it." The voice on the other end of the line was unmistakably her best friend Kurt and he was obviously worried. She didn't even need to ask which station, for the past few years whenever one of them referred to 'the news' it meant entertainment news and there was only one channel that focused almost exclusively on the finer arts.
With a shaky hand she turned on the television and flipped to the correct channel, what could be so important Kurt would call me at 6 in the morning?
The same young reporter that had covered her hospitalization once again filled the screen, "Scandalous and more scandalous! Those of you early birds who have been out and about the city already might have seen the cover of this week's magazine which features New York's own Rachel Berry. The road to recovery hasn't been easy for this little song bird but could support from a mystery lover have Broadway's sweetheart back on her feet sooner than expected?"
"Oh no." Rachel moaned into the phone she was still clutching tight.
"Oh yes."
"They can't."
"But they did."
"Shit."
"You can say that again." Kurt could try to sympathize with his friend but the worst was yet to come.
"Every day for the past week our special investigative reporters assigned to tracking Ms. Berry's recovery have instead been busy tracking her unsuspected intimacy with a certain blonde. Now nobody can forget the speculation that took place when work began on this show that Rachel was getting busy with a magical blonde co-star but upon learning that Ms. Galinda was married this rumor was debunked. However, it has officially been replaced with one with some real evidence behind it, let's take a look at a sneak peek of some photos that are centerfold in this week's issue!"
The screen cut to a picture of the first day they had gone out holding hands. Quinn's cheeks were still a bit flushed from the dancing and almost yelling at Tina and her shirt hung off center, revealing the bruised collarbone. What followed was a montage of the happiest days of Rachel's recent life spliced together and set to some jackal's commentary.
"In this picture we see Rachel and the mystery woman waiting to hail a cab. You have to admit, they make a cute couple. I mean just look at the way they are looking at each other in the photo, that is more than just a friendly embrace. Do we have Broadway's newest power couple, or is Rachel Berry just blowing off some post injury steam? From this diva it's' hard to tell but we will keep you updated as best we can!"
"I can't believe they would do that! I thought there was a professional understanding in place!"
"Rach, honey, nothing's protected anymore. They just want to sell magazines and if slandering you across the front page and dissecting your every move like a grotesque frog is what it takes, that's what they'll do."
"What is Quinn going to say? She hasn't talked to her parents in years, I don't think she ever actually came out to them, what if they see it? Oh god, what if Schue sees it? What if my manager sees it?"
"You know you might as well change that to when will Schue and your manager see that because there's no way they are going to miss something this big Rach."
"How did you find out about this?" she suddenly couldn't get the thought of protecting Quinn from all of this out of her head.
"I was on a jog this morning and saw your face on a magazine so I read the headline and almost got hit by a bus when I realized it said, 'Rachel Berry gets cozy with mystery woman'. I'm so sorry."
"No, it's ok. Everything is going to be ok. I'm going into work today like normal and everything will be normal and Schue will see he was making a big fuss out of nothing making me not be openly gay."
"Good plan. I'll see you in makeup?"
"Alright. Thanks Kurt."
"Bye Rach."
She flipped the television off and threw her phone angrily at the couch, not caring if it landed on a cushion or the hardwood floors. I can't believe this. I am so royally screwed.
Rachel huffed and stormed off to take a shower, trying to figure out a solution to the impending shit storm she would soon be caught up in.
But she would not be alone in this storm as she normally was. Quinn was just as much stuck as she was but it would be up to Rachel to protect the young girl. I should probably call her and have her meet me before we go in so we can talk before Schue intervenes.
Rachel stood hidden around the corner of the theater, her face distorted by large black glasses, hair swept up under a slouchy hat, and a trench coat with the collar pulled all the way up to help her hide from the reporters forming a gauntlet outside the main entrance.
"Hey Rach." the brunette jumped into the air out of surprise when Quinn snuck up behind her.
"Hey babe." she smiled, "Are you ready for this?" Rachel had called her girlfriend earlier that morning to explain what had happened and assure her that everything would work out fine.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
The singer grabbed her hand and led the way around to the far back of the theater to go in through the paparazzi door. They entered the building a united front ready to face down the questioning stares and awkward glances they got from their coworkers. Not one full minute after having walked into the theater Schue came striding towards the pair, eyeing their entwined hands with clear distaste on his face.
"Rachel, I need to talk to you in my office. Now please."
"I think we both know what you need to talk to me about and I would rather have Quinn with me so she doesn't have to deal with your harassment on her own later." the brunette strengthened her hold on the pale hand and shot Schue a glare that just dared him to defy her.
His eyes flashed at the indignation of his inferior standing up to him so publicly. "Quinn is none of my concern, it is up to her supervisor to determine what will happen to her. I only deal with cast and upper level department heads. A 'mystery woman' ASM is not my problem." Quinn internally flinched at the cold words and implication that she was a problem.
Rachel turned to the blonde to look deep into her hazel eyes, "I'll be right back, don't worry."
"I'll be fine."
"I know you will be." solely to defy and make Schue uncomfortable, the singer rocked forward on her tiptoes and placed a firm kiss on Quinn's lips before turning to follow the director to his office.
The walk was short and silent, Rachel began preparing her defense mentally. When they got to the office a surprise awaited her.
"What the hell were you thinking girl? We have talked about you pulling shit like this before and I always expected you to rebel somewhat. But this!? This is over the line, even for you! Having a girlfriend galavanting around with you all in the public without even giving me some warning so I could intercept this? What the hell Berry?" her manager exploded the second Rachel entered the room.
"I- it's just that. Quinn is just so. And she makes me feel." where had the brunette's confidence gone? All power of thought and coherent speech left her when she laid eyes on the angry blonde pacing the office before her.
"I knew that first day at NYADA that you would be trouble but I convinced myself that you would be worth taking a chance on, that you could be someone Berry! Then you pull shit like this and all you have to say for yourself is 'she is just so and I feel so'? You are about to feel my shoe up your ass!"
"Cassie just listen!"
"Don't you dare Cassie me right now!"
When Rachel landed her first big role in Funny Girl she had been completely clueless as to how the industry worked as a business and she practically begged her dance instructor, Cassandra July, to be her manager who grudgingly agreed out of pity and concern for the girl.
"Yes Ms. July."
During this whole exchange Schue just watched smugly from the doorway with a shit-eating grin on his face enjoying the sight of Rachel being torn down by the one person who Rachel respected enough to be able to do it.
"You do realize you violated your contract right?"
The singer sighed, a part of her contract said that any relationships must be theater approved before she could publicly reveal them in order to uphold the reputation of the company. It was used to silence many of her gay co-workers, "Yes I do realize that."
"So you understand you have to be put on probation and the company can do whatever necessary to restore their image."
"Yes I do. I don't agree with it but I do." she said the last part quickly under her breath in hopes Cassie wouldn't pick up on it.
"I don't agree with it either Berry but rules are rules." her manager simply told her. "So Mr. Schuster, what will the company be doing to restore the image?" there was definite sarcasm and poison in her tone at the director. Beneath the cold front and seemingly uncaring outside Cassie truly wanted Rachel to be happy.
"We have drafted a public statement for you to explain the 'mystery woman' away," oh joy another one of his public statements. Rachel thought to herself, "and we will also be hiring Mr. St James again."
"What? No! Not Jesse! Hire a beard, hell hire ten beards! I don't care! Just don't hire Jesse again!" the brunette pleaded.
"Too late, we sent out a call this morning." Schue clearly was enjoying Rachel's distress, "Besides, he has been shown to be the most liked of any beards we hired for you. For some reason the public loves seeing you together."
"Well every time I see him I would love to knee him in the-"
"Rachel!" Cassie interrupted. "I think what you are trying to say is thank you sir for your patience and understanding and I will take responsibility for my actions and deal with the consequences."
Rachel raised an eyebrow at the blonde and then told Schuster in a voice dripping with artificial sweetness, "Yes, you have been so very patient and understanding with me, Thank you sir."
The brunette turned to leave, ready for a full fledged diva storm out but the director's voice stopped her, "Oh and Rachel."
"Yes?" she asked, not even turning back to Schue or taking her hand off the door handle.
"Try to keep the PDA to a minimum. You may be out with your relationship to the company but that doesn't mean you have to force it on everyone constantly."
"I will do my very best sir!" her voice raised two octaves as she restrained herself from shooting off a scathing retort and just wished Quinn's talk with Tina was going better.
"You are so screwed!"
"Thanks for that vote of confidence Tina."
The stage manager just chuckled and couldn't keep her smirk contained.
"So Schue told you specifically not to date Rachel ad you did it anyways!? You're just lucky you're not under his control or you would be on the street faster than you can say 'Oz.' But since your boss is so very kind and understanding and just loves it when Schue doesn't get his way you are getting a promotion!"
"What?" Now Quinn was thoroughly confused.
"Ok so maybe there isn't really a position above you that I can promote you to aside from my job but if I could I would promote you."
"But I broke the rules and now Rachel's in deep shit."
"Don't worry about her." Tina could see the concern in her coworker's eyes, "She's been through this before it's all pretty routine. The company hires a beard, she gives a public statement that goes a little something like 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman' Clinton style, and she is put on temporary probation."
"Temporary probation? What does that even mean? How is that routine!? None of this is routine! This is all BS and unfair and I just can't believe it."
"Temporary probation is just no public appearances that aren't pre-approved and her pay is cut for a few weeks. I agree that it's all BS but there's not much we can do about it. It's company policy and part of her contract."
"But what will happen to us? Do I have to stop dating Rachel?" Quinn could hardly bear that thought given how close she had grown to the brunette over the past few weeks. "I'll quit, I'll quit and then we can be together and-
"Slow down there Romeo, you quitting won't do anything, the issue isn't that you work for the theater, the issue is that you shave your legs instead of your face."
"So what will happen?"
"You two can get through this. You can still date, just not publicly. You can do whatever disgustingly adorable crap you want in private."
"This sucks so bad."
"Yeah, now go find Rach, she may be a big girl now but getting this talk from Schuester and July is tough for anyone. Oh, and for punishment for you horrible behavior you are going to need to take the rest of the day off to think about what you did." Tina smiled.
"Thank you, Tina. For everything." the blonde jumped up and rugged her boss before running out of the office to find Rachel.
She arrived outside the director's office and began nervously pacing. Muffled voices could be heard on the other side of the door, Quinn paused her movement and leant in to place her ear on the wood to listen but before she could get close enough for contact, the door swung away and a livid Rachel stormed out, right into Quinn's arms.
The blonde pushed the door closed again and just stood embracing her girlfriend in the hallway. "Rachel honey, are you alright?"
The brunette shook her head and began quietly sobbing, "I h-hate that man."
Quinn smiled, "Shh, babe. It's gonna be OK." she began gently running her hands up and down Rachel's back in attempt to soothe her.
"No, it's not going to be ok until I can tell the world about us."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" a female voice roared from inside the office. "No, let me tell you who you are! You are a spineless, pathetic, self absorbed, chicken shit who cares more about his image than his employees!"
When Cassie paused for breath there was another muffled voice behind the door but it was soon again over powered, "Yes I know that I put that provision in her contract but that was for Funny Girl. You know full well that was there to protect Rachel! She was just a child then and I didn't want her labeling her image before she even had a chance to prove herself but now you just want to protect yourself!" The whole argument just made Rachel cling tighter, her hands fisted in the back of Quinn's shirt and her tears soaked the front.
Once again the door flew open and this time a furious blonde stormed out, her face flushed from yelling and her grey eyes flashing until she saw the two women still embracing in the hall. Cassandra slammed the door shut on a pale Shuester and addressed Quinn who was staring wide eyed and slack jawed at the manager.
"You're the mystery woman?"It was more a statement than a question but Quinn snapped her jaw shut and nodded nonetheless.
Cassie looked her up and down appraising the way she was attempting to comfort the hysterical brunette in her arms, "You take care of Rachel. She may seem tough on the outside but don't let her fool you. Don't let her take any crap from that man either."
Quinn nodded once again and Cassie turned and stormed from the theater.
"Come on babe, let's get you to your dressing room." Quinn whispered gently and prompted the brunette to start moving. Rachel stood up and Quinn wiped her eyes before placing a iss on her forehead.
"Have I ever told you that you look beautiful when you cry?"
"Liar." Rachel smiled and smacked the blonde lightly on the arm, "but thank you. I can't believe I cried over that man, he just makes me so mad and I can't hardly imagine having to date Jesse again."
"We are going to be fine Rach."
They joined hands and made the trek to Rachel's dressing room. Once there Rachel plopped on her couch and Quinn snuggled up behind her closely, one protective arm going around the brunette's waist and her head nestling into Rachel's neck.
"I can't believe this. I have been through this before, multiple times, but it's never gotten to me like this. I should be taking care of you instead of the other way around!" the singer sighed, her voice still slightly weepy.
"Don't worry. We all need to be taken care of sometimes and besides, my talk was way nicer than your talk sounded."
"I'm not leaving here...ever." Rachel had composed herself and now was going back to being stubborn.
"I guess you could claim that your ribs are acting up again. It's only been a couple of weeks."
"Sounds like a plan. Will you stay with me?"
"You know my boss was really mad at me for disobeying Schuester's orders so she gave me the day off to think about what I had done. So I think I may be able to arrange that."
"I love Tina!"
"Hey! I thought we were dating!"
"Yeah but don't tell anyone that."
"They might get jealous." Quinn smiled and just tightened her hold on the brunette she liked her explanation much better than the truth and for just this moment, she allowed herself to slip into a world where it was fact, not fiction.
"I should have figured you would be in here." Tina sing singed, poking her head in the door of Rachel's dressing room. The couple had fallen asleep on Rachel's couch. "I hate to break up the happy moment but Schue says there's someone here to see you Rachel. You aren't going to like it."
"Tell him to screw off." Rachel murmured.
"If only, you have five minutes lazy ass."
"Fine." Tina left the room with a smile and Rachel turned to look at Quinn. "This is officially one of the worst days of my life."
"At least we had the last couple of hours."
"And I just want a couple more." the brunette tilted her head up and gave Quinn a gentle kiss that quickly deepened into an act of desperation.
Quinn was the first to pull away, "You have to go to Schue now Rach."
"Yes Ma'am." Rachel regretfully moved to stand up.
"I like it when you call me Ma'am."
"Be a good girl and wait for me and maybe it will happen again when I get back."
"You called?" Rachel said stepping into the office.
"There she is! Just as radiant as ever. It is such an honor to be dating you again." a tall brunette man was leaning against Schuester's desk with an evil grin on his face. "It's been too long Rachie-Poo."
Rachel let out an annoyed breath, "We are going to need some ground rules if I'm going to survive this without kneeing you in the balls. First, never call me Rachie-Poo or Rach or Berry Pie or any other stupid nickname you can come up with, we are not friends you will call me Rachel and I will call you Jesse. Second, you will not touch me. Like ever. Just keep your slimy paws off me. Third, I have a girl and intend on keeping her so you have absolutely no chance. Got it?"
Jesse St. James just laughed and pushed himself off the desk, "You're just as bossy and controlling as ever aren't you?"
"Yes. Anything else you two need?" Rachel was eager to get back to her dressing room.
"Yes," Schue handed her a piece of paper, "this is your statement, you will be reading it after work today. Oh and I hope you don't have any plans for tonight, you and Jesse are going to dinner."
"Urgh. Fine, but you will not pick me up, I will meet you at the restaurant. We will not be sharing food. There will be no desert or after dinner coffee. And if you even think about a goodnight kiss I will slap you."
"Deal!" Jesse held his hand out to shake Rachel's but she just shot him a cool glare before exiting the office for the last time that day, "Always a pleasure doing business with you Ms. Berry."
"- and so to recap, the mystery woman that has been rumored about is one of my best friends who has been instrumental to my recovery over the past few weeks. I am currently in a relationship with Jesse St. James who I dated on and off again for the past few years. Any questions can be directed to Mr. Will Schuester or Ms. Cassandra July."
Quinn almost smiled in spite of herself, Rachel sounded bored delivering her prepared statement and the brunette even arched her eyebrow in surprise when she read the part about her being in a 'committed relationship to the talented and inspiring Jesse St. James.' She went to wait around the corner where she and Rachel had decided to meet and soon after the speech was over the brunette appeared, slightly disgruntled from battling the throng of reporters.
"That was one hell of a performance." the blonde smiled.
"That's why I get paid the big bucks." Rachel shot back.
"I'm going to miss you tonight."
"I'm going to miss you too. I promise to text you as much as I can."
"Oh I wouldn't want you to be rude to Jesse on my behalf," That's a lie, I want you to be as rude as humanly possible Quinn thought to herself.
"Haha, then I'll be rude on my own behalf!" Rachel pulled her girl into a strong hug. "I'll see you tomorrow morning beautiful- What are you doing! Don't leave a mark!"
Quinn smiled into Rachel's neck where she had been sucking and nibbling. "I don't want you to forget who you belong to on your date."
"Trust me, I won't. Is this like some pay back for when I marked you?"
"You bet it is."
Up next, Rachel goes on a date!
Tell me what you thought of this chapter. Thank you for hanging in there and reading this, I hope you are still enjoying it as much as I am!
P.S. sorry if any of you are Schuester or St. James fans, this might not be the happiest fic for you to read, but I have no shame in some slight bashing so, sorry!
P.S.S If you heard about the unfortunate shooting today at Arapahoe High School in Colorado please keep those students and families in your prayers and thoughts, it was a school in my area and my school was put on lockdown today for a bit. So I will be praying for Arapahoe and hope you will be too.