She wasn't overly impressed with how Biff had acted that day. He'd been distant, he was too preoccupied with his phone to really pay attention to anything she said or did. It had been even more disappointing when he hadn't even lifted his eyes from the screen long enough to pay attention to her during her performance with Santana and Brittany.

She had thought, that if anything was going to grab his attention that day it would be their burlesque-style performance in their old uniforms, and yet, he hadn't looked away from his phone once at least not until everyone else started clapping.

Quinn had been quick to defend him, of course, the way her sister always defended Harrison, and just as her mother always defended her father. She had been taught that was what a good woman did, that was what a dutiful wife did. She defended her man, even when she didn't completely agree with his actions.

She knew there were many times her mother hadn't agreed with her father's actions, and she was sure that there were times Frannie hadn't agreed with Harrison's actions, but the fact remains they stood by them blindly. And she knew, if she was going to make it work with Biff, she was going to have to do the same.

She had listed off the reasons he had been on his phone, how he was president of a secret society, how he was captain of the water polo team, but it had done little to mollify her friends.

They had all seemed to take a great disliking to Biff and his disinterest, and though they hadn't said anything while he was around, the second they were home, Brittany and Santana began to spam their three-way group chat with a barrage of dislike for Biff.

Brittany tried her hardest to see the good in him while putting her point of view across, the same way she always had, and with Santana being blunt and honest and holding nothing back.

The three of them had always seemed to be a balance of honest opinions, Brittany was sweet in the things she would say, while still making sure she was heard, Quinn would try and give the best advice she could, sometimes that was harsh other times she could be a little more bias, while Santana would be brutal, she would run and go on and on and on, often giving people more advice and opinions than they had ever asked for.

Quinn knew that if she wanted sound advice she could go to Brittany, if she wanted cruel cutting remarks about someone, Santana was her girl.

Santana was still ranting about him hours later, talking about how Quinn deserved better, about how he wasn't good enough for her, and that she deserved someone who was proud of her and actually wanted to pay attention to her.

And just as she had when they had been in the choir room, Quinn blindly defended him. Stressing just how busy he was. She knew in reality he could've spared a couple of minutes to watch her in action, she knew his friends could've waited that long for a reply.

But this was something she was used to now. Even when she had performances at college, he rarely made even the slightest effort to try and see her. Always telling her he was too busy with his secret society, or that he had Water Polo practice or games. Even if she was swamped with school work, Quinn always tried her hardest to make it to his games and cheer him on with the other girlfriends of members of the team.

She was incredibly proud of him, she just wished that he had the same sense of pride in her. She hoped that one day, she would do something that would make him stop and listen or stop and watch her. She wanted nothing more than to hear him say those four words to her.

I'm proud of you.

It had been a long time since she had heard anyone say that to her, so long, that she could barely even remember it.

The sound of Biff's voice coming from behind her pulled her from her thoughts. "Your friends see—" he trailed off as he tried to find the right words to use to describe them all. "Nice?" He offered, though his words sounded like more of a question than the statement they were intended to be.

"You don't like them, do you?" She asked as she lead him into the kitchen of her childhood home, their parents had offered them a place to stay while they were visiting Lima, and while she and Biff had been grateful for their offer, Quinn had seen it for what it was; a way for her parents to keep a close eye on them while ever she was in Lima.

"Did I say I didn't like them?" He asked, leaning against the counter next to the fridge, watching Quinn carefully as she grabbed two cans of soda.

Quinn sighed and shook her head. "It's not what you said, it's the way you said it, Biff," she replied, closing the fridge door with a slight slam. She was thankful that her parents would be out for the next few hours- she knew Biff well enough to know that this conversation could easily escalate into something more.

Biff rolled his eyes and groaned slightly. "It's not that I don't like them, because they're all fine… I guess," he said. His tone was as non-committal as his words were. She could tell from the look on his face, and from the way, he could hardly look at her that he was lying. "They're just not my kind of people I was imagining when you spoke about them."

"What were you imagining?"

"I don't know, for sure, just not that," he said, his tone becoming harsher, and his voice rising slightly. "And I certainly wasn't expecting you to dance around the way you were with those two girls, wearing hardly anything," he all but spat. "That wasn't nice for me to see."

"Those two girls," she replied, her tone slightly mocking, "are my two best friends. I've told you about Brittany and Santana and what they mean to me. We joined that club together; we joined the Cheerios together… we did so much together. It would've been weird had we not performed together."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't have performed with them, I'm just saying that you didn't have to wear what you did, or dance the way you did with them," he shook his head slowly. "I mean, watching all those other guys practically drooling over you, wasn't nice for me."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Quinn said, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was apologising for. "I won't do it again…"

"Good," he replied, cracking open his can of soda and taking a drink. "I mean, imagine what our friends and family would think if they ever saw it," he said. And there it was. Always going back to what other people would think. Always going back to how other people would view her or what they would think of her.

Biff knew better than anyone, that playing the what-would-other-people-think card was a surefire way to hurt Quinn and get in her head. After all, it's what she had been told all her life.

It's exactly what her parents had said to her, every time she had made a mistake, or every time she had disappointed them. She figured that life with Biff was going to be very much the same.

Lunch dragged by, with every minute she spent with Muffy and Vivian feeling like an hour. The mistreatment of her old best friend seemed to continue, with them looking down their noses at her every time she happened to walk past them, paired with snide comments about anything they could find.

Though Quinn wasn't entirely sure how anyone could make any kind of comment about Santana, in Quinn's eyes, she looked as flawless as ever. Her dark hair was tied up, showing off all her features, the red of her uniform looking great against her skin tone the same way it always had.

Quinn knew that some people looked better in certain colours than others, but she was sure that no one had ever looked better in red than Santana did, and as she looked around the diner, she knew that no one was pulling off that uniform the same way Santana was.

Even after working for hours, Quinn was sure that Santana was one of the most attractive people in that room, and she had no idea she managed to always look effortlessly gorgeous. She shook the thoughts from her head, as she watched Santana move around the room, taking more orders, and shamelessly flirting with other patrons of the diner, her wide, bright smile spreading across her face over something a table full of men had said.

If Quinn had to bet on it, she would bet on them having said nothing of importance or interest to the other woman. But Santana knew what she was doing, Santana had always known how to win over an audience.

She had always envied Santana for that. There was something about the other woman that just drew people in. She knew about that all too well, after all, being instinctively drawn to the other woman was the whole reason they were friends in the first place.

Every time Santana retreated behind the counter with more orders, Quinn felt her eyes glued to her. Especially when she would once again stand talking to the other blonde-haired waitress. She had watched the other woman standing there refilling ketchup bottles for the last fifteen minutes.

Throwing looks Santana's way, either winking or pulling silly faces at her trying to cheer the other woman up, and every time Quinn would look at Santana it seemed to be working.

Her scowl would quickly falter, a small smile spreading across her lips before she would shake her head and get back to work.

Other than Brittany she had never known someone to have a calming effect on Santana, at least, not with this much ease, and she was left wondering if there was anything more than just a workplace friendship between the two of them.

As she thought about all the options, she felt a strange prickling in her stomach. A feeling she couldn't place but had felt all too often when thinking about Santana being close to anyone other than her.

As they finished with their food, Santana headed back over to them, her face stoic as she came to stop in front of their table. "How was everything?" She asked.

"Everything was great, thank you," Quinn said.

Santana flashed her a small smile. "Well, good," she said, keeping her attention planted firmly on Quinn. "Can I get anything else for you while I'm over her?"

As Quinn began to shake her head, wanting nothing more than to be away from that diner, Muffy spoke up. "Well, there is one thing," she said, holing up her finger. Santana sighed softly and turned her head to face the other woman, giving her a slightly questioning look. "I think we'd like a little performance, if possible?"

Quinn looked between Muffy and Santana, taking in the stark differences in their expressions, while Muffy sat, smiling smugly, clearly pleased with herself, Santana's jaw tensed slightly, as she watched the other woman.

"Sure," she said, her tone clipped. "Sure, is there anything in particular that you wanna hear?" She asked, and Quinn knew she was trying her hardest to remain composed, to keep control of herself.

Perhaps some things do change, Quinn mused, she knew that years ago, Santana would've reacted entirely differently to a situation like this, and to the treatment Muffy and Vivian had been throwing her away ever since she first introduced herself to them.

When they had been younger, she would've yelled, verbally assaulted, and maybe even slapped them. It was interesting to see how much control Santana seemed to have over her own emotions as she grew older.

Muffy shrugged her smile growing slightly. "No," she replied. "Why don't you just surprise us?" She suggested.

"Okay," Santana said before turning on her heel, muttering something under her breath that Quinn didn't quite catch.

"What is with you guys?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing," Muffy replied, her smug smirk never faltering. "We're just trying to give you the full Spotlight Diner experience," she said feigning innocence. "We thought it would be fun, especially with her being your friend."

She shook her head slowly, looking away from the other two women to focus on Santana who once again stood talking to the same blonde waitress from before, her arms crossed over her chest, her brow knitted together tightly as the other woman spoke to her, placing a gentle hand on Santana's arm and seemingly soothing her instantly.

Quinn watched as Santana rolled her eyes before uncrossing her arms, and shrugging, continuing the conversation. The two of them quickly moved from behind the counter and headed up to the staging area, with the blonde grabbing an acoustic guitar before playing the intro to Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl.

As Santana began to sing the first verse, Quinn felt a wide smile spread across her face. Though she had never admitted it at the time and would probably never admit it to the other woman, she had always thought Santana was one of the most talented performers in their glee club.

There had always been something about the tone of her voice, and the slight rasp to it, that filled Quinn with a sense of something, something she couldn't put her finger on and something that she never felt when anyone else would sing.

While Rachel and Mercedes had been effortlessly talented and their voices could easily fill an arena and make just about anyone stop and listen, it had been Santana's voice that Quinn had felt the most connected to, it had been Santana's performances that had evocated the most feeling in her.

Even times like now, when she didn't seem interested in what she was doing, when Quinn could tell she would rather be anywhere else in the world, there was something about her stage presence that demanded Quinn's attention.

As the chorus kicked in, the blonde began to sing with Santana, their voices complementing each other perfectly. She watched as they moved around each other, sharing the song, and creating near-perfect harmonies. The chemistry between them was palpable. She had never known someone to have as much chemistry with Santana when it came to performing.

They were perfectly in sync, seemingly already knowing which way the other was going to move as if this was something they had practised time and time again.

She found herself unable to tear her eyes away from either of them, watching every single one of their moves, entirely transfixed. She hadn't even fully been aware that the song had ended until the room filled with applause and cheers.

"Hi, guys, I'm Dani, and I will be finishing up with you this afternoon," she said flashing them all a quick smile, her eyes lingering on Quinn a moment before she looked around the table.

"No Santana now?" Quinn asked, her heart sinking slightly as she thought about not seeing the other woman for the rest of the afternoon.

Dani shook her head slowly. "No, Santana is otherwise occupied," she explained with a small shrug. "The boss wanted her to do some stuff before she finished her shift for the day… so you're stuck with me now," she smiled, a bright, albeit false smile.

Quinn hated that she couldn't tell if the other woman was lying or not. "Well, that's not a worry," Muffy said. "It's all the same to us, I don't think it matters much who serves us."

Dani gave a small, dry chuckle. "No, I suppose for you it wouldn't matter, would it?" She asked, her smile never faltering. Quinn looked to Muffy and Vivian to see them watching Dani carefully. She watched, as Muffy's jaw tightened, and Vivian's nostrils flared slightly. "Did you enjoy the song?" Dani asked, quickly changing the subject. "Santana said you guys requested something."

"Yes," Quinn said quickly, answering before Muffy and Vivian had time to speak up. "It was great," she smiled. "We loved it."

Dani smiled back at her and nodded. "Good," she replied. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, Santana too," she smirked.

"Is she not too busy?" Muffy snarked. "You said she had some stuff to do."

"I don't think she'd ever be too busy for Quinn," Dani smirked, and there was something about the way she said it, that let Quinn know Dani knew all too well about everything that had happened between them, including the night they'd shared at Mr. Schue's wedding.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't wanna pull her away from work," Quinn smiled shaking her head.

"That's your call," Dani smiled. "You just let me know if there's anything I can do for you," and with that, she walked away from them, quickly heading behind the counter, before rushing through the door into the backroom.

"Not too busy for you, huh?" Vivian asked, turning her attention back to Quinn.

"Like I said," she smiled, trying to sound as casual as she could. "One of my best friends."

The rest of Quinn's day with Muffy and Vivian had been just as boring as the morning had been, it had also been just about as boring as any other day she had spent in New York since moving there. She had spent the day walking around listening to the other two women talking about a myriad of things that she simply had no interest in. All the while all she could think about was their lunch at The Spotlight Diner and the way Muffy and Vivian had treated Santana.

She knew that Santana hadn't deserved any of it, she hadn't deserved the harsh tones and that scornful looks, or the clear lack of respect they had shown her simply because she was a waitress.

And then, there was bias based on the fact that Santana was Latina. She knew she could've done more in the moment, and that she should've done or said something while Santana was around.

And then, there was the comment Dani had made.

I don't think she'd ever be too busy for Quinn.

It hadn't been said with malice or any animosity, but it had been said with an undertone and paired with the smirk Dani was wearing, Quinn knew there had been a deeper meaning to it.

A slight at the type of friendship she and Santana had, at the things they had experienced together. She was just thankful that she had been able to steer Muffy and Vivian away from any awkward conversation.

She'd spent the rest of the day reading and waiting for Biff to get home, intermittently texting her old friends trying to organise a way to see them now she was back in New York, but she soon found out that all of her friends were extremely busy with their lives, either with work or otherwise.

As the door to their apartment opened, Quinn looked over her shoulder to see Biff hanging up his jacket, an unreadable expression on his face. "Hey," Quinn said, greeting him. "Good day at work?"

"I guess," Biff replied dryly. There was a beat of silence before he spoke again. "So… Muffy and Vivian said you ran into one of your old friends while you were out today," he commented, his tone tense.

Quinn nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, we saw Santana," she replied, wanting to be completely honest right off the bat. She knew it was the best way to handle things with Biff, if she kept even the smallest thing from him would only least to more arguments and negative conversations. "She works at the diner we called in at for lunch."

Biff nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, they said that… apparently she was quite rude to them… got another waitress to finish serving you and you doubled down on giving her a tip." He said dropping down onto the couch next to her.

Quinn closed her book around her thumb and turned to him. "I wouldn't say she was rude to them," she admitted. "She was just being Santana…" she explained. "Besides, they were being a little off with her and talking to her in this weird English / Spanish combo… I think that made her uncomfortable and she didn't know how to respond… she was fine until then."

"Yeah, they said that you made a comment about that when she wasn't around," he replied. "They didn't mean anything by it, they were trying to be inclusive… it's what we've all been told to do growing up… marrying into the family is no different."

"There's being inclusive and then there's whatever that was," Quinn shook her head. "They heard her talking to me in perfect English because y'know she's from Ohio… and then they brought out the Spanish… it was weird."

"Oh, so the way my family and I act is weird now?" Biff asked.

"I didn't say that," Quinn shot back. "I just think you hear someone speaking English, you talk to them in English… you don't just assume that they're going to struggle to hold a conversation with you based on… I don't even know what it was based on."

In reality, Quinn knew exactly what their actions had been rooted in, she just hadn't wanted to admit it. She knew where the bias had sat, and she knew it was something that Santana would've had to tackle a lot in her life, even living in a melting pot like New York. Some people were closed-minded, and always would be. She just hated that the family she was marrying into, and the family she had been raised in, seemed to be stuck in their ways.

Biff scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't think they did anything wrong," he said. "And the fact you still gave her a tip after she was rude to them and didn't even finish her job serving you… you owe them both an apology," he said.

"I owe them an apology?"

"Yes," he nodded. "And I think you should do it tonight, over dinner."

"Why do I have to apologise to them?"

"You belittled them, you made them feel like they'd done something wrong when they hadn't," he said, pushing himself up from where he had been sitting. He moved to stand in front of Quinn, putting himself above her.

She knew it was a power play, it was something he had done time and time again to keep her in her place, or where he thought her place was. "I want you to apologise to them tonight… I don't want there to be any tension between the three of you. That makes it awkward for everyone else."

"What about what's awkward for me?" She asked.

He leaned a little closer to her. "Sometimes, you have to put other people above yourself. When more people are going to be affected by your actions you have to realise what you did was wrong… my brothers are going to know about what you did… it ruins the night for everyone… just apologise for the way you spoke to them."

"Fine," Quinn muttered, knowing she wasn't going to win this battle.

"Thank you," he said, straightening himself back up again. "Now, go get ready, we have to be at my parents' house by seven."

She hated their family dinners, she always had. The pretention never sat right with her, she was sure that the only thing more boring than living the upper east side life, was listening to other people talking about theirs. What made it even worse, was when the men would split off from the women to talk business, leaving Quinn to sit and listen to the women in her newfound family to talk about vapid things.

She had been bombarded with questions from Biff's mother regarding their wedding, and future plans to have children, and just as she had with Muffy and Vivian she played off the questions saying that she and Biff hadn't really discussed anything.

"You need to get on that," the older woman said. "Please let me help you both?" She all but begged.

Quinn nodded her head slowly. "Uh, yeah, sure," she said, moving her hand up to fiddle with the pearls around her neck, suddenly feeling a tightening in her chest. "We'd both really appreciate that."

She hoped that her tone sounded more confident than she felt. She loved Biff, but the thought of rushing into marriage when she was in her early twenties filled her with anxiety more than anything else she had ever known.

She had been hoping for a long engagement, and at one time, it seemed that's where they had been heading, but now they were in New York, and everyone else seemed to be in a rush to make things happen for them. She just hoped that she would be able to talk Biff into staying engaged for much longer than anyone else intended them to be.

"Wonderful," Sloane smiled. "I'll be right back; I still have some folders from when we were planning Muffy and Hunter's wedding." Before Quinn could say anything else, the older woman was out of her seat and rushing out of the room.

The second she was left alone in the room with Muffy and Vivian Quinn turned her head to face them, knowing that sooner or later, she would have to apologise. She couldn't possibly go back to her apartment with Biff without even trying.

The air around them fell silent as Muffy and Vivian watched her with smug expressions. "Listen," she started. "I just wanted to apologise for how I acted earlier," she said, the words feeling from in her mouth as she tried to sound as sincere as she possibly could. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, and I shouldn't have allowed Santana to act the way she did."

She didn't even believe her own words. She hated that she was actually apologising to them. But she knew that this was the easiest option. She fully stood by how her friend had acted, and how she had asked someone else to finish serving them, but she knew she could never admit that. Not if she wanted an easy night.

Muffy shrugged. "Well, it's about time," she commented. "It was embarrassing the way you spoke to us. We didn't even do anything wrong, and then for someone like her to speak to us like that," she shook her head slowly.

"I know," she said. "And I really am sorry.

The night seemed to be dragging by, she had done her best to sound enthusiastic when Sloane was going through the old folders of wedding venues, and centrepieces and she had done her best to make polite conversation with Biff's brothers and father, but everything to her felt flat, she could hear the disinterest in her own voice, and she was sure that everyone else could hear it too. She was just thankful that no one said anything to her.

As she sat in the living room, drinking wine and talking to finish up the night her phone began to ring in her purse, she checked the time on the large clock above the fireplace as her eyes landed on the time, she wondered who could possibly be calling her at 9:30 pm. She pulled her phone from her purse and couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the name that appeared on her screen. "Who is it?" Biff asked, pulling her attention away from the device.

She looked at her phone, smiling softly at the name that appeared on her screen. "Who is it?" Biff asked, pulling her attention away from the device.

"It's Frannie," she lied instantly, knowing she could never tell him the truth about who was calling her. He had never hidden his dislike for Santana, and she knew that after today, it would only be worse. "I'm just gonna go outside and take this… but I'll be right back, I promise."

She slipped out of the house, and into the large yard, sitting on the old porch swing before answering the call, her heart hammering in her chest slightly as she thought about what would be waiting for her on the other end of the phone.

Santana was unpredictable. You truly never knew what you were going to get with her.

"Hey," Quinn said, speaking softly. "Everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Santana replied, the sound of her slightly raspy voice making ease wash over her. There was something about all of her old friends that comforted her, but whenever she spoke to Santana it seemed to be on a whole other level. "I just thought I'd call you…" she said. "I'm sorry about bailing on you earlier… I just thought it was best to get Dani to finish up for me."

"Oh, no it's totally fine," Quinn shook her head, despite knowing Santana couldn't see her. "It would've been nice to actually be able to say goodbye to you, and maybe, even talk to you for a little longer but I get it."

"Yeah, it would've been great but… y'know, shit happens."

"Yeah…" Quinn said, trailing off slightly. "Look I'm really sorry about what happened today." It was far easier for her to apologise to Santana after all, she knew that Santana was the only one who actually deserved one.

"It's okay… you didn't really do anything," Santana replied, her tone dry. "Your friends are total bitches, by the way." The disdain was evident in her voice, the bluntness of her words brought a small smile to Quinn's face.

"They're not my friends," Quinn shot back, hating to think that she could ever be associated with people like Muffy and Vivian by choice. After all, it hadn't even been her choice to spend the day with them. "They're my future sisters in law… I guess… they're married to Biff's brothers… they're going to be my family one day," she said, hating the truth of the matter.

Santana made a disgusted sound at the back of her throat. "Okay that might be even worse," She said, and simply from the tone of her voice, Quinn knew the expression that came with it. She knew the other woman would be sitting with her eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes narrowed slightly a small scrunch in the bridge of her nose as she screwed up her face slightly. It was an expression she had seen all too much of in her life. "I can't believe you'd actually admit that…" There was a beat of silence before Santana spoke again. "It was great seeing you today… all things considered."

She couldn't help but smile at the niceness behind Santana's words, or how sincere she sounded. She knew this was the best she was going to get from the other woman, Santana played her cards close to her chest, never really telling anyone how she truly felt.

"Yeah, it was great to see you too," she replied. "You and Dani killed that song."

"I know we did," she replied cockily.

"I can see why you asked her to sing with you."

"I didn't ask… she offered, she could see that I really didn't want to do it, but if I hadn't and your friends had decided to complain it would've been me who got shit… so she said she'd sing with me."

"She seems great," Quinn replied smiling softly, feeling happy that Santana had someone so willing to have her back in times of need. She wasn't sure she could say the same about her fiancé.

"Yeah, she is," Santana said, and Quinn could almost hear the small smile in her voice.

Another beat of silence hit them both, this time it was Quinn who spoke first. "Is this really all you called me for?" She asked, it wasn't like Santana to call someone for a brief chat, she usually had an ulterior motive behind most of the things she did.

"No," she admitted. "I was actually calling to see if you wanted to grab coffee or lunch sometime… it would be nice to see you when I'm not working and when you're not surrounded by WASPs and we could actually catch up…"

"Yeah, I'd really like that," Quinn said, her smile growing wider at the thought of getting to spend time with her oldest friend. "Just let me know what days your free and we'll arrange something."

"Sounds good," Santana said. "Anyway, I gotta go," she said. "I have plans with Dani tonight and I'm sure you have your own stuff to deal with."

"Yeah, I'm at a family dinner right now," Quinn said rolling her eyes. "I really should get back inside."

"Lame," Santana teased. "We'll talk soon and make some plans?"

"Absolutely," Quinn nodded her head. "I can't wait, bye."

"See you later, Q."

And with that the line went dead, Quinn sighed before locking her phone and tilting her head back slightly. She had no idea how she was going to get around making plans with Santana, she knew the second the other woman's name came up Biff would do anything he could to keep them away from each other.